Revenge and Promise

“I see ya, ya slut bitch. I see yer big floppy tits an’ yer hot little ass. I see yer naked cunt, too, and it makes my dick hard.” He rubbed the crotch of his cotton golf slacks as he continued to whisper to himself. “You oughta get fucked by a real man ‘stead of that pussy wimp. I’d have that cunt shootin’ cream all over me. I jus’ might give ya a real treat and bust that little ass-cherry for ya, too. I betchya’d like that, ya little ‘ore. You’d take it all and beg for more. Yeah, ya’d like gettin’ reamed out s’much you’d beg for it agin. Well, I’d give it to you agin...right after ya sucked it off.” He chuckled silently. “Yer s’big a slut, ya’d probably like that too, wouncha? Suck off my cock, and suck up all my cum.”

The slightly drunken man stood quietly looking through his binoculars at the apartment complex. The tall hedges that defined the property line provided excellent cover for his surveillance activities, and even though the park officially closed at sundown, it had been a simple matter to push through an opening in the brushy growth a block away, and walk to this vantage point. The rise was the high point for several blocks, and afforded an unimpeded view into the bathroom and bedroom of her apartment.

Veronica stepped out of the bath and reached for a towel. The subtle scent of peach still seeped from every pore as she patted herself dry. She looked in the full length mirror that formed the shower door and smiled at the woman who stared back. Her body was not the silicone-laced and hip bone studded exotic dancer type, but she was comfortable with the lush curves and soft valleys that posed in the mirror. She was accustomed to the stares of most men she met, and always fancied they really liked women the way nature made them. Had she the inclination, her life could have been filled with lovers, but she had become selective after her divorce. It was better to live alone than to give herself to another man who would treat her like a mindless machine suitable only for his own pleasure. Tomas had come into her life as the wind off the ocean; she had blinked, he was there, and she had known he was special. After they made love on the beach, she was convinced Tomas was the man for whom she had waited. Still, she was cautious. The hurt was still there, just under the surface of smiles and laughter, and wouldn’t allow her to reveal her true feelings.

Veronica sat on the closed commode and stroked the cream rinse over the soft skin between her thighs and then over her rounded belly. The growing hair was beginning to itch, and she wanted to stay smooth for Tomas. She trimmed to the edges of the small strip of brown, close cropped curls that pointed the way to her sex, and then spread her thighs wide as she concentrated on the satiny smooth lips that would sheath his manhood. After completing the practiced series of short careful strokes with the razor, Veronica washed away the residue with a cloth and relished the sensations the soft terrycloth towel imparted.

The final act of her nightly cleansing ritual was the application of the almond scented lotion to every inch of her skin. Before Tomas, this ritual was an excuse for the self-pleasure that eased the tensions of the day and prepared her for sleep. After their meeting, it had become a recapture of some of the feelings she had experienced as he thrust deep into her belly until she cried out in ecstasy. Quickly, she finished her arms and shoulders, and began caressing the rich, white liquid into her breasts. She watched her dark brown nipples rise at the touch of her open palms, and remembered the rougher skin of his hands. Her hands slipped down to cup and massage the undersides, and then circled each as far as her hands would reach. Squeezing gently, she allowed her slippery breasts to ooze between the grasping fingers until she was lightly pinching the nipples between thumb and forefinger. A slight rolling motion and a gentle tug made her catch her breath. Again, she cupped the soft, yielding globes before squeezing them through her hands, and when she closed her eyes and gave way to her imagination, it was Tomas causing the sharp spasms that tightened her womb.

Her hands lightly stroked the lotion into the slight round of her belly, and for a second, she imagined the hands were his. The lotion had become absorbed, and she poured more into her palm before anointing her legs.

Veronica used both hands to circle her toned calves and rubbed the lotion into the smooth skin. She paid careful attention to her knees before beginning on the velvet surface of her thighs. She was proud that her thighs were tight with the fitness of walking and swimming, but were not the muscle-bound hams that some women spent hours developing. To her, a woman’s thighs should be a soft cradle for her man, and she loved the feeling of Tomas’ hips brushing against them. She could almost feel him as she massaged the almond scent into their inner surface, and she let her mind drift to their encounters on beach and bed. Her fingertips unconsciously swept the length of the sensuous separation of the puffy lips and then dipped between them to the soft, swelling wetness that circled her passage. Her head went back as she stroked the wrinkled skin, and she gasped when she brushed the side of the hood that cloaked the center of her sexual being. Veronica brought her other hand to her breast and began to tease the firm nub of the nipple and the dark bumpy circle that formed its base. The fingertips between her thighs began to circle the growing little bud, and ripples of pleasure surfed the contours of her belly.

