After the Famine, the Feast

Christine Parker stared fascinated across the room at the naked man, who writhed in agony as he fought the ropes holding his arms pinned above his head. The sweat streamed down his face and into his eyes, which dilated as he roared with pain – the sound muffled by the cruel gag in his mouth.

She had to remind herself time and time again that this was a television set, and the people in front of her were actors doing their job as hero and villains of the hit TV-series ”24”. She had almost had a fit, when she was offered the job as the second, second make-up artist’s assistant a few weeks ago. She had been a fan of the show from day one of the first season, and to be given the chance to participate in the making of the second season was way beyond her wildest dreams – even if her job more often than not consisted of running errands and delivering messages. Just to be here!!

And who cared that at this point of the season the work took place well into the night, effectively preventing normal social life for the time being. She hadn’t really had a social life since she broke up with …….. Christine made an efford to stop her line of thinking and concentrate on the job. And her job was not to feel sorry for herself – or regretting that she had ever gotten involved with Tom in the first place.

Her thoughts were brought to a stop, as the director yelled ”And ….. Cut!”, and people started to move around the set preparing for the next shot.

She saw the key make-up artist, Ania Harasimiak coming towards her and tried to look professional and alert. Ania said to her: ”We need more sweat on Kiefer’s face and chest. And I think his hair should be a little more ruffled at this point, too.”

”OK”, Christine answered and headed towards Kiefer Sutherland, who was still hanging from his ropes, but at least the gag had been removed from his mouth. When there were longer breaks, he was ”released” and put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, but since this cut was only a short one, he tolerated being left dangling naked in front of everyone. Christine just couldn’t believe how he coped with it. She would be heading for the nearest mouse hole, if anyone should ever suggest that she shed her clothes in front of a bunch of people! Guess that was why she was not an actor ….

She reached her destination and timidly said: ”Ania wants some more sweat on you”, and at the same time she started spraying water onto his chest and arms. This was a bit tricky: applying the fluid without spoiling the make-up covering the tattooes on his upper arms. (Why they had to be covered at all, she couldn’t figure out and didn’t dare to ask. After all they had been visible during the first season – where were they supposed to have gone? Well, she wasn’t the director, either ..….)

Kiefer grinned at her from his uncomfortable position: ”Really? I think I’m sweating more that enough already! But if it’s necessary – just spray away!” He closed his eyes, so that she could apply water to his face, too.

Being this close to him, Christine couldn’t avoid noticing the warm, musky scent of his sweat, and she felt her puls racing. She stammered: ”Ania asked me to ruffle your hair a bit, too …” and tentatively raised her hand.

Kiefer opened his eyes again and said: ”Does she want me to look like I just crawled out of bed after a steamy night?”. But when he saw her blush a deep crimson, he smiled at her and said: ”Go ahead, darling. I think we’re about ready to continue – and the sooner I get down from this contraption, the better!”

Christine rapidly ran her hands through his short hair to make him look even more disheveled that before, and then she hurried back to her place at the back of the set.

Her heart was still beating fast, and she wasn’t able to get the blush off her cheeks. She was so embarassed to react this way when she was near Kiefer. She tried to tell herself that she was just shy being this close to a celebrity, but her body told her otherwise. As far as she knew being shy did not imply feeling her mouth go dry, heat spreading through her body towards her pussy – or making her eyes trail up and down a man’s naked body all the time!

This was really a puzzle to her. Normally she was attracted to tall, slim, dark guys younger than herself. But here she was: totally mesmerized by a man 5-6 years her senior, blond, relatively short and with a few extra pounds around the waist. Maybe it was due to those pheromones that the scientists said could make you feel desire, even if the other person really wasn’t your ”type”? The way she reacted to Kiefer’s body certainly surprised her!

”And …. Action!” She was jolted out of her reverie by the sound of the director’s voice. She gazed towards the actors again and felt her cheeks burn, as she saw the naked body swinging slowly back and forth ……

* * * * * * * * * *

”Oh, my God, I’m tired!Feels as if I was a hundred years old!”, Kiefer said to himself, as he climbed into his trailer and shut the door behind him. He fell onto the bed, where he lay quietly for a couple of minutes, trying to make the pain in his shoulders, wrists and back disappear by pure willpower. As expected it didn’t work, he was simply unable to relax. And to think he had to do it all over again tomorrow!

