Author's Note: This is the chapter where the story gets it's 'M' rating. Yes, we know, that was fast. We've gotten way more graphic in this one than in our previous two stories, so if you don't think you should be reading about fairly graphic sex, then don't read the end of this chapter! You have been warned.

REDUCED TO THIS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Two

Ginger fumed from one side of the bar, her eyes locked on her quarry and the bitch currently compromising it. Philip and the nobody had been talking steadily for almost forty-five minutes. She had been so sure he'd have lost interest in her by now, and that would have been her cue to step in and commandeer him for the rest of the night. But now, she'd been alone for nearly an hour and it was beginning to look gauche. She had to make her move, and soon, no matter if she had to drag him away from the blond or what.

A drink was set in front of her and her gaze flashed to the man who'd done it. She was in no mood for some lame pick-up line, however, her nasty remark softened on her tongue when she got a look at the guy. He was very tall, and for someone as tall as Ginger, that was saying something. Built, wheat blond hair, striking blue eyes. Cute... in a Midwestern high school quarterback kind of way. She had no time for him at the moment, but a slightly less biting shoot down would do...

He indicated the drink. "Jack. Straight. You've got the look of a woman who can handle it, and like you might need it."

She raised one delicately arched brow and one corner of her mouth lifted slightly. This was a man who recognized a powerful woman and if she wasn't mistaken, by the cut of his clothing, his imposing body language, and direct tone of voice, she saw the same power coiled within him. In one motion, she took the shot and expertly tossed it back. Ordinarily, she might have rejected it, but he was actually right... She did need good, stiff drink right about then.

"Thanks," she said.

"You want to tell me what's got you so uptight, or should I take a guess?"

The assessing look he gave her almost made her laugh. She had a pretty good idea what he thought was making her 'uptight.' "It's nothing like what you're thinking, dirty boy." She tossed her hair, her eyes sliding over to where Philip and the blond were still talking. "I've been humiliated in front of important people by someone I just want to kill, and now the person I came here to be with has been snatched by someone else."

"You want to kill them, too?"

The question was posed fairly lightly, but something in his tone made her suspect that he wouldn't laugh if she said yes. "The jury is still out on that one. Why?"

He produced a card and handed it to her. "Here. You might find this useful." He leaned close to her, smiling when she didn't draw back. "A beautiful woman may sometimes find herself in need of a guy like me."

"What does that mean?"

"What do you want it to mean?"

She smiled. "I'll remember that." She glanced at his nametag. "Hector."

Teri locked her car with a push of the clicker and turned resolutely toward the restaurant. It was after midnight, but the party was still kicking and the line of people to get in wrapped around the side of the building. She stood near the curb for a moment to fish her industry ticket out of her cavernous purse.

"Teri!"

She looked up to see Danny exiting the restaurant and coming toward her. She smiled. "Hey! What are you doing out here?"

"I'm escaping, what does it look like? Ginger's fit to be tied."

She rolled her eyes. "Is she still upset about the soda thing?"

"Well, yeah... but there's more." He chuckled a bit. "You missed quite a show... Why weren't you here earlier? Have you just now arrived?"

"I feel a little silly," she said, blushing slightly. "The person who came with me ditched in the middle of the movie, so I thought I'd just go home. But then, it was so early when I got there, I changed clothes and came back. Long trip just for a costume change, you know?"

He paused. "You had... a date?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

"No!" he denied instantly. "No, no... Of course not... I was just wondering..."

She grinned and leaned in to give him a stage whisper. "I was with Chloe. Shhh! Don't tell anyone!"

He was quite visibly relieved. "You got Chloe out? Thank God... Anything to help her recover from what that asshole did to her."

"She told me that you've been covering for her," she said.

"Oh, well, you know," he said, glancing anywhere but at Teri. "We're colleagues, and she's a friend of yours, I mean, a friend of mine, and so..." His gaze flitted to her outfit. "You look nice tonight, by the way."

She automatically straightened her blue button-down top. "Yeah? I mean, this is about as dressed up as I get, it's nothing like what everyone else is wearing..."

"No," he said, seriously. "You look really... really nice."

At that, she definitely blushed, turning red to the tips of her ears. To distract him from it, she said, "So, you were saying I missed something earlier?"

"Yes!" he said. "You might not know, but Ginger's been wanting to get her hooks into Philip Grayson ever since our office landed the promotion gig..."

She nodded. "I got wind of it." She cast devious looks about. "My spies are everywhere..."

"You heard it from Chloe."

"Yep."

