Red Hourglass (23 page)

Conan turned around and crawled back to me.

“Okay, enough doggie. Back up on the bed and lie on your side,” I ordered as I raised his chin with my knee. “You’ve been naughty and you need to be spanked.” I slapped his legs and bottom mercilessly with the leather paddle as he screamed in pain. I didn’t stop until he was trembling. His ass was covered in red welts. “There, there,” I said as I rubbed away the sting.

“Thank you,” he groaned.

“Are you ready to service the Scarlet Queen?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m going to blindfold you first.” I picked his tie up off the floor and tied it tightly over his eyes. “I trust you not to move,” I whispered as I softly bit his earlobe. “If you do, I’ll have to bind your hands. Do you understand?”

“Yes my queen.”

I gave him a peck on the lips and slid my hand over his nipples and down his muscular torso. He looked sexy with the dark-gray blindfold over his handsome face. That I’d tied him with his work tie aroused me all the more. I flicked his erection and ran two fingers up and down it. Then I yanked him hard and made him yelp.

“Awe, did that hurt the poor puppy?”

“No … my Scarlet Queen,” he panted. “Everything you … do to me … is titillating.”

“Of course it is. You belong with your Scarlet Queen.” I glided my hands skillfully around his throbbing need, rubbing the head. A drop of pre-cum appeared on the tip. I wrapped my hand around him and squeezed. “Do you want me to lick you?”

“Yes.”

“Say please.”

“Yes please.”

“Good boy.”

I went down on Conan, licking his sweet pre-cum and taking his hardness into my mouth. His body was responsive to my every touch. He moaned softly as I licked him clean.

“Now it’s time for my pleasure.” I slipped out of my dress and took a condom off the nightstand. I unrolled it over his stiff cock and straddled him. He gasped in pleasure as I slowly lowered myself onto him.

“You’re my toy,” I moaned. I was riding him for my own pleasure, slowly grinding and going up and down. “How does it feel to be underneath me?”

“Perfect,” he whispered as he thrust himself up and into me with a loud grunt.

Conan was a whimpering mess under my control. I’d never seen him so turned on and it was driving me crazy. I felt an orgasm building in me and I rode him harder and faster than I ever had before.

“Don’t come until I scream yes. Understand?”

He nodded and groaned uncontrollably.
He’s losing it
.

“Ah … ah … that’s it.” I was panting and drenched in sweat as he plunged himself up into my wetness. His pulsating cock filled me up and I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Yes!” In that moment, I transcended my double life. I was playing my game by my rules. I belonged to no one. This was what I wanted for myself.

He gave a series of small grunts before letting out a deep moan as his body spasmed. I collapsed onto his strong chest and reveled in the bliss of our heavenly union.

“That was good,” I said, kissing his lips as I rolled off him.

Conan’s hair was a mess and I removed his blindfold. He just stared at me in awe.

“Scarlet,” he finally said, “I’ve never been … no one’s ever. What have you done to me?”

“I’ve given you the time of your life. What else?”

“It’s more than that, much more. I know now that I can’t live without you,” he said as he kissed my hands with his soft lips. “Oh God! I’m bound to you.”

“I’m glad you’ve finally realized that. Are you ready to get rid of that ring?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll sell it … give it away … whatever. I’ll do it tomorrow,” he said. “But what else can I do for you? I can’t believe I’ve been such a fool. Just tell me what I can do to make it up to you.”

“What is there to do in this life except love?”
Why did I say that
?

“Let me show you my love. What do you want? What can I do? I’ll do anything for you.”

“I don’t know what I want … I just don’t know.” I sighed and turned away. I couldn’t bear to look at him when I was dealing in truth. “There are things in this life that are beyond our control. We can’t choose our destiny.”

“What are you talking about? You and I control our destiny.” Confusion washed over his face. “Unless … is there someone else in your heart?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I’ve been looking for someone for years. That’s why I came here. I’m trying to find my mother.”

“I didn’t know,” said Conan, resting his sharp chin on his long fingers. “What’s her name?”