Had she known how to prolong the sensations, she wouldn’t have had the will. Since the experience of Tomas’ caress and the feeling of him inside her, she had only to drift on the stream of her memory for her own touch to plunge her headlong into the pit of her release. As her fingers fluttered over her slippery lips and swollen button, Veronica writhed in the rapid ascent to climax, and suddenly, with a tiny cry, the shuddering explosion shook her from head to toe. She continued to caress herself until the coursing waves subsided, and then capped the lotion bottle. A quick rinse removed the scent of passion from her fingers, and she turned out the light as she stepped into the bedroom. In a few moments, she was lying in the dark, and curled into the pillow she held against her front. In a few minutes, she was asleep.

“Ah..., fuck”. The rope of semen shot from his cock to land on the hedge leaves that partially concealed him. The man had pulled the swelling organ from his pants as he watched Veronica shave, and as she began rubbing in the lotion, he stroked himself slowly. When it became evident that she was pleasuring herself, his excitement heightened, and he pumped himself to release just as she was leaving his view. “That shouda been in yer sloppy wet cunt. I betcha were thinkin’ ‘bout havin’ a big dick stuck in that hole. Either that, or you were thinkin’ ‘bout suckin’ cock. Well, we’ll see. I’ll betcha’d hate havin’ my cock shoved in that little box, wouldn’tcha. You’d scream yer fuckin’ head off, wouldn’tcha? I’d shoot my load in ya and make ya hold yer legs together to keep it in there. I’d make ya suck it off, too, jus’ like the ‘ore y’are. We’ll see. We’ll jus’ fuckin’ see, bitch.”

Veronica woke late and hurriedly dressed. Her new boss seemed like an understanding guy, but she didn’t want to push her luck. She grabbed her purse and locked the door on her run to her car. In a few minutes she was speeding down the highway to the exit for the office. She thought it was unusual that almost every car pulled alongside her for a few hundred feet, then honked and drove away. Crazy California drivers, she thought. She made it to the parking lot with ten minutes to spare, and saw Jennifer parking in the spot behind her. She liked Jennifer, and waited for her to catch up.

“Veronica, who the hell did that to your car?”

“Nothing’s wrong with my car.”

“Well, it’s the only one I’ve seen this morning that says, honk if you wanna fuck me, on the back end.” Jennifer giggled. “Honey, you may be horny, but you shouldn’t advertise the fact. It’s not ladylike.”

Veronica stared at the white shoe polish that spelled out the crudely written message. The longer she stared, the more infuriated she got. “Those damned kids two apartments down must have done this. I yelled at ‘em to get their skateboards out of the parking lot last week, and this is their way of telling me to get screwed. Just wait ‘til I get home and talk to their mother.” She opened the trunk for the old towel she always carried in case she had a flat, and scrubbed the chalky letters off the paint. It was still barely visible, but the little Honda was due for a wash anyway, and she made a mental note to take care of that on the way home.

It was a pleasure working for the new manager, Harry Cromwell. He was organized, thorough, and never asked for changes to her work. If anything, Harry seemed to be overqualified for the job. It appeared to Veronica that he knew everything about the business from the moment he set foot in the office, and the change was refreshing. She looked forward to coming to work everyday, and Harry seemed to enjoy working with her. He was constantly asking her about what had happened with this account or that, how her old boss, Peters, had done things, and most importantly for her, how she thought things should be done in the office. She’d noticed herself smiling from ear to ear whenever Harry asked for something. It did seem odd to call him Harry, but the first time she had said “Mr. Cromwell”, he’d said that made him feel old, and that she should call him by his first name. And God bless his balding little head, he always called her Veronica. Peters had called her Ronnie even though she had repeatedly asked him to use her full name.

