Normally, ten minutes goes by very slowly when you’re just watching the second hand. However, when you’re in a situation that you want to put off as long as possible, ten minutes goes by in a flash.

I raised the whip and brought it down hard on the back of Alicia’s thighs. She squealed. This was normal for her, but because I didn’t want to hear any part of her, I said, “Be quiet. One more sound out of you, and I’ll wait another ten minutes.”

I brought the whip down upon her thighs again. No noise out of her this time, though she did wince.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

Three more times upon her thighs. They were reddening, so I moved to the cheeks of her ass.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

Her ass reddened as well. Much more, and I’d leave marks. I brought it down on her ass once more.

She wanted to be fucked now. I could tell. The smell of her arousal wafted thickly in the air. Doughy bread and earth, nothing like the sweet fresh apples and musk of Heather’s scent.

I wasn’t even slightly hard.

I gave her a few lashes on her back to hold her over, and then I picked up a blindfold from a nearby table. I secured it over her eyes so she couldn’t watch what I was doing next.

“Stay quiet,” I commanded. “Not a peep out of you. I will come to you when I’m ready.”

I quietly riffled through a box of dildos until I found one that was about the size of my own cock. I couldn’t help smiling. It was one of the biggest in the box. Then I undressed. My dick was still limp. I hastily put a condom over the dildo to make it feel more realistic to her.

“Get ready. I’m going to shove my hard cock in your tight little cunt, Alicia.”

She didn’t speak, only bit her lip and sighed.

She was wet so it was easy to plunge the dildo into her pussy.

She let out a low moan.

I fucked her hard with the dildo, grazing my free hand and forearm against her thighs to make it seem more real, creating guttural moans in my throat.

“You can talk now,” I said. “Tell me how my big dick feels inside you.”

“Baby, no one feels like you do inside me. You have the biggest cock in the universe.”

Nothing I hadn’t heard from Alicia before. A time had existed when her words had made me feel like some kind of god. Now? I just wanted this to be over with so I could figure out how I could fix my stupid life.

“God, baby, so good. You fuck me so good.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to come. I’m going to unload inside you.”

“But my ass…”

“Not today. I want to come in that hot pussy of yours.”

She let out a low moan. “Yes, please come, baby. Come all over me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, grunting. “Here I come.” I thrust the dildo hard into her while I faked the orgasm. Damn, should have been an actor.

“Keep that blindfold on,” I commanded as I pulled the dildo out of her and disposed of the wet condom.

None of that had turned me on at all. My cock still hung flaccid between my legs. I quietly placed the dildo back in the box.

The black snake whip sat on the table where I’d left it. I hung it back up on the wall.

Still naked, I took the blindfold off of her.

She smiled as she gazed at me. “I’ll never get tired of looking at you naked, baby. You are one fine man.”

I forced a smile.

“I hope you left some good marks on me.”

I hadn’t, but I said, “Of course.”

“No one whips me like you do. You have a strong and forceful hand. And then that big cock of yours…” She stared at the limp member between my legs. “Wow. I really took it out of you this time.”

Another forced smile. “You always do.”

She was relaxed and sated. Time for me to move in for the kill.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I said. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything, doll.”

“Leave Heather Myles alone. She’s a nice kid, just a struggling screenwriter trying to make it.”

She smiled. “I’ll leave her alone if you will, darling.”

It took every ounce of strength I had to nod. “Of course. I have no interest in her.”

Driving home from Alicia’s place hadn’t given me any epiphanies about how to get out of my deal with the LA devil.

That was Jeremy’s problem. I was Jett now. Jett was a superstar. He could get out of anything. So I had to think like Jett.

Problem was, Jett would do what was best for Jett, and fuck the fallout.

Jett didn’t fall in love, so Jett never had to worry about fallout.

Jett was also an illusion.

Jeremy had fallen in love with Heather Myles, and Jeremy was the one who had to protect his loved ones from Alicia.

Man, I needed a drink. Neither alcohol nor drugs had ever been huge habits of mine, but right now a stiff bourbon sounded good. Anything to take the edge off.

Fucking Heather would take the edge off, but that wouldn’t—couldn’t—happen again. Not until I’d figured out how to get out of the bear trap holding me down.

The only way was to chew my own leg off.

Chew my own leg off…

I walked up the stairs to my bedroom, my mind churning. There had to be a way to get my leg out of the trap, to chew it off without taking others down. I’d happily live without a metaphorical leg to be free from Alicia and her manipulation.

I opened the door, walked in to the sitting area, pulled the band out of my hair, and then—

I jerked my head toward my bed.

It hadn’t been my imagination.

Auburn tresses were splayed out on my sheets.

Auburn tresses I’d last seen a few hours earlier in the restaurant with Alicia. They’d been in a ponytail then.

Auburn tresses I’d recognize anywhere.

I ran toward the bed. “Heath—”

A head of ebony hair poked upward.

Janet.

In my bed.

Not so surprising. I’d found her there countless times before.

But not with Heather.

Heather wasn’t a groupie. Heather was better than this.

What the fuck?

“Hey, babe,” Janet said, her voice low and husky. “We thought you’d never get here.”