Carl Van Marcus
The watching husband

CHAPTER ONE

"Damn…" Kate thought, fishing in the pocket of her uniform. "Where did that pencil go? That's the third one I've lost tonight!" A lock of her strawberry blonde hair fell forward into her eyes and her hand went up to her forehead to push it back impatiently. She fished in the bowl of pencils at the serving counter and pulled out a freshly sharpened one, trying to recall which type of dressing Mr. Dagon had just said he wanted on his salad.

Oh, yes, she remembered… just plain oil and vinegar… that was what he always wanted.

With a sigh she marked it down on her pad and headed toward the kitchen with the order. Her feet hurt and she thought she was just about to pass out from fatigue. It had been a rough Saturday night… and it seemed as if she had waited on thousands of finicky customers at Alfie's Steak House. Well, she thought… at least her tips had been good… almost fifteen dollars that night. And that would be a big help toward the rent! After Mr. Dagon had finished, she would be able to go home to Tim at last.

As she waited at the counted for the very rare steak that Dagon had ordered, her thoughts wandered… she could see Dagon's neat, elegantly clothed figure from where she stood. He was calmly sipping his martini, and occasionally he would cast a glance in her direction. But Kate knew it was not a look of impatience he was giving her… he never seemed to mind if he had to wait. She knew that he found her attractive… he had told her so several times… but always in such a manner that she couldn't really get insulted or feel as though he was taking advantage of her. Even though she had told him that she was married… and newly married at that, he had still continued to let his admiration for her be known. She could count on seeing him at the same table almost every evening around 9:30… and she had come to look forward to seeing him. He was so little trouble… and never failed to tip her five dollars… and some nights even ten. And it all came in very handy since Tim still hadn't found a job.

Worry crossed Kate's pert features as she wondered how long it would be before Tim found something that suited him. She knew that he could do just about anything he set his mind to… if only he would set his mind! She had tried only the night before to persuade him that taking the job that had been offered him as a car salesman would not be the kind of thing he would have to do forever. His writing was bound to pay off one day if he kept it up! But he had insisted that he couldn't go out and be a car salesman by day, with all that that entailed… and come home and write at night. Kate guessed that he was right. She supposed it would be hard to do that… but then, she thought… this is hard for me to do too!

She was trying to be open about it… "modern"… there was no reason why a wife shouldn't help out by working in times of need. But sometimes, like now when she was tired, the whole thing started to get to her. Especially when her mother called and brought up the subject.

"Has Tim found work yet… Oh, still unemployed… Well, goodness, you've been married almost six months now… How long does he expect you continue undermining your health with that job…? You know you were always fragile as a child…"

Her mother's voice echoed in her ears… and tonight… while she stood there, shifting her weight from foot to foot to ease the pain, she did indeed feel delicate. She was small boned, with slender ankles and legs, but there was nothing fragile about the rest of her for her hips were full blown and luscious beneath her uniform, and when she turned to walk away from her tables, more than one male and some female customers could not help but follow her swaying buttocks, so clearly outlined beneath the thin material. She had a walk that could only be compared to Marilyn Monroe's famous walk in "Niagara" and some of her high school boyfriends had even gone so far as to insist that she resembled a cross between Monroe and Brigitte, being built like Monroe and having facial features… childlike and pouty like Brigitte. Kate had never taken any of it too seriously. She knew she was good looking… but she rarely dwelt on that beauty unless it was insistently brought to her attention.

It had occurred to her while she was standing there, that it had been some time since Tim had told her how pretty she was… he used to tell her all the time, she realized. They didn't seem to make love as much as before either… of course, since she had this late shift, by the time she got home, Tim was usually fast asleep… and during the day… well, he just didn't seem much the daytime type, somehow.

Dagon smiled and nodded to her across the room. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't see him, though she was looking directly at him. Then suddenly she realized that he was calling her, and with a start, she came to attention and nodded back at him, letting him know that she would be right there. Then she turned to the counter just in time to see the chef placing the sizzling steak platter in front of her.

"You've got a lot on your mind tonight, Kate!" Dagon said as he picked up the glass of wine that Kate had just poured him from the small bottle of Beaujolais and he silently toasted her with a small gesture of his hand, before placing the glass to his lips.

"Yes, I suppose so, Mr. Dagon," Kate said, wondering just how he made his money… she knew he had a lot of it, that much was clear.

"Too bad," he said, testing his steak with the sharp point of his knife. "A pretty girl like you…"

"Enjoy your dinner, Mr. Dagon," Kate said smiling as she turned away.

"I wish Tim would notice that as much as you do," she thought.

About forty-five minutes later, Kate was hurriedly changing out of her uniform in the ladies' room. Dagon had finished his dessert and coffee and bid her goodnight and she was free to go home. She put on the lightweight beige suit that fit her voluptuous form tightly, remembering that it was in that very suit that she and Tim had been married. God, she needed some new clothes! She knew it would be quite a while before she would be able to buy clothes, unless Tim had found a job today. But she knew that he probably would have called her long ago if he had found work. More than likely he was home asleep and snoring right now, having had still another bad case of "writer's block". She surveyed herself in the mirror, her long hair curled softly around her face and fell to her shoulders, and she looked more like a budding starlet than a waitress. She was too tired to apply any lipstick to her soft full lips. After all, she thought, Tim never even looked at her when she got home. What did it matter? By the time she left Alfie's, stepping out into the cool San Francisco night, she was deeply depressed. She paused a moment in front of the door and took a deep breath of fresh air, then she turned to walk to the bus stop a block away.

