Chapter 4

Sleep came eventually despite her mind flickering back to all sorts of raunchy images and thoughts. Muddled and nonsensical, she found herself in a variety of strange situations. In one scene she was riding a horse, but the saddle was a man lying down, so she had to mount him cowgirl style ride and ride him in a race for her life. In another scene she was being chased by mini panda bears wearing nutcracker uniforms wielding dildos. They kept catching her, but then she’d jerk one off and they’d run away for a few seconds. Then another where she was being sucked into a black whirlpool. That was one she’d had before as a nightmare, but instead of the drowning feeling, the whirlpool stopped sucking her in when she was half way down, then her entire lower body felt like it was being caressed and teased by warm needy hands. She was about to be penetrated when everything phased out and she woke with a squirm. Her legs were clamped tight around her own treacherous hand.

“Uhh ... It looks like, this came for you.” She saw Kyle come back in from the front door holding a box.

“I don’t want it.”

“Oooh kay. Well, I’m heading out,” he set it down just inside the doorway.

Despite the now ever present arousal, Emily felt a little clearer. She knew that box contained another gift for her. In all likelihood, Preston was nearby waiting to fuck with her mind. It wasn’t like he could leave traps on objects, he had to be around to do his mojo, right? Of course, she had no idea what the rules were. This was something supernatural, so everything reasonable went out the window. Emily curled up on the couch and stared at the box, afraid to get up.

“I don’t want this,” she announced to the empty apartment with a voice that quavered betraying her fragility. “I don’t want any of this.”

Whatever she was supposed to be wearing for today’s fuckfest was probably in that box. It was probably really sexy, and if she opened it, she’d surely get her next gift. ‘Fuck That!’ she thought with a fierce strength smashing away the other errant thoughts that were seeping in. She got up, showered, and got dressed, jeans, a tee shirt, this sweater, a hoodie, and walking shoes. Friday was a work day, and theoretically she should have been heading in, but she was done with that too. He could find her there and she sure as shit didn’t want to see him. Not wanting to go anywhere near the box, Emily slid open the window and climbed out the fire escape. Her sneakers crunched onto the pavement and grit as she landed and looked around with trepidation. If Preston was nearby, he’d surely see her now. She waited a moment to see if he was going to press into her mind. Something was there, she was sure of it. It all had to do with that box in front of her that she really needed to open up. But there was no box in front of her, just the one back in the apartment. He was definitely there but for some reason, he wasn’t trying to connect to her mind like he’d done before. Hoping for a spat of luck, she looked down and walked off trying to look casual.

Okay, so sure, right now just walking around gave her a low buzzing warmth of pleasure. Apparently, that was now just going to be a thing with her. ‘Oh my god, he can make permanent changes in how I feel things with a thought. Not just when I’m around him, but forever.’ That was the first moment she thought about killing him. This wasn’t about protecting herself, frankly, she didn’t really amount to much in this world, she didn’t see any reason why he was so focussed on making her his willing sex slave. If he wanted to, he could have just done it already, so why hadn’t he? There had to be something, some way to stop him. If Kyle had a gun she could- no, that wouldn’t work.

If he was able to read her mind, he’d know what was up, and he’d probably make her blow her own brains out. Her blood chilled when she realized that people probably wouldn’t be surprised by it. She shook her head to get that unproductive thought out and kept walking. Maybe she could hire someone to kill Preston. If he couldn’t read that person’s mind quick enough, he could kill him and it’d be over. She took a train to Brooklyn while trying to come up with a way to pay a hitman. There was no way.

He had all the money, all the power, everything. Fuck!

She wasted a couple of hours reading books on paranormal phenomenon in the library. If she hadn’t known anything about superpowers before Preston, why on earth did she think there’d be anything to help her now? Google was great for information about superhero movies, but not so much on actual superpowers. Plus googling superhero mind control led her to some sites that she didn’t want to think about anymore. At least not while her body was getting aroused at the drop of a hat and definitely not in public.

Emily walked into an Irish style pub for lunch. The fish and chips didn’t offer her any solutions, so she ordered a shot of whisky. That one told her she might feel better after a second shot. It wasn’t lying. By the time her third shot was done, she didn’t feel so scared anymore.

Sure her privates were throbbing and the fat ugly old bartender was starting to look like he might be able to plow her real good, but at least she wasn’t scared. She paid for the food on credit, mentally saying a curse to the company who she’d be paying more interest to this month. Ha, the jokes on them, they had nowhere to send the statement. Suckers.

‘Fuck autopay,’ she thought. Didn’t matter, it was all electronic anyway.

“‘Scuse me, hey, where’s the bathroom?”

“Back down the hall, to the left.”

“Sweet. Perfect. An can I get one more sot - shot, for the road?”

“You ain’t drivin’ right sweetheart?”

“Do I look like I’m drivin, bunnycakes?”

He chuckled at her swaying comeback.

The bathroom spun and she wondered, ‘Hey, maybe if I’m reeeeeally drunk, he won’t be able to fuck with my mind. Then I can kill ‘im.’

