The Blind Tiger: An Unusual Paranormal Romance (4 page)

“Guess who I brought?” she said gaily.

Karen could only stare at the handsome, blond, hulking man as he gazed down upon her.

“This is Zach,” Shawna said.

“Hi, Zach,” Karen squeaked.

“Hi. You’re Karen, right?” His voice was deep and commanding. It sent a shiver down Karen’s spine.

“Yes.”

“So let’s get on with it,” he said to Shawna, although his vivid blue eyes were still on Karen.

Shawna smiled at Karen. “Let’s go.”

Let’s go? Uh, but we just got here,
Karen wanted to say. However, in the presence of the phenomenally imposing Zach, she was tongue-tied.

“Should we go to your place or mine?” Zach said.

Karen found her voice. “B-but we just got here.”

“And now we’re leaving. Objective secured,” Shawna said firmly. “We’ll go to our place.”

“Wait,” Karen said, looking from Zach to Shawna. “If you’re leaving with him, I don’t have to go, too.”

The last thing she wanted to do all night was to listen to Shawna’s moans under the blond god.
Her
blond god.

It wasn’t fair.

I saw him first.

“Oh, no, I thought this was the deal,” Zach declared. “The two of you, together.”

Karen’s eyebrows shot to the top of her head.

“What?” she screeched.

THE BLOND GOD

Zach eyed her quizzically.

“So you don’t do threesomes?” he asked.

Karen was indignant. “No!”

Shawna was nonplussed. “Come on, Karen. For once in your life, do something you haven’t done before. Remember, YOLO.”

It was Shawna’s favorite text message – the one she liked to end conversations with. YOLO. You only live once.

“Yeah, YOLO.” Zach seemed amused.

“It isn’t the thought of the threesome,” Karen shot at Shawna. “It’s the fact that you didn’t ask me first what I thought of it. It’s like that time with the heater repair guy. You didn’t ask me if I was OK with the quote. You just went ahead and hired that really expensive guy because you wanted to boink him.”

“Come on, Karen, it’s not that big a deal,” Shawna whined.

“Oh yes, it is. Look, the two of you can do whatever it is you like. I’m hightailing it out of here.”

She turned and stalked of.

Maybe she was overreacting. But Shawna had been taking her for granted lately, and this was the last straw.

A threesome!

And with a guy she had absolutely phenomenal chemistry with, too.

Karen’s cheeks burned as she fled the club.

She almost didn’t dare return to her apartment that night. But she knew she had to. When she opened the front door, she listened for Shawna’s usual lovemaking sounds. And sure enough, the screams and whimpers filtered through the door of Shawna’s bedroom and the thin walls.

I’m going to get my own apartment next year,
Karen thought firmly.
Get a new job that pays enough and then move into my own apartment
.

She needed a shower badly. She proceeded to the common bathroom, stripped all her clothes off, and turned the shower on to the max so that the jet of water would drown out all the moans.

It didn’t work.

Damn Shawna
.

It’s your fault, you know,
she scolded herself.
Shawna has the guts to go after what she wants. You don’t.

She dried herself off and then went to her own bedroom. She locked the door behind her. She didn’t want threesomes or foursomes or anything that wasn’t real anymore. She went to the club because she wanted to meet someone to make a connection with. Not for a one night stand.

The bedframe started to bang against the wall, punctuated by gasps and cries. Zach must have incredible endurance.

Karen put a pillow over her head and tried to go to sleep.

She didn’t succeed.

*

The next morning, a bleary-eyed Karen crept out of her bedroom. Shawna wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Karen got dressed, still in a grumpy mood. She went down to the Starbucks across the street to get coffee.

“Hey, Karen.” Shawna waved from a table.

Karen swung round. Her bottled-up feelings were mixed.

Why do you do the things you do?

Why are you the way you are?

Then she saw who Shawna was with. It wasn’t Zach. It was a hot black guy Karen had never seen before.

