Vanessa's Choice

The sensation took several moments to pass and, when it did, I dropped back, exhausted. Vanessa slid up the bed. Spit dripped down her chin and my honey glistened in a wide circle around her lips. I licked her face with a greedy passion and placed my open mouth on hers, entwining our tongues. Breathless, I broke the kiss, stroked her cheek, and said, "'To die upon a kiss' indeed. I think my heart stopped for a moment."

She smiled and grazed my nipples with her fingertips. The dreamy, sleepy look of contentment gradually faded. I sensed hesitation in her. She sighed. "Are you ready to continue? I'm almost done with my story. Then you'll have to suggest the best thing for me to do." She kissed me on the lips. It felt like a farewell.

I nodded. "Do you want a shower, first?"

She nodded but didn't move. She couldn't meet my eyes as she said, "And, I guess, we should get dressed. Are my clothes still in the dryer?"

Of course, that meant no more sex. I knew it was coming. She had told me this day would be it. I thought I would be ready for it, but it had been such a beguiling experience, beautiful beyond my ability to describe. Tears welled in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. It must have been contagious because she cried, too. We lay there and held each other while we sobbed. What seemed like hours later, but in reality just moments, I sniffed. "You get in the shower. I'll fetch your clothes."

Vanessa took longer in the bathroom than me. I laid out her clothes, halter top dress, stockings, shoes and went to my living room to wait. Actually, I called it the "living room" as do many in the South, but the rest of the country would probably call it the den or the family room, reserving the name "living room" for a smaller one with more expensive furniture that never got used.

As I often do, I stood at my window and stared out. My subdivision abuts a national forest. I like to watch the trees that I can see over my privacy fence. During the day, squirrels scurry about, twitching their noses and swishing their bushy tails. At night, it's raccoons. I find them less cute but more interesting than the squirrels. They seemed more intelligent, more focused, more logical in their search for food. Everyone in the neighborhood has special trash bins with heavy, spring-loaded tops, intended to foil scavengers, but that doesn't stop those persistent bandits from trying.

I raised my eyes. The sun sat low in the sky. The year waned and the days shortened. Soon darkness would descend. I shrugged off my encroaching melancholy and turned when I heard the swish of Vanessa's stocking-clad thighs. She wasn't fat by the standards of those days. No, indeed. Opulent, ample, juicy, of course, but not fat.

I smiled, a bit wanly, and extended my open hand to the couch, inviting her to lie down. Last night, this morning, and this afternoon, she would have greeted me with a kiss while we felt each other up. The seemingly endless therapy session would not have resumed until we could pull ourselves apart. But this was early evening and the past was the past. We were back to strictly doctor and patient.

Would the memories fade? I doubted it. Vanessa was unique. Everything about her seemed exaggerated. Her sexy prettiness, her skill in the act of love, her complete abandonment of inhibition in bed, her childlike ability to trust and the way it inspired devotion to her in others, as if the thought of hurting her was too abhorrent to contemplate. No, I would not forget. I resigned myself to the torment of constantly remembering the feel of her silky skin, the sparkling of her hair in the sunlight, the firmness of her large breasts, the sweet taste of her nectar, and the sound of her screams as her body rocked from a powerful orgasm.

I sighed as she settled on the couch. She darted her eyes to me, but said nothing. She always waited for me to begin.

"I believe we stopped with you describing your first time on Aaron's yacht and what happened. Amazing, really. From that trip, you not only rekindled a sexual interest in men, but practically got your entire future laid out in front of you and it included much happiness and fulfillment. Then Judith somehow reappeared and started the trouble that eventually led you to me. Would you like to pick it up from there?"

"Yes. Like you said, I thought I was set. Aaron and I were in love. The apartment his company provided was great. The building was across the highway from the beach. My apartment was on the top floor, the sixth. The sixth floor was special because it was divided into only two apartments instead of four. That way both flats had a beach view. It provided as much living space as a small house and was fully furnished. Well, I guess it would have to be, given its stated purpose to be housing for traveling business contacts.

"Aaron brought me back to Sharon's the day we got in from our voyage. It was a Friday and close to dark. Mobile was only an hour away and it only took about fifteen minutes to pack up my stuff and put it into my car. He waited outside by my open trunk.

