She turned the car off and tried to control her breathing. She was really here. This was really happening. She shivered. She had parked the car a short distance from the house, but she wasn't sure why. She looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath and got out. Her heart was pounding and her breath hung before her as she locked the car. It was early April, but still cold at night. She was glad she had chosen her winter coat, as it warmed her neck, pulled up to her chin and hung just below her knees.
'He's the only man who can help us', he had said. 'You have to' he said. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe how much debt he was in, who he owed money to or what he had agreed to do to clear his debt. 'He's the only man who can help us'. She liked the us part.
'Us? You, you mean. How did this...' she couldn't finish her sentence, she was livid.
She stood in the dark street and shivered again. Then she found her feet were walking towards his door, almost against her will.
No going back. She rang the bell and he opened the door almost immediately. His eyes unashamedly looked her slowly up and down.
'Punctual, I like that' he smiled and stood aside, gesturing for her to come in. It was a lovely house, she had to admit. 'Let me take your coat' he said and she flinched as she felt his hands on her shoulders, then shuddered as her coat was slipped from her. She could hear him hum in approval, before he hung up her coat and led her into the lounge.
'Please, stand just here' he said, pointing to a spot in the middle of the room. So she stood. She stood in front of this man in his lounge, wearing just heels, stockings and underwear, as instructed.
Thankfully, the lounge was very warm and the curtains closed. There were two lamps either side of the sofa, paintings on the walls she didn't recognise and an open doorway to the left, which led to another lounge with strings of small lamps hanging around the walls. Three candles burned on the mantelpiece above the open fire. He stood by the fire, barefooted, wearing black trousers and a white shirt. Staring at her. Staring at her in her heels and underwear. Staring at her body. Staring for quite a long time at her body.
She stood still, feeling small and vulnerable, her hands crossed in front of her knickers as he inspected her.
'Mmmm... very nice...' he murmured. She breathed hard through her nose, trying to control her pounding heart and racing breath. 'You deserve a better man' he said with a smile. She flashed him a glance, then looked down at her shiny heels. At that moment, she could not disagree.
'He offered to do anything. Did he tell you? Anything. Anything I wanted, can you believe that?' She said nothing as he spoke. He took a sip of water, then walked slowly around her.
'I told him all he had that I wanted... was you. And he thought about it for almost a minute. Then he asked how and I told him. I want you'. If he was expecting a response, he didn't get one.
Silence.
'You mean... like... want? he said' She breathed in harder, swallowing nervously and still looking at the flickering reflection of the fire on her shoes. 'Anytime I want, anywhere I want. Any way I want. For one year'. He paused for effect, but she still refused to respond. 'And he agreed'.
Silence
'He sold you... to save himself. He had pleaded initially. He was in trouble, serious debt, he said... Now, if you were my wife, I would have said no instantly. Instantly. I would have taken any beating, any broken legs, broken arms, fingers, toes, knees... anything. I would have taken anything to protect you and to keep you. But he agreed. Sold you'. She looked at him angrily. The last thing she needed was a lecture.
'I know', she said quietly. 'So I'm here. And I don't think you want me here for a chat', she said. He smiled, broadly this time.
'There you go. Another reason I wanted you and why I would never allow you to do this if you were mine' he smiled. They looked at each other for a moment, then he moved and stepped directly in front of her, a space of 2-3 yards between them, and gazed at her body, slowly down, then up, then into her eyes. She stared back at him. She wasn't afraid and she knew what effect she was having on him.
'Take off your bra', he ordered. She reached behind her, unclipped and let it fall to the floor. His eyes widened as he gazed at her gorgeous, naked breasts. He admired them for a few seconds, then smiled into her eyes.
'Come here and kiss me', he ordered. She stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek, then took one step back. He frowned slightly for a moment, shaking his head.
'No. Kiss me properly' he ordered. She stepped forward once more and kissed him on the mouth, then moved to back away. Before she could move, he took her firmly by both arms and held her tightly in front of him, staring into her eyes with lust in his.
'Kiss me you like mean it and convince me. I want a real kiss. Otherwise you can go and the deal is off. Understood?'
She nodded, breathed in deeply and noted how his eyes dropped to her breasts as she breathed. She leaned in, put her arms around him and kissed him, deeply. He kept his hands in his pocket and had not touched her at all, as she kissed him. She continued to kiss him, deep, slow kisses, her lips parted, her hands on his shoulders, her tongue flicking between his lips. They kissed for several minutes. Then she stopped and took one step back, gazing defiantly into his eyes. He licked his lips and raised his eyebrows in appreciation.
'Mmmm... That was a kiss' he smiled. She crossed her hands before her knickers again, the unexpected compliment making her feel suddenly small and vulnerable again.
'Ok, you can go home now' he said and moved past her towards the door.
'What??' she asked in disbelief.
'You can go home' he said, disappeared into the dark and returned with her coat. 'Come back Monday, 2 o'clock. Same outfit, please', he said, walked to the door and helped her into her coat.
'Oh, one more thing'. She froze, heart in her mouth. Just as she thought she would be escaping. 'You do not say a word to him about this, not a word. I don't want him to know anything about what happens here. Say a word and the deal is off. Understand?' She nodded. Seconds later, she was standing outside in the dark once more, shivering even more after leaving the heat of the house and feeling strangely exhilarated.
She hurried to her car.
Monday, 2pm.
Same car, same outfit, same pounding heart. She parked, tucked the coat into her chin and got out of the car, into bright sunshine and walked across the road to his home, her breathing quick, her pulse throbbing in her throat. What was she doing? Why didn't she just say no? She could have easily said no to this... whatever this was. But she hadn't. She had let this man ogle her, then just followed his instructions.