When Kate had gotten about halfway up the street, she noticed that there was a big black car moving slowly down the street behind her. She was afraid at first, but then she told herself, that that was silly, such things only happened in the movies… the car couldn't have anything to do with her! Nevertheless, she quickened her pace as she walked, casting occasional nervous glances over her shoulder.

Cruising in the big black Mercedes, Sam Dagon finally made up his mind. He had gone this far, he might as well go a little further. He wanted this girl, and he intended to have her. She would make a nice addition to his household… A very nice one!

He accelerated and drove past Kate, stopping at the corner where he knew from having watched before that she would go to wait for the bus. He leaned over and opened the door, as he pulled up and waited for Kate to arrive.

"Hi," he called out. "Come on… I'll take you home," he called.

Kate peered into the dimly lit interior of the car and she made out the features of Sam Dagon. For a moment she was furious… how dare he follow her like that. How dare he even wait for her after work! But then, she felt another jab of pain from the soles of her aching feet, and she realized that it was silly not to accept a lift from him, since the buses ran infrequently at that time of night.

"Hello… Mr. Dagon…" she said. "You really frightened me for a minute there!"

"Hop in Kate… No cause for fear, it's only me!"

Kate slid into the seat beside him, a small voice of warning sounding in her brain, but the comfort of the smooth leather seat and the warmth of the inside of the car quickly quieted the voice, and she turned gratefully to the man to thank him. But when she turned she saw that his eyes were on her, staring at her in a very strange hungry way… a way that she had seen on occasion before, from passing strangers who observed the swing of her hips, the jut of her breasts as she walked down the street. She blushed violently when she saw that Sam Dagon was looking at her that way… so close to her. But now the door was closed and he had already started up the powerful motor of the Mercedes… and there was really nothing to do but sit there.

"Where do you live, Kate?"

Why did he keep on using her name like that? It made her nervous… like he was some old high school teacher of hers or something.

"Over on Portrero Hill," she answered. "You make a right at the next corner and just keep on going until you get to…"

"That's all right," he interrupted, "I know the area well. You just direct me once we get there… OK?"

"All right," Kate answered, mentally reassuring herself. After all, she had seen this man often… He wasn't just a stranger… and he had given her all of those good tips. He was almost a friend really. She slipped off her high heels and let her feet rest on the carpeted floor of the car, and leaning her head back, she let out a soft sigh.

"Tired?" Dagon asked, casting a glance at her relaxed body. He could see the curve of her calves, the long line of her thighs, clad in the sheer nude-colored stockings, up to the point where they disappeared beneath her short skirt, leaving only the bulge of their outline to tantalize his eye.

Boy, he'd sure like to get his hands up in there close to her tight little pussy, he thought. And he intended to do just that before the night was out. It had been a long time since he had seen a girl who so exactly fit his concept of the ideal woman. A child's face with a woman's body. He could feel the excitement mounting inside him at the thought of what her naked flesh would feel like beneath his hands, what she would be like grinding beneath his body!

"I hate seeing a pretty thing like you knocking herself out waiting on tables!" Dagon spoke, almost as though he were talking to himself.

"It's only temporary, Mr. Dagon…"

"Sam," he answered… "You make me feel like an old man… I'm only thirty-five… How old are you?"

"Why… I'm twenty-two… That is, my birthday is next month…" She was beginning to get confused by his questions… He seemed to be saying so many things at one time.

"Only temporary… eh? When are you planning to stop?"

"Well, my husband is a writer… and he should have completed his book by then… and then we'll be able to…" The familiar speech somehow wasn't coming out right.

"A writer, eh…? That's funny, I used to fiddle around with the typewriter myself… That is until I came to my senses…"

He looked over at her… "Oh. I don't mean to imply that your husband… what's his name?"

"Tim…"

"Tim… isn't a brilliant writer… It's just that I wasn't…! Business is more my field… Land development to be exact."

"How interesting…" Kate replied. But she was really thinking about Tim at home… She hoped that he wouldn't be asleep again… not this time. She really wanted to talk to him tonight.

She gazed solemnly out the window… She didn't recognize where they were. They seemed to be in an unfamiliar part of town.

"Are you sure you know the way?" she asked, uncertainly.

"Oh, yes," Sam answered, swerving up a particularly steep hill… "It won't be long now."

Kate didn't want to offend him by saying anything else, but she was sure that they were lost, and that he didn't want to admit that he didn't know the way. Well, she'd just wait until it became perfectly obvious and then, she'd tell him. Even with this detour, she would possibly still be standing back there waiting for the bus, she thought.

Dagon cast another glance at Kate's modestly covered bosom. He imagined that he could almost see the outline of her nipples through the fabric of her suit top.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!" he said.

