Chapter 11

Sometimes being wrong can be a pleasant surprise. I had run all night, believing I was being chased by a redheaded psycho. When she caught up to me, I was surprised and happy that she wasn’t the person I had believed her to be. I blinked in confusion at the redhead. “You’re not Ruby.”

Scarlet frowned at me. Even on her round, young-looking face, it was cute. “Why would you think I was Ruby?”

“Well,” I said and took a quick drink of coffee to clear my throat. “You’re a redhead, and I don’t know Ruby’s real name.”

She continued to frown. A line formed between her brows. “That makes no sense.”

I shook my head and turned to face her properly. “It doesn’t matter. You are not the person I thought you were.”

She planted her fists on her hips. Attempting to look stern but failing. “Of course not. We’ve never met.”

I smirked at her. “How about we start over.” I stood up and held out my hand to shake. “I’m Seth.”

She looked up at me, visibly allowed herself to relax, and gently shook my hand. “I’m Scarlet.”

“Hello, Scarlet,” I said, sitting down again. “You said you’ve waited a long time to see me?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’ve been waiting for years.”

I wasn’t sure I heard her right. “Years?”

She nodded, stepping closer. “The last Magus I talked to was Henry Rosenbaum.”

I paused. According to Rho’s memories, Henry Rosenbaum was my great, great uncle. He first visited this dimensional pocket over fifty years ago. There was no way this girl talked to him. There was a form of time dilation that made several days pass here for an hour back where I belonged. That would mean many, many more years passed here since Henry last visited. If my math was right, a couple of thousand years would have passed. Maybe the time difference was purely perceptual. If time here really did not pass that fast, then she might have lived when Henry was here, but she wouldn’t look this young. I finally broke my thought process and said, “You don’t look a day over twenty.”

She started to say something, but Vixen and Stacia came in. “Seth, who are you...?” They both stopped when they spotted Scarlet.

“What are you doing here?” Vixen asked. Her tone was curt but gentle.

“I wasn’t going to wait until this afternoon,” Scarlet said, petulance dripping from her words. “I’ve waited long enough.”

Stacia shook her head, staring at the redhead.

I didn’t understand what the problem was. I was willing to talk to Scarlet, but these two acted as if something was wrong. “Everyone relax,” I said, “No one’s hurt. We can talk for a little while before I get some sleep.”

“You don’t understand, Seth,” Vixen said and held out a hand to indicate Scarlet. “She wants more from you than just conversation.”

I frowned slightly and looked at Scarlet. “Is this true?”

She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Of course. You’re the only one who can help me.”

Stacia stepped further into the kitchen, seemingly intent on putting herself between me and the redhead. I reached and snagged her hand to stop her. “No, I don’t believe she’s here to hurt me.”

The redhead grimaced. “I’ll only hurt you if you can’t help me.”

“Ah, an ultimatum,” I said and smiled at the others. “Well, then we’re done.” Then I spun around, turning my back to the redhead. “You can go now,” I said, dismissively.

For a few seconds, everyone was silent. Then Scarlet screamed bloody murder and I cast my armor spell.

I’m not entirely sure what she tried to do while my back was turned, but I didn’t feel a thing. I did notice that she tried to pull the stool out from under me, but I was too heavy. After about a minute, I glanced back over my shoulder to find her back by the doorway, trying to catch her breath but still staring daggers at me.

I turned to face her again. “Are we through?”

She stepped closer and pointed in my face. “You better help me or else...”

“Or else?” I asked. Then I looked at Stacia, who had taken a couple of steps back when Scarlet attacked me. “Is she threatening me again?”

Stacia blinked at me. Her face conveyed confusion and a touch of humor. She only nodded in response to my question.

I nodded too and looked at Scarlet. “I’m sorry, I don’t respond well to threats,” I said and then held up a finger when she looked like she might try something else. “However, if you would care to state the problem and your desired solution in a reasonable tone, I would offer to do my very best to help.”

