work in progress

i need to post what i have thus far. i really need to get my head back into my actual work, work. not having any bosses around has been good for my creative productivity, but not so much on my actual “hey, this is gonna get you a paycheck” sort of productivity. so i’m posting what i have thus far so that when i finish work and go home, i can pick it back up.

—

Are you going to betray me?

There was only the slightest of hesitations before she gave her answer. It was an honest hesitation. He knew it. He knew an immediate answer would have been a lie. He knew one that took longer to give than she had would have also been a lie. Everything fell into place as it should have.

She thought about it for a moment. Did he know what was going through her head during this brief passing of time? No, probably not. It didn’t matter. She leaned upwards with her mind made up and kissed him.

Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the shades covering the windows in his room. It danced and bobbed on her exposed flesh. She was warm. He was alive. They made love for the second time since crawling into bed together the night prior.

It was decided then.

the tragic ballad of tomas vega

an ink story



by corey fleming







He came to her because he required the special services that only she and her kind could provide. Did he, on occasion, take advantage of her otherworldly beauty and physique? Sure. He was only human, and a man at that. He knew that he would be given a hard time the next time he saw Elias, but it didn’t bother him all that much. Elias, he figured, should be the one here seeking the services of an Undine over him. Unlike Elias, he was a master at keeping his cool. He was a master at caging the beast.

If that’s true, why are you here? He swatted the thought away as the door closed behind him. It was always the same room. It was dark, almost to the point of pitch blackness, and cold. He knew she would be seated in her customary place near the wall furthest from the door.

“You’re here early Tomas,” she said. He could feel her cool eyes on his body, sharp and intent.

“Can’t get enough of you, you know that.” He smirked as he pulled off his jacket, letting it fall to the floor. There was hardly any furniture in the room. Most of the rooms had at least a coat rack or small bench for clients to set their clothes on. Not her.

“I’m not so sure about that one Tomas.” He could hear her shift from her position. “The blonde I’ve seen you with makes me think otherwise.”

Tomas furrowed his brow. “I need a quick a session.” He was not about to get dragged into discussing Faye with her. Nothing so emotional with an Undine.

Sensing his discomfort with the subject, Namine eased the lights on. Not nearly bright enough to expose everything there was to see, but enough for him to make his way to the brass basin situated in the center of the open room.

It was still a shock to him, despite the numerous times he frequented her place, to see the room’s interior. The walls bobbed and pulsed like a river with a lazy current. The various shades of blue overlapping and mixing with one another truly gave off the feeling that one was actually under the water. This was impossible, considering the building had no basement. In fact, he was on the second floor. The lights were small pulsating strings, wafting close to the walls, as if they too were part of the underwater scenery.

He had heard of some of the other Undine in the place simulating water life into their rooms, small fish and coral fixated in the walls, but he preferred the way Namine had made hers. Vast and open, a seemingly endless expanse of nothing but water. Less busy.

“You know the drill then,” she said, watching as he had already started peeling off the layers of his clothes. Tie. Shirt. Shoes. Socks. Pants. Everything went until he was as naked as he was the day his mother had birthed him.

Most of her other clients grew erect at this point. She was, after all, quite an alluring creature to witness. There were no clothes covering her dark blue frame, most Undine had no need for clothes. Those in her line of work needed them even less. She was taller for one of her kind, and slender. Most Undine are small and slight of build, making a shorter human woman feel not as small as she actually is. Like the walls in the room, her flesh seemed to pulse and shift with every moment, like ripples on a pond. Full lips, almond eyes and a head of thick, long dark blue hair rounded out her already exotic appearance. Yes, most of her clientele made obvious their attraction to her.

Not Tomas. He hadn’t even gotten hard the first time they had performed this little deed together. He was a consummate professional and, even she had to admit, that detail irritated her. She lost the leverage she had over most of her clients when she was with him. He gave off nothing and always remained a closed book to her.

She stood and motioned to the basin as she moved toward him. He climbed into the empty tub, goose flesh rising over him as the cold metal inside greeted him. Tomas closed his eyes and let his breaths come in slow, rhythmic intervals. He was getting relaxed.

Namine looked down on him and afforded a small smile. He was so unlike her others. So different from the men who came to her seeking pleasure from the bonds an Undine could share with a mortal man. The temptations and promises that they could fulfill in ways no other woman could. And while she never tired of such liaisons, she appreciated her connection with this one far greater than her other dalliances. It was always a new discovery with Tomas.

“Are you ready, Tomas?” She stroked at his forehead. He was so cold.

“I’m ready.”

Namine brought her hand down the length of his face, droplets of water trailing in her wake. Little-by-little her features grew more and more translucent. They lost definition and firm shape. She grew warmer. When she felt the change start to travel up her arm, she leaned down, quite literally pouring herself atop him and into the basin. Water filled the tub. Namine filled the tub.

Tomas managed a soft, content sigh as the warm water flowed around him. It was an unusual feeling to find yourself suddenly buoyant amidst liquid you knew to be alive. For the most part, it was as if someone had poured hot water over him. Unlike bath water from a spout, the water that was Namine was thicker and softer. Not gel-like in any shape, but not exactly pure running liquid. There was still an indefinable firmness to it.

The Undine ran over every inch of his flesh, tugging gently this way and that, pouring herself into every open pore of flesh. Her voice echoed in his mind.

Relax Tomas. Let me in.

Hearing her soft words, he let himself be pulled completely down into the water. She smothered his face with her warmth. He held his breath, preparing himself for the part that always seemed the most jarring. Clients that had been seeing her for years longer than the man presently occupying her tub still had trouble with the part that came next. It was just so natural a thing not to do.

Tomas was different. With only the slightest of hesitations, he inhaled. The liquid filled his nostrils and slid with ease down his throat. He did not squirm or thrash like so many others did. He remained poised and calm. In total control. He was always in control.

And then, there was darkness.