The Bet: Part 9

Hello everyone!

Another setup chapter here! Self-reflection! Angst! Mind games! Character development! This chapter has it all!

Next chapter will get back to some fucking, one way or another, I promise.

Loving your comments and votes, keep them coming!

...

The car ride home from the spa was awkward to say the least. Dan made one or two half-hearted attempts to engage his wife in conversation, but Claire didn’t bite. She was still angry at Dan, for one. He had been misleading her this entire time, letting her believe that he had cut off his friendship with Zane like she asked.

But more importantly, Claire’s brain was roiling and buzzing with conflicted emotions right now. She simply didn’t have the bandwidth for light conversation. She laid her head against the cool car window and closed her eyes, trying to calm her whirling thoughts and feelings. She needed to take stock. 

Claire hated Zane. For the past few weeks, he had been a constant thorn in her side, getting under her skin with his arrogance, pushy demeanor, and crass tastes. She had also just watched him have sex. And not just any sex: filthy, red-hot fucking that, as annoying as it was to admit, proved at least some of what Zane claimed about his own dominant nature. 

Seeing Zane have sex had turned Claire on. There was no getting around that: she had even orgasmed touching herself while she watched. Rather than trying to deny that, the more important thing was to think about what that arousal meant. Claire furrowed her brow as she probed her feelings carefully. Did she find Zane attractive? Claire was relieved to find that the answer was a firm “no”. Zane’s squat, hairy little body was still repelling to her. 

So what exactly had turned her on? 

She knew the answer, although she didn’t like it. The dominance had made her horny. The power that Zane held over Leah. The way that Leah had shown her distaste for Zane, but still wasn’t able to help herself from submitting to his animal lust. 

Claire’s eyes opened and flicked over to Dan, who was driving the car in silence with a troubled look on his face. She had molded her husband into a passive, and yes, submissive, partner in bed. Zane had awakened a need for something more inside her. A thirst for powerful masculinity that Claire didn’t know she had. That is what made her so turned on watching Zane have sex with Leah. 

Claire let out a long sigh. Dan looked over, but she still wasn’t prepared to engage him right now and ignored him. So… she had a submissive side she never knew existed. That was annoying in many ways, but it was also a relief. It meant that this wasn’t actually about Zane at all. Right now, Dan couldn’t scratch that itch… but she had shaped him once, hadn’t she? Claire would simply have to work with Dan to figure out a system. One where she could opt in to submissive sexual encounters when she felt the urge to be dominated. She was sure it would take him some practice to get the hang of it, but they had all the time in the world. 

As for the idea that she would see her dominant fix from Zane… the idea remained laughable. As if he was the only man on the planet with a big dick and a pushy attitude! If Claire was willing to cheat on her husband (which obviously she wasn’t), she could go out to any nightclub in the city and find a man just as obnoxious as Zane and ten times better looking in five minutes. 

She conceded the fact that Zane might be good at sex. Leah had certainly seemed to think so. But Claire would never in a million years allow Zane to touch her. For many reasons. She was married. It was unprofessional. He was gross. 

But most importantly, above all other considerations, was this: Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She had decided long ago that Zane was beneath her, and nothing in heaven or earth would make her bend down to his level. 

By the time they got home, Claire felt better enough that she allowed Dan to rub her feet while they watched some TV. Things were already beginning to make sense to her again now that she had straightened up her thoughts. 

…

Zane parked in front of Claire’s office and looked at himself in the rearview. No matter how well he did with women, no matter how much money he made, he still felt that tiny sting of self-loathing when he looked at himself. A feeling that perfect hotties like Dan and his smokeshow of a wife would never understand. 

Zane didn’t waste much time with self-reflection normally, but he knew why he acted the way he did. Maybe on the inside he was still the despised fat ass all alone on prom night, or some maudlin crap like that. He had left-behind self-pity and tears long ago. Ever since college he had worn his repulsive looks like a badge of honor, proudly saying to the world, “Yeah, I do look like shit. And I can still get any woman I want, so what does that say about you?” He had taken his physical flaws and made them just another part of his mental strength. 

