Arena Ch. 09

"That's all well and good. I think most women like big men. But they don't want to be hurt."

"Hurt? Coy, have you looked at her? She mopped the floor with you on the wrestling mat. She can kick the ass of every person in this building, including yours. Trust me, you're not going to hurt her so long as you don't punch her in face or something. Are you planning on doing that?"

He looks at her, his annoyance clear. "Of course not."

"Then stop worrying! Let me let you in on a little secret. Sierra is planning on fucking the shit out of you on Saturday. If you want her to respect you as a man, you'd better be ready to give as good as you get. I mean that. If Todd let me run all over him, I wouldn't love and respect him as much as I do. There's a time to be loving, sweet, and gentle, and there is a time to stand up and be a man. You'd better figure out which is which," she snaps, her voice hardening.

"So you're saying I should go out there and try to dominate her?" he asks, his voice cold.

"I'm saying, Coy, that Sierra is planning on kicking your ass again. Are you going to let her do that?" She softens. "Look, I think it's wonderful that you care about the women you're with. That speaks very highly of you. Not all, maybe even not most men would be as considerate, but if you want to win Sierra, you're going to have to fight for her. If you go out there and roll over, and don't at least put up a fight, she isn't going to respect you. She respects you now because, even though she kicked the shit out of you, you fought, and fought hard. Come Saturday, when she doesn't have any special advantage over you, you had better be ready to go toe to toe with her. Don't try to hurt her, she won't like that, but maybe for the first time in her life, Sierra is going to have a lover that she can't handle."

Coy looks at Charlie his eyes narrowing slightly. "Did she tell you this? How do I know you aren't just saying this so you'll have a more exciting capture?"

She smiles. "You don't. And no, she didn't tell me this. Call it woman's intuition. Here's my advice. See how she is Saturday. If she is all huggy and kissy, go easy, but if she comes out with guns blazing, you had damn well better be ready to go because if you're not, you're going to get your ass handed to you. Again. This time it'll be in front of five hundred cheering Romans, and worse, Sierra isn't going to have nearly the respect for you that you want her to."

"So you're saying play it by ear?"

"Isn't that what you always do? I have to believe as many women as you've had, they're not all the same. Some are more aggressive, some less. Some like it hard and fast, some slow and gentle. Don't you try to give them what that want?"

He blushes. "Yes, but you're talking about going far beyond anything I've done before."

"A chance to experience something few people have had a chance to?"

He looks startled. "Where did you hear that?"

"Sierra told me just this morning."

"Do you think this is what they meant? I've been wondering what they meant when they said that."

"I don't know. I just heard about that conversation this morning, from Sierra, but I'll tell you that Rick and Giselle are two of the smartest people I know. You'd be wise to listen to any advice they give you."

He sits quietly for a time, thinking about it all. "You really think Sierra wants me to... man up... and, well, fuck her rather than make love to her, for lack of a better way of saying it?"

"Coy, I think Sierra is a modern day gladiator. She respects strength and determination. Look at her life. She's mentally and physically tough. Later she may want you to make sweet, tender, gentle love to her. But Saturday? No. I think you're going to have to prove yourself worthy of her affections. You obviously like strong women or you wouldn't be attracted to her. Trust me when I tell you this, Sierra likes strong men."

He digests her words for a moment longer, then hits her with his mega-watt smile for the first time that day. "Have you considered doing a show for the lovelorn? You're really good at this."

She laughs, relieved he seems to be perking up. "God no! I have a hard enough time managing my own love life."

He smiles again. "So, like I said, no problem," he says, but then pauses. "Thanks for talking with me. I feel better now. No matter what happens, thank you for introducing me to Sierra. Do you remember when we first met and I said I was looking for my Giselle?" Charlie nods. "I think I may have found mine. I'm hoping, anyway."

She smiles at him, hoping so too. "I'll keep my fingers cross for you two. But you are going to have to win her, Coy. Is she worth fighting for?"

"Most definitely."

"Then show her. Show her you are strong enough to stand up to her and she will respect you for it, I guarantee it."

Coy stands. "Would Todd kick my ass if I give you a hug?"