If Scarlet could have survived it, I’m sure her head would have exploded with rage.

I sat back and sipped more orange juice. For a minute the two of us simply stared at each other. I studied her, trying to decide how else to provoke her, and she seemed to try to decide whether to continue physically attacking or taking me seriously.

Before I came up with anything else to say, she spun on her heel, marched over to the dining room table, and plopped down in a chair.

I looked around at Vixen and Stacia. “It seems she has decided that reason is the path to follow. Would you two mind giving us some privacy?”

They shared a look and then both nodded and silently left.

I poured myself more orange juice and asked, “Scarlet, can I offer you anything to drink?”

It was a good thing I looked over at her, because she only shook her head, no, but didn’t say anything.

I nodded, grabbed my newly refilled glass, and walked over to join her.

I sat down at the end of the table, putting just a bit of distance between us. Huge glass walls allowed plenty of natural light into the house, and we could easily see Vixen’s front yard. A pair of squirrels ran up to the center of the lawn, stopped to look at us, and then one jumped the other to take the walnut the other had in its front paws. I smiled at the scene and then looked at Scarlet.

She was withdrawn, not looking at anything specific. Her eyes seemed to stare at some far-off point well beyond the table. I sipped my orange juice and leaned over to put my head closer to her field of vision. “Scarlet?” I asked.

She looked up, almost looking drunk. Then she blinked, closed her mouth, and focused on me. “Sorry,” she said softly. “I haven’t been myself for a long, long time.”

I wanted to tease her again, but something told me that wouldn’t help. Instead, I said, “Talk to me. Tell me about what’s bothering you.”

Her brows knitted and this pained look crossed her face. “I want Henry back, but I know he’s gone.”

I couldn’t argue with her in that regard. If Henry Rosenbaum was still alive, he would, no doubt, be living at the manor, and I would have either met him or been run off by him at this point. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what happened to him or where he might be if he was still alive. “Is that what you hoped I could help with?”

She shook her head and sniffed. “No. I’m fairly certain that if Henry were still alive, he would find a way to come back.”

Her certainty was strong, if misplaced. “What makes you so sure?”

She looked at me. “Because.”

I shook my head. “Just because ... you believe?”

She nodded. “I have to,” she said in a tone that, to me, sounded like a cross between desperate hope, and bleak fear. I didn’t like hearing it, but if she had lived with this desire for Henry for that many years, I could understand her emotional turmoil.

I sighed and asked, “You said you needed help. What kind of help?”

She looked at me for a long moment. “The magical kind,” she said, looking away. “Henry used me for spells he developed. Most of the spells were fairly simple.” She gently squeezed her immense chest with her arms and then slapped her round hip with one hand. She met my eyes with a small smile and rolled a shoulder in a shrug. “Other spells were subtle, and he was very secretive regarding those. I still don’t understand those spells. Finally, some spells changed my way of thinking. Not once, since Henry last appeared, have I gone looking for a man to be with. I’ve never longed for the kinds of relationships that the other women in town enjoy. Not even with you,” she said, shooting me a sidelong glance, “I have no desire to climb into your bed.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or thankful. If Stacia and the other women I had met around town were good samples, then Scarlet might be more than I could handle. “Okay, but you haven’t told me how I can help.”

She glared at me. “Henry consumes my thoughts and dreams. I want him back, to touch, to hold, to kiss ... to fuck!”

“You want me to find Henry?” I asked, feeling perplexed.

She shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. “No.” Then her eyes locked onto mine. “I want you to replace him.”

I sat back with wide eyes. “I thought you just said...”

“You don’t have to replace Henry with yourself,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But I need you to replace him in my mind with someone.”

I nodded. “I understand. Did you have anyone in particular in mind?”

She looked away, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

I studied her profile and said, “I believe it should.”

She looked at me again. “Most guys wouldn’t.”

“Then you haven’t been talking to the right guys,” I said. “Maybe, rather than replacing Henry with someone specific, I should try to remove the spells that made Henry the sole person you find attractive.”