She grinned an evil grin. Straightening herself out and carefully walking back out, she saw a bin full of steak knives and palmed one before heading back to her seat.

“One more for the road, I added it to ya check.”

“Thanks Patty.”

“My name’s Bob.”

“And I’m drunk,” she announced and chewed a chip at him dramatically. She giggled, fingering the knife in her pocket, hoping he hadn’t seen it. Smiling, she took the last shot down with a shudder and headed out with murder on her mind.

Her phone had the GPS for Preston’s place in it, so she took a ride share. It cost more than she could afford, but at the moment she was a little worried about passing out drunk in the middle of the day on the subway.

Drunk as a skunk, Emily stumbled out of the car, her knife skittering out of her pocket onto the sidewalk. She bent down and the world tilted her over so she had to catch herself on all fours, but she got the knife back. She was fine, this was going to work.

She walked up to the old doorman who forgot everyone’s names, “Heeey, I d- don’t know if you ‘emember me, but I’m going to see Preston ‘kay?”

His look was one of fear and concern, “Miss Emily, I remember you, Miss, listen.” He took her by the shoulders, steadying her, “Don’t go up there, he’s dangerous.”

She blew a few hairs out of her face, “I know, he’s a supervillain.”

“Yeah, he does things with his mind, messes with your head, but you gotta fight it.”

“I know,” she drawled drawing out her I’s, “I’m gonna stop him.”

“You can’t, not like this. You need a clear head or else he just gets right in and poof you’re done.”

She snorted a few times then laughed, “I can’t fight him, he meh- messed me up when I was- was stone slowed sober, clode sober.”

He gave her an earnest shake, “Then run, change your name, just run.”

She smiled at him, “It’s okay, I’ll be fine.”

“Run,” he whispered harsh and desperate.

“How disappointing,” His voice.

The old doorman turned around slowly with dread, “This, this isn’t what it looks like ma- ma-s-s-sir.”

“Now Ed, don’t lie to me, you know I can tell when you’re lying. I think it’s time to revisit your appreciation of alcohol.”

“Oh, no, please, I been sober 5 year now ma-ma-”

“I’ve been kind, I’ve helped you stay sober all this time. And you repay my kindness with this?”

“Please don’t, no,” he begged clearly distraught. Emily stumbled back and tried to steady herself, her hand gripping the knife handle tighter.

“Don’t? That sounds like a great idea. All I’m going to do is stop helping you.” Preston stared at Ed the doorman intently. Ed grabbed his head, shaking it, trying to fight.

‘Now or never,’ she thought and staggered towards Preston. She felt the rush of adrenaline climb with every step, she got close enough, feeling out of body joy, she pulled out the knife and drew back and-

He flicked a finger at her and suddenly she felt light a bubbly. A vapid smile crept across her face and she dropped the knife. It felt like floaty bubbles all around. She giggled at the spinning world then knew she was supposed to look Him again so she did.

“Hello my sweet girl.”

“Hullo,” she giggled. Everything was so light and silly wasn’t it?

“Wow, you’ve been a naughty girl today haven’t you?”

She smiled and shrugged, thinking about getting out going down the fire escape.

“Okay, hmm, that’s how you got around me. I was wondering about that.” She gazed at him with a smile and he walked over to her looking deep into her eyes. “Well, despite everyone else being deceitful and murderous, I’m a man of my word. So I’m still going to give you your gift for today. There you are, very nice. Now off you go.”

The city that never sleeps isn’t a good place for finding privacy in public spaces. People are always moving and there’s no guarantee that a place will remain empty even when it seems to be. Emily wanted to find someplace to go cry, but there wasn’t really any place to that wasn’t wretched.

She settled on a bathroom in a subway station.

Just seconds away from committing murder to gain her freedom, but now she was just stuck waiting for whatever gift he’d given her to manifest. It’d probably turn her into a big slut again, not that it would take much now. Her body was already aching for a man’s touch from his first two gifts. Even worse, she wondered if that giggly feeling she’d felt when she was drunk and under his control was what it was always going to feel like. It was so ... nice.

She didn’t think at all, she just obeyed his orders. There wasn’t any worry or second guessing, it was like being high on the perfect drug with no side effects. Was that was she was looking forward to? Was that what life felt like without free will? Also, what had he done to the doorman while she gaped like a moron.

She took the train up to the Bronx. That was probably a compulsion he’d put in her, she reasoned. All she knew she was that she didn’t want to be in Manhattan for what could be her last night of freedom. Her arousal had been manageable for the day, possibly due to feeling a little hung over from lunch. Her gift hadn’t manifested itself all day either. That changed the minute she walked in front of “The Sin Room.”

Like waking up, she realized it was where she needed to be. Of course, this was how he worked things. He fed her some kind of intuitive sense, so her feelings betrayed her at every moment. There was something that felt right about walking up to the doorman.

“Hey baby, comin’ in to enjoy the show? Beautiful women here for you.”

She shrugged, “Yeah, why not, you got a ameture night or what?”

