In a Bottle... Ch. 04

"Are you alright?" Alan asked, unable to hide his concern.

Maxwell looked over at Alan while he chewed, as though debating whether or not he should say anything more. He was quiet for a long time before he finally gave up and his gaze fell back to the table as he confided in his friend.

"I think she might be cheating on me, Al." It all began to tumble out at once like a dam breaking. "It hurts to say it out loud because it's almost like I'm recognizing the possibility by telling someone else, but she didn't come home last night after going out with some of her girlfriends on Saturday night. And she keeps starting the same conversation, asking me if I'm happy with our life, if I might've done something different without her in my life. I'm afraid to call her cell phone. I think she might ask me to separate for awhile."

"Wow, Max. That's a lot to leave up to assumption, don't you think? She might be wondering the same things about you. A jealous mind can see things that aren't really there. Are you happy?"

He looked up from his food and into Alan's eyes for a moment, trying to see if he was serious. "Well... yeah. At least, I think. I don't know for sure after having that same conversation over and over."

"You need to decide that first of all. Then you need to ask her where she was last night instead of just assuming she was off with another guy. Talk to her. This isn't like you. If you let this go without saying anything, it's going to eat you alive from the inside out. I can already see it happening."

He nodded solemnly. "You're right. I'm sorry I just dumped all my shit on you like that. A guy can only handle so much stress. You've been there, right?"

"I think we all have, my friend."

Alan finished eating his sandwich and was making his way back to his desk from lunch when he saw Maxwell's computer monitor on still. He glanced around, but the office was mostly empty on a Sunday. Curiosity overcame him and he reached over and double-clicked on his inbox. It was full of loan proposals -- some dating back to three weeks ago. He felt bad for the guy having a rough time at home and bringing it to work like that. He made a mental note to try and think of a way to help him out. They could lose their jobs getting that far behind. He had been keeping an eye out for ways that he could improve the office with his illusionary capabilities anyway. It was as good a place to start as any.

He sat down at his desk again to finish up the remaining ARs that nobody had done before lunch.

- - - - - - - - - -

With all fifteen ARs complete, Alan grabbed his keys and left for the day. On his way out of the building, he was again mulling over the conversation that he'd had with Max in his mind. On top of that, his thoughts were still dancing around his genies all alone in his apartment. Halfway to his car, Alan noticed a couple guys walking quicker than normal along the sidewalk on the other side of the street. He stopped to watch their suspicious activity, realizing that they were following a woman, when they suddenly grabbed her -- one around her waist and another around her face to cover her mouth -- and dragged her away. She tried futilely to scream against the hand over her mouth and jerk away from the other arms enfolding her, but the surprise rush left her at a disadvantage and she was pulled into an alleyway behind a bakery and out of sight. Another man ducked into the alleyway after the first two a moment later.

Alan swore she had looked right at him as she went around the corner. Her eyes full of panic, pleading for him to help her.

Alan was both enraged and frightened by the realization of what was happening before his eyes. He gritted his teeth, frustrated by his inability to help. Thoughts of heroism flashed through his mind only to be quickly doused by the chilling reality of his chances against three stronger men. He couldn't save her, but the police surely wouldn't arrive in time if he called emergency dispatch. He continued to stand there frozen in place. He didn't know what to do.

But someone inside of him knew.

Alan tried the first thing that came to him as he ran across the street toward the bakery. Remembering his experience that morning, he quickly doused his body in illusions, making himself both invisible and silent before following the gang into the alley.

As he rounded the corner he was greeted by the sight of the helpless woman being backhanded across the face by the taller brute who had been holding her mouth while the shifty tag-along sifted through her purse for valuables. Her neck snapped to the side with the force of the blow and tears welled up in her eyes

"Bitch! If you know what's good for you, you won't even think about trying to bite me again. Next time I'll break your jaw!"

"This will be over before you know it if you cooperate," the one holding her arms behind her back breathed in her ear. The woman choked on a sob as she realized that she might be better off giving up.

None of them had any idea that anyone was watching them.