He could see the artistic reasons for altering the script, so that the roles of the two main villains, Stark and Raymond, were switched. But the consequence: to shoot a considerable part of today’s scenes one more time, didn’t exactly put a smile on his face. Sometimes there were disadvantages to not using a stunt double!

He sighed heavily and managed to get up from the bed again. Maybe a cold beer, a shower and some sleep would make him feel better. He fetched a can of beer in the fridge and drank from it, as he slowly shed his clothes and left it in a heap on the floor. He then headed for the shower, where he stood for a long time with his eyes closed, relishing the feel of the hot water cascading over his body and massaging his aching muscles. He soaped up his hands and started to wash off the sweat and remains of make-up.

He lathered up his chest and stomach, and as he reached his pubic hair he looked down at his flaccid penis, thinking that it looked as tired as he felt! He laughed, saying: ”Hi, buddy! You’re not enjoying this either, are you?! And you’ve not even had a little fun in between work for a long time! I’m sorry, but I’m just too tired to hunt down some nice piece of ass for you tonight!”

But as his soapy slick hand cleaned and rubbed over his buttocks and balls, he felt his cock react to the stimulation. It slowly hardened, and as a spray of water hit the head, he shuddered with pleasure. Well, he needed some sleep, so ”Buddy” just had to go to sleep, too! He rinsed off the soap and started drying himself with the towel.

It seemed that ”Buddy” wasn’t listening, because even though the beginning erection faded again, he still felt the blood pulsing slightly through the shaft. It had been quite some time since he had made love and he really missed it, but the shooting schedule left him too tired to do anything about it.

He dimmed the light in the trailer until only a small lamp beside the window was turned on, and then he returned to the bed and threw himself on top of the bed covers. He felt too hot to put on any clothes, so he just closed his eyes and tried to relax. After a few minutes he was fast asleep …..

* * * * * * * * * *

When Kiefer woke again, he felt confused for a moment. He knew that he’d been dreaming something pleasant, but what it was he didn’t remember. One thing was impossible to ignore, though: he had a building hard-on again! Clearly ”Buddy” had been involved in the dream, and it didn’t feel as if it was ready to relax, unless it was tended to first!

He remained lying quietly with his eyes closed for a while, feeling the tingling in his balls and the blood pulsing through his cock. He smiled and stretched, glad to notice that the aches in his body had subsided. Slowly he let his left hand slide over his chest, teasing his hardening nipples, then continuing downwards to caress his stomach.

At the same time the palm of his right hand was stroking softly up and down the back of his cock, as it hardened even more. He grabbed and gently squeezed his balls, enjoying the feeling of them getting tighter and more sensitive as more and more blood filled them. He let his finger tips slide through his pubic hair and started running them slowly up and down the shaft.

As he was lying there, gently massaging his own body, Kiefer thought of nothing at all. Sometimes, if he was giving himself a quick handjob, he would fantasize of a woman and what he would do to her. But at times like this, when the sole purpose was to release the tension that made him ache, he was turned totally inwards and thinking only of himself. He forgot about everyday life and other people, abandoning himself to the pleasure his body brought him.

As the pressure in his cock and balls grew, he grabbed around the shaft and ran his fingers up to the throbbing head, lubricating them with the pre-cum that made the tip of the cock glisten. He began rubbing harder and faster along the shaft, all the time returning to stroke the head in tight circles.

Soon he was grunting and moaning softly, as waves of heat ran through his body and the wonderful tingling in his loins increased. He started alternately stroking his cock slowly and then faster, feeling the pleasure building towards the orgasm that was so close now.

* * * * * * * * *

Christine trotted through the dark towards Kiefer’s trailer. She was a bit nervous and kept rehearsing what she would say when she got there. One thing was disturbing someone, who was bound to be tired after a long night’s work, but then to be the carrier of a message that would inevitably make the receiver ”grumpy”!