"I'd kick his ass if he tried to prevent it," she says, standing and hugging him. Having this little talk with him has changed the way she looks at him. Oh, he's still drop-dead gorgeous, but she didn't see him as just an object of sexual attraction anymore. Well, not as much, anyway.

"Good luck," she says as they hug. "On everything."

He steps back and smiles broadly at her. "No worries. I'll keep in mind what you said. Hopefully it'll work out. If it doesn't, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained." He opens the door, steps out into the hall, but turns left instead of right out of the door and sticks his head into Todd's office. "That's a wonderful woman you have, Todd. I hope you know that."

He then turns and, flashing another brilliant smile to Charlie, strides out of the office, head held high and a spring in his step.

"What the hell was that all about?" Todd asks, stepping up beside Charlie.

"Coy and Sierra, they have it bad for each other. Saturday is going to be quite a show," she says without looking at him. "Quite a show."

It is nearly the end of the day before Rick pings Giselle back, apologizing profusely for the delay. Since they'll be seeing each other in less than an hour, she gives no hint of the news, deciding to surprise him when he gets home. She's sitting at the kitchen table, wine glass in hand, when she hears the garage door going up, announcing his arrival. She puts on her best sad face and waits for him to step into the kitchen.

Rick opens the kitchen door and bounds into the house, then pulls up short seeing her at the table. "Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

"I had another meeting with the partners today," she says, her tone and face a picture of woe and despair.

His heart sinks. He doesn't give one shit if she's fired, except he knows she'll take it as a personal affront. "Tell me what happened," he says, sliding into his chair across from her, taking her hands into his own.

"I was called into a meeting with all the partners. They'd been discussing the incident with Hittle."

"And?" he prompts quietly.

"And they fired him and promoted me to partner," she says, her voice soft and down cast, but she can't keep up the charade and breaks into a broad smile.

He's quite for a moment, but then it sinks in. "Wait. What? They promoted you to partner?"

"Yes!"

"That's wonderful news! Congratulations! I know that's something you've wanted for a long time." he exclaims, still trying to catch up.

"Yes! I'm excited about it. Quite a nice boost in pay as well. In fact, I am taking you out, Mr. Chamfer, to celebrate. My treat."

He smiles broadly, relieved beyond words that she's been recognized for her hard work and dedication. "And where are we going, Ms. Chamfer?"

"We are going to the Steak and Ale."

"Ooooh," he murmurs. "Fancy. Are you sure you want to go to a steak house though?"

"Oh yes," she says. "And when we are done there, we'll come back here for a slightly more intimate celebration."

"How about we just skip straight to the more intimate celebration?" he suggests.

"I was hoping you'd suggest that," she says slowly unbuttoning her blouse. "I've been lusting after you all day."

He chuckles as he stands, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Now you know how I feel almost every day."

She steps into his embrace, sliding her hand down inside the waistband of his pants while simultaneously pulling his head down, bringing his lips to hers. He isn't fully erect yet, but he's firming up nicely.

He pulls her in, breathing deep to inhale her scent as they kiss. His hands go to work sliding her suit skirt over her hips, allowing it to fall to the floor with her hosiery following close behind. She breaks off the kiss, working his belt, allowing him to back off enough to finish unbuttoning her blouse and remove it.

She feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders, and she wants him so badly she can think of nothing except stripping him and feeling his flesh next to her own. He's left her hose around her thighs, but she can rectify that after she gets him stripped. Finally, she has his pants loosened and, with a quick thrust, shoves them, along with his underwear, to the floor.

While she works on the buttons of his shirt, Rick removes his shoes, pulling them off with his toe, standing on the toes of his socks as he steps out of his pants, pulling them off as well. He knows it's slightly odd, but if he's going to make love to Giselle he wants no clothes on, nothing to break the skin to skin contact with her. As his shirt comes off he crouches down, dropping to his knees, sliding her nylons down while he buries his face in the bifurcation of her legs, licking and teasing her even as he slips her feet free of her hose.

