Chapter 1

Jake took Béla's suitcase and carried it out to his truck.

"Anything breakable in here?" he asked, grinning at her, still not believing she was willing to go with him.

"No, just clothes," Béla assured him.

Jake unceremoniously tossed the suitcase into the bed of the pickup, then opened the passenger door and picked Béla up.

"You going to throw me in, too?" Béla asked, annoyed at the callous way he was treating her stuff.

"No, Darlin'," Jake replied, still grinning at her.

He hoisted her up almost to his shoulders, then turned her around and gently placed her in the seat.

"Thank you," Béla murmured, definitely not used to being treated in quite this manner, and undecided, even, in what manner she was being treated.

Jake climbed in his side a few seconds later, and they were on their way.

"Where are we going?" Béla asked, then remembered. "We're not still doing that Master/Slave thing, are we?"

"No," Jake replied, "Not unless you want to."

"I don't want to," Béla told him.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Béla studied the dashboard of the old truck, trying to determine which lever to move to get any heat.

"Heater don't work," Jake said, figuring out what she was trying to do.

"Oh," Béla said. "Where are we going?"

"My apartment," Jake replied, and smiled at her as friendly as he could, trying to get her to relax. She seemed really nervous.

Béla didn't say anything for a few minutes, then decided to make some effort at conversation.

"What do you do, anyway?" she asked.

"What, you mean like, work?" Jake asked, looking over at her for a second. He really liked the way she looked even in this dim light. He felt a shiver of excitement travel down his back. He thought he noticed Béla shiver, too, but that might be because she was cold.

"Well, yeah," Béla said. "I was just curious. About your work, I mean."

"I'm an electrician by trade," Jake told her. "That means I'm not doing electrician work." He grinned. "I read meters for the Metro Gas and Electric."

"Really?" Béla asked, smiling at him, now.

Jake almost forgot to watch the road – her smile was so alluring. After a quick maneuver to straighten his truck, he paid more attention to the road.

"You get a lot of action roaming through people's backyards?" Béla asked, grinning at him, now.

Jake's mouth dropped open. He'd never, ever talked to a girl about having sex with other girls. It was just something he didn't do.

Béla laughed at his expression. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought ... Well," she sighed. "Never mind. I'm sorry."

"No-no," Jake said quickly, regaining his composure somewhat. This was no stranger sitting next to him – last night he'd shot her, then stabbed her several times – and she still came with him tonight. "It's alright. I, um ... Well, I have surprised a couple of ladies 'in-flagrant-y'. I would be lying to say I didn't take unfair advantage."

"Naughty boy," Béla giggled. "Who made the first move? When you surprised her, I mean."

"Oh! Well, one lady, her name is ... was ... Trish," Jake began to explain. "I caught her in her hot tub without anything on. You know, the company sends out notices with the bill saying what day I'll be there, and she was naked in her backyard three months in a row. I kind've took that as a sign, you know?"

"Yes," Béla grinned, wanting to hear more.

"So..." Jake continued, hesitantly. "We, um ... did it. In her hot tub."

"Did she like it?" Béla asked, enjoying Jake's discomfort immensely.

"I guess," Jake said, not wanting to get any more personal about the other girl. "She has me in every month, even in the winter. I guess you could say she's my monthly piece."

Béla laughed as Jake's face turned beet red.

"Wait!" Jake cried. "I don't mean it like that!"

"It's okay, Jake," Béla chuckled. "I understand. I'm not exactly Miss Purity, here."

"Yeah?" Jake asked, anxious to turn the tables. "What's it like, bein' a stripper? You get ... you know?"

"Definitely!" Béla heartily agreed. "I get lots of ... you know!"

"So ... we're not doing anything, uh ... special, huh?" Jake asked, not certain if he should be disappointed or not.

"What?" Béla asked, surprised at his question. "Oh, Of course we are! You're the first guy in a long time that I've packed a suitcase for. I don't let just anybody shove a gun up my ... um..."

"It's okay," Jake interrupted. "I get it. We're both, um, second-hand."

Béla gazed at him more solemnly, now. "You have no idea!" she told him.

"You had a lot of guys?" Jake wanted to know.

"That's the first question out of every man's mouth as soon as they find out I strip," Béla replied, more sullen, now. "And I never, ever answer it."

"Sorry," Jake said. "I really don't know what to talk to you about."

"How did you know where to take me last night?" Béla wanted to know.

"Oh, that," Jake said, glad to have a question he could answer. "Well, I know what buildings and houses are unoccupied – it's part of my job, you see. And I sort of ... Um, well, I turned the electricity on in the abandoned brownstone a couple of hours before I picked you up."

"And the shackles on the wall?" Béla asked. "They were already there?"

"No, of course not!" Jake replied, actually grinning at her naivete. "I did everything at the same time – got an electric heater, turn on the power and installed the shackles over that old, abandoned bed. I had to get the bed from another abandoned house."