Today would be an important step forward in his latest conquest. Claire was the kind of woman who had never submitted to anyone. There was a certain type of attractive woman who could pick her way through life, surrounding themselves with fawning men, avoiding strong-willed males entirely, and calling themselves powerful and strong from the inevitable contrast. 

Zane had no doubt that Claire was coming up with a complex reason why peeping on him having sex didn’t matter or didn’t count somehow. Arrogant women like her were very talented at self-deception. That was why Zane was going to make Claire build a trophy case to house the panties his conquests had gifted him. It was something that Claire would never do on her own. When she finally gave in and agreed, it would be impossible for her to weasel out of the truth: she was doing it because he said so. Perfect proof, even for a self-absorbed woman like Claire, that she had submitted to his will. 

But it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. After watching Zane thoroughly dominate another woman, Claire would be flustered and on the back foot. But she was stubborn, and probably more suspicious of Zane than ever. He was going to have to come at this with everything he had. 

But Zane wasn’t intimidated as he hopped out of his luxury SUV and strolled into the office. He was exhilarated. This is what he lived for: his revenge on all the perfect, pretty people who looked down on him. He would be the one looking down on Claire soon enough, as she used that sharp little tongue to please him. 

Claire was going to design a fucking trophy case for him, and by the time it was finished, the classy, demure panties Zane was sure she wore would be taking the place of honor in his collection.

…

Claire was a little frustrated with herself. She felt nervous and awkward about her meeting with Zane, but there was no reason for that feeling. She had seen him naked, but the essential terms of their relationship hadn’t changed in the slightest. He was still beneath her, and she was still going to prove that while taking his money. 

But, no matter how much she repeated that to herself, she still felt a strange twist of anxiety in her belly when she saw Zane again for the first time since the spa. She could see him arrive at the reception desk through her office door, laughing and chatting with Perlah (who seemed a little too flirty, come to think of it. Maybe Claire should have a word with her). Just the sight of his face made red-hot memories jolt through her mind. Zane, kneeling behind Leah to aggressively eat her out from behind… Pinning the cheating wife’s soft, bottom-heavy body to the massage table with his thick cock. 

Just as those disturbing, arousing memories flooded her mind. Zane turned, seeing her through the door. His face split into his infuriating grin, and he gave her a little wave, turning to walk toward her. 

Desperately trying to stop herself from thinking about the size and shape of her least favorite client’s cock, Claire rose to greet him. The meeting had begun. 

Zane held out his hand to shake, but it immediately reminded Claire of how he had used that same hand to grip Leah’s braid, using it like a handle as he fucked her mouth. She ignored the hand and gestured for him to sit, doing her best to clamp down on her imagination. This had been exactly what she was afraid of… Her purpose in peeping on Zane having sex in the first place was to gain a mental edge by seeing how pathetic he truly was. That had backfired. The fact that Zane had actually performed impressively was making it difficult to maintain the cool, dismissive attitude she had always tried to take with him. 

If Zane was offended by her refusal to shake hands, he didn’t show it. He leaned back comfortably in the chair on the other side of Claire’s desk and rested his hands on his gut with a contented expression. “Good to see you, Claire Bear! It feels like forever since we’ve last checked in with this project!” he said jovially. “Although I guess you did see me this weekend for other reasons, didn’t you?”

Claire blushed as a spike of adrenaline shot through her. Had Zane noticed that she was watching? She opened her mouth to make an excuse, then caught herself. He meant in the pedicure room. “Um… well. Yes. I suppose I did,” she said haltingly, looking anywhere but Zane’s piggy eyes, twinkling with some secret amusement. This meeting had barely begun, and it already felt like things were twisting out of her grasp. How did Zane have such a talent for flustering her? “Anyway,” she said, a decisive tone creeping back into her voice. “Let’s get to business.” She forced herself to meet Zane’s gaze, her eyes hard. She would push through this awkwardness with sheer force of will if she had to. 

“Agreed,” said Zane with a smirk. “I want to discuss the panty presentation case that you’ll be designing for me.”  

