Red Hourglass (17 page)

Zhong Yuan headquarters were in Shanghai and they had subsidiaries in solar energy, construction, and land development. I found an article with a picture of Zhong Yuan’s CEO shaking hands with the Premier of China. It was obvious that the Chinese government used Zhong Yuan to acquire property and influence in foreign countries. If they gained a controlling share in Wilmar, they’d exponentially increase their US holdings.

Is Zhong Yuan going to buy up New York next and make it a mega-Chinatown for the rich
? The thought sent shivers through me. An influx of rich foreigners would drive up property prices, force out the locals, and the cost of living would skyrocket.

It’s exactly as the White Queen said, and it’s going to get worse now that Zhong Yuan’s involved
.
I’m sure The House lost their lease because of Wilmar or some other big developer
.
A café serving the community for three generations … gone in an instant
.

With all economies now linked, this was the sheer force of globalization. Our city was, next and I wanted to save it from the greedy bastards.
I’ll have to find out when Zhong Yuan is coming to meet Wilmar’s board
.

I checked Google News for the latest info on Wilmar Enterprises and White Holdings—the White Queen’s conglomerate. The news was flying in with updates every minute and I saved all the articles to my encrypted flash drive. I opened another window and watched the stock prices of both companies fluctuate wildly as investor confidence waxed and waned with each bit of news.

Human are unpredictable and stock markets are in constant flux. The market is a strange beast
. I didn’t quite understand the rules of this game of chance. All I knew was that the forces of globalization had created a level playing field for foreign competitors to invade a market and create chaos for established home players like White Holdings.

“Hey Scarlet,” Kelvin snorted.

I almost jumped right off my seat. I saw him walking up to my desk out of the corner of my eye, but I was still startled.

“Kelvin … hello. What can I do for you?” I shut the window with the stock ticker and ripped my flash drive out of the USB port.

“Will you remind Conan that we have a meeting at three this afternoon? We usually have our meetings in the mornings, but he’s with the new trainees today, so I think he should get a reminder.”

“Of course.” I opened Conan’s calendar. “The meeting’s in his calendar, but I’ll remind him. Kelvin, three o’clock. No problem.”

“Good. Thank you.” Kelvin sauntered back to his office.

* * *

I uploaded all the articles into the White Queen’s Wilmar database when I got home from work. We didn’t use the database to communicate our analyses or future plans, so I wrote a short report in agent code.

I reported that it looked like a merger with Zhong Yuan was on the cards and we needed to get the date of the meeting. I ran downstairs and left the report for Vanus in an old built-in milk box that we were using as a dead drop. Then I sent her a text saying “I forgot the milk.”

I thought about last Friday night with Conan. Out of all my sisters, I was the closest to Johnson Wilmar … because of Conan. Did the White Queen know who Conan was when she told me to apply for the job as his secretary?

I’d never been on an assignment that put me in close proximity to my target for a long time. My assignments had always been simple—marked target, predetermined location, seduction, and murder. Like a spider, all I had to do was wait for my prey and kill it.

This assignment was taking place in a complex arena of human dynamics, corporate espionage, and global capitalism. The White Queen was playing chess with Wilmar. Conan Casey was a knight, and I was just another disposable pawn. She was maneuvering me so that she could checkmate the king. Would I be killed, or have to sacrifice myself, in this game? I shuddered just thinking about it.

I realized I was closer to learning the truth behind all the lies I’d been taught. I started questioning my beliefs, my identity, and my place in the world. Questions that I had no answers for were spinning through my mind.
Where do I belong
?
Does the White Queen really believe that I’m meant for bigger things
?
Or has she been deceiving me all along
?

I was an orphan with nothing to live or fight for other than the White Queen. She was my mama and I’d never questioned her love for me. I’d always believed that her love was worth fighting for, worth risking my life for, but was it true? I feared that I would never know.

My Submission

I went home with Conan after the tango social on Friday. I was having my doubts about the White Queen—and the mission—but I wasn’t going to give up. I still wanted to find my mother and the White Queen was the key.