The carwash took a half hour of her free time, but it did remove the last traces of the shoe polish. Veronica parked in front of her place, and walked down to talk with the skateboarders’ mother. The third time she pounded on the door, the next door neighbor yelled through the window that the family had been away for three days. Veronica walked back to her apartment in mild shock. She had no enemies of which she was aware, but someone had picked her out of all the other residents to write that crude message on her car. She was still wondering why as she drove to Tomas’ house for dinner, and thought of everyone she had known for the last couple of years. She had caused no harm to any of them. She continued trying to solve this riddle, and took no notice of the beat-up white Toyota sedan that had worked it’s way to follow two cars behind her. She took the exit to the coast road, and was soon cruising up the blacktop that led to Tomas’ drive. The rickety gate that stood sentinel over the gravel drive to Tomas’ private beach brought a smile to her face. Tomas had still not locked it, but it really didn’t matter; now, she just took the steps that led from Tomas’ patio to the secluded horseshoe of sand. A half mile later, Veronica made the left turn into Tomas’ drive and in two minutes was parked in front of the sprawling two-story beach home.

Veronica had been surprised at the grandeur of the place on her first visit. The home had been built in the fifty’s, and sported the opulence befitting her movie producing first owner. The mission style blended well with the view of the Pacific that filled the glass paneled rear of the living and dining rooms and den. Though the deep blue of the ocean beckoned one from the large expanse of manicured back lawn and gardens, an in-ground pool with pool house grew from their center. She had sampled the crystal clear water of the pool, and often on weekends, she and Tomas spent the entire day lounging on its brick paved shore. When the evening breeze wafted salt air up the slope to the house, they would take Rocky, Tomas’ black lab, for a walk on the beach.

Since their chance meeting, and her resulting incredible sexual experience with Tomas, Veronica’s life had taken on a fairy-tale feeling. Tomas was a vice-president of the corporation that had just purchased her employer, Osborne Products. The day after their meeting, Tomas had fired her old boss, and asked her to dinner at his house. They had made slow, lingering love on his bed, and she woke the next morning filled with a love of herself, a love of live, and a love for this slender, dark man who had magically appeared in her life. In the three weeks since, she had floated through the days and nights on the stream of her thoughts of the present and the possible future. The crude message on her car had been an abrupt bend that had caused her to pause, but she decided not to burden herself or Tomas with the incident. She had decided it was probably just the handiwork of one of the teenagers who frequented the park behind her apartment.

At the ring of the doorbell, Veronica heard Rocky’s deep bark. Rocky was the second love of her present life. Veronica had always wanted a dog, but the apartment owner had little understanding of a tenant’s desire for a pet. Rocky had taken an instantaneous like to her, and she loved him back with all her heart. When Veronica visited the beach home, Rocky was seldom far from her side.

Tomas opened the door, and she easily fell into his outstretched arms. The deep kiss took away her breath, and she pulled him close.

“Tomas, you sure know how to greet a lady.”

“No, only very special ladies.” He smiled. “I thought we’d dine on the patio tonight. The breeze is cool, and the sunset should be really nice. Maria has fixed a nice baked grouper stuffed with scallops, and we’re also having carrots in cream sauce and stuffed cherry tomatoes. I found a nice Chablis the other day, and I bought a case. We’ll sample it tonight.”

“It sounds yummy, but honestly, Tomas, if I keep eating like this, I won’t be able to get into any of my things. Can we just have a salad sometimes?”

“Tomorrow, I promise, we’ll have salad. Maria makes a crab salad with buttered croutons and cold pasta and parmesan cheese that will make you drool. I’ll ask her right after dinner. As for not fitting into your clothes, well...I can’t say that would be all that bad.

Veronica frowned at the glint in his eye, and feigned a slap to his arm. “You may be able to eat all those calories and not do anything, but I’ll blow up like a balloon. Maybe she could leave out the crab and croutons and other stuff, and substitute a nice vinaigrette?

“All right, it’s one naked salad for the lady, but I won’t share if you change your mind.”

He offered his arm and they walked to the patio. Rocky, as usual, fell into step beside her.

After dinner, Veronica rose, picked up her glass, and beckoned to Tomas.