Her legs quiver as he teases her with his tongue, her breathing hard as she holds the back of his head, pulling him to her as he licks and tickles. A soft moan escapes her, her eyes drifting closed as her head slowly tips back as pleasure and heat rush through her body. She allows him to turn her, placing her bottom against the table to giving her some support as her legs begin to weaken.

He feels another quiver ripple through her as he bores in on her clitoris, teasing her with his tongue. The angle isn't good, but he doesn't let up, turning her slowly so she can prop on the table. He's raging with desire for her, the unexpected excitement of her coming on so strongly to him ratcheting up his passion. She releases his head, using her hands on the table for support, opening her legs slightly to give him better access. As he increases the intensity of his cunnilingus, she begins to shake slightly, whimpering softly in pleasure.

The strain of standing as he shreds her with his tongue is too much to take as a small orgasm causes her legs to quiver. "Take me Rick. Take me, take me, take me," she begs as a much more powerful orgasm begins to form. He pulls back and stands, picking her up as if she weighs nothing at all, and lays her across the table before he takes her nearly empty wine glass in hand. She opens her legs, expecting him to insert himself into her, but instead he take the wine and dribbles half the amount on her womanhood, the still chilled wine a sharp contrast to her heat. She immediately arches her back in response and moans.

After splashing the wine on her, he begins to lick and suck it away, Giselle moaning and writhing in the process. She's asked him to take her, and he will, in time, but he has more to give her before he grasps his own pleasure. As he returns his tongue to her most intimate area, she begins to pant harder, pulling his head to her once again.

She tugs at Rick, the contrasting sensations of her heat, the chill of the wine, and then his blazing hot tongue and breath, push her toward a larger and more powerful orgasm. Her eyes are closed, enjoying his attention, when another shocking splash of cold strikes her, on her breast this time. She gasps as the sudden cold is pushed away by the heat of his mouth, his cock edging against her pussy, pressed between their bodies as he gently slides it in her wetness as he sucks away the wine. She groans, her orgasm so near. All she needs is a little push.

There is barely enough wine left in the glass to trickle off her and roll down her skin, but his mouth is there, chasing up the drops before any hit the table. She gasps as he presses himself to her, replacing his tongue with the tip of his penis as he sucks at her breast. He can feel her begin to tighten up as an orgasm approaches, moaning as he licks and sucks at her nipples. He pulls back and with a quick adjustment to his position slides into her while picking her up from the table, holding her to him with his hands under her ass. She moans hard and deep as she grips him around his neck and wraps her legs behind his back, locking her ankles. He then turns and bangs her hard into the wall, ramming his cock deep into her. She issues a sharp gasp from the impact and begins to shiver in orgasmic bliss.

He's always wanted to take her against a wall, and drives deep into her as he does. She gasps from the impact, which bleeds into a hard moan as she quivers and shakes while he drives into her with hard, sharp, thrusts, arching his back to push himself into her as deep as possible.

As he takes her, Giselle can only ride out her orgasm, holding tightly to him to prevent herself from falling, the slow but deep thrusting of his cock generating exquisite pleasure. She's never been fucked against a wall before and novelty of it, along with his sudden whimpering as his own orgasm takes him, sends her even deeper into her orgasm.

He whimpers, almost in pain, as he struggles against his orgasm. He knows he's lost, the excitement of taking her in a new and profoundly exciting way while she whimpers and shakes in climax all conspiring to rob him of his control. He struggles to hold against the impending rush until he can hold no more. With a long hard groan, he drives into her once more, pinning her to the wall with his cock as he empties himself into her.

She's just coming out of her own orgasm as she feels his wetness pour into her. He issues a long moan of pleasure, his cock deep inside her as his legs quiver with the strain of holding not only his weight, but hers as he comes. He leans hard into her for a moment before he begins to pump into her again, each thrust accompanied with a grunting moan.

He tries to continue thrusting into her, but he can't, the pleasure too intense to endure, so he stops his thrusting hips and then buries his face in her shoulder, breathing hard as he tries to collect himself.

When he doesn't move for several long moments, she realizes that he's spent. She unlocks her legs and lowers them, encouraging him to put her down. He backs off from the wall and places her feet on the ground, then pulls his rapidly softening penis from her.

"I'm sorry," he whispers as he lowers her to the ground.

