The Hunter

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The echo of Kristen's boots filled the otherwise quiet hall. A large ornate mirror stood in the middle of the room. She didn't stop to check her appearance nor did she need to. She knew she looked good. Tall leather black boots reached mid-thigh. Shockingly short skirt. Her perfectly toned and tanned stomach was largely exposed by the briefest of bustiers.

She paced impatiently at the end of the hall. Damn it! She thought bitterly. If you don't get here soon, I'm getting started without you!!!

Kristen was too busy fuming at being kept waiting to notice the car pull into the driveway. Suzanne eased herself out of her car, running a nervous hand down her skirt. She checked her reflection in the window, deciding to open one more button on her white blouse. Her blond hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, feet encased in black patent leather shoes.

Suzanne hurried down the garden path. A low fence ran along the rear of the property. In the middle of the fence, obscured by vines of morning glory, was a door. Suzanne threw it open and quickly made her way down the winding staircase.

She gasped when she saw Kristen. The two women stared at each other wordlessly. Kristen was a vision in black. Pure temptation. All seduction. Suzanne, in stark contrast, was all sweetness and innocence in white.

Kristen's sultry gaze swept down Suzanne's body. She spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Suzanne nodded. That was all the confirmation Kristen needed.

She strut down the hallway, not bothering to see if Suzanne followed. It was only when her hand grasped the door knob that she stopped to let Suzanne catch up. Kristen threw the door open, allowing it to slam against the wall.

Kevin startled on the bed. His eyes wide as he took in Kristen, the leather get up, the riding crop in her hand. "You?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

Kristen crossed the room to the bed. She ran the crop along Kevin's cheek. He cringed when the leather first touched his face, but Kristen's touch remained gentle.

Just then Suzanne entered the room. "YOU?" Kevin shrieked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Suzanne slowly made her way toward Kevin. She bit her lip and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Kristen, catching the nervous gestures, rolled her eyes. The riding crop landed on the floor with a loud clatter. Kristen reached Suzanne in two long steps.

She grabbed Suzanne's ponytail, pulling her close. "Just go with it," she whispered in Suzanne's ear. Suzanne's response was silenced when Kristen's mouth closed over hers. She lost herself in the soft lips pressing against hers, the tongue caressing her own, the hands ripping open her blouse, sending buttons flying.

"Suzanne. What. The. Fuck." Kevin croaked.

"Isn't this what you had in mind, lover?" Suzanne teased. "Didn't you say you wanted to spice things up?"
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This was the conclusion of the story that began here with the Hunt. The middle piece is here with The Hunted.

The Hunted

Kevin awoke slowly, mind still in a haze. He couldn't pinpoint his surroundings, but suspected the tequila was likely to blame. He stretched luxuriously, but lowering his arms proved impossible. He giggled his arms, cringing at the sound of metal scraping against metal. The noise made his head throb. He shifted, excruciatingly slowly, straining to see above his head.

Kevin found himself confined to be bed, restrained in place with a set of handcuffs at each wrist. Head reeling at the sight, he shifted his gaze down to his feet. Both legs were restrained as well. Testing the limits of his confinement, Kevin could move no more than an inch in either direction.

He worked to clear his cloudy mind so he could assess his current surroundings. He was on a bed, one with an ornate metal headboard. His cuffs were linked to it through a series of curlicues. At least the mattress is soft, he thought for a minute before chastising himself.

He was clearly in danger, despite the plush comforter and inviting silk sheets he lay upon. He forced himself to continue his investigate the small room that held him captive. White walls. No windows. No sounds of passing traffic or sirens, assuring him he was no longer in the city.

Think man! He commanded himself silently. What the hell happened to me tonight? Was it still night? Fuck! Where I am? He started to panic.

The scent of roses and citrus wafted through the air. The tantalizing combination triggered a memory buried deep within his brain, obscured by layers of drug and alcohol fueled haze.

