STORY EXCERPT

 He handed her the two shopping bags and stepped away from her.

She emptied the contents onto the bed. There were a couple of cotton blouses, two pairs of jeans, a short denim skirt, and two oversize T-shirts.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” he said. “Jonas has brought our dinner and I want to eat before it gets cold.”

He walked away and left her staring at the purchases on the bed, but returned as quickly as had left.

“One more thing,” he said, “when you’re through changing, you can put whatever you’re wearing into one of the shopping bags and give it to me.”

Kendal looked around the room at the queen size bed, and walking into the clean, white bathroom, she inhaled deeply. Everything smelled clean and fresh, like a lavender bush sprinkled with morning dew. It was a long time since she walked into a bathroom where she didn’t have to hold her breath. The scent of lavender lingered in the room, and it could be hers if she just said the word. 

Drake Hamilton said he was looking for an assistant, but was he telling the truth? She was sure he only had to pick up the phone and would have his choice of assistants. She’d worry about that another time, she thought, as she stepped out of the red dress and left it lying right there on the bathroom floor. She thought that to be on the safe side, she would lock the door in case he tried to get in. Stepping under the large rain-shower head, the warm water felt good beating against her skin, and she stood there allowing it to wash away the grime and dust of the California streets. It had been more than six days since she’d had a relaxing, warm shower. Quickly washing up in restaurant bathrooms or substandard toilets in the homeless shelters was definitely not the same. She was in heaven.

Lost in a world of her own, she allowed the water to play along her curves while she relished in that bit of luck that had come her way. She decided not to appear to be too eager, but all she wanted to do was shout out her good fortune to the world. 

She felt like she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Her raven hair shone like a blackbird’s feathers caught up in the midday sun and her skin was one shade lighter, if that were possible. She used the lotion she found in the bathroom, one of those high-priced fragrances she could never afford to pamper herself. 

There was a knock on the bedroom door and she stopped in her tracks, quickly dragging the towel around her naked body and bunching up the ends above her breasts. She knew he couldn’t walk in because she had locked the door, but it was his home and he might have a second key. She waited, but he didn’t try.

“Be right there,” she called out.

She chose a pair of jeans and a cotton top, and was about to throw her red dress into the bag when she had a change of heart. A very different-looking Kendal Hunter walked from the bedroom under the Drake’s watchful eyes. Cinderella had been transformed into a princess. When their gazes locked, he found it difficult to look away.

“You look... so different,” he managed to blurt out.

She stared at the Thai takeaway that was laid out on the table, and her mouth watered at the sight of the food. She was starving, but she’d never let him know that.

“Where’s the dress?” he asked.

“In the bedroom.”

“Get it out of there,” he said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want any vermin in my home.” 

As angry as she was, she swallowed her pride, went to the bedroom, and put the dress in one of the empty shopping bags. She handed it to him, and he took it by two fingers, walked out of the apartment, and returned empty handed.

“What did you do with it?” 

“Threw it down the garbage chute where it belongs.”

* * * *

“I’m waiting to hear about your misfortune,” he said.

She sighed deeply, put her fork down, and promptly put her elbows on the table.

“So, what do you want to know?” she asked, picking up the fork again and shifting around the food on the plate.

“I want to know why you are living on the street.”

“Like I said before, shit happens,” she said, gazing at him. “My dreams remained just that! Dreams! I left my home for the bright lights of this fantasy world and ended up homeless and hungry.”

“You came here to get into show business?”

“I did,” she replied, her eyes on the food on her plate.

“And how did you end up on the streets? Please tell me.”

“The same way all the others did. There are a thousand Kendals out there. You can’t imagine how many more like me there are out there on the streets. A multitude of disillusioned young people hanging around out there, begging, stealing, and prostituting their bodies just to keep breathing.”

“Did you do any of the above?”

“Wasn’t I begging when you saw me?”

“What about the other two?” 

She smiled before she replied.

“In this town, you do what you must to survive.”

“Does that mean you’ve done the other two?”

“I’ve never stolen anything,” she replied with a sigh.

“What about the last one? Was it just a matter of time before you started doing that?”

“I resent that,” she said in a miffed tone. 

“What do you resent?”

“I fell on hard times. You, up here in your castle in the sky, have no idea what the hell is going on down there at street level.”

“Do your parents know what you’re doing?”