I woke up early on Saturday morning. Conan was in the shower and my stomach was growling. There wasn’t much food in the kitchen, but I found bread, eggs, and butter in the fridge. I grabbed the French press and kettle from under the island and made coffee.

“What’s for breakfast?” Conan asked as he came out of his bedroom.

“Eggs and toast. Do you want coffee?”

“Please.” He gave me a soft peck on the cheek. “I have to reply to some emails.”

Conan went over to his desk and turned on his laptop. I poured him a cup of coffee and set it down on a coaster next to him. The smell of sweet sandalwood wafted off his skin.

“I’ll turn you into the perfect girlfriend in no time.”

“Hmm, I’m not your bitch,” I said as I ruffled his wet hair. He was my boss at work, and I had to play the part of his girlfriend, but I wasn’t going to let him call all the shots all the time.

“How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, sunny side up, over easy?” I asked from the kitchen.

“Scrambled eggs are my favorite.”

“Coming up.”

I melted butter in a frying pan as I beat the eggs with a little salt and pepper. I poured the eggs into the hot pan and put the bread in the toaster. When everything was ready, I buttered the toast, scooped the eggs onto the plate, and took it over to Conan’s desk with a fork.

“It smells delicious.” Conan pushed his laptop aside and shoveled his scrambled eggs onto the toast. He took a bite, closing his eyes as he crunched away. When he opened his eyes he looked like a content wolf pup. “It tastes good too. Thank you.”

“You found the right girlfriend, huh?”

“Yeah, you should stay here with me. I’ll train you to be my perfect servant.”

“Very funny. I’m not your
servant
. Besides, I have to go home. I don’t want my cat to starve to death.”

“I didn’t know you have a cat.”

“There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.”

“I’m sure there is,” he said. “Maybe I’m too busy to train you during the week anyway, but you can spend weekends here. I’ll buy you one of those automatic feeders for your pussy.”

“I haven’t agreed to spend weekends with you.”

“Will you?”

“Maybe.”

We spent the day watching movies and frolicking around his apartment. Just as the sun was setting, we headed out to buy groceries.

* * *

Conan cooked a simple steak dinner. He didn’t like processed food, and he made a mushroom gravy from scratch. He used crimini mushrooms, butter, garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper. The gravy was thick, savory, and to die for. We polished off a bottle of Merlot with the meal.

“Scarlet …” Conan said after dinner.

“Yes?”

“I want to do something to you.” He smiled and combed his long fingers through his dark-brown hair. “But I need your permission.”

“My permission?”

“Do you remember asking me what I tie with my ties?”

“Yes.”

“I want to tie you up … I want you to hand your will over to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your submission, my dear Scarlet. I want you under my
total
control.”

“Total control?”

“You have to trust me. You have to let me do to your body whatever I want. Do you trust me?”

The last time I trusted a man he betrayed me. I remembered how I felt when I saw Max kissing that other girl. I didn’t want to feel that way again … ever. I’d suspected that Conan used his ties to tie up women. I was sort of curious, but I was also afraid.
If I submit to him, will I learn to trust again
?
Will I learn to love someone besides the White Queen
?

“How do I submit to you?” I asked.

“I’ll show you.” He reached across the table and took my hand. “Come with me.”

He led me into the middle of the living room.
Am I ready for this
?

“Stand here,” he said. He put on ambient music and took something out of a drawer. “Close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The sweet scent of sandalwood drifted off Conan’s body as he stood behind me.

“I’m going to blindfold you and then we’ll dance. I lead and you follow. When I step forward, you step backward. When I turn your hand, you spin.”

Conan covered my eyes with a soft black cotton scarf and tied it tightly behind my head, leaving me in darkness. He grabbed one of my hands and put the other on his waist. I carefully followed his lead—left, right, forward, backward, spinning into his arms—as he glided us around the room.

I breathed in his sweet scent and there was no other reality. The blinding city lights, the shrieking sirens, the stench of pollution were all gone. I was transported to a blissful other world. In this realm, we were immortal and time ceased to exist.

He put one hand on my upper back and pulled my hips toward him with the other hand as he dipped me. My body fell in a perfect semi-circle until he pulled me up, kissing my slim neck. He slid his fingers down my throat and between my breasts, continuing down my abdomen. He kissed me passionately, sucking my life force into his.

