Eternal Pleasures (3 page)

Chapter 4

  
The rising sun cast its light upon the cobblestones on the front walk of Eternal Pleasures. Cassandra tucked the bag of scones under her arm, juggling the two take-out cups of coffee, as she opened the door. She hadn’t been able to go back to sleep last night, afraid of what the remainder of the night’s darkness might bring. She developed doubts about her own feelings and what she’d seen with her own two eyes. What if Paige was right after all?

  
Here she was, almost forty, and afraid of the dark. Even as a child, she’d welcomed the beauty of the night and the songs of the night creatures. In fact, her parents thought it unusual a child would find more comfort in the night than in the day. For Cassandra, the moonlight shone as bright and wonderful as sunlight.

  
So why find herself worried now? Because she thought she’d been having foreplay with the illusion of a fictional character? Woman had fantasies of all sorts of celebrities, so what made her any different? Simply because the man was a figment of the author’s imagination and not a living breathing man? She had to accept it or go bonkers.

  
“I hope that’s a mint mocha you’ve got in one of those cups.”

  
Cassandra jumped, almost dropping her cargo. “Oh shit, Paige. You could have waited until you knew I saw you before scaring the crap out of me.”

  
“And ruin my fun?” Paige laughed. “No way! Seeing you walk through the door that deep in thought, I knew I had you right then and there.”

  
“Thanks.” Cassandra plopped the coffees and bag next to the cash register. “Some best friend you are.” She flipped a lid from one of the coffees, steam filtered upward and the smell of caramel filled the room. She took a sip, slow and easy, relishing the sweet taste blended with the bitterness of coffee bean.

  
“So, you gonna tell me what happened last night?” Paige dunked a scone into the rich chocolate flavored brew.

  
Cassandra plopped down on the settee next to Paige, sighing deeply. Paige wouldn’t let it rest; another white lie would be better than the truth.

  
“You were right, it must have been a dream.” Cassandra sipped more of her coffee, watching Paige over the rim. “I haven’t been back to sleep since then, so maybe you’d want to call it a nightmare instead.”

  
“Well, whatever you want to call it, don’t read that book in bed again. I’d much rather get a full night’s sleep than only half.” Paige patted Cassandra on the knee, then headed for the backroom.

  
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Cassandra smiled as she took another sip of the sweet blend. “I promise.”

  
“What is it they say? Promises are made to be broken.” Smiling, Paige disappeared behind the purple silk backroom door.

  
Cassandra picked up the book, chuckling lightly. Promises…all she ever wanted to sexually experience were promised on the printed pages. Surely her phantom lover wouldn’t appear in the light of day.

  
Reading only a few more pages wouldn’t hurt anything. All she had to do was open to the page she’d last read. All she needed was a few paragraphs more, enough to finish the tale. Cassandra curled up on the settee, opening the book to a dog-eared page.

  
Unable to focus on the blurred words, she closed her weary eyes for only a moment. Knowing the store didn’t open for several hours, she fell into a quiet sleep.

Garrett slipped through the shadows of the waning night. He stayed by CJ until the first rays of dawn came to life.

  
 
His cock grew harder with each passing moment of not being able to reach out and touch her. His body ached to finish what she’d started within the sheets of her bed. Only she never returned to those tumbled sheets during the night. Instead, she stood right in front of the large windowpane staring out through the darkness.

  
 
He knew she’d been afraid to let it happen. To let them happen again. Evidently, she didn’t know what power she possessed to have called him forth to her side. A power he’d known only once in his lifetime.

  
 
Victoria had been the only woman who’d managed to keep him interested in more than just being a teacher. For them, it had been quite the opposite…she’d been the teacher and he the student. She thought they’d live forever, but hadn’t counted on being accused a witch and sentenced to death by fire. He’ll never forget her screams of agony as the flames licked her flowing garment.

  
 
He’d turned away, denouncing their passion for each other; afraid of what fate their secret association would bring. Vowing to never become the student again, Garrett opened Eternal Pleasures and began a private school for the elite of society. Under the guise of a shop of specialty chocolates and other many sinful delectables, his teachings were so private only ladies with a sufficient income would be in attendance behind his hidden door. A door of sin leading to pleasures of the body they couldn’t imagine happening between a man and a woman.

  
 
For him, eternity without Victoria was unthinkable. No woman ever serviced him again after her death. Now, Garrett did the servicing in all matters of the flesh. Many a lady left his establishment in tears, with bruises from wrist straps hidden under lace gloves, only to return in a few days for another lesson in pleasure and submission.

  
 
This woman, CJ, who now lay quietly sleeping, did more than spark his imagination. Her honey colored hair lay softly across her neck and shoulders. Long eyelashes blanketed the most beautiful pair of green eyes he’d ever seen.

  
 
He increasingly found himself wanting to feel those pouty lips of hers wrapped around his shaft for only a moment or two. That’s all he ever needed before…

She ignited his cock into fits and what was left of his soul, into submission. The growing need to protect her not only excited, but also confused him at the same instant.

