Collar

Theo appeared in the doorway. He stood with both hands on a coffee cup, waiting.

She let him wait, unzipping her bag and retrieving her laptop. Hungry and needy when she woke, she’d worked out, made scrambled eggs, and masturbated. None had been enough, and she’d ridden to work wanting to snap at something.

Theo’s gentle, uncertain adoration reached out. It made her want to be cruel.

Without looking at him, she beckoned. She logged into the office network while he set the cup down. She took it and sipped, wondering if she might force him to crawl under her desk. He could massage her feet before proceeding further while she threatened to send him away.

“You look beautiful, Ms. Winters,” Theo said.

She looked up, and his face glowed with a helpless adoration. A warmth spread from her belly.

“It’s unusual that I might be presentable?”

“No, you’re always-“

“A hag? Is that what you think?”

“No, Alexis-“, he caught himself. “Ms. Winters. You’re especially pretty today.”

He’d clasped his hands before his stomach as though praying.

“Pretty? Like someone’s new carpet?”

His eyes searched as though crossing a minefield. Alexis had to restrain her smile. Her hunger had silenced for the first time since she woke.

“Beautiful, feminine, graceful, alluring,” Theo said.

“I see. Is that all?”

“I’m a mess even thinking about you, Ms. Winters. I don’t know what’s happened. Since the other night.”

She relaxed against the back of her chair. “And?”

He looked at the ground. “I worry that I’m obsessed. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“And what should I do about your little obsession?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just wish… I imagine doing things for you. Chores. Errands, just for a chance to be near you.”

The phone on Alexis’ desk beeped. She continued to watch Theo.

“Is that all?” she asked.

His face turned crimson, and he glanced at the beeping phone. “No. I imagine you being cruel.”

He meant it, and her body flushed. The phone beeped again. She smashed the beeping line and ripped the receiver from its cradle.

“Yes?”

“Winters,” Jeff’s voice began. “Could you come to my office? Want to bounce some ideas around.”

“Can it wait?”

“Better if you come now.”

Alexis slapped the receiver back into the phone and looked at Theo. He stared at her, a picture of helpless adoration. A sadistic spark in her responded.

“A shame when a man can’t control himself. Some women might take advantage,” Alexis said.

He nodded, his eyes pleading for her to take advantage.

“I have a meeting. You should make a list of everything you’d like to do for me. It could be amusing to go over it.”

He nodded but didn’t move.

“That’s all, Theo,” Alexis said.

He backed out the door and retreated out of sight.

Alexis gripped the edge of the desk and reminded herself that she would control the desires, not the other way around. Reaching into her bag, her hand trembled. She retrieved a notepad and a pen before heading to Jeff’s office.

Theo lingered at the edge of the cubicle row. When Alexis emerged from her office, he darted away.

In the cubicles, the sound of low voices on phone calls and clacking keyboards had found its rhythm. Alexis took deep breaths as she crossed the floor to the corner office on the far end of the floor. The tension she’d enjoyed the prior night had become a demand. She decided that if enjoyment was impossible, grim determination would have to do.

Jeff’s office door was open, and beyond it, his corner view revealed a northward-looking cityscape punctuated by the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. He smiled and nodded, but Alexis couldn’t see who he spoke to. Alexis tapped on the door with a single knuckle.

Breaking from his guest, he saw Alexis, rose, and came around to greet her.

“Alexis. Thank you,” Jeff said and beckoned her into his office, closing the door behind her.

A trim man in a custom black suit with a black silk tie rose from the seat opposite Jeff’s desk. A crimson handkerchief peeked from the breast pocket. He bowed at the waist, finding and holding Alexis’ eyes as he did so. Handsome without being striking, confident without arrogance, he looked at her, and she stopped breathing. He looked from her eyes to where the pendant hid under her blouse.

He knew what she was.

Alexis' throat tightened. She put  a hand to the pendant. He noticed the gesture, and she became aware of her clothes and the offense she gave by wearing anything at all.

“Ren, this is Alexis Winters. She’s the best quantitative that exists,” Jeff said. “Alexis, this is Ren Takamori. He’s an attorney for a firm in Osaka. We’ve been talking about some opportunities in electronic components.”

Ren extended his hand. Alexis bowed awkwardly and took it. His smile was professional, polite, and warm. Her pulse throbbed at her throat, and she wished he would squeeze until her bones creaked.

Jeff smiled and returned to his desk. Ren stepped back and gestured to his chair.

He was toying with her. Instructing her body to move, she balanced with a hand on the chair arm and eased down. He’d given her the chair he’d been occupying, and the residual heat of his body invaded hers.

