CHAPTER TWELVE
THE OVERCROWDING AND overpriced basic foods made Singapore my least favorite place.
The breathtaking view of the city’s skyline at night, overlooking the murky green water from high atop my hotel room, persuaded me to rethink my first impression. Singapore wasn’t awful in the least. My loneliness for Calind painted everything with a dark, pessimistic brush.
He and I went to only one place together in the two weeks we’d been in Singapore. We weren’t even alone. He occupied his time with business associates during dinner. I was an addict acting strung out, shaking and jonesing for a fix of my daily required dose of Calind. I needed him to fuck me again, badly.
After roving around the city alone, I returned to the hotel to pace around and smoke while staring at the door, waiting for Calind.
The second time I ventured out by my lonesome, determination ensured I’d find a friend to keep myself from losing my fucking mind and humping anything with a hard-on.
I met an expatriate while shopping, whose name I couldn’t remember. She was tolerable enough to keep me company at night and serve as my shopping partner during the day. She showed me cheaper places to eat and introduced me to food hawkers. My new acquaintance kept my mind off Calind for seconds at a time. Well, it was progress.
Today, my new “friend” took a break from stuffing her face with the room service I ordered. “Oh, my god. This kaya toast is to die. Did you try it?”
“I’m not hungry.” I lit another cigarette and glanced at my phone, willing it to ring or chime with a text, a phone call, or even a damn email message from Calind.
“Why don’t you leave him?” my nameless friend asked. “He’s obviously cheating on you.”
“If I wanted your opinion…” I shook my head and tossed my phone on the table. “I don’t want your opinion.”
The front door opened, and my body came back to life. Finally, Calind.
My friend stood with her mouth agape while she gawked at him. She looked at a loss for words for a second. “Hi. I’m Larsen. Regan’s friend.”
Calind shot me look with enough annoyance to let me know he wasn’t happy with her being there. He turned on the debonair act, giving her a smile that made her swoon and took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Calind.”
“What the hell?” My eyes shot proverbial daggers in his direction. “You hardly see me, and you greet her first?” I put my cigarette out on the glass end table. There was so much drama in my movement, I burned the tips of my gel nails.
“I didn’t want to be rude to your friend,” he said, moving toward me.
I stepped backward, sticking my hand in his face. “Boy, bye.”
He smirked and glanced back at my acquaintance. “Larsen, is there somewhere my driver can take you? I need to be alone with Regan.”
“Actually, I have a room downstairs. Guess I’ll go there.” She grabbed the plate as she walked backward. “It was really nice meeting you.” She gave me a wave and mouthed, Wow, before she left.
Relief gave way to anger. I settled onto the couch, glaring up at him the entire time. “Is the reason you wear black to avoid getting caught with lipstick on your collar? It doesn’t work when the lipstick is on your neck.” My attention darted to the red blotch staining his skin.
He sat in the armchair across from me, crossing his legs the way men do—using too much damn space. He contemplated me with indifference and rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb. “I apologize if you felt neglected. It will be the last time you feel that way.”
I fiddled with my gold case for another cigarette. “Who was she?” My lighter didn’t want to ignite. I was seconds from throwing it across the room. “Work, you stupid fucking thing,” I muttered.
His unruffled demeanor irritated me.
“Fuck you, Calind.” I jerked upright, dropping the lighter on the table. “You aren’t allowed to screw anyone but me. Did you forget?”
“First,” his tone remained dispassionate, “the bed-hopping was your idea. Second, I’m not interested in fucking other women. Third, I don’t make a habit of making promises I can’t keep.”
“Then explain the goddamn lipstick on your neck.”
“We don’t have time. You take hours to prepare, and we have a dinner to attend this evening. I hope in all your shopping trips you found a suitable dress to wear.” He moved with fluidity, heading to the bedroom.
“No!” I stomped my foot while raising my voice, making him stop his stride. “You don’t get to do that. We’re having a discussion about this, right now.”
He plodded toward me, grabbed me by the crown of my hair, and held me motionless. “It’s not lipstick, it’s blood. You have thirty fucking minutes to get dressed before I lose my temper.” His throaty tone crept into an accent. The origin eluded me. I only knew one thing; I did what I thought I couldn’t do and actually pissed him off.
“And then what?” I goaded him with a false sense of confidence.
“Don’t take this somewhere you’re not ready to visit. I’ve been lenient with you, Regan. The dynamic can change, and I’ll show you what I expect from you by taking it out on your body, facilitating your inability to walk for a year.”