He shrugged. "Well, anyway, she was all set to cast out tonight, except for this gorgeous 'mystery woman' came out of no where and single-handedly swept him out from under Ginger's nose. She didn't stay very long, but he was with her pretty much the whole time and just before she left, she kissed Mr. Grayson right in the middle of the dance floor! I mean, you should have seen that kiss, there was tongue and everything, and the camera flashes... It looked like the fourth of July."

Teri's brow furrowed slightly. "Was she some kind of crazed fan?"

He shook his head. "Nope. It was very clear that he enjoyed it."

Her eyebrows rose in concert. "Oh, reeeeeeally?"

Danny grinned. "Even though you missed everything, I'm sure you'll be able to read all about it in tomorrow's papers."

"Not the same, since I won't get to see Ginger's face, but good enough." She glanced back at the parking lot. "So, are you going home now? Where's your car?"

He sighed. "I came in Ginger's limo. All passengers are to find their own transportation back to their humble abode."

She rolled her eyes. "That's Ginger for you. Ever the considerate one. What's your plan?"

His cheeks tinged pink for a moment as he leaned in closer to her. "I was... kind of hoping a very dear and beautiful friend of mine could give me a ride."

"Beautiful?" She blinked a few times as she looked up at him. He was standing very close to her... Very close, indeed. But she didn't feel like moving away. In fact, it felt kind of... nice. "And where would this person be?"

"She's right--"

"PEER!"

A heart-wrenching sighed wrested itself from Danny's chest and he hung his head. Teri also recognized the enraged bellow of the Ginger-beast and felt sadly bereft as Danny stepped away from her.

"I have to go," he whispered. "I'll call you about lunch."

She nodded and sighed to herself as he walked away to answer the call of the wild. One of these days, he and Chloe will come to their senses and work for me, she thought. Since Danny no longer seemed to need a ride, she figured she'd go inside. Might as well have a drink or two...

"What the hell was that?"

Danny knew better than to answer her when those violet eyes were that alive with rage. Her tone might have been hushed, but the venomous hiss was far more threatening than her screeching had been before.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You were going to kiss her!"

"No, I wasn't!" he instantly denied, although he knew that speaking would only make it worse.

"Bullshit! You were going to kiss her in front of God and all my followers!"

"No, I swear, I wasn't!" Yes, I was. I was leaning in, I had every intention, the moment was there, I had it right in front of me, and YOU ruined it! At least, that's what was running through his head, but if he ever voiced such a thing, he suspected he'd be a pile of ash on the pavement. "We're just, you know... friends, kind of... Not really, I mean, I hardly know her!" he added quickly, seeing the fury just grow exponentially.

Ginger leaned closer to him, grabbing a handful of his carefully pressed shirt. "You will pay for this transgression, Peer. You know what that means."

He swallowed. He knew only too well what that meant.

"You are not to leave my side for the remainder of the night. We will be leaving in one hour. Understand?"

Something settled, cold and forbidding, in the pit of his stomach. "Yes, Ginger."

When the door to Ginger's lavish home closed behind Danny, the turning of the lock sounded particularly ominous that night. He'd seen all of her opulent decorations and furnishings so many times, they were just a blur on the backdrop. His mind was fully consumed by what was to come. He could never be quite sure what mood she would be in, but he had a pretty good idea that there would be no tender, considerate lovemaking tonight. He wasn't even sure if those words existed in Ginger's vernacular...

"Undress," she commanded as soon as the lock had been thrown. She went to the kitchen, fully expecting her order to be followed.

"Um..."

"NOW."

He didn't have much of a choice. She did pay him to do her bidding. And she was already angry. Defiance would not be a good idea. By the time he'd gotten all of his clothes off, she'd returned with a glass of dark cherry-colored liquid.

"Drink it," she said, handing it to him. She watched as he drank it all.

The wine had a strange taste, the way it always did when she brought him to her place. He never said no; he needed a drink to want to sleep with Ginger... Lately though, he'd been feeling a strong sense of guilt each time it happened. Probably because he didn't want to sleep with her; he wanted Teri.

"Can I... use the restroom?"

Her eyes narrowed, as though this was an extreme inconvenience, but she gestured down the hall.

Quickly, he locked himself into the small guest bathroom. He couldn't understand it, but every time he was with Ginger, he ended up wanting her like no other; the mad desire welled up inside until he was little more than a ravenous beast with only one thought consuming him, and he'd do anything, anything, to relieve it.

