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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
*****
"Ahh! Oh, my god!" the naked male scrambled to fight his way out of the restraints. It was a feeble attempt, and mediocre at best. His feet were slowly disintegrating, only stumps where his toes were a short time ago.
The woman smiled down at him.
I love going back to the classics,
she thought as she watched the male trying to squirm free. She liked starting with the feet when given a choice. The male experiences the most pain and has to watch his body literally melt away. When a client wishes simply for a painful death, she can't help but revert to this old standard.
"What's happening to me? Who are you?" The pain he was experiencing was evident as he spoke. "Ahh! My feet! What the hell is happening?" The curse had finished his feet and was continuing up his bare legs. The male stared up at her in terror.
She ignored him and looked down at her phone.
Great, this is taking longer than I thought
. She looked back at her target and saw it would be at least ten minutes before her work would be done, so she knew what she had to do. She bent down and whispered, "Laed Hizaln." She hated that incantation. It always took the fun out of the job but she was desperate.
The male kept screaming but the silencing curse was working like a charm. She smiled at her joke.
I'll have to remember that for the next holiday party
. She unlocked her phone, clicked Recent, and called the first number.
After one ring, a man answered, "Hey, Raan. You running late?"
"How did you know?" Raan laughed.
Funny how well he knows me after just a short time
. "I can be there in like thirty minutes. Will that work?"
"What if I just pack up the food and head to your place in about an hour?"
"That'll be perfect, Holden. Honestly, an hour will be better anyway. Is that really ok?" Raan smiled and looked down at the filthy male. His knees would be the next to go. The pools of goo were starting to reek and he looked like he might pass out soon. She needed to make sure that didn't happen.
"Works for me. Spaghetti is an easy reheat. I'll see you then."
"Ok, bye." Raan hung up the phone and looked down at the now footless male. "Why couldn't you be more like Holden? Hmm? He's a good guy and good guys don't end up as puddles!" She kicked his torso. "Are you listening? Oh, yeah." She laughed as she undid the silencing curse. The screams were only moans now.
Pity
. She had to pause the punishment, otherwise he'd be unconscious very soon. "Raijee Yald." The melting ceased and, along with it, the pain. "There. Now, what were you saying?"
She watched him gather what was left of his energy as he spoke. "What's happening? Who the hell are you? Please, I'll give you anything! Just stop!" the desperate male was panicking as he stared at her, then at what was left of his legs, then back to Raan. "What do you want?"
"Good question. What does any woman want, Matthew? How about-"
"Just tell me, bitch! I have money! Anything you want, just stop!"
I love when they call me names, like that'll change their fate.
"Oh, Matthew. How colorful your language is. A gentleman would use different vocabulary, but not you."
"Why do you keep saying my name? Who are you? What are you doing to me?"
Raan loved this part. Why does giving reason to the male always make her feel like she's in the last five minutes of a
Law and Order
episode? "I am no one. No one to you, that is. Just like your wife. She-"
She watched the pathetic male start pulling on his restraints as he interrupted her. "My wife? What did you do to her? I'll kill you if you-"
"If I what? Fucked her best friend? Would you kill someone who did that?"
"What the fu-"
"I would." Raan grinned as she saw the understanding wash over him.. "Was it worth it?"
Before the male could answer, she spoke the silencing curse again. As he mouthed a plea for his life, she spoke the words to continue his ill fate. Nothing short of what he deserved. Raan knew it wouldn't be long as she watched the curse travel up the remainder of his pasty, thin legs, right to his unfaithfulness.
*******
Raan made it home minutes before she expected Holden, leaving little time to ready herself. Work had been smellier than normal since some adulterous goo had gushed onto her shoe, so she hoped she'd have time for a shower.
Oh well
. She'd have to do her best. After the normal cleanup routine, she could still smell that human mush odor. Raan removed her black pumps, bagged them, and threw them in the back of the hall closet. She ran down the hall to her bedroom and grabbed another pair. The third date had enough presumption without opening the door partially undressed.
