Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Author: Nysidra
Title: Truth or Dare
Summary: A game or truth or dare ends with a long night of sexual
adventure
Keywords: Erotic Romance (MF)
   <->
   All eyes turned to the door.  Two women and a man walked in, older than
the young adult crowd by at least five years.
   "Let's go," Kimber whispered.
   Melissa looked at everyone else.  They seemed pleased by the trio's
arrival.  A few of them stood and hugged, made room for them in the circle.
She didn't come to this party to run away.  She wanted to be in on the fun
instead of hiding in the corner.  She already got into a fight with her
mother just to be there.
   "I'm staying," said Melissa.
   "What are we playing?" One of the women asked.
   "Truth or dare, your favorite."
   The crowd chuckled, and Melissa smiled.  The game had been pretty tame
thus far.  The older two women sat in the circle.
   "Play, Curtis."
   He rolled his eyes and joined the group.  Curtis looked healthy,
handsome, if a little annoyed.
   "If any of you fuckers are underage, get the fuck out."
   Melissa ignored Kimber's warning look and stayed put.
   "Don't come crying to me later," Kimber whispered before leaving the
room.
   "If any of you fuckers are pussies, follow the children."
   That was her first indication that the game wouldn't be tame, but
despite both being underage and a 'pussy,' Melissa remained.  She didn't
imagine it could get too bad.
   Her imagination was no match for theirs.
   She did a good job at hiding her shock and dismay.  Anora, the older
woman who seemed to be running the game, had a wicked arsenal of questions
and dares.  After witnessing Keith cup another man's crotch, she decided on
truth, and nothing but.
   A couple questions tested her resolve, but revealing her fears,
self-harming past, or that she'd never had anal sex seemed trivial compared
to any one of those dares.
   Curtis had the opposite tactic.  He preferred to take a dare rather than
tell any of them who he last had sex with, what got him hard, who he would
murder and how.
   Anora's turn.  "Curtis."
   He leaned back against the wall.  "Dare."
   "Thought so.  Put a pin in it."
   "Fine." He looked around the room and picked a person, who told him the
truth about his religious ideals.
   "Melissa," said Megan, the other older woman in the room, "what do you
think about when you masturbate?"
   "Dare." A reflex.  The result of the drink they had been passing around,
the camaraderie, and lack of fear.  All excuses for forgetting.
   Anora and Megan whispered to each other.
   "Curtis, I dare you to go down on Melissa for twenty seconds," said
Anora.
   Megan continued with, "Melissa, I dare you to bare your snatch to us and
let him."
   Pure mortification.  From the sound of their devious giggles, wolfish
hoots, and whispers, she knew they expected her to give up and storm out.
   She wanted that as well, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
   She stood and hiked her skirt, but it wasn't for them.  She was never
going to see these vicious people again.  A tense, hushed silence filled
the room as she hooked her thumbs into her panties and slid them down.
   Melissa stared at the floor, stepped out of her panties.  She sat down,
reclined, and pretended she was in a room full of concerned gynecologists.
   The visualization didn't help in the least.  Her legs visibly trembled.
She shut her eyes, and struggled to contain her rattled and erratic breath.
It was just a dare.  When it was over, she'd be done with them.
   His fingers brushed her thigh.  "Are you okay with this?"
   No!
   He pushed her thighs shut.
   "You better not," Anora said.  "She did her part, now you do yours."
   "Go ahead." She kept her eyes closed.  "A dare is a dare." At least it
wasn't rejection.  She was pretty, clean, but not pornographically
fashionable.  Melissa liked her soft black curls.
   Twenty seconds.  Anora counted it out, but Melissa was lost in the
sensation of his tongue on her clitoris.  He felt confident, bold.  Her
body warmed and responded.
   "Twenty," Anora sang.
   With a final, lingering kiss Curtis stopped.  She stifled the urge to
moan at the loss, but couldn't stop shivering as she sat up.  She grabbed
her underwear, stepped into them.
   "All right, little slut," said Megan.  "Your turn."
   The room laughed.
   "Nice pussy, can I have a turn with it?"
   She crawled over to Curtis, pulled him into a kiss, tasted herself and a
bit of alcohol.  She kissed him hard, perhaps too aggressively, but it made
her feel better.  She pulled back, got to her feet.  "Good bye." She
snatched up her purse and left the room.
   She refused to go looking for Kimber, no matter how badly she wanted to
go home.  Melissa had nobody but herself to blame for her stupidity.  She
found a dark spot outside the house and rested her head on her knees.
   She could call someone to come get her, but she wanted to go home even
less than wanting to stay.  The night would keep her company until Kimber
was ready.
   "I'm surprised I actually found you."
   Melissa opened her drowsy eyes and lifted her head.  "I'm surprised you
bothered to look."
   He sat beside her on the ground.  "You do know I'm male, right?"
   Her thoughts of him were the only ones keeping her from crying.  She was
definitely surprised, but not in the cruel way she made it sound.  She
prepped herself for apology he found her to deliver.  She would let them
have their absolution.  He played a raunchy game along with the rest of
them, but unlike Anora, he didn't seem cruel.
   "I live out in South Ridge.  We could pick up some food and hang out, or
I could get you home.  Either way, I don't want to be here any longer, and
I'd be happy if you joined me."
   Those weren't words of apology and justification.  It took her brain a
while to soak in what he offered.  He'd learned plenty about her, and all
she knew about him was that he had plenty secrets and no inhibitions.
   She wasn't going to go anywhere with a person like that.  "Tell me what
you fear."
   He grinned, huffed slightly and stood.  "I'll answer that and anything
else on the way.  I need to stop by the store on Lakeview.  If you still
hate me then, I'll take you home."
