An Eldritch Pact
Chapter 05
By Nightfuel
“I’m about to be your new favourite person, Karl.”
Karl gave Alisha an uncertain smile. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on with this attractive woman. She was still sitting right next to him, her thigh pressed up against his, her hand on his knee. If Karl didn’t know any better …
Leaning forward to place his glass of wine on the coffee table — a pretext so that Alisha’s hand would slide off his knee, Karl turned so that he was more facing towards her. The cushion was still on his lap — a necessity given his body’s immediate reaction to her touch.
“You are? I mean, why’s that, Alisha?”
Alisha didn’t seem to mind that he had moved to avoid her touching him. She just raised her glass towards Karl, smiling widely.
“Because I came through! It took some doing, and I had to make a lot of calls — but look at me. Going about it in all the wrong order! After we spoke yesterday, after you told me that you didn’t think that you could find work in Bracken Ridge, I just knew that there had to be something I could do.”
Karl cleared his throat.
“I’m not exactly qualified to do anything technical or fancy, Alisha. Landscaping and maintenance are what I’m used to. And in a town like this —”
Alisha silenced Kale by placing a finger across his mouth, her eyes sparkling at him. After a few seconds, she seemed to realise that she was touching Karl’s lips — a slow blush brought colour to her cheeks, and she quickly removed her hand. Karl thought that she’d looked confused for a moment at her own actions, but her smile soon returned.
“Just let me worry about that. And you’d be surprised at how much needs to be done around here! Anyway, after a morning of calling around, putting the feelers out … and also querying a few things with the council, I had a lead! It’s even been something that’s been brought up before in town meetings.”
Karl was beginning to get interested. He’d initially thought that Alisha would just come through with some casual work — nothing like what he’d need to justify staying here in this small town. But it sounded like she’d found something much more substantial than that.
“Alisha, I can’t believe you went to so much trouble — thank you. Truly.”
Alisha took a sip of her wine, smirking around the glass. Unfortunately this caused her to spill a few drops down onto her cream-coloured top. Small blooms of red seeped into the cotton, staining it.
“Oh, damn …”
Alisha sighed, putting down her glass on the coffee table next to Karl’s. She pulled the front of her tank-top away from her chest, smiling ruefully.
Karl blinked, quickly turning his head but it was too late. The image was burned into his retinas. Alisha wasn’t wearing a bra, and when she’d pulled at her top, Karl had had a perfect view of her full breasts. Full and round orbs, topped with dusky pink nipples.
Alisha stood up from the sofa.
“Excuse me a minute, Karl. Oh, I’m such a klutz today …”
Alisha disappeared into the kitchen, and Karl heard the tap being turned on. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get himself under control. His dick was hard, throbbing in his pants. Only the fact that he still had the cushion held over his crotch stopped him from embarrassing himself. Karl didn’t know why he was so damn horny — after all the sex he’d had with Jess yesterday …
“Sorry about that, Karl! Now, where were we?”
Alisha sashayed back into the living room, moving her hips a touch more than was strictly necessary. She sat down on the sofa — again, close enough to Karl so that their legs were touching — and smiled at him.
Karl opened his mouth to answer, but his breath caught. It looked like Alisha had made the most cursory of attempts at cleaning her top — using a wet cloth to rub at it if Karl was any judge. The red stains on her tank top were somewhat diluted and pale, but they were still there. What was far more pressing to Karl though, was that the front of Alisha’s top was now damp enough to be see-through in places. What’s more, the damp spots clung to the older woman’s chest, moulding to her breasts. Karl could clearly see her erect nipples pressing against the fabric.
Alisha furrowed her blonde brows, looking concerned.
“Karl? Are you alright?”
Karl’s voice was slightly choked, but he managed a smile — thanking god for the cushion … although he was worried he was about to rip through it. He couldn’t figure out what Alisha was doing. The only way she could be showing more of her chest was if she was topless! How could she not know?
“Sorry, Alisha. Wine went down the wrong way.”
Alisha quirked her eyebrow, and glanced down at the coffee table where both their glasses sat.
“But you aren’t drinking?”
Karl hurriedly leant forward and grabbed his glass, taking a large gulp of wine.
“Oh, I had some why you were in the kitchen. I was just savouring it I guess — Uh, so you were about to tell me what you organised?”
“Oh. Oh, yes! Well you see the town does have a contract for a general maintenance worker — but we always just offer it as seasonal contract during peak tourist times. And a lot of residents have complained, saying that all the work that needs doing gets backed up, and that the priority is always given to resorts, tourist amenities … those kind of things. And they have a point.”
Interested enough that he was even distracted from Alisha’s breasts, Karl leant towards her.
