Chapter 10- Negotiations

Richard was alone in the elevator on the way up to his home, so he felt safe enough to experiment more with his newfound vigor. He held his cane aloft in his hands, like a baseball bat. He used to love to play baseball when he was a boy. Maybe he could again soon. They were always advertising Rapture's sporting facilities in the Tribune, weren't they? He swung the cane slightly. No pain whatsoever. He swung again more forcefully. He felt it that time, but the sensation was just a shadow of the pain he used to feel doing less strenuous things like walking.

Instead of rushing home he had done a little bit of shopping in order to have some time to clear his head. He had spent half an hour questioning the poor cigar shop girl about blends and finally bought a selection that she recommended. He then bought a magazine of Atlantis themed fiction with a mermaid on the cover in a passionate embrace with a sailor, and read the first part of the story while ignoring several trains going back to Adranos Place. It was nearly 8 by the time he got back to the apartment building.

His encounter with Lupe had left him feeling more dazed than his physical activity did, however. Her willingness to share something real with him was akin to seeing a lit room down a hallway of darkness. His first impulse had been to take her and to hold her and kiss her and tell her he'd do anything and everything he could to make her as happy as possible, but his learned tendency towards restraint had kicked in. He had married Dorothy after knowing her for only three months and sleeping with her exactly zero times, so Richard was not eager to repeat that mistake.

Speaking of sleeping with women, Richard was hotter to trot for Lupe than he'd ever been, which was surprising because yesterday he thought he was the most amorous possible, and the day before that…Richard simultaneous couldn't wait to fuck her so hard he snapped his cock off, but he also wanted to pull out this luscious little tease they had going on like a particularly sweet caramel on a hot summer day.

I'd love to lick some caramel sauce off her tits, Richard zeroed in on as the elevator chimed at his floor. He mused on how to contrive that situation as he walked to the door. He first lightly traced the key around the outside of the lock, and then shoved it into the lock as quickly as he could.

Although he knew that Dorothy was at home he was still less than thrilled to see her waiting for him in the front room. She was wearing a soft pink gown and she smelled faintly of jasmine. She smiled at him and he was immediately suspicious.

"Champagne?" Dorothy stood up when she saw him enter. "I had…Lupe put it on ice the moment she came with it so it should be nice and cold by now."

Dorothy's usage of Lupe's actual as opposed to "your little whore" only increased Richard's suspicion. "Did you poison it?" Richard replied, only half-joking.

Dorothy laughed. "If I did I wouldn't tell you," she pointed out. "Would you trust me if I had some champagne from the same bottle?"

He wasn't going to be that person to point out there was no way for it to technically be 'champagne'. "You could put the poison in the glass," he continued and loped to the champagne to read the label. There was freshly chipped ice in the bucket, doubtlessly Lupe's handiwork. He pictured her hand wrapped around the ice pick, briskly thrusting it into the block of ice. Maybe she moaned a little while doing it.

"I could stab you in your sleep as well. Are you going to start sleeping with a lock on your door?" Dorothy curtly said and grabbed the bottle from his hands. "Just drink some, alright? It's quite nice."

"Anything to please you, my angel," he flatly said.

She poured two glasses and handed him one. "There's been an awful lot of tension in our home lately, hasn't there?"

Good God, maybe she is trying to kill me, Richard thought with a rush of fear. He paid close attention to the flavor of the wine to try to detect anything off. "What do you plan to do about it?"

Dorothy sipped her champagne. "Neither of us need to do anything rash, do we? We can live in harmony if not in love."

I wonder how she found out I was at the divorce lawyers. Probably one of her gossipy friends told her. Dorothy was a terribly proud person though, so pointing out she had been humbled wasn't a great negotiation tactic. As much as he would like to be formally and physically separated from Dorothy, the price tag was a bit much to swallow, especially if he wished to lavish upon Lupe all the things she deserved.

Richard took another sip of champagne. "What do you suppose can create this harmony you desire?"

Dorothy paused before laying out her proposal. "We both have needs. I need to have my public dignity as a married woman and you need to have your…carnal needs fulfilled. I will ignore your little…Lupe as long as she does her housework in a suitable way and you-"

"Now hold on, what makes you think that I have any designs on her other than what I expressly hired her for?" Richard was curious as to where exactly he had slipped up.

