Alice - black & white

Furious pounding startled Jingo from a deep sleep. Last night’s entertainment lay sprawled across the bed next to her, oblivious to the racket. Jingo shifted in the bed, planted the soles of her feet against the sleeping man’s back and shoved.

The man let out a startled yelp that ended with a cry of pain when he hit the floor.

“See who dares to wake the Empress at this unearthly hour,” Jingo said.

The young man, still nude, scrambled for his clothing.

“Now! Forget your clothes.” Jingo pressed her palms against her temples. “Just make that noise cease!”

The young man, she thought his name might be Akihiro, raced for the door.

A warm flush spread over Jingo’s chest at the memory of the young man’s bedroom prowess. He might be worth inviting back. Jingo shivered as another thought formed. Before she could capture it, her evening companion yanked the door open, halting the insistent pounding.

“Who dares to wake me with such rudeness?” she asked.

An officer of the Royal Navy took a small step into her chamber, eyes averted from her nakedness. He bowed deeply and held the pose. Next to him, Akihiro stood shivering, his hands cupping his genitals.

“The Navy is back, Highness.” The hulking officer’s voice trembled. “The Koreans have defeated them. Captain Tadashi wished to bring you the message himself, however he was gravely wounded.”

Anger deepened the flush on Jingo’s chest. “Turn your backs,” she said. When they had turned, Jingo slipped from her bed and wrapped a light kimono around her body.

“You may face me.”

Both men turned.

“You!” She pointed a finger at Akihiro. “Leave us.”

The young man bowed and slipped away.

“Where is Tadashi now?”

“In the infirmary, Highness. They are trying to save his arm.”

Jingo was quiet for a moment, memories of the powerful warrior’s lovemaking tumbled through her mind. She sighed. An armless man was unworthy of sharing the Empress’s bed. Shame. Tadashi had been one of her favorites. Perhaps too favored. Well, no more.

“Return to me when he is able to speak. I want to know everything that happened.”

“Yes, Highness.” The soldier bowed and left.

# # #

Jingo sat in her tea house, enjoying a light meal. She watched in annoyance as one of her least favorite courtiers approached.

“Yes? What is it, Yuki?” Jingo let her displeasure show in her voice.

“Forgive me, Highness. I bring you the news that Captain Tadashi is ready to see you.”

A single butterfly sprang to life in Jingo’s belly. She quashed it by thinking of yet another defeat at the hands of the Koreans.

After five tense moments of silence, Jingo said, “Have him escorted to my sleeping chamber this evening.” She flicked a dismissive hand at her servant. “Go, now.”

The woman curtseyed and scurried away, leaving Jingo to work out the details of her plan. Korea must be her’s.

# # #

The Empress watched the last of her ladies retreating from her room. When she was alone, Jingo turned toward the mirror, admiring her own beauty. Royal robes, ivory hairpins, kohl eyes, crimson lips. And underneath the decorations, the lithe form of a siren. Empress or not, no man had ever refused her advances.

Two sharp knocks sounded, bringing the butterflies to light in her belly again.

She smoothed the front of her kimono and turned toward the door. “Enter!”

Her door swung open granting Tadashi access to her room. The sling that held his right arm to his chest marred the clean lines of his fresh uniform.

“Highness,” he said. “It is with deep shame that I must report our second defeat to the Koreans. They are fierce in defense of their homeland. We suffered many casualties.”

Jingo stood. “It is of no consequence. We will simply rebuild our ranks and try again. I must have Korea.” She stamped her foot for emphasis.

“It will take some time to rebuild and train new men. Perhaps as long as two years,” he said.

“Two years? Impossible!” Jingo paced, her robes swirling around her. “We must attack them again soon. They won’t be expecting us to come so quickly on the heels of another defeat.”

“Highness, I don’t think I’ve managed to convey the extent of our casualties. We’re nothing but a skeleton crew. Most of our officers are dead or severely maimed.” He shrugged his wounded arm for emphasis. “The lower ranks are all but wiped out. It will take years to rebuild.”

“Nonsense. Leave the Navy to me.” Jingo swept toward her captain in a rustle of fabric and jasmine-scented air. “Let us take a break from all this unpleasantness.” She untied the sash of her kimono and let it fall away. “You’ve been away so long, Tadashi. I’ve missed you.”

More and more, I’ve been receiving requests for additional eBook formats from readers so that they might enjoy my work on their iPhones and Kindles. I want you to have it your way and Smashwords makes it easy to give you what you want.

I’ve started the process of converting some of my work for use with most eReaders and mobile devices. The first offering is Look Both Ways, a story of a voyeuristic young man who is infatuated with his beautiful new neighbor.

Click to Sample

LOOK BOTH WAYS

An obsessed young man hides in the shadows to spy on his neighbor. Night after night, he stands in the darkness, smoking and watching through her window. Her reaction when she catches him takes him far beyond his wildest fantasy.

~*~

You can read an excerpt at Smashwords. It is also available for purchase.

