Chapter 20 – Beast

Lupe leaned her face against the bars of her cell. The iron was cold and rough. It had been several hours, judging by the partially obscured clock in the entrance way. She had stopped crying and had collected her thoughts somewhat and was now sullenly trying to comfort herself.

Helena won't be gone long. She'll get the Americans or the Russians to come save us. I hope it's Americans because then I can sell my art once we get out of here. I'll give interviews as the woman who kept a secret and saved millions and galleries will trip over themselves to show my art. I'll see Ryan at a cocktail party – no, he'll be serving me the drinks, that's how far he'll fall – and I'll spit in his face. And everyone will laugh.

Despite her prescribed isolation Lupe still very much felt the pulse of the city around her. The dripping of the water, the gentle whooshes and metallic clangs of the machinery that kept them dry and alive, the hum of light bulbs, and even the periodic rumble of the train several blocks away. Soon I'll hear birdsong again, and rain, and wind.

She wanted to believe it so badly.

Her slippers were soaked from the half-inch of frigid standing water on the floor and she was almost looking forward to getting shipped off to Persephone as long as it meant she wouldn't get trench foot. I wonder if Richard will ever find out what happened to me or if he'll think I ran away, she sadly mused.

Muffled voices from behind the door caught her attention. She stood up straight and backed right into the drizzle of water as it was unavoidable. It was probably nothing to do with her, she realized after a minute of listening to the garbled conversation. A purse thief or drunken brawl or a robbery. But that's okay. This is actually very fortunate for me, in a few months' time I'll be living it up back in New York as the famous jailbird artist.

I'm a good artist.

Her lip trembled and she felt another crying jag come on.

The argument continued on the other side of the door. The voices were getting noticeably raised. Lupe tried to listen but fear and panic sunk their teeth into her skin again. Her internal refrains of how this was really a good thing had lost whatever luster they had and felt more tears spring from her eyes.

"Fine!" The clear delineation of a word forced her attention to the door. "If it's such a big deal, then fine! I don't need this, I got enough to worry about as it is keeping you high and mightys safe."

The door opened suddenly. She didn't recognize the man who opened it but he wore one of the silver badges that all the security personnel did. But behind him…

Lupe's heart burst with joy, releasing all the love for Richard that she had been holding back out of fear of rejection or boredom on his end. In that second nothing else existed – no iron bars, no dripping water, no security agents – just her and Richard and that was the entirety of the universe.

"Yes, it is a big deal," Richard said in a half-patronizing, half-sarcastic tone of voice that Lupe had never heard him use before. "You've got zero right to abscond with my employee. Do you realize I am now paying her for work she's not doing?"

Lupe barely heard him, however. Oh my love, you did it, you proved me wrong, you do love me, I'm not just a plaything for you. She was his forever now. Her strong and brave savior, her knight in a very sharp suit, her protector in this city of pretty monsters and their captive prey.

"Yeah yeah yeah, you sure got it tough, don't ya?" The agent fiddled with his key ring.

Richard made eye contact with Lupe and gave her an encouraging gentle smile, but his voice was still condescending when he spoke again. "Hurry up and get her out, I haven't got all day," he ordered, somehow managing to sound bored by this errand.

The key entered the lock and the sound of it turning was the sweetest music she'd ever heard. "Thank you," she said softly, unable to give voice to newfound elation at both her release and Richard's undeniable love.

"If I get a whiff that she's up to something or I find out she's been holding out on me, boom, her little duff's gonna be right back in that same cell," threatened the agent.

"Believe me, if she's a criminal I'm going to bring her back here myself, I've got no tolerance for riff-raff." Richard performatively rolled his eyes and sighed. "Come on home now and dry yourself off and get started on dinner, it's quite late as it is."

Lupe nodded, still unable to speak. She yearned to take his hand and to feel his strong protective presence cover her like a blanket but this was not the place for it. Although it was the time. She sighed wistfully.

The agent led them back into the main station. "Don't you let her out of your supervision, she's still under suspicion, understand?"

"Yes yes, I'm not an idiot," Richard brushed off his concerns with an impatient hand gesture. "Are you going to budge me up here some more or can I go now?"

The security agent grunted. "Get out of here, the both of you, and if I ever have to darken your door again you'll regret it."

Lupe could scarcely believe what had transpired in the last several minutes. She had gone from the deepest depths to the most dizzying height. She wanted to linger, to savor the moment or to even begin to understand it, but Richard took her arm and guided her down the stone steps of the security building.

