On Becoming Eve

Hubert was standing on the veranda where we had enjoyed breakfast with a tray with three glasses of wine. Joe was standing next to him and motioned for Domingo's men to follow him down the stairs to the pool area. I stepped forward, took two of the glasses from Hubert and offered them to Victor and Antonio before taking the third for myself," Thank you Hubert," I smiled at him. He nodded and went back inside. I looked at Victor," should I leave you two to talk business," I took a sip of the wine. It was the cabernet.

"Absolutely not," Antonio answered loudly. I need to know everything there is to know about the lovely lady that has stolen Victor's heart," he motioned for me to sit next to him. I chose the seat next to Victor instead and he laughed," She is a good one Victor, and loyal, no?"

Victor sipped his wine, "She is the most unique woman I have ever met. I do not know what I would do without her," he smiled at me.

"So, where is your lovely Sarah, is she not with us," Antonio was gauging the field, looking for his advantage, I could tell.

"She is taking a nap, senior. You know how young girls need their rest. I am sure she will be joining us soon," I answered for Victor.

Their conversation quickly turned to their early days in the business and the adventures that had shared. Victor and Antonio had come up together and, at one time, had been close. The men shared half stories that they both knew so well, neither needed to finish. The laughed and argued a little about who had done what. I sat and listened paying more attention to the cues given by what wasn't said and their scents than their words. It quickly became clear to me that Antonio wanted Victor out of his way

Hubert came out to announce lunch," Let me go and wake sleeping beauty," I said," We will see you gentlemen in the dining room."

Antonio stood as I did and I extended my hand," It was a pleasure to meet such a lovely lady," he kissed my hand this time and not the ring.

"The pleasure has been mine, senior," I gave Victor a kiss and left the two men to their chess game.

Sarah was already awake and getting dressed when I got to the room. I gave her a hug, "are you alright," I asked?

"I'll be fine, remember, I've been through this before. How are you doing," the concern in her voice was reassuring.

"Well, it looks like your uncle and I are engaged," I showed her the ring," at least for the time being. You know how these May/December romances go," we both laughed."

"It is a beautiful ring. Maybe he'll let you keep it," she chided me.

I laughed," Na, I think I'll hold out for a better offer," the look in her eyes was all the answer I needed, "Now come on, Hubert has lunch ready and you know Víctor doesn't like to be kept waiting," I took her hand and led her to the door.

Lunch was outstanding, just as everything Hubert and his staff prepared. We ate in the small dining room with a large round table. I took my seat at Victors right and Sarah sat next to me, Antonio sat to Victors left, but in an obviously smaller chair than the rest of us; the chess game continued.

"Hubert, are we sure Senior Domingo's men are being taken care of," I asked a question I thought the mistress of the house would ask," We want to be sure our guests are being treated properly," I smiled at him.

"Yes, mistress Eve, they are dining with our men in the kitchen downstairs. I will make sure everything is as it should be," he winked at me, letting me know I had done well.

"Thank you, Hubert, you may go," Victor looked at me with a smile and a little surprise on his face. His hand found my thigh and he gave it a gentle squeeze. I placed my hand on his and pulled it gently toward my crotch, crossing my legs and trapping it there, trying to make what I had done appear discrete and as obvious as I could at the same time, and returning the smile.

"Thank you for making sure my men are being properly cared for," the look on his face told me he was thinking hard about something.

"My pleasure, Senior Domingo, hospitality is very important in our home," Isn't it dear," I looked at Victor."

"Especially for family, "Victor pulled his hand from my crotch and raised his glass to Antonio," Salud!"

"Salud!", Antonio answered.

I nodded and sipped my wine as the two men downed their drinks, Sarah just shook her head and took another bite of her lunch.

After lunch, Sarah grabbed my arm," let's go for a swim," she looked at Victor who nodded.

"And afterwards, I would like Eve to look in on the preparations for tomorrow," he glanced at Antonio," that will give my old friend and I some time to talk about Monday's meeting," Antonio nodded his approval.

