Enchanted Again (15 page)

As he said this, Georgie began to gradually wedge his way into her body. Although his words were harsh, he entered her slowly and gently, careful not to hurt her.

“Georgie,” she moaned. Sharp thrills of excitement pierced through her in spite of the pressure as he penetrated her inch by painstaking inch. She arched her back slightly, pushing her hips outward in an effort to open herself more to him. This eased her discomfort considerably.

“That’s it,” he mocked her cruelly. “Push your hips out toward me. Show me how much you like it.” He kept working his way into her little by little as he spoke, taking his time and clearly relishing every moment of it.

He grasped her hips more securely as he finally pushed himself into her body all the way to the hilt.

“Oh!” she cried. She was aroused, but the pressure temporarily surpassed her arousal, not extinguishing it but merely immobilizing it. She heard him laugh mockingly behind her and her former forbearance because of what she had done diminished considerably. With her arousal put aside for the moment, she felt somewhat violated. Suddenly, she was fully at odds with what was happening. “I hate you!” she blurted out impulsively.

Georgie had begun to painstakingly draw himself out of her now, leaving only the very tip of his raging hardness inside her. “So,” he goaded her, holding himself back for the moment. “You hate me, eh? For mistreating you?”

“Yes.” She braced herself to take him all the way again. Suddenly Daphne’s arousal was returning with double strength. Even so, she continued in the same vein. “I hate you.”

Georgie thrust himself all the way into her again. “Now you know how I feel.”

Daphne moaned loudly, the pleasure increasing considerably with each new thrust.

“’Cause that’s what you did to me,” Georgie continued, pulling himself out again with agonizing deliberation only to thrust it all the way back in, again and again. “And like me you’re just going to have to take it.” And he just kept driving in and out of her, keeping a continuous, rhythmic pace that gradually increased in speed and intensity. “Can you take it as well as you can dish it out?” he mocked her.

“Yes!” she cried, suddenly fully aware of the exciting new pleasure into which Georgie was initiating her. There remained some discomfort and pressure, but this, too, given the circumstances, suited her tastes.

“That’s right,” he said. “You can and you will. Take it!” He began to drive in and out of her with the unrelenting intensity of a machine. She held herself steady and submissively accepted Georgie’s thrusts. Eventually the discomfort was becoming manageable enough for her to focus on the pleasure. She slipped her hand down between her legs to further stimulate herself.

“Georgie!” she cried out, surprised that such an intrusive and demanding activity could bring such intense pleasure.

Georgie had warned Daphne that this was not for her, but he was nevertheless pleased by her response. And though his pleasure increased tenfold with the knowledge that she was enjoying what he was doing to her, his anger still burned steady beneath his overpowering desire.

Daphne, meanwhile, endured every bit of what Georgie dished out, even meeting some of his violent thrusts with wild little thrusts of her own. The grueling difficulty of it as he used her even more harshly gave her a delightfully perverse satisfaction. Perhaps she wanted to be punished for what she had done, and secretly hoped that her acquiescence to Georgie would make him truly forgive her.

The many emotions that Daphne had gone through that night, beginning with her terror at the thought of losing Georgie, ending with the couple’s absolute and utter capitulation to each other, and encompassing all the incredible realities and sensations in between had their effect; Daphne’s climax shook her to the roots of her existence. Afterward she could only cling to the headboard while Georgie continued to take pleasure from her, wondering over the tingling sensations that lingered for far longer than they ever had before. Georgie appeared to be shaken by the experience, too, until it was over.

Immediately afterward Georgie rolled over and drifted miserably off to sleep. But the next morning he was once again fully aroused by the sight of her. And so their relationship progressed, with Georgie going from hating Daphne, to yearning for her, to resenting her, and then back to hating her again. Sex, the chain by which she held Georgie to her, became for him an exercise in maliciousness, and he struggled to mortify and mistreat her in an effort to project his own powerlessness onto her.

