Twisted Hunger (4 page)

Ellery mentally amended his last sentence. She would trust
no one
from now on, including Mr. Carl Brevowski.

Chapter 2

Stewart Neuman’s psychic counselor had predicted that a mysterious new love interest would enter his life in mid-May and, for once, she was right on the money.

He watched the white sedan with the darkened windows pull up to the curb in front of his men’s clothing store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. He quickly glanced at his Movado watch. Not only had Jewel returned to have dinner with him as promised, his new acquaintance was early. Stewart took that as a very good sign. Until that moment, he had not allowed himself to get excited about the suggestions Jewel had made that afternoon. Now he welcomed the tremors of anticipation that he’d been holding at bay.

It was five minutes past closing, but one of his regular customers was still looking around. Though he would not normally do anything to offend someone who routinely spent several hundred dollars for a tie, he was no longer thinking of business. Within the customer’s hearing, he told his two employees that he would close up and they could go home. It bordered on rudeness, but it worked. The customer made a decision and brought a shirt up to the cash register.

Logic warned Stewart not to hope for anything beyond tonight with Jewel. After all, his heart had barely begun to recover from his last lover’s betrayal. And yet his intuition told him Jewel was cut from a much finer bolt of cloth than Corey had been. Besides being considerably more mature, Jewel was obviously sophisticated, with an aura of mystery to boot.

When Jewel first entered the shop, Stewart assumed she was a wealthy woman who wanted to keep her identity hidden. Although the pale pink Armani suit and matching pumps showed off a well-maintained figure, the cream lace headscarf covered all her hair except dark blonde bangs, and large sunglasses concealed her eyes.

After only a few minutes of conversation, the woman surprised him with an invitation to dinner. When he tactfully declined, she untied the collar bow on her cream silk blouse, revealing a man’s Adam’s apple, then repeated the invitation in a deeper, masculine voice. Stewart had been delighted that he was completely fooled by the masquerade and was titillated by the innuendoes exchanged after Jewel had admitted to his true gender. He seemed to be exactly what was needed to forget about Corey.

When Jewel continued to remain in the car rather than come inside the store to wait, Stewart grew curious. Perhaps Jewel’s feminine disguise was hiding more about his identity than his sex. Perhaps he was an actor who was too well known to be seen going out on a date with a man. If that was the case, he supposed their dinner would have to be in a discreet location. As his imagination conjured several intriguing scenarios, he closed the store in record time.

As soon as Stewart neared the car, Jewel pushed open the passenger door for him. “I’m so glad you didn’t change your mind,” Stewart said as he eased into the plush passenger seat. He noted that Jewel was still dressed as he was earlier, minus the scarf and sunglasses.

Jewel gave him a soft smile as he pulled the car away from the curb. “I hope you like picnics,” he said in his sensual female voice.

“Love ‘em,” Stewart replied and concluded that he’d been right about this man’s need for privacy. When Jewel had glanced at him and smiled, Stewart thought there was something familiar about him, but with his face fully made up, he couldn’t be sure, and the car’s tinted windows did not let in enough light to study his features more closely. “Was today the first time you were in my store?”

“No. I’ve been there before,” Jewel replied somewhat cryptically.

Stewart studied his profile for another few seconds. “But not as Jewel.”

Jewel chuckled. “No. Not as Jewel. But if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to be Jewel for a while longer. Perhaps…
later…
I’ll let you in on my little secret.”

The teasing promise of an unveiling was good enough for Stewart. For the remainder of their drive, he set aside his curiosity about Jewel’s identity and focused on being a charming, witty companion.

Stewart wasn’t terribly surprised when they ended up near the beach at the north end of Santa Monica. There were a number of places in that area where a couple could share some private time, if they were just a little daring.

As soon as they were parked, Jewel got a gym bag and an ice chest out of the trunk. Stewart carried the chest, but Jewel insisted on carrying the bag himself. They walked for quite a while before Jewel was satisfied with a secluded spot.

“I just want to make sure we’re not disturbed,” Jewel explained sweetly. “Now be a dear and turn your back while I perform a little magic for us.”

Stewart grinned and obeyed. When he was given permission to turn around again, he was delighted with the enticing scene before him. A variety of cold appetizers, crackers, cheese cubes and fruit had been attractively arranged on disposable plates in the center of a large blanket. Behind the food, Jewel was seductively posed, holding two plastic goblets of wine.

“To new friendships,” he said, handing Stewart his drink. “This is from my private collection. I so hope you like it.”

Stewart sat down, toasted Jewel and took a sip of the wine. It was a bit tart for his taste, but he didn’t want to insult his host, so he smiled and took another drink. By the time they had finished eating, he had consumed at least three full glasses. He was feeling very drunk but still didn’t care for the flavor of the wine. “Thank you, but no more,” he protested when Jewel tried to empty the last of the wine into his glass. “Any more and I’m afraid I won’t be… very good company.”

“Of course. I should have realized.” Jewel smiled shyly. “I have a confession to make. I’ve never done this before. I’m not sure what… what’s appropriate.”

