Bent and Twisted

Rena picked up her stuffed puppy and hugged him to her chest. Carlos had won it for her on their first date, and though she would never call herself a sentimental person, she found it brought her some comfort now. Carlos had named the puppy Felipe, but Rena had always felt the dog was a girl and secretly called her Penny, after Rena's best friend as a child.

Sighing, Rena threw Penny into the case with the rest of the things she was planning to take with her. Hearing a shoe shuffle on the floor in the hallway made her heart thump hard, thinking that Carlos had somehow found her. She calmed instantly when the ranger, Pete, peeked into her room to check on her. Besides, Carlos was dead; she saw his body not ten hours ago.

"Ready?" He asked, in a patient voice. Rena looked down at her whole life in the suitcase and sighed.

"Yeah"

Rena left the suitcase on the motel bed. The ranger would bring it along, as he always did. She stretched her long body upwards, reaching for the ceiling in an attempt to relax herself. But there was no way she could relax until she got back to her own home, and her own room.

Rena seriously doubted that her brother had sold their family home in her absence. Which reminded her; she needed to call Roger and tell him she was coming back. She walked out of the musky room and right onto the parking lot.

Seeing that Pete wasn't there yet, Rena sat down in the ranger's Lincoln and closed the door, waiting for him to accompany her. When he finally made it back to the car, he sat down and gave Rena a warm smile.

"Can I call my brother now?" Rena ventured. "He should be off work now"

"Sure," the cautious man replied, handing her his phone.

Rena dialed the number of the only family she had left and felt her heart drum as she listened to the phone ring. The ranger had pulled off and hadn't even left the parking lot when Roger picked up.

"Hello?" Roger calmly answered the phone, and when Rena heard his voice she let out the breath she hadn't known she's been holding. She explained what was going on with some amount of anxiety and without pause.

"He's dead?" Roger sounded stunned and relieved.

"Yeah.", was all she could manage.

"Well come on home." Roger said, and then bade her goodbye.

And that was all Rena needed to hear before she let out the first cry she'd had since learning that she could be charged as an accessory to Carlos' crimes if she refused to testify in court.

The ranger pulled up in front of Rena's house about seven hours later.

"Don't go far, the US attorney will still need to tie up some loose ends." he said quietly, "but congratulations."

"Thank you so much, Pete."

Rena noticed that he made no effort to get her bags this time, so she opened the back door of the car and retrieved her own things. With a wave to Pete, she left him there, watching her enter her home for the first time in almost a year.

Rena went down her mental checklist once more. Skirt straight, shirt tucked in neatly, and small leather briefcase all ready for her first day at work. With a whoosh, she let out her breath, while she put on her jacket. It had been hell for her those first few months home. She'd shut herself in and refused to take calls until Roger and his wife Bethany took the hour and a half drive down to talk some sense into her.

Roger was, as always, pragmatic and tried pointing out to Rena that her fears were unfounded because Carlos was dead. Bethany, however, was Roger's polar opposite. She explained to Rena that fear exists only in one's mind, and reminded her that if she and her brother could survive the loss of their parents, then Rena could survive anything. The visit was both productive and heartwarming. Rena knew that though Roger was telling her to get over it, his taking the time to actually drive down to see her showed considerable concern for her on his part.

So now here she was, on her way to work for the first time ever since the bookstore in college. Though their parents had left a fortune for them on which to survive, Rena had planned on working after school. She was only nineteen when she got caught up in her whirlwind relationship with Carlos, and when she'd graduated, she took a year off to spend with him.

It turned out to be the best year of her life. Followed by the worst eight months since her parents died in the plane crash. The man who she thought she knew and loved was a drug trafficker, who would steal and kill to protect his enterprises. It slowly dawned on her that she was in a committed relationship with a felon. Luckily for her, the FBI snatched Carlos up before he realized Rena had figured him out. Unluckily, however, was the fact that she had unwittingly assisted Carlos on many overseas deliveries. But now she had her own life back, and most of her things from the FBI.

The US attorney had promised she would get her car back eventually, but he hadn't returned it yet, so Rena decided with a burst of optimism to walk to the downtown bank. She would get there early no matter what, and she even had time to stop for coffee and a peek at her newest BDSM novel on the way.