   Hate him?  He was way off base.  Melissa pulled her phone out and texted
Kimber.  "Got a ride home.  TTYL."
   He helped her to her feet and led her to the smoky black G37 Infiniti
and opened the passenger side door for her.
   She shouldn't have done this much.  This was a full grown man driving
away with her in the car.
   Once they were on the road he answered her question.  "I fear losing my
ability to work."
   That was one question down.  "What do you fantasize about when you
masturbate?"
   He chuckled.  "You never answered that question."
   "I know."
   "I fantasize about dominating a woman, sexually, taking her how and when
I want."
   She could appreciate the eroticism of that, especially given how she
liked to think about being choked during sex.  "Have you ever performed
anal sex on a person?" She rubbed her burning cheeks.
   "Yes, and I've been in a threesome, but outside a dare or drunken party,
I haven't been sexual with a guy."
   "Wow."
   "Anora and Megan can be quite cruel, but Anora was especially on her
game tonight since she's my ex."
   "So," she pressed ahead.  "Of all the people in the room, who did you
want most to sleep with?"
   "You."
   Melissa laughed.  What did she expect him to say?
   "I liked the way you endured them.  Anora saw me staring at your legs,
your beautiful, long legs.  That's why she set us up, thinking to ruin any
chance of me getting to know you.  She messed up, letting me taste you. 
Then that kiss you laid on me?"
   "Okay," she gasped.  "I get it." She clenched her thighs together and
tried covering a bit more of herself with her skirt.  Mistake one: getting
into a car with an older man.  Mistake two: getting into a car with an
older man who licked her pussy on a dare.  Mistake three: getting into the
car with him to go to his house!
   Melissa wondered how many more mistakes she could amass before sunrise.
That's why she opted to go home with him after the trip to the store.  He
seemed nice enough, not too polished, plenty honest.
   She was less afraid of his eccentricity.  She helped him carry in the
food, put it away.
   "I'll be right back." He grabbed her by the hips and set her on the
counter.  "Stay."
   She giggled as he walked away.  He didn't seem that bad at all.
   His cell, also on the counter, rang.
   "Mute that."
   "Okay." Melissa picked up the phone.  Anora's face on the screen. 
Instead of muting the phone, she answered the call.
   "Hey, Anora, truth or dare?"
   Anora laughed and it sounded more drunken.  "Oh, really?  Truth."
   "Are you pissed that you fucked up?"
   "No," she giggled.  "I think I got it just right.  You have fun.  Dumb
bitch." The call ended.
   That didn't have the effect she wanted.
   "I asked you to put it on silent."
   "I answered it by mistake."
   He held down the power button until the phone turned off.  He set the
small cup of containing two lime green pills aside and put his arms around
her.
   "I'd like for you to stay the night, but if you can't--"
   "I can." She was going to be in a world of trouble, but if she wasn't
back home in an hour it wouldn't matter.
   He leaned in and Melissa grinned like a fool as he pressed his lips to
hers.  He took his time kissing her, pulling away after each soft caress
and pull of her lip.
   Melissa was nervous at first, unsure of how to react, but she calmly
followed his lead.
   He made her feel strange, cherished.  It was as if he felt something
more about her than a convenient one night stand.  Perhaps that was just
his skill.
   She decided to roll with it.  She wouldn't find fault with being made to
feel special.
   Curtis pulled back and relaxed his hold on her.  He looked down to her
heaving chest and caused a blush that spread down along her neck and
tingled her cheeks.
   "You have a very talented," her blush turned a deeper shade of red,
"mouth."
   He chuckled along with her.  "You have deliciously kissable lips."
Curtis showed her green pills.  "Do you know what this is?"
   "I've heard about it.  How long does it last?"
   "Two, maybe three hours in your case."
   Green Dragon, as it was called, was a sexual stimulant.  Melissa heard
reference to it in school and a few movies, but it was a rare and expensive
elixir.
   "Are you taking it with me?"
   "Of course.  I wouldn't let you party alone." He picked out the pill and
chased it with a glass of water.
   She did the same, her heart pattering wildly.  She just swallowed
several hundred dollars.
   "Come on, let's chat."
   Melissa felt relieved, vindicated that he was so interesting.  They
carried their water and snacks to the den and talked further.  He had her
sit in his lap, her back resting against his chest.
   He grabbed the end of her shirt and she lifted her arms, leaned forward
so that he could unhook her bra.  She closed her eyes and moaned as his
warm hands cupped and massaged her breasts.
   He kissed her neck and nibbled her shoulder.  Her body went lax, eyelids
drifted shut.  She expected they would have sex, but the prolonged foreplay
was a nice surprise.  Good thing she had all night.
   He bit her on the shoulder, not too hard, but close.  Should she say
something?  It wasn't that bad.
   "You're all tensed up like you're thinking about bolting away from me."
   "Sorry," Melissa failed to relax, but she managed to unclench her hands.
"That bite surprised me." She extricated herself from his arms and turned
to face him.  "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
   Curtis pulled at her thighs and until her pussy rested on his erection.
"I'd like to."
   How was she supposed to relax after a confession like that?  She waited
for him to mitigate the blunt honesty of his words.  He didn't.  He must
have meant in a sexual way, not serial killer way.
   She sighed, pushed her hair back, and tilted her head.  "Do it again."
   He gave her a small grin as he traced the veins in her neck.  "Bracing
yourself like that will make it hurt more.  Relax."
   Melissa sucked in a deep lungful of breath and wiggled her shoulders as
she exhaled.  Given the position of her pussy, it felt great.