A woman. It was always a woman. But this one... Stunning didn't begin to describe her. Hair dark as night, eyes that sparkled like emeralds. Her voice was music, though he could not recall a single word of the lyrics.

The night slowly began to come back to him in flashes.

The club.
His bitch girlfriend. Ex girlfriend.
Tequila.
Her. Watching him from the dance floor.
Him. Amazed at his luck.
The bartender...

A light bulb went off. The bottle from the top shelf. The strange green drink sparkling in the lights from a tall glass.

The woman again. Moving closer, lips looking so inviting. Even wasted, he didn't have the courage to make a move. She did. Pain shot out when she bit his lip and Kevin could taste his own blood. He had pulled away, hand over his mouth. The woman took his glass, drinking deeply. Then her mouth returned to his, tongue flicking over his wounds.

Within seconds his body had gone completely numb. Strong hands caught him before he fell. Carried him to a car, where he promptly lost consciousness.

Kevin's heart began to race when he heard the footsteps in the hall. They stopped outside his door. There was only one of them if the shadows under the door were any indication. The door knob slowly began to turn.

Friend or foe?
Danger or salvation?

Kevin tried to swallow back the fear, as he waited to see what lurked behind the door.

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This was part two of the story that began here. I'll finish it up on Friday. (Shocking, right? Three posts from me in the same week)

The Hunt

She stood before the full length mirror, her critical eye searching for any imperfection. Her hair had been brushed to a high sheen, falling down her back like waves of black silk. Her reflection stared back at her with smokey, sultry eyes. She pursed her ruby lips and surveyed her closet again.

A manicured hand ran down a flirty black dress and a sexy blue number that plunged nearly to her navel. Finally, she withdrew an ivory sheath which hugged her curves nicely. She slipped her feet into towering heels and fastened a glistening diamond around her neck.

Satisfied with her image at last, she set out. She moved with purpose, her gait a seductive prowl. She relished the stares when she entered the crowded room. The bass pounded as she made her way to the bar.

The bartender smiled knowingly in her direction. Without being asked, he set a shot glass on the bar as she approached. She knocked it back, barely breaking stride. From her vantage point in the center of the dance floor, she had an excellent view of the place and everyone in it. While she rolled her hips and swayed to the music, she continued her hunt.

There!

Her mark was a reasonably handsome man, seated alone at the end of the bar. She wouldn't take the time to learn his name or why he was there alone. Such details were irrelevant anyway...

(His name was Kevin and his girlfriend had just left him. Despite being on deadline, he thought it was the perfect time to drown his sorrows in a bottle of tequila.) Kevin couldn't believe his luck when he noticed the most beautiful woman in the room staring at him. He gave her a shy smile and quickly looked away.

When he looked up, she was making her way toward him. Her arm brushed against his as she leaned over the bar to catch the bartender's attention. Kevin didn't notice as her eyes connected with the bartender's or how the bartender nodded in approval when her gaze slid back over to Kevin. The bartender pulled a bottle from the top shelf, pouring them each an extra large shot.

Kevin stared at the liquid, lime green and sparkling in the neon lights. He watched as the mysterious woman - Kristen, the bartender had called her - knocked back her drink. Kevin sipped at his tentatively, trying to discern the mystery drink.

Kristen sidled closer as he drank. She snaked her arms around Kevin's neck, smelling of rose and citrus. Her face inched closer to his. They were so close, he could almost taste the crimson lips looming before him. As she pressed her body against his, the fragrant floral bouquet of her perfume enveloped him. That was the last thing Kevin remembered before his world went black...

Roof Top Escape

This was my spot. I found it by accident and wasn’t sharing its location with anyone. I’d come here if I wanted to be alone. If the noise of the house was getting to me. If I needed to think. To get away. Tonight I needed this place for all those reasons.