Stewart could not believe his luck. All this and a virgin too. He took Jewel’s hands in his and tenderly kissed the knuckles. They were small, soft hands, almost like a woman’s, but the sprinkling of fine hair beneath his lips assured him otherwise. “It’s okay. I’ll be happy to lead.” He leaned closer and touched his mouth to Jewel’s. The way that man flinched and stiffened at the contact suggested that this was indeed his first intimate encounter with his own sex.

* * *

Jewel had to force himself to sit still and relax. Too much time and planning had preceded this evening to allow a little squeamishness to ruin it all. Considering the amount of Xanax Stewart had swallowed with his wine, he should have been unconscious by now. Jewel had only consumed half a glass out of the same bottle, and it had him feeling drowsy.

Stewart’s tongue wedged its way beneath Jewel’s teeth and he feared he might gag. He found the necessary control by recalling one of his mother’s favorite sayings.
When one is traveling on the road to greatness, one may be forced to ride on the back of a jackass. The only thing that truly matters is reaching the final destination, not how one got there.

Jewel reminded himself of that goal and found that he was able to tolerate the man’s caress. Actually, it wasn’t so very different from kissing a woman. But when Stewart’s hand slipped beneath the pink skirt and cupped Jewel’s genitals through the silk panties, Jewel’s stomach threatened to rebel again. He could only hope that the drug would kick in soon.

To his surprise, however, his penis was not nearly as biased as his stomach. It quickly swelled in response to the expert stroking and rhythmic kneading. He let go of the last remnants of homophobia and assisted Stewart with the careful removal of his designer suit. Aware that his new friend could pass out at any moment, Jewel tried to guide Stewart’s head down to finish servicing him. But the man resisted, smiling slyly, obviously proud of the effect he was causing. He insisted on nibbling and sucking Jewel’s nipples until they were extremely distended, something Jewel had always been aroused by.

As Stewart’s tongue snaked its way downward, Jewel was torn between wanting to come instantly and wanting to drag out the incredibly erotic pleasure he was being given. Slowly, that talented tongue was licking his balls and tickling his asshole in a way Jewel had never experienced. Clearly, it took a man to be able to do this so well. By the time Stewart drew Jewel’s rigid cock into his mouth, he was nearly mindless with need. All he could think was that the old faggot knew the precise balance of teeth and tongue and sucking and licking required to suspend a man on the brink of an explosion.

Unfortunately, as Jewel prepared for what was sure to be the best climax of his life, Stewart passed out.

Fueled by lust and furious with the interruption, Jewel shoved Stewart onto his back, straddled the unconscious man’s head and rammed his rock-hard penis repeatedly against the back of the throat.

Suddenly, a flash of sanity invaded his clouded mind and he pulled away just before depositing a load of slimy evidence into his victim. A few jerks of his fisted hand shot his cum onto the blanket. Rather than feeling exhausted from the effort, high octane energy flowed through his body, exhilarating and disgusting him simultaneously.

Hurrying now, he packed all the dishes and remains of the picnic into the chest. Unconcerned with his nudity, he moved the chest, the pink suit and gym bag far away from his work area. He then pulled the blanket out from under Stewart, carefully rolling it up to capture any loose hairs or threads, and set it aside to take home to launder. Then he poured a little more wine into Stewart’s mouth and down his throat in an attempt to wash away any trace evidence.

Jewel felt a surge of self-loathing. He had come so far from the clumsy first attempts. What he had just done was a reversion to primitive, animalistic behavior. He was always so very cautious about evidence and forensics was now so much more advanced. Assuring himself that the gods would forgive him for his momentary weakness and continue to protect him, he was able to calm himself.

After scanning the area one more time to make sure there was still no one nearby, he reached into the gym bag and extracted the sacred implement he had long ago chosen to help clear the road to greatness.

Gazing at the crescent moon, he softly chanted his prayer of thanksgiving, took a slow, deep breath then neatly slashed the throat that had just served him so efficiently. He forced himself to remain patient as he watched the sacrificial life’s blood drain into Mother Earth. Only when the flow ebbed did he take his gift in return.

With skill born of practice, he used the razor-sharp tip of the knife to remove both eyeballs from their sockets and placed them in a jar of formaldehyde.

Chapter 3

He felt the hair on top of his head being pulled tighter and tighter, forcing him to stretch his neck and expose his jugular veins. His legs and arms felt weighted down, preventing him from fighting back.

He wanted to keep his eyes closed. He didn’t want to see what was coming. But his eyelids raised and he saw his tormenter’s face in a halo of light above him. Her red-painted mouth parted and her long lashes fluttered seductively.

He sensed a movement to the side and shifted his gaze in time to see the long, curved knife slashing toward his throat.

Luke jerked upright, his heart pounding, his body drenched in sweat. He hadn’t had the nightmare in years, and that somehow made it seem worse than it used to be. Yanking the tangled sheet away from his legs, he glanced at his alarm clock. There were two hours of night left but he knew there was no way he would fall back to sleep.