Once she sat, he settled beside her, turning his body towards her and crossing one leg over the other, his fingers tapping his ankle.

Jeff glanced at Ren before speaking with Alexis. “Understand this is all preliminary and in the strictest confidence.”

Ren nodded in agreement with Jeff, far too relaxed, far too comfortable. Alexis swallowed.

Ren laid a hand on Alexis’ forearm. “It’s not so serious as all that. I worry that this chance might fly away if we’re not careful.”

“I understand,” Alexis croaked.

He withdrew his hand, and Alexis wanted to scream. She wanted his grip to turn to iron. She wanted him to close his fist with a handful of her hair. The pretense of courtesy would drive her insane.

“Our firm,” Ren began, “works with a mining concern that has made a large discovery in aluminum, and it occurred to us that the resultant drop might lead to- “

The words of his pitch continued, and Jeff offered his own ideas. She had to remind herself that she understood them; she could still think, but her body wanted nothing but to feel.

When Jeff spoke, Ren made a courteous acknowledgment, but his focus was on Alexis. She couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she stared out the windows, eyes flicking between the Chrysler and the Empire State.

Drop the pretense, she wanted to scream.

“You think it might work, Winters?” Jeff asked.

Her mouth began reciting numbers about volume and differential pricing, along with market response to new discoveries. Ren raised his eyebrows, as did Jeff.

“This is why we came to you,” Ren said to Jeff. “I chase this for days, and Ms. Winters untangles it in minutes.”

Alexis heard her words, something about spreadsheets, arbitrage pricing, and historical precedents. Jeff nodded, agreeing with her nonsense.

He glanced at his watch and frowned. “Mr. Takamori, I apologize, but I do have another meeting.”

Ren shook his head and raised a hand. “You’ve already been generous.”

Jeff looked at Alexis. “When do you think you could squeeze this in?”

“A day or so,” Alexis said, her body screaming at her to do something.

“More than we could have hoped,” Ren said, then looked at Jeff. “Perhaps I might take Ms. Winters to an early lunch to discuss this further?”

“You have anything scheduled?” Jeff asked Alexis.

Alexis shook her head.

“Promise to bring her back,” Jeff said.

Ren smiled. “Even if she begged me not to.”

She would beg, unless he forbade it.

He rose and waited for her to lead him out. She went to the door as Ren and Jeff shook hands. Then, Ren turned to her. As they walked to the elevators, she felt like a gazelle who’d been cut from the herd.

At the entry to the suite, Ren touched her shoulder. “Did you need to get anything?”

She shook her head. He glanced down. She still held her notes.

“Phone? Purse?” he asked.

“I don’t want to keep you waiting.”

“You may get them.”

She set off at once. Once out of eyesight, she hurried, almost trotting to her office. She imagined him in the foyer, more impatient by the second. Tossing her notes onto her desk, she snatched her phone and purse.

Outside her office, Theo approached, a notepad in his hands. She shook her head and trotted back to the entryway.

Ren stood by the receptionist’s desk; they were speaking about the weather. A spike of jealous anger clenched Alexis’ hands into fists. Ren glanced at Alexis, then smiled at the receptionist and said his goodbyes. He gestured towards the elevators.

She stood straight and pushed the down button. He stood just behind her, his face floating at the edge of her vision.

“I hope this is not an imposition, Ms. Winters,” Ren said. “I should have asked if you had plans.”

“Not at all, Mr. Takamori.”

“Ren,” he corrected.

The elevator doors split apart. The car was crowded, and Alexis debated waiting for another elevator. Then, a hand touched the small of her back, and her body drifted forward as she leaned into his touch. They pressed into the crowd, Ren just behind her. He maintained the pressure against her back, his palm flat and possessive.

Unable to think, Alexis closed her eyes.

What seemed an instant later, the doors parted again, and Ren’s hand urged her forward, then, painfully, fell away as they crossed the lobby.

He remained just behind, and her back and legs tingled as she hoped he looked at her and approved. They entered the same section of the rotating hotel door, and his hand found her back again. Crossing the sidewalk, he raised a hand, and a cab appeared.

He pressed, and she climbed in, crossing to the opposite seat. He slid in beside her and announced an address as he shut the door. The cab moved.

Alexis sat with her hands folded in her lap, head bowed, and her body oriented towards Ren.

He smiled with the same infuriating calm as in the office.

“You’re not a shy woman, Ms. Winters. You should sit straight, proud. Intelligent, beautiful, accomplished. Why be shy?” Ren said.

