Ann felt as though she was going to faint.
All of a sudden, Jerry grabbed her and began shaking her mercilessly, his face contorted in a maniacal fit of rage.
“I went to all of this time and trouble for you, you bitch! And what do I get in return? Another turndown! You’re a big fucking disappointment, Ann!”
Ann cried out in agony as she felt his hands digging into her flesh.
“Please, Jerry…”
“ Please fucking what? Please let go of me? Please take me home? Why, bitch? Why should I do anything else for you? What have you done for me to deserve any mercy? I’ve done everything for you-all of this-but you haven’t given me one goddamn thing in return!”
He ceased shaking her and looked away for a moment. Then he stared at Ann, his expression softer, feigning compassion. “I’m sorry, Ann. I really need to get a handle on this temper of mine. I get a bit irrational when I get angry and then I start making mistakes. That’s not acceptable. Especially in the spy gig. Do forgive me, please.”
Ann was trembling. She forgot the excruciating pain in her shoulders while she struggled to figure out how she was going to get away from this raging lunatic. She realized that she was totally at his mercy, no matter what, and that her only chance for survival, if only for a few minutes, was to keep silent and do whatever he demanded. She simply had no choice.
He brought his hands down and clasped onto hers, smiled like a lover getting ready to propose. “Why, you’re freezing cold, Ann. Let’s get in the water,” he said gently.
Ann forced a nod, lowered herself down into the steaming, churning water along with Jerry. The warmth seeped into her skin and had a graciously sobering effect.
“There now, that’s better,” he breathed softly. Gazing into her eyes, he said, “Do you know how many times I’ve longed for this moment, Ann? To be with you like this, holding your hands? Countless. It means a lot more to me than you could ever imagine. A long time ago, I dreamt of a moment just like this, to be with a beautiful woman, intimately, enjoying her beauty, the softness of her skin and knowing that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Do you know what I mean?”
Ann nodded.
“But I never had much luck making that dream materialize. Women have never been able to understand me for some reason. But you, Ann, you seemed different ever since the first time I ever laid eyes on you. Yes, I admit it now. I lied about my once having a wife. I was trying to make you feel sorry for me. Do you forgive me?”
Ann nodded again.
“A guy gets lonely sometimes. He needs a release, a break from all of the frustration. That’s what this is all about, Ann. I need a release. A little female accompaniment that’s not forced-voluntary. I really don’t want to hurt you. I just want you to play along-to let me realize that dream. If only for just a few moments. Do you think you could do that for me, Ann?”
Although her head was reeling, Ann managed to appear relatively calm. What was her alternative, she thought, if she didn’t play along?
She stared into his eyes and pretended that Jerry Rankin was still the tall, dark stranger she had thought him to be.
“Yes, I can,” she replied.
His eyes lit up. He looked like an adolescent who had just gotten the go-ahead to kiss his first girl ever. He let go of her hands and reached around her back. Ann clenched her teeth as she felt him unfasten her top then watched hopelessly as it fell into the swirling water.
He smiled nervously again, like a schoolboy who had just scored his first adolescent victory. Ann was immediately reminded of the first and only awkward kiss he had given her on their date that Friday night.
He brought his hands around and gingerly cupped her breasts. Even in the weak light, Ann could see the tiny beads of sweat forming on his brow as he merely stood there for a full minute, fondling. Ann had the impulse to run but thought better of it. She would have to wait.
“God, they’re so soft! And firm!” he gasped, nearly choking on his own words. “Please stand up, Ann. I want to see them.”
It was difficult to compose herself as she stood up. Jerry removed his hands from her breasts and stared at them in utter fascination-as if he’d never seen a woman’s breasts before. Ann was so taken aback by his childish behavior that she nearly broke out laughing. He was just like a little kid in a candy shop.
Ann ever so subtly began inching her way slowly toward the other side of the tub, praying that he wouldn’t notice. He grasped her breasts again, brought his head down and kissed one of her nipples, as one would approach a spoonful of hot soup.
“I’m getting really excited here, Ann,” he murmured gutturally. “I never knew it could be this good.”
Ann took a gamble. “Are you ready to make love to me, Jerry?”
He paused and thought for a moment.
“God, I don’t know! I don’t know if I can wait any longer. It’s so different- you’re so different! I’m so used to women whining at me, ‘Don’t do that to me, please!’ And fighting me off. Jesus, Ann, I don’t know how much more of this I can take! I think I’m going to pop my fucking cork! We’re fucking made for each other, don’t you think?”
Jerry had grasped her breasts again and hadn’t noticed that Ann had ever so gradually led them to the other side of the tub. Ann stared down at him, in awe and contempt, Jerry Rankin’s eyes gaping at her boobs as if he were examining a rare archaeological find.
He suddenly whisked one of his hands away and crammed it down into his trunks. He was playing with himself! He glimpsed at Ann with a hideous, apologetic smirk just as Ann snatched up the wine glass and smacked it into his cheek with all the force she could muster.
For a split second, Jerry Rankin merely stared at her dumbfounded, not certain of what had just happened. Blood gushed out from a deep gash near his temple and streamed down his right cheek. Ann sprang up and out of the water. She instantly realized in horror that her only escape was back through the house-there were no exits to the outside.
“Come back here, you fucking bitch!” she heard him scream as she bounded across the solarium to the door and bolted into the house. She spotted the front door and made a beeline for it, the living room carpet feeling soft and warm beneath her bare feet. When she reached the door she turned the knob and pulled but the door wouldn’t budge. In a hysterical panic, she fumbled with the latch, unlocked it and pulled again. The door refused to move. Ann could hear Jerry cursing at her and the sound of splashing water as he climbed out of the tub just as she spotted the keyhole for the deadbolt. He had locked the door from the inside and taken the key!
She was trapped inside the house-there were no other doors!
Jerry bolted into the living room and sprinted toward her. Ann darted over to the spiral staircase and stubbed her toe as she scampered up the wrought iron stairs toward the second floor. She glanced down in terror as she eyed Rankin, racing up toward her holding a bloody towel against the side of his head.
Ann stood frozen on the landing, uncertain of what to do next. Rankin was halfway up the stairway by now, a sinister grin on his face and eyes that meant murder. Ann glanced further up the staircase at the hatch leading to the loft and knew she had no choice but to ascend the stairs further and pray she could get through the hatch before Jerry Rankin caught up with her.
Ann bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. reached the top, pushed with all her might on the hatch door using both hands and her shoulder. The door was incredibly heavy but finally gave way with a creaking twang of springs. Ann suddenly felt a hand snatch her by the ankle. She glanced down at Rankin and saw that he had reached through the stairs and grabbed her. She screamed and jerked her ankle away from his clasped hand as a sudden jolt of adrenaline kicked in then managed to climb up the rest of the way into the loft It was pitch dark…