Web of Pleasure

James lifted his shirt up to wipe sand and sweat out of his face once again and continued to stumble forward, choking and gasping as he breathed in more sand from the desert floor. The Nevada sun managed to pierce through the swirling dust around him, making it all the more difficult to keep his watering eyes open in the wind. His throat continued to beg for moisture, his lips already starting to dry and crack.

The storm had come seemingly out of nowhere and caught the pilot of his boss' helicopter completely off guard. At first everything seemed okay, and it looked like they'd make a safe landing, but a bird had been just as confused by the whole ordeal and slammed straight into the windshield, sending it careening disastrously to the ground. The image of the top rotor shattering into nothing as it collided with the ground still burned vividly in James's mind.

Somehow he had managed to survive, but his boss and the pilot had not. James felt bad for the pilot, he seemed like an okay person, but he was a little guilty to admit that he wasn't all that upset that his boss had perished. He was some utterly archaic British prick, Nigel Smith, who had just come back from some business trip, wouldn't stop bitching about how rude one of his "business associates" had been a few nights ago at a dinner related to the whole ordeal. What was her name, Natalia? Who the hell knows? Anyway, if the helicopter crash hadn't gotten him age would have within half a decade or so.

Still, now he was out of a job, his cellphone was dead and he was stuck in a desert in the Midwest, God knows how far away from the nearest city.

He fell flat on his face and let out a groan. Suddenly he didn't feel so lucky that he survived the crash relatively intact. Now he was just going to die of thirst, heat exhaustion, whichever one was quicker. Maybe the sun would literally roast him alive?

As he shifted to lie down on his side, resigning himself to his fate, he felt his hand sink into about an inch of sand and brush up against something cool and metallic. He wearily pushed himself up to his knees and wiped away more of the sand beneath him before confirming that there was in fact what seemed to be a relatively large hatch below him, probably made out of steel or really thick aluminum.

Dumbfounded, he knocked his knuckle against it a few times, reassuring himself that it was actually there and not just a desert induced hallucination. Wiping away more of the sand he eventually found what felt like a handle. Positioning himself to the other side of the hatch, he used all the strength he had left to lift it up. He was barely able to get it open enough to allow himself to slide underneath it.

The air escaped his lungs once more as he immediately started falling down a set of stairs. Eventually he hit the bottom, splayed out on his back. He was shocked to feel carpet underneath his fingers. Plush, very nice carpeting in fact.

He couldn't see anything in the pitch darkness of whatever room he had found himself in, but that didn't really matter to James. What mattered was that he was now in a cool room, no longer sucking dust and being assaulted by the sun and on a very comfortable surface. After a few more coughs he took in some deep breaths, let out an exhausted sigh and immediately passed out.

He was suddenly awoken by what felt like a very large, rounded and firm stick poking him in the chest and the sound of somebody gasping and stumbling. A light flooded the room and he awkwardly sat himself up.

"Wha... what?"

"Who the hell are you?!"

His eyes shot open at the angry woman's voice. After adjusting to the light he saw her. His first thought was that eerily pale skinned woman was extremely attractive despite looking absolutely infuriated. Then he saw that she had a few extra sets of black, shiny and beady eyes on her bald forehead, and looking down below her crossed arms and midriff noticed that her torso sat atop a thorax.

A thorax with eight legs. Like a spider.

A giant spider.

That's when he decided instead of explaining himself he was going to scream in absolute terror.

He stumbled to get up and rush back up the stairs but tripped and fell multiple times. Eventually he curled up into a ball and started shaking.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, oh fuck are you the Devil? Please tell me you're not the Devil! Am I in hell? I'm in hell!"

Her voice got louder.

"Just shut up and tell me who you are!"

James continued to sputter out in fear.

"Why did I go to hell?! I swear I tried to be a nice person. I only illegally downloaded a few games and movies as a teenager before I got my job. And I stole like one Hot Wheels car whe I was 7, oh my God I forgot all about that I'm so sorry please spare me!"

She angrily walked over to him, leaned down and shook him furiously.

"Goddammit, I'm not the Devil, now calm down and tell me who you are!"

