Cougars (29 page)

“Hatcher has me doing this shit for free, man. I'm not getting a cut of the profits. He said that since I owe him so much money, I'd better do as he says or face the consequences. I hate that motherfucker, man. If I'm not available for his every little need that fool will kill me. I don't want to die, Travis. I just want to get my life back. I thought when I introduced this Cougars shit to him, we'd call it even. I mean, if it weren't for me he would've never met you. But he doesn't see it like that. I've got fucking bills to pay and flying his cargo all over the place is going to land my black ass in a federal prison.”

“Maybe I can talk to him for you. And neither one of us is going to prison so get that shit out your head. I don't want you to think it or speak it into existence,” Travis said.

“Fine, I won't say it or think about it, but diplomacy doesn't work when you're dealing with Hatcher—the guy's an agent of the devil!” Alex raised his voice in anger.

“Just calm down, okay? We'll figure something out,” Travis assured him.

“That's easy for you to say. I'm the one taking all of the risks! Pressing these damn pills, then flying them around to drop-off points. Shit, I want to get paid for my stress and anxiety, too. You're getting paid. Why can't I?”

Alex sat down in a chair that was positioned against a wall in the basement. He placed his face in his hands for second, clenched his teeth, then slapped his forehead with the palms of his hands. “I feel like I'm going crazy. I can't believe that I've fucked up my life like this. I want to run away from all of this, Travis, but I don't have any money. I'm flat broke.”

“Don't fucking flip out on me now, Alex. I need you. If you'll just hang in there a little while longer, I will have made enough cash for the both of us to disappear for a long time. Selling this
shit can easily turn into a million-dollar-a-week empire! Now get your shit in check!” Travis snapped. “I'll give you some money. How much do you need?”

“Shit, man, how much do you have?” Alex glanced up at him.

“Enough for now,” Travis answered. “Will five thousand hold you for a minute?”

“Make it ten thousand,” Alex requested.

“Fine. I'll get the money to you,” Travis agreed without blinking an eye.

“Just like that.” Alex popped his fingers. “You suddenly have ten grand you can let go and not miss?”

“Yeah, I have it like that now. You're my boy. If you'd just stand by my side a little longer, you'll never have to worry about money again.”

“How do you figure?” Alex didn't want promises; he wanted to know the details and the plan.

Travis walked over to Alex and kneeled down beside him. “I'm working on an ever stronger version of Cougars at work. I just about have the right mixture, too.”

“I thought you said they shelved the project?” Alex didn't under- stand how Travis was able to continue his research.

“I'm fucking the president of the company on the side,” Travis confessed.

“How in the hell did that happen, and what about Jasmine?” Alex asked.

“I'm still fucking Jasmine. I'm not done with her yet.”

“You shouldn't do Jasmine like that, man, but I'm not going to get in your business about that. What I want to know is how did you get the president of the company in the sack?” Alex just had to know.

“I joined the Sex Club List again, but this time I used an alias.
I got a call one night from a very lonely woman. We agreed to meet. I popped some Viagra and went to the hotel. When I knocked on the door of Room 1865, Helen, the president of the company, opened it. She was a bit embarrassed and there was an awkward moment. I suggested that we order a bottle of wine from room service and just talk for a little while. She was reluctant, but agreed to it. While we waited for room service she didn't say much. She was rather distant with me and gazed out the window at traffic moving along Lake Shore Drive. I turned on the little clock radio and that classic Phil Collins song, ‘In
the Air Tonight,' filled the room. I guess the melody was soothing to her because she started singing along.

“When the wine was delivered I stepped out into the hallway and told the employee I'd take it from there. Once he was gone, I crushed up a pill and sprinkled it into her wineglass and filled it up. She drank the entire glass and asked for another. By the third glass, she'd loosened up and told me that she thought something was wrong with her because she'd been suffering with female sexual dysfunction. She said that she hadn't had an orgasm in a long time. Her girlfriend introduced her to the Sex List and that night was her very first time using it, which was why she was so nervous and utterly shocked when she saw me.