   "You are so gorgeous." He looked at her expression and his grin
broadened.  He pulled her forward and went back to kissing her neck.  He
made a low moan as he caressed her backside and ground his cock into her
covered pussy.
   Melissa eased back and pulled the seat of her panties aside.  She went
for his pants and he helped her get them open and his cock out.  Her moan
was one of relief as he penetrated her.  She had never been this wanton,
open, and lustful.  She braced on his shoulders and bobbed her hips,
fucking him, working him deeper inside her.
   Her orgasm arrived like a slap to the face, quick, intense, burning
through her whole body, but not the deeply satisfying kind that left her
limp.  It was just the appetizer to her hunger.  Nothing had ever felt so
good between her legs.
   His orgasm was much quieter and she was surprised how much she could
still feel him.  He slowly caressed her side as he reclined on the couch.
   She spread her thighs, trying to put more of him inside her.  "I like
this," she whispered.
   "Less clothes next time."
   "Mm hm."
   "How do you feel?"
   "Fuck me more."
   He chuckled and they stood.  "Let's go to the bedroom."
   "Lead the way."
   ***
   Melissa combed her fingers through Curtis's hair.  She basked in the
feel of him, the smell, the nearness, how superb he made her feel.  All
they'd done since climbing into his bed was kiss, fuck, fondle, and grunt
and moan like a couple of animals.  All she wanted was more, more of him,
and no matter what the morning brought, she was going to enjoy herself and
him.
   He worshipped her and she worshipped him in return.  Melissa did and
said things she doubted she would ever do, even for someone she loved.  The
night was like an opiate fantasy, a single loop of adoration, ecstasy,
carnal lusts, heightened emotion - near euphoric completion.
   ***
   He slept, undisturbed by her petting.  She thought briefly about getting
home, but...  She eased under the covers and took him into her mouth.  Her
jaw was still sore from the several enthusiastic performances the night
before, but she just wanted to taste him one last time, hear him moan,
perhaps call out her name in that breathy and strained way he did just
before he emptied into her.
   She never got that far.  Curtis woke and pulled her up over him and
seated himself inside her.  "Did you sleep well?"
   "Yes.  You?"
   "Dreamed of you." He moaned as he languidly stroked her.  "When do you
want me to take you home?"
   "Never," Melissa whispered as she buried her face against his neck.
   "I may end up hurting you if you stay."
   "The friction isn't that bad."
   "That isn't what I was talking about." He brushed the symbol he cut into
her shoulder.
   "I'm going to take you at your word.  I don't want to go.  I feel,"
Melissa's breath came in a shudder.  What she felt like was having another
orgasm.
   ***
   Curtis told her that he wanted to see her again and she believed him,
but once she got home, life got in the way - her mother's life, or lack
thereof.  It didn't get in the way of thinking about him.  She would zone
out, recalling his touch, his voice, the decadence he could bring with his
lips, tongue, and hands.  She grew tired of caring for her mother.
   Nine days after her night with Curtis she walked away from home to the
nearest bus station.  She needed to go see a movie and get a new phone. 
Her mother stomped on the one she had in anger because Melissa hadn't
called.
   "What happened?" Kimber asked.
   "I left with Curtis."
   Her friend laughed.  "Curtis Sephora?  Tall, dark hair, creepy, chemical
kingpin Curtis?"
   "I ...  suppose.  I spent the night with him."
   Her laughter deepened.  She pushed Melissa playfully.  "Now I know
you're fucking with me.  Is this because I didn't try hard enough to keep
you from that back room?"
   "What makes you so sure of that?"
   "I know both of his exes, so I know more than is proper about his
bedroom behavior.  He's a sadist, a sick fucking bastard." Kimber
shuddered. "Also, let's be fair, you look nothing like them.  So I'm
guessing he at least drove you home."
   "He did."
   "And you never had sex or anything close to it with him."
   "I told you already."
   "Has he called?" She asked with a smirk.
   "Mother broke my phone, so I wouldn't know."
   "Oh, well, I thought you were ignoring me because of the party.  When
are you going to tell that woman to kiss your ass?  Come live with me."
   "I need a better job first." Melissa looked up and saw him through the
store front window.  He was leaning against the railing, staring at her. 
"I'll be outside."
   "Fine.  I'll try these on."
   Melissa walked over to him, unsure of what to say.  It was just sex,
right?  She wasn't his type.  Kimber made that clear.  The euphoria was
probably chemically induced.
   "My phone broke."
   He opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace, rested on his
chest. He leaned over and spoke in her ear.  "I stopped by your house a
couple days ago.  Your mother answered.  If I had known..."
   If he had known?  It wasn't his fault.  "She gets frustrated.  She isn't
as bad as she seems." Melissa hugged him back.  Chemicals and sadism aside,
"I missed you."
   "I saw you at the customer service phone, upset.  I started watching you
and I wasn't sure when to stop.  Then you found your ...  friend."
   Melissa noticed the mocking way he said the word.  "You were stalking
me?"
   He nodded.  Nothing else.  No excuse.
   "Are you a sadist?"
   "I don't mind being called one," he shrugged.  "There's some truth to
it."
   Melissa's heart thundered.  She hadn't expected him to be so honest, not
still.  It was like they were still in bed, covered in each other's sweat,
high and thoroughly fucked.
   He stepped back, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet. 
"Knowing that I'm a stalker and have taken great pleasure in hurting
others, and whatever she told you ...  will you be my girl anyway?"
   "And you'll be my boy?"
   He glanced at her without moving his head.  "Yours and yours alone."
   The serious tone sent a chill through her.  She was nothing like his
previous girlfriends.  Kimber said so herself.
   "Yes." She was crazy, but yes, she would be with him.  It wasn't for
life.  Her eyes bugged out as she watched him peel off several hundreds.