Shawna got up and sauntered over.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Karen muttered.

“You got in pretty late last night. I wanted you to know that I didn’t go home with Zach. I hooked up with Kevin over there instead.”

Kevin waved. He was very cute, Karen thought.

But why? She turned to her apartment mate in amazement.

Shawna looked sheepish. “You’re right. Sometimes, I get ahead of myself. I should have asked you if you wanted a threesome instead of assuming you did. I geddit. Not everyone is as adventurous as I am.”

She paused.

“Anyway, it was only a go for him if you were in the picture. He didn’t want to go home with me. So I went home with Kevin instead.”

Karen’s eyes went round.

Shawna’s mouth pursed. “Before you think I’m all rotten, I’m not. I’m really not, OK? I do watch out for you, Karen. He asked for your number, and I gave it to him.”

“Wait a minute. Who asked for my number?”

“Zach. Hot blond guy from last night. Remember him?”

Now Karen was shocked into speechlessness.

“Yup.” Shawna nodded. “He’s apparently into you.”

Just then, Karen’s phone vibrated in her jeans pocket. She looked down at her pocket, still in shock.

“That might be him,” Shawna said knowingly. “I told him to call you around this time to be sure that you were
awake.”

Karen’s trembling hand went into her pocket. She fished her phone out. It was an unidentified number.

Shawna smiled.

“Hello?” Karen said shakily.

Zach’s deep voice went, “Hello? Karen?”

*

“So that’s how you met?” Noah said, smiling. “That’s very romantic.”

Karen groaned. “I don’t think so. But he was very persistent. He asked me out immediately.”

“And you said yes, I presume?”

“Yes.” Karen flushed. “I don’t usually get hot guys like Zach asking me out for a date, so I didn’t want to play hard to get or anything you learn in college.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you say that you usually don’t get hot guys asking you out?”

Oh, right. He couldn’t see.

“Because I’m sort of ordinary looking.”

“You don’t sound ordinary to me,” Noah said. “You have a very nice voice.”

She eyed him quizzically. He didn’t seem to be kidding about this. Was he flirting with her?

“Seriously?” she asked him.

“Yes. Since this happened –” he pointed at his dark glasses “– I’ve learned to read voices. Voices are more indicative of someone’s personality than mere looks.”

She hadn’t thought of it this way.

“In what way?” she asked. “The timber, the expression, or the output?”

“You sound like a physics professor,” he remarked.

She couldn’t help laughing, but she was pleased anyway.

“It’s mostly the output,” he said. “But it’s also everything else. The pitch. The inflections. The commas.”

“Commas?”

“Yes. I’ve learned to read commas in spoken sentences. The way you pause when you say something suggests a thoughtfulness and empathy about you.”

“It does?” She was astonished.

“You put thought into everything you say. You care about what you say and how it affects other people.”

Did she do that? She wasn’t even conscious of it!

“Not many people do that,” he added.

“But . . . wouldn’t they? Because you’re . . . you know?”

“There you go. Dotted lines in your questions.” He grinned. “Trying to choose the right words so as not to offend me.”

Yes, she was doing that subconsciously.

“No. Not everyone does that for me,” he continued. “Some people try to challenge me. Others try to cheat me because they think I can’t see. Most people just avoid me because they think a blind man is too much fuss and that I would take up too much of their precious time. But there are many people who are genuinely kind and who would go out of their way to help me. Like yourself.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t understand people who wouldn’t help a blind man. Even Shawna, for all her faults, would go out of her way to help someone less capable than herself. Though, of course, if a blind man were as hot as Noah, she would also try to get into his pants.

“So I’ve learned how to get by alone.”

“How long have you been blind, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Five years now. I’m still learning to cope. But I’ve been getting better and better at it every day.”

She admired how he managed to stay so positive despite his obvious hurdles.

It was a very enjoyable meal. At the end of it, she almost didn’t want to leave.

“So shall we try for Saturday? You, me, and Zach?” she asked.

