I spent a lot of time in the shop having my fun with Esmerelda. Enough to give the entire place the smell of sex. Enough to make her fall to her knees when she tried to walk.
"Are you okay?" When she fell, I scooped her up and into my arms, supporting her weight with my hand on her ass and her head on my shoulder.
"Mmm... I'm fine. Just a little... exhausted." She giggled at that. I'd made her orgasm so many times and with such intensity that she was acting a bit drunk, "I will be good as new with a simple tincture. And maybe a little rest, sir."
Still carrying her, I let her lead me to the back room of the shop. Much to my surprise (even if I was quickly getting used to these kinds of surprises) the back room was a lot bigger than it should have been. Aside from the low ceiling, it was like a warehouse with rows and rows of stacked shelves holding all of her merchandise. Amulets, coins, figurines, rings, wands, potions, paintings, all manner of things. At a rough estimate, it looked around the size of maybe three football fields.
I didn't get a close look because we took the spiral staircase that was near the door up to the second floor. That led us to a library, a repeat of the first floor only this time each shelf was packed with books. My quick glance showed me that it was mostly heavy tomes, the kind that were bound up in leather and probably used to summon devils or learn black magic, but I did notice that one of the closest shelves was packed full of paperbacks.
"Harlequin romances?"
"Do not judge me."
We kept ascending the spiral staircase to the third floor, the final destination. Here instead of hard stone floor there was thick shag carpeting my shoes sank into, warm lamp lighting, and what looked a bit like a cozy studio apartment, with a large bed full of warm covers and soft stuffed animals, a kitchenette in the corner with dishes in the sink, a large flat screen television mounted upon the wall, a desk with three computer monitors. The biggest oddity was that the walls appeared to be made of doors. Most were wood, a few looked like the cast iron of a prison, and there was one that seemed modern, with a steel handle.
"One of these has to be a closet, another the bathroom." He paused. On second thought, he didn't know that witches even used the bathroom, "I'm going to assume I probably shouldn't try finding out where the rest lead."
"Home sweet home." Esmerelda said sleepily as I sat her down onto the bed, "And you should not. Mortals are not allowed to see such things."
"Yeah?" I looked at one of the sturdier iron doors... and felt a prickling on the back of my neck, like something was staring back at me from the other side, "Maybe you're right."
"Well, this has been great. The watch, the ring... I feel like I can do anything now, and it's all thanks to you. Not to mention sex with you has been just the best. Soon as you're feeling better, I'm going to want to go for a round two."
She crawled to the corner of her bed using her arms, reached out onto the nightstand, and grabbed a wand. Twirling it, the tip lit up with a pink light. Her small fridge in the kitchenette glowed with the same pink light, then opened up and a small vial surrounded by the pink light floated over towards her as the fridge door closed behind it.
She grabbed the vial out of the air, popped off the cork, and drank it down in two gulps, "I would like that... but for my sake, you need a harem."
"A harem?"
"Yes. The Ring of Herakles makes you too much for any one woman. Its magic enchantment will stop you from doing any physical harm to them, but the pleasure you can make a woman feel can be dangerous. Trying to sate your lusts with a single woman could drive her insane."
"Even a woman like you?"
"Even me... which is why I'm warning you now, even though my body is begging me to spread my legs open again and let you feel that delicious hard cock of yours in me again. If you did do that... I wouldn't be able to resist again, I wouldn't warn you of these dangers, and I'd keep letting you fuck me until I became nothing but your mindless sextoy."
Say what you will, but the idea of her being reduced to a sorry state like that was enough to get me hard. And since I had left my pants and underwear back at the shop, she noticed.
"But on second thought... I could probably handle it. At least... I could suck your cock. Or...ohhh...you could fuck my ass, sir. I'd love to feel you back there, it'd be so tight. No, what I really need is to feel your huge cock pounding against my womb again, making me your slut, your fucktoy, your..."
It looked like she wasn't kidding. Tempting as it was, I didn't want to completely break my benefactor that I was technically (okay, not just technically) stealing from and manipulating so much already. I knew I could just command her to stop coming on to me, but that could be cruel.
Lucky for me I'd been gripping the pocket watch firmly in my hand since I'd picked her up, and could now let it dangle from its chain.
"You are getting sleepy."
"I...am getting...sleepy..." Her head wavered from side to side, "No...your cock...I want...I want... I am... hypnotized."
Damn! Seeing her controlled like that just made this even harder.
"When you wake—" I cut myself off, remembering in time that saying the magic words 'wake up' would just bring her right out of the trance, "...when you awaken from this trance, you're going to forget all about being hypnotized by me. When I leave this room, you're going to forget all about meeting me and your desires will return to normal. You won't remember me or need to fuck me again until you hear me say the words..." I paused, trying to think of something good, "...'remember me'."