He breathed heavily for a few more seconds and then slowly answered.

"My... my name is James."

"James who?"

"James Sessler."

She let go of him and once again crossed her arms. Her voice also beginning to calm.

"Okay then, James. Where did you come from?"

"Where did *you* come from, you're a giant spider!"

She was instantly infuriated again.

"You're the one who broke into my house, you answer first!"

He moved his hands to guard his face from whatever wrath this creature would bestow upon him.

"I fell from the sky!"

She went from angry to befuddled.

"You... you what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Helicopter crash! I was an accountant for this guy, and- and- and I was on his helicopter, and it- it crashed and he died and the pilot died and then- and the I- and then the desert and the sand and the sun and-"

"Hey, try to slow down a bit."

He stopped to catch his breath and slowly lowered his hands, once again looking up at her. The anger in her face had soften but he was still terrified of what he saw.

"I'm... I'm sorry. There was a helicopter crash. I was the only one who survived. I was just wandering around in the desert for a long time. My phone was dead. And there was still so much sand blowing around and it was so hot. I collapsed on top of your door and I wasn't thinking I just... kinda fell in I guess."

The spider creature got a better look at him and her expression softened even more, the anger now replaced with pity. He was in pretty bad shape. Badly sunburnt, his eyes were red from sand irritation and he was very clearly suffering from heat exhaustion.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. "I'll leave if you want me to."

She sighed and shook her head.

"No, I can't just let you go out there. Not like this. We're quite a ways away from the nearest town, you wouldn't make it. And I can't exactly have you going around telling everyone that you saw a giant spider in the desert."

James got scared again.

"So you're gonna eat me or something?"

She laughed a little.

"No, don't be stupid. I already have plenty of food. I guess I can just let you stay here for a while and we'll just talk about what to do with you later."

He uncurled from his cowering position and sat up again, blinking a few times.

"You sure? You'll let me stay, just like that?"

She smiled. James couldn't help but find her smile beautiful despite it being on the face of some strange spider lady.

"I'm sure. Don't worry, we'll figure something out, but for now I'll see what I can do to help."

Now it was his turn to smile, albeit nervously. He shakily tried to stand up and she held out her hand. He took it and she helped pull him to his feet. He looked down at himself and apologetically looked back at her.

"I uh... I don't suppose you want me tracking sand all over your carpet."

"Here, follow me, I can get you into something more comfortable."

As she turned around and started to walk away he saw her heading towards what looked like a hallway wondered just how big her subterranean home was. Suddenly she turned around to face him again.

"You can call me Claire, by the way."

"Just Claire?"

Claire nodded and continued on her way. Confused, yet relieved, James followed.

Several days passed as he recuperated. She let him pass out on a futon and even allowed him to use her shower not only to clean himself but to soothe the burns the sun left on his skin. Every night he would let her wash his eyes out with a moist cloth - even after the shower they were in incredible pain having been scuffed up by the sand and wind - and she was almost doting and motherly. As he regained his strength and they started talk more he realized that he had no reason to be afraid of her. She wasn't the devil at all. she was a kind, beautiful woman. Maybe she was half spider, but she was more than pleasant to be around.

It was one of those times that Claire was helping to sooth his eyes that he started to find out more about her. James let out a sigh of satisfaction as he leaned back on a big, cushiony reclining chair she told him to sit in while she rinsed his eyes. It was unusually large and he had to splay his arms out to put them on the armrests, although considering Claire's build the size made sense. The cool liquid from the washcloth continued to slowly drip down his face before being soaked in the soft silk of the shirt now covering his chest, his old clothes unfortunately irreversibly damaged by the stress they'd been through.

Claire used the washcloth to softly wipe and dab at his right eye, getting the sand out and soothing the irritation. The strangeness of the situation was still on James's mind, but at this point he was no longer panicking or frightened. He was confused, buy ultimately the soft touch made him feel content and safe more than anything else.

"Thank you so much. Claire. For the shower and the clothes and letting me stay here... just thank you so much."

She giggled and moved onto his left eye.

"That's the fourth time so far you've thanked me tonight."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be. You're very welcome."

