No-one's Ever Let You Down:
Hell on Wheels
A new system would likely lead to better productivity. No time would be saved from the suggested system, however, so the cost of the implementation would not be covered by increased profits until the end of the next financial year. Keeping the original system would lead to loss of equilibrium. She would take over completely. She's poison –
Ty broke off, realising that his cost analysis report had taken an unexpected turn. Growling softly, he deleted the offending lines. To leave time for the Westpac report, he needed to finish this today. He blinked hard, forcing himself to concentrate, and continued.
Integration into the organisation would be extremely difficult. Increased costs would be required for employee training, further destabilising the feasibility of the suggested new system. Customer reaction is uncertain, depending solely on whether she accepts –
Catching himself before he could begin a new tangent, Ty quickly corrected.
...depending solely on whether the customer understands the new system and the benefits it produces. She won't accept it. No-one's ever had to break up with her before. I hate this fucking report.
Staring blankly at the screen in front of him, Ty wanted to scream.
"Hypothetical," he said to the laptop. "Which is harder? Writing reports, or breaking up with Nikki?"
A glance at the open document and he had his answer.
***
Nikki had mentioned several previous boyfriends, and he'd gleaned that those relationships had ended on her terms. But what sane man would want to leave her? He wondered what they had done that had resulted in her calling it off; had she simply grown bored with them? Had they resisted her until she felt there was no reason to keep them?
Ty shivered slightly. He had always known she considered him her own elaborate sex toy, but he'd never cared…until now. Last night had proven her mere presence was enough to eradicate his self control.
And as amazing as she was, as brilliant as she was, he couldn't help but want out. He was scared, honestly scared of what would happen if he couldn't free himself.
She was already invading his work; if that continued, he'd never get these, or any subsequent reports, finished, and would eventually lose his job. He was good, but he wasn't fantastic – he worked for a fast-paced IT firm that wouldn't give him time to get it sorted if his results started to slip. Nikki didn't earn much, but he knew she would offer to support him until he got a new job – which would leave him in debt to her, and worse, even more dependent on her than he already was.
If he didn't get out now, he never would.
***
Breaking up over the phone – or worse, by text message or email – was considered cowardly and insensitive. Ty was beyond caring. He'd tried to do it 'properly'. He had brought it into the open, and stated firmly what he wanted. She had refused to accept it.
You called her back, a niggling voice pointed out, and he scowled. He had accepted her refusal to accept his decision.
But still – she had deliberately taken his attention away from his point, preventing him from officiating the break up. After all, he was only a man.
He pulled out his phone. I meant what I said last night. This relationship isn't working. It's over, Nikki, I'm sorry. –Ty
Adding his name to the end of the message was a sign of formality, and he knew she would recognise it. Hopefully she would get the hint. He paced the length of the hall several times as he waited desperately for her answer.
It was something he had to do – but he knew that if she replied, conveying her acceptance, it would break him. If she wouldn't talk to him face-to-face, but agreed to end a six-month relationship via text message… Part of his sanity was riding on the fact that she wouldn't believe he was serious –
His phone warbled, and he fumbled anxiously with the unlock code, before bringing her message up on screen.
I'm meeting my brother for lunch. We'll discuss this later.
He blanched. It was a thinly veiled threat, and he knew she had meant it exactly as it came across. Ty had only ever met one of Nikki's overprotective brothers, but she talked of them often enough for him to know they wouldn't take kindly to him breaking their sister's heart.
***
His body screamed for water. He would have screamed himself, if his throat hadn't been so desperately dry.
Desert. He was in a desert – Level 1.
A figure came into sight, standing on the horizon. For hours, he walked towards it, ready to beg for water, anything to quench his thirst. But for all his efforts, he felt no closer to the solitary figure, standing so confidently he knew they must have water with them.
"Nikki," he croaked, falling to his knees. And just like that, he was there, looking up into her laughing eyes. In one hand she held a plastic bottle, and he could see the life-giving liquid sloshing around inside... Tempting him. Taunting him.
"Hey Tyger. What's wrong?" she asked, her tone almost mocking.
"Please," he whispered, and she slowly unscrewed the lid. "Nikki, please... I need... water..."
Smirking, she upended the bottle and he watched, horrified, as the parched earth quickly absorbed the moisture.
"No!" he yelled, eyes snapping open with a start.
Well if that wasn't his subconscious giving him a boot. He had finished the ING report, not including the thorough edit he would have to apply – if just to make sure none of his frequent sarcastic retorts made it through to the final copy. Exhausted by his constant battle between work and Nikki, he had collapsed onto the lounge and fallen asleep.
He glanced at the clock. It was nearly five; he had another hour before he needed to leave. Nikki had called him earlier, stating that she had made dinner plans. He would have declined – not that she would have listened – but for the fact he was hoping to be able to talk to her without any risk of seduction, given the public area.
To kill some time, he opened his game-in-progress, and absently began to run through what he had so far, the dream still in his mind. He had the entire first level finished – now it was just the tedious task of creating another dozen and copying the same code to them, and then fixing all the inevitable bugs.