Not great, but sometimes simple was best.
"...forget...return to...normal...remember me..." She sleepily repeated back some of the words to me as she soaked in the new commands.
"Wake up."
"Come on... just once?" Unaware she'd just been tranced, she crawled forwards towards me, began squeezing and pulling on her chest to entice me, "You can fuck my tits again. That's safe, right?"
"I... I suppose that would be okay." That was how our last fun time had started though, and I knew that if I gave in, I wouldn't be able to satisfy myself with just that, no matter how amazing her breasts were, "I just need to go back down to the shop and get something."
"Yes, sir. But whatever it is you need, I'm sure that I can provide it for you. I'll give you anything you need. Everything. I'll—"
Before she could persuade me any further, I was heading down the stairs, back to the second level. As soon as I was out of sight, my sharp hearing (enhanced by the ring just like everything else it seemed) heard her trail off, then, "Mmm... what was I just doing...?"
Quietly as I could, I continued making my way down the stairs. With my new larger frame, I would have thought I'd have some trouble with that, but I didn't make a sound till I breathed a sigh of relief as I passed through the curtain and into the main shop. I did hit a small snag when I tried to fit back into my jeans though. The denim tore before I could get them even halfway up.
It looked like I was going to need a whole new wardrobe.
After a bit of rummaging, I left the store feeling only slightly ridiculous wearing a long green kilt. It was only then that I realized what time it was.
I'd arrived at the strip mall and gone into the shop after work, a bit before six. Walking out of the store, it was morning. I looked at the ring and marveled. It looked like hunger, thirst, a need for sleep... I didn't know if those desires were just gone or if they were delayed.
No wonder Esmerelda had looked so exhausted!
Wait... if I had been there all night..
I rushed to my car, grabbed my phone off its charger, and sure enough. A dozen texts, a half-dozen missed calls. Reluctantly, I let the last one play.
"Whatever. I don't care anymore. You had better be dead with your car wrapped around a tree because if it's anything but that you're going to wish you got off that easy. You do NOT blow me off all night like this! You are NOT allowed to! I don't want to even see you again until you're ready to grovel and beg for my forgiveness, you pathetic, inconsiderate, miserable little worm!"
To be fair, I had probably made her worry not coming home like that. I tended to be more reliable.
Also, I had apparently spent the whole night fucking another woman.
But even though I felt the start of a creeping dread down my spine, it vanished as I let out a chuckle. The old me would have been screwed beyond words for doing what I did. The new me? I had some extra options laid out before me.
When I got home, things were going to be different between me and Izzy. I was going to...going to...
Hmm...
Now that I thought about it, if I'd been able to scramble up the brain of a powerful, maybe immortal witch like Esmerelda, what would happen if I just went home? Esmerelda had said that only one woman wouldn't be enough to satisfy me. If I used the watch to fix my relationship and stayed monogamous, I could end up seriously messing her up. And as much troubles as we'd been having lately, I didn't want to do that to her.
A harem... Esmerelda had said I'd needed one. Cheating on my wife with another woman was one thing. But a harem? Could I really do that? I looked at the alternatives. Moderating my lusts... I didn't trust myself to do that. Giving up the watch and ring? No way in hell. Abstaining completely? Out of the question. I'd always had a healthy sex drive, but now I could feel the need to fuck and dominate coursing through my blood, resonating with every heartbeat. I hadn't slept last night, hadn't eaten since the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I'd had for lunch yesterday, but all those basic drives had been replaced and amplified with the need to just pin a woman down and pump her full of my cum.
As I considered the matter, the parking lot around me was starting to fill up, small cars, massive SUVs, and more than anything else, bland minivans started pulling in. Getting out were women dressed in loose fitting crop tops, their sports bra visible, and tight yoga pants that clung to them like a second skin.
Oh right, next door to Magical Things was a yoga studio.
"This isn't me deciding to start my own harem." I told myself aloud, "This is just to clear my head. See what things are like before anything is decided. It doesn't count."
I realized it was a lousy argument even as I got out of the car and made my way inside of the studio. A bundle of high-pitched bells jangled as I opened the door, and I was hit with the smell of vanilla and lavender. I could hear soothing music being pumped over the speakers, one long low-pitched note from a wind instrument melting into the next.
To my left was the front desk, and as I approached, the woman behind it stood up to greet me. She was really short—wait, no... she was probably 5'4. I'd forgotten I'd grown a foot taller overnight, thanks to the ring—and cute, a dirty blonde with glasses in a simple polo shirt and black pants that didn't quite hide the petite and healthy body she had underneath.
She was no Esmerelda, but with my sex drive kicked into high gear, she was more than tempting.
"Hello. How can I help you... sir...?" Her eyes going wide as she met my gaze, and she took half a step backwards.
"Hi there. I'd like to sign up for a class. The next one, if that's okay."
