She said to Medra, "When Fergus, long before he made himself known to
you, told me of Lawrence Morrow, and that the man was indeed a direct descendent
of Theodoric and Edgard, I had to do something. Of course, upon learning that
Evelyn Morrow suffered greatly under Morrow's cruel thumb, that further drove me
to seek the vengeance I so eagerly wanted to exact..."
******
Lawrence Morrow smiled at his latest triumph – a hostile takeover of a rival's promising new business. Who was that rival? A man who once vied for the affections of Evelyn Green, the woman who Larry vowed to make his own. And he did that, too. Took the woman away from her one true love, only to treat her with abject cruelty and abuse.
Lawrence was a handsome man in his late 50's. He had dark brown hair that began to gray at the temples, arresting blue eyes that conveyed no warmth or love, just cold cunning. A man of medium height and build – just shy of 5'11" and possessing a handsome if not an athlete's body – Larry prided himself in his professional accomplishments. A savvy, often times ruthless, businessman, Larry Morrow built an eclectic empire ranging from computer software to restaurants. If money was to made, Larry was in on it, even it meant usurping another's venture.
Now, this other man, Evan Tanguy, was the
sworn enemy of Larry. Evan, the complete opposite of his rival in both love and
business, was forever at Morrow's mercy. Too many times Evan lost out on a
lucrative deal because of Larry's finagling, not to mention the lost love of
Evelyn. Larry, satisfied that another notch was in his long belt of ill-gotten
wealth, prepared for home. It had been another, most productive day, and Larry
was in need of relaxation. He surveyed his office, a well appointed suite with
its oak-paneled walls, rich leather chairs, and expensive artwork. Just as Larry prepared to leave, his secretary, Millie, handed him a note. "A
young woman came by to see you, sir," she said in crisp deference. Larry
quickly scanned the note, not recognizing the handwriting nor the name. Ah, another to add to his growing list
of minions. If this Ms. Håmasko indeed has information on Tanguy
– damaging, I hope – then it will be the last proverbial nail in the
coffin. At last! I can finally defeat that weakling, that coward who doesn't
deserve crumbs, let alone success. HE is the reason my Evelyn took her own
life...
In Larry's
spacious office with its spectacular view of the skyline, bay, and bridge, there
was a particular portrait that commanded immediate attention. The portrait was
decidedly medieval, depicting a man of incredible wealth and power. The subject
of the painting was Theodoric, Earl of Fairfax, a man with a deserved reputation
for ruthlessness. Larry prided himself on acquiring this lovely work because
Theodoric was his direct ancestor. Before leaving for the day, he studied the
man depicted, a handsome man with dark hair and arresting blue eyes just like
Larry's. Theodoric and Larry were so much alike, inside and out. And it pleased
Larry that his daughter, Jamie, carried on the family tradition of "Take no
prisoners. Grab power whenever the opportunity arises, by whatever means
necessary. And if lives are ruined in the end, so be it! Weaklings and 'nice'
people never get ahead. Only the strong and powerful survive." It was a dictum
Larry lived out everyday, and so did Jamie who was every inch a splitting image
of her father.
"And
what is this Ms. Håmasko's business?," Larry asked curtly. Lillie, used to her
boss' flaring temper and imperious manner, only replied, "She said she wanted to
meet with you this evening. Paul Morrow was with her, and she said that she had
pertinent information about Mr. Tanguy."
"Mr. Morrow," said Lillie, waiting for further instructions, "will
there be anything else?"
"No, Lillie. On second thought..." He remained long
enough to give his secretary a lengthy list of duties to perform yet this
evening. So what if she has to stay well into the night. She should be thankful
she has a job at all. Such loyal women are hard to find, and Lillie is the best;
she never complains. With a barely dejected sigh, Lillie obeyed her boss and
carried out his orders with no questions asked. Once Larry left, she picked up
the phone, dialed a number, then spoke to the person on the other end. "He fell
for it," was all she said.
******
"Samira," asked Medra, "so was it Lillie who helped set up Lawrence, but why?
I thought you did this on your own."
To this the dragon replied, "Medra, I had
to have several people on my side. Paul was one, Lillie the second. I had my
reasons for befriending Paul, as to which Fergus can attest. As for Lillie, I
can't reveal much, but she plays a strong role. You see, by virtue of working
so closely with Morrow, she was privy to much of his personal life, even related
to me much about the wife, Evelyn."
"Fergus told me the truth about Evelyn. But, Samira, is she – was she – truly..."
Samira smiled as a bittersweet
memory engulfed her momentarily. It was Morib who confirmed it all for Medra,
who by now was totally mesmerized by her draconic friend's adventurous tale.
"Tell us more, my dear," said Medra.
******
"Dad, I want to introduce you to Astrid Håmasko."