"I've seen the way you look at her," Dorothy scoffed. "Do you deny it?"

Richard took another sip of not-champagne. As long as they were laying everything out on the table he figured he may as well be transparent. He had much less to lose than Dorothy did. "No."

Dorothy gritted her teeth at his admission. "At least you admit it," she spat at him. Richard sighed. "You had your chance. For years I begged you to look past my scars and my limping, and for years you treated me with disgust. I'm not going to apologize for having the appetites of a healthy man."

"Have you fucked her yet, hm? In this house? Where? On the sofa here?" Dorothy demanded.

"No, I've done none of that."

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to either," Dorothy smirked.

Oh, if you only knew…"Can we get back to harmony? I find you much more tolerable with harmony introduced. What do you want out of this deal?"

"You cannot do anything to further sully my reputation as a respectable woman and wife. You cannot be seen in public with her. Or anyone else you feel the need to pollute with your perversions. You also must play your role in this charade. When we are in the company of my friends and peers you will act like a loving husband, not the degenerate that you are," Dorothy outlined.

Dorothy surely meant to insult him by calling him a degenerate and such, but her words had the opposite effect. He had so many appetizing 'perversions' he'd like to subject Lupe's luscious flesh to. "Your terms are reasonable," he cautiously commented. "How much physical affection can you stomach from your deformed husband now, huh? Am I allowed to touch you?"

"You're so dramatic," Dorothy curtly said. "But as long as we are delineating borders, you may kiss me and hold hands. But only when there is someone to see."

"What an honor. And in return you'll turn on your phonograph real loud and read a tabloid when I shake the walls with Lupe?"

"Ha, in your condition I doubt very much you'll be shaking much of anything," she jeered.

"Oh I promise you, you'll know it when it happens," he threatened her. He couldn't acquiesce to all her demands, it made him look weak. "If I am going to play by your rules when there is company and when we are out and about, but I am not going to defer to your pride in the comfort of my own home. If I wish to say, bury my face in her juicy snatch when she brings us breakfast I will do. You can either sit there and watch and pass me the honey or you can leave the room."

Dorothy pulled a face. "You're disgusting."

"Yes, Dorothy, this whole thing is my fault. I'm the disgusting one. Regardless, I won't skulk about my home like a criminal. Do we have a deal or are you ready to hit the bricks, sweetheart?" Richard took another sip of his champagne.

Dorothy frowned but nodded her head in agreement.

"Fantastic," Richard dryly intoned. He lifted his glass. "To our renewed partnership!"

Dorothy didn't toast but instead drank the contents of her glass in one swig.

Richard finished his wine as well. "Where's my little whore, hm? I'd like to tell her the good news." He was certain Lupe had definitely eavesdropped on the conversation from the recesses of their apartment.

"I gave her the night off. I wanted your undivided attention," Dorothy poured herself another glass of wine. "There's food in the kitchen if you want to eat. Don't concern yourself with poison, if I kill you I will do so in a way that I get to personally enjoy it."

"There's the charmer I married," he scoffed but left the living room all the same.

Richard was going to start saving money fast for that divorce. This situation was not long-term tenable. He opened the take-out box and sighed. Lobster and noodles. He was so very sick of lobster. He'd never been a big fan of it to begin with, but he ate it so as to not offend Lupe's selection.

After eating Richard retired to the library to read the Tribune. From the living room he heard the radio switch on for the weekly installment of Dorothy's favorite soap opera – Palms Ablaze – a show in which a wealthy family on a banana plantation island was always getting into some nonsense or the other. Richard rather liked it too, but he wasn't about to go and sit with Dorothy.

That day's editorial called for more security cameras in public areas due to a spat of pickpocketing. Ryan Security had issued a statement that it was extremely disappointing that any Rapture citizens had turned to crime and…blah blah blah. Richard turned the page to the culture section. An upcoming wine tasting festival at the grand carnival. A new movie about a business deal gone wrong – deadly wrong.

He kept reading the paper after Palms Ablaze ended and Dorothy switched the radio off. She walked past the library and briefly glanced at him as she passed. Richard watched her out of the corner of his eye. He heard the door to her room slam shut.