After she finished with the other eye, she rolled the washcloth up and laid it across his forehead, gently pressing down on it and letting go.

"You know James, You clean up quite nicely. You're very cute when you aren't covered in sand."

"Oh... uh... thank you."

Claire giggled once again and brushed her hand softly against his cheek. James was thankful his face was already still a little sunburnt and she didn't notice him blush.

"There you go, thanking me again. You know for somebody who breaks into random houses you're extremely polite."

He grinned bashfully and watched as she moved to sit on a futon across from him. Before he was terrified watching her move, but now he noticed she seemed very graceful. Her legs had a smooth rhythm that was almost hypnotic. She stretched out and relaxed, propping her elbow down on the arm of the futon and resting her chin on it. She looked over at him and smiled again.

"How are you feeling by the way? You're a lot more talkative but I can't help but worry. You were in really bad shape when you first got here."

"I'm better, yeah. A lot better. My chest kind of hurts and my throat is sore but it's not nearly as bad. I can see a lot better, too. My eyes don't hurt nearly as much."

"Do you need anything else, are you hungry? You've only eaten a little since you showed up."

"Right now? I... I guess a little. I can wait though. You've already done so much for me."

"Okay. We'll wait until a bit later, then."

"You really don't have to do all of this for me. I mean, it was an accident but I did break into your house. I'll leave and I won't tell anybody about you. I'm probably well enough to get to the nearest town and-"

She shushed him.

"No, you don't need to worry about it. I get lonely down here sometimes and it's been nice having you around. You've been an absolute gem this whole time, I have nothing to complain about."

He acquiesced and nodded his head before getting a good look at her with his rejuvenated eyesight. He was awestruck, still not quite able to come to terms with the fact that he was actually seeing what he was looking at, a woman, an absolutely gorgeous woman sure, but a woman attached to the body of a spider nonetheless. The tight silk shirt she wore left little to the imagination as far as her upper body figure went. Everything above the thorax was utterly stunning. Her wide hips sloping inward slightly as they went up towards her bountiful chest, much larger than any other woman he'd ever seen. Her face, although initially frightening with it's bone white white skin and too many beady black eyes, was incredibly pretty. She looked almost regal in a way, as if she was some old painting of a duchess or queen.

She tilted her head a bit, her eyes narrowing but the smile never leaving her face. He realized he probably looked pretty dumb staring like that and nervously cleared his throat.

"So uh, Claire. Where'd you get these clothes? I mean if you don't mind me asking."

She raised her other hand to her face and examined her black painted nails absentmindedly. It was almost bizarre watching her do that, something so mundane coming from somebody so interesting.

"Oh, I made them with my silk."

"You mean like... webs?"

She nodded.

"Yep. I mean, I am an Arachne after all, of course I can make webs. I make clothes and fabric with them all the time. That's how I'm able to afford all the stuff you see in this old bunker."

"Oh, that's what this place is. It's amazing what you've done with it by the way. It looks incredible."

She beamed with pride.

"Well thank you very much, James."

"Yeah, no problem but uh... what's an 'Arachne?'"

She stopped looking at her nails and once again focused on him.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask."

She sat up a bit and continued.

"I'm an Arachne. A spider woman. I'm part of a subspecies of Mamono."

He just stared in disbelief.

"Oh. That... explains it I guess."

She chuckled.

"There's a lot more of us out there. Not just spiders, either. Elves, goblins, manticores. You've probably seen one of us before and didn't even realize it. We all have disguises. What I do in particular is stand myself up on my bottom two legs and wrap myself in a robe so I look like a tall, heavier woman. I put a special wig on my head so people can't see my extra eyes."

Her answers just gave him more questions.

"Have you always done that, though? How long have you been here? I mean not just you personally but other Ma... Manamana?"

She gently corrected him.

"Mamono."

"Yeah, right. Sorry. Um, Mamono. Anyway, why are you disguised all the time? Have you always had to do that?"

She continued.

"A long, long time ago we didn't have to hide. We used to mingle openly with humans. We'd live in the same cities, pass each other on the streets, sometimes we had disagreements and arguments, most of the times we were friends with one another..."