"Sharon asked, 'Where're you going? What's your hurry?'

"I had to tell her everything, but I made short work of it. I said, 'Look, I don't have a lot of time, but I'll call you tonight or tomorrow. The short version is that Aaron and I are in love, he's hired me to work for his company, and as part of my pay he's putting me into one of his company's apartments over in Port City. But he's waiting outside for me and I gotta go.'

"Sharon was dumbstruck. I dropped my bags and hugged her tight. 'I owe you more than I can say. Thank you. I promise, I'll call, either tonight or tomorrow and we'll talk as long as we can.' I kissed her lips, you know, not sexual but like girls do sometimes. Now I never saw men do it, but girls can do all sorts of things because we don't have that stupid manly ego, right?"

She was obviously trying to lighten my mood, and I should have let her. But I knew that I had to remain stoic and disinterested if I were to get through this. I nodded.

She continued. "Well, Aaron helped me get my things up to the apartment. We ordered some food for delivery and I unpacked while we waited for it. That was about ten months ago. Aaron didn't move in. He still lives on Selene when he's not traveling and he doesn't usually spend the night. Most nights when he's in town, he comes by for dinner and we nearly always make love afterwards and then he leaves. I've asked him to sleep there with me a few times and he's always done it."

"Did you ever ask him why he didn't move in with you?"

She nodded. "About four months ago. He said he wasn't ready yet and I left it alone."

"And you didn't feel as if anything was wrong?"

She shrugged. "I don't really have a frame of reference. He's my first relationship with a man. I'm as soft and loving as I know how to be. He always calls before coming over, just to make sure I don't have other plans. I joke about him being the only plan of mine that counts and he laughs. I make sure my hair and makeup are done before he gets there. Sometimes I wear a sexy dress and lingerie, some of the things that Judith bought me, sometimes a fancy negligee, sometimes just a robe, but always something that means I want to have sex and I want to be appealing. He's never failed to respond."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded. "That's good. A happy and vigorous sex life is necessary for a satisfying long-term relationship. Do you ever go out? Dancing? Restaurants?"

She shook her head. "He's asked, but I think it's more to please me. He's a homebody. I told him, 'I'm a homebody, too, so long as your body's home.' He really liked that. I have so much room, we can turn on music and dance there. We do sometimes. We both like to cook. Sometimes we order out. I tried my best to keep a low profile. I didn't want Judith to find me.

"But we do frequently get out of the house. We take Selene out to the islands, like I already described. Chandelier's our favorite spot."

I probed. "So, you don't feel the need to mingle with other people?"

She shrugged. "I've invited Sharon over a few times. And Aaron sees people when he travels. He drives over to his office in New Orleans several times a month. But he accomplishes most of his work on the telephone in his office on Selene. His assistant lives in Beauchamp near the harbor."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

She laughed. "No. He was kidding about her being a young model. She's in her forties, at least thirty pounds overweight, and frumpy as all hell. But she adores him and works like a mule. I'm not worried."

"I see. Well, when and how did Judith make her reappearance?"

She frowned. "August. It would be. South Mississippi only has two real seasons, summer and August. Hotter than the hinges on the gates of Hell. The damn heat gave me an even better excuse to stay indoors. It's not so bad when you're on the boat and the breeze stirs the air. How people can stand to sit on the beach and bake I do not understand. I know a certain amount of sunlight is good for you, helps with your vitamin D and all, but it's like people don't realize that a sunburn is a radiation burn. No thanks.

"Anyway, I always worked at home. Aaron was traveling that week, so I had planned to have Sharon take a day off from her job and come visit with me. Or I could go there. It didn't matter. It was a Monday and I was waiting for six o'clock when I knew she'd be home. At five there was a knock on the door. I opened it and there she was. Judith, not Sharon.

***

Observer mode.

***

Vanessa's eyes bulged and her mouth gaped. The tall and slender dominatrix didn't wait to be invited. She just strolled in. Surprise paralyzed the lovely blonde.

Judith said, "Aren't you happy to see me, pet?"

Vanessa blurted, "How did you find me?"

"Manners, girl. Aren't you going to invite me to sit?"

Vanessa snapped out of her daze. "You're not welcome, Judith. I don't want you here. Leave, please."

The dominatrix frowned. "You disappoint me, girl. That's no way to welcome your mistress."

