Chapter 4: Anne

She didn't make it home, not right away at least, though the part of her brain still operating rationally knew home was the only place she should go. She was exhausted; over the five days of camping she'd had, Anne did the math in her, 15 hours of sleep. Maybe. Probably less. That she'd gotten so little sleep was no surprise, she'd spent every waking hour fucking her friends, again and again, waking them to quench the need that flared continuously in her, sleeping only when her body would accept nothing else.

That she was the one who went haywire (or, to be accurate, the most haywire) was the surprising thing. She'd always enjoyed sex, but it never controlled her thinking. Her libido had always, easily, been kept in check. She'd never needed sex the way she'd needed it this weekend.

Which made what she was doing now all the more strange. Sure, she was still a bit hot and bothered, but the quickie she'd had with Sharon at Lily's place had really taken the edge off. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. This was different. It wasn't arousal, it was compulsion. She had to find a woman, someone she knew, a friend and share the chips with her. She had to be made to feel the way Anne was.

That tiny spark of rationality protested this wasn't sharing. It was entrapment. It was enthrallment. Anne extinguished this flicker quickly. It was improper. It felt like a pair of jeans that no longer fit.

As she pulled out of Lily's parking lot, Anne ticked through her list of friends, looking for just the right combination of beauty and opportunity. When she was finished, there was only one name. She drove quickly, and when she arrived at her destination, when she saw who's car was parked in front of her friend's house, she knew she'd made the right choice.

The front door opened, finally, after a long pause and many insistent rings of the door bell.

"Anne, You're back from camping?"

"Sure am. Missed me?"

"What are you doing here?" June's eyes and voice indicated the beginnings of panic. The door was open just enough for her body to block Anne's view into the house. Anne made a show of looking in anyway.

"Can't I drop by to tell my buddy about my fabulous trip?" Anne asked sweetly. June looked as if her person OS had crashed. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

That shook off the lethargy, "No... no! I'm really sorry, the place is a sty. I'd be embarrassed to have you see it. Come back in, like, an hour or so and give me a chance to clean up a bit."

Anne smiled as though she understood completely, and when June relaxed, she shoved the door open. June fell back. Anne marched in.

"What are you doing," June whispered urgently. Anne ignored her, heading straight for the living room. Nothing there. She'd brought her share of the chips in with her and dropped the bag on the coffee table. Anne spun and went back the way she came. June clutched at her; Anne easily broke away and started up the stairs.

"You have to leave... now!" June used the same, quiet tone, but the panic was unmistakable now.

"I dunno'... the place looks okay to me," Anne snarked.

At the top of the stairs, Anne turned right, heading for the master bedroom. The sheets on the bed were a mess. The smell made Anne juicy.

"Hey babe, who was at the door?" the woman walking in from the adjoining bathroom had been staring at the floor, putting in an earring. Her blouse was wide open, she hadn't bothered to tuck it in yet. The look of dread on her face when she finally saw Anne was a match to June's.

"Oh Alix," Anne said with faux disappointment, "what would HR say if they knew you were doing one of your direct reports?"

"This isn't what it looks like," Alix tried, feebly.

"Please... I know the 'freshly fucked' look when I see it."

Rumors had been going around for months about June and Alix. It was a testament to their discretion that no one knew for sure just what was going on. But few people are as discreet as they give themselves credit for.

"What are you going to do?" June finally asked.

"Actually, the real question is what are you two going to do," Anne replied. "Why don't we go downstairs and talk about it?"

The three went to the living room, with Anne arranging the other two on the couch. Alix looked stunned, as if she'd been kicked very hard in the back of the head. June's face was harder to read.

"Oh, don't be like that," Anne said pleasantly as she tore strips of paper into the fireplace. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

She pulled a handful of chips from her bag and arranged them on the shredded paper, "In fact, when we're done, you'll be thanking me.

Alix and June looked at her like she was the most despicable person on the planet. Anne touched a lit match to the paper

Alix felt there was another entity sharing her mind; its name was "rage" and it was capable of murder. No one ever thanked their blackmailer... the thought of it was obscene. For a long, crazy second she saw herself picking up one of the pokers by the fireplace and burying it in the blonde's skull. Then Anne had turned her back to start the fire and Alix knew this was her chance. She felt her body coiling even before she'd decided what to do. One deep breath and the decision was made. Another to calm herself. She hated the idea of it, but she wasn't going to let Anne ruin her life... or June's.

All in all, June felt much worse for Alix than for herself. Anne had hit the nail right on the head. No one would care, that much, about what she did. But Alix was fucking someone who reported directly to her. That was the sort of thing that got people fired, and HR wouldn't care in the slightest if it was consensual, which it was. Plus she had a husband and kids. Sure, June knew Alix didn't really love her husband any more... but still. Alix had a lot more at stake here, which is why June feared the older woman was about to do something crazy.

She had no illusions about her relationship with Alix. It was all about having fun and getting laid. She didn't love Alix, her boss was a "friend with privileges". And if that friend just happened to be in a position to boost her career because of those "privileges", so much the better. Likewise, she knew Alix didn't love her; she was a pleasant diversion from the drudgery of her marriage. None of that meant June wanted to see Alix lose her job or her marriage... and none of that meant June wanted any part of whatever it was Alix was cooking up.

Even though everyone what they wanted, June suspected the whole thing would have played itself out in a few months... that's how these things always ended. They'd been inches from a clean get away, and Anne had ruined everything.

Then Anne had made the crack about thanking her, which struck June as an incredibly condescending thing to say. The fury poured from Alix's body (a body she knew quite well); June could feel it like heat. She readied herself to tackle Alix, just in case her lover tried something.

Then Anne got the fire started.

Anne laughed softly as the hateful expressions drained away from their faces, replaced with a look of dull stultification. Anne suspected she'd worn the same look when she first saw the burning chips. She liked being on this end of it so much more.

The flame seemed to take everything out of Alix, her fear, her anger, her initiative and replaced it with something warm and calming that spread within her. As it spread, she felt herself becoming more malleable. Part of her felt like she should be running away, that this was all somehow dangerous. But that calming, warming feeling oozed right over her instincts and she felt too good to care anymore.

Then, on the edge of her perception, came the last thing she would have expected... the smell of berry tea. With each second, the smell became more clear and wonderful. She took a long, deep breath to bring it inside of her. Then another, and another, each breath almost, but not quite, making her feel totally saturated with that beautiful aroma. She gulped at the scent, each breath coming faster than the previous. Her shoulders and chest heaved with the effort; the scent leaving her giddy, the hyperventilation leaving her dizzy.