“I approached her from behind, began kissing her shoulders and neck,” Travis continued. “I caressed her breasts and took off her blouse and bra, then unzipped her skirt. Next I squatted down and told her to step out of it. I liked her red pumps so I told her to leave them on. I quickly got undressed, then got down on my knees. I ran the tip of my tongue around the curvature of her calf muscle, and up the back of her legs, and over the hump of her ass, to the bow in her back. I could hear how her breathing pattern changed and how warm her skin had gotten. I knew the drug was
taking effect. I rose to my feet, pressed my dick between the cheeks of her ass and combed my fingers through her pubic hair. I toyed with her clit and slipped a finger inside of her. She asked me what I was doing to her and I said, ‘I'm about to give you everything you've been missing.' I turned her around, lifted her up and pressed her back against a window. She wrapped her legs around my waist and said, ‘I can't believe how wet I am. I'm usually very dry.' It took me a minute to get my dick into her tight pussy but when I did, I could tell she hadn't had dick in a long time. By the time Phil Collins bellowed out ‘Oh Lord' and the drums sequence hit its climax, I was fucking her hard against the glass. Her hips popped and she began moving wildly, as if all of her untamed energy had been unleashed. She was a squirter and before I knew it, my feet were sliding around in a puddle of her juices. She was biting, clawing at my back, and screaming out my name. We went at it for hours before we both were just too damn exhausted to do anything else.

“When I saw her at work, I asked if I could be moved to a different team, citing personality differences between Jasmine and me. Helen was more than happy to move me. She gave me a bigger office and told me I could continue my research, but to keep it under my hat.”

“Damn,” Alex said totally blown away by Travis's account of events. “Did she get sick like some of the other people who've taken the drug?”

“I believe so because she didn't show up at work for a couple of days,” Travis said.

“Do you feel guilty about people getting sick and even dying from taking this?” Alex cautiously asked, then saw Travis's eyes turn cold.

“Even prescription drugs have side effects, Alex. Drug seekers know the risks before they even start using narcotics. Cocaine
and PCP can kill you just as easily as Cougars can, but people still want to get high. People will even mix prescription medicine to get high.” Travis walked back toward the pill press machine. “They'll even take something as simple as cough syrup and mix it up until it becomes something stronger. So no, I don't feel guilty at all.”

There was a moment of silence in the room, but it was interrupted when one of Hatcher's men came down to tell Alex he was needed at the airport.

“See what I mean, man?” Alex griped. “I'm tired of this shit.” Alex rose to his feet and walked away.

T
RAVIS
WAS DRIVING OVER TO J
ASMINE'S
HOUSE to pay her a visit. It had been weeks since they'd spent any serious time with each other and he, being driven by his lust for her, wanted to be inside of her warm folds. In spite of the wild sex he'd had with Helen, she had nothing on Jasmine. It was something about the way Jasmine could look into his eyes and see his soul. In his mind he believed that she'd always want him. As narcissistic as it sounded, Travis knew that Jasmine loved the way he made love to her. Even before he'd drugged her up and given her a dose of Cougars, she was completely into him and was trying to take the time to get to know his heart. He was no longer angry with her, especially now that he was able to continue his work. That is what really mattered to him most and it was the drive behind everything he did. Jasmine had to learn that she should never compete with his career, because she'd lose out every time. She'd have to live with being second to that.

T
RAVIS
UNDERSTOOD THAT AFTER WEEKS of only speaking to Jasmine casually on Facebook whenever the mood hit him, that
he couldn't just waltz back into her life empty handed. So to help get back into her good graces, he stopped at Tiffany's Jeweler and had the saleswoman assist him with picking out something nice that read, “I apologize.” After looking at a selection of bracelets and rings, Travis found the perfect gift. It was a pair of Elsa Peretti open heart earrings with pavé diamonds. The gift cost him five-thousand dollars, but he didn't mind because he knew Jasmine was worth it. In his grand scheme, he was seriously considering a place for Jasmine in the twisted castle he was building for himself.