"You're not my mistress. I left you."

"But my sweet, juicy morsel, a slave can't sever the relationship. Only the mistress can do that. I haven't and I don't intend to. Ever."

Panic made Vanessa emphatic. "I don't give a shit about your damn dominance games, lady. It is OVER. LEAVE. NOW."

Judith put a brown manila envelope on the coffee table. "I thought that might be your reaction. I'll leave. But first, you really should look in that envelope."

As if the paper pouch were a snake, Vanessa recoiled. "What's in it?"

A wicked grin curled the beautiful brunette's lips, projecting the streak of cruelty that Vanessa knew about and feared. "Why, pictures, my sweet morsel. Of you. You're very photogenic. If you were thinner, not that I'd want that, you're delicious just as you are, but if you were thinner, you could easily get work as a model. Especially for a particularly graphic men's magazine."

Vanessa's hands shook as she reached for the envelope. She opened it and pulled out several eight by ten photographs. One was of Karen performing cunnilingus on her on the bed in Judith's play room. Vanessa wore flesh-toned thigh high stockings and strappy high heels, nothing else. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, obviously moaning. She was propped up on one elbow and her other hand held Karen by the head.

In the next photograph, she was kissing Karen's pussy while Judith fucked her from behind with a strap-on. The others were of her dressed similarly in a variety of acts with Judith and some of her clients. One was a lesbian foursome. All were in color and highly detailed. The camera used had been of good quality.

The pictures slipped from Vanessa's shaking hands. She looked at Judith, fear marring her lovely face.

Judith said, "Now, pet, would you like to talk with me for a few minutes?"

In a small voice, Vanessa asked, "How much?"

Judith raised her eyebrows. "Money? Do you think I want money from you?"

"What else could you want?"

"The return of my property, my sweet. I want my fertility goddess back with me. Actually, I should think you'd be flattered."

Vanessa stood. Fury blazed from her countenance. "You must be crazy. You think you can blackmail me into going back to Forrestburg to be your whore again? No way. No fuckin' way. I'm nothing but a thing to you. When I realized that, I left as soon as I could. No fuckin' way I'm goin' back. Fuck you, bitch." She closed her hands into fists, ready to physically fight.

Judith remained calm. "You've got it wrong, my sweet. You absolutely do not have to whore again. I only want you. It makes me sick to admit it, but I have feelings for you. For nearly a year now I've tried to get over you, but, well, my life has no zest without you. You've ruined me. Business is no longer enough. I've even had several affairs with other college girls, but after a while it becomes plain that all they really want from me is money in some form.

"You were never like that. You had a certain amount of pride. You'd accept food, shelter, and the occasional present of clothing, but you always more than earned your keep. And when I bedded you outside of business, it was always special. As if you had feelings for me. I had that once, when I was young, so long ago, but it was wrested from me and I turned my back on it. For years I isolated myself.

"But with you, well, you crept into what little heart I have left."

Vanessa had relaxed a bit. She unclenched her fists and the look of fury quietened. Anger still flashed from her eyes, but it faded as she listened.

She said, "Do you mean that you love me?"

Judith clucked her tongue. "Say rather that my original obsession with you never abated. Anger dampened it, for a while, but it simply refused to dissipate. The longer you've been away, the more my obsession has grown. I want you. I can support you. You don't have to earn your keep. I see now that was a mistake. I should have let my true feelings for you show. I'm here to rectify that error."

Vanessa's eyes bulged. "By blackmailing me? You might as well have used force. This," she pointed to the scattered pictures, "is just as bad."

The dominatrix stood and walked toward the blonde. Vanessa didn't back away. When she reached the lovely girl, Judith raised a hand and stroked Vanessa's cheek. "Take it as a sign of my desire, my sincere desire, to have you with me again. It shows what lengths I'm willing to go."

Vanessa backed away. "No. There's a darkness in you, Judith. You can't love. You can only possess. Everything has to be on your terms. That isn't love."

Judith maintained her normal, neutral expression. "Love is your word, darling, not mine. Tell me, has Aaron ever got you so aroused that you passed out during your ecstasy? You did that several times under my hand. He can't give you what I can, admit it. No man could." She caressed the girl's arm. "You know that you need a woman's touch."