Not this time, he thought. I don't want Ginger. I don't even like Ginger! I mean, sure, she's pretty, but she's a supreme bitch and that usually cancels it out! I'll sit in here and keep myself from her, and then I can't betray Teri. He knew that it was rather silly to want to be faithful to a woman who didn't even know about his feelings, but he couldn't help it. Desire was a bitch, but guilt was a horrible thing to endure.

But while his heart was completely loyal to Teri, his dick had no sense of loyalty. The treacherous organ began leaping to life as images of Ginger began suddenly flitting inexorably through his head.

No! Why am I thinking about her? Why do I feel like I need to see her so badly? He grit his teeth as the need started to become a painful thing for him. A brief idea of taking care of the problem himself entered his thoughts, but the next moment, he was absolutely certain that nothing could satisfy him except for Ginger. He had to have her wrapped around him or death was imminent.

He found himself rising from the toilet and opening the door to the bathroom. She was standing in the hallway, waiting for him, wearing only a black lace underwear set with matching garters and her tall high heeled shoes. She glanced down at the state he was in and smiled knowingly.

"On your knees, puppy," she said.

Yes, he thought. Anything to please Ginger. He obediently crawled after her as she led the way upstairs.

He endured about forty-five minutes of the usual torture; sixty clothespins on various parts of his body, which she then whipped them off, using her favorite lash, giving him one for each minute that the mystery woman had spent with Philip and she made him count them. She had him please her with his mouth without using his hands; he was never allowed to touch her, at least not without her express permission. She followed all of that with digging those high heels into his back.

"Do you like that?" she asked, standing on top of him.

"Yes," he grunted, his face to the cold hardwood floor.

"Yes, what?" she prompted, emphasizing the question with another dig of her heel.

"Yes, Ginger," he said. For some reason, she always wanted him to use her name. "May I have some more?" The sooner she tired of this part, the sooner he could find relief within her body.

"Tell me who you want first."

"Ginger."

She jumped slightly with both feet. "Louder!"

"Ginger!" he said, as loud as he could manage it while his lungs were being pressed so hard.

She petted the back of his head with one foot, balancing the rest of her weight on the other. "Very good." She climbed off of him. "On the bed."

He got up as quickly as he could with the blindfold on and found his way by memory to the bed. She pushed him at the last moment so he stumbled, and he groaned loudly as his throbbing erection met with the side of the bed.

She chuckled deep in her throat. "Be more careful, puppy."

He lay on his back, the only position she allowed him, and she climbed up after him, straddling his chest and pushing her breasts in his face as she secured his wrists in the manacles at the head of the bed. Even when she fucked him, she never allowed him to touch her. That was a privilege, she often said, and he had to earn it. As always, by the time she'd tired of the 'fun,' as she termed it, and settled herself onto him, the sensation felt divine. For one moment, it felt like the completion of something. And as always, that was when the guilt came crashing down around him, but he was too far gone to try and stop what was happening.

"Who do you want?" she cried.

"Ginger," he answered her, and the name was bitter in his mouth.

Go to your happy place, he told himself. It'll be over soon. Think about what you'd rather be doing.

Behind the blackness of the blindfold, Ginger's face became Teri's, and suddenly it was Teri whom he was with. All the scary, violent sex disappeared and he was making love to Teri. In his mind, Teri set him free from the bonds restraining him and soothed his sore flesh with soft lips and gentle touches. Ah... Teri...

"Who do you want?" Ginger demanded. "Tell me who you want!"

"...Teri..."

All movement stopped. Danny's heart skipped a beat. Did I...? No, no, I couldn't have...

"...Teri?"

Oh, shit.

"You mean... Snowden?" Her nether muscles clamped down on his organ, as if in emphasis of her mounting fury, and where he might have expected a slightly uncomfortable momentary squeeze, he received a painful, vice-like clasp around the tender appendage.

Holy fucking shit!

"You have Ginger Carlyle in front of you, and you want SNOWDEN?"

For one moment, he was glad of the blindfold that was keeping him from seeing what was no doubt the awesome wrath of Ginger, but that small comfort was soon gone as she tore it from his face. The panic snaps followed and she jerked herself off of him, leaving him woefully unsatisfied and it clearly showed. With an expression of raw anger that told him this would be a night he wouldn't soon forget, she pointed one imperious finger toward the bedroom door.

"Basement. NOW."

After a split second hesitation which he knew would cost him in a few moments, he rose from the bed and crawled out of the room.

Chloe looked up as he entered the office the next morning. She blinked, surprise clearly written on her face. "Danny?" she queried. "Are you okay? Rough night?"

He ducked his head so she couldn't see the shame written in his expression. "I... don't want to talk about it..."

To be continued...