Travis knew that when he arrived unannounced with a Tiffany's bag in one hand and a selection of roses in the other one, Jasmine wouldn't be so quick to turn him away. There was also one additional factor motivating Travis and that was the improved Cougars formula. Since Jasmine was his very first human test subject, he thought it appropriate for her to be his guinea pig for a second time. He didn't want to give Jasmine a choice in the matter. His mind had become twisted like that. He felt as if, to a certain degree, he owned her.

Travis pulled his car into Jasmine's driveway and parked it directly next to hers. He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror just to make sure he looked good one last time and then stepped out of his car. He rang her doorbell and waited. When the door swung open, Jasmine, who was wearing sweatpants and a Mary J. Blige concert T-shirt, looked as sexy as ever to him.

“How are you doing, sexy?” Travis grinned at her. Jasmine folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“What do you want, Travis? And why are you coming over un- announced?” Jasmine's voice was edgy and fully of confrontation.

“I came to see you, babe. I've missed you. I've been lonely without you,” Travis explained.

“Yeah right. Go tell that line to some chickenhead. You didn't miss me.” Jasmine didn't believe him.

“Yes I did, Jasmine. I swear to God I did. I've just been so busy at work and I brought you this. I'm making time to see you. Doesn't that mean something?” Travis gave her the sad puppy dog look.

“You do not look cute doing that, so just stop.” Jasmine wasn't behaving the way he'd hoped.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“For what?” Jasmine glanced down at the blue Tiffany's bag.

“So that I can give you these flowers and a gift I've picked up for you.” Travis held them both up. Jasmine gazed past the gifts and directly into his eyes. Travis shook the gifts a little so she'd focus on them and not him. “Aren't you at least curious as to what I got for you?”

“You can't buy your way back into my life, Travis. Maybe I've moved on. It certainly appears that you have someone new. Don't think that I haven't heard about the rumors floating about Helen's sudden interest in you.”

“Now why would you think that Helen and I have something going on?” Travis flat out denied the accusation.

“I have people who let me know things,” Jasmine answered sarcastically.

“Who?”

“You don't need to know who, you just need to know that there are rumors floating around.”

“Well then, that's just what they are:
rumors
.” Travis lowered the gifts.

“Well, Sam says—shit,” Jasmine said as she had slipped up and ratted out Sam.

“Sam the security guard?” Travis started laughing. “You're going to believe that punk over me. Come on now, Jasmine, don't get
played like that.” Travis challenged her common sense. “You know that boy has the hots for you and is probably just trying to throw salt on me because he's undoubtedly heard rumors about us.”

Jasmine thought about what he said and then gave him the benefit of the doubt. “Well, I am curious as to what you've picked out. Come on in.” Jasmine stepped aside and shut the door behind him.

She followed him into the kitchen and then pulled down a vase for the flowers.

“What are you in here doing?” Travis asked.

“I'm cleaning out the closet in my bedroom,” Jasmine answered as she placed the flowers in the vase. Travis approached her from behind and set the Tiffany's box on the countertop in front of her.

Jasmine stared at it for a moment and tried to determine if she should accept his gift.

“Go on, open it. I got it for you,” Travis encouraged her as he placed his hands on her shoulders and placed sweet kisses on the back of her ear. Jasmine's body immediately reacted to his touch. She pulled her shoulders up to her ears and paused as goose bumps of sensitivity formed everywhere. When the feeling subsided, she opened the box.

“Oh wow, Travis. These are beautiful,” Jasmine said, taking them out of the box. “These must've cost you a small fortune.”

“They weren't cheap,” Travis joked.

“I can't accept this. It's too much.” Jasmine tried to return the gift.

“Don't do that to me, Jasmine. This is how I say how sorry I am. Can you forgive me?” Travis asked.

Jasmine closed her eyes and felt Travis's fingers slip under the fabric of her sweatpants. She wasn't wearing any underwear and his long fingers quickly found what they were searching for.