“Matilda Summers, but if she’s alive she must’ve changed her name or gotten married. I’ve searched all the public records and I’ve come up with nothing, but she’s the reason I’m here and I can’t give up hope.” My honesty surprised me.

“Is she in Manhattan?”

“She was born here. That’s all I know.”

“I’ll help you find her,” said Conan taking my hands and squeezing them tightly. “I’ll do everything in my power to find her.”

“Thank you,” I said with hope and despair.

I would be free of the White Queen if he found my mother. My loyalties would no longer be divided and my life would be my own.
I can’t get my hopes up
.

Things Change

I left Conan’s apartment and walked to the subway. I needed to think.

Working as his secretary made it hard not to develop some sort of attachment to him, but I was a fool for getting romantically involved. I was the villain and he was my victim. It wasn’t our destiny to be together.

My job was to do whatever the White Queen wanted me to do. She hadn’t ordered Conan’s death, but that could change. I was a black widow spider, and if she ordered me to kill him he’d end up dead … just like all my other victims.

The threat of death was a constant in my profession, but I’d never feared it before. The White Queen had turned me into a skilled huntress and I never doubted my abilities, but something was different now. I couldn’t help feeling that death was going to hunt me down before I was free and could tell Conan how I felt.

I caressed my crescent scar as the train rattled it’s way through the tunnels under New York.
How can I continue being a huntress if I’m scared of death
?

* * *

Milky was at the front door when I got home. I fed her and sat in the kitchen, staring at the wall.

I looked at the seconds ticking away on the clock. It reminded me of grains of sand falling through an hourglass. I wished I could stop the grains, stop time.
When my time with Conan is up, our love will end
. He was a beacon of hope in my otherwise miserable double existence, a reason to carry on. I wanted to run faster than time so that we could be together, but I knew it was impossible. We could only be together if everything was different.
I may be able to stop myself from loving Conan, but I can’t stop time and I can’t change the way things are
.

I went to the living room and grabbed my notebook.

“In the quest for purity one can only meet corruption.

In the quest for idealism one can only land in realism.

In the quest for love, one can only find pain.”

Get a grip girl
!
Conan Casey isn’t the only ray of hope in your life. You’re defined by your achievements, not by a man.

I thought about another of Mimi’s failed missions. She was working in a strip club and she was supposed to seduce the owner. Mimi fell in love with him, couldn’t kill him, and ended up letting him go—but she told the White Queen she was drugged and he escaped. His activities continued to cause chaos in the city, and the White Queen had to send five of us to take care of him and his crowd. We all made it back without any injuries, but love made Mimi weak and she put her sisters in danger because she couldn’t finish the job when she had the chance.

Love was the worst game an agent could play, and falling in love with a victim was sheer lunacy.
Agents in love fail their missions, their sisters, and the White Queen
. I’d never failed a mission, and I had no intention of failing this one.
Falling in love with a victim is taboo
…
and a curse
. I wanted to finish what I’d started, and I wasn’t going to let love stop me.

If I push my body to the very limits of exhaustion, my mind will cease to think and I won’t be defeated by love
. I resolved to train my body and mind harder.

I unrolled my exercise mat and began with some stretches, followed by three difficult yoga postures, and then lunges. I got down on the floor and started doing crunches. After ten minutes of those, my stomach muscles were burning and the sweat was pouring off me.

Sugar, I need sugar
. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a Coke from the fridge. As I emptied the can into a glass, the bubbles reminded me of the champagne Conan and I drank at dinner. I thought of his beautiful body, his enchanting voice, his gray wolf eyes, his wild smile.
Why am I so intrigued by this man
?
I’m weak from love and this has to stop
!

I hit the mat and started doing push-ups. “One, two, three …”

It wasn’t long before my mind started to wander again.
Is my love for Conan real
?
Do we really have a chance at a future together
? I told myself that what we had was only a temporary illusion—Mimi was right about that. Forces beyond our control were keeping us apart and that was just the way it was. There was nothing I could do to change it, but in time it would pass.