“Is that possible?” she asked softly.

I half-shrugged. “Until I understand the changes he made to you, I won’t know. He could have used a simple direct influence spell or some cobweb of spells that have focused your desires.”

She sat up. “When can we start?”

I stifled a yawn. “Well, now that I know you’re the crazed redhead looking for me, I don’t have anything else to do until I leave.”

Her hope seemed to deflate. “Oh.”

I knew what she was thinking. Henry left and returned several times. She expected me to do the same, right up until I didn’t return at all. “Scarlet, I want to do this, not only is this going to help me as I’ll be learning from the spells Henry cast on you, but it will help you be free of his influence.”

She frowned. “If you don’t know what kinds of spells he cast, then how can you help?”

I smiled. “I have some experience unraveling spells and using adjusted versions of them in other ways.” I shrugged. “It helps me with the people and things I encounter. Just like with you.”

“And you won’t just leave and never return?” she asked, her voice even softer.

I thought about the blanket, and that I would have to take it with me so I could return should I need more time. I focused on her wary face. “I promise.”

With a screech of her chair, Scarlet lunged at me. She slammed me back into the wall, wrapping her arms around my neck and crushing her breasts into me.

For a second, I thought she was attacking me again, but then I heard her soft voice saying, “thank you,” over and over in quick succession.

I patted her on the back until she drew back enough to look into my eyes from only a couple of inches away. “Let’s get you some sleep,” she said, and then she took my hand and stood up.

I stood up too as she turned to lead me toward the doorway Vixen and Stacia both left through. I couldn’t help but notice how her dress clung to her. I also realized that my initial assessment of her body was wrong. I thought she was heavy, due to the size of her breasts and the roundness of her hips, but seeing her from behind, I learned that she had an hourglass figure that would have made Jessica Rabbit jealous.

Scarlet led me to a stairwell that led up. On the second floor, we turned left and found Stacia and Vixen sitting on a bed, talking. They looked up when we appeared and Scarlet asked, “Which bed is for Seth?”

The two women looked from her to where she held my hand to me. I half-shrugged. Then Vixen patted the bed on which the two of them sat.

Scarlet seemed to give them a look. Both women stood up and moved around us. Scarlet led me to the bed and I heard the door close behind us.

Once we were alone, Scarlet looked me over and said, “Get undressed. I’ll wash your clothes while you sleep.”

I nodded, stripped down, and remained sitting on the bed, watching her as she took my clothes. She smiled at me, never looking at anything other than my eyes, and I realized that she was telling me the truth: she had no desire to have sex with me. I felt a little disappointed but didn’t say anything.

Scarlet moved around to the side of the bed and pulled back the cover. She patted the bed, looking at me.

I stood up, naked as the day I was born, and walked around to that side of the bed. I felt like a child as she watched me climb in. She covered me up, tucking in the sides, gathered my clothes, and left with a smile. I didn’t know what to think of her. The spells Henry cast on her seemed complete. She never looked me over, other than to assess the condition of my clothes. I could only hope that I could help her. I could also only hope that I would be able to take that blanket with me should I need to return here.

After a few hours of sleep, I woke up, covered by blankets, and alone in bed. I climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. Even with the glass walls, the bathroom was much smaller than the master bathroom from Stacia’s house. I wasn’t awake enough to consider who might be watching me as I relieved myself.

At the sink, I looked myself over in the mirror. My hair was disheveled and my face had dirt smeared on it. I didn’t know I had dirt on my face.

Looking around, I found clean towels. I was going to wrap one around my waist so I would have to streak through the house to ask if I could take a shower, but I heard the bedroom door open. I grabbed a towel, held it in front of myself, and leaned over to look out the doorway. The towel covered more than the wall ever would.

Scarlet stood at the foot of the bed, holding my clean, folded clothes. “Where would you like these?”