"Keep walking," he whispered to her. "Let's get home before they change their mind."

"You came for me," she murmured, still in a love-sodden daze and obediently walked alongside of him. It was a six block walk to their building.

"Of course darling. I'd never let you twist in the wind." He took his jacket off and placed it on her. "You're absolutely freezing. Did they hurt you at all?"

She shook her head. "No, they wanted to know about Helena. They said she robbed someone, but I don't know anything about that. I didn't know she was going to do it and I don't know where she is now." Those statements were factually true. Love for a man didn't mean she was going to fink on her girl.

"Good, I mean, good that they didn't hurt you, not good that your friend apparently stole enough to get the cops involved to the point where they tracked you down. Did they say who she stole from?"

Lupe shook her head. "No, they seemed to think I knew, but I don't, I swear Richard, I don't know a thing about it." Well maybe one thing. A little thing. But it's for your own good that you don't know.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that you stay out of their grasp. I'm going to have my lawyer…I don't know, do something, goodness knows we pay him enough to have him on retainer."

Lupe didn't say anything for the rest of the block as she was still bewildered by the past few hours of her life. Richard took this to be a sign of shock and, even though they were still in public, put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close against his body as they walked. He was so snug and soothing. She didn't need the sun as long as she had him.

Lupe wanted to be his, to truly belong to him in a way that she had never experienced before. And in a way he'd never experienced before. She wanted his claim on her to be total and powerful so that she'd never feel alone or abandoned again.

They turned the corner past the little bakery Lupe bought bread from each morning. "I just want to get home," she softly said. "All I could think about in there was my little bed and my little shower and little closet and how much I wanted to be back there."

Richard sighed. "You deserve more than that in our home. I don't know when I can make changes, there was some disappointing news at work – ah, but don't mind that now darling. Let's get home and get you warmed up."

"Oh no," Lupe whispered as she caught sight of one of Dorothy's friends fast approaching them on the sidewalk. Either Agnes or Jane, Lupe couldn't recall at the moment. Agnes/Jane had a keen look of interest on her face at seeing Richard with his arm and jacket around Lupe.

Richard tightened his grip on her as Agnes/Jane slithered up to them. "Good afternoon Richard and…..I'm sorry I don't remember your name."

Lupe stiffened. We've been caught. Dorothy is gonna tan my hide.

Much to Lupe's surprise, however, Richard gave a small, almost Dorothy-esque laugh. "Well why would you remember her name?"

Agnes/Jane returned the rude little giggled. "Right, right." She beheld Lupe's wet and disheveled appearance. "What have you two been up to?"

Richard made a disparaging sound. "You wouldn't believe the pickle she found herself in. Some nonsense or another about a former bunkmate, I'm not sure, but I needed her back to make dinner so I got it straightened out. I mean, I just hired her, I'm not going to have to bother with finding a new one."

Agnes/Jane gave a curious sniff at this. "I hope it isn't serious," she said while eyeing Lupe as if Lupe was about to pull out a revolver and start taking hostages.

"Oh no, not at all," Richard dismissed with ease. "We keep her so busy she hasn't got time for crime. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get her back to my home. Dinner isn't going to make itself."

He whisked Lupe away and left Agnes/Jane standing by herself on the sidewalk.

Lupe was impressed with his fast thinking and silver tongue. He seemed a lot bolder than he previously was. Maybe the new friend in his stomach is whispering into his ear. Despite the stress of the day Lupe imagined a little slug gurgling a silly slug language into Richard's ear and she smiled a little at the whimsical absurdity of it.

"I'm sorry to speak about you like that, in such a disrespectful and impersonal way, but I know the way these types think," he apologized as they continued on their way. Richard has increased their brisk tempo to a near run.

"Slow down, you're only going to attract more attention," Lupe suggested. "It's only three more blocks." Her feet were ice cold and she was more eager to get home than he was but the last thing she needed more gossip seeds to be planted than already had been by Agnes/Jane.

"Damnation, this isn't right, I shouldn't have to put on these airs with you," Richard bitterly spat as they hustled along the pavement. "I wish we were back on the surface and that we could just leave and go a thousand miles away where none of these people would ever find us again."

Lupe's eyes widened in fear. "Shush, you mustn't-"

"Damn them all," he swore again, heedless of her warning. "One of these days I'm getting out of here."