Alan knew he couldn't spare any time to think when he saw Brutey's hands go for her shirt and began to rip the material, popping off buttons and exposing her bra. He envisioned the most lethal and vile looking creature he could muster, vaguely aware of what he was doing with his power. He let the knowledge that Magik had planted within his mind take over. A meld of illusions burst forth from him, empowered by his adrenaline. Things that he had only been contemplating for most of the day, he was suddenly doing with very little conscious thought. A roar that reminded him of a Tyrannosaurus Rex shook the ground.

The thugs paused and turned. The woman's jaw dropped.

Without further warning, a chimera that looked to be a cross between a giant squid and a twenty foot tall scorpion came writhing around the corner and went skittering right toward them. It thrust out a massive tentacle, wrapping it around the closest gang member's leg and began to squeeze it with crushing strength. Alan's vision flared red as he focused on what that should feel like. The man screamed in agony at the imagined pain and crumpled to the ground.

The two bulkier men dropped the woman -- who was instantly forgotten -- and split up. Brutey made to grab for the man on the ground while the other ran for his life. The creature turned, briefly distracted by the man running past it out of the alley and roared again. Brutey pulled his friend free from the grasp of the creature and tried to help him stand, but he could only limp on his other leg as he tried to convey in coherent words that he thought his knee was entirely crushed.

The chimera turned on them again and thrust its segmented tail out with frightening speed, catching Brutey upside the head as he desperately tried to dodge the lethal stinger at the end.

Alan went to his knees suddenly as his vision passed from red to white. He continued to focus, unaware of what was happening. He began to feel light-headed, but pressed his advantage upon the dazed brute. In an outright bluff, his chimera wrapped several tentacles around the woman and lifted her up off the ground, skittering around to get into position to consume her in its oversized mandibles.

The last thing Alan saw as his eyesight failed was Brutey picking Shifty up in his arms to carry him out of the alleyway.

- - - - - - - - - -

Alan awoke disoriented and laying down. He felt confused and panicked at first, but was soothed by someone stroking his hair. It was a familiar sensation that calmed him, though he wasn't sure at first where he was. He looked above him and recognized the woman that the men had been trying to rape. She was gazing down at him curiously and holding his head in her lap.

"Thank you," was all she said when she saw that his eyes were open. Her shirt was futilely wrapped around her again, though many of the buttons were still missing.

Unsure of how to respond, Alan lay there mute taking everything in, trying to piece together what had happened. Obviously, he was no longer invisible. That most likely meant that all of his other illusions had likewise been released. He had helped someone in danger with his magic, that much he knew. He briefly allowed himself to enjoy the elation that stemmed from that realization. The things that he could do with his illusionary magic were starting to seem endless to him. Not only could he alter the world around him, he could directly affect other people. The ruffian whose leg he had placed an enchantment on had truly felt that he couldn't walk anymore.

He looked into the woman's eyes, trying to gauge what she believed about the situation, and realized that she had a fresh shiny bruise on her right cheek bone.

"Your face! Are you alright? I should call the police, or an ambulance." He lifted his head from her lap trying to get up, but she restrained him.

"No, it's not that bad, honest. I don't want to go to a hospital right now."

Alan regarded her for a moment, still unsure of what she had thought transpired a moment ago.

"At least let me take you home and make sure you're alright."

"You want to take me home?" she asked him quizzically.

"No, I meant your home!" He sputtered as he realized what she was implying. "I want to make sure you didn't get a concussion or anything serious."

She shook her head. "No, that's okay. Actually, I would rather go somewhere else if you don't mind me staying at your house."

"Umm... You... Yeah, if that's easier for you," he managed, his stomach doing a flip. He reassured himself that he just wanted to make sure that she would be okay. "I never asked your name, by the way."

"Heather."

- - - - - - - - - -

Alan led Heather inside and was met by a very eager Magik awaiting him at the door. Thankfully, she was still clothed in her purple silks and not nude, although the way she wore them managed to draw his eyes to her exposed cleavage where they lingered achingly for a moment.

"Good afternoon, master," she began cheerfully before noticing his ward enter behind him. "May I inquire about your guest?"