   "Enjoy yourself.  I'll meet you later."
   "I don't..."
   He nodded for her to continue.
   "May I stay with you?  If you're not busy?"
   "What about Kimber?"
   Melissa cocked her head to the side.  "Who?" It was a careless, cruel
thing to say, but it wasn't Kimber who filled her fantasies.
   He put his arm around her shoulder and they walked.  He was going to
give her all that money just to hang with Kimber?  That was a lot of cash.
Did he normally carry that much around?
   He led her into a cellphone store.  They browsed the aisles, checking
out all the new models.
   "What do you think of this?" Curtis placed the luxury phone in her hand.
   "Looks great.  I hear the owners love it."
   "Good." He took the phone and went to speak to the salesman.
   Melissa kept searching for something she could use.
   "All right.  Two of these.  One will be an upgrade, the other an
addition to my account."
   Melissa went quiet.  When he prompted her for information, she provided
it.  The shock deepened as he bought her clothes, shoes, music.  He was
taking her on an impromptu shopping spree.
   What had she done to deserve all this pampering?  What was he going to
ask her to do?  Would she agree to it?
   Melissa asked herself these questions as he paid for the dresses she'd
just finished trying on.
   "Is there anything else you'll need from here for your room?"
   "My room?"
   "I have a spare room with its own bath.  I used to have a room mate. 
You'll need a place, right?  I have it.  I'll even help you while you find
yourself a job you like."
   Melissa grabbed his arm.  "Why?"
   "I told you before: I want you, and if that means making sure you're
comfortable, then I will."
   They dropped several bags off at his car and had another armful by the
end of the day.  She played with her new phone on the ride to his house. 
He handed her his phone for her to setup as well.
   She liked the room.  It was opposite the main part of the house, almost
like an apartment.  They put her clothes away together, filling the hangers
in the otherwise bare closet.  It was clean, as if he'd been in there
recently with disinfectant.
   She thought back to their late night conversations, the things she told
him.  Melissa took Curtis's hand and pulled him inside the closet.  Her
heart rate increased as she pulled the closet shut and switched off the
overhead light.
   "Curtis," she called in a lilting tone.
   "Yes?"
   "Would you," she haltingly whispered.  She didn't have to fake the
hesitancy, "touch me?"
   "Where?"
   "Like before ...  down there."
   He put his hands to her shoulders and eased her to the floor.  "Are you
sure?  Last time you got pretty upset."
   Melissa felt warm suddenly.  "I'm sorry; I got scared."
   His hand brushed her inner thighs, teased her just outside her panties,
rubbed her clit with feather light strokes.
   When he began to withdraw she reached for his hand.  "Please," she
whispered.  "More."
   "More?  More how?"
   Melissa bit down on her lip.
   "Show me."
   With a trembling hand she brought his hand inside the top of her
panties. She gasped as he brushed through her pubic hair.  She pushed the
panties down.  "I won't say anything."
   He hummed at this, playing with her outer labia, teasing her.  "Only if
you touch me back."
   "You...?"
   He slid a single finger along her swollen inner labia and then pulled
away from her.
   "Okay."
   Melissa heard the zipper.  Until that point she doubted he'd feel like
playing along, that he'd be able to.  But now that he had, she wished he'd
put a stop to it.  She didn't think she'd still have so much fear.  When
her hand reached out to stroke his cock, he sank his fingers into the pool
of her slick folds and circled her engorged clitoris.  She whimpered into
his shoulders, her hips turned in slow circles.  It wasn't much different
than it happened that summer afternoon, many years ago.
   "Turn around."
   Melissa turned, put her back to him.  Tears rolled down her cheek, a
real fear for things past.
   "Do you want me to continue?" His breath was a feather on her shoulder,
a ghost.  His fingers plunged into her throbbing pussy as he waited for her
answer.
   She should have said no.  She didn't know at the time what her cousin
was talking about.  "Yes, please."
   "Lean forward on your hands." Curtis put his dick between her legs and
eased it back and forth along her outer folds.  He smoothed his hand down
her back.  "Doesn't that feel good?"
   "Yes," her small voice admitted.  She sniffled reflexively.
   He continued like that for ages.  She trembled thinking of the pain
ahead, but it wouldn't really hurt this time.  Melissa moaned and bucked
her hips all too suggestively.  Regardless, it did feel good.
   "We should shop," Curtis said as he let her go.  "I can't do this." He
was panting as he eased away from her.
   Melissa reared back and turned toward him.  She'd been so close to an
orgasm.  Her muscles were clenching.  She'd been so sure he was going to
play out her rape.  Now all she cared about was getting off.  She didn't
care what he couldn't do.  Melissa pushed him onto his back, pinned him
down as she straddled him.
   "We aren't done," she sneered as she wrapped her hand around his
erection.  "I haven't shown you the best part."
   The words of her rapist in her mouth.  It was disgusting and strangely
electric.  She gushed as she lowered herself onto him.  Curtis's
ineffectual struggles only made her meaner.
   "You like this.  Know how I know?  Because you're So.  Fucking.  Hard
for me.  Don't bother lying.  Enjoy it.  Let me show you."
   The rush of playing predator finally caused her to explode.  She had not
liked it at all and she had hated him.  Sobs followed the orgasm and she
cried like someone ran over her dog.
   She hadn't felt Curtis move, but he was sitting up, cradling her to his
chest, brushing her with his hand.  He kissed the tears from her cheek.  He
talked just above a whisper as he held her.  She couldn't discern what he
said through her own tears, but she felt comforted, adored.
   Once she was calm, they exited the closet.  Curtis put away the rest of
her belongings while she washed up.