Check back often as I’ll be uploading more of my work, including free stories, to Smashwords in the near future.

Happy Reading!

~Alice

It’s been a while since the desire to write has taken hold of me. It thrills me to no end that when that desire struck, it focused on my WIP novel. Forgive me. This piece is very raw and has only seen the smallest bit of editing. It is what it is: a start. And for that, I’m grateful. #amwritingagain

# # #

It took an act of God to convince Erich to let me return to my rooms alone. There was no way to gauge whether he’d left or whether he stood lurking in the shadows. I had to trust that he’d accepted my promises to return to him in the morning. There was unfinished business between Noam and myself and no time to waste second-guessing the situation. I had no choice but to track Noam down and silence him.

A glance at the clock showed that I had nine hours until Erich showed up to collect me and my belongings. I hoped it was enough.

It took two hours to gather everything I planned to take with me to Erich’s apartment. I left the window shades open and all the lights on. If Erich was out there in the darkness, I wanted to make sure he saw me. I spent another hour in a hot bath then made a big show of closing up for the night.

Once the shades were drawn and the lights out, I moved quickly, feeling the pinch of time. The lingerie from Erich seemed appropriate attire to wear under my disguise though wearing it meant I had to leave my breasts unbound. The uniformed shirt was large enough to hide my feminine form so long as no one gave me more than a passing glance. Dressing as a man had become routine enough that it took only minutes to transform myself.

The first shadow of doubt stole over me. What if Noam had been telling the truth, not only about Moshe but also about my father? Moshe was dead and until a few short hours ago, I’d believed my father was dead as well. Noam hadn’t said where my father was. I had to assume he’d been deported to a camp along with all the countless others. He could be anywhere or nowhere. Regardless, it didn’t matter whether he was alive or dead other than my own selfish desire to rescue the one person who still loved me. The only way to save him lay in my ability to carry out my orders.

I stood in the dark quiet of my bedroom, steeling myself for the pivotal next five minutes. There were only two scenarios that would play out: either Erich would be waiting for me or he wouldn’t. If he were, everything would come to a screeching halt. There was a distinct possibility that less than ten minutes from now, I’d be dead or dying.

My mother spent a lot of time amusing herself. When I was younger, I had no idea what she meant. All I knew was that when she needed time to amuse herself, she’d retreat to the quiet confines of her bedroom and lock the door behind her.

Some mornings it’s there when I wake. Other days it needs a trigger. A scent. A subtle glance. An unexpected visual delight. Today, I only needed you. And today you were not available so I had to amuse myself.

A little preparation goes a long way. Like the tall glass mug on the bedside table next to me, filled to almost full with not quite boiling water. Like another item, also made of glass. One with delicate swirls of color circling the smooth rounded dome of one end and a dark circular ring on the other. One that’s turned like a fine piece of art from the lathe of an artisan and studded with small ruby beads along its length.

Final preparations. Locking the door, vibrations of my childhood ringing around me. Pulling the blackout shades. Lowering the lights. Putting the stereo on quietly in the background. Swaying to the music and beginning to imagine you here with me. Eyes closed as my hands trace the buttons on my sweater, the metal buckle of my belt. Fingers undoing each button until the sweater rests lightly on my shoulders, open in front. A quick shrug and backward arch of my back, arms outstretched behind me, sends the soft wooly material gliding off my arms, allowing me to pretend it was your hands that slid it from my body.

Hips still swaying, eyes still closed so I can picture you in my mind, my hands moving to my hips, sliding down between my still-clad thighs, just a quick tease, before loosening my belt and undoing the button, the zipper, on my favorite pair of jeans.

It’s cold in my room. My fingers are cold. My nipples are hard against the lacy cups of my bra. It’s time to change locations. Get comfortable. Get warmed up.

Climbing onto the bed on all fours, I make my final preparations. The soft tinkle of glass on glass sends a shiver through me as my favorite piece of intimate art slides into the waiting glass of hot water. I’m shivering from cold and excitement when I slip under my thick covers, hands feeling even icier than before.

Curling under the blankets in the fetal position, I press my hands together as though in prayer and tuck them between the tight seam of my thighs, searching for elusive warmth. What I find instead is the insistent throbbing between my legs. Hands still, I begin with small movements of my hips, arching my lower back, pushing my ass away from my body as my chilled fingers warm. The seam of my jeans pulls taut against hard knot of desire between my legs with the slightest, most delicious pressure.

One hand pulls away, finding the undone buckle of my belt, tracing the cold circular piece of steel. The quiet chink of metal on metal sends another shiver through me. Hips moving a little faster now, pushing my ass a little farther back, increasing the pressure of my jeans between my legs as the air under my covers heats up.

Cold air slips under the edges of my blankets when I roll onto my back. Bending my knees raises a tent under the covers. Thinking of you again now that I’m warm enough to enjoy myself. Fingers of one hand rest on my lower belly before gathering the material of my top out of my waistband. Flat palm running along the taut muscles of my belly, feeling the smooth hot skin underneath my fingertips, imagining your hand on my skin.