Paul Morrow, a handsome young man of thirty, graciously poured his father a whiskey and soda then made the formal introductions. Now Larry, thoroughly interested in what Astrid had on Evan Tanguy, never quite cottoned to his son. To Larry, Paul was so unlike him or Jamie. Paul, while a pleasant, easygoing young man, hadn't possessed that reckless, ruthless streak, the very traits Larry prized above all others. He was thankful Paul never followed in his footsteps. What an awful businessman he would make, with his quiet, introverted, insightful ways.
Paul
was quite the academic, preferring scholarly pursuit over making money. Just
recently, Paul secured an assistant professorship at UC-Berkley, but his father
was not at all pleased. To Larry, scholarly pursuit, books, music, art, all
things intellectual were signs of weakness. Actually Larry made it no secret
that he hated his son as much as he adored his daughter. But, now, at least,
Paul did something right for a change. Larry smiled pleasantly as his son
introduced the knockout blonde lady.
"Ms. Håmasko, pleased to meet you," he
said, graciously shaking her hand. She was a sight to behold. Statuesque (just
shy of 5'10"), curvaceous, long-legged, blonde, startling lavender eyes. Astrid,
for this occasion, wore a tight black leather dress that exposed those
delectably shapely legs. Her hair was upswept in a becoming 'do, and her
matching sandal's heels – my goodness! – had to be a good four inches. They only
added to Astrid's towering height. She spoke in a breathy alto that seemed to
send Larry's pulse racing.
"Mr. Morrow, I do hope you'll forgive me for the
intrusion, but when I heard about your latest acquisition, I had to meet you."
Larry, waving Paul aside, responded, "Ms. Håmasko..."
"Oh please call me
Astrid."
"Well, Astrid. I don't know what your business is. Are you a reporter?"
"Oh no, sir. I was...Well, let's just say we have something, make that someone,
in common: Evan Tanguy."
******
Medra suddenly remembering what Fergus said that, in another life, he is Evan
Tanguy. He told her the truth about being Paul's biological father, and about
his true love, Evelyn. Medra couldn't believe this! And Samira, though the
dragon never kept such secrets from her, had REAL reasons for doing in Lawrence
Morrow. She asked Samira just that, to which Morib responded, "It is all true,
dear friend. You see, the woman who Morrow stole from Tanguy is, in fact–"
"No, Morib!," said Samira. "I wanted to wait until the time was right, but..."
She hesitated but knew deep down that Fergus had to have told Medra
everything. "Yes, it is all true. Evelyn, in reality, was my sister."
******
Many days went by as Astrid and Larry became more than
just good friends. Actually, Larry pursued the relationship, not just because
Astrid was the kind of woman he craved. No, he wanted to pump the woman for
information concerning Evan Tanguy. It was no secret that Larry Morrow nursed an
almost obsessive hatred of Evan, although the man did nothing to harm Larry or
his family. Why did Larry want to make Evan suffer so? He had his reasons but
they were so petty, so insignificant, that, upon close examination, it
absolutely made no sense. Many of Larry's business associates gossiped amongst
themselves that Larry Morrow always possessed this need to vanquish anyone he
deemed as getting in the way of what he wanted. There were rumors that Larry was
not Paul's biological father, that, immediately after marrying Evelyn, he abused
the woman in the cruelest ways. They never saw Mrs. Morrow in public, except
when Larry needed her to "show off" at highly visible social functions. Yes,
Lawrence Morrow got his trophy wife, although she really meant nothing to him.
But now, with this woman, Astrid, Larry felt he could be on top again in the
romance department. To him, Astrid possessed everything Larry prized in a woman:
striking beauty, a sexiness guaranteed to arouse envy in his associates and
friends, and a cunning mind that nearly equaled Larry's.
So, within the next few weeks, Lawrence Morrow wined and dined Astrid, taking
her to expensive restaurants, art galleries and the opera (although Larry hated
the performing and visual art scene, he indulged Astrid). Perhaps, if he played
his cards right, Astrid could indulge him in exotic bed games. She does seem, he
surmised, the type who would delve deep within, unleashing the savage fetishes to
which Evelyn never had the stomach.
Evelyn... That woman popped in Larry's mind again. Too bad she wasn't quite the perfect
wife, but she fulfilled her role, giving Larry two beautiful children. Well, at
least one child turned out the Larry wanted; he insisted on rearing Jamie
himself after seeing Evelyn's parenting fiasco with Paul.
Who was Evelyn, and
why did Larry so desperately wanted to make her his wife? And why, if he wanted
her so badly, mistreat her?
******
"He never knew Evelyn's true identity," said Samira. "It was during that final night, when he insisted that we..."
The dragon turned her face as not wanting her mate or friends see the tears. Medra, going to Samira, placed her hands upon the dragon's ebony snout. She asked, "What did Morrow do to you?"
Samira, still smarting inside from the memories, looked at Morib, her faithful mate. Well, at least he has been faithful, although I can't say the same about myself. But...it's my nature. I can't alter my penchant for carnal relations; it gives me so much pleasure. Besides, what I did with Lawrence could hardly be called "making love."
