Page 48 of Ballad of Nightmares

I wish I could taste how wet you are.

She did too.Come over.

Maybe I’ll come over on my break.

I need you now,she told him.

Fuck, baby, he typed.I can’t tonight. I have to work soon.

Ana slumped into the bed with a huff.Tell me what you would do to me if you did come over.

The three dots rippled over the bottom for a moment.I think I would blindfold you.

Ana stared at the screen. Shit, this was new.

I think I would tie you down, he continued.Blind you. Headphones, too. And then I would leave you sprawled and needing on that bed. Long enough that you might begin to panic at not hearing any sounds, just the vibration of the rain pounding on your windows.

Thunder cracked outside, making Ana jump, and her heart picked up at the next text.

Maybe for hours. Maybe for minutes. The point is… you would lose track of reality. And I would sit back and watch your breathing shorten. I would watch your nipples peak at the thrilling fear running through you.

Ana went wholly still.

Can’t you see it, baby?he asked.

Shit, she could almost hear him whispering in her ear.

Your beautiful body wholly exposed and waiting, with no way of knowing if it was me or some intruder helping themselves to your flesh. You would be a feast for any demon that might walk by that door and smell your fear. Would you like that?

Ana swallowed, envisioning it, and for some reason, the warmth between her thighs began to pool.

Yes, she answered.

That pussy would glisten so nicely for us, too, he typed.

And she could practically hear the smile she was sure he had on his face with that one.

Tell me how you would end me, she nearly begged.

The dots rippled across the screen again, making Ana’s breath shorten with anticipation.

With my mouth on that pretty cunt, he typed.You would be at my mercy. Devoted to me.

Ana’s chest heaved with her heavy breaths. She pressed her hand between her thighs, finding herself soaking as she’d thought she was, and she began to slowly swirl her clit.

You would be mine to tease, he continued.With my tongue first, then my lips. I would enjoy sucking on you while you writhed so beautifully beneath me. Restrained and bound. Wholly mine.

Ana could suddenly see his fantasy more vividly than she’d ever even seen reality. She could feel his tongue on her clit, his silky hair on her thighs, and him devouring her. Noises seemed to mute around her. She had to put the phone down. Her eyes closed as she arched toward the ceiling, letting her fingers do the work, imagining being bound and blindfolded—orwasshe imagining it?

Her arms became heavy against her body, her right seeming to be latched between her thighs, unable to pull herself free or stop touching herself. And her left was fixated on her breast, squeezing and taunting that taut bud. Her eyes rolled back as her lights flickered again and turned completely off.

Something about the silence that filled the room made her heart jump.

Ana stilled, head lifting off the pillow to look around her.

The phone buzzed.

Are you coming for me, baby?he asked.