  
Life without his Victoria had become mundane and predictable, so when the small-cloaked woman came into his establishment she’d presented an offer he found irresistible and didn’t question. At the age of thirty, he’d gladly taken the offer for immortality. That was centuries ago, now a mortal woman made him long to reverse the spell.

Beautiful violet eyes captivated Cassandra’s soul. She readily succumbed to their allure and promise of sexual release waiting to burst through her body. She felt her clit harden and pulse with each stroke of his finger.

  
Nibbling on her neck, he held her close to him, stealing her breath with each lick and kiss on her tender spot. His breath hot against her skin sent shivers of heat soaring down to her breasts. Cassandra felt her nipples pucker and harden, begging for attention. He must have noticed also, for his hot, wet mouth pulled on one of her tits. She arched her back toward him with each tug of her nipple.

  
Moisture settled between her legs, seeping onto the inside of her thighs. His hand, large and commanding, nudged her legs further apart.

  
“Open yourself to me, love.” His voice, like a rich piece of chocolate melted into her senses. “Let me show you the riches my cock holds for you.”

  
Powerless, she gazed into his eyes as he positioned himself over and between her legs. His mouth captured hers with a claiming of her body she’d never experienced before. He was about to place his brand on her; make her his and no one else’s.

  
Cassandra’s heart pounded out of control when she felt the tip of what felt like a massive cock push at the entrance to her cunt, seeking entry. She wrapped her legs around his back, pulling him closer to her. She wanted to feel him inside her, taking her to heights she’d never been before.

  
He resisted the pressure of her legs around his back. This man who held the promise of the best sex she’d ever experienced would not give her an inch of control…

  
“CJ, what the hell!” Paige’s voice, like that of a swift knife, sliced through her thoughts. “Anyone can look in that window and see what you’re doing. Have you no pride?”

  
Unable to move, Cassandra looked over at Paige and then at her own body. Her blouse was wide open, exposing her breasts. One leg was draped over the back of the settee while the other hung over the side, her skirt in a bundle around her waist in full view of the empty shop. The once silken panties lay in a shredded pool on the floor.

Chapter 5

Holy shit, how in the hell….
Cassandra swung her leg over while pulling what was left of her blouse over her breasts. Her bare feet fell to the floor and onto her torn panties, their shredded silkiness cool against the arch of her feet.

  
 
“Paige, I swear…” Cassandra stooped to pick up what was left of her panties, her skirt falling back around her knees.
What happened to these? I just paid a fortune for them and now they’re nothing but trash.

  
 
“Don’t, CJ,” Paige began, holding her hand up to stop Cassandra’s words. “Don’t even think up some tall tale of that
ghost
guy again. I’m not going to fall for it a third time.”

  
 
Cassandra’s heart sunk to the depths of her stomach. How could she explain to Paige that she had no idea how she got into that position, or how her panties had become ripped and lying in a heap on the floor? She didn’t know herself, there was no possible way she could explain it to anyone else.

  
 
“Paige, I honestly don’t know what happened.” Cassandra dropped the silk panties into the garbage just beyond the backroom curtain. “All I know is I was dreaming and then heard you yell at me. Other than that, I couldn’t tell you what happened.”

  
 
“Had to be some kind of an erotic dream then for you to rip your undies like that.” Paige picked up the book Cassandra had been reading, waving it at her. “Like I said earlier, promises were made to be broken. Looks like you broke yet another one, CJ.”

  
 
“Paige…”

  
 
“No, CJ! Right now you’re someone I don’t want to talk to.” Paige dropped the book on the counter then walked to the door. “You know, CJ, one of these days your little dream fantasies are going to get you into a world of crap.”

  
 
“Wait, Paige please…” Cassandra’s words fell upon closed ears as she watched her best friend walk out the shop door.

  
 
Cassandra leaned against the counter, tears threatening to spill over her lashes. She’d always been aware of her sexual fantasies before, but this time she had no idea what had taken place. Or how she’d gotten into the situation Paige had found her in.

  
 
What’s happening to me? In just twenty-four hours my best friend has walked out on me and I’ve become obsessed with the male character in a book.
“What’s next? An apparition of the man?” The tinkling of the doorbell caused Cassandra to look up.

  
 
Through the door walked the man from the other night. The man who’d snuck into the shop without her knowing it.

  
 
Swallowing, Cassandra approached the mysterious man. “Ah, may I help you?”

  
 
He peeked out from the dark brimmed hat, blue velvet eyes twinkling like star sapphires. “You already have love.”

  
 
Her heart flipped with a pitter-patter followed by the surge of sexual desire.

  
 
“Have we met before?” She asked, taking a small step closer to him. The need to reach out and get a closer look at his face was almost overwhelming. There was something about him very familiar to her. Cassandra couldn’t put her finger on it but thought she knew him.

  
 
He continued to saunter past her, his eyes never leaving hers. “Here, yesterday.” He walked around her, and she turned with him as he continued toward the more explicit items on the shelves.