The graphics he made in another program, and he set about creating a three dimensional world that would pass as level two. With this sort of thing, he couldn't do a rough sketch and come back to it; the layout had to be complete before he could start coding the next level.
After a good hour's work he snapped back to reality, a thrill passing through him when he saw the clock.
He was supposed to be meeting Nikki in five minutes. Saving his progress, he pushed himself away from the computer and began to get changed; all in no particular hurry.
***
When Ty finally strolled into the restaurant he was more than twenty minutes late, and yet he felt a mild sense of accomplishment. It had always been him waiting for her, habitually early for every appointment that wasn't a work deadline. Grinning at his shoes, he mentally congratulated himself, then looked up – and almost flinched at the expression on Nikki's face.
Wearing a floaty white dress that defied gravity in order to hang from her shoulders, she was the complete opposite of yesterday's seductress. She looked like a disgruntled cherub, her features even more beautiful for the anger that had settled over them, and he cautiously moved closer.
The second he sat down opposite her she tapped her watch. "6:53. You were supposed to be here at 6:30."
Swallowing his nervousness, he spoke as nonchalantly as he was able. "I got caught up in work – finally finished the ING report." So far, so good. He'd not only been late to dinner, but he hadn't apologised for it; maybe he could do this after all.
Nikki wasn't a whiner, and thus Ty was unsurprised when she dropped the topic of his lateness to query his decision in the report. This was what made hating her so hard; she genuinely cared about him, was interested in his life, his work, his friends. She appeared to be the perfect girlfriend, and as he continued the conversation he struggled to remember why he wanted out.
Then she ran a foot up the inside of his leg at the same moment the waiter was taking their order. She didn't even look up when his voice cracked and his knee hit the table, merely withdrew her leg from his lap.
"I think Flynn's up to something," she said casually, as he tried to stop himself from wincing at the pain in his knee. "He was late for his lecture this morning. That's the third time this month."
Not entirely sure whether she was just making conversation, or whether that had been a sly reference to his own lateness, he just nodded slightly. She continued to chat quietly, and he fidgeted, wondering how he could readdress the subject of the breakup. He was incredibly relieved when their food arrived and she turned her attention to eating.
Ty had always loved her appetite; the way she never hesitated to clean her plate was a refreshing change from those women who wolfed down a salad and lusted after his steak for the rest of the meal. Nikki not only ordered her own steak, but also dessert – and it was this last he was having an issue with at the moment.
On any other date he would have loved the fact that she had chosen chocolate cake and was very obviously enjoying it; however the memory of the previous night was still running through his head, and now everything she did was a turn on. Was it really necessary for her to turn her spoon upside down and bring it out of her mouth that slowly? Or to make those noises, so similar to the ones she'd made last night? He shifted in his seat, discretely adjusting his pants.
The last forkful was a little too big, and she was left with a smudge of chocolate clinging to her top lip. He pointed it out to her, and time slowed to a crawl as she licked it off. His entire focus was consumed by the tip of her tongue as it swept across her upper lip, smearing the chocolate stains, and again, when she didn't get it all the first time.
Even as he paid the bill and followed her out the door, the image was still replaying over and over in his head. He was glad he'd chosen to wear loose-fitting pants.
***
As soon as they set foot outside the restaurant Nikki announced that she felt like dancing and, without so much as a glance at Ty, stalked down the street. For a moment he debated letting her go alone; she was training to be a Navy officer, after all, she knew how to take care of herself. But then he caught a glimpse of that short white dress flying out as she turned sharply, and he couldn't let her out of his sight.
He caught her hand just before she entered the club, but she didn't even pause, just threw him a flirtatious smile and tugged him inside. The pounding beat of the music instantly caused a matching throbbing to take up residence in his head, and he held tight to Nikki's hand as she effortlessly steered them through the crowd. Her hand was abruptly ripped from his as the throng of bodies pulled them apart. Watching as her brown head moved closer to the bar, he elbowed his way through. He wasn't surprised to see that she already had the bartender's attention by the time he joined her at the bar, but for some reason she waited until he was pressed up behind her to actually place her order.
"I want a Screaming Orgasm." He instantly stiffened. Okay, maybe that was the reason. She turned to him, but he couldn't meet her eye. "What do you want, honey?"
The bartender smothered a smile as his latest customer ordered in a strangled voice, and Ty was grateful the man pulled his beer first – it gave him something to do with his hands other than drag Nikki into the bathroom and see how fast he could get her out of that angelic dress. Not that it helped much. His eyes were still dark with need and his stare was practically piercing her skin.
As she reached out her hand to take the proffered drink someone bumped into her, and it was only her Navy reflexes that prevented the glass from shattering on the beer tap. However it meant that two fingers ended up inside the glass, and his gaze was instantly drawn to the single drop of liquid tracing a path down the side of the glass, eventually puddling on the counter. Grasping the stem with her free hand, Nikki turned to face him, fingers still swirling in the creamy drink. She slowly extracted them and brought them to her lips, her rosebud mouth pouting around the two fingers. His mouth dropped open as she made a show of swirling her tongue around, the movement obvious from the slight bulge in her cheek.