Richard was wondering what time Lupe would come home. He wondered what she did with her free time. Draw maybe. Or dance. She seemed like the kind of woman who would like to dance.

'New modern rooms!' screamed a full page advertisement for the Hotel Monseñor. 'Bring your best gal! Have a drink or two or more! Extravagant meals! Privacy guaranteed!"

Richard was lost in a lusty daydream when he heard the front door open. He turned the lamp off and listened for her footsteps. He had decided not to tell her about the arrangement with Dorothy, at least not for now. The sneaking around was part of the game and he didn't want to spoil it.

Lupe strode past the library with a quick pace, humming an upbeat song. Her room was at the back of the apartment, near the utility room and the pantry. He waited fifteen minutes, deliberating whether to speak to her or not, and then got up and ambled down the hall near her room. The door was slightly ajar. He heard the shower running and leaned against the wall.

She was in there, fully naked, her golden brown skin soaking wet, soapy bubbles awash over her breasts, her curly soft triangle of pubic hair dripping suds…all just on the other side of the wall. Richard adjusted his waistband so his erection was less constricted and only ever-so slightly brushed his hand against the head. He shivered in pleasure and closed his eyes, and brushed his hand against it again, and then once more after that-

The shower shut off and he stopped as if he had been caught white-handed. He remained stock still. He could hear Lupe step out of the shower, still humming her merry tune. Richard didn't dare to spy on her, that would be too much, too delicious, too much at once. But the thought of finding satisfaction was too much, so he gently rapped on the door with the tip of his cane.

"Mr. Stone?" Lupe whispered loudly from inside.

"Yes," he answered. "May I come in?"

"Of course," she allowed, just as sweetly.

He pushed the door open to see her with a towel wrapped around her lovely body. "I-" he stalled, drawing a blank on what to say. He wasn't as good at the game as she was.

"Do you need help with something?" Lupe filled in for him. "Perhaps you need something cleaned? Or do you need something soiled?"

"No, I wanted to know what you did with your time off," he said. It was true, he had been curious.

"I had a beer at a café and listened to some music." Lupe tossed the towel onto the bed.

Richard sighed. Her body was everything he had imagined it to be. Perfectly curved hips and bottom, shapely and soft legs, and just perfect sized breasts. But before he could enjoy it much longer she put on a blue satin robe. "Did you have fun?" Richard asked.

Lupe dried her hair with the towel. "I did. I got asked to dance by a handsome man so I danced with him. I hope you don't mind. He asked me to come back to his place but I told him no, my boss wants to fuck me and I think he'd be mad if I let someone else do it before him."

Her paradoxical coy boldness was delightfully twisting him mad. But it also had the less desirable side effect of leaving him speechless. "I would be disappointed, yes," he stammered out after a moment.

Lupe winked. "I knew it. Now turn around, I've got to get undressed again so I can get into bed. I sleep naked usually, it's much more comfortable."

"I'll just shut my eyes," he suggested. "I promise not to peek."

"Alright," she agreed, and once he shut his eyes he heard the gentle swish as she undid her robe, and then the sounds of the bed springs contracting as she got into bed. "You can open them now."

Lupe was propping herself up on her elbows to face him. Her left breast was exposed. Her toffee colored nipple called out to him, it's siren song begging Richard to take it in his mouth and savagely suck at it until he unloaded right into his smartly tailored pants. "You didn't peek?" Lupe asked with a smile.

"Scout's honor," he affirmed while gazing at her breast.

"You were a boy scout?"

Richard nodded but didn't really process the question. He was still transfixed by her breast.

She put the back of her right hand to her mouth and bit it a little. "Did you learn to tie knots?"

Richard again nodded, still not fully computing the question.

"Could you tie a person up?"

"Yeah…oh, yes, yes," he eagerly added once he realized where she was going with this. "I could…" he trailed off while considering all it was he could do. "I could tie your hands up, for starters, and…" this was all new to him, at least the verbalizing part of it was. "…and then tie that to one of the hooks in the pantry. And leave you like that while I go have a drink."

Lupe moaned and snaked her right hand under the covers. Richard watched, mesmerized, as she began to whimper and gasp. Her delicate feet peeped out from the end of the blanket and fluttered around as she proceeded to masturbate in front of him. It was quite theatrical and clearly for his benefit Richard didn't mind.