  
 
“Yes, yesterday.” Cassandra felt her heart racing in her chest. Her cheeks felt warm and flushed with desire. “Well, then did you see something you decided you wanted?”

  
 
“Yes,” he remarked, picking up a bottle of one of the many lotions then setting it down. He turned then stood by her side, looking down on her with raw sexual desire.

 
 
 
“You.”

 
“Me!” Cassandra stepped away quickly, too quickly for Garrett’s taste. “I’m not for sale here, mister.”

  
 
“Oh, I don’t plan on purchasing you, love.” Garrett could smell the sweet aroma of her juices. His cock responded to the promise of a hot, juicy cunt waiting to be picked…or should he say filled. “I plan on claiming you.”

  
 
“Ha, claiming me. You must be kidding?” Cassandra took one step backward, but Garrett was behind her before her second foot fell. He could feel her firm ass against his bulging cock. As much as he wanted to take her right then and there, he waited. Their coupling had to be her want and desire, not his alone.

  
 
“Not at all love.” He whispered in her ear, running a fingertip down her cheek. He felt her shiver under his touch, her skin warm and tingly.

  
 
Stepping around her, Garrett captured her eyes with his own holding them as he knelt in front of her. He sniffed the area of her skirt where he knew her pussy begged to be played with.

  
 
Garrett stood never breaking eye contact. “You’re hot and ready, love. All you have to do is ask and all this will be yours.” He circled her again, drawing her closer to him. Closer to immortality, if she chose it.

  
 
“What makes you think I want anything to do with you?” Cassandra backed away, bumping into a shelf housing an array of vibrators. “I don’t know who you are or where you come from.”

  
 
“That, love, is where you are mistaken.” Garrett plucked one of the magic dildos from the shelf behind her head. “You know me far better than you believe.”

  
 
Garrett ran the tip of the plastic shaped penis down her blouse, pausing at the pass between her breasts. He moved the vibrator tip over a nipple, his cock thumping as she sucked in her breath.

  
 
The little bell above the door tinkled. “Christ, CJ, what the hell?”

 
 
 
Garret dropped the sexual device onto the floor, between Cassandra’s feet.

  
 
“Paige, thank heaven you’re here.” Cassandra pushed past Garrett, rushing to Paige’s side. “That man came in here and started to seduce me.” She pointed to Garrett as he took a couple of steps backwards.

  
 
“Man? What man?” Paige huffed past Garrett. “There’s no one, and I repeat, NO ONE in this shop but us. Keep this up and I’ll have to call the men in their little white coats to come and take you away.”

  
 
Garrett laughed from his spot next to the rest of the sex paraphernalia. The one called Paige may have needed his services at one time. She was definitely jealous of CJ’s freeness with her sexuality.

  
 
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Cassandra asked. She looked him straight in the eyes, fear overshadowing the brave front she projected. How she made him want to sweep her up in his arms and bury himself deep inside her.

  
 
“Who are you talking to, CJ?” Paige turned from supplementing the cash register.

  
 
“The man standing right there.” Cassandra again pointed her finger at him accusingly, as if he were some disgusting being. Truth be told many would consider him something less than a being. He preferred something closer to being as whole as humanly possible; the disgusting part didn’t bother him one way or another. He knew what he was and nothing anyone said was going to change that fact.

  
 
“Can’t you get it through your fantasy-filled head, there’s no one here but the two of us.” Paige’s look of concern for Cassandra spun through Garrett’s mind, straight down to his heart.

  
 
“She can’t see or hear me, love,” Garrett said, stepping back into the shadows of the shop. “I’ll return.”

Cassandra couldn’t stop shaking.
Where did he go? Am I on the verge of a breakdown?
She reached out into the emptiness where the man had once stood. How could someone so real to her senses be gone in the blink of her eye? His warm breath in her ear had sent a wave of heat through her body. Could she accept that he was as real to her as Paige standing pissed off in front of her right now?

“You gonna pick up the vibrator or not?” Paige asked, slamming the shop door closed.

  
 
“What?” Startled, Cassandra looked over at Paige, who stood at the front door pointing down at a spot on the floor. She looked down to her feet and there laid a Silver Bullet, the tip resting against her ankle. “How’d that get there?”

  
 
“Oh, come on. You dropped it when I came in the door.”

  
 
“I dropped it? I…I don’t remember picking it up, Paige.”

  
 
“You were rubbing the thing against your nipple, CJ, so don’t give me a bull shit line about not remembering.” Paige’s voice filled with a disgust Cassandra hadn’t heard before. “It’s not like it got there on its own. Lord only knows what else you were thinking of doing with it.”

  
 
Cassandra’s stomach churned like a tornado ripping through the countryside, flipping her world upside down. She slid to the floor, the vibrator settled between her outstretched legs, tears streaming freely down her cheeks.

What was she going to do? Were the stories of the building being haunted true after all? Was her mystery lover the spirit of a former owner from over a hundred years ago who’d driven others away?

  
 
“CJ?”