Lust Ch. 03

The tiny glass bottle felt smoothly fragile in her hand as she lifted it to read the label. Around her the crowded market bubbled with voices but it was the mingled scents that distracted her. Perfume and incense, fried foods and musty streets, and through it all the musky undertones of the men and women around her. The Need fed on their pheromones like a starved animal.

The old woman whose table she stood at dozed in her chair in the warm sunshine. She deftly pocketed the bottle in the front of her sun dress. She wore them whenever she could, they made everything easier.

"Caliste Laveau?"

Her breath caught in her throat. For an instant years upon years peeled back, to the last time she'd heard her name spoken aloud. She blinked herself back and slowly turned.

A young woman stood there gripping a silver pistol in both hands. Caliste's eyes slid past the gun and took in the rest of her; sneakers, designer jeans, suede purse, and a black t-shirt with a cartoon tiger on it. Her short, spiky hair was dyed a creamy white and her eyes were wide and nervous. The large wooden crucifix strung around her neck from a leather thong looked decidedly out of place.

"Are you Caliste Laveau?" The woman asked again, trying to keep her voice from quavering.

Caliste glanced pointedly at the pistol and the corner of her mouth turned up in a little smile. "I'm inclined to say that I'm not."

The young woman looked anxiously around but no one seemed to have noticed them. She stepped forward and shoved the pistol under Caliste's arm, pressing the muzzle into her side and masking it from view. "I know you're her." She hissed. "I know what you are. What you are really."

up close, Caliste's nose was filled with the scent of the young woman. Lavender shampoo, fabric softener, nervous sweat, and the tang of something earthier that pulled at her. The Need snarled within.

"Walk." The young woman ordered, and Caliste obeyed.

They wove through the crowd, the young woman's hand gripping Caliste's arm and the gun a constant presence in her ribs. Eventually the crowd thinned and the stalls gave way to row after row of parked vehicles. The woman steered them toward a dilapidated little RV parked near the edge of the lot. When they got close enough she let go of Caliste's arm and backed away quickly, tossing the suede purse down at Caliste's feet. It clanked when it landed.

"There's handcuffs in there, put them on."

Caliste glanced down at the purse, then back up at the young woman. "What's your name?"

The woman paused, then lifted the pistol and took careful aim. "I don't want to shoot you, but I'm not taking any chances either. Please just put them on."

Caliste considered for a moment, then crouched down and fished the handcuffs out of the bag. She stood and snapped them over her left wrist and prepared to do the same with her right.

"Behind your back, please." The young woman said.

Caliste turned, put her hands behind her back, and gingerly closed them over her other wrist. The woman stepped forward and checked them, pulling hard on each one to make sure it was secure.

"Jane." The young woman muttered.

Caliste smiled to herself. "Hello Jane."

Jane stepped forward, opened the door to the RV, and gestured Caliste inside with the gun. She obeyed.

The dim interior smelled musty but looked clean. Directly in front of her was a narrow door that might be a bathroom, while to the left Caliste saw a double bed partly obscured by a closet. A padded bench ran along the side of the RV to her right, while a kitchenette and two swivel chairs sat opposite. There was no table in sight. Jane sat Caliste down on one of the swivel chairs and pulled another pair of handcuffs out of her bag. Leaning down, she attached the second pair of cuffs to the first and began fishing it through the chair.

Caliste looked over Jane's crouched form. Her arms were toned and athletic, with smooth, soft-looking skin. Her back narrowed down to a tight waist before her hips swelled out again, giving her a shapely, firm ass. Jane's shirt slipped out of the loose waist of her jeans a little as she worked and Caliste caught sight of a pair of light blue cotton panties before Jane finished securing the other end of the cuffs to the back of the chair.

Relaxing visibly for the first time, Jane tucked the pistol into her purse and tossed is casually onto the front passenger seat. Caliste winced when it landed and hoped the safety was on. Jane lowered herself into the driver's seat, started the RV, and began working their way out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Caliste asked, but Jane didn't answer.

~

Downtown traffic gave way to suburbs, which gave way to scattered farmland. Hours passed and Caliste watched the shadows change as the sun dipped behind her. They were travelling North. Eventually the sun set completely and she could only see around her by the dim light of the dashboard.

Finally Caliste broke the silence. "I don't know about you, but if I don't pee soon I'm going to burst. I could use something to eat or drink too. Mind if we stop for a break?"

Jane glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then seemed to think for a while. "Yeah. Yeah okay. I have to stop too."

The RV slowed, and turned off the smooth pavement onto rough gravel. Caliste's bladder felt every bump. After a few miles Jane stopped the RV completely.

"This should be good, no lights around at all." Jane climbed out of the driver's seat and leaned back to stretch. Caliste's eyes fell on Jane's small, firm breasts as she stretched, then flinched at the sight of the crucifix before tearing her gaze away. Jane opened a cupboard and pulled out a small battery-powered lantern and turned it on, filling the RV with dim, yellow light.