Unfortunately, her favorite local café had since closed, and the only other option was the chain coffee shop across the street. There was no way in hell she was going to get to read her smut at this hippy-dippy shop, though.

'Ugh.', she thought, already annoyed as she fought her way inside, past the myriad patrons waiting for their orders. She was going to be on time, but just barely at this rate.

After almost four minutes of waiting in line, Rena finally stepped up and ordered a cup of Kona roast, black. The cashier looked at Rena like she'd sprung a new appendage.

"We don't carry Koona or whatever here."

And then the barista, without waiting for Rena to modify her order yelled, "Next!"

Rena stood at the counter, stunned, but not for long. She turned on her heal and began to storm off in search for a manager when her progress was suddenly stopped by a body colliding with her own. Rena was bumped back into the counter and lost her footing. Large hands were instantly under her arms and holding her up.

"Hey, you ok?" rumbled a deep, rough voice from somewhere above her.

Rena looked up and saw the most intense blue eyes looking down at her, slightly amused. His face didn't match his voice. He was pale, with almost pretty features, soft looking lips and light brown hair. He wore an expensive suit over his lean frame and wide shoulders, like he was a power broker who played football on the weekends. His arms were toned under Rena's hands, as if he were used to hard physical labor.

He had to be at least six foot three, Rena estimated, in a moment of stupor. Rena herself was five eight and on the curvy side, so it shocked her to feel that the slim man exerted no extra energy to hold her up. Using the man's biceps as leverage, she pushed herself into a standing position.

Wayne couldn't believe his luck. A beautiful woman bumped into him on his first day of his new job. He had woken up late, gotten disoriented in his new neighborhood and, to top it all off, his girlfriend broke up with him by text. To be fair, he had been trying to get her away from her overbearing best friend long enough to break up with her. Belle, his ex, only liked vanilla sex and would complain to her friend when Wayne wanted to try new sexual positions.

He tried to make love to her the way she wanted to, but he would get soft when she started her shrill moaning as she climaxed. And, much like the stereotypes about men, Belle didn't care if Wayne got his rocks off with her. She would just roll over and go to sleep. After six months of dating, Wayne had stopped trying to fuck her, and started to jerk off daily instead.

He signed his lease over to her and moved out of his own apartment, telling Belle that he needed to move for his new job. He knew that his old apartment was in walking distance to Belle's job, so she wouldn't want to move in with him again. He knew it was a dirty trick, but her hours had been cut at work, and she was home more often.

Now here he was, with his hands gripping the soft underside of this perfect woman's arms. She was heavier than Belle, but she had a perfect hourglass figure, and smelled like some kind of flower. And not that obnoxious, overpowering flowery smell that some women had. She smelled vaguely of lavender or something. Her scent, combined with her proximity made Wayne's cock swell.

"I'm ok, thanks." Rena murmured, feeling like a ditz. Looking down, she pushed on his forearms to dislodge his grip, briskly walked past him, and out of the nightmare of a coffee shop. Once outside, she had to suppress the urge to kick off her shoes and run home. It wasn't like she needed the job. But as one foot hit the ground after another, she realized that not only was she not a coward, but most likely she'd never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to lead a normal life. Carlos' shadow no longer hung over her head and she was a free woman at last. Nothing could strip her of that power.

Wayne ordered his coffee and went back to his car, deep in thought. He usually didn't consider dating black women. Not that he didn't find them attractive; the ones he knew just seemed to be out of his league. It was intimidating to be indirectly responsible for the systematic oppression of a race, too.

But the woman who fell into his arms made him want to get to know her and find out what made her laugh, or cry...or cum. He wanted to know how to be right for her, and he hoped that she would consider looking past his pasty white exterior, and let him into her warm brown interior.

She had had the most confused eyes, like she'd walked into a wall. Wayne felt his already hard dick rise with pride, knowing that he could handle the buxom hottie. He had flinched when she pulled away from him, a little hurt by how quickly she wanted to get away. And, before he could ask her for her name or number, she'd disappeared from the coffee shop.