“And so …?”
Alisha smiled, and then reached for her own glass of wine — taking the opportunity to place a hand on Karl’s knee to steady herself as she did. She left it there afterwards, squeezing his knee as she smiled at him.
“And so we have a job available for you! It’s a bit less than the seasonal contract — that’s how I’m going to swing it by the other council — but it’s still fairly competitive. Now, it hasn’t been drawn up yet, and I’ll have to get back to you with an official offer, BUT I can tell you that it will be at least …”
Alisha tilted her head and leant in towards Karl. For a brief moment he thought that the pretty blonde woman was about to kiss him — and he was so worked up that only surprise kept Karl from tilting his head to meet her lips with his. Alisha moved her mouth next to his ear, whispering an amount that made Karl’s eyes widen.
“Really? That much?”
Alisha squirmed happily on the sofa, delighted with herself.
“Not bad, right?”
Karl just stared at her, moved to the point that he wasn’t even tempted to sneak a peek at her chest.
“Alisha, I … that’s amazing. If that’s true —
“It is!”
“— then I might actually be able to stay here. This is just … thank you. Really.”
Alisha squeezed Karl’s knee again. Her eyes softened.
“You’re quite welcome, Karl.”
They looked at each other for a long moment — long enough that Karl’s surprise wore off and he was starting to he had a very attractive woman right in front of him.
Karl’s smile faltered, and his brain started to work again. She was definitely coming on to him. Karl wasn’t the most observant of guys, but even he was aware that it wasn’t usual for an attractive women to be so touchy with a stranger — to flaunt a low cut top while not wearing a bra — without an ulterior motive. He just wasn’t sure why.
This was only the third time he had met Alisha in person. The first time she had been cooly professional. Wrapped up in her job of welcoming him to the town. Alisha had been friendly enough, but hadn’t displayed any behaviour that would have led Karl to believe she was interested in him.
The second time had been yesterday morning. Alisha had been … friendly. Perhaps a little more than Karl would have expected, but nothing too out of the ordinary. But today … today she was practically all over him! And parts of her top were still see-through. There was no way that Alisha wasn’t aware of that. And she kept leaning forward while arching her back — a movement that gave Karl a perfect opportunity to see down her top.
For the first time in a long time, Karl wished he was single. Sure, Alisha was maybe ten years older than he was, but early thirties was hardly old. And she was hot! If he wasn’t with Jessica, Karl would have loved nothing more than to reach out, grip Alisha around the waist, and pull the attractive blonde over into his lap. He just bet her rounded ass would feel so soft and warm against him …
Karl shook his head. Fuck, he needed to get a grip on himself! It didn’t help that he’d been fantasising about fucking Alisha only the night before. He felt guilty about that. He couldn’t do that to Jessica. His girlfriend wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t want to cheat on her.
Karl cleared his throat, and shifted a little further away from Alisha. He gave what he hoped was a grateful smile.
“You’re being so nice — I just wish I could make it up to you.”
Alisha’s eyes lit up, but before she could suggest anything, Karl hurriedly continued.
“Having a potential job changes everything. Although I don’t know how Jessica is going to take it. I’m not sure she’s the mountain type. But then again, she’s out sightseeing up the mountain right now, so you never know!”
Alisha’s face had closed off as soon as Karl had mentioned Jessica.
“Ah, yes. Your … girlfriend?”
Once again, a look of confusion flashed across Alisha’s face. She glanced down, seeing how close she was sitting next to Karl, and her cheeks slowly flushed a deep shade of pink.
Before she could say anything more however, the front door opened. Karl couldn’t see much of them at first — It was a woman carrying a stack of paper grocery bags piled high enough to obscure their face. They kicked the door shut behind them as they edged their way into the living room. After placing the bags on a table, she put her hands at the small of her back — leaning back and stretching with a sigh. Upon turning and seeing Karl and Alisha sitting close together on the sofa — glasses of wine in front of them — she paused.
“Uh … Alisha?”
As Alisha quickly slid further away from him, Karl took in the new arrival. She was younger than Alisha, perhaps closer to his own age. She was slender, wearing a tight pair of faded blue jeans, and an oversized baggy sweater. She was blonde, with her hair styled short into a charmingly messy pixie cut.
Alisha got to her feet, pulling at hem of her shorts as though she could make them longer. Her face went even redder when she seemed to realise just how revealingly see-through her top was as well.
“Oh, Katie. I wasn’t expecting you ba — Karl, this is my little sister, Katie.”
Alisha’s sister frowned, crossing her arms under her chest. She sighed, and then gave Karl a nod.
