ONE
They could sense her approaching before they ever saw her: Hope Escher. The Woman From the Edge of Town. The Cock-Breaker. The Glitch-Bitch. The Broken Lady.
The forty-five year old woman didn't appear particularly noteworthy. Five and a half feet tall, a slim build, a small bust, and a rather plain face. Light blond hair cut off at the shoulder, grey eyes, and fair skin. She could pretty herself up quite nicely if she tried, but she was average enough that under normal circumstances, no one would notice her in a crowd. Although the rejuvenating nature of Sex Magic gave her the body of a twenty year old, you could tell she was really middle-aged. She carried herself like an older woman, kindly stoic, almost matronly, dressed in simpler, more practical clothing. Slacks, a white blouse, flat brown shoes, and a light green cardigan sweater. She even drove an old, clunky scooter, not a common vehicle to be sure, but just the sort of utilitarian thing for a quick run into town for errands.
Hope was just an average woman going about her day, but when she entered town, everyone took notice, whether they wanted to or not. She tried to make the trip quick. Just zip into town, stop by the grocery store, post office, gas station, and back home. Her old scooter puttered worryingly as she steered onto the main street. She was going to have to get it fixed, and she wasn't sure she had the money for that. Her budget was tight this month.
Pulling up into the parking lot of the grocery store, she tried to ignore the glares. Living in a tiny town meant she only had a couple places to go for supplies, and that meant repeatedly interacting with the same women who just wanted to punch her teeth in.
Along with the glares, she tried to ignore the near-screaming psychic hum of every penis within a hundred yards straining at maximum hardness from her presence. Men were bending over at the waist, clutching their thighs or their crotches. Some tried to act tough, refusing to cup themselves, or perhaps unable to, and stood there with teeth grit, sweating bullets. When she got far enough away, even the tough guys would collapse against the nearest supporting wall, vehicle, or significant other, gasping with relief at the sudden loss of tension.
The women around her might have once thought it a funny little trick. But that had been when the Sex Magic was new and interesting. Now, the trick was an invasive, unwelcome pain. The men couldn't take it. The women resented that Hope's aura of sexual tension overwhelmed their own spells and protections to make their men suffer. And, more to the unspoken point, none of the women in town liked the idea that their boyfriends' and husbands' and subs' dicks yearned for her ten times harder than for them.
Most of these women would have to consciously project the sort of erection-inducing aura Hope broadcasted automatically. There were a few others that, like Hope, broadcast the signals that awoke men's dicks without trying. But they weren't nearly as strong, and they could reign the signals in with little effort, just a conscious thought to mute the effect.
Not Hope. Her broadcast was overclocked so high up, it was only the healing side effects of the magic that kept men's dicks from bursting the moment her aura touched them. Even straining to her utmost to reel her magic in, to tamp it down as hard as she could, the best she could do was make it hurt a bit less for the men. Some women tried to block Hope's signals from reaching their men, but it was a considerable effort on their part; most couldn't block it completely.
Well, there was nothing she could do. She had to come into town if she wanted food to eat and to make money through her deliveries to the post office. If nothing else, she had managed a routine. She only needed to go into town a couple times a week, and as long as no one gave her trouble, she could minimize the suffering she inflicted on others.
Okay. Ten to fifteen minutes at the grocers. Twenty if the lines didn't clear a path for her. She knew exactly what she needed. Breathe calmly. Push the aura down. Walk quickly. Ignore the glares. Don't hesitate or linger if anyone runs or faints, just keep going about your business. She grabbed a cart and started shopping. People let her pass; they'd learned the best thing to do was to just let her get her shopping done. Giving her trouble just meant she'd take longer to leave.
As she went, she sensed a couple young men break, unable to stand her aura any more, and dash off to the bathroom for the illusion of privacy. They were already grabbing themselves and masturbating furiously before their pants hit the floor. They didn't care that Sex Magic let every adult woman around immediately know they were masturbating and what they were thinking of while they did it. Stimulating the men's penises did wonders to soothe the ache of their erections. Still, even if they came, it would do nothing to lessen the tension.
The woman the young men had been standing next to, their sister if Hope remembered right, shook her head disapprovingly at the boys' behavior. Normally there sudden loss of control and furious self-pleasure would earn them a scolding and someone would make them stop. With Hope around, the other women were lenient enough to let them do what they had to, but they were still going to get an earful from their sister afterwards.
The store was staffed almost entirely by men, with a female store manager. Since the arrival of Sex Magic some years ago, it was an unfortunate necessity that men were regulated to grunt work. Hope felt some pity. The men at the registers could barely do their jobs and the two at the deli retreated for a sudden "smoke break" all the way past the back lot. They'd no doubt get chewed out for leaving their post. Hope tried not to think about the poor guys' inevitable fate.