Lupe's whole body sinuously arched in waves as soft cries of pleasure escaped her moist lips. Richard had never considered a woman doing such a thing before, much less seen it, but now that he was seeing it was probably the keenest thing he'd ever witnessed. He was flushed and speechless and leaned against the door jamb for support.

She made eye contact with him. "What else can you do with rope?"

Tie a boat to a dock, his unhelpful mind brought up. Secure a canvas cover over a boat deck. Attach sails to rigging. Mostly boat stuff. But that probably wasn't what she wanted to hear. He closed his eyes and put his head back against the door frame while trying to think. Richard's main brain had lost the battle with the one in his pants, however, so forming coherent thoughts was a challenge.

Richard could feel the stitching on his waistband press into his engorged cock. "The desk in my office, I'd tie your feet to the legs on one side and your hands to the other side." He worked out slowly. The well-trained engineer quadrant of his dormant main brain snapped into action at this blueprint creation. I'd have to move it from the wall though, and I'd have to get at least five feet of rope because she's not tall enough for her hands to reach if her feet are secured so I'll have to-

She moaned louder and his thoughts were drowned out by a rush of lusty fervor. "Will you really do that?" Lupe half-asked, half-begged.

Richard opened his eyes again and stole a look at her. One of her luscious legs had tumbled out of the bed and her pointed foot was askewly pointing at the ceiling. Her mouth was open and she was panting between moans. Oh, she's really doing this, this isn't strictly a performance. That sudden realization was too much to handle so he began to do some handling of his own.

Richard wasn't uncouth enough to crassly pull his cock out and have at it, so he stroked it with the back of his hand through the fabric. "If you like, yes," he finally answered her. "And once I have you just the way I want you I'll fuck you so hard everyone in the building will hear you scream."

Lupe's rolling moans reached a fever pitch. "Yes," she exclaimed breathily as her pleasure reached a crescendo. "Oh yes, I'd like for you to fuck me like that very much, Mr. Stone," she murmured as she orgasmed.

Richard fell into an ocean of overwhelming pleasure and shot into his finely tailored pants while watching Lupe writhe on her bed. He was thankful for the support of the door frame as he slid a few inches down as his knees weakened. Lupe rolled over on her side and smiled at him while arranging the blankets around herself for maximum coziness.

Richard closed his eyes again and happily sighed. "That was amazing," he commented after he regained his bearings and stood up properly.

"Mmm-hmm," Lupe agreed and burrowed into her bed. "I need to get some rest, I've got to get up early and make your wife coffee."

"You've got to clean my pants too. Goodnight Lupe," he bade her and grabbed his cane from where he had rested on the wall.

He felt buoyant enough to walk normally down the hall, and was in such a great mood he thought he'd try it. Just a step, a single step…there was no shuddering pain, but an unwelcome stiffness rapidly set in so he fell back onto his cane. Things are getting better, he realized with cautious joy. He had an orgasm with another person in the room for the first time in 1944, that was a good start. He might actually walk normally again someday. That was even better. And falling love, well, that was just icing on the cake.

Upon reaching his room he switched the light on. The always closed curtain on the window suddenly felt oppressive. He made his way to the curtain and pulled it open, revealing the azure glow of the neon lights 'outside'. He gazed at the view for a moment, and then sat on the bed. It was time for his injections.

Richard undid his pants and laid them on the end of the bed, seed side up, for Lupe to collect in the morning. Perhaps she'd get some gratification out of it, perhaps she'd roll her eyes. He had bunched his briefs down so far that they didn't even get a single drop on them.

He prodded at his wounds a little, trying to ascertain how sensitive they were. Not even a week ago gentle pressure would caused noticeable pain, but now he really had to dig around in his skin to find pain. Richard took the leather case with his injections from the nightstand and took a small mirror from the nightstand as well. He switched on the lamp and inspected his hip.

It wasn't his imagination. His flesh was growing back. Healthy, normal, and strong. He could scarcely believe it. Instead of pinching himself to see if it was a dream he settled for pricking himself with the needle of oddly glowing greenish fluid. He felt it pierce his skin so it was all indeed quite real.

Richard was going to walk without a cane again. And play baseball. And fuck the ever living daylights out of Lupe.