Daphne made herself available to Georgie whenever he wanted her, but kept her distance when he did not, telling herself to give him time. She went along with his demands in the bedroom, finding that, once she got past the initial embarrassment, she actually enjoyed most of the things he did to her; but even the more harrowing things she also submitted to willingly. And once the worst was over she found that she was able to glean additional pleasure from the memories of those events after the fact. She walked around in a semiconstant state of arousal, even when Georgie wasn’t around, thinking obsessively of the things he did to her and what else he might do. And in this way she became as trapped as Georgie was.

More than anything else, Daphne wanted to make the relationship between her and Georgie succeed. She was not content with things as they were. She yearned to once again see the love in Georgie’s eyes that she had glimpsed there before he had discovered how she had trapped him. Another aspect of their former relationship that Daphne longed to get back was Georgie’s willingness to spend time with her. Now, unless they were engaged sexually, Georgie wanted nothing to do with her. Georgie’s resentment was still too acute to allow him to “give in” and share those other parts of his life with her. Whether or not he might have enjoyed her company wasn’t a consideration for him. All that mattered was that he retain some small measure of control over his own life. He fought all sentiment he developed toward her. He reasoned that, although he had no choice but to be with Daphne, he didn’t have to love her. He would give her his nights and his body, but he would not give her the affection she craved.

Daphne handled all this with amazing patience. At times she became angry, but she always forgave Georgie everything. She told herself that he would eventually come around. He would have to. He had no other choice.

Daphne’s quiet reserve and unwavering perseverance frustrated Georgie even more.

In the meantime, Georgie tried everything he could think of to get rid of the hex, as he perceived it to be. Only a few days after finding the e-mail, it occurred to him that he could contact the woman that had helped Daphne and offer her more money to undo whatever it was she had done to him. But when he went online to find the e-mails and get the woman’s e-mail address, they were gone. Daphne had deleted them and erased all the history. Undaunted, Georgie reasoned that another witch could counteract the hex as well as the first, but six “witches” later he had burned through frightening amounts of money with no results whatsoever. He even resorted to consulting several doctors, but they each recommended that he see a psychiatrist—who also refused to address the real issue, insisting instead that Georgie waste his time rehashing his childhood.

Eventually, Georgie was forced to accept the fact that Daphne was the woman he would be spending the rest of his life with. Very slowly but steadily, he shifted from genuine resentment to a pretense of resentment, put on more than anything else for his own pride’s sake. He began spending time with Daphne more and more, but only when it seemed obligatory or unintentional, and doing so grudgingly, so as not to give rise to the suspicion that he wanted to. In the bedroom he became tender and loving, turning to the more decadent pleasures only when he knew it would please Daphne as much as him to do so.

This shift in Georgie was undetectable to Daphne, it being effected so slowly and deviously, and over such a long period of time. But just as she had originally hoped would happen, Georgie’s anger and resentment had settled into necessity and acceptance, which had evolved into affection and then at long last, love.

One day this reality struck Georgie with stunning clarity. He suddenly realized that Daphne was good for him. She adored him. She had perceived something valuable in him and wanted it enough to fight for it. In the process, she had brought more pleasure into his life than anyone ever had before her, and all she had ever asked of him in return was for a little of his time. He had fought her every step of the way, and yet she had waited patiently for him to come around and accept all the goodness she had to offer. He knew that he had been cruel and hard to her from the start, even before the hex, when he had used her for the one-night stand. He marveled that she could have put up with so much negative behavior from him. He believed that she truly did love him.

For the first time in their relationship, Georgie devoted an entire day solely to Daphne. He began by going to the most exclusive jewelry store he could find and buying her an alarmingly dazzling ring. Next he proceeded to the grocery store, where he purchased the ingredients for her favorite dish, and then on to the liquor store and so on. With every stop that Georgie made he became more and more excited, rising up out of his self-centered existence and discovering the incredible joy of giving. His mind whirled with plans for the future as he rushed around making preparations for the night to come.