I spread my blanket down on the roof, removed the stilettos from my aching feet and lay down, not caring that I would probably ruin my dress in the process. I had 2 hours before the dance and I needed every second of it to pull myself together.

I stared up at the stars, arms stretched back behind my head. I don't know how long I lay there, still and quiet in the dark, my thoughts racing through my head. Far below me, the pre-gaming had begun, evidenced by the blasting music and the potent mix of perfume, alcohol and smoke wafting up to the roof.

My date would be here soon. John was a nice enough guy. After the drama of my last boyfriend, he was a logical choice. They were polar opposites, with John representing a desperately needed change. But there was something missing. And that something was what really brought me to the roof that night.

Footsteps interrupted my thoughts, startling me back to reality. I didn't need to turn around to investigate who intruded upon my solitude. I knew exactly who had escaped to my roof. Rolling onto my side, I gratefully accepted the red plastic cup from his hands. While I chugged its contents, Eric lay next to me quietly on the blanket, idly rubbing my leg.

I didn't have to say "It should be us." He was thinking it too.

I lay in his arms, head resting in its favorite place on his shoulder while his fingers wound their way through my curls. When we were together like this, the rest of the world ceased to exist. And in those perfect moments, I could stop searching because I had finally found what I'd always been looking for.

Ric and I only had those stolen moments. Our time on the rooftop was far too brief before we had to climb the stairs back down to the house, back to our separate realities.

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This week's Theme Thursday theme was "stretch." And, yes, it was a bit of a stretch working that one into this story :)

Revealed

Susan set foot on the unfamiliar campus, looking around nervously. She drew the collar of her coat closer against the chill. The leaves had turned brilliant crimson and gold, but she hardly noticed.

The events that led her to be here were set in motion seven months ago. It all began with a comment she made on a blog. He saw the comment while leaving his own. Something about it made him reach out to her.

She was more than surprised that a total stranger would not only read the comment, a very personal comment made on someone else's blog, and then email her about it. She read his email a couple times, not sure whether - or how - to respond. Eventually she did. A simple email back.

They soon began reading each other's blogs. Emailing. Occasionally IMing if they were online at the same time. Their conversations became deeper, more personal. More flirtatious.

She wasn't entirely sure how the joke started. He was having a bad day. She was trying to cheer him up. Told him if he didn't snap out of it, she was going to have head down to his campus and force him into a better mood. She described exactly what she'd be wearing - fishnets, hooker boots, a trench coat and a smile.

So it became their joke. Whenever he was in a particularly bad mood, she'd threaten to break out the fishnets. If nothing else, it made him laugh. And growl. She loved it when he growled.

Susan now found herself wandering around this strange place, light-years away from her home and normal life. Again, she adjusted the collar of her trench, wondering whether she should just get back in her car.

They had never met. Had only spoken on the phone once. And who knows how old or how photoshopped the pictures on their respective blogs were. Doubt had begun to creep in and take hold.

What if he didn't like the way she looked? What if he thought it was ridiculous that she had come all this way to see him? What if their meeting didn't go over well? Shit, what if he wasn't even here?

Her blackberry vibrated in her pocket just then. A message from him. One which had her throw caution to the wind. She straightened her shoulders, the heels of her tall black boots clacking against the floors as she made her way to his office.

Her hand froze for just a second on the door knob, hearing his voice inside. Heart pounding, she threw open the door, revealing herself at last...

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This week's theme was "reveal."

Got Porn?

Admit it. You're reading this post because of the title. I originally intended this to be my place to vent...but my day, and therefore this post, have taken a different turn.

It was one of those days - the kind where instantly you know that you never should have gotten out of bed. The kind where you would happily pay for a mulligan. Seriously. By 9 a.m., I was begging for a do-over.

I won't bore you with all the details. If you follow me on Twitter, you've heard it all anyway. But it was just an all around sucky everyone dump on Jaime kind of day.

