Chapter 3

Shannon barely made it through the next day at work. Her mind was constantly dwelling on the web sites she'd seen the night before, and Cock Robin's last message to her. She was so distracted her secretary had to remind her three times she was late for a meeting. Finally, finally, she was out of the building and racing home, anxious to get to her computer.

She took time for a brief shower, sprayed herself with the scent she favored and wrapped a bath towel around herself. Tonight she wouldn't have any clothes to remove because she wouldn't be wearing any. Opening a new bottle of wine, she carried it along with a glass to her computer desk, logged into her special email box...and there he was!

"Hi, Misty. Been waiting for you."

She poured the wine into the glass and took a healthy swallow before typing back "I'm here."

"Are you naked?"

For a moment she was tempted to lie, but she knew, even across cyberspace, he'd catch her out.

"I showered. I'm wearing a towel."

"If I were there with you, I would have bathed you with my own hands, washed every inch of your body. Inside and out. Massaged those muscles that tighten up at the end of the day."

A shiver raced along Shannon's spine and her skin tingled as the image of masculine hands on her body played out in her mind.

"Promises, promises," she teased, startled at her growing audacity.

"I want to know you're naked," he reminded her.

She untucked the towel from under her arm and tossed it aside. The cool air on her nipples drew them into hard points and cream flooded her pussy. She squeezed her thighs together as the walls of her vagina fluttered in hungry need.

"I'm naked now."

"Good. Did you get yourself off last night?"

"Yes."

"Before or after you looked at the web sites?"

She hesitated briefly. "After."

"Good girl."

His praise was like a balm to her. It occurred to her with a start that she would have done anything for this unseen, unknown man just to earn those words.

"Misty?"

"Yes?"

"What did you think of the sites? Did you enjoy looking at them?"

What did I think? Well, Cock Robin, to either my shame of credit, I got so hot I went off within seconds.

"Yes." She was afraid to say anything else. Let him do the leading.

Long pause. "Would you like to try some of those things?"

Longer pause from her. "Yes."

"Not too talkative tonight. Did the sites make you nervous?"

"A little."

"BDSM is as safe as two people make it. It's a way of expressing how they feel about each other. And it requires absolute trust from both people."

Trust. Could she ever give it to someone else? Especially someone she didn't even really know?

A picture popped up on her screen, one of the shots from the BDSM web site. The one of the woman on her knees, hands cuffed behind her back, a very large cock in her mouth. Immediately she felt her juices soak into the fabric beneath her.

"Does that make you wet, Misty? Would you, like to be that woman?"

She paused, then wrote, "I think so."

"Want to play a game?"

A game. That's how this all started. But now she knew the stakes would be higher. Did she want to take the next step?

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" She could almost hear a chuckle. "Come on, Misty, you have to do better than that. Let's play Treasure Hunt."

"Treasure Hunt?"

"Tomorrow night. Be daring. Take a chance in life. I told you, I'll never do anything to hurt or frighten you. You can trust me. That's a promise."

There was that word again. Trust. Still she couldn't make herself answer him.

"All right. Here's what we'll do. There's a Hot Java coffee shop in the Medallion strip mall. Know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Go there tomorrow night at seven. There'll be a package for Misty. If you pick up the package, the game is on. Just follow the instructions and move on to the next stop."

"I don't know you," she typed. "I'd be stupid to put myself in the hands of a stranger with everything going on out there."

"You don't have to worry. And you can back out any time along the way."

"I'll think about it, okay?"

"I want you to do this, Misty. For me. For us. Meanwhile, tonight is just beginning. Spread your legs and tell me how wet the little cunt is right now. Touch your clit and tell me if it's already swollen and hot."

As she draped her legs over the arms of the chair and began sliding her fingers along the slick flesh, Shannon wondered if she was losing her mind.

***

She was glad the next day was Saturday, because Shannon was positive she wouldn't have been able to concentrate for a minute at work. She hardly slept after signing off from Cock Robin, her mind a witches' brew of erotic photos, erotic language, Cock Robin's erotic orders and the knowledge that if she agreed to play this game her whole life could change.

At seven o'clock in the morning she was standing at the door of her friend, Marti, holding two steaming cups of mocha latter and a bag with two cinnamon tolls.

"Trick or treat!" she said brightly when Marti dragged the door open, hair hanging in her eyes, sleep shirt rumpled. "Only you get the treat first."

Marti peered at her with bleary eyes. "Do you have any idea what friggin' time it is?"

She started to close the door but Shannon pushed hard against it, forcing it open. "Wake up, girl friend, We have to talk."

"You'd better be bringing me a winning pottery number after waking me up this early." She stumbled toward the kitchen. "And that coffee in her your hand better be damn strong."

Shannon was wise enough to keep her mouth shut until her friend had consumed half her cup of coffee and taken two bites of the warm cinnamon roll. Finally the woman leaned back in her chair, brushed her hair away from her eyes, and stared at Shannon.

"Okay, give. What the hell brought you out to my door like Little Mary Sunshine at this unholy hour?"

Shannon ran her fingertip around the edge of her cup, thinking how to explain what she wanted. After debating with herself all night, she realized she regret it forever if she didn't accept Cock Robin's invitation. Challenge. Dare. Whatever the hell it was. But she was still not so dumb or besotted as to leave herself without a failsafe plan. And Marti Aldrich was it. She hoped.

The whole thing sounded stupid even to her, so she wasn't surprised when Marti leaned across the table, bug-eyed, and said, "You're kidding me, right?"

Shannon shook her head. "Not even a little. " She licked a crumb from her fingers. "Listen, I've really thought about this a lot-"

"A lot?" Marti interrupted. "You mean, like five minutes? Shannon, are you totally nuts, even considering doing this? Playing a game with a man you met on the Internet? Have you heard about what happens to people who do this? Don't you read the newspapers?"

"He sounds...okay," Shannon protested. "And we've been emailing for weeks. Gotten to know each other."

"Like what? You just said you know nothing about him, not even his name. And who the fuck calls himself Cock Robin?"

Shannon burst out laughing. "Someone who's bragging?"

"You can't do this. I won't let you."

"Marti." Shannon leaned across the table and took her friend's hand. "I have a feeling about this. It's going to be all right. Something very special."

"And you want me to help you do this of-the-wall thing?" Marti drained the last of her coffee.

"Never mind." Shannon leaned back in the chair and sighed. "I should have known you'd react this way. Go back to sleep. I'll talk to you later. Maybe."

She started for the front door but Marti leaped from her chair and grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast. Are you really going to do this?"

"Yes, mother, I've gone over every bit of it. But...I can't explain why but I trust this guy. And god only knows, Marti, my sex life wouldn't even ne too spicy for family viewing." She sat back down at the table. "If Michael hadn't withdrawn himself, had been willing to discuss our problems, maybe I'd be playing this game with him. So. Are you gonna do it?"

Marti raked her fingers through her hair and finished what was left of her coffee. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. But let's figure out a real plan, okay? If I have to retrieve a body, I want it to be in one piece."

By the time Shannon left, she was satisfied she'd covered all bases. She would call Marti at every stop, wherever Cock Robin sent her, and keep her cell phone on when she got to the end of the line. If thinks didn't look good, she would leave at once.

But at least she'd have her chance.