“Saturday’s good,” he affirmed.

“Great. I’ll pick you up. I’ll try to cook something that meets with your superlative standards.” She teased.

“Looking forward to it.”

SATURDAY

Karen almost couldn’t wait till Saturday.

She fretted and mulled over her menu, all without letting Zach know, of course. He must not suspect that she had the slightest attraction to Noah. Because she did. More than she cared to admit.

She found herself constantly thinking about Noah’s gentle manners and cultured speech. He was so unlike Zach, who was as commanding and rough as a Master should be. Zach was unpolished marble – and marble was an apt metaphor for him, because he was molded like a Norse statue.

Noah was shimmering crystal – so fragile that she was afraid he might break. But underneath that veneer, did he possess hidden strength? She didn’t know. Noah was as mysterious as his eyes underneath those dark glasses.

She found herself fantasizing about those eyes. What color were they? Blue? Green? Or were they a warm honey brown to match his quiet manners and dulcet tones?

Then she started to fantasize about other things. His hands on her body, for one. His palms on her breasts. On her thighs. On other more intimate parts. Sliding. Caressing. Burrowing his fingers into intimate areas.

He had a good body under his clothes. She could clearly see that.

Oh, stop it! He isn’t yours!

Why was she fantasizing about Noah anyway? Was she that disenchanted with Zach and the life that she was living now? Or was the concept of Noah as a hot, blind man simply too enticing and different?

“What are you so happy about?” said a voice from behind her.

She jumped. Zach appeared at the kitchen doorway. She was in the midst of peeling potatoes for their dinner.

“Nothing, Master,” she quickly said. She hastily wiped her hands on her apron. Other than her apron, she only wore a red corset. Once again, the wire cups of the brassiere lifted her breasts, exposing her rouged nipples completely. The corset stopped at her waist. Below it, she wore nothing.

“You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you till later,” she added, shedding the apron.

“You were humming,” he accused.

“Sorry, Master.” She immediately knelt in front of him in a gesture of supplication. She put her hands behind her head. “Would you like me to service your cock with my mouth, Master?”

He unzipped his pants. Zach always did have an incredibly high sex drive.

“Alright,” he said gruffly.

His cock sprang out. She took it into her mouth and began her licking and sucking routine. She sucked and sucked him until he shot his load into her mouth.

There. In many ways, he was easy to appease.

*

Later, when they were asleep in their bed with his arm wrapped around the cushion of her breasts, she went back to her fantasies of Noah.

What would Noah be like in bed? Would he be tender and gentle? Would he be solicitous and careful?

Beef tenderloin, she decided. Her beef tenderloin was the best, especially with her red wine sauce. They would have escargots in garlic butter sauce as starters, along with crusty bread rolls and French butter. Then a chocolate soufflé for dessert. She wondered if she should buy the chocolate soufflé instead of making it.

Whatever it was, she wanted everything to be perfect.

*

Saturday dawned bright and shiny. Zach’s job necessitated him to work weekends and nights occasionally, and today was such a day.

“Gotta go, baby,” he said, kissing her on the top of her head as she lay in bed.

She liked it when he was all sweet and loving. Which wasn’t often.

“Remember, Master, about dinner tonight.”

“Oh, yes,” he said, fastening his belt. “Your blind friend is coming over.”

“That’s right.”

“Planned some decent food for a change?”

“Oh, our usual fare.”

He grinned. “You don’t have me fooled. You’re excited about this.”

She blushed. “Yes, Master. It isn’t often that I get the chance to have guests over.”

They rarely had guests over. She certainly wasn’t allowed to have guests without his permission. He rarely had guests because of what he did. He met his buddies in bars and clubs. His home was a sanctuary – away from people. In fact, she was certain that not many people knew where he lived.

“That’s true, little flower,” he said, gazing at her fondly. She was careful to reveal her naked body to his gaze. He liked to look at her. God forbid that she should be covered before his eyes. “I haven’t forbidden you to have any friends, nonetheless.”