“Conan … this is celestial,” I whispered.

He pushed a finger to my lips. “Be quiet. Just feel me,” he said as he swooped me up in his arms. He carried me into the bedroom and gently laid me on his bed, nibbling at my neck and chest. “I’m going to train you. You’ll become my perfect girlfriend.”

“No one’s perfect,” I mumbled, tracing the scar under my dress with my finger.

“Did you say something?”

“No, no.”

He pulled up my dress and ran his fingers inside my garter belt. “Look at these sinful legs,” he said, kissing the naked my flesh above my stockings as he took off his shirt.

I was squirming with excitement. Conan was filling me with desires I’d never imagined. I felt as though I was coming alive for the first time.

He slowly glided his hand to the sweet spot between my legs, touching the tip. “Here it is,” he cooed.

I wasn’t prepared for the intense waves of pleasure that washed over me.
What am I doing
?
I can’t let this man own me
. I moved my hips away from his menacing fingers.

“Be still,” he said in a deep voice.

Conan grabbed my arms and held them together above my head. He flung my arms apart and slipped something over each wrist. I screamed and tried to sit up, but he held me down and tied my wrists to the bedposts.

“You control freak jerk!” I screamed as memories of my stepfather flooded my mind. “How dare you!” I was terrified and I began kicking my legs, wishing I’d taken off the blindfold before my wrists were tightly bound.

“You’re mine now. Stop struggling. Give in to me,” he commanded as he held down my legs.

His orders seemed to enter straight into my subconscious mind, tapping into some deep need to obey him without question. I let go of my fear and stopped struggling.

“Good girl,” he said as he stroked my cheek. “That’s my good pussy.”

I was dripping wet.
Holy
…
I’ve never been so turned on.

I heard him unzip his pants. He spread my legs and mounted me. I wanted him, but something inside was stopping me.
I’m an agent and he’s my target
.
He’s no different from any other man
.
I can’t trust him
…
I can’t love him
.

“Don’t … please don’t,” I moaned.

“Stop making noises little thing. I’ll gag you if I have to,” he said, slipping his hand over my wetness.

“Wait … stop.”

“Now you’re making me angry,” he said, rolling down my panties. “I warned you, but you had to be a bad, bad girl.” He removed my panties and shoved them in my mouth.

I tried to kick him and he grabbed my legs with his strong hands.

“No,” he said. “Don’t move.”

I knew struggling was futile and my body went limp. Conan tied my ankles to the bottom bedposts. I was unable to move my limbs and knew I couldn’t escape. I was just an object for his pleasure.

He inserted his long fingers into my wetness. I tried to say no, but it came out as “nnnuuuhh.” I’d never felt so humiliated in my life.

“You’re so wet,” he said, feeling for my sweet spot deep inside.

I bit down on my panties, trying not to moan.

“My bad little pussy is dripping,” he said as he removed his fingers and stroked my inner thighs.

He began mercilessly ramming his fingers in and out of me.
He’s treating me like piece of meat and my body loves it
.
I hate myself
.
If he ever let’s me go, I swear he’ll pay for this
. I was trying my hardest not to lose it, but he forced me to come with his rough touch.

“There now. Isn’t that better? You’re an aggressive little thing and I like it when you’re helpless. You just need to be tied up, don’t you?”

I wanted to scream “let me go,” but I knew I had to show him some sign of submission and I nodded. I was afraid of what he was going to do next, but there was another side of me that was enjoying this. I’d often restrained my targets, and it was sort of a relief to be on the receiving end for once. The feeling of being conquered was strange … and liberating.

“Good obedient kitty,” he said. “You can have my cock now, but I want you to see it first.”

Conan tore the blindfold from my eyes and his muscular body filled my vision. He removed his briefs and I saw his manhood for the first time. He was neither too large or too small. I was too turned on to resist and I closed my eyes. I remained still as he lowered himself onto me and pushed his hardness inside. He fit perfectly, hitting all the right spots and filling me up with his warmth.