I nodded at the bed. “Over there is fine, and could you ask Vixen if I can take a shower?”

Scarlet smiled. “Sure.” Then she set my clothes down, turned, and left.

A moment later, Vixen came in. She moved like there was something wrong and time was of the essence. “How are you feeling?” she asked. A few seconds later, Stacia came in, and finally Scarlet returned.

I stretched and stifled a yawn. “Better. A shower would help.” Then I realized that all three of them were staring. I had uncovered myself with the stretch. Not looking at any of them in particular, I relaxed with the towel in front of me again.

Vixen looked amused. “Sure,” she said, stepping into the bathroom. I almost ended up sitting on the toilet to stay out of her way. She didn’t seem to have a problem touching me as she reached in and turned on the shower. She looked down at the towel I was holding with a smirk and let out a subtle sigh. She straightened and pointed at the shower, “Shampoo and body wash are on the shelf.” Then she thumbed back out the doorway toward the bedroom. “Need someone to scrub your back?”

I met Vixen’s eyes, took in the way her eyelashes fluttered while she looked at me, and realized that I needed more than my back scrubbed. “How about you?” I asked softly.

She smiled sweetly, though I thought I saw a twinge in her eyes that suggested a mix of longing and frustration. Then she said, “I would love to, but I’m not allowed to put myself in a compromising position. Please don’t ask again during this visit.”

I frowned but also understood that should I visit again, she may be allowed to participate. I nodded and looked past her at Stacia and Scarlet.

Stacia smiled, glanced at Vixen, and then pointed at Scarlet.

Scarlet noticed and her brow knotted with her confusion. She placed a hand on her chest and said, “I have no desire to be with him. You should go.”

I watched the back and forth, thinking that I would have been happy if both of them joined me. I didn’t believe that would happen, but I was fine with the idea.

Vixen and Stacia shared a look. Stacia said, “Shower with Seth. You may be surprised at what happens.”

Considering Vixen and Stacia had tried to bar Scarlet from me before, it made me wonder: what had changed their minds? Then again, I had no idea what the trio discussed while I slept. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Vixen had talked Stacia into telling her everything about my arrival and the events which occurred immediately afterward. I could also imagine Scarlet listening to their exchange, and reminiscing over her time with Henry.

Scarlet continued to stand where she was and stare at Stacia. “Don’t you desire him?”

Stacia looked my way and her whole body reacted. “Absolutely,” she said and tore her eyes off me to look at Scarlet again. “But I have already spent time with Seth, which is how I know you won’t be disappointed.” Then she reached over and gave the redhead a small nudge.

Vixen stepped out of the bathroom, simply because there wouldn’t be enough room for all three of us, or because there was only enough room so long as nobody minded being physically pressed to the others, and she wanted to avoid temptation.

Scarlet slowly made her way toward me, staring incredulously at Stacia. She only turned to face me when she stumbled and I caught her. I dropped the towel in the process, which left her staring at the part of me it covered.

She looked up at me as she straightened up. Her eyes were wide, as big as saucer plates, which made her look much younger and more innocent. Then she turned to look back at Stacia.

Stacia nodded knowingly and gave Scarlet a huge smile.

Scarlet looked back at Vixen, who sighed heavily and pulled the bathroom door closed. Scarlet turned to me. She looked down at me for a second and then looked up into my eyes. “We don’t have to do anything, do we?”

I shook my head. “I’m not into forcing anyone. I find it far more fun when you’re enjoying yourself too.”

She sighed, her eyes blinked, and she nodded.

Sensing that she was nervous, I pulled the shower door open and stepped into the spray. “Join me if you want, when you’re ready,” I said, and then closed the door.

I got started on my shower, pouring shampoo in my hand, rubbing them together, and then scrubbing my hair and scalp. Soap dripped out of my hair to cover my eyes when the door opened again. I stepped away from the door, offering extra space.

Part of me was extremely excited, and I was sure it showed, which is why I turned my back to the person joining me in the shower. I didn’t want her to think that just because I was rock-hard, she had to have sex with me.