When she finally pulled her fingers from her mouth a drop lingered on her bottom lip. He tried to point it out, but she was either oblivious or playing dumb, for it remained there, tantalising him. Unable to take it anymore, he grasped her head in his hands and crushed his lips against hers, tongue sweeping through her mouth to absorb every offending drop.
She melted against him for a moment, eagerly returning the kiss, but the second it slowed down into more loving than lustful she was pulling away, eyes sparkling with mischief. Leaning over him to take a sip of her drink, he was treated to a glimpse down the modest neckline of her dress before she turned her attention to the dance floor.
"No way." He shook his head vehemently, his too-long dark blonde hair whipping back and forth.
Not bothered by his refusal in the slightest, she merely shrugged and moved away. Ty couldn't tear his eyes away from her, but neither could he move off the stool without broadcasting his less-than-pure thoughts to the entire club. But as he watched her embrace the music he found that desire was quickly being overshadowed by another emotion. He narrowed his eyes, but death glares don't have much of an effect when the subject isn't facing you.
As soon as his attractive girlfriend had made her way onto the dance floor – solo – she had grabbed the eye of at least a dozen eager young men. And despite her refusal to accept the breakup, Nikki seemed to have no qualms about dancing with the two men brave enough to approach her.
Ty's knuckles turned white against his beer glass, his grip growing a fraction tighter every time a foreign hand touched his girlfriend. Startled by a voice behind him, Ty turned, and just managed to stop himself from throwing his beer at the barman.
"Easy there, mate!" The man leaned over the bar and seized the glass from Ty's fingers. "Don't take it out on the beer. How about I look after your drinks while you go rescue your lady from all that unwanted attention?"
"Unwanted. Right." The sarcasm was thick, accompanied by a roll of the eyes. For a moment he hesitated, gaze flickering between the smirking bartender and Nikki dancing against a guy who looked barely old enough to be admitted to the club. Then the stranger's hand grazed her arse, and Ty was halfway to the dance floor before his brain had registered the movement.
"Hey Tyger." She was wrapped around him the instant he moved close enough, her previous partner all but forgotten. Ty revelled in the dirty looks being cast his way for a minute, before turning his attention back to Nikki.
The music changed to something slower and she draped her arms around his neck. He wanted to pull her closer, but they were already as close as two separate people could be.
Even with heels the top of her head was below his eye level and, as his arms automatically circled her waist, he wondered how this diminutive creature could hold such power over him. Ty pressed a lingering kiss against her temple, letting his body sway alongside hers. The thumping in his brain now matched a familiar tension in his groin.
Dance music returned to the speakers all too soon for Ty's liking, and Nikki resumed using him as a human pole. If he didn't know better he would have thought she was drunk, the way she writhed against him, her every movement provocative. But he knew her tolerance for alcohol; the bottle of red wine they'd shared over dinner wouldn't have made her tipsy, let alone change her behaviour. This was all Nikki.
She was punishing him for the attempted break-up, showing him what he was trying to get rid of – as if he didn't already know. He could feel the eyes of all the single men – and those of many attached guys as well – on the two of them, the jealousy almost tangible in the hazy air. Oh yes, he knew exactly what he was giving up by ending things. He just didn't know if freedom was worth what he was losing.
But regardless of what he intended to do, she was his for now. Catching her hand, Ty pulled her back to face him and cupped her chin in his palm, staring deep into her turquoise eyes before roughly pressing his lips to hers. She responded instantly, allowing him full access to her mouth, and he caught a taste of creamy cocktail. He didn't know whether it was remembering the name of her drink or what she had done to get the flavour in her mouth, but it was too much; a growl rumbled deep in his throat, and his self control snapped.
He manoeuvred them off the dance floor, continuing to plunder her mouth. The second his foot hit the carpet they were on their way to the door, his arm tight around her waist, practically carrying her across the room.
The next thing he knew he was pressing Nikki against his car, their mouths fused together once more. One lacy white sleeve finally succumbed to gravity, falling to brush against his arm, but they were too intent on one another to notice such trivial things. Or, Ty was.
They broke apart, panting breaths synchronised as their eyes locked. With a deft twist of her body, Nikki managed to reposition them so that it was Ty's back pressed against the car. He blinked in surprise, confronted by the predatory look he was becoming uncomfortably familiar with. She kissed him again, hooked a leg around his thigh, and unbuckled his belt as their tongues continued to battle. His left arm dropped from around her waist to trace along her exposed thigh, briefly flirting with the hem.
He closed his eyes, already anticipating the feel of her. Her wandering hands left him and he opened his eyes, but his brain was so clouded with lust it took him another few seconds to understand what the empty air meant. She was gone. A screech of tyres cut through the haze surrounding him, and he recognised Nikki's car speeding out of the parking lot.