"Yes," she replied in a hushed tone. "But my sweetest, you must be patient."

Would you kindly imagine a page break here?

Richard insisted that Lupe take a hot, near scalding, bath in his bathroom. She had hurried to her own room but her small steel shower stall did not seem up to the task of warming her precious body. No less than a minute after she had disrobed and the water was still warming up Dorothy started hollering for Richard from the hallway

Richard shut his eyes as he sighed deeply. "I'll deal with her. Please don't concern yourself with her."

Lupe put a tentative toe into the lukewarm water. "Good luck."

Dorothy was fit to be tied when he reached her in the sitting room. "Agnes tells me that she saw you with your arm around your whore!" Dorothy shouted at him, red in the face and seconds away from violence.

Richard was truly amazed at how fast gossip spreads. Agnes had probably been staking out the front of the building. Instead of getting defensive, however, he merely rolled his eyes. "She was scared, she got arrested. I was just being gentlemanly."

"What do you mean she got arrested?" Dorothy crossed her arms. "I can abide your proclivities but I will not tolerate a criminal in my home."

Richard casually sat down in the overstuffed armchair next to him. "It's nothing. Someone she used to know committed a crime and it's guilt by association, as far as security is concerned. There's not a shred of proof."

"Of course you'd say that! Even if she's guilty as sin you'd defend her!" Dorothy hotly accused.

Correct. "Nonsense. I can find someone to satisfy my proclivities who isn't a criminal easily enough. You mistake me for a fool in love, Dorothy, whereas all I am is a fool for a…well, proclivity." It sounded very genuine to Richard's ears and he hoped that Dorothy was fooled.

Dorothy scowled at him. "I don't believe you," she scoffed and planted her fists on her hips.

Correct again. Richard lit a cigarette to buy him time to think of how to reply. "Why do you have to bust my chops, huh? I didn't plan on this to be my evening. Didn't you see the flowers I brought you?"

Dorothy's expression softened just the slightest. "No, no I didn't."

Richard gestured at the hallway with his cigarette. "Go look. Chrysanthemums. I was going to surprise you, but it seems like you've been surprised enough."

Dorothy tilted her head, trying to get a read on him. "What else?"

What else would sate your ego enough to prevent you from smashing a bottle over the head of my darling little dove? Should we get married again? "I've got to get up early tomorrow for work so we can't paint the town red, but how about we go out tonight. Nothing fancy, just something fun and fast," Richard suggested and took a drag.

Dorothy studied Richard. "Like what?"

"Well, it may not be your speed, but there's a pretty jake hot dog stand near my office. How about we have dinner there, hm?"

"Do you really think I'd like hot dogs for dinner? Like a child?"

Richard shrugged. "They're pretty good. It'll be fun." The confidence in his voice surprised even him.

He was offering her what she wanted, or at least claimed to want, and her greed outweighed her common sense. "Oh, alright, if it will please you. Let me go and freshen up."

Richard exhaled in relief when Dorothy left the room. Throwing her off the scent had been easier than he thought, but then again, she wanted to get back in his good graces so much that she jumped at the chance. It was only now that he realized he was going to be away from Lupe for a while at the time when she needed him the most, but, then again, she needed him to protect her as well.

I hate this place so much.

He finished his cigarette then poured himself a glass of whiskey. He noticed he hadn't felt intoxicated since his surgery, but he had come to like the acrid taste of strong spirits. He had plenty of time – Dorothy's idea of freshening up was to shower, reapply her make-up, spend twenty minutes picking out a dress and another ten for jewelry.

Richard supposed he'd better go apologize to Lupe for abandoning her. Hopefully she'd understand. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hurt.

Lupe was still running the water in the bath when he returned. She was so beautiful and buxom and…her tits are just perfect, little rosy buds on her creamy round flesh…Richard's thoughts drifted far away from the situation at hand. "I um, I have to go out for a while, I'm sorry."

Lupe shook her head. "Don't apologize, I understand." She noticed that he was staring at her breasts. "What are you thinking about?"

Your tits bouncing up and down while you buck on my cock like it's a bronco. "I, uh, just…things."

Lupe sat up in the tub. "Richard, my sweet, please don't take this the wrong way. In fact, I want you to take it the right way. I need you to take it the right way because I need you to be you."

It was Richard's turn to be suspiciously confused. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a beast inside of you," she languidly said. "Don't deny it. It's not the little slug either, the beast has always been there, or at least, as long as I've known you." Lupe giggled a little. "As long as that's been. And I want that beast to come out and protect me here in this cold and hateful city. I need him. I need you."