“Well, considering I won’t be here for a year, whatever.”
The ebony orbs nearly looked black as they sliced right through me. “Are you desiring a fuck to get out of your sour mood?”
“No,” I whispered the lie, as I was damn near ready to get on my knees and beg him to fuck me. “Let me go.”
He released the death grip he had on my hair. “Get. Dressed.” He shoved me forward and smacked my ass hard enough to make it sting for a good fifteen minutes afterward.
WE TRAVELED A few miles outside of downtown Singapore to a three-story house that had innovative architecture unlike I’d ever seen before and a balcony surrounding the perimeter of the space. The angular lines made the home look like it came from the space age.
The crowd inside the sitting room was small, only six people. They appeared similar to the other people I encountered in my exploits with Calind—too perfect. Creepy, fake smiles marked their faces, and the conversation topics bordered on all things inane, reminding me of the life I abandoned.
I moved to a quiet space on the balcony. The breathtaking view of the lush trees framing the downtown skyline in the distance failed to pull me away from feeling disquieted.
I didn’t know if I could put up with this for another three to five months. Calind was driving me insane—a good and bad kind of insane. I had him at my fingertips yet could never grasp him, to make me believe he was mine, even if it was just for show.
His heat and the smell of his cologne made his presence known to me. He slipped his forearm around my torso and gave me a glass of champagne while kissing my exposed shoulder. “I’m all yours tonight.”
“Why can’t you be all mine every night?” I turned around, sliding my arm around the indent in his waist. “What’s happening in Singapore? Why do I hardly ever see you?”
He stared at me vacant-eyed, and it annoyed me even more. “It won’t happen again.”
“Where do you go all the times you leave me? Why are you so busy?” My voice was so low, I was sure he had to strain to hear me.
He glanced back at the crowd. “If you’re not up for this, take a bedroom upstairs and rest.”
My heart sank. I averted my eyes to avoid letting him see my disappointment at my unanswered questions. “That would be rude. It’s your friend’s house.”
“It’s my home.”
My eyes widened. “How many homes do you have?”
“Seven,” he said, nonchalant.
It didn’t make sense. Executive Suites couldn’t have paid that well.
I placed the glass on the edge of the metal banister. “This trip isn’t about me. It’s about business for you. Whatever the hell it is you really do. This whole thing…” Lacking the ability to find a proper word, I settled on, “Sucks.” Muttering underneath my breath, I added, “I wish I could ask for a refund.”
“How’s your bank account, Regan?”
“Excuse me?”
“Was it a complicated question? Since you’ve been out on many spending excursions, I’m sure you have an answer to the question.”
I shrank in reaction to the cutting glare he cast my way. “Fine, I guess.”
“Fine meaning nothing was withdrawn? I see. Therefore, your intimation that this is a commerce exchange where you may behave like a self-centered bitch doesn’t apply here, does it?”
Bitch? Ouch. “Don’t call me a bitch, you asshole.”
“Asshole, is it? I’ll remember that for later.”
“I don’t care.”
He caught my hand before I made it off the balcony. “Have a seat in the dining room, Regan.”
“I’m going upstairs to rest.”
He closed in on me with his hands at either side of my neck, making me tilt my head back. “Have a seat in the dining room. In case it needs clarification…” His hands slipped up from my neck to my jaw as his lips grazed mine. A menacing look reappeared. “This time, I’m not fucking asking.”
I followed his directions and questioned my compliance once I settled in a seat. Why did he have this effect over me? I had become his faithful pet.
Calind’s guests kept ogling me and licking their lips like I was dessert. Their plates were empty, but their wine glasses were full of blood red wine.
My plate was the only one that contained food.
“I wouldn’t eat much,” Calind warned me from across the table. “It might ruin the plans I have for you tonight.”
Before I could question what he meant, a new arrival made everyone stir.
In walked a woman, dressed head-to-toe in black latex. A half mask gave her a little anonymity, only revealing her jaw and blood red lips.
I felt as though I knew her somehow, and had interactions with her. The only two women I could think of who fit the bill were Evani and Michelle. The woman had several features in common with Michelle and none with Evani. It would have been impossible to be Michelle, though, wouldn’t it?
The woman held onto a diamond lead. Crawling on the floor behind her was a man, naked and wearing a gimp mask. She jerked the chain and directed him to crawl on top of the table. Guided by two of the men, the woman in latex stood on top.
