“You will get in the bed, please, and present yourself on your hands and knees.
It’s as if I’ve unexpectedly ended her prison sentence. She all but flees to the bed without a second of hesitation. Getting into position, she sticks her lush bottom into the air and turns her head away from me. I can tell her easy acquiescence is as much an excuse to turn away from me as it is a concession to my request.
I don’t mind her eagerness to hide her face from me. At least in this position, she is little more than an ass and pussy. Less dangerous. I still remember how easily I fell apart the first time with her. How I lost control and never quite managed to get it back.
Just another escort. That is what I tell myself. What I try to imagine as I pull a condom out of my back pocket and get undressed.
Coming to stand behind her, I recite the rest of the instructions listed in all of my anonymous escort agency files. “I prefer no movement when we are having sex. I would like for you to stay still no matter what I do. Without any sound, please. Completely passive.”
In other words, the opposite of the first night we had sex. I watch her closely to see how she’ll respond.
“Okay…” she answers. Her is voice trembling.
Fear or anticipation? I’m not sure, and I can’t bring myself to care. Those instructions issued, I finally allow myself to…
Her hands fist the covers when I push in, all the way to the hilt. A stifled gasp escapes, but other than that, she doesn’t make a sound.
I cannot say the same. A groan slips from my mouth, long and guttural. Being back inside her feels even better than I anticipated. Like coming out of the cold into a ramen shop with a fireplace on a winter’s day.
On a winter’s day…
The song that didn’t stop playing inside of my head until the moment I saw her again comes back full blast as I start thrusting into her tight heat.
There are quite a few reasons I’ve come to prefer this position combined with my completely passive instructions the best. It allows me to concentrate on coming without the distractions of high-pitched (Japanese girls) or too lewd (American girls) chatter. Under these conditions, I can do and imagine as I please.
The position had come in especially handy during the many months I spent trying to purge the memory of Kristal with meaningless sex. But now, there’s no need for my mind to wander. The object of my obsession…she’s right here. And it’s very nearly my undoing.
Sooner than I want, an ominous tingle rises from my groin, warning me of things to come. Usually, I make sure my escort climaxes before she gets into position. That way, there’s no need to feel further obligated when I come.
But I was so eager to get into Kristal that I pounced on her too soon after she pulled off her clothes.
Cursing myself, I fall over her back and find the front of her pussy with my hand.
“Come. You must come now,” I say, unable to achieve a polite tone as I tell her this.
She falls to her forearms under my command, disobeying my order not to move as she shoves her face into the crook of one arm. Then her entire body begins to tremble, quaking with her silent orgasm, just as I’ve commanded.
So responsive…she’s so responsive to everything I do and say.
I fall over the edge just a few moments later, my dick kicking as I empty into the condom with a too-loud yell.
Then…then I pull away. Stunned and shell-shocked.
How? How had I still lost control so quickly? Even after forcing her to bend to all my rules?
She is allowed to talk now, but I don’t tell her that as we collapse onto the bed, side by side. Instead, I bask in the sound of her rapid breathing and wonder if she enjoyed that as much as I did. Then I berate myself for caring either way.
She’s just an escort. Just an escort…on a winter’s day.
Trying to muster up enough energy to take a shower. I glance at the glowing clock on my nightstand. It’s a bit after midnight. So just after 5 pm in Japan. Either way, I only have ten days with her now. Will ten days be—
I roll out of bed with an abrupt jerk before I can fully finish asking myself that question. “I will take a shower, then you will, too, please.”
15
White Rabbit
The third day of Christmas
Kristal is gone when I wake up.
I jerk up in bed when I see the empty pillow. Just like last time. But how did she slip away again? And why? We had an agreement!
The sound of an oddly dramatic voice, singing about pills that make you large and small, interrupts my mental protest.
A few moments later, I walk into the outer room in a hotel robe. I find Kristal at the coffee table, setting out an assortment of American breakfast items and the off-menu Japanese dishes I have sent to my room whenever I stay at the Tourmaline.
She’s singing along with the strange song, and I pick out words like logic…white knight… red queen…and something about remembering what the door mouse said? After that, Kristal belts the song’s finale, which makes even less sense than the jumble of lyrics that came before it.
When the song is done, I ask, “What does ‘feed your head’ mean?”
Kristal jumps at the sound of my voice, then turns around with a wincing smile. “Please tell me my singing didn’t wake you up. I always get carried away with ‘White Rabbit.’”
I grin down at her. “You should visit Japan. You would do well in the karaoke rooms.”
“Japan…wow. I can’t even imagine. That would be so cool to visit the birthplace of manga and anime.” She nervously smooths her dark locks behind her ears, and I itch to do that for her. Itch to do everything for her.
But then Satomi’s face floats across my mind’s eye. She’d been innocent, too. Her gaze was guileless when she looked up at me and said, “What is it, Hayato-kun? You can tell me anything.”
No relationships, I remind myself, my smile disappearing.
“You have changed,” I note. Instead of reaching out to touch her, I step back to give the green cable knit sweater dress she’s wearing with red tights and a pair of neon-green snow boots a once over. She must have returned to her home on the pier to retrieve the items. For some reason, knowing she slipped away from me for even a few hours makes my gut clench.
“You should let me know before you leave next time,” I tell her while silently vowing there won’t be a next time. I’ll have all her clothes bought and delivered if that’s what it takes to keep her onsite with me.
“Oh, I didn’t leave,” she answers, her smile becoming a little less nervous. “One of my cousins dropped a suitcase of my North Pole clothes downstairs. Then Kristiano—that’s another one of my cousins who works here at the Tourmaline—brought it up along with our breakfast.”
“You have a cousin who works here?” I ask, crooking my head.
She throws me a wry look. “I have a cousin at just about every hotel in this city. A lot of us elves end up in the guest service industry after we’re done at the workshop.”
“Is that what you plan to do after our time is done? Get a job at a hotel?”
A shadow falls over her face. “No, originally, I was planning to stay with Jae-Hyun and work downstairs in his comic book shop. At least for whatever time he has left. He’s not just my drawing mentor. You see, he’s like a father to me…”