Chapter 10

“I don’t care what you have to do,” Dennis seethed into the phone, “just find her! Find the girl! How hard can it be in a town this size? For Christ’s sakes, Joel, you did it once, you can do it again. And don’t keep me waiting!”

Dennis slammed down the phone with more ferocity than he’d intended and sat at his desk, shaking slightly at his own unease. What was wrong with him? He was losing control. This girl was making him lose control! It was outrageous. He pushed himself up and walked to the liquor cabinet behind the sofa. He pulled out the familiar bottle of scotch and poured some into a rocks glass. He drank that, poured a second helping, and replaced the bottle in the cabinet. He padded angrily back to his desk with his alcohol and hunched down in his leather captain’s chair.

“Sir?”

“What is it?” he grumbled without looking at his housekeeper.

“Would you like lunch now?”

“No,” he responded emphatically, swallowing the scotch with purpose. She retreated from the room leaving him to glower in peace.

The phone rang; he answered, but naturally it wasn’t her. It was a business colleague demanding a statistical analysis Dennis had promised. With a sigh, he forced his mind to matters at hand and began steadily to work.

Across town Joel Messina chewed the inside of his lip, trying to figure out what to do next. He’d already been up to the ranch where the girl had been employed, and he’d been down to that sleazy motel more than once. The owner still claimed to have no knowledge of Marqi’s whereabouts, but Joel didn’t know whether to believe him or not. On the one hand, he had no reason to lie, but on the other hand, maybe the reason was just something Joel hadn’t guessed yet. With a resigned countenance, Joel picked up his cell phone and picked his way across the crowded office to the door. He would give the motel owner one more try. What could it hurt to lean a little bit more?

“Braxton,” Marqi said, holding her breath while she listened for the operator’s response.

“I have a D. Braxton in the Jasmine Falls vicinity,” the girl on the other end told her.

“Yes!” Marqi jumped, her pen hovering excitedly over her notebook. “Yes, that must be it.”

The girl read off the number and Marqi copied it down carefully. “Thank you.”

Oh, she was so going to regret all the minutes off her phone card, she just knew it. The directory assistance had eaten up quite a few, and now here she was calling long distance on it again. She dialed with trembling fingers and waited while it rang.

“Voice mail,” she sighed when she heard the recording come on. Should she hang up? Should she leave a message? My God, what am I going to say? she thought frantically.

Beep!

“Oh, uh, hi, Dennis, it’s Marqi... I’m--”

A sharp rap on the door interrupted her and she hurriedly finished, “I’ll call you later.”

She hung up the phone and flew to the door.

“Hi!” the RA said brightly. “I’m here to do a surprise room inspection. Is now a good time?”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a surprise inspection?” Marqi asked, holding the door open.

“What?”

“Like, if I said, no, this is a bad time for a surprise inspection,” Marqi explained, “wouldn’t that defeat the point of it being a surprise? Because then I’d have time to hide any contraband.”

“You have contraband?” the girl’s ears perked up. Marqi shook her head, half amused, half annoyed. The RA went on with her semi-assed search and then concluded all was safe and sound. She handed Marqi a slip and said her goodbye.

Marqi shut the door and went back to the bed. Should she try Dennis again? No, she decided. Calling twice in a row would probably make her look desperate or stalkerriffic, neither of which she wanted to look.

With a sigh, she opened her economics textbook again in hopes that this time she could stay awake past the opening paragraph.

No such luck.

Dennis had a piece of voice mail waiting when he got done dealing with his colleague’s statistical analysis. He punched in the code and listened with his pen ready to take notes on whatever business transaction was on the chopping block.

He nearly dropped it when he heard her voice stammering over the line. She was calling him! He readied himself for her phone number, but it never came. He replayed the message, listening intently in case he’d misheard, but no, no number. Puzzled, he disconnected the call and stared at his phone. Caller ID, of course, came in handy. He scrolled up to the most recent block of calls and found the unfamiliar name right away. He dialed it and it connected him to an operator.

“What the hell?” he wanted to know, “someone just called me from this number!”

“Sir, this is Western Global Communications,” the woman said boredly, “we have no way of knowing who called you. This line is typically used for processing our outgoing calling card calls.”

“Calling card?” Dennis groused. “Great.”

He hung up, no closer to Marqi than he had been an hour ago. Murder was starting to feel recreational.

Dennis stared out the window. She would call again; he was certain of it. And when she did, this time he would be ready to receive.

Marqi chewed her fingernail, staring pointedly at her telephone and trying to decide whether calling twice in the same day would seem needy. She supposed she could at least call back and leave her phone number; then the ball would be in his court. She panicked slightly at the thought that he might not call her back.

Taking a deep breath, Marqi dialed the phone number again and waited while it rang.

“Marqi?”

“Dennis?” she responded, truly surprised he had guessed it was her.

“You didn’t leave a phone number,” he said accusingly.

“Yeah, I... I’m sorry about that,” Marqi said, slightly baffled by his method of conversing. “I was interrupted. Someone came to the door.”

He was quiet and she felt it best to follow his example. When he spoke again, his voice held all the warmth of the polar ice caps. “Where are you?”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling uneasy.

“What’s wrong is that I am here all alone,” he said. “I expected you back days ago, after you’d picked up your things from the motel, and yet, you never returned. After all my hospitality, all my concessions, this is the regard I’m given?”