   He didn't ask what came over her, what that was about.  Within ten
minutes they were carrying on as if nothing happened.
   ***
   "Have you ever been to Mist?" Curtisd asked as they cleaned up in the
kitchen after their meal.
   "Never heard of it."
   "I need to stop by there tonight.  I'm taking you with me."
   She was already pulling up the club via her phone.  It was an elite,
membership only club with excellent reviews on both the bar and restaurant.
Money could buy a membership, but only certain clientel were picked to go
behind the 'silk curtain.'
   Curtis dressed her - completely.  It started in their shared shower when
he parted her legs and began to shave her, only a trim, not the full
butchering she expected.  He buffed and polished her nails, covered her
body in lotion, brushed and styled her hair, applied her make up.
   They talked the whole time, going into great detail on the types of
movies they enjoyed, debated the merits of films they disagreed on the
quality of.  She sat on a chair beside his bed and watched him dress.
   She'd seen him in various states of undress, tiredness, and sleepiness.
When she first saw him at the party she thought him handsome.  Now that he
was getting dressed, he looked dangerously devestating.  Melissa swallowed
nervously.  He cleaned up to a fine polish.
   She followed him into his office and watched him pack a brief case full
of powders, vials, and pills.
   "Looks like an apothecary's office."
   "It is," he said with a grin.
   He left his car with the valet and they took an elevator activated by a
four digit code.  The doors opened to a lobby.  There were two women behind
a modern reception desk.
   Curtis introduced her and then spoke to the other, distinguished woman
regarding his brief case.  Melissa pegged her as the owner.
   So he was an apothecary.  The chemical kingpin.  Those people walked a
line between sorcery and science, herbalism and chemistry.  A single
apothecary created mixtures impossible to replicate and none of it was ever
made in large amounts.  That made the briefcase the sum of ...  what?  Four
or five months of personal energy?
   They made small talk, exchanged information, and the owner handed off
her purchase to the other girl.  Maybe that was the club's secret?  Curtis
returned with a bracelet, her security pass.
   They went in, had drinks, an appetizer.  They talked, danced.  The place
was filled with affluent people.  "What happens if you're not allowed?" She
asked as she followed him through the silk curtains.
   "Pain." He put his arm around her waist.  "I just wanted to show you
around, make sure you got to say you've been here.  When you're ready to
go, just let me know."
   "Why is it so exclusive?"
   "They need a way to pay for their suppliers."
   "Like you."
   He smiled at her.  "And to make sure their customers know how to keep
their mouths shut."
   It didn't take long for her to see why.  Sexuality, intoxication,
gambling.  It was a quiet den of iniquity, but it wasn't where she wanted
to be, so they went home.
   His phone buzzed while they were in the car.  At his request, she
checked the message.
Casey: "Need some relief tonight?"
Melissa read the message out loud.  It occured to her to wonder who
Casey was and what kind of relief was being offered.  All she did was read
it and wait.
   "You'll give me anything I need, right?" Curtis asked.
   "Of course."
   "Then you can answer for me."
   "No," she typed.
   Casey replied with a sad face.
   Melissa set his phone aside and bit her tongue.  She wasn't going to ask
who that was.  Melissa marched inside and went to her room.  She needed to
get a shower.
   "Not so fast." Curtis brought her upright.  Melissa only managed to
removed her heels.  She stood still as he undressed her, kissed her body.
   She closed her eyes and sought to burn this moment in her mind, to
cherish his attention, this feeling of adoration before he grew tired of
her, bored, and ignored her like the rest.  She accepted him as eccentric,
possibly cruel, but he was also the best thing to happen to her.  He lay
her on the bed, face down, fully naked.
   "I'm more than familiar with that pensive brooding expression." He
whispered in her ear as his hand rounded her backside.
   "They had reason to brood."
   "They did."
   "I don't?"
   He made lazy circles along her back, but it wasn't his finger.  It was
hard, a bit sharp.  "You don't."
   She sucked in a breath as the blade stung her back.  She reached her
hand out for him, between his legs.  He was fully aroused, stiff under the
smooth fabric of his dress pants.  "Trying to distract me?"
   "No.  I did not think it would be distracting."
   "Me neither," he moaned and leaned over to her back.  His kiss stung.
   "Those lines you make, do they mean something?"
   "A great deal."
   She kept her tears quiet, breathed through her mouth rather than
sniffle. When he finished cutting her, he fucked her, hard and fast, then
rubbed something into the cuts - not to lessen the sting.  He held her down
by her shoulders while it burned.
   She showered and was asleep within minutes.  Her mind didn't linger on
questions like why.  She asked for it by agreeing to be with him.
   ***
   Melissa woke on her stomach, legs spread, arms pinned under his.  His
cocked plunged deep inside her with slow deliberation.
   "Good morning," he purred when she angled her hips up.  He kissed her
shoulder and nuzzled the back of her neck.  He trembled slightly as he
pushed inside her.  He was going to climax soon.
   Melissa clenched tight around him, encouraging his release.
   "You feel so good, Melissa," he whispered just before his whole body
stiffened.  He held onto her with an iron grip as his hips jerked, spasmed.
   She braced for the sting as he rested against her, but she didn't feel
much more than a tingle along her back.
   "It's 6am.  Let me know when you're ready and I'll drop you off at
work."
   Melissa's eyes opened in shock.  "Oh wow.  I completely forgot about
work."
   He chuckled as he rolled off her.
   She stopped by the mirror on her way to the shower.  The cut on her back
was an angry red, but it didn't look too deep.  There wasn't a line, but a
graceful curvature that looked like it had been drawn with a marker, not a
blade.  Just one cut, the most beautiful scar she'd ever seen.