Raan heard the doorbell from the other room.
No time to change
. She grabbed a brush from the dresser and ran it hastily through her long, dark hair. She took one quick look in the mirror and smiled. She always loved the way she looked. Tall, thin and just pretty enough. Raan never left a man dead at the sight of her, but she rarely left a room without being noticed either. Her tight gray jeans hugged her hips nicely and ample cleavage was peeking out the top of her gray, peasant top. Nodding at her reflection with approval, she turned from the mirror and headed into the hall and to the door.
"It's me," a familiar voice from the other side said.
She quickly unlocked and opened the door. "Hey. I left the downstairs door unlocked again, hmm?"
"Yep. I locked it behind me. Don't girls worry about that kind of thing?" Holden shrugged, holding up two bags as he motioned to come in. His short hair was parted to one side and she could tell he had spent some time on it. "Shall we?"
Raan moved aside as Holden smiled and headed toward the kitchen.
He has to know how attractive he is, but he doesn't show it
. She really liked that about him. He was taller than Raan, only slightly, and his hard arms looked like he had worked out moments before she opened the door. He had a beautiful face, a strange word to describe a man, but it had such perfect proportions that she often wondered if he were intended a girl, but it had been changed at the last second. She watched him walk as he made his way through her place. He had only been there once before, just to wait as she got ready for a date, but he seemed to know his way around. She turned to shut the door before following.
"So, how was work?" Holden was pulling out containers of food when she got to the kitchen door. "Rough night?" He opened a large container and headed to the microwave.
"Kind of, actually. Hopefully I won't be called out again." Raan didn't like answering questions about work, but she tried not to let it show. She told everyone she worked as an on-call nurse, giving her an easy excuse to go to work at a moment's notice. Her clients rarely had requests that weren't time-sensitive. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."
"I'm not worried about it. Work is important." He hit the two minute button on the microwave and turned. "Do you want salad first?" Holden held up a container.
"Not really." Raan walked over to the counter next to him and looked at the contents. "No, thanks."
"Me neither." Holden walked to the fridge and put the salad inside before turning back to Raan. "Oh, well. Thought I should bring it, just in case."
"I may have some later, I don't know." Raan moved to the silverware drawer to the left of the sink, grabbed two forks, then pulled down two plates from the cabinet next to the stove. She walked them back to the counter and looked in the remaining bag. "What else did you bring?"
The microwave beeped and Holden brought the spaghetti to the counter. "Dessert and a few movies." Holden began scooping some spaghetti onto a plate then scooted it toward Raan.
"I like dessert." Raan smiled as she put some spaghetti on her plate then closed the container.
"Good. Me too." Holden leaned in to kiss her as he spoke. He lingered on her bottom lip for a moment, sucking it gently before pulling back. He then grabbed the movies from the bag and started walking around the counter. "Living room?"
"Sure." Raan grabbed her plate and followed him to the next room.
They sat next to each other on the couch and started eating. Raan felt Holden push himself closer to her. He put his plate on the coffee table and turned to her. "What's your tattoo mean?" He nodded toward her wrist. "Do you get tired of people asking if it hurt?" He asked, as he grabbed her plate and sat it on the table, pulling her arm to him for a closer look.
The butterflies in Raan's stomach matched the tingling below her waist as she felt his touch on her bare skin. "It hurt a lot and it's just a symbol. It's something the other girls that I work with have too." Raan didn't want to go into details. She couldn't get her mind to focus on anything but Holden's touch.
"Something to do with your job?" Holden said as he rubbed his thumb along the mark on Raan's wrist. "When did you get it?"
Raan felt goosebumps as he stroked her arm, thinking of how she would stroke his shaft very soon. "Not really. It's just a tattoo that we all have. I've had it for a long time and it's a constant reminder of the choices I've made."