Kneeling beside her, Jane reached behind Caliste's back to unlock her cuffs from the chair. Caliste could feel the warmth on her skin as their arms brushed together, and felt a flutter in her stomach at the touch. The Need yearned for more. Leaning over she nuzzled Jane's arm, breathing in her scent.

Jane recoiled, scrambling away from her. "What are you doing?!"

Caliste smiled wolfishly. "I like how you smell."

Jane stood up, leaned over the passenger seat and pulled the gun out of her purse. The chrome surface glittered as Jane tucked it firmly into the waist of her jeans. She held up the key for the handcuffs. "Stand up and turn around."

Caliste shrugged. Standing up was awkward with her hands behind her, but it felt good to move her stiff legs. She turned and felt Jane's fingers push the key into her hand. "Put them back on when you're done, but on the front so you can eat."

When Caliste emerged from the tiny bathroom, Jane was sitting on the floor at the far end of the RV, eating a sandwich and drinking a soda. Another sandwich and soda waited on a paper plate on the floor near the bathroom door. Caliste sat down.

"Key." Jane held out her hand, and Caliste slid it across the floor to her.

"You've either planned this very carefully, or you have a lot of practice kidnapping people." Caliste said, picking up her sandwich.

"I know how dangerous you are." Jane replied.

Caliste smiled sweetly "How dangerous am I?"

Jane fixed her with a hard look. "You're not human, not anymore anyway. You're a lot older than you look, stronger and faster too. You destroy people."

Caliste flinched at the last one, and dropped her eyes. "I hurt someone of yours."

"Yes. And you're going to fix her."

Caliste's eyes shot up. "Fix her? How?"

"I don't know how, but you will. You did something to her and you have to undo it."

"There's no taking back what she has now." Caliste said quietly. "If there was a way, I would have found it."

"She said you were the Devil. She said you cursed her with something. It took me a long time to put the pieces together, to link the stories and the descriptions, to find out your name. It took me even longer to track you down. I'm damned sure not letting you off the hook now."

Caliste remembered the smell of cinnamon and smoke, the burning touch, the smooth, mocking voice. "Do you believe in the Devil?" She asked softly.

"I don't know what to believe any more, except her. I believe her."

Caliste squeezed her eyes shut and felt a hot tear land on her hand, followed by another. Mercilessly she crammed it all back down; the rage and self-loathing, the years of horrible guilt. If she let it out now...

Jane was staring at her oddly. Caliste bent her head, took a bite, and forced herself to chew. They ate the rest in silence.

~

Caliste sat awake in the darkness listening to Jane's soft breathing from the back of the RV. She writhed uncomfortably in the chair. The Need gave her little rest at the best of times, and it had been days since she'd been able to feed it properly. Idly she fantasized about freeing herself and padding softly back to Jane's little bed. She'd climb carefully onto it so as not to wake her, crawl slowly up to her until she was straddling Jane's hips with her own. Her dark hair would fall around Jane's face as she leaned down over her, inhaling her sweet breath as she slept.

She pictured the soft curves of Janes mouth, the red swell of her lips. She imagined bringing her own mouth closer until, softly, their lips touched. Jane's eyes would fly open, locking with hers, confused and alarmed at first. Caliste would lower her body then, pressing it against Jane's, and the warmth would spread between them. The war between caution and lust was one she had watched countless times, always with the same eventual result. Jane would not push her away.

In her mind the kiss lingered. Lips pressing insistently, opening wider as their tongues began to seek. She imagined stroking Jane's cheek, the skin soft and smooth under her fingertips, gently tracing the outline of her jaw before lightly dragging her fingernails down her neck. She ached to feel Jane's hands slide up her sides and around her back to pull her tighter. Caliste slid lower in the chair, revelling in the fantasy, unconsciously spreading her legs wider as her dress rode up her thighs. Deliciously exposed, the night air felt cool on her pooling wetness. She longed for her hands to be free, to be able to slide her fingers between her slick folds and over her swollen clit. The Need pulsed inside her with every beat of her heart.

Helpless, she moaned her frustration into the night. Sleep never came.

~

The first stabs of sunlight filtered through the blinds and Caliste squinted her eyes to shield them. She heard movement from the back of the RV and Jane soon appeared, groggily rubbing her eyes before disappearing into the bathroom. Caliste waited patiently for her to emerge and they went through the now-familiar handcuff routine for her turn. Breakfast was granola bars and juice boxes. The early-morning sunlight looked orange as it filtered through the dust in the air.

Caliste suddenly sat up straight. "We're going the wrong way."

Jane looked confused. "What do you mean? You don't even know where we're going."

"No, but I know where we need to be going." Caliste felt excitement growing, and maybe a faint sliver of...hope?