   Curtis made her breakfast while she was in the shower and dropped her
off at work.
   Melissa didn't have the good, slow day she expected.  Her mother showed
up and made a scene.  Her coworkers, people she considered friends, were
highly critical of her sudden happiness, her move.
   They didn't even know him, yet they made him out to be an abusive
monster.  She didn't even mention the dark stuff, wouldn't dare.  She
regretted even telling them that they were together.  She protested their
claims of peril, but found herself mute when they began to ask her
questions about his past.
   What did that matter really?  It stirred the winds of doubt she'd been
trying to ignore.  How she managed to get anything accomplished was a
mystery.  After work, she didn't bother saying good bye, just left the
building and hurried to Curtis's car.
   She burst into tears before they managed to leave the parking lot.  He
wasn't abusive.  He wasn't trying to separate her from her family.  She
wanted to be with him.  He didn't control her, not in the way they were
making him sound.  Melissa had exhausted all her strength in making sure
she didn't cry at work.
   Curtis took her hand in his and she nearly launched into an explanation
of her tears.  One look at the bulging muscle in his jaw and she decided
against it.  She caressed his hand with her thumb and calmed down.
   So maybe he was dangerous, abusive, more than a little eccentric.  It
was better she not say who made her cry today.  It didn't matter what they
thought, said, implied.  He had not done anything she did not allow him to
do to her.  Yes, the sudden attention was weird, but didn't she deserve it?
Couldn't some part of her life be free of exploitation and treachery?
   She drew a rattled breath and wiped the last of her tears away.  Her
curiousity out weighed her melancholy as they pulled into the parking lot
of a state park.  He pulled her bathing suit from a bag in the backseat and
handed it to her.
   She began to change as he dressed down to his swim shorts.
   "The water will be cold," Curtis warned as he led her to the lake. 
"Come on."
   When her feet hit the chilly water, she sucked her breath in and froze.
He wasn't mincing words about the 'cold' part.  She took each step with
difficulty.  She could barely breathe by the time she was waist deep.  The
sun would set soon and her aweful day was going to end with a bout of
hypothermia.
   "Why am I out here?" She barked as she swam behind him.  "Curtis!" She
called between the chatter of her teeth.
   He turned around and put her on his back.  "Deep breath." Instead of
carrying her back to shore, he dove and swam further out.
   When they surfaced, Melissa was too focused on trying to breath to
notice that she'd stopped shivering.  "Wait.  What happened?"
   "Warm water pocket," he explained with a grin.  "I discovered it a year
ago.  Around this time of year it heats the water just enough to make it
bearable, but the surrounding water is still too cold for others."
   "How far does it extend?"
   He pointed west.  "Give it a swim."
   She set out west, turned when it began to feel cooler.  It was about the
size of a small swimming pool.  She dove down then back up.  After all her
buzzing and playing she realized that she'd forgotten all about her pity
party.  She tread water in front of him.  "This is cool."
   He nodded.
   "Do you know anyone hiring?  I don't have a college degree."
   "I do.  You can start tomorrow."
   Melissa beamed and looked up to the dusky sky.
   "Watch the sun set.  I need to dive.  I may be gone for up to three
minutes.  Don't panic, all right?"
   Wide eyed, she nodded.
   Melissa floated on her back and watched the sky darken.  He'd brought
her out here with him, shared what was probably a special mineral source.
He cared about her, but her coworkers had been a little right.
   She didn't know very much about him fact wise.  She could gauge his
moods with what she thought was an eerie accuracy.  She knew his tastes,
dislikes, secrets.  She knew about his musical, cinematics, and culinary
interests.  Wasn't that more important than where he was born?  To whom he
was related?
   She heard the gentle break in the water, the unhurried manner with which
he took a breath.
   He swam to her side and nudged her upright.  "Hold onto me.  I'll get us
to shore."
   Melissa dreaded the trip back through chillier waters, but the pocket of
heat along with Curtis's speed kept her from dying.  They ran back to the
car, giggling and shuddering the whole way.
   He pulled a beach towel from the trunk and wrapped it around them.  He
pinned her to the side of the car and kissed her.
   Melissa groaned.  "There's not enough room to wrap my legs around you."
   "Warm?"
   "Yes."
   He smiled.  "Good."
   They dried up, dressed, and went home.
   ***
   He got her an assistant job with an associate within walking distance of
the house.
   Melissa enjoyed the work and the routine they settled into.  They woke,
ate, she walked to work.  In the evenings they cooked meals together and
watched movies, fucked, or simply lay staring at the ceiling while music
played in the background.  If she got home in the afternoon and Curtis was
still in his office, she spent that time cleaning up, trying to repay his
hospitality with service since he never brought up the subject of paying
rent.
   That particular afternoon turned into evening, and Curtis had not
emerged from his office.  Melissa went to the door, tapped, waited, tapped
again.  She tried the door, the knob turned and she cracked it slightly.
   "Curtis?" She called.  When she finally pushed the door open she found
him passed out on the floor near a chaise lounge.  "Curtis," she called out
as she went to his side.
   She kneeled beside him, jostled his shoulder.  She listened to his
heart, saw him breathing, but he would not wake.
   "Curtis, come on.  Get up." She pulled on him, sat him up, and supported
him as she got him onto his feet.
   His eyes never opened.  Melissa managed to sleepwalk him to his bedroom.
She worried with each step that he would lose his footing and fall to the
floor.  She supported him the whole distance, grunting and sweating with
the effort as she got him onto the bed.  He lay down and continued to
sleep, eyes shut, breathing slow and deep.  She went back to close the work
room door.