She lifted her chin and drew her shoulders back.

Ren nodded. “Better. Demand to be noticed.”

“Yes, sir.”

She flushed. Where had that come from? Ren’s expression didn’t change.

“Have you been hungry?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Like your body runs in a higher gear all the time.”

“How do you know that?”

His eyes narrowed a fraction. “No questions. Behave.”

Quiet and firm, his words held no anger, only the barest edge of disapproval. It slashed through her, and she bowed her head.

“No,” he said. “Straight and proud.”

She lifted her chin, a full-body tremor rolling through her.

The cab stopped. Ren stepped out and extended a hand to help Alexis out. She took it and seemed to float onto the curb. He put a hand into the small of her back and guided her forward.

The wood-paneled restaurant echoed with dozens of conversations. The scent of roasting steaks saturated the air. Alexis’ stomach growled.

Ren gave his name to the host. He checked his reservation list and led them towards the tables. Ren’s guiding hand remained on her back, and at their booth, he waited until she slid into her seat before slipping a tip into the host’s hand and taking the seat opposite.

The host laid menus before them both and departed. Ren unfolded his menu, and when Alexis did the same, he looked at her with a lifted eyebrow. She scanned for a moment before following his gaze. He looked from the menu to her. That hint of disapproval returned, but at the same time, it wasn’t disapproval. He was testing.

She could choose for herself, and nothing would happen. Ren would continue to be polite, courteous, and neutral. But if she obeyed, possibilities waited. The lurking edge in Ren’s eyes might show itself. The growl of two hungers in her belly competed for her attention.

She closed the menu and began to duck her head, then remembered. She sat straight, chin up. Ren returned to the menu and decided. He took hers from her and stacked it with his at the edge of the table.

An aproned waiter appeared. Ren smiled and began to order for them both. The waiter listened, only glancing at Alexis when Ren had finished. A bloom of crimson appeared on Alexis’ cheeks. The waiter took the menus and left.

Ren turned his attention to Alexis.

“I’m going to test you, Alexis. Would that be ok?”

Alexis nodded.

“I would like it if you went to the restroom, removed your panties, folded them, and brought them back to me,” Ren said.

The sound of the conversations pressed in from every direction, and they seemed to pause. They were looking at her; they’d heard what Ren had just said. Worse, they looked at her with the same certainty that Ren did. The arousal of the morning had soaked them through, and Ren and everyone in the restaurant knew it.

She wanted to hide, but she tightened her jaw and held her chin up. Folding her napkin, she laid it on the table and slid out of the booth. Conscious of her posture and wanting Ren to see her and approve of her, she walked to the back of the restaurant and found the ladies’ room.

Finding an empty stall, she lifted her skirt, hooked the waistband, and drew her panties down until she stepped out of them. Warm and damp with her scent, she trembled as she folded them and put them in her coat pocket.

Exiting the stall and washing her hands, she looked into her own eyes as she turned her hands over each other. Her rational brain had become tiny, speaking of dignity, of how no one told her what to do, while her need responded without words. She heard the need.

She dried her hands and looked at herself, making sure to stand straight with her chin up. Demand to be noticed, Ren had said. The tiny voice asked what was being noticed. She turned away and threw the damp paper towel in the garbage.

The conversations reasserted themselves outside the restroom. She crossed it, knowing the world saw through the pretense of her dignity. She was a quivering, desperate object.

Ren rose at her approach. With chin raised and spine straight, she stepped close to him. She reached into her coat pocket; her underwear was still warm. She slid it into his hand.

He didn’t react, and she stood close. He looked down, passing the silk between his hands before tucking it into his suit jacket. He lifted his eyes to hers. His calm faltered, and she became aware of his size. Elegant and fit, the breadth of his shoulders extended beyond hers, and she had to bend her head back to meet his eyes.

“Sit,” Ren said.

She slid into the booth, feeling the skirt against her bare skin. Ren sat.

Their drinks had arrived. He’d ordered wine for them both. He stared past her and took a deep draught of the wine. Tapping the table, he sighed and stretched his neck. The calm in his eyes returned.

“Drink,” he said.

Alexis lifted the glass to her lips and drank.

“You’ve earned a question,” Ren said. “Just one.”

She held her chin up, shoulders back. “Do you want me?”

He smiled. “Yes.”

Approval, not in words, but in something deeper. She had it.

They looked at each other across the table until the waiter appeared and presented them with plates laden with sizzling steaks.

“Anything else I can bring?” the waiter asked.