Daphne was fully disarmed by the spectacular scene set out before her when she arrived home that evening. It was so unexpected as to be incredible. There was candlelight and soft music. The rooms were immaculately prepared and delicious smells wafted out from the kitchen. Georgie greeted her warmly, looking vulnerable but exultant as he served her a drink. She was utterly taken aback and stood looking all around her, speechless. Something shifted imperceptibly within her.

She allowed Georgie to lead her into the dining room, following him dumbly. She was deeply moved, but it was bittersweet. How long had she waited for this? Perhaps if he had come to her like this a month ago, or even yesterday…but really, how patient was a person supposed to be?

Yet she realized that this wasn’t the real issue, not really. The problem was within
her.
She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want him now. She hadn’t wanted him for some time. And it suddenly occurred to her that she had noticed this change stealing over him for quite a while, and that was what had affected her. It had adversely affected her. Perhaps she was more like Georgie than she realized. She was much more obsessed with the craving itself than the objects that she craved. It was just like with the cigarettes. Once she stopped obsessing over trying to quit and just accepted that she was a smoker, she no longer needed to have a cigarette in her hand every waking minute. In fact, she only periodically reached for them anymore. These thoughts flitted through her mind as she slowly sipped the drink that Georgie made for her.

If Georgie noticed her strange mood he did not remark on it. He remained cheerful as he served her dinner. Perhaps he was preoccupied. Upon examining him more closely Daphne saw that he was indeed preoccupied and quite nervous as well. She picked at the sumptuous dinner he’d prepared, aware that something unpleasant was about to happen but not really inclined to stop it. She waited attentively, watching the events as if they were happening to someone else.

She knew the moment had come when Georgie smiled at her.

“Words cannot begin to express what I feel,” he told her, taking her hand in his. She remained silent, so he continued, “It might be easier just to show you.” He set a small black ring box on the table in front of her. When Daphne still didn’t move or speak he opened the box and revealed the glistening engagement ring to her.

Daphne felt as if she was watching a train wreck. With each moment that passed she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She looked at the ring he offered her dispassionately. She had dreamed of this moment so many times that there was no more magic to glean from it.

“I’m sorry, Georgie,” she whispered. But she actually felt no remorse at all.

“What?” He was taken aback. It had not even occurred to him that she might reject him. “Daphne, I know I’ve been an ass since the first, but please—” He broke off in confusion.

There was a short silence.

“You can think about it,” he told her hopefully.

She didn’t respond to this.

“I can make you happy, Daphne,” he said.

But the more anxious and desperate he became, the more far removed Daphne felt. She thought about that night when she went to his house to find him with another woman and shuddered with revulsion. It stung her pride even after all this time to recall how pathetic her behavior had been.

What a mess! How would she ever find happiness? At the moment all she knew was that she had to get away from Georgie. She snapped the ring box shut and got up from the table.

“Daphne,” he said. “Let’s talk about this.”

“I’m sorry, Georgie,” she said again. She picked up her purse and her phone and her keys.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m leaving you, Georgie.” She was surprised by how good it felt to say the words.

“You can’t just leave me like this!” Georgie was aghast.

But she was preparing to do just that.

“At least take the hex off me,” he pleaded.

But Daphne found that, although she didn’t want Georgie for herself anymore, she still wasn’t ready to just hand him over to someone else. Besides, all of this was his own fault. It wouldn’t have happened if he had just stayed the way he was.

“Daphne!” He grasped her arm and tried to pull her to him but she jerked him off her with a violence that surprised him.

“Please don’t turn this into an ugly scene,” she said, wondering if he would remember the words he had spoken to her on that night long ago.

He didn’t.

“Daphne! Please don’t go!”

She opened the apartment door and walked out.

“Come back!” he yelled after her.