It was then I noticed her pet had a tail, by way of a butt plug stuck in his ass.
She ran her hands along her cat-o’-nine-tails and whipped it in the air, making a waffling sound. She brought her arm downward, inflicting angry little slashes on the man’s ass. He jerked and appeared to struggle with keeping the butt plug inside of him. Everyone in attendance watched, riveted, and sipped their wine.
I couldn’t eat, much less drink and watch the “show.”
Disobeying Calind’s warnings, I left the table and roamed around a corridor at the back of the house. The only open room was at the end of the hall. I walked inside for privacy and immediately regretted it. The room contained only a fucking machine and a table cut into the shape of the letter “X.”
“You wanted to experience pain, yet you’re unable to handle watching someone who endures it.”
I turned around, prepared to say something slick to Calind.
“Don’t,” he warned.
The words manifested into a physical hand over my mouth, and I couldn’t speak.
He glanced at the table. “I had other plans. Given your constant need to fuck with me, this evening’s events have changed.” Taking my hand, he led me to the table. I was a stone statue, allowing him to disrobe me. He picked me up with no effort and laid me on the oddly shaped table.
My hands extended up and out. Soft restraints slipped over my wrists and reached my elbows, binding my arms to the table. A metal-like fastener was attached to my ankles, keeping me still with my legs spread. Calind’s hands slid up my naked skin, eliciting shudders. A binding collar secured my neck, restricting most head movements.
The table moved, slanting perpendicular to the floor until I was upside down. The heavy scraping on the floor added to my nervous state.
I startled when a soft cylinder tickled the lips of my pussy. I assumed it was a part of the fucking machine and braced for what was next.
Calind slanted forward, coming into view. “Every time I make you come you’re to repeat: ‘I’m grateful for orgasm number one.’” A smile that made me quake spread across his thick lips, deepening his dimples. “Don’t lose count.”
The people from the table filed into the room, ready to watch the next show.
The machine started up, plunging the wet and soft dildo into me, slowly at first. Blood rushed to my brain, creating a dizzying yet hyperaware sensation.
Calind’s footsteps taunted me as he receded into a dark corner.
The pace of the machine increased.
“Ah!” I cried out with tears in my eyes as my body reacted.
“What are you supposed to say, Regan?” Calind asked.
“I’m grateful for orgasm number one, Mr. Glace.” My words came out strangled and soft.
The machine worked hard to plunge deep into my pussy at a pace unlike any I’d ever felt.
“Oh, shit.” My body shook in the restraints and the fuzziness clouding my brain worsened. “Thank you for orgasm number two, Mr. Glace.”
“Do you think you’ve had enough?” Calind’s voice was so quiet I struggled to hear him above the noisy machine sending me to another world.
“No, Mr. Glace,” I choked, my sinuses went haywire and my throat became compressed.
“Think you can handle more?”
“Y-yes, sir,” I swore to him.
Calind stepped out of the shadows and swept the tears from the sides of my face before they migrated to my hairline. “Taste her,” he said to the crowd behind him.
What the actual fuck?
Three people ascended on me, touching my flesh. The burning pinch of what felt like teeth sank into my skin, overwhelming me with the sensation of being fucked and pierced with opiates.
Falling in and out of a semi-conscious state, I was on orgasm number nine, screaming out my gratitude, obeying Calind by being his dutiful little bitch. It quickly became too much for my weak system, and I blacked out.
An abrupt slap on my cheek startled me awake. Everything stilled, and I was upright and had to endure the gross experience of my sinuses rebelling from being held upside down.
The people in the room were no longer present. Odd-shaped heaps of black ash were scattered around me. The noise I expected from the dinner party guests in dining room had gone silent.
Calind wiped my face with a soft cloth. “Do you know why I stopped this?”
“No, Mr. Glace.”
“Because you passed out…again. You’re not ready for more.”
“I am. I’m ready for orgasm number ten.” I stared at Calind, defiant.
“Are you sure?” A brow was raised over his dark eyes, deriding me with a crooked smile.
I collapsed in my restraints, my eyes watering. “No, Mr. Glace.”
He removed the straps from my body, allowing me to tumble into his arms.
“W-what happened to the p-people?” I stuttered.
He faked having a heart, and his entire face warmed. “Sleep.”
And like a woman encountering the most hypnotic man she’d ever laid eyes on, who said the word and made it happen, I closed my eyes.