Vanessa jerked away. "You know nothing of my life with Aaron. I love him and he loves me."

Judith smirked. "Shall we put that to the test? Shall we show him these delicious pictures? Tell him that his lady-love is a siren to other women, gladly allowing them to wallow in her cunt, lapping their nectar in return, screaming with a big lady-cock ramming in and out of her, begging for more? Shall we, my sweet morsel?"

Vanessa moved to grab the fallen pictures, clearly intent on ripping them to pieces.

Judith said, "Please don't think I can't replace those. I have all the negatives. I imagine that the developer kept copies to stare at while he masturbates. Please, pet, don't take me for a fool again."

Her oily tone conveyed more menace than a thug with a gun. Vanessa stopped.

Judith continued. "You don't have to decide all at once. I'm willing to put effort into winning you back." She put a key on the coffee table. "You know the Bayswater Resort, I'm sure. It's only a few miles down the highway. It has several cottages in the back, each isolated from the others. Very private. I'm in number four. Come there tomorrow at two. Wear that sexy black dress and the other articles I gave you for our first Christmas together. I promise we'll have just as good a time as we had then."

Vanessa said, "And if I don't?"

Judith pouted, a rather gross caricature, given her true nature. "Then I'm afraid I'll arrange for poor Aaron to get a private viewing of these," pointing to the pictures, "and more besides. Your choice, my sweet morsel. Chao."

Judith turned and left.

***

Vanessa lay on the couch, tears streaming from her eyes.

I asked, "Would you like to stop for a moment and have a drink?"

Shook her head. "No. I want to finish."

"Okay. What happened next? I assume you kept your rendezvous?"

"I sat there crying most of the night. About four in the morning, I drank a whole bottle of wine and passed out. I woke up at about noon. Aaron kept me stocked with good wine, so I didn't have too much of a hangover. I took some aspirin and got in the bathtub and soaked for an hour. I decided I didn't have much of a choice. I couldn't lose Aaron. I'd do anything, any fucking thing to keep him. I got up and started getting ready.

"I fixed my hair and my makeup. I usually only wore foundation and eyeliner. This time, I added mascara and extended my eyeliner past my lids. I painted my lips with a dark red gloss. I put on a black lace thong, black thigh highs with seams up the back and my black strappy high heels. I got the dress out of the closet. I had worn it for Aaron one night the week before and had it dry-cleaned. It was still in the plastic.

"I thought about how his eyes had nearly popped out of his head when he saw me in it and I almost started crying. But I couldn't let my make-up smear, so I breathed deep and gulped down another glass of wine. I slipped into the dress, fastened the halter, and arranged my breasts. I put on some sunglasses and a wrap, hoping to conceal the upper part of my torso, and left.

"I didn't see anybody. At that time of day, the apartment building was mostly empty. I got into my car and drove to the Bayswater. I got there just on time. I didn't bother knocking. I used my key and walked in.

"Judith sat on the couch with an ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne on the coffee table. There was a plate of large boiled shrimp and two glasses next to it. She was made up in a fashion similar to mine. She wore nothing but black stockings with a garter belt, strappy high heels, and a sheer black robe. She had her legs crossed. She uncrossed them slowly and stood. She walked over to me and put her arms around my waist.

***

Observer mode.

***

"My darling, you look delicious." The older woman put her open mouth against the blonde's.

Vanessa accepted Judith's tongue. As the beautiful brunette probed the girl's mouth, Vanessa thought, "I'd forgotten how well she can kiss."

Judith stroked the girl's arms and broke the kiss. "Come, my lovely, let's sit and have some wine and food." She took Vanessa by the hand and led her to the couch. She poured champagne and offered her a glass. Vanessa noted it was a Bollinger '53, Judith's favorite and very expensive. After she sipped it, Judith held a shrimp to the girl's mouth. Sultry jazz played somewhere in the background. Vanessa recognized "Cleo's Mood." The air conditioner was set low, making the air chill enough to harden both the women's nipples.

Judith put one arm on the back of the couch, behind the lovely blonde's shoulders. She grazed her nails lightly across her bare skin while she fed the girl. She didn't speak, but she did watch Vanessa's bosom, admiring the rocky nipples of her unmatched breasts poking against the thin fabric of the halter, looking for signs that the girl's breath had quickened.