"Medra, believe me when I tell you that Lawrence Morrow indeed possessed his
forebears' cruel streak, by the way he used and degraded women." "Are you
saying," said Medra, "that Morrow 'used and degraded' you? How? Surely he
didn't..."
"Oh no, my dear girl," replied the sexy dragon, "I never let him get the upper
hand. I only led him to believe otherwise. But let me say that his tastes for
'bedroom games' ran far into fetishism, sadism..."
******
Astrid, by virtue of her astounding beauty and her
penchant for outrageously sensual fashion, had men literally nipping at her
heels. She was certainly a treat for the male eye, and she had this power that
made the most ordinary man swell with lust and desire. But she had eyes for one
man, and that man was Lawrence Morrow. Deep inside, she never "loved" the man,
in fact she hated him with every fiber of her being. Why? Only she would reveal
those reasons in good time. For now, she wanted to drive Larry to such
distraction that when the time came to make her final move, the man would
literally beg for his life.
On this night, which would be their first lovemaking session, Larry invited
Astrid for dinner – just them and his children. While Astrid adored Paul for his
gentleness and keen intellect, she hated Jamie's imperiousness, arrogance, and
outright cruelty. Certainly, to Astrid's eyes, Jamie was a lovely girl –
dark-haired, blue-eyed, tall and slender. But outward good looks often hide a
repellant monster inside. And that monster seemed to bubble to the surface,
albeit just a tad.
It was a pleasant evening, to be sure, but Astrid became increasingly uneasy
with Jamie's third degree. The girl asked never-ending questions about Astrid's
family, home, and the real reasons she wanted to "hook up" with Daddy.
"Jamie!,"
said Larry, before Astrid could reply, "Don't ask such questions. Ms. Håmasko is
our guest. Now stop this third degree." Astrid said nothing other than, "Miss
Morrow, if you must know, I was born in Norway, but have spent much of my life
in England." Jamie interrupted,
"Miss Håmasko, where in England do you live now?" Astrid was rather taken aback
by Jamie's rudeness. Just when she was getting along so well with the son, the
daughter steps in and tries seizes any and all.
Just like her forebears,
Theodoric and Edgard. Oh, I must put a stop to this taking over...
Looking
Jamie squarely in the eyes, she coolly replied, "Jamie...May I call you Jamie? I
live here now, if it is any of your concern. And I don't like it when someone
interrupts a conversation." Miss Morrow's eyes shot deadly darts, the usually pretty
mouth down turned into a pronounced pout and frown. Feeling insulted, she turned
to her father, saying, "Daddy, are you going to let–" Jamie Morrow sat there, saying nothing, and fully hating Ms. Håmasko even
more. Paul was the opposite, silently cheering on Astrid for besting his sister.
For once, someone had the nerve to put Jamie down, and Dad didn't come to her
defense. Usually Larry would make those who ever insulted or harassed his
children (Well, just Jamie; Larry didn't care if Paul received the business end
of a bully), pay dearly for their indiscretions. The penalty could be loss of
employment, a set-up scandal, or financial ruin.
"Which," said a very interested Paul, "explains your accent. You
know my specialty is Western Civilization and History. Hey, why don't you drop
by the university tomorrow, that is if you're not too busy–"
"Now, Jamie, Astrid is
only becoming quite weary of all your probing." He then said, to Astrid,
"Once the kids have left, we'll have the house to ourselves."
******
"Paul wondered if his father would do something to me," said Samira, "after I
took down his daughter a few notches. The friction between Jamie and myself
became more strained, with Larry 'teaching' me never to insult his precious
daughter."
"But Samira," asked Medra, "you never told me how you found out about your
sister. And you have still to tell how you got closer to Paul."
To that, Morib said, "Medra, I can tell you all about Evelyn in good time. As
for Paul Morrow, I believe both Fergus and Samira can explain better than I
can."
Then Samira took a deep breath, recalling her first sexual encounter with
Lawrence Morrow. It was not quite moonlight and roses; in fact, what transpired
that night was a never-ending session of depravity and debauchery.
"Morib, you know I've had many lovers. But this Morrow villain...While as
Astrid I could play along with the man's shocking fetishes, but..."
Her mate laughed, saying, "It is not like what we share, my love."
"Nor," rejoined Medra, "like our love for each other."
"No it wasn't," replied Samira. "In the span of three days I learned much about
Lawrence, and that his ways with women perfectly echoes those of Edgard and
Theodoric. All the while I coupled with him, I could see all of Lord Fairfax and
the Blue Knight's victims...Lucy, Mirinda, Griselda, your parents...countless
women and men whose lives were ruined..."
The dragon then went on to recount that first night when she, in the guise of the human Astrid, allowed Larry Morrow to master her, conquer her. It would be his last.
TO BE CONTINUED...Go to Chapter 7
Copyright©2003, 2004 by Pepper Shriver* (PRP). All Rights
Reserved.
*My pen name :-)