Eggs. Milk. Cheese. Ham. Apples. Bread. Bananas. Peas. She was forgetting something. She checked the small pocket of her cardigan sweater, and muttered a curse as she realized her list was gone, probably having fallen out when she drove into town. If she'd forgotten, she'd have to make do. Everyone who could see her was giving her long glances and expectant stares, expressions urging her to hurry the hell up. Livvy, the store manager, was pursing her lips in that way she did when she was about to go off on someone. Hope actually spared her a quick glower. She wasn't sure if Livvy had always been a total cunt or she just let the power of Sex Magic go to her head. She had no qualms threatening to manhandle Hope out of the store if she took too long.
Hope hurried to the first check out, the customers vacating it for her. She passed through the alcohol aisle on the way. She was tempted to grab one of the large bottles of wine as she went through, but reminded herself she didn't have the money.
"H-h-h-hi," gasped the young man at the register. He clutched the edges of the counter with a white-knuckle grip. Hope gave him a warm smile and held up a hand, indicating he didn't need to talk. She felt awful for the boy. Barely eighteen, first job, had only just started a couple weeks ago. He was the newbie, so he got to be the one to deal with the Glitch-Bitch.
Even worse, it seemed the boy had it rough at home. She could sense his balls were several weeks overdo for relief. Hope couldn't help but glance through his thoughts and blanched. His mother was one of those super strict mistress-types who thought denying her son masturbation and orgasms would shape him into a good little submissive for a future wife. His current girlfriend didn't even have her powers yet, and she was already proving to be a real ball buster, figuratively and literally. Hope considered giving the kid a break. Tonight, while she was at home, she could reach out with her power, find the boy's cock, and give him an orgasm. Give him several, even, before his mother could stop it, just to give the poor kid some relief. It was the least she could do for making him put up with her super-intense aura.
Of course, he'd probably just get punished harder, if his memories were any indication. Not all the women in town were such intense control freaks, but enough were. Hope wondered, if her own power didn't force her to live on the edge of town, if she had been allowed to integrate into the local culture, if she'd be just as much a cock-controlling bitch to the men in her life. In a way, she was grateful she hadn't been given the chance.
Hope glanced up at Livvy, who was watching from the customer service counter. Livvy was still glaring at her. Hope glared back. Why the hell wasn't Livvy running the register? She could have checked Hope out without a problem, while this kid could go nurse his erection at another station. Instead, she was just being a bitch, because she hated Hope, and wanted Hope to feel terrible for making the kid suffer. Fucking cun—
The boy, Sam his nametag indicated, gave a sharp squeak and bent over, dropping the milk he just picked up. Hope immediately gave him an apologetic look. She almost reached out to touch his shoulder, but forced her hand back down. Being this close to her was bad enough for most guys. Touching them tended to make them black out from a sudden spike in the already unbearable sexual tension. Sam already looked like he was about to pass out.
Instead, Hope renewed her efforts to tamp down her aura. Livvy had distracted her, almost gotten her worked up. The aura was even worse when Hope got emotional. Hope forced herself to maintain her stoicism, concentrating as hard as she could to suppress her aura. After a moment, Sam got himself enough under control to resume scanning the items. Hope offered him a small smile. Sam blushed, and refused to meet her eyes. She could sense his turmoil. She was torturing him worse than any woman had before just by standing near him. And yet, he found her pretty, he knew she didn't mean it, and he knew he was getting short-changed by his fellow employees. He wanted to hate her, but couldn't, and felt bad for wanting to.
"Th-thirty—thirt—uh!" Sam gave up trying to speak and tapped the read out in front of the register. $35.67.
Hope place two twenties down on the little counter. "Keep the change," she said in a low voice. She could have used the change for stamps, but the poor kid was going to need a drink after this little encounter.
"Th-th-thank—thanks!" he said. He moved to bag the groceries, but Hope waved him off, bagging everything herself and quickly walking out of the store. Right as she got back to her scooter, she cursed, as she realized she'd forgotten the Oatmeal. She glanced back at the store and sighed. She could see and/or sense everyone moving, resuming their routines and duties. The two teens who'd dashed to the bathroom were stumbling out. Two orgasms apiece and now their dicks were just more sore from being forced hard post-climax. They were getting scolded by their sister now, despite everything.
Hope sighed. It wouldn't be worth it going back in. She started the scooter and headed off to the post office. Again, the scooter puttered worryingly. She had just enough gas to make it to the gas station; she hoped the engine wasn't going out. She didn't feel like torturing a mechanic today on top of everything else.