I'm not good with technology... The extent of my being able to describe a problem is usually "IT'S JUST NOT WORKING, DAMN IT! FIX THE THING!" So I describe the issue to my IT department like this, "I was trying to google the ABA awards of achievement, clicked on the link and it brought me to Netflix. I was searching on the Virginia Department of State page, clicked to view their tax guide and they apparently thought that I needed to go back to school, because I was brought to an online learning site. FIX IT!"

So with two clicks of the mouse, my computer is suddenly flooded with pop ups. Then the computer shuts itself down and when it boots back up, lo and behold, my computer is FULL of porn. There are pictures. There are short cuts to every porn site you can think of, and quite a few you probably didn't know existed. I had hot tub porn. I had ethnic porn. I had... well, let's just say I had all kinds of crazy shit all over my computer.

It managed to break my damn computer. Completely inoperable. (And yes, that means I couldn't check out any of the porn, even if I wanted to do so from the office.) So I lost a ton of billable time, when I had to get out a motion, two contracts and an article my editor tried to throw at me at the last second along with dumping the next edition on me - all the prep - the schedule, articles and assignments with no guidance whatsoever.

Within an hour, everyone in the office has heard what happened to my computer and EVERYONE is harassing me about using my office computer to cruise for porn during work hours. Tired of the abuse, I stomp out of the office and head to the gym early.

I spend 30 punishing minutes on the elliptical. I'm barely listening to the tv in front of me, still seething about my crappy day, until I hear the news talking about a two year old who got run over by a car in a hit and run accident in the City. The next story features a grieving widow whose husband died to save her life and the life of their unborn child. A car hoped the median and was about to plow into her side of the car. The husband turned their car around so his side got hit and the impact killed him instantly. But she and their baby survived. And she was on the news talking about how she wished she had one more moment with him so she could tell him how much she loved him.

Suddenly all my problems seemed a whole lot less important.

I spent the next 50 minutes boxing. By the end of my session, I no longer cared about my crappy day. I felt great, despite the fact that my arms were already starting to feel the next day's soreness. All I could think about was getting home and seeing my boys.

So when I stepped out of car and the sky completely opened up and I got drenched in a torrential downpour, it probably was the perfect thing to top off my imperfect day. But I didn't let it piss me off. I ran up the sidewalk to my front door laughing.

Tomorrow has to be better, right?

Reason

Even half asleep, she heard his call. "I want you, mommy." She smiled sleepily, dragging herself from the bed. He heard her on the stairs and stopped sniffling. "Mommy," he sighed, delirious himself. She stretched out her hand. He sprung from the couch, lacing his fingers through hers. Hand in hand they climbed the stairs.

Her little boy smiled up at her with the special smile reserved just for her. He practically jumped into her bed and curled up next to her. One arm around his bear, the other thrown carelessly around her neck. A content sign escaped his lips as he quickly drifted off to sleep.

She wrapped both arms around him, drawing him closer. In his sleep, his tiny fingers opened to mesh with hers. She watched him sleep for a few minutes, again marveling at the amazing little boy in her arms.

There was no logic. No reason. Just love. Pure and simple.

- - - - -

She sensed him enter the crowded room long before seeing him. His magnetic pull drew her to him. He whispered her name, the tone thick with longing.

She smiled up at him, marveling that no matter how much things had changed, they alone remained the same. She held out a manicured hand to him. Their fingers meshed together. Hand in hand they traversed the lobby to the elevators.

Her fingers shook as they slid the key into the lock. As the door gave way, so did their inhibitions. His lips pressed against hers as minutes faded to hours in a delicious blur.

They lay on top of the crumpled sheets, still breathless and tangled together. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to draw him even closer. She nuzzled against his neck, kissing him softly.

Lost in the moment, she lazily traced the gold band on his finger. Just for a minute, her own ring and vows forgotten as she watched him sleep, marveling at the amazing man in her arms.

There was no logic. No reason. Just love. Pure...and anything but simple.

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