"For what, my love?" she asks as she steps back in close to him.

"I didn't last very long. I didn't hurt you did I... banging you into the wall like that?"

"No, you didn't hurt me. And I think I've told you before, I like it when you come so fast sometimes. When you can't hold out, that tells me that you still find me desirable enough that you can't control yourself. How is that a bad thing?" She smiles tenderly at him, stroking his cheek. "I've never been taken against a wall before. One more thing to tick off my bucket list."

"I've wanted to do that for a long time," he says, pulling her to him. God he loves this woman.

"Was it as good as you hoped?"

"Better. I just wish I could have enjoyed it a little longer."

She giggles. "Next time, big boy, next time."

They stand in the embrace for a time, enjoying the feel of each other. "Shall I fix you dinner?" he asks.

"Mmmm..." she purrs, "will you do it in the nude?"

"I was thinking of dressing again first, but if you like," he says with a grin.

"How about a compromise, and just your pajamas?"

"I think that'll be fine, but you have to wear yours too. The red ones."

"Okay," she says, pulling out of his embrace. "Then we can snuggle on the couch until bed time."

"Sounds like a perfect way to spend an evening celebrating your elevation to partner," he says, tipping her head back so he can kiss her.

She melts into him, enjoying the kiss. "I couldn't agree more."

He prepares a quick meal of a green salad with baked chicken from the zapper, a meal that is quick and light, giving them more time to perform the important task of snuggling. After the meal they settle on the couch, Giselle leaning comfortably against him with her book while he performs some routine bill paying and letter answering for Immersion Playground.

They sit, rarely speaking, for several hours until she announces she's ready for bed. He closes out of the Immersion Playground server, leaving the remainder of the letters for another day and takes her by the hand, leading her to the bedroom.

After performing their nightly routine they settle into bed, gently kissing and touching one another, renewing their love until first Rick, then Giselle, slips into the dark embrace of sleep.

Thursday morning Rick sees Giselle off to work before driving to the Immersion Playground offices and collecting the capture equipment. The capture hardware is the latest commercial unit from Feedback Alive. Similar to the smaller consumer model they released first, the commercial unit has much more processing power and memory, allowing the capture of twenty-five streams for forty hours, instead of the four streams for eight hours of the consumer unit.

After hefting the unit into the trunk of his Ford, he drives to the arena to test the capture equipment. He doesn't expect any problems, but it'd unfortunate to have everyone arrive at the site Saturday morning only to have to send them home because the capture equipment is on the fritz.

The drive is uneventful, and he spends the time talking with Todd and Charlie, discussing the logistics of getting five hundred people on site, on time, and with no vehicles visible. They finally decided that on Friday, Rick and Todd would stage Rick's Ford, leaving it parked overnight where they'd arranged to park the buses. On Saturday morning, Rick, Todd, Charlie, and Giselle would get the buses loaded, then drive Todd's Honda to the staging area where a passenger van would be waiting to take them, along with Coy, Sierra, and Donna to the arena. Afterwards, the van would return with the buses and take them to their cars.

While Todd works the latest changes to the transportation problem, Rick mulls over all the things that can go wrong. So long as the food and water arrives Saturday morning on schedule, and the recording equipment works as designed, he can't think of many things that can go wrong. Mentally crossing his fingers they've thought of everything, he exits the interstate and drives through expansive fields of produce growing in the fertile California soil, finally turning off the paved roads onto the dirt track that leads to the arena.

As Rick slowly drives down the road, the arena comes into view as he rounds a corner. It's the first time he has seen the structure in months. The sight takes his breath and his heart thuds loudly. The canvas awnings are in place, providing protection for the spectators from the hot California sun, just as they would have the throngs of cheering Romans thousands of years ago.

Parking the car thirty to forty yards back, so as to not leave tire marks near the arena, he spends several minutes simply admiring what they've done, watching the awnings waving gently in the breeze, the view enough to give him chills. He shakes himself clear of his thoughts and hauls the recording gear to the control room, experiencing a brief rush of panic until he remembers the door key is in the case holding the recording equipment, where he placed it so he wouldn't forget it.