He said it with such straightforward confidence that Claire was momentarily confused. “Excuse me?” she said, not even outraged, just genuinely thinking there must be a misunderstanding. “Mr. Kruger, we already discussed this. I said that…”

“Call me Zane,” said the repellent man, cutting Claire off sharply. His face was still relaxed and smiling, but his eyes suddenly glittered with a hint of steel that took Claire aback. 

“What?” she asked, off balance once again in an instant. 

“I call you by your first name,” said Zane smoothly, his voice smooth and unthreatening. “It seems like it would be polite to reciprocate.”

Claire bit the inside of her cheek to keep a sour look off her face. Refusing to use his first name had been a deliberate attempt to snub him. But now that he had brought it up directly, she couldn’t continue without looking petty. “Fine,” she said flatly, feeling a little outmaneuvered, even if it was for something insignificant, “Zane, I already told you that I would have no part in designing the juvenile little showcase you have planned.”

Zane held up a finger. “No, Claire. We said we would table the discussion. Now I want to discuss it again. I’m afraid that I must insist. You will make me a trophy case to display the favors from women I have slept with. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Claire just stared at him, stunned. Zane had heard a straightforward refusal, but he didn’t seem shaken or deterred in the least. He had simply pushed through her refusal with his usual infuriating confidence, completely unbothered. It was one of the most stunningly arrogant reactions she had ever seen, and she worked with the rich and famous. His ugly face, with its bulging eyes and scruffy stubble, had an expression of certainty that made her want to slap him. … But she also couldn’t help but wonder: was this the same sort of attitude that had gotten him into the pants of women out of his league? Women a thousand times more attractive than him? Smart, confident, independent women? Married women? 

This pushy, arrogant attitude had to be effective to some extent if he was that successful, right? More images flashed through Claire’s head… Leah calling Zane Daddy in a whimpering voice, The sight of Zane’s initials tattooed on a married woman’s ass, Leah faltering on her refusal to let Zane impregnate her just before he came. Claire fought to keep the filthy memories out of her head before the blush she felt forming became obvious. 

“Well, I’m sorry, Zane. But whether you like the answer or not, no is no,” she said, wincing internally at how defensive she sounded. Focus, idiot! Don’t let him throw you!

“If money is the issue, I’d be happy to…” began Zane with a condescending smirk.

“It isn’t a question of money!” The very idea was annoying to Claire. Zane must think he could buy anyone he wanted. But it wouldn’t work on her. 

“I’d like you to explain your refusal then,” said Zane sharply, still not thrown off in the slightest by Claire’s firm “no”. “I’ve seen your work before. I even have a few acquaintances whom you’ve designed for in the past. They tell me that you occasionally refuse certain design choices, but refusing to design a specific element when given free rein on how it would look and incorporate it into the room? That’s unheard of for you.” 

So Zane had been talking to her other clients? Claire leaned back in her chair, staring at him with her lips drawn into a thin line of disapproval. As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a point, in a twisted, backward way. It was unusual for her to refuse outright to design an element of a room. But these were special circumstances after all. 

“It’s simple,” said Claire challengingly, not backing down from Zane’s confident gaze. “I don’t design obscene furniture. It doesn’t fit my brand.”

“Yet you designed a room for me with the specific brief of fitting my personality, and I’m an obscene man. My sexuality is a big part of who I am. Why can’t my room reflect that?’ His words were cool, cutting, and targeted. Claire caught a flash of ruthless cunning that lurked beneath Zane’s normal bombastic attitude. It was… oddly a little intimidating.

“Your request is misogynistic. I won’t even entertain it,” snapped Claire. Shit. I sound flustered. Every time she tried to shut Zane down, images of his monstrous cock would flash before her eyes. But her job was easy here. She just needed to keep saying ‘no’ until he gave up. Nothing could be simpler… even if Lilah’s moans seemed to be echoing in her ears.