I shook my head and went back to my push-ups. “One hundred, one, two, three …”

I collapsed face down on the two hundredth push-up. My body was hurting and completely drained, but my mind was still racing. I rolled over on my back and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Conan.
What the hell is wrong with me
? I had to banish these silly fantasies of an impossible future from my mind. I peeled myself off the floor and went into the bathroom. I stood under a cold shower until Conan was washed from my thoughts.

I was an orphan and the White Queen gave me shelter, an education, a new identity. She showed me kindness and saved me from starvation. I belonged with her and my sisters. They were the only real family I’d ever known.

When I was convinced that I’d conquered my emotions, another unsettling thought crept into my head:
I’ll serve the White Queen and Conan for my own ends
.

* * *

“Welcome to the Platinum Lounge,” said the blond woman in a silver cocktail dress. “How may I help you?”

“Two tickets please,” said Conan.

“Certainly.” She handed the tickets to him and gestured to her left. “The entrance is just over there. Dinner will be served before the film. Enjoy.”

Conan held my hand as we walked into the silver and purple lounge. We sat on a purple velvet sofa in the corner and ordered coffee and dinner. The waiter was back with our coffee in a flash.

“My family wants to meet you,” Conan said as he stirred his coffee.

“What?” I gasped. “You want to introduce me to your parents … Mr. and Mrs. Wilmar?”

“Yes, and my sister. I’ve told them about you.”

“What have you told them?”

“That we’ve been seeing each other for a few months,” he said as he took my hand. “Scarlet, don’t worry, they’ll like you.”

“When do you want me to meet them?”

“We’re going to their place this weekend.”

“Excuse me? This weekend?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, it’s just lunch.” He squeezed my hand. “They don’t bite and I didn’t tell them we’d stay the night or anything. Relax. It’ll be fine.”

“Why didn’t you ask me first?”

“I didn’t want to give you a chance to say no.”

“Well that was very
thoughtful
of you,” I said as I dug my nails into his hand before pulling away. “Why don’t we have lunch here in the city, on neutral ground?”

“Scarlet, don’t be so dramatic. There’s no need for
neutral
ground
, this isn’t a peace summit.” He rubbed the nail marks on his hand. “Anyway, they rarely dine away from home. There have been several recent attempts on my father’s life. It’s safer for us to meet them at their place.”

“Can’t you give me a little more time to prepare? Why can’t we go next weekend?”
Were any of those failed attempts on Johnson Wilmar’s life the work of the White Queen
?
What will she expect me to do if she finds out that I’ll be at his house
?

“My sister’s going to be too busy after next week. This is the only weekend she’s available for a while.”

“I could always meet her another time.”

“Scarlet, I want you to meet them all at the same time. It’s important to me. Please.”

“Conan, you can’t blame me for being nervous about going to your parents’ house. I won’t just be meeting your family, I’ll be meeting the CEO of the company I work for. I’ve never met him before, and meeting him in his own home puts a lot of extra pressure on me. Can’t you see that?”

“Yes,” said Conan looking across the lounge. “But as you said, you’re working in my father’s company and he does try to make a point of meeting all the good employees. He’s heard about you from HR as well … not just me.”

“Oh, so now there’s more pressure on me.” I stuck out my bottom lip and turned away. I was trying to avoid going to this lunch at all costs. The last thing I wanted was to have to kill the entire Wilmar family in their own home.

“Please Scarlet.” Conan put his hand on my shoulder and turned me toward him. “I think you’ll really like my sister. She’s dying to meet you.”

“Why can’t she make it another time?” I asked.

“She owns an art gallery and they’re getting ready for their first major show. The big opening is next weekend and she won’t be able to leave the city until the show closes.” Conan stroked my cheek. “You know, you remind me of her.”

“In what way?”

“You’re both playful. Come on. What do you say?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s all a bit sudden. I mean you still had your ex’s engagement ring until three days ago. Your family will probably think I’m just your rebound girlfriend, filling in until you find someone better.”