Ren blinked and broke the spell. He looked up to the waiter and smiled.

“Nothing just now. Thank you.”

The waiter departed.

The steak before Alexis was enormous, and a potato laden with melting butter and sour cream, sprinkled with flecks of chive, sat beside it. Despite the indulgences of the prior day, she hesitated.

“Your body needs it. Eat,” Ren said.

They ate without speaking. Ren’s manner remained courteous as he consumed the food before him with eagerness that matched Alexis’ growling stomach. As they finished, Alexis wiped her mouth with a napkin. Ren sighed with a relief that mirrored the relief she felt at the easing of her body’s demands; the animal desire, for the moment, dozed inside her.

Her arousal did not doze, and her gaze went over the breadth of his shoulders and the size of his hands. The waiter returned with a check, and Ren laid bills on top of it. He rose, and Alexis rose in response. She stepped beside him and headed towards the door, relieved when he placed his guiding hand in the small of her back.

Outside, a cab picked them up, and the address Ren gave was not the office. Alexis felt the tension of anticipation, tinged with nerves; would she live up to what he wanted?

She reached across and laid a hand on his thigh and stroked. He saw it and let it remain as he watched the city outside the cab.

They rode north towards Central Park, stopping at the southern edge. A bellman opened the door on Ren’s side. He got out and helped Alexis out; she wanted to ask what he wanted from her. Not afraid, instead she wanted to know so she would perform and please. He gave no indication, guiding her into the hotel lobby and to an elevator before sliding in a card key and pushing the button for the top floor.

They rode in silence, and nerves and arousal caused her to tremble. Her mind knew that he was testing her, pushing her, but her desire sought resolution as the ache became painful.

A hand on her hip steered her out of the elevator and down the hall when the doors opened. She found herself facing a pair of double doors. He swiped his key and pushed them open, then urged her forward with a bare pressure at her back.

Central Park appeared through the floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching as a green mass surrounded by the city. The door closed behind her.

His hand moved from her back. Both of his hands reached over her shoulders and slipped off her suit jacket. He tossed it onto an armchair, then walked to the windows. A couch faced towards the windows, and he stood beside it. He crooked a finger. Alexis approached, and when she reached the couch, he guided her before it, between the couch and the windows. He sat.

“Strip,” he said.

Facing him, she undid the first button of her blouse. He shook his head and gestured to the window.

“For them. So the whole city can see.”

A chill ran up her spine. They couldn’t see her in this penthouse, but when she turned, she saw the windows dotting each building and imagined thousands with binoculars and telescopes. Her fingers trembled as she undid the next button.

Far below, tiny figures appeared and disappeared on the paths in the park as they moved between tree branches. Some stopped, and she knew each had turned to look at the blushing, needy financial analyst humiliating herself.

Her blouse fell off her shoulders. She moved to lay it beside her, but Ren had extended a hand to take it. She handed it to him, and he put the collar to his nose before setting it aside.

Unzipping the skirt, she remembered her panties were gone. Eyes in the buildings to the east seemed to crowd the windows. Ren took the skirt and the blouse. She unhooked the bra and handed it away as the horrifying thought of what might happen if Ren took her clothes crossed her mind.

And, even worse, she wanted him to. She’d be trapped and forced to remain where he’d put her. She stepped out of her shoes, bent, and handed them to Ren.

“All fours,” Ren said from behind.

The chill air of the room pricking her skin, she sank to her knees. The shadow of a reflection looked back at her in the glass. The necklace caught the light and flashed red. When she bent forward to all fours, the pendant swung in and out of her vision as she stared at the rich carpet.

“Chin up,” he said, “Proud.”

Ridiculous. Nothing proud in this, but she obeyed and looked out at the city.

“Now,” Ren said. “Masturbate and orgasm while New York City sees what you are.”

No, no, no, she whispered while her hand lifted from the carpet and slid between her legs. Moving on its own, her knowledge of her body guided the motions. A shadow of Ren’s reflection watched from behind. The city beneath her froze in silent outrage, fascination, and desire at once.

The first orgasm vibrated out of her in what seemed an instant, and she had to put her hand to the ground to keep from tipping over.

“Again,” Ren said.

Eyes clenching shut, she moved her hand again. Slower, more luxuriant, she watched the city with the glass just before her eyes while the shadowed reflection of a needy, out-of-control woman undulated her hips against her own hand. A building earthquake began, and the next orgasm rolled through her with no sharp peak, only a frustrating, animal release.