Heather seemed confused by the presence of the woman, but remained mute.

"In a little bit. Where are the others?"

"They are currently in the second bedroom. Would you like me to retrieve them?"

"Please."

As she exited the room, Alan guided Heather over to the couch and motioned for her to sit down. She hesitated briefly and then joined him.

"Did she just call you master?"

"Yeah," he blushed. "Don't worry. I'm not secretly rich or psychotic or anything. The women here are my friends, not my servants. They... uhh... live with me. Sort of. They help me run my technology."

He had gotten out of her during the car ride over that she believed that he had embodied the chimera and had never intended to harm her -- contrary to what she thought as she was "dangling" in the air. She arrived at that conclusion because he had appeared unconscious on the ground at the exact moment she realized that she wasn't actually being lifted up into the air by some giant scorpion-squid, but actually still standing in the alley all by herself. She assumed he had been using some very advanced holographic technology that nobody had ever heard of to directly influence her brain. After she opened up to him, he'd told her how glad he was to see that she was winding down a little after her experience.

Almost as if on queue to hearing their mention, all four djinni came down the hall, Misty in the lead.

"And I don't want you going that far with your technology again anytime soon, master! You gave us a little scare today. We told you that you could lose consciousness," she unloaded abruptly after coming to a stop in front of him. She paused to look at the woman sitting next to Alan.

"Heather, I'd like you to meet my harem. This is Misty, the overprotective one. Lucky, Carmella, and you already met Magik." Alan held out an open palm in introduction.

"Nice to meet you all," she offered.

Alan looked up at his genies meaningfully, "Heather here was being taken into the alleyway to be mugged right as I was leaving work. I would appreciate it if one of you could go grab me some Neosporin from the bathroom cupboard."

Misty abashedly slipped off to the bathroom with a 'yes, master' while the others got acquainted with Heather.

"Actually, I'm feeling okay. My cheekbone is just a little tender still. To be honest, I really just wanted to thank you for stopping those gang-bangers from beating the hell out of me and ravaging me, but my house is a little dirty right now."

Misty returned with the antiseptic and Alan applied it to the scratches that Heather had gotten while they talked.

"Your thanks are appreciated, but there is no way I would let something that terrifying happen to anyone when I have the means of stopping it." He stopped dabbing at her face for a moment while he thought about what she'd said. "Why would it matter if your house is dirty?" He asked carefully as he slowly grasped her meaning.

"Because then I would be embarrassed to invite you inside, and if I didn't invite you inside I wouldn't be able to properly thank you."

"How do you mean?" He dug for an answer.

In acknowledgement, she leaned into him and grasped the back of his head with her hand to pull him in for a kiss. He didn't try to resist or pull away. When she broke away, she sucked on his bottom lip before sitting back completely.

"Oh," he uttered, a little surprised at her ardor. "So, I wasn't mistaking your meaning."

Alan glanced back at his silent audience to find them nearly drooling over this new woman. Apparently he had their vote.

"Was this what you were implying earlier when I helped you?"

She nodded. "I wasn't aware that you had a harem at the time, but if you wouldn't mind, I would still love to do something for you."

"And the harem doesn't freak you out at all?"

"No, I think they're all very beautiful women. If they want to watch, I would be flattered."

Alan took a breath and decided to go for it. "What if they wanted to do more than just watch?"

To his surprise, she smiled at his question. "So it would be all five of you against me? That doesn't seem very fair. What did you have in mind?"

"What would you guys like to do sexually?" he asked, turning to the four women.

Misty smiled at him in a way that he knew said she just wanted him to be happy, reminding him of how much he loved her. Lucky reiterated that she became very aroused by him ejaculating on her. Magik rubbed her body and said, "I am always ready for anything." Carmella looked at him shyly out of the corner of her eye and told him that she always liked him as her master and wanted him to be more of a master during sex.

Alan raised an eyebrow at the last comment and turned to Heather.

"Are you okay with that?"

"You can be my master. That might actually be a lot of fun. I haven't been with very many guys, and none of my boyfriends were ever into role-playing. I'm all yours tonight." She smiled coyly, and held her hands out toward him with her wrists upturned like a prisoner waiting to be handcuffed.