Suddenly Wayne snapped out of it. She showed no interest in him. Never again was he going to chase a hot woman; that's how he got stuck in an eight month, live-in relationship with Belle.

Rena arrived at the bank twenty minutes early for her shift and took the time to get her bearings and partake in the meager brown liquid from the alleged "coffee" machine. While she casually took in her surroundings, the small and dark woman who had hired her came into the room she'd wandered into.

"So you've found the break room ok?" Marta Lopez, Branch Manager, asked.

"Yes", Rena replied with a smile, "It was the only room that didn't look like it gets much use."

Marta laughed warmly, making Rena blush. Marta was an old friend of Rena's mother who Rena knew of, but didn't really know well enough to joke with. But Marta seemed genuinely pleased at Rena's assessment.

"Well, Honey, all my best reps are out on the floor opening bank accounts and drumming up candidates for these new loan programs."

Marta paused and looked at Rena significantly. "All of our reps begin in the box, but I have the utmost confidence that you'll have the same fire to succeed that your mother had."

"Thank you again, Mrs. Lopez. You won't regret hiring me." Rena beamed. Marta smiled gently and gestured for Rena to follow her. Showing Rena each room, she spoke as swiftly as she walked, making Rena regret her choice of heels for the second time that day.

"This is the orientation room. I know you requested a full time schedule, but we just don't have the hours." Marta said when she had finally stopped in front of a large double door. "I will clock you in now, and call you with your schedule

tomorrow. But as for today, this is it."

"Oh. Ok, thank you." Was all Rena could say as Marta gave her another quick smile and turned to rush off.

Rena opened the right hand door and walked inside. She knew she was early and expected to wait for others to come milling in, but there was a lone man sitting with his back turned to her as she entered the room. He glanced up and turned in his chair to see who had come in, and Rena almost lost her cool.

Wayne got to work on time. The bank manager, Marta, had been a guest lecturer at his school a few years back and had taken a liking to him then. When Marta called and offered him the job, he jumped at the opportunity to get away from his girlfriend. And to start over in a new town.

Wayne sat and waited for the orientation to begin. He thought that he would be late, but so far he was the only one there. To his immense pleasure and surprise, the pretty lady from the coffee shop walked into the room, though not as happy to see him.

She looked past him, presumably trying to find the furthest seat from his own. At first he was offended by the offence she took by him. But it was also kind of hot having to be on the chase for once. Usually women flocked to him. But this lady was having none of that. What a day.

There, at the end of a long table, smirking at her was the same guy who had saved her from hitting the floor at the coffee shop. Before she could consider her next move, however, another man excused himself and walked past her. Rena murmured a feeble excuse me, and took her seat closer to the open window.

The man who had rushed past sat at the head of the table and introduced himself as Bob, the manager for the cashiers. Rena listened intently as Bob went through all the ins and outs of the job, and explained that he was a very hands-on manager. He leered at Rena as he said it, making her uncomfortable.

The pale man on the other side of the room interrupted with a question, and when Bob answered, the pale man would lob another, and then another his way. Bob, coming to the end of his patience with the man, explained that he wasn't that hands-on. The pale man smiled patiently at Bob's outburst, and Bob visibly collected himself.

"If you would excuse me," Bob sneered at the pale man." I have a bank to run."

And without waiting for a reply, Bob stood and left the room as abruptly as he'd entered it.

Wayne was glad that prick, Bob, was finally gone. Wayne had wanted smash his beady eyes into the table when Bob started to leer at the younger woman.

"I guess that's it, then?" Wayne said to her with a wide, mischievous grin.

"Please tell me you don't work here" she groaned, with a grimace.

Wayne was surprised at how badly she wanted to get away from him. He was no Brad Pitt, but usually the ladies wanted more of his attention than he could deal with.

"Sorry baby. You're stuck with me until I become your boss." He slowly dropped his smile, "And you have to work under me."

He didn't know why he said it, it really slipped out. But as he mentioned it, he could already imagine her sexy mouth gagging on his cock under his desk during a meeting, or filling her ass up while he took a conference call.