“My parents?”

“Yes, your parents. You have some, don’t you?”

“No, they don’t know about my situation.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Where would you like me to start?”

“Here,” she said, pointing to one nipple.

“You play for me, and I’ll play with you,” he said, his hand wandering over her shaven mound, and one finger slipping over her swollen clit. “I want to kiss you down here.”

Her whimpering noises sent a blaze of excitement tramping through his being, and her body froze under the manipulations of that single finger. His eyes moved over her silky body, not missing an inch of it, and the haunting serenade she had played stirred in his head as he strummed on her clit. They gazed at each other, the silence around them deafening. He took her inside his bedroom, and laid her down at the bottom of the huge king size mattress. Two leather straps appeared, hanging on the side of the bed. Where did they come from? She had seen the leather straps from the ceiling, but those two he now produced appeared out of thin air. He took his time attaching one leg to the first strap. Touching and caressing her, he continued to fan the flames that set her body on fire. 

“Talk to me,” he whispered, staring deeply into her pulsing soul. 

“Touch me,” she begged.

“I’m touching you,” he replied, impaling her with two fingers, and causing her body to lift and hold that elevated position.

Drake fastened the other leg to the leather strap, and walked away. Where did he go, she wondered? Her legs parted widely, she stared at the door, awaiting his return. The last time she was in a position like this, was her last gynecological visit, but today there were no plastic gloves and no speculum. Excitement overtook her body, and she could feel the heat moistening between her thighs. She ran her tongue over her lips, wetting them. 

He returned, his cock even harder, and he seemed to be putting it on show for her as he strutted across the room. Kendal raised herself to her elbows, staring at that magnificent piece of his anatomy that he had kept hidden away the first time they were together. Back then she had yearned to see it, to taste it and to feel it, but today it was different. He was exhibiting it, taunting her. She desperately wanted him. Her desire manifested itself by the cream collecting around her slit. He stood in front of her, his piece in his right hand, gently stroking it. He was excited and it showed, but he was using self-discipline.

“Touch me, Drake. Touch me.”

Not wanting to waste another moment, he stood before her and dropped to his knees. She waited. It was real. No gloves and no speculum, just that tongue flipping over her clit like a piece of coarse sandpaper, and working itself in and out of her slit. He was taking her back and forth between fantasy and reality.

Her womanly perfume wafted into his nostrils, tantalizing his senses. He inhaled, deeply taking in her scent, that scent he couldn’t seem to get enough of. He got to his feet, his eyes on the object of his desire and prepared to take her. Waves of excitement plowed through his veins, and with one long thrust, he was buried deep inside her, each plunge taking her to unfamiliar places. She was in a faraway place where there were only white lights, a cacophony of melodies, and grunts like those of unknown feral beasts. She remembered several vigorous thrusts, but capturing and holding that instrument which caressed her walls was next to impossible.

Her body was under attack, and as the forces of mindless ecstasy washed over her, she gave in and allowed them to take her wherever they wanted. Fingers invaded her in all her secret places, touched and explored her, and she wallowed in the sensations. She wanted more, more from those fingers. She wanted to feel them everywhere, between her lips, strumming her nipples like guitar strings and plundering into every orifice. Someone far away, in the distance, was calling out her name.

“Kendal. Oh god, Kendal.”

Her hands were flailing, her head tossing from side to side, blood thundering in her ears and with each hard thrust that white light shone brighter.

A series of spasms sent him crashing deeply into her body, and his pounding strokes kept elevating her body higher and higher, pushing her into a state of oblivion. Her breath caught and he could feel her muscles relaxing. The bright lights dimmed, the music stopped, and there was silence. Absolute silence! Her heartbeat became slower and she fell into a peaceful state.

“Fuck! That was something spectacular,” she heard Drake’s voice. “Open your eyes, Kendal.”

Her eyelashes fluttered and he stared down at her and smiled. Her voice was croaky and her throat hurt. Did she scream when he pushed her over the edge? Everything around her seemed like a blur. He had taken her to the edge, held her there, taken everything from her, and then shoved her headlong into the abyss.

He lowered his body onto hers and held her closely, uniting them as one. When the last spasm subsided, she ran her hand through his hair, and he lifted his head and smiled.

“I love you, Kendal.” 

 He brushed his lips against hers and she closed her eyes.

“I love you too, Drake.”