“You lookin’ for a job?”

“Yeah, why not. I ain’t doin’ nothin now.”

“Eh, one sec,” he spoke to his lapel mic, “Hey, got a newbie wants to get work ... Can’t say. She’s fit, but I can’t see the goods ... Alright, toots, go on in, Mikey will help you out.”

She didn’t bother to get stamped cause Mikey took her straight away to the back. “Hey, you got real pretty eyes there, what’d you say your name was?”

Mo chimed in, “Tahlia, right? Of course, because the mystery rich bitch Adriel was tittyfucking is the same little college brat that Nelson banged is the same stripped that loved it up the ass. But you banged her first, right? Bullshit.”

Preston took a low intense tone, “Yes. What a slut right? But don’t you want your moment in the sun? Mo, you got to take the only virgin part of this girl. You got the last thing that no man had done. The very last place she held inviolate, and you were there plunging her over and over. Don’t you want to boys to hear about it? Boys, don’t you want to hear about it?”

Nelson and Adriel shifted uncomfortably. Mo continued, “But what’s with the whole mind control bullshit. We’ve all done the NLP seminars and shit, but the magic snap your fingers and she’s a bimbo, man that’s not real. All I’m saying is, shit this is some good shit, but you should have saved it for April Fool’s.”

“Alright Mo, do me a favor, if you please. Let me finish.”

“Didn’t. It’s Tahlia,” silently she thanked Preston for the name. She felt more comfortable affecting an accent instead of speaking normally as if she could distance herself from it. As for the name, it was a little exotic but had no meaning to her. Clearly, that came from Him.

“Tahlia, member of the tribe huh? You wanna go by a stage name or somethin’.”

“No, Tahlia’s it.”

“Well alright, you lookin’ to waitress? Maybe dance someday?”

“I dunno, little bit of everything. That’s what I did at my last job.”

“Dance or waitress?”

“Like I said, I did a little bit of everything.”

“You a citizen?”

“Fuck yeah.”

“You eighteen?”

“Aww, you’re sweet.”

“I gotta ask. Got some ID?”

She handed him her ID. Even though she was smiling, inside she was cringing.

“Alright, Tahlia, this looks good, you got a cute face, let’s see the goods.”

“Sure,” she gave him a crooked predatory smile. Emily stripped off her hoodie and peeled off the top layer leaving her in a tee shirt. Her nipples strained against the this fabric showing off her disdain for a bra. She bit her lip at him and flicked her own nipple a few times before turning around and bending over at the waist. She cocked her hips from side to side.

“Alright, I see you can be playful, but I don’t got all day, just strip and let me see the goods.”

It was a little more fun than she was expecting giving him a nice show but that’s not what he was looking for apparently. She shrugged and pushed down her jeans, then stripped off her tee shirt, finally shrugging off her panties and stepping out of them. He nodded appraising her, “Alright, turn around.” The way he spoke threw her a little. It was fun to tease him, when it felt like she had some power. But he was just appraising her with an objective eye. She felt a little less empowered and a little more worried that she wasn’t going to make the cut. Dutifully, she turned around, hoping that he’d come out with effusive praise. His silence left her feeling progressively more humiliated.

“I’ll be honest that ass is great, you got some nice curves and you’re a clean girl. Some guys like the tattoos but some like the clean look too. Don’t worry about being a little smaller on top. Not every guy looks for that. Plus, those nips are on point.”

“Ya mean I got it?” she asked affecting excitement.

“Welcome to the family sweetheart, you’re one of us now,” he grinned as the new girl leapt into his arms and hugged him with a squeal. She acted like she won the lottery or something. “Yeah, you can try out helping the other waitresses. Come by tomorrow for training, oh and make sure you shave before you come in. Part of the uniform.”

“Arright, and Mikey, can I hang out tonight?”

“You’re not on the clock.”

“No worries, I just wanna make some friends.”

“Oh, and hey, just so you know, if you class up your accent a little, the boys from Manhattan sometimes like that.”

“Fuck the boys from Manhattan.”

“Heh, I’d say fuckin’ A, but those boys bring good money.”

She grinned, “Then maybe I will fuck the boys from Manhattan.”

“Ay, ay, ay, this is a proper business here. We don’t do any of that stuff in the club. We’re wholesome,” he smiled, “We’re friendly too. And what you do with your friends on your time is your business. All your business. All we ask, is be discrete, and nothing goes on here, no talk, no deals on the premises. Hard and fast rule, one and done on that one.”

She agreed to the rules, so Mikey introduced her to the other girls, all the dancers did waitressing and stripping. The hostesses and bartenders stuck to their jobs. Everybody was quite friendly. They really were taking her in like they were a big family. The bouncers were extra happy with her. That may have been because she found herself getting really excited meeting all of these well built men. She couldn’t help but get a little flirty.

By the time the night started she was feeling good. She borrowed a pair of boyshorts and fishnets from the costume racks and threw on a fishnet crop vest over her a cropped tank top. It was an odd ensemble leaning on the trashy side and it accentuated her bottom.