2073 A.D.

Ada awoke alone in her bed, a headache pounding at her temples. The headaches were getting worse and the public health clinic offered little help. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Avoiding the cracked, discolored mirror, she typed her water ration code into the keypad mounted next to the stall and twisted the dials.

The ancient pipes let out a creaking groan before spitting icy brackish water from the shower head. She stripped, shivering as she stepped under the water. It smelled faintly of sulfur and something unmentionable. The only benefit of the three-minute shower allotment lay in the fact that the unpleasant experience was over quickly.

Ada toweled off and climbed back into her bed, savoring the lingering warmth for as long as she dared. She was still shivering though not as much when the clock told her it was time to put on her uniform and leave for work.

Out on the street, she made her way through the throngs of people migrating to work. The clean, shiny facades of the housing units she passed hid their shabby, run-down interiors. Fresh paint, litter-free thoroughfares, and artificial landscaping couldn’t hide the choking grey fog of pollution that blanketed Alb Byon. Some people wore cheap paper face masks but most of the people she passed, including herself, simply endured the stifling, toxic air.

The residential sector gave way to nondescript industrial zones populated by immaculate, windowless towers. Ada trudged to her building and submitted to the full body scan. The interior was just as devoid of warmth and personal expression as the rest of the sector. Everyone wore the same drab uniform identifying him or her as citizens of the city. The only distinguishing marks were the shiny metal insignia pinned to their collars.

Her status as a Level 4 Nexus specialist granted her access to the ground floor of the building. The lower your status, the higher up in the tower you had to work and the more dehumanizing the surroundings. Level 4’s had the dubious luxury of lighting that mimicked sunlight and an easy escape from the building in case of attack.

Ada wound her way through the maze of stations and took her seat inside the tiny booth. The LCD walls of her station sat grey and inert, waiting for her input. She logged in, enduring another invasive scan. After clearing security, the display hummed to life. Ada fitted her interface into place on her head and braced herself for the connection. A brief electrical current zapped her neurons when the probe entered the port at the base of her skull.

“Good morning, Ada,” the electronic voice in her head said.

“Good morning,” she thought.

“Do you pledge to be an upstanding citizen of Alb Byon promoting peace and harmony among our people?”

“Yes. Alb Byon is utopia.”

“Do you believe the government is fair and just?”

“Yes. The Mindors provide for all my needs and wants. They are the one true brotherhood of humanity.”

“Stand by for the day’s updates and your assignment.”

Ada braced herself for the invasive download from the central government server. For most, it was a pleasant experience. For Ada, it was a shocking wave of alien electrical current. The databanks imbedded in all citizens of Alb Byon at birth programmed the population to accept and obey the directives downloaded into their minds by the Mindors, Ada included. All that had changed five years ago when Fareed had forced himself into her life.

# # #

2068 A.D.

Ada made her way down the deserted sidewalk, her pace brisk. Stinging rain poured from the dark sky, the acidic drops burning her eyes. She swiped dirty water from her face and pulled her hood farther out trying to protect her exposed skin.

Work had run four hours overtime but Ada didn’t mind. She was happy to do it plus it was a Friday. Her work was important. It made her part of the majestic city and guaranteed her safety and comfort. The only thing that made her uneasy was being out on the streets after evening residential hours. Unless you had special permissions granted by the central server, everyone was required to be inside their assigned housing unit between the hours between 18:00 and 06:00.

The quiet beep issuing from the GPS security towers every 100 feet confirmed to the server that Ada was on her way home and had permission to be out after hours. Halfway to her home unit, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Dread pricked between her shoulder blades. Though she was unaccustomed to any negative feelings, the feeling that someone was watching her had become a constant companion over the last four weeks. It was starting to really creep her out but she had no idea what to do about it.

Ada slowed her pace hoping to catch the sound of footsteps but it was impossible to hear anything over the pounding rain. She glanced in the mirrored surfaces of the buildings she passed trying to see behind her. Rivulets of rain distorted the images into a crazy fun house kaleidoscope. Worried that her curfew pass would expire before she arrived home, Ada began to run.

She arrived at her building out of breath and near panic. Twice she punched in the wrong code, which sent her into near hysterics. A third mistake would bring instant trouble in the form of armed sentinels. Ada forced herself to step back and take deep breaths. The last thing she needed was a security breach on her record.

Her hands balled into tight fists, Ada closed her eyes and concentrated on calming down. One breath. Two. The panic began to recede. A third breath was all she dared. Her time was almost up and she still had to gain access to her building and type her code into the keypad of her apartment to let the server know she was home.

She was about to open her eyes when strong arms cinched around her. A hand pressed against her mouth muffling her startled scream.

“Shhh. Please don’t scream again. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Ada struggled against whoever held her. The arm around her chest tightened.

“Please don’t. I need you, Ada.” read more »