   She returned to his side and undressed him.  There wasn't much: cotton
shorts, button up shirt.  She took the time to marvel at his fit body.  Her
hands lingered over the smooth richness of his skin, kneading the muscles
underneath.  She blushed and pulled away from him.  This was wrong, taking
advantage of what was clearly a compromised state.  She knew better than
this.
   Melissa pulled her dress over her head.  She was just going to lie
beside him a moment.  Instead of lying down, she got on her hands and knees
over him.  She kissed his chest, tongued his nipples as she kept an eye on
his face.  She reached down for his penis and lay it against his belly
before resting her hips on him.  She spread her thighs so that she could
press her clit to his shaft.
   She flushed, her body warmed.  Heat pooled betwen her folds.
   How was it, after all these weeks, she still felt like a wanton slut
whenever she was near him?  She'd never felt this way before and now it
felt like it would never end.
   "Curtis, I want you inside me.  I'm getting wet just looking at you."
   He stiffened and Melissa rocked her hips.  Could he hear her?
   "You don't have to wake up.  I can do the work myself.  I'll fuck you
the way you fuck me almost every morning, slow, patient." Melissa pressed a
kiss to his lips and made good on her promise.
   She moaned with lustful delight as she lowered herself onto him.  She
worked herself over him a few times then sat back, put a finger to her clit
and began to masturbate.  She tried not to move too much, to keep quiet,
but that was mostly an exercise in futility.  She told him the dark
thoughts, her fantasies, the new cravings he had awakened in her, how she
feared and hoped that darkness was shared by him.
   "I'll give you anything you want.  Take me.  Use me." Melissa used one
hand to brace herself as she rode him while the other took her toward
climax.  She came with a gasping groan.  The illicit high was followed by a
swift low, a lethargy much like a sedative, sucking all her playfulness
down the drain.  She rested on his chest, curled her arms around him.
   ***
   Curtis woke, but kept his eyes closed.  He expected to feel the hard
floor under him, what he often felt after trying to get 'one more thing'
out the way.  It was a lesson he refused to learn: when to stop.  He
regretted leaving the dream behind.  Melissa in all her beauty and latent
ferocity fucked him while she begged him for acts he dared not speak of in
waking life.
   He thrust his hips as a reflex and his eyes opened wide.  Warm, wet. 
Melissa slept on his chest, with his dick still inside her.
   Curtis looked to his bedside clock, then his calendar.  He shouldn't be
awake yet.  Worse, he shouldn't have passed out in the first place.
   He scowled and silently cursed his stupidity.  He didn't live alone any
more.  He didn't have the luxury of blacking out for twelve hours on the
workroom floor.  Not that it was much of a luxury to begin with.
   He rolled her off him and grinned as he mopped up the pool of her saliva
she'd created.
   So she had really fucked him.  How much of that dream had been real?
   "Melissa?"
   She hummed a sleepy reply, but did not stir otherwise.  He called her
name a few more times, pinched her, but none of that helped.
   This was not the way he wanted to discover that transference could
actually work.
   Curtis combed a hand through his hair as he began to worry.  How long
would she sleep?  How would she feel once she woke and discovered he'd
taken something from her without her permission?
   Of the women from his past, he didn't care what he'd taken or what they
lost.  He loathed most of them even while he was with them.  This wasn't
true about Melissa.  He cherished her, loved her, despite the disapproving
lectures from his associates.
   Curtis pressed a kiss to her forehead.  He should have talked to her
about this ahead of time, told her what to expect.
   ***
   Melissa pushed herself upright and reached for her phone.  She thought
the alarm was going off, maybe she'd hit snooze earlier.
   Shower.
   She dragged herself out of the bed and stumbled to her bathroom where
she cleaned up.  She felt like mud, like a part of her was still in bed
asleep.  A hot shower and some coffee would get her in the right gear.
   "Melissa?"
   She hummed.
   "What are you doing?"
   She pulled the shower curtain back.  She didn't understand how it would
be any less obvious that she was taking a shower.  "Getting ready for
work." She explained with a disturbing slur.
   "It's 3am."
   She turned the shower off and sat down in the tub.  This was going to
take a moment.
   Curtis pulled the curtain back and handed her a towel.
   "That's why I'm so sleepy?" She got to her feet and dried off.  She
concentrated on the towel, but it didn't help.  She nearly dropped it
twice.
   Curtis reached for the towel, wrapped it around her, and picked her up.
   "Hair wet," she grumbled.
   "I don't care."
   Melissa thought back.  She got home from work.  He was sleep, heavy
sleep.  Something weird happened.
   "Should I go back to sleep?"
   "If you want, but," he sat her on the bed and began to dry her hair. 
"I'll happily keep you company if you decide to stay awake."
   Had he poisoned her?  Maybe it was something in his system.  Maybe
fucking an apothecary wasn't as harmless as she wanted to believe.  "Am I
sick?"
   "No.  I did this to you."
   Insert shock here, Melissa thought.  Physically, she remained a limp
noodle.
   Curtis finished braiding her hair and sat beside her.  "If I over work,
and I tend to do that more than I should, I black out.  I can sleep for ten
to sixteen hours, depending.  However, by pushing myself like that, I've
been able to do more, like strength training.  I've spent a lot of time at
that, pushing myself."
   He drew a shaky breath and Melissa lay down on his lap.
   "We ...  people I know, discussed the possibility of using transference,
withdrawing energy from another source.  Trouble is..."
   "Can't do anything while knocked out," she said, though she had to stop
and restart to make her words understandable.
   "Yes.  And how.  An injection, through food, or skin.  To make it work,
you'd need another person to be there, privvy to your work.  Someone you'd
trust around you and your fortune during your most vulnerable time."