My suit was more conservative that Sarah's but not by much. I was the mistress of the house after all but still looked half Victor's age and had a body that cried to be shown off. I also wanted Antonio's men to see me and continue their fantasies of what they were going to do to me after Victor was gone. I had a feeling Victor understood this and that it was part of the reason he wanted me to check on the preparations for the party.

It bothered me that they were looking at Sarah the same way they were looking at me. It made perfect sense, considering how beautiful she was but I found that I was a little jealous of the way she enjoyed the attention.

A few hours later, Victor came out to the pool," OK, ladies, you're distracting the workers. Sarah, come inside or they will never get things set up for tomorrow. Eve, please check on how they are doing," he tossed me a flimsy wrap to pretend to cover my suit; We never did get in the water.

The men had done a good job of getting things ready, they were almost done hanging the lights, the bar was well stocked and a few of the men had tested it. I wasn't going to reprimand them for that but let them know if they took advantage of the situation, they would have to answer to me personally. Something about having to face justice at the hands of a woman got their attention and they promised to behave. I am sure the rumors of what I could do didn't hurt either. As I patrolled the patio around the pool, I sensed something was missing. I inhaled deeply and he wasn't here, the tall thin man that smelled of death. I found Joe and asked if he had seen him. He was supposed to be helping at the BBQ pits. Joe followed me and we confirmed that he was not where he was supposed to be, "Take two men and find him," I grabbed Joe by the arm," Now!"

Joe understood better than most; anyone that could make me nervous was dangerous, he took two men from the BBQ and headed toward the house. I headed to Sarah's room as fast as I could move without attracting attention.

Sarah was taking a shower, and everything seemed to be in order but the faint smell of death the man carried lingered in the room. I went to Victor's room and it was slightly stronger there. I ran down the hall to the back stairs, taking the shortcut through Sarah's office and a moment to compose myself, opened the door to find Victor and Antonio in a heated debate.

"Forgive me for intruding Victor, I just wanted to let you know that everything is going very well. I have Joe and a couple of the men tracking down some missing decorations, I paused, but other than that, it looks very good," I nodded to Antonio," Senior Domingo, our men work well together. I hope there are many opportunities to have them do so in the future," he smiled at me," Now if you will excuse my interruption, I should go get dressed. I closed the door hoping Victor got my message and went to find Joe.

"He was in the bathroom, said he had diarrhea," the look on Joe's face told me he didn't believe it either.

"I want you to stick with him," I looked Joe in the eye,' wherever he goes, you go, got it and Joe, please be careful," I don't know why I cared, Joe had used me, just like Hank and Alex, but it had made a difference that he had been kind about it and had been glad to see me alive, so I did.

"He's really that dangerous," Joe just looked at me.

"I don't know Joe, but I can smell people and he smells more dangerous than Victor. That's all I got."

Joe nodded at me," Alright, I'll be careful."

I went upstairs to change and found Victor in his room sitting at his desk, "So what was that," he looked concerned," I know you didn't interrupt us to tell me some lights were missing."

"One of Domingo's men was missing; the tall thin one. I can't explain why, but he's the real threat, Victor. He's the one we need to watch out for, and he's been in this room and Sarah's, too. I can smell it," I went over to Victor. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me. It bothered him that this guy made me nervous, just like it had bothered Joe and it bothered me.

Sarah walked in through the hidden door, "Am I interrupting something," she started to laugh, stopping short when Victor motioned for her to join us, holding me in one arm, he wrapped the other around Sarah. It was happening.

The three of us went for a walk in the gardens behind the house and I told them what I knew and how; how Senior Antonio Domingo was just a puppet, a distraction, that the real threat was the tall thin man pretending to be his bodyguard. Victor thought it possible that Domingo didn't even really know what was about to go down, from their conversation earlier that afternoon, it had become clear to Victor that he was just doing too well and the rest of his associates were jealous and wanted a bigger piece of his pie.

"What about your Boss," I asked," You and Antonio answer to someone, maybe they are the real problem and this whole thing is just a cover."