A grin spread across her face, her main set of eyes sparkled.

"... many times we were even lovers."

James felt his chest get hot, his breath catching in his throat, unable to stop himself from imagining what it might be like to be in bed with Claire. She winked at him knowingly.

"What happened, though? Why did that change? How come you all had to start hiding from us?"

Her wistful expression became forlorn. Her eyes drooped.

"The exact reason for all of it is lost to time at this point, but people started getting scared of us. Very scared. At first we were just pushed out of cities, but eventually there was violence. Lots of people died. Lots of Mamono died."

She closed her eyes.

"Lots and lots of Mamono died."

James went from being enthralled by her story to sharing in her sadness, while also feeling a bit of guilt begin to tear at him.

"I... I'm sorry, Claire. That's horrible."

Her eyes opened again and she composed herself.

"Don't be, James. You had nothing to do with it. That was hundreds and hundreds of yars ago, and you had no way of knowing we even existed."

He nodded.

"Anyway," She sighed. "Eventually it was decided that we would just hide ourselves. We'd continue to live with humans, but we'd make ourselves look like you so that we didn't scare you anymore. It's hard sometimes, but it's much better than fighting and killing all the time. Personally, I'm okay with it because I don't like the thought of being scary. At least not usually."

James once again felt guilty. He never thought about how she might not have just been upset at not only having her house broken into, but also of terrifying some random stranger she'd never even met. He noticed a slightly pained expression on her face that creeped through the smile she had.

"Claire... I don't think you're scary."

She perked up a bit.

"You don't? It seemed like you did earlier."

"Well yeah, I did, and I'm really really sorry, but I promise I don't anymore. You're not scary at all."

Claire became relaxed, once again resting her chin on her hand.

"Okay, so what do you think of me, James?"

He nervously cleared his throat.

"I think you're very beautiful, actually."

Her smile widened and she slowly stood up off the couch. She walked over to him and leaned down, once again softly placing a hand on his cheek, holding it there.

"You're very sweet, James."

His voice became shaky. Her hand was so warm and soft.

"I... I try to be. Thank you."

"No, thank *you*."

Reluctantly, she took her hand from her face before putting it on her hip.

"Well then, how about we get something to eat now?

James nodded and slowly stood out of the chair, taking the washcloth of his face and handing it to her. She gently took it and turned around, making sure not to knock him over with her thorax. He followed her dutifully down another hallway, presumably to whatever room in her labyrinthine underground home she turned into a kitchen or dining room.

Their meal was venison made from a massive mule deer that Claire had managed to catch herself. As they ate the meat she explained that there were webs strategically placed in several places around the entrance to her home for ensnaring pray and she was surprised he didn't managed to stumble into any of them. James asked her if a human had ever managed to get caught in one of her webs. She answered with a teasing chuckle.

"No, not yet. But I wouldn't have minded catching somebody as handsome as you."

James choked a little on a piece of meat before managing to swallow it, a blush spreading across his face.

"You okay?"

He nodded, a dorky grin on his face.

"Yeah, I'm just... I'm not used to getting so many compliments from somebody so attractive."

She smiled back at him and they continued to eat, sneaking glances at each other. Eventually Claire broke the silence again.

"How do you think you'd respond to that, anyway?"

"Respond to what?"

"Getting caught in one of my webs."

He looked up from his meal, slightly confused.

"I don't know really. What do you mean exactly?"

She straightened herself up a bit, staring directly into his eyes, her bright smile being replaced with an expression that seemed predatory. Not exactly frightening but putting him on edge. A huntress eyeing her prey.

"I mean how would you feel if you were all tied up in my silk? How would you feel if your limbs were spread out and your clothes were cast aside?"

Before James had known what was happening, she had climbed atop of the small table that was between them, her face an inch from his, her lips hovering tantalizingly close.

"What would you like me to do to you if you were in that position, James?"

She gently placed her lips against his, and after getting over his initial shock, he reciprocated the kiss. It was short but intoxicating, their lips once again separating after only a second but his beginning too tremble, hers curling into a smirk.