"You see these shackles, baby? I'm your slave. I'll let you whip me if I misbehave..." She began singing to the tune of 'Sexy Back' as she wiggled her hips in a little dance before slowly unbuttoning what was left of her shirt.

Alan didn't have any sex toys in his house as he had never expected to have a need for them. He wished that he could conjure up a pair of handcuffs. Maybe he could ask one of his genies if they could conjure some. They did say that anything widely common would be easier to create.

Alan paused as a thought hit him; Heather didn't know they were genies. He glanced up at her and asked, "Would you be bothered if we used our technology around you since you've seen it in use already?"

She chewed on her lip as she pondered for a second before nodding.

"I don't think it can get much weirder than what I've already seen."

He turned and nodded to Misty.

"Can you get some rubber shackles and more suitable outfits?"

She said she would try her best, and Heather gasped in surprise as a pair of shackles instantly appeared, binding her outstretched hands. Alan looked back at his genies. Their silks that he had come to love had vanished. In their place were leather thongs and bikini tops with little studs on them. Carmella also had on a pair of shackles identical to the ones restraining Heather.

Alan felt something in his hand and looked down to see that he was holding a small leather whip. He smiled and used it to playfully spank Carmella.

"Shame on you! How dare you disobey your master!" He hammed it up, trying out a forceful tone that he thought a stereotypical master might use with his slaves.

"Have I been naughty, master? What are you going to do to me? I'm just a helpless little slave girl!"

"I'm going to have to punish you."

"But what have I done? Did I do something bad, master?" Carmella role-played very well, emphasizing the words bad and naughty to embolden the duality of their shameful and arousing interpretations.

"Yes."

"What did your servant do that was so naughty?"

"You tried to run away from me. Now I'm going to have to tie you up so you can't get away," he barked, quickly falling into the role of the forceful master.

"No, master! I would never try and leave you!"

"I don't believe you!" he said, eyeing her breasts. He reached up and grabbed her leather top and ripped it for effect. Alan turned and removed a large picture in a brass frame that had been hanging on the wall, exposing the two nails behind it meant to hold it up. He grabbed Carmella's wrists with the rubber shackles on them and hooked them onto the wall so she was stuck with her arms helplessly up in the air, leather brassiere pathetically clinging to her shoulders.

He pressed his body up against her flawless skin sampling her heat, forcing her back against the wall, and making her rock-hard nipples poke into his chest. He insinuated his hand into her leather thong. She was soaking wet already and dripped into his hand without him even entering her.

"Oh, master," she gasped softly into his ear, "Please don't punish me. I won't be bad anymore."

"And you tried to help her escape!" He turned on Heather suddenly, making her jump a little. He grabbed her shackles and put them on the nail beside Carmella with her arms up the same way. He unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor, admiring her perky breasts awaiting his touch. They had slightly smaller than average areolas, but were more than a handful and didn't droop at all. She smiled at him gazing at her chest, and Alan playfully spanked her nipples with his whip a couple of times. They weren't as tender as his genies', but she still squirmed a bit at the attention. He pulled her shackles off the hook and flipped her around so she was facing away from him before he secured them to the wall again.

"Don't look at me! I didn't give you permission to look at me!" He growled at her.

"Sorry, master," she humbly responded. She pressed her hands against the wall to support herself and arched her back so that her ass stuck up in the air while she swayed back and forth. Alan stared for a moment before taking the hint and unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down far enough to expose her thong panties and most of her buttocks so he could spank her with his little whip.

"It's nice to have some cooperation out of you two. Without loyalty, I haven't much use for you, have I? Magik is faithful to me. Aren't you, my little slave?" He looked over at her and licked his lips and raised his eyebrows suggestively. She bucked her hips at him provocatively while pointing down at her scantily clad puss. He held out his hand and motioned to her with his finger in the 'come hither' gesture. Almost as though through magnetism, she drifted over to him without her feet touching the floor and settled herself crotch-first on his outstretched hand. She leaned over and kissed his neck as her groped her.