Richard didn't reply. Undoubtedly there was a darker and more forceful side that had been suppressed for his entire life, but didn't all men have that aspect? It was the mark of a civilized man to restrain himself, to be in control of baser desires and instincts. But then again it had felt pretty good to let his fists out to play. And to push Lupe's head down further on his cock the other day.

Lupe saw that he was deliberating so she laid back down in the tub, purposefully displaying herself to him. "I want you to do whatever it is that you want to do me. I need you to. I need to feel your strength and your dominion so I can feel safe. Whatever you've ever thought of or desired or daydreamed about, that's what I want you to do. I want you to be the man who's been trying to bloom down here in the dark. I won't feel safe until you are."

Richard stared at her naked body, which was flush with the hot water of the bath. "Darling that's, um, that's a door I don't I could close again."

"Say what you want from me," she beguiled him. "I'm yours completely and I need to feel like it."

Richard was flabbergasted by the request. "I…." trailed off, his mind wandering to both what he desired from her and the dark nature of what she was asking of him. "I don't want to hurt you," he found himself saying. "I never want to hurt you."

"You can't," she reassured him. "I know you won't. I trust you."

He sighed slowly. "If it's what you really want."

Lupe nodded.

Richard closed his eyes and centered his thoughts. Years of sexual frustration as well as the normal erotic fantasies of a healthy young man flipped though his head. Images and sensations from a hundred different sexual fictions rushed into his consciousness. Mirrors, riding crops, suggestive vegetables, cries of pain and pleasure, handcuffs, pleas for more, pleas to not stop, pleas for his cock, please, please, please. This is what I want, isn't it? Exactly what I've always wanted. Someone who will let me do as I wish to her – not, not just let me, begs me to. Up until then he never realized it because he spent so much mental effort pretending that his desires were not what he really wanted, but yes, this was what he had always wanted.

"Very well." Richard prepared himself to give voice to the desires he'd never dared to speak out loud. You can do this. Little steps. "Get out of the bath." He hoped his voice projected masterly authority and not the shakiness he felt about this venture.

Lupe eagerly climbed out of the tub, water dripping from her pert and luscious body. Richard tossed a towel at her and watched as she dried herself off. Her light golden brown skin had a faint pinkish hue on it from the hot water. The contrast against the fluffy white towel, combined with the near omnipresent light blue tint that living under the sea, painted the scene before him in a palette of soft and submissive tones.

"Go get on the bed," he shortly ordered. Lupe had to hear the trepidation in his voice, but she didn't point it out and obeyed,

She hesitated once she reached the bed. "How do you want me on it, Mr. Stone?"

Richard didn't answer until he was standing directly behind her. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and caressed her for a moment. He kissed the back of her neck softly, then pushed her swiftly onto the bed. "Lay on your stomach and put your hands behind your back."

Lupe did as she was told. Richard unfastened the gold clip on his tie, and then undid the knot on his tie. He'd thought about this before, many times, and his hands knew what to do even if his brain was too shy to form his wants into words.

He knelt over her on the bed, her legs beneath his, and gripped her wrists in his left hand. Richard took his time to both savor the moment and to heighten Lupe's tension. Her breathing was fast and swallowed and there was a ragged whisper of a moan each time she exhaled. He traced his finger up her back, causing her to shiver.

"What are you going to do Mr. Stone?" Lupe asked in a small voice.

He wrapped the sapphire blue silk tie around her wrists and didn't answer her. Irrespective of wrinkling the fabric, Richard tied a hasty (and somewhat amateurish) knot and then stood up. He walked to the window and belatedly shut the curtains. He wouldn't put it past his wife's friends to make a serious effort to spy on him.

Richard returned to Lupe and sat on the bed next to her. Her face was buried in the pillow and she coyly wiggled her legs around when she sensed him next to her. He placed his hand on her butt and gave a hard squeeze. The flesh in his hand was supple yet firm and he groaned in anticipation.

He leaned over her supine form. "Are you certain this is what you want? You don't need to do this to please me, you already please me," he whispered into her ear and stroked her cheek.

Lupe turned her head so she was looking at him. "I'm entirely certain. I need to feel your dominion over me and I need to feel it now."

Richard sat up. What sort of gentleman would I be to deny her needs? "Roll over onto your back," he commanded in a voice that was noticeably more confident that his previous orders.