“I need to walk after that feast. Let’s go down to the beach.”

Veronica hadn’t worn hose in anticipation of this walk, and she stopped at the bottom of the steps to slip off her heels. The gritty surface of the sand massaged her feet as she walked to the water’s edge. The firm sand that was washed by the gentle waves felt cool. She breathed in deeply of the musky ocean smell that seemed to be blown inland in the wake of the sun’s rushing dive beneath the horizon. God, she loved the ocean almost as much as she loved life.

Tomas put his arms around her waist and pulled her hips into his thighs. He nuzzled her neck and Veronica lay her head back on his shoulder.

“Tomas, do you ever wish you were a beach bum instead of a vice-president?”

“Every day when I come down here, but that’s not a very practical wish. Without a job, I’d be living under an overpass, and I’d have never met you.” He kissed her gently on the cheek, and she turned to face him.

“Well then, I wish we were the Indians that lived here before California was settled. We’d live on the beach, and catch fish, and make love every day.”

Tomas chuckled. “I like the part about making love, but I’m lousy at fishing. We’d probably starve to death in each other’s arms.”

Veronica put her arms around his neck and gave him her best stare of raving passion. “There are worse ways to go.”

By now, Tomas knew the signs she made when inviting him to share her body, but he enjoyed the little ritual that she played out these occasions. Veronica looked at him, and her green eyes smoldered with the fire of passion. Her lips parted, and she raised on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. Her eyes were just closing in anticipation of the soft crush of her mouth on his when Rocky barked.

“Oh, Rocky, you bad boy. Can’t you see that we’re having a good time here?”

Thomas laughed. “He knows that. He just wants to join in.”

“Well, he can’t. I’ve seen that tongue. It’s a lethal weapon.”

Neither of them saw the reflected orange flash cast by the binoculars as they climbed the steps. Neither of them saw the man make the crouching trot back to the white Toyota parked at the end of the gravel drive. He waited until he saw them enter the house before starting the engine and driving back down the lane with the headlights off.

They sat on the patio bench talking over the background of soft jazz. They both enjoyed going out, but the quiet conversation seemed right to her. They had spent many such nights just sipping a good wine and talking about their lives, dreams, and each other.

“Veronica, do you ever wonder why we happened to be on the beach at the same time?”

She had asked herself that same question a thousand times, and the answer was always that some higher power had arranged it. They had been drawn together on that night so quickly that she couldn’t imagine any other cause. She had longed to tell him that, as he walked her back to her car, but she hadn’t been sure. After the weeks of being with him, she was more certain of her love that of anything else in her life. She started to tell him, but her practical mind overpowered her emotions.

“I don’t know, just coincidence, I guess. I came here a lot, and it was probably only a matter of time until it happened. Why?”

“I don’t know...I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and -”

His words were cut short by the ring of the telephone.

“This is Tomas....Oh, hi Norm....The retreat?...Yes, I can make it, I think, if I leave early tomorrow morning. How long will we be there?...OK, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Tomas face was sober when he rejoined her on the couch.

“That was Norm Chambers, the CEO. I have a meeting at the retreat in Vermont in two days. I’ll have to leave early to get there in time, so I guess you’ll have to make your own salad. I’m sorry, but I have to go. There’s only one phone, except for cell phones, and Norm will make us leave them in our rooms. He doesn’t like to have his meetings interrupted. I’ll try to call you every night, but it will be late.”

“Every night? How long will you be gone?”

“Norm said we have a lot of plans to make, and it’ll take a couple of days.”

Veronica stood and reached behind her back to unzip the light cotton dress. It fell to the floor in a soft pile. She walked to Tomas, put her arms around his neck, and melted his mind with her flashing green eyes. “Well, then I guess you’ll just have to make love to me all night to tide me over until you get back.”

Tomas easily picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. Maria had turned down the sheets, and he lowered her to the soft cotton surface. He made to rise, but Veronica pulled him to her lips. Veronica’s kisses of passion were hot, wet experiences of sensations that set his every nerve aflame. He eased down beside her without breaking their union, and lightly caressed her sides as she stroked his hair. She pulled the light bra up over her breasts and guided his hand to the soft globes. His touch sent a small purring sound through her lips.