Helen was not having a good week. Shed had an awful fight with her boyfriend two days ago, and hadn't spoken to him since. Her car was in the shop for repairs, so she'd had to take the bus to and from work. She'd drawn Gwen, someone she barely knew, for the office "secret Santa" gift exchange, and on top of that she'd procrastinated on buying the gift. The exchange was tomorrow, and now Helen had no choice but to fall back on a book as her gift.
On the way home from work she got off the bus two stops early, at a shopping plaza a few blocks from her house. She wandered into the chain bookstore and began browsing, with little idea of what she was looking for. Cookbooks... travel books... the latest best sellers. Damn, she had no idea what Gwen would like!
Her mind must have gone a little blank; she didn't notice anyone nearby until she bumped into a tall man, knocking his books to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, quickly bending to help pick up his books.
"That's alright," he said. "No harm done."
She noticed that he had an American accent. She was still embarrassed at walking into him, so she continued, "I'm afraid I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm looking for a gift for someone. We do a gift exchange at work, and I'm afraid I'm at a loss for a gift idea."
"You must work in an interesting office," he replied. She didn't take his meaning until she looked at the nearest shelf. Without realizing it, she'd wandered into a section labeled "Marital Aids" at one end, and "Erotica" at the other. The book directly in front of her announced "Ten Days to the Ultimate Orgasm!" in lurid lettering.
She found herself stammering an explanation, a felt a flush creeping up her face.
The man just grinned at her discomfort. Eventually, he saved her by offering his own explanation, "Actually, I just wandered into this section myself. I'm just looking for some books to fill the time. I just moved here from San Francisco, and I'm having a little trouble finding people with similar interests."
"Well," Helen smiled, "London's a big city. I'm sure you'll find people here for whatever you fancy."
"I suppose so," he replied. She saw his eyes slowly sweep over her, as if assessing her. He looked directly into her eyes, not saying anything more.
Helen was still feeling a little embarrassed, and the man's gaze was making her uncomfortable. She excused herself, and squeezed past him, brushing against him in the narrow aisle. She had a momentary vision of knocking his books down again, but thankfully got past without further incident.
By then she had given up on finding a book for Gwen. She quickly left the bookstore and walked the few blocks home, telling herself the convenient fictions that she'd "pick something up in the morning."
Helen wouldn't have though her day could get worse, but when she reached home, she realized she didn't have her purse. She hoped she'd left it in the bookstore... if it was still on the bus, she'd never see it again. She could at least phone the store to see if anyone had found her purse.
Her neighbors, John and Sara, had a spare key to her place, and watched over things when she was away. She stopped by and asked Sara for the spare key, giving her a quick explanation.
She planned to call the bookstore as soon as she was in the door, but instead took a few moments to kick off her shoes, pull off her hose, and poor a glass of wine. She took a long sip, and then dug out the phone book to look up the number of the bookstore.
She was surprised when the doorbell rang. She quickly strode across the room and opened the door, wineglass still in her hand.
It took her a moment to recognize the man she'd seen in the store. He was standing there, holding her purse in front of him, with a smile on his face.
"I'm afraid you left this in the store. You must have dropped it when we bumped into one another. At any rate, I looked for some identification, and I saw from your license that you lived nearby... so I decided a bit of a walk would do me good."
"Oh... thank you." She said, taking her purse. "What happened to all those books you were carrying?"
"They're holding them for me. I'll stop in over the weekend and get them. Hope you weren't too worried about your purse... but it looks like you're relaxing a bit."
She saw him looking at the glass of wine she held in her hand. On impulse, she asked him if he'd like to join her. He followed her into the kitchen, where she poured him a glass of wine, and refilled her own.
"You should check your purse and make sure everything is there," he suggested.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not necessary. It was wonderful of you to bring it by. Most people wouldn't have bothered."
"Please, just have a look inside. I'd feel better."
Helen opened the purse and quickly flipped through the contents. Reaching in, she pulled out a thick envelope - the kind photos come i
"This isn't mine," she said, puzzled.
The man shrugged his shoulders. "What is it?"
She opened it slowly and spread several of the pictures on the table. Once again, she felt a hot flush on her face as she saw the photographs of naked men and women in various sexual positions. In some of the photos the women were bound, or blindfolded. Some of the women were photographed alone, others with a man, or several men.
"So Helen," she heard the man saying, "Do you suppose I'll find people in London who like to do this sort of thing?"
Her head jerked up and she met his gaze. She realized she'd been staring at the pictures for some time.
"Well, I'm sure you will. As I said, it's quite a big city."
"How about you, Helen? You seemed to enjoy the pictures. I notice you spent a long time looking at the ones where the women were tied. Do you like the thought of being helpless? Exposed?"
"I think you'd better go now. Thank you for returning my purse, but you can keep your dirty pictures."
He was staring at her, making no move to leave. He took a sip of wine and said, "It's turning you on, isn't it Helen? The thought of exposing yourself? Your nipples have gotten very hard."
She looked down quickly and was embarrassed to see two stiff little bumps, clearly visible through her bra and sheer blouse. She felt a warm tingling between her legs, and realized that she was becoming aroused.
He reached forward and pulled a photo from the pack, laying it on the table in front of you. A very attractive young woman was seated, blindfolded and gagged, on a chair. Her arms were tied behind her, and her breasts protruded, her nipples hard and pink. Helen found the picture incredibly erotic... she felt the warmth building between her legs. She felt him standing behind her, looking over her shoulder at the picture. He wasn't touching her, but she could feel him presence as she stared at the woman in the photo. She found herself gasping for breath, unable to think, unable to look away from the picture.
"Her name is Jen. I bet your nipples look a lot like hers. I think your tits are a little bigger though. I'd like to see your tits, Helen. Take off your top for me."
"I will not!"
"Then I'll take the photos and go. You can drink your wine, and take a bath, and feed the cat... and never have to face what you are feeling right now. Is that what you want Helen?"
She turned and looked at him. His eyes met hers and held her gaze.
"Take off your top." His voice was quiet, calm, but it something in his tone made it a command.
She found herself slowly unbuttoning her blouse, removing it, her eyes never leaving his. She let the blouse fall to the floor.
"Take off the bra."
She reached behind and unhooked the clasp, letting it fall. She saw his eyes, gazing at her body, the same look she saw in the bookstore... as is he was assessing her.
"Lovely. I love the color of your nipples. And I was right, you are bigger than Jen."
She felt her breasts rising and falling as she breathed. She could almost feel his gaze on her, like a physical thing.
"I want you to throw away that bra, and any you have like it. I want you to wear something with a lower cut, more revealing. Something you'd wear to seduce a man."
Something about this seemed to bring her to her senses... she had the first clear thought since he had arrived at her door.