As she reached the trailer, she noticed that only a faint light shone from the window. ”Oh, shit! Maybe he’s already asleep!” she said to herself. After hesitating for a moment, she tiptoed to the window and took a quick look inside to check for life.

What she saw made her gasp and fall to her knees. She sat there, her heart pounding and her puls racing, but her mind standing still. Oh, my God! It could not be true! What was she to do now?! Although she hardly dared, she stood up again and looked into the trailer once more.

Her pupils dilated and heat flowed through her body, as she looked at the naked man lying on the bed just a few feet away from the window. The dim light of a single lamp was playing over his suntanned skin, making it look smooth as silk. His eyes were closed and a slight smile was playing on his lips, as his hands slowly stroked up and down his body.

She kept watching in spite of herself, as he started stroking his cock. Slowly at first, but then gradually faster and faster, and before long he was writhing with pleasure, throwing his head back with his mouth slightly open as he moaned and gasped.

Christine felt as if struck by lightning, unable to move or even take her eyes off Kiefer. Her nipples were so hard they almost hurt, and she felt her pussy getting moist. Without thinking she reached inside her blouse to caress her breast, while her other hand made its way up under her skirt. She started to rub at her throbbing clit through her panties, biting down on her lower lip to avoid moaning out loud, and all the time she kept staring through the window.

She had never seen a man masturbating before – Tom had never touched himself while making love to her – and although she had sometimes wondered what it would look like, she had never imagined anything like this. Of course she knew that men were wanking off while watching a porn movie or when they were in the bathroom, but somehow she had never thought that a man would be able to feel the same level of passion as a woman.

But watching Kiefer assured her that she had been oh, so wrong! The look on his face almost brought tears to her eyes. If only she could ever get so lost in the pleasures of her own body! She had been brought up believing that masturbating was wrong, dirty and shameful, and deep inside she still felt that way. Since she broke up with Tom, she had satisfied herself from time to time, when the heat in her body grew too strong, but she never felt good afterwards.

She stopped caressing herself, just staring at Kiefer, who clearly was near to coming by now. He was raising and clenching his buttocks slightly in rhythmic movements, almost as if making love to a woman, and still his hand was rubbing hard at his cock, while the other stroked all over his sweating body.

Suddenly he stopped moving for a moment, and then his whole body was trembling, as his cum shot out and he cried out loud. He kept on gently stroking his cock, still lying with his eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply. At last his arms fell to his sides and he looked so relaxed that Christine wondered if he had fallen asleep.

Slowly she lowered herself to sit on the ground below the window. She was torn between a feeling of wonder and an urge to cry. She hugged herself, silently rocking back and forth. She had no idea what to do, so she just stayed that way, not really thinking of anything, but all the time seing the same image: the naked man on the bed and the look on his face.

* * * * * * * * *

Kiefer didn’t move for a long time. He just lay on the bed basking in the afterglow of the powerful orgasm he had just had. It wasn’t often that he got so much pleasure from masturbating. Maybe it was because he had been too tired to think of anything and had just given in to his body’s needs.

At last he got up and slowly walked to the bathroom, washing himself before putting on a pair of sweatpants and a fresh t-shirt. He then went to the refrigerator again, this time to fetch something to eat as well as another beer, turned on the CD-player and collapsed into a lounge chair. While he ate he sat with his eyes half closed, humming along with the music. He was still tired, but at least now he was relaxed and in a good mood again. Maybe he would be able to endure tomorrow’s program after all?

Suddenly he heard a light tap at the door. ”Come in!” he called, but nothing happened. He sighed and stood up, walked to the door and opened it. Outside he saw a woman that seemed familiar, even though he couldn’t place her at the moment.

”Hi”, she said tentatively. ”I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, but Ania asked me to tell you that she would like to start half an hour earlier tomorrow, if it’s ok with you? She said that she would like to experiment a bit with covering your tattooes more successfully than today …..”.

Kiefer slapped his forehead and smiled: ”Of course! It’s Christine, right? For a moment there I didn’t recognize you. You have to excuse me, but I’m so tired I probably wouldn’t recognize myself in the mirror! I think I’ve been working too hard today!”