Zane looked genuinely surprised. “What? Misogynistic? Claire… I didn’t steal these panties. They were gifts. Tokens of affection from women who willingly became mine. Symbols of their submission. Their willing submission. Ask any one of them, and they’ll say they have no problem with me showing off their gift. I guarantee it.”

Now Claire knew that she was blushing. What Zane was saying had to be bullshit. He may have tricked women into sex. Or bullied them. Or paid them. But so many women just… giving in like that? The word that he said… submission. It sent a shudder of horror down Claire’s spine, and sent a flicker of heat through her core. That was what the trophy case represented: Zane’s inexplicable sexual success and the humiliating defeat of the women he had bedded. Why would any attractive, independent woman put themselves beneath a creep like Zane?

And not just one, enough to fill a trophy case. Zane’s eyes bored into hers, unshaken by her refusal, infuriatingly confident that she would say yes in the end. Was this the secret? Force of will and patience and a big, throbbing cock? Was that all it took to bring a proud woman to her knees, literally and metaphorically? What would it feel like to give in? To let him have his way? Maybe those other women would tell her how pleasurable it was. But no… she couldn’t. Not even on small things like this. 

“Even so,” she said, her mouth suddenly feeling dry, “The answer is ‘no’.” 

“For no reason?” asked Zane, raising an eyebrow. 

“For personal reasons.”

This response, to Claire’s discomfort, made Zane chuckle darkly. “Well… there we have it at last. It has to do with your feelings about me personally. Well, that’s no problem then.”

He leaned forward, and suddenly his entire energy seemed to change, becoming forceful. Intrusive. Claire had to stop herself from scooting back from him on her rolling chair. This wasn’t the tubby, crass clown she was used to. This was suddenly the sharp-eyed, masculine beast she had spied on while he fucked Leah into submission. 

“That means all I have to do is change your mind,” the look in his eyes told Claire that he didn’t think this would be difficult. He looked like a wolf closing in on its prey. Claire opened her mouth, but no words came out. She felt like a deer in the headlights. 

“And I will,” said Zane in a low voice. “You’re going to do as I say eventually, Claire. So why make this harder than it has to be? Say ‘yes’. I promise you that you’ll be happy you did.”

Claire breathed heavily, caught in a torrent of emotion. Anger at Zane's presumption. Disgust with herself for not shutting him down right away. But most of all… a sense of twisted curiosity. What would it feel like to give in? To… submit. It wasn’t something that Claire had ever considered until recently. But seeing the effect Zane had on others made her wonder. 

The idea was taboo… kinky even, in a strange way. For a woman who had always prided herself on her control and power, giving in to a man’s desires just because he said so was forbidden in a way that made Claire’s heart beat faster. True, this was just one minor thing… it would barely count as submission at all. But even getting a taste of what it was like to bend to the will of a powerful man sent a twist of strange arousal trhough Claire’s belly that she couldn’t quite squash. 

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe bending a little and letting someone else win for once would even be relaxing. She felt totally under Zane’s power in that heated moment, his eyes locked with hers, the memory of his thick cock sinking into Leah flashing before Claire’s eyes. The way her pussy stretched to take his monstrous cock… the slutty moans that tore from the married mother’s throat… the way she had held Zane, pulling him closer to kiss him deeply and intimately.  

Claire opened her mouth, to her own shock, she realized that she was about to say yes. It felt like she was under Zane’s overwhelming power. Yes was the easiest option now. The one that would be the most satisfying. 

Then Claire saw the ghost of a smirk on Zane’s lips, and she remembered the downside of doing what he asked. She would have to deal with his insufferable smugness. She would never allow this little creep to celebrate his victory over her. She screwed up all of her willpower and changed her answer on the way to her lips. 

“I think about it,” she croaked. Even that was a compromise that left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it was satisfying to see the sudden expression of shock on Zane’s face as he realized that Claire hadn’t quite given in completely, like he wanted. 

“Listen,” said Zane with a frown, “I thought we agreed that…”

“I have another meeting coming up, Mr. Kruger,” said Claire flatly, carefully avoiding Zane’s eyes so that he couldn’t use his force of personality to change her mind. “I told you that I would think about it. And that’s more than you deserve. Goodbye.” 