She balanced again, and the shadow in the window changed. Ren’s hand touched the small of her back while his other hand slid between her legs. He slid two fingers into her. Her eyes drifted closed at the pleasure.

“Another,” he said.

He leaned close to her ear, and his reflection appeared over her like a shadow, like her own need had taken a devilish form to haunt and torment her. She pushed against his hand, using his long fingers.

“Impossible to ignore,” he whispered. “You need to be ready.”

Ready? But the question vanished as the expansive view and the focused pleasure from her sex blanked thought.

Another orgasm. Ren didn’t tell her to stop. So she continued, and, seeing the windows and people taking innocent strolls in the park, her fear and embarrassment gave way to defiance. They were watching; she’d captured their attention and would never let it go.

Eyes clenching, her body froze, all tension and taut release. She sank towards the carpet, like a genuflecting servant, cheek against the carpet. She sighed with the loss when he pulled his hand from her.

Aftershocks tremored through her muscles, and she imagined never moving from that spot.

She heard Ren moving, and a blanket fell over her.

“Alexis,” Ren said and tucked the blanket around her. “Come sit on the couch.”

He lifted her, and she uncoiled, pulling the blanket around her like a robe. He gestured to the couch, and she found a corner of it and drew her knees to her chest, the blanket swallowing her.

Ren sat at the opposite end. She met his eyes, then looked down; she remembered his instruction and lifted her chin. His smile was relaxed, and she thought he might laugh. His delight seemed out of place on his controlled, courtly features.

Content to sit, he watched the city beyond the windows while her thoughts swirled, and waves of satisfaction and embarrassment rolled through her. But her need had quieted, and for the first time since the strip club, she felt calm.

“What happens now?”

“You’re free, Alexis. Or are you offering yourself?”

Something dark stirred, something different than what she felt before. A pull towards something she couldn’t see and would devour her.

“Offering?”

He shook his head. “You don’t know then?”

“What does offering mean?”

Ren touched his throat, indicating her necklace. “Ask whoever gave you that. They are the ones to tell you.”

“What is this doing to me?” Alexis asked, touching the jewel.

He shook his head again, refusing to answer.

Alexis remembered Rook from the strip club, and in the glow of pleasure, she wished Ren had given her the necklace.

“I could give it back? You could-”

“No,” Ren said, his voice hardening. “There are ways of doing things.”

She stroked the gem. “What happens if I take it off?”

As she asked, a sudden terror rose in her chest. Color and vibrancy seemed to vanish, replaced by gray, generic figures wandering through a haze.

A touch of irritation tinged Ren’s voice. “You’re free, Alexis.”

“Is there anything you can tell me?”

He looked out at the city and thought.

“Make sure to eat. You need it, especially with the changes.”

Changes. She started to speak. Ren was already shaking his head.

“Your office will be looking for you.”

He gestured to a side chair. Her clothes, including her panties, had been folded and laid together. She looked from the clothes to Ren, and the idea of dressing in front of him became embarrassing. They both laughed, and Ren gestured to a pair of double doors.

“The bedroom’s there.”

She rose, gathered her things, and went to the bedroom.

It shared the view of the living room, and she laid her clothes on the enormous bed and began to dress, a strange sense of propriety coming over her. Once dressed, she went to the bathroom and did what she could with her hair, ignoring her own accusing eyes. Ren had her purse and stood by the door. She approached, and as she took her purse, he pulled her to his chest and closed his arms around her.

“You were tremendous,” Ren said. “I look forward to what you’ll become.”

He broke the embrace and smiled down at her before pulling the door open.

She stepped into the hallway, desperate with questions, but his face had become polite and stoic. Whatever had happened between them was over.

Smiling, she turned away and went to the elevator.

Half-drifting, she recalled what had happened as she navigated the elevator, lobby, and found a cab. The cab darted through traffic, depositing her in front of her office tower. After paying the fare, she re-entered her normal world, riding the elevator and entering the reception area of the office.

On her floor, Jeff’s head appeared above the cubicles, and he crossed to greet her.

“You sweet-talk him into the deal?” Jeff asked.

“Still some questions. Hard to imagine him saying no.”

“Great job, Winters.”

He moved off to his office. Alexis turned to hers. Theo popped up from among the cubicles. He searched and found Alexis and began to move.

Alexis held up a hand and shook her head. They would have to wait.

In her office, she looked out the window to the canyons of skyscrapers. She saw steel, glass, and concrete. No one watched or noticed her looking out. She touched the pendant and remembered when she felt they did. Tightening her jaw, she admitted to herself that she preferred when they watched.