“I know, Master. But because of where we live –” because of the secrecy you have to keep “— I’ve lost touch with all of them.”

She had certainly lost touch with Shawna.

God, she hadn’t realized how lonely she was!

“You’ve been a good girlfriend, Karen,” Zach said, putting on his shirt. “I’ll make it up to you someday. I promise.”

She was taken aback. He had just spoken to her like an equal – the way they used to be before all this master-slave dynamic came about. Of course, the unspoken elephant in the room was in her mind.

How long do we continue this master-slave thing?

How long did she want it to continue?

It had just come along suddenly. She had agreed to his wishes, and they never looked back. There was no contract. No termination date. She was a girlfriend. She did it out of love – out of the invisible chains that bound her heart. She did it because he was gorgeous, and girls like her didn’t get gorgeous men like him.

But when did it end? She had given up her job. She had no money. She was fully dependent on him.

Unless she could claw her way back.

Oh, it was complicated, and her head was starting to throb.

“I’ll be back before seven,” he said.

“Dinner is at seven, Master,” she reminded him hastily. “I’ll be fetching Noah from next door.”

“And why do you have to do that?”

“He might lose his way. He can’t see.”

Zach laughed. “Ah, the problems of disabled. Alright, little flower. You go lead your blind man over. Make sure he doesn’t trip or lose his way in the forest.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“Careful, now. I’m starting to get jealous,” he warned.

He was only half-joking. Her stomach did a flip.

“He’s a poor blind man. He can’t compare to you.” She lowered her eyes demurely.

“Mmmmm.” He was fully dressed, but his crotch started to fill up again. Her surrender and capitulation always did excite him. “Come here and suck me off.”

They had made wild love the night before, but he was ready to go again. Truly, if he didn’t have to work, he would force her to have sex with him seven times a day. He had a cock that never seemed to run out of juice.

“Yes, Master,” she said obediently.

She went over to give him his morning suck.

*

Dinner was finally ready!

She had spent the whole afternoon slaving over it. She panicked that she had almost ruined the soufflé. But now everything was as perfect as it could be, and her stomach was doing flip-flops for another reason.

What should she wear?

This would be the first time she would be wearing normal clothes for dinner in a long, long time. Usually, she ate in whatever outfit Zach had picked out for her, and that usually exposed her breasts, pussy, and buttocks. But this time, they had company! She had to be decent, even though Noah was blind.

She rifled through her wardrobe for something suitable. What to wear? What to wear? It was like she was on her first date! She must not wear something too sexy, lest Zach would think she was trying to seduce Noah.

Demure. That was what she was aiming for. She selected a blue dress with just a hint of cleavage but which showed off her curves nicely. She had slimmed down a lot in the past year. Zach had called her ‘his project’.

“I’m going to make you my little project,” he had announced when this master-slave thing first started. “I’m going to span that waist with my hands.”

Hence came the corsets. The no carb diets. The no soda liquids. The exercise regime and the gym toning. Everything designed to make her lose weight and become the perfectly sculptured woman Zach desired.

When she started to lose weight, she was pleased. Then she became despondent because Zach didn’t seem to like her the way she was – overweight and chubby. She was largely, so to speak, his experiment.

“But I find you very attractive, little flower,” he used to assure her. “But if you do as I say, you’ll become even more beautiful to me.”

Losing weight gradually used to please her. She was now almost at his desired weight – 115 lbs. But lately, she had been discontented and lonely. Why wasn’t she beautiful to him the way she used to be? This wasn’t supposed to exist in a normal relationship, right?

Karen stared at herself in the mirror. Shawna would barely recognize her now. She was slim. Made up. Tarted up, to be exact.

But not today. Today, she wanted to be something else other than what she had become. She wanted to be herself again – optimistic, full of wonder, and geared to conquer the world.

All excited again, she went down to her car to pick her neighbor up.