“It’s Kate, actually. And don’t introduce me like that, Alisha. It makes me sound like a little kid. Karl, nice to meet you. Sorry, I didn’t know my sister was planning on having company over. I mean, she could have given me a heads up as a courtesy …”
Karl got to his feet and gave Kate a nod, feeling uncomfortably awkward. Besides him, Alisha was waving her arms in denial.
“No, no — It’s not like that, Katie. I was just telling Karl — I mean, I was helping him to — don’t give me that look!”
Kate raised a skeptical eyebrow as she took in her sister’s attire. Her lips quirked, clearly amused despite trying to hide it.
“Right. You can just let me know if you want some privacy, sis. I wouldn’t have teased you that much.”
“Katie, I swear to god …”
Kate spoke over the top of her sister, stretching again — somewhat theatrically this time.
“Uh huh. Anyway, I’m bushed from carrying all those groceries. I’m going to go lay down. Maybe take a nap. With music. Headphones actually. Loud music with my headphones on. Hint hint.”
Alisha covered her face with her hands.
“Oh god …”
Kate snorted out a laugh before she could suppress it. She gave Karl a casual salute, and then sauntered over to what he assumed was her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Alisha took a deep breath.
“Okay, that was mortifying.”
“I, uh, didn’t know you had a sister.”
Alisha gave Karl a weak smile.
“Yeah. She’s the baby of the family. Well, I guess she’s about your age, but she’s always been a kid to me. Look at me, I’m rambling. I’m so sorry, Karl. Would you like to —”
Karl shook his head. He was actually glad about the interruption. Not that he hadn’t been enjoying Alisha’s flirtation, but he had been started to feel more than a little tempted. It had begun to be a struggle to tell himself why he shouldn’t take her up on what she was clearly offering. Although, now that they had been interrupted, Alisha wasn’t acting the same way …
Karl studied her. It wasn’t just that she was embarrassed by her sister’s arrival. It was more than that. Alisha now seemed acutely aware of how she was dressed. There was not even a hint of the confident woman who had been all over him. Karl wondered at it.
He made a show of straightening his clothes.
“Actually Alisha, I better get going. I don’t know how I can thank you for what you’ve done. “
Alisha blinked.
“Oh. Oh! Karl, it’s my pleasure. I’ll get in touch with you soon with a proper job offer, alright. I still have your number on my work phone …”
In short order Karl was outside of Alisha’s house and walking down the quiet mountain road towards his cabin. It had felt like she had been ushering him out the door with speed — nothing impolite, but he definitely got the impression that she was no longer comfortable with his presence.
“Weird. Like, super weird. But I can’t believe she actually found me a job …”
Karl put his hands in his pockets, musing as he walked. This changed everything. Now he would actually have to seriously think about whether he wanted to move out here — it wasn’t just an idle fantasy anymore.
Karl took a deep breath, unable to stop the smile from crossing his face. He had never been so blatantly hit on before either. Alisha had looked fucking hot as well. Ripe, and so damn sexy. And her tits had looked fantastic! Karl almost wished he hadn’t brought up Jessica to her. If he hadn’t, he wondered what she would have done next. Although …
“Hmm. She was strange though — when I brought up Jess. It wasn’t like she didn’t like the reminder. It was more like she had forgotten that I even had a girlfriend …”
Karl scratched at his chin, looking up at the grey sky through the trees. Evening came early up here, although it might just be because of the shadows cast by the mountains. Either way, the air was getting chilly again. Karl walked along the winding road, absently looking down the slope of the embankment at the tree-line.
The sound of a car approaching behind him made Karl walk a little closer to the drop-off. There wasn’t a path on this stretch of road, just a grassy verge. It didn’t matter though, it was still light enough that he was easily visible.
The only warning that Karl got that something was awry was a sudden revving of the approaching car’s engine. A roar, as well as a change in the sound from the tires — driving over gravel instead of smooth road surface.
Karl didn’t have time to look — and didn’t have time to waste either. He flung himself to the side immediately, but was still clipped on the hip by the swerving vehicle. Karl tumbled down the small embankment, trying to curl up, multiple impacts rocking him as he struck saplings and stones. His fall only stopped when he hit a tree large enough to halt his momentum. Luckily he slammed into it dead centre, his chest taking the impact instead of his head. It still knocked the wind out of him though, and Karl flopped onto his back, dazedly staring up at the sky.
He didn’t know how long he lay there, but Karl was aware of the sound of a car door slamming shut. Then the sound of someone making their way down the slope to him, slipping and sliding in places — cursing. The crunch of footsteps as they walked up next to him.
Karl squinted up as a figure loomed over him. They reached down towards him.