Victor took out his phone and dialed a number. He spoke in Spanish to someone for a few minutes and became very agitated before he hung up, put his phone away and strung together a list of words that would have gotten him into a knife fight just about anywhere they could speak the language.

"I think you're right, shit, this is not good," he put a hand on each of our shoulders," Sarah, until they leave, you are either locked in your room, you remember how to do that, right," she nodded,' or you are with Eve or with me, "he turned to me, "Sarah is your only responsibility. Got it," I nodded, "they cannot find out we know what is going on and to be honest, I'm not as sure as I was that I totally know myself. I am going to get Antonio drunk tonight and see if I can get him to talk more than he usually does. You two just stay out of sight," We walked back to the house in silence.

By the time I went upstairs to change and made it back down for dinner, Hubert was justifiably upset at how late I was, complaining that the meal he had prepared for me was ruined. Everyone else had started without me and I tried to reassure Hubert that the lamb was perfection, succulent, delicious perfection, but he would hear none of it I apologized twice and promised to never be late for dinner again, before Hubert acquiesced and accepted my apology. I had thought that it was Victor everyone was worried about. Victor just laughed as I fought for my life with the butler.

Antonio laughed with him, "It is so hard to keep good help these days. If everything he prepares is as delicious as this, I understand why you do so much to keep him," Hubert was lapping up the praise.

When he served our desert and coffee, there was a small but obvious chip in my plate, I let him know in no uncertain terms how unacceptable it was and that I would not tolerate such offenses, especially when we had such important quests in our home. Hubert apologized profusely and removed the offending dish, bringing me a fresh one almost immediately, winking at me as he served it, "You may go Hubert," I admonished him one more time understanding what he had done to allow me to save face in front of Senior Domingo.

Victor and Antonio retired to Victors study for cigars and port while Sarah and I headed upstairs to rest after a very long day, "don't be too late, darling," I put my hands on Victors face and kissed him," I need some of your attention, too," I dragged my hand across his cheek as I walked away.

He swatted me on my butt as I left, and I let out a little squeal.

"You two are horrible," Sarah was laughing as we climbed the stairs.

"I seem to remember someone else that enjoys a little slap on the ass from their lover every now and then," Sarah blushed at the memory. I felt sad that it had just been last night but so very long ago and wondered when I would ever get to go back to that magical place again. I slapped her butt too, to keep the memory fresh.

I laid with Sarah until she fell asleep and then climbed into Victor's bed to wait for him to join me, listening intently to the sounds of the house at night and taking periodic deep breaths looking for a hint of the smell I knew was coming. It was Victor's scent that woke me up, he was standing by the bed watching me sleep. The look on his face caught me by surprise. The game we had been playing for the past day had affected all of us in ways that none of us expected.

"So, are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to get undressed and show me what a great job I did today 'pretending' to be your lover," I watched intently as he undressed and climbed in next to me. There are definite advantages to having a controlling, meticulous man in your life; the attention to detail with which Victor explored my body was unbelievable. The quick fuck we had enjoyed this morning, was replaced by a slow smoldering session of passionate kisses and tender caresses in places I didn't even know I had. Victor explored every inch of my body and touched me in ways that took my breath away. By the time he was finally inside me, I had had two orgasms, the second significantly stronger than the first. When he exploded inside me, the third put the second to shame. I screamed, and we collapsed together with him still inside me. I couldn't move. I just lay there purring loudly.

The light came on and Sarah rushed into the room," Eve, are you alright," She saw us in our embrace," Nice job Victor, it takes some effort to get her to purr like that," I smiled at her and she laughed as she turned out the light and left the room.

Victor smiled broadly as he rolled off me and I nestled close to him, falling asleep almost immediately.

Victor was still asleep when I woke up, I slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom, stopped in Sarah's room to make sure she was ok, kissed her on the forehead and climbed back into bed with Victor. He had rolled onto his stomach; I propped myself up on my elbow and began tracing the scars on his back with my finger. There were twenty-five of them; at some point, he had been whipped brutally. With the knife scar on his abdomen and the three gunshot wounds to his chest, Victor had led a very tough, life, but he had proven to be even tougher.