   Melissa's eyes opened.  He trusted her that much?
   "Some how I responded to you enough to walk to my room with you, and
well, I doubt the arousal was much work."
   "I talked to you."
   "What?"
   She repeated herself.
   "What did you say?" He lay her out across the bed and lay down facing
her.
   Melissa shrugged.  "How much I wanted you; how much you turn me on. 
Some things I was thinking.  You responded as if you heard me."
   "And?"
   "And well," she closed her eyes and thought back.  "I was fantasizing at
the time, wild stuff.  I started just talking through it out loud.  I did
say 'take me,' yeah," she smiled, "then I came and I was so sleepy, like I
got shot with a tranquilizer."
   Melissa yawned.  "Whatever happened was my fault.  I kept thinking I
should stop, but like some kind of addict, I couldn't keep my hands off
you."
   "This was not your fault.  You could have hurt yourself.  I could have
hurt you.  That's the last thing I want."
   "You said you like doing that."
   "Not that way.  Open your eyes and look at me."
   She focused on him.
   "I love you, Melissa.  Every time I think of you, I want to drown you in
my affection.  You are beautiful, and while it hurts that you don't believe
it, I'll convince you in time.  Even if you don't feel the same way--"
   "I do!" She actively fought her lethargy.  "I do, but I don't want to
get attached, knowing you may not want me around in a few months."
   "You aren't going anywhere any time soon.  I'm attached to you, and even
though that frightens me, I don't regret it." Curtis rolled her onto her
back and kissed her, a deep, hungry kiss.  He transfered his energy to her,
enough to top her off, then eased back.  "I dreamed you were saying some
... I need to hear it again."
   "Like ...  choking me?"
   Curtis nodded.
   She pushed her way up and got on all fours under him.  "Having you fuck
me, rough and hard, and..." She went still as a stone as his hand squeezed
her throat.
   Had she known his dreams or had he dreamed her thoughts?  Eitherway, he
wasn't going to pass up this gift.  He pulled the towel out the way and
entered her, easy and smooth considering how wet she was.
   After a few strokes, Curtis withdrew and positioned himself at her rear.
He pressed against her puckered hole, patient, yet persistent, waiting for
her to relax.  He took advantage of the slightest give.  Her tight, virgin
entry was torture, but worth it.  Her soft, plaintive cries were dangerous
encouragement.
   She groaned as he seated himself deep inside her.  Curtis bit her, hard,
on her shoulder and struggled with the desire to fuck her.  This was all he
was going to do, nothing more.  He let go of her throat and caressed her
breasts.  Her hip twisted, bucked slightly.
   "Be still," he growled through clenched teeth.  Sweat dripped from his
brow to her back.
   Melissa did the opposite.  She leaned down, pushed her hips into him.
   It wasn't the fast, unbridled romp he wanted, but it was close as he
could get without proper lubrication.  Curtis climaxed within seconds,
digging into her back.  Bright points of white light went off in his field
of vision.
   More, his depraved mind screamed.  I want more.
   Melissa whimpered as she collapsed onto her stomach and cried.
   Curtis made a fist as he pulled away from her.  He hurried back to her
side with a warm cloth.  There was less blood than he expected.  He took a
small amount of relief at that.  When he returned to the bathroom he
grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and gritted his teeth in anger.  He would
not push her away like the others.  He needed to do something to fix this.
   Curtis returned and lay beside her.  Her sniffle confirmed she was still
crying, but a quick peek at her face told him that it wasn't very much. 
Her eyes were closed, but she was definitely awake.
   Curtis did the only thing he could think to do, talk to her: "I didn't
grow up here.  I was born in Trizon to a pair of apothecaries.  Neither one
of them were what you'd call famous, but they had company jobs.  The
apothecary restrictions of practice had only been law for about 5 years. 
It's um, the ban on creating health altering substances without a federal
license.  My mother was licensed, and worked in the medical field.  My
father worked for a factory.  They taught me early.
   "Most of my nursery rhymes turned out to be mnemonics.  I was a
fledgling apothecary before I even learned to read." He paused while she
turned in his arms.
   "They never put me in school.  Both of them had graduate level
educations, so I was home all the time.  When I was 12 I decided that I
never wanted to work for either the government or a private corporation.  I
hated the way my parents were treated, over worked, stressed.  My father
died when I was 15, my mother when I was 19.  It wasn't sudden.  I was
surprised my mother held on for as long as she did.  Neither one of them
ever registered me as an apothecary.  They never recommended I do it
either.
   "Anyway, I'd been working on something different.  I wanted to create
'fun' stuff.  Things that would get me invited to parties, keep me
employed, allow me to work under the conditions I wanted.  That whole
passing out thing is something my parents trained me to do, to sleep when I
got too low on my own reserves.  It turns out that it's also like working
out, the more you reach the point, the longer it takes to get there.
   "I've got about nine or ten more years before I can't do that anymore.
I'm better than my parents, having more practice and all, but still, I
don't want to die that young, and I'll probably care a lot less about
parties then."
   Her eyes softened and were filled with curiosity, so he decided to
continue.
   "As for the clearly not normal stuff, I suppose you could say I'm not
very good with controlling my passions.  Those other girls, I was bad, very
bad, you might say, but I didn't care about them.  I knew they didn't care
about me.  They were with me because of what I could give them.  Not a
single one of them ever stayed in my house.  My roommate was male, in case
you wondered."
   He sighed.  "I'm sorry if I hurt you.  When you did that though, I was
undone."
   "It will get easier the more we do it, right?"
   "And if I took the time to use proper lubrication." Curtis answered with
a hopeful smile.
   <->
Written: February 2011
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
Truth_Dare