I didn’t believe Scarlet would even take the chance that sex might occur between us; thus, she wouldn’t willingly get into the shower with me. To be honest, I expected her to leave the bathroom altogether, and for Stacia to get wet with me. However, the person behind me never said a word, so I didn’t know who was behind me.

I felt a light touch on my back. Fingers. They slid up along my skin to my shoulder. It was a soft, tentative touch. Like someone was testing me to see if I was real. Then the entire hand settled onto my shoulder and drew down through the water running over me. Whoever touched me had a small hand, and didn’t seem interested in touching anything other than my back.

I nodded my head toward the spray, where I had seen scrubby poufs hanging below it. “If you’re only going to wash my back, grab a scrubby pouf, add some soap, and please do so.”

I heard some splashing as she did as I asked. Then I felt the scrubby pouf on my back, and a thick lather of soap sliding down onto my butt. She used a bit more force than her touch had, but I knew it was to scrub me clean.

I finished scrubbing my scalp and leaned toward the spray. The woman behind me gave a soft cry as water splashed off my head, presumably onto her.

“Sorry,” I said, trying to angle the spray so it wouldn’t deflect at her.

I felt the scrubby pouf leave my back, but I wasn’t fully relaxed by the time I wiped the water from my eyes. I glanced back over my shoulder and knew from her height and skin tone that Scarlet had indeed joined me in the shower.

Part of me clapped with glee, however, I put heavy restraints on that part. This wasn’t a situation as simple as a young woman giving in to her curiosity. There had been simple, direct, logic to how she approached me. She was there to wash my back, and she had done so. I held no expectations of anything further.

I turned far enough to look her in the eyes. She looked back at mine with a touch of wonder, and a heavy dose of fear. She was afraid I would take advantage of her. I glanced down at my shoulder. “Am I done?”

She looked at my shoulder and then nodded. Her head movement was bigger than needed. I felt like I was dealing with a young teen rather than a woman old enough to be my great-grandmother.

I met her eyes again and said, “You only had to clean my back. Was there anything else you wanted?”

She looked me over and then shook her head.

I nodded at the door. “Then you can go if you want.”

She started to turn and then stopped. Her head was bowed, but her eyes watched me as she moved.

I quickly realized what she was looking at and turned my hips away from her. “I told you before, I’m not into forcing anyone.”

She stopped without opening the door. She reached out and laid fingertips on my hip. With a touch of pressure, I understood that she wanted me to turn toward her. In a small voice, she said, “I don’t mind looking if you don’t mind.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I turned enough so she could see me. Yes, I was pointing straight out at the walls of the shower stall, but I wasn’t fully hard and throbbing. Some stiffness had waned.

Regardless of what I thought of myself, Scarlet’s reaction suggested I was more than she was expecting. Her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened into saucers again. She looked up into my eyes, turning to square her shoulders with me. Her gargantuan breasts were slick with water, and her nipples were the biggest I had ever encountered. Her breasts were shaped like two huge water drops, only with bulges where her areola started and two strawberries for her nipples.

I never understood where my fascination with large breasts originated. All I knew was that a woman with an average-to-slim body type and very large breasts excited me. I always thought that I had a limit to just how big breasts could be before I thought of them as too big, but judging by the fact that Scarlet sported a pair that was - without a doubt - twice the size of any other woman I had been with, and I was wishing I could rub my whole body against them, I had to assume that I had no upper limit. I did, however, have restraint.

Scarlet stepped closer to me as I stepped back from her. I ended up in the corner of the stall and she stood with the shower spraying down on her gloriously round pair of sweater stretchers. In her case, they may have been sweater-destroyers. I wasn’t sure. The dress she had been wearing was designed with her size and shape in mind. I was certain her other clothes would be similarly designed. I couldn’t even imagine her bothering with finding bras to wear. There was simply too much for her small frame to support.