Lupe wasted no time obeying and was instantly on her back. Richard admired her nude body at his leisure this time – no more stealing furtive glances. He didn't touch her, however, just visually inspected her triangle of curly brown hairs, her curved hips that accentuated her fit waist, and her round grapefruit-sized breasts.

Unfortunately Richard did not have infinite time. He withdrew the gold tie clip from his pocket and held it in front of Lupe's face. "Guess what I'm going to do with this?"

Lupe looked at the clip and then at him, curious. "Um, you're going to put it in my kitty?"

Richard shook his head. "No. Guess again," he urged and pressed the pointed end of it against her cheek playfully.

Lupe twisted to get away from the point. "I have no idea," she replied with bated breath. "But please do show me, Mr. Stone."

Richard took her right breast in his hand and gripped it tightly. With his other hand he pinched her nipple roughly. Lupe gasped in shock and squirmed but he held her nipple tightly between his fingers. "Shh, darling, you said you wanted this, you said you wanted the beast inside me," he taunted her.

He released the nipple for a moment, eliciting a sigh of relief from Lupe. But before she could recover he shut the clip on her nipple. Lupe gasped again and twisted in pleasurable pain again, but Richard held her breast in place as he fastened the finicky little screw in place.

Once in place he let go of her breast, which sloughed to the side. The tip of her nipple was already starting to redden. Lupe moaned and twisted on the bed. Richard considered stopping the whole tableau right then and there but she caught his eye and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Roll back onto your stomach." Richard's erection, which he had been able to ignore before due to the novelty of the situation, was now too firm to not be noticed. Later.

Lupe complied readily, but her ankles lost their previous bounciness. Richard scooted down to the edge of the bed and ran his fingertips over her buttocks. Lupe was still writhing from the clip so she didn't appear to notice his touch. She'll notice this. Richard smiled to himself wickedly.

"I want you to be quiet this time, all I want to hear is the sound my hand makes." A hard, sharp slap to her ass prompted a muffled squeal from her. "Quiet," Richard hoarsely whispered. Another short smack on her other bottom cheek quickly followed and this time Lupe managed only a near-inaudible moan. A low groan emanated from his throat. The delicious agony of denying his hardon attention was a delightful torture for him. He didn't dare risk exposing Lupe to his potentially harmful fluid until he had a second opinion on it, however, so he was going to play this a bit differently than it had played out in his fantasies.

Each spank came faster than the one before it and it only took a minute for her bottom to be reddened and hot to the touch. Richard paused to catch his breath when he realized he had been nearly panting with aroused excitement. The muffled mewls coming from the pillow ceased when he stopped.

Lupe turned her head to the side. "More, please, Mr. Stone," she begged with an ache in her voice that matched the lust in his blood. "Harder too, make me scream."

He couldn't, that was not something he wanted to explain to Dorothy. "No, you have to be quiet," he stressed again.

"Fuck me, Mr. Stone," Lupe pleaded with him. "Please, I want it so much, fuck me and spank me at the same time."

"No, I told you to be quiet and you're peppering me with demands," he reproached her. "You've been terribly disobedient so no fucks for you. Maybe when I get home if you're good."

Lupe moaned. "Please, just a quick fuck, please Mr. Stone," she begged. "I'm all ready to go, feel for yourself."

"No, you've been disobedient," he reiterated. "Trying to trick me into touching you there as well? Shameful." Oh I like this new game, I like it very much.

"Please, please," Lupe nearly sobbed with need.

Richard sat next to her on her bed, his erection painfully throbbing against his pants. "I'll make you a deal." He rolled her over by her shoulder on to her back again and carefully unscrewed the gold tie clip before continuing. "I'm going to leave your hands tied up like this. If you can figure out how to get your pleasure with your hands tied behind your back I'll let you. If you can't? Then I guess you have to wait for me to come home and then help you out. What do you want to do?"

"I'll wait here for you," she immediately answered.

Richard smiled, gratified immensely by her devotion to him. Or to their game. Or both. Either way he'd take it. "Good, good. I'll help you out when I come back. I'll think of you the whole time I'm out."

Lupe nodded. "Please come home soon."

Richard leaned in and gave her a long, passionate kiss. He held her hot and quivering body against him. "No," he answered after he broke the kiss.

He then stood up, collected a new tie from the closet, and went to go rub one out in the toilet in the hallway.