She stood up sharply and moved away from the table, flipping her briefcase over, and spilling papers all over the floor. She hurried to get her things, making Wayne wonder what she was trying to hide.

Cocky bastard thought very highly of himself. Rena stood up abruptly, needing her space from him. As she moved away from the table, she flipped her briefcase over, spilling its contents on the floor. Rena scrambled to retrieve her belongings before he could spot the erotic novel she'd slipped inside earlier, which had, of course, landed closer to her new coworker.

The stranger stood and bent to help Rena recover her things, hell-bent on rescuing her twice in one day, no doubt. Rena turned to tell him that she could do it herself, but was mortified to discover that the man was reaching for the book. Please don't read the title, she silently pleaded, as he did just that.

"'Love, Bent and Twisted'?" He murmured, standing up and turning it to read the blurb.

Then he saw it; a fully dressed man holding a leash. Curious, Wayne picked up the novel to examine it more closely. There was a naked woman tethered, by way of a dog collar, to the other end of the leash.

Then, as abruptly as she had stood up, his new co-worker fainted quite heavily, hitting the floor hard. Wayne ran to her as quickly as he could, but it was no use. She had already hit the floor pretty hard. He turned her over to look for any damage caused by the fall, but found none.

Wayne turned to the door, and looked at it, helplessly. As if his mind had sent out a homing beacon, the door opened, and Marta came through it.

"Oh my Lord, what's happened to Rena?" she exclaimed when she noticed the young lady on the floor.

Wayne told Marta that Rena would be okay. He'd seen his mom suffer with epilepsy most of his life, and knew the difference between fainting and collapsing. She'd wake up soon, and just be a bit disoriented.

Wayne told Marta that they were old friends, and that he was giving her a ride home anyway. There was no way he could let her out of his sight until he knew she was okay, so he felt the lie was for a greater purpose; Though he did feel bad for deceiving the woman who was his mentor. Marta warned him to take good care of Rena, and Wayne promised; more earnest about this promise than anything else he'd said thus far.

When Rena was next conscious, she was still, ironically, in the orientation room and blinked up at the long fluorescent before squeezing her eyes shut tightly. It was then that she heard the pale man and Marta speak about her as if she weren't there.

Marta: "Are you sure she'll be okay? I can go to the hospital with her if it's a bother."

Pale Guy: "No, she'll be fine with me. She asked me to drive her home earlier, anyway."

Marta: "All right then, Wayne. Please take care of her. She's my late friend's only daughter and I promised Shavonne I would take good care of her baby."

Marta sounded so worried that Rena felt a little ashamed for eavesdropping. But not enough to admit that she was fully conscious. She listened with her eyes closed as someone, presumably Marta, left the room. She was right as the white guy, no-Wayne, gently shook Rena, and calling her name.

"Yeah, look I'm fine." Rena managed to sit up, while avoiding eye contact with the man who now knew all about her secret desires. "I'll get a cab."

"Nope." The stubborn man simply replied, "We've got some things to discuss, and now is the only time I'll accept."

Rena's eyes snapped up to his and she felt the

heat build in her face as she struggled for words.

"Listen, asshole, just because I read th-those books, doesn't mean that I'd ever sleep with you."

Rena tried to keep her eyes on his; she didn't want him to know that she was intimidated.

He clutched her book firmly in his hand. She saw the heat from his now icy blue eyes and felt the warm tug of arousal in her belly. He would embarrass her if he wanted to, and she knew it.

"My car is in the lot, out front." With that said, he exited the orientation room.

Rena was in a half panic. If she snuck out of the back door, she could go the long way around the bank and slip right by him. But he had saved her twice in one day and, besides which, he knew her dirty little secret. Rena sighed as she hoisted her ample frame off of the floor. She knew what she had to do.

Based on her reading material, Wayne took a chance and gave her subtle ultimatum. She resisted a bit, but would eventually have caved when she realized that he still held her book in his hand. He took the opportunity of having the upper hand to walk out of the room.

Waiting for Rena to get to his car took forever. After about three minutes, he realized that he'd set the book down on the dashboard. He picked it up and flipped to a random page. What he read made him have to adjust himself so his prize jewels could breathe.