For a long, tense moment, Zane sat in the chair. Claire didn’t look up to see his expression, but finally, he stood. “Fine. I’m a patient man, Claire Bear. But let’s not drag this out longer than we have to. At our next meeting you’re going to tell me ‘yes’.” 

And he left, leaving Claire alone in her office. She let out a long sigh and put her head in her hands. What the fuck was that? Why had it been so hard to say ‘no’ to him? And had she gotten a little aroused just by the idea of giving in to him? She had managed to avoid agreeing to his ridiculous request, but only just barely. Somehow, his force of personality was a lot more effective than Claire ever could have guessed. She needed to be more careful around him… 

And more importantly, she needed to stop picturing him naked every time he spoke. 

…

Zane sat behind the wheel of his SUV, gripping it tightly in his hands. He took a long breath in, his grip tightening until his knuckles were white, then let it out in one explosive burst, releasing his anger with it. 

Claire was a hard nut to crack. Maybe the hardest he had ever worked on. She was proud, and smart, and stubborn. Zane had used every trick in the book, logic, subtle insults, and sheer force of will, and he had still failed to get her to agree. It had been a long time since a woman he wanted hadn’t just fallen into his lap. True, he had moved her from a “no” to a “maybe”, but that was hardly a win compared to what he had done with other women in the past. 

A frustrated erection tented up the front of Zane’s pants as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He wanted to fuck Claire more than ever now that she was playing hard to get like this. And he would, he was positive. Soon that smug, perfect bitch would be begging for his dick. He just needed to apply a little more pressure. 

The first order of business was dealing with Dan. The little spa trip, even though Zane had turned it into an opportunity, had been proof that Dan had grown some balls and was trying to work against him behind the scenes. If Dan somehow found a way to genuinely relieve Claire’s tension, it could actually throw a wrench in Zane’s plans. 

Zane knew that, as pleasant a guy as old Danny Boy could be, he wasn’t the type of man who could handle a woman like Claire. But Zane needed Claire to see that as well. Zane suspected that Claire was already feeling new appetites for dominance and realizing that Dan couldn’t satisfy them. Zane needed to deepen that gap between Claire’s desires and Dan's abilities. 

Once Claire realized that Dan could never give her what her instincts craved, Zane’s job would get a lot easier. 

But how best to let Dan’s inadequacy shine? 

Option A: Right about now, Claire was probably looking for ways she could prod her husband to be more dominant in bed. She would fail of course. Dan just didn’t have it in him to dominate a fierce, powerful woman like his wife. But what if Zane could make that process go as wrong as possible? Make it a total humiliation for Dan rather than just boring? Perlah was the perfect avenue to influence Claire on this: she had told Zane that she and her boss were close enough to have “girl talk” sometimes. If Claire was slipped a few wildly off-base “sex tips” from her assistant on how to push Dan to take charge in bed, it could turn into an eye opening experience for both of them. (As a sneak peek for what I have in mind: Perlah would tell Claire that she should act dominant toward Dan to encourage him to fight back and turn the tables. But he wouldn’t, so it would turn into a sex scene of Claire dominating her husband in bed even more than she usually does. Both would find it hot, but it would convince Claire more than ever that Dan isn’t dominant.)

Option B: What if Dan went from not being dominant enough in bed, to not being able to perform at all? If Zane sent Dan a free gift subscription to his website, there was no doubt at all in Zane’s mind that a cuck-in-the-making like Dan would spend every free moment jerking himself raw thinking about what Zane might do to his wife. Which would leave him drained and limp in bed, unable to satisfy his wife. Leaving her hornier and hornier by the day, ready to submit to her new master. 

Option C: The spa trip had proved one thing clearly: Dan had never actually gotten over Leah. Zane could use this to his advantage. A wimp like Dan would never be able to resist if his old college crush came onto him. And if, for example, it was arranged for Claire to walk in on her husband receiving a handjob from another woman… well, that would be something a proud woman like her would find hard to forgive.