His words stung like a slap, and Marqi sat there, too stunned to answer. Finally she inhaled deeply and said, “I told you I was leaving. You knew I had to get to school or I’d lose the deposit on my tuition.”

“School?” She couldn’t tell whether he was amused or hysterical. “You’ve gone off to school! Why?”

“Are you kidding me?” she asked him.

“What I mean is... my house isn’t big enough for you? My offer lacking in generosity?”

“I—what? I don’t understand,” she said.

He laughed outrightly. “All right, it appears we had a miscommunication. You’ve gone back to school on some ridiculous pretense, and I suppose I must concede your right to do so. Therefore, I find myself pressed to ask, when is your last class of the week, what time do you have to be back on Monday, and what is the address where I might collect you?”

Marqi was instantly pleased. “Oh, Dennis! You don’t have to do that. As soon as I get a job I’ll have the money to drive down and see you.”

“Nonsense!” he said gruffly. “I have more than adequate resources to fulfill my every whim, and you, Marqi, are my current whim.”

She grinned to herself. “You know, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he chuckled. “Now, be a good girl and give me the address, and this time, spare a moment to add the telephone number as well.”

She recited the information to him and listened carefully as he repeated it to her.

“I’ll see you Friday evening, then,” he said. “I can’t believe you’re making me wait.”

“Oh, Dennis,” she said, glad that he wanted to see her as much as she wanted to see him.

“I’ll see you then, kitten,” he said, “and you’d better be a hellcat in the sack.”

The line clicked off before Marqi could respond, and she found herself dismissed. She stared at the phone a minute, unsure how to take it. Finally she shrugged and hung up. She could always talk to him about his phone manners when she saw him on Friday.

And ooh, Friday. She’d have to remember to shave her legs.

Marqi was so excited by the prospect of a weekend with Dennis that she could hardly concentrate on her classes. The essay she’d written barely earned a B-minus, and she found herself feeling only slightly guilty, an emotion that flitted away the moment her thoughts turned to love. It was with an eager hand that she packed her travel bag and waited downstairs on the cement planter for Dennis’ chauffeur to arrive.

“You, little girl, are in big trouble,” a voice called. Marqi shielded her eyes to the sun and turned in the direction of the speaker. She saw Dennis striding toward her with a smile on his face, so Marqi hopped down from her seat and ran to greet him. She flung herself energetically into his arms, nearly knocking them both down. He maintained his balance, squeezing her tight as he twirled her around. He settled her on the ground, handed her suitcase off to Robert, and took her hand. He led her to the car and they both slid into the backseat where he immediately loosened his tie.

“And now, my wicked little girl, you are in for some punishment,” he stated, giving her a stern look.

“Ooh!” Marqi squealed as the car started moving. Dennis pulled her across his lap and swatted her lightly on the ass.

“That’s for running off to school and not telling me,” he informed her.

“But Dennis, I--”

“No, no,” he quelled her questions with a kiss. “No more talk.”

He flipped her over, tucking her slender body against his, and began kissing her deeply, his mouth working its way from her mouth to her breasts. She closed her eyes, immediately forgetting that they could be ticketed for not wearing seatbelts while in a moving vehicle. When his hand slid between her thighs to stroke her softly, she forgot to be concerned that they’d be thrown countless feet in the air in the event of a collision. And when he yanked her panties off and pushed her down onto the seat, Marqi forgot every safety precaution she’d ever learned in driver’s ed.

She touched his cock through his pants and he grabbed her hand, pressing it right to his erection, and rubbing it on her palm. He pushed down his clothing, freeing himself to do what he wanted in the backseat of his car. He thrust his hardened cock into the ring she made with her fingers while his tongue lapped her nipples and she moaned beneath him.

“I like you here,” he told her, his eyes glittering with lust.

“Me, too,” she whispered confidentially, spreading her legs. He fingered her cunt till it went slick with honey, all the time letting her pet his cock, her thumb tormenting the head with delicious extra attention till it leaked onto her fingers.

“Lick,” he commanded, bringing her fingers to her lips. She tasted his pre-come with half-lidded eyes that watched as she added fuel to the fire. He hooked her leg under her knee and brought it up to her chest, watching her reaction as he buried his cock inside her. Marqi gasped, wet and ready, and yet still not expecting the fullness of his thrust. Each of his strokes were met by her writhing hips as she moaned and rocked beneath him, riding his cock to the extent he would allow. He liked watching her like this, her breasts peeking out of the tank top he’d shoved to her neck, his cock working her body till she squirmed with pleasure. Her mouth fell open, her fingers clasped his neck, and she cried out, ramming her hips into his while his rigid length pounded her pussy relentlessly.

She moaned, rocking against him, feeling the tension of a bigger orgasm building inside her. Sensing her approach, Dennis gripped her hips tighter and sank himself deeply into with enough force to bang her head against the car door. Marqi didn’t care; she didn’t even notice as pleasure began to explode in her core, spiraling throughout her body while she moaned and Dennis pumped his cock into her a few more times, emptying himself of his burden, satisfied by his own release.

For a few minutes, they held each other. Then Dennis sat up and said, “I expect better when we have the room to maneuver freely.”

Marqi pulled her shirt down over her breasts and stared at him blankly. Her pussy was already feeling a little bruised from the intense banging he’d just given her.

“Okay,” she said. She had known this would be a weekend of sex when she packed her bag. If her orgasms were any precursor, she had a lot of enjoyment to look forward to.