Christine blushed and stood looking down at her feet, not knowing what to do next. But Kiefer solved the problem for her by saying: ”Would you like to come inside and have a beer? We haven’t really had a chance to get to know each other yet. And even though I’m tired, I don’t think I’m ready for bed yet.”

By now Christine felt her face burning as if she had been sitting too long in the sun, but she managed to stammer ”Thank you” and climbed into the trailer, as Kiefer held open the door for her. He invited her to take a seat on the bed while he fetched a beer for her, and then he sat down across from her, smiling.

Christine looked around her in the trailer as she sipped the beer, both out of curiosity and in order to avoid looking directly at Kiefer just yet. ”That music is really nice”, she finally said, ”I don’t think I’ve heard it before?”

”Yeah! It’s great, isn’t it? Actually it’s my good friend, Jude Cole. We’ve worked together a lot through the years, and I just love his music”, Kiefer answered. ”What kind of music do you listen to?”

”Oh, I don’t know”, Christine answered, ”I don’t think I have any special favourites. As long as the beat is right, I like it. Something that makes you wanna dance, I guess.”

”Should that be disco or slow-dancing, then?”, Kiefer asked with a grin. ”There’s a lot of different ways to dance, you know!”. Christine looked down, not knowing what to say. She remembered her reaction when she had seen his way of dancing in the film ”Truth or Consequences, N.M.”, and again her heart started beating a little faster.

Kiefer broke the uneasy silence by asking: ”So! How do you like it so far being a part of our team? Do you find it as hard as I do working nights?”. Before she had a chance to answer, he continued: ”I think the worst thing with this intense shooting schedule is that it’s difficult to find the time to spend with your family. Are you married?”

Christine’s head shot up and she swallowed the lump in her throat before answering. ”Er ….. no! My boyfriend and I broke up almost 2 years ago, so I really have nobody to miss”. She immediately regretted speaking so openly about what was causing her so much pain, but Kiefer’s eyes showed nothing but sympathy, and she was amazed to find herself continuing: ”Actually he was the one breaking up. I thought we were about to get married, but then one day he announced that he’d been seing my best friend for some time and planned on moving in with her …..”

Her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes for a second, telling herself not to start crying. When she opened them again, she was surprised to see her own pain mirrored in Kiefer’s eyes. He sat quitely for a while, looking down at his hands, before he said in a low voice: ”I know. That can be hard on you …..”

Trying to break the mood, Christine said in a voice she hoped sounded cheerful: ”What about you? Do you have a wife or children or something?!”

Kiefer’s face lit up at once, and he took a picture from the small table beside his chair. ”Yes! I have a 15 years-old daughter. Her name is Sarah Jude”, he answered and got up from the chair to come sit beside her on the bed. ”Here’s a picture of her that was taken just a few months ago”, he said with pride in his voice.

Christine looked at the photo of the sweet-looking girl. ”Oh, she’s lovely! I can understand that you’re proud of her. And she has her father’s smile, I think!” This time it was Kiefer, who blushed a little as he looked at her sideways. But he didn’t move back to his chair, and Christine finally found the courage to look fully into his eyes.

* * * * * * * *

Christine laughed so hard tears ran down her cheeks. Kiefer continued his parody of Jon Cassar, one of the series’ directors, as he was telling her about a day on the set, when more or less everything had gone wrong. He gestured with his hands in the air, made all kinds of crazy faces, and his dark voice was pitched high to imitate Cassar.

Kiefer was laughing, too and almost choked, as he took another swallow of his beer. He coughed, and Christine reached over to pat him between the shoulder blades in mock concern: ”Hey! Careful you don’t drown! We need you here, you know.”

He coughed again, still laughing and winked at her. ”Well, that should teach me to not talk and drink at the same time, right?”. Christine laughed, too. She hadn’t felt this good for God only knew how long, and during the last couple of hours, she had grown more and more confident in herself. He was so easy to talk to and seemed very honest for a man who’s private life was (in theory at least) more or less public property.

She suddenly realized that her hand was still resting on his back, and before she had time to retract it, he reached over and took her other hand. He gently stroked the back of it with his thumb, looking at her with a warm smile. ”You’re really nice to be with, Christine. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good. It’s nice to think of something other that work for a change.”