The pungent odor grew in my nostrils and I slipped out of bed, extending my claws as I quietly moved to the door. I listened intently as someone deftly picked the lock and slowly turned the handle. I was ready to rip them apart when they entered the room. The door didn't open. I heard them push against it once, twice, a third time and it didn't move. I guessed this was the 'lock' Victor had reminded Sarah about. The door appeared to lock itself and the pungent stench moved away from the door. As quickly and quietly as I could I raced to Sarah's door, where the exercise repeated itself. Again, the door refused to open. I waited until the smell had faded to the point that I was sure he was gone before I went to wake Victor up. I had heard nothing.

I let him vent his anger and frustration on me as he fucked me hard and fast; he came three times before he was spent. We took a shower together and dried each other off," Thank you for everything Eve," he kissed me sweetly," If you hadn't been here, if they had gotten to Sarah," I thought he was going to cry. He turned away and went to his closet to get dressed. I went and climbed I bed with Sarah and held her close until she awoke.

Breakfast was simple and light with everyone saving room for the BBQ later that day. Hubert's nephew was the grill master and he had butchered a dozen goats, the order of the day was cabrito and lots of it. The men had pretty much left the bars alone, I only found three bottles of tequila missing which was well within the expected spillage. The tall thin man from Domingo's group was asleep in his bunk when Joe and I did a spot check, how he had managed to get all the way into the house and upstairs to our most private rooms and back again unseen was still a mystery. There were too many witnesses, or I would have ended it then and there.

Victor and Domingo commanded seats on the veranda where Sarah and I would join them later. The festivities after the BQQ were a reward for the men and it would not be wise for she or I to try and join the fun. At noon sharp, Hubert announced the BBQ open. Sarah and I followed Victor and Domingo; the men fell in line behind us. We ate our cabrito on the veranda watching the men enjoy themselves. At 3:30 the entertainment arrived; Sarah and I retired to the house to busy ourselves while the scantily clad prostitutes began to mingle among the men. Joe and two of his best men were keeping an eye on our friend and I had found a perch that gave me a good vantage point as well. The party lasted all afternoon and well into the night, the last of the men finally passed out at about three thirty, three hours after the ladies had left. The tall thin man had been in the middle of the party the entire time. I crawled down from my perch, checked the doors and slid into Victors bed, pulling myself into his arms, falling asleep as I felt him pull me close. The fiesta had gone off without incident. All that was left was the conference call tomorrow morning with Victor, Senior Domingo, the other bosses, and the man they all answered to, Don Alejandro, and, of course, for Antonio and his men to leave just after lunch.

I woke to find Victor up on his elbow, watching me sleep, "This is getting to be a habit with you," I smiled.

Victor leaned down and kissed me tenderly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, answering his tenderness with my passion. We made love as the morning sun broke through the window climaxing together twice as the new day began. Victor rolled onto his back and I started running my fingers over his scars again, "tell me about them," I asked.

"These," he took my hand and touched my fingers to the bullet holes in his chest," they are from the day Sarah's' parents died. I caught the man who killed them at Sarah's school when he tried to get to her, he shot me three times before I cut his heart out," I had no doubt he meant that literally. He pulled the covers down and drew my fingers along the long scar on his abdomen," this is from a knife fight in a brothel in Juarez when I was young and stupid," he laughed at the memory.

"And your back," I was afraid I was pushing too far.

"That is when everything changed for me," a look of sadness came across his face," I was an orphan, maybe fifteen, young and prideful, and I took something that didn't belong to me. When the man who owned it caught me, he said my punishment was to be whipped until I told him who had told me about the thing I took. He refused to believe that I just stumbled onto it and saw it as an opportunity. His men whipped me twenty-five times before he finally believed me; he couldn't believe I was still conscious. He shot the man that was responsible for watching the thing I took and made me watch as he died. Then he killed the man's family, I had to watch that, too. I didn't understand why for a long time, but he took me into his home, had his daughter care for my wounds and raised me as his son, sending me off to college, and teaching me everything I know about this business."