"That was a lot of effort," Béla said, impressed at the amount of work he'd put into trying to impress her with his 'domination' act.

"Yeah, I guess," Jake replied. "Well, here we are."

He pulled the truck up to the curb and stopped. Getting out, he halfway climbed into the back and rescued Béla's suitcase, then came around her side and actually opened the door for her.

"I have to climb down by myself?" Béla asked, grinning to let him know she wasn't serious.

"Well, I got the suitcase," Jake replied, feeling a little lame about not helping her down out of the truck.

Once inside Jake's apartment, he set the suitcase down and found a light switch. Béla followed, her wide eyes taking in everything. The apartment smelled ... lemony. In fact, Jake smelled lemony. No, Jake smelled like...

"You smell like 'Comet'," Béla said before she could stop herself.

"Well, I wanted to clean the place up a bit," Jake replied after a moment.

Béla looked around the apartment. There were posters and pictures everywhere – mostly of over-enhanced females in compromising and often dangerous situations.

"Wow," Béla murmured, as she moved from drawing to drawing. She had never seen erotic art of quite this nature before. "This 'Boris' guy is really ... something. You realize that girls don't really look like that, don't you?"

Jake looked at her for a moment. "It's art. It's supposed to communicate something."

"It communicates," Béla grinned. "This guy is really, really horny!"

"I can take them down..." Jake said, not really wanting to get all his posters and drawings wrinkled up.

"No, It's okay," Béla interrupted. "I like them. He's trying to show ... the indomitable female spirit, I think. It's really quite erotic. The more I see, the better I like them. Hum, this wall is different. The girls are fuzzier."

"Different artist," Jake explained. "Listen, are you, uh, hungry? Or anything?"

Béla was studying one of the drawings, looking for a name. She finally found it: 'Frazetta.'

"Uh, no, I mean, yes," Béla replied. "Do you have anything here?"

Jake grinned. "Yep! It's in the kitchen."

Béla didn't really know what she might be having tonight. She couldn't smell anything. Then Jake was back, looking dejected.

"Oven quit working," he muttered.

"Oh!" Béla replied, trying not to make him upset. "Well, at least it didn't blow up."

"It's electric," Jake replied, sounding disgruntled. "I just fixed it last week."

Then Béla remembered his 'profession' – Electrician. He was embarrassed that something he fixed broke again so quickly.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm not really hungry."

She barely got the words out before her stomach let loose with a loud growl. Jake just looked at her.

"You like pizza?" he asked, "They're frozen, but I can heat one up in a skillet."

"That'd be fine," Béla replied. "Um, Is there, uh ... Can I ... Where am I going to, um, sleep?"

"Oh!" Jake said. "This way!" He motioned with his arm and led the way into the bedroom. "I'll get your suitcase."

"Thanks," Béla replied.

In a moment, Jake was back and set the suitcase on the bed. Béla looked around the room. There were clothes and junk everywhere. It was obvious he didn't have another girlfriend.

"Bathroom's through there," Jake pointed toward a darkened door.

Béla nodded and walked over to the closet, which had no door on it. She gave his clothes, what few were hung up, a shove to one side, then went back and opened her suitcase. She'd packed quickly and neatly – a handful of panties and stockings, and several changes of clothing, still on the hangers. Inside the top was all her bathroom stuff. In five minutes, she was completely unpacked.

Jake was gone; probably in the kitchen trying to recover from what was obviously turning out to be a disastrous evening. She decided to rescue him, and quickly stripped off her clothes while he was still absent. She had brought two costumes with her, just in case ... and she quickly put one on, now.

The fishnet stockings already had a run, which was why she put them on instead of a good pair. After all, Jake might want to cut them off her like he had last night when he'd ruined her most expensive pair which she'd bought from a French catalog. Finally satisfied with her suggestive appearance, she climbed into the middle of the bed and faced the door on her knees with her legs spread wide like the girl in the drawing with the demon almost caressing her with those wickedly sharp claws.

She waited.

She waited some more. There were noises in the kitchen, so she knew Jake was there, doing something, anyway.

She was starting to get cold. Then she noticed that the heat vent over the door was closed. Hopping up, she walked over and stretched up to pull it open. The whole thing came down on top of her, covering her with years of accumulated dust and dirt from inside the vent.

"Auk! Fuck!" Béla yelped, spitting dirt out of her mouth. She vigorously slapped and brushed at the clinging residue from the fallen vent, trying to get it off and only succeeding in spreading it all over her.

"What's the matter?" Jake asked, suddenly appearing. "What happened? My God, you look terrible!"

Béla was so flustered she couldn't find words to tell Jake how miserable she was right this instant. She stood in front of him, filthy dirty and mostly naked – her alluring demeanor completely destroyed.

"I..." she tried to say. "I ... Oh, Jake, I want this to work so much! And everything is terrible! I wanted to dress sexy for you, but I got cold and the vent broke and I'm hungry and dirty, and you're out in the kitchen doing god know what..."