"Did you say something?" Kate asked…

"I'll tell you about it some other time," he answered, making another sharp turn and gunning the car so that Kate was jolted back against the seat. Then he swiftly turned into a large iron gateway and they were deep in a park, surrounded by high trees and foliage. He sped through the woods at top speed, and then came to a screeching halt high atop a hill, where down below, the twinkling lights of San Francisco glimmered brilliantly.

"Well… let's take a little break. You don't mind do you… I can't resist coming here every so often. The view is breathtaking…"

"MIND?" Kate fairly screamed… "Why of course I mind… My husband is home waiting for me… If you think that I'm…"

But she didn't have a chance to finish for Sam Dagon grabbed her around the waist, pulling her sharply to him and clamped his mouth down on hers, holding her with a vise-like grip, so that all of her wriggling and squirming were to no avail. Vague thoughts of other times, when she was in high school and she had been caught alone on a desolate road with some young boy who had thought she would go all the way, came into her mind… but this wasn't a harmless boy, she reminded herself. This was a grown man… and a strong one. Fear mingled with shock rose in her throat as she felt Sam's lips pressed hard against hers, so hard that she thought her teeth would pierce the skin of her lips. He was holding her so that her full ripe breasts were smashed into his heaving chest.

"Oh, my God," she thought… "My God! He's going to rape me!"

But just as that thought came into her mind, Sam released his hold on her slightly and removed his lips from hers long enough to speak wetly into her car.

"Don't worry," he panted, "I'm not going to hurt you. Anything I do to you, I want to feel good…"

"Let me loose…" Kate cried, between clenched teeth. "Please Mr. Dagon… let me go…!" She renewed her struggle almost managing to slip away from his restraining hands. But she only managed to turn her torso so that his hands were in direct contact with her full, supple breasts.

She jumped, trying to jerk away from his touch, but Sam took full advantage of the situation, squeezing the soft protrusions with his strong hands, massaging them slowly but firmly. At the same time, he pushed her steadily backward, so that after much struggling, she was finally down on her back, pressed flat against the wide seat of the Mercedes.

She could hardly believe what was happening to her. Sam Dagon's mouth crushed down on her's harder than ever, and she could feel his hands manipulating her breasts as though he were molding clay. He trapped her hands beneath her own body as he pushed her back, and she thought that her arms might break from the pressure he was exerting on her. She groaned loudly beneath the weight of his upper body, trying desperately to swing her legs around, but she twisted in such a way that it was painful for her to move one way or the other.

She felt his wet, pursuing tongue attempting to insert itself between her tightly pursed lips, and when she opened her mouth to cry out in protest, he slipped it hotly into her mouth.

His hands kept stroking at her breasts and then began to rove the full length of her body, over her flat belly and down to her thighs, which were exposed by her hiked up skirt. Her stockings covered most of the smooth white flesh where her garter belt caught the filmy material and held it up. Sam went straight for the warmth of her creamy thighs, savoring the silky skin beneath his fingers as though it were some precious material he was contemplating buying.

"Oh, no," she thought. "NO!" A million thoughts went racing through her brain… thoughts of Tim at home… what would he think! Of her mother… of her virginity, which she had so carefully saved for Tim… of the promise she had made to herself to never have any kind of sexual relations with anyone but her husband… and here she was being forced to submit to this man's lewd, forced touches.

"No…" she gasped, sensing that a crucial moment had come and that she was now really helpless.

Managing to pull her head back slightly from his probing tongue as she spoke out her desperation, her breath coming haltingly… "You can't be serious… Please let me go!" she urged.

To her surprise, he answered, "All right," and abruptly let her loose. He sat up behind the steering wheel and slowly adjusted his tie.

"Sorry," he said, turning the key in the ignition… "That won't happen again."

"Again!" Kate thought… pulling down her skirt and adjusting her suit. "If I can just get home," she thought, "I never want to see this madman again." She sat squirming way over in her corner of the car, keeping as much distance as possible between them. Her heart beat wildly in her throat and blood pounded against her temples. The motor raced and Kate could see that Sam had placed the car in reverse gear. Kate realized that she was covered with nervous perspiration. She was stunned, and hardly knew what to do; whether she should jump out of the car and try to get home on her own or trust him to take her home now. The car started pulling backwards before she could make up her mind.

"What I actually brought you here for, Kate," Sam began looking in the rear view mirror, "Was not to attack you. But you are such a terribly attractive young lady. I must admit I've been thinking about you for quite some time. However…" The car suddenly stopped and he turned and calmly looked at her. "What I really would like to do is offer you a job. One that will be not nearly as demanding as the one you have now. One where your beauty and charm will be appreciated. Not to mention the pay, which will be in the area of $250 a week to start…"

Kate remained silent, at first paying no attention to what he was saying, but as he continued, she began to wonder how serious he was about what he was saying… not that she was interested… but still…

"You would be my housekeeper, in essence, although not in the old sense of the word. I need someone to be a hostess for my parties, to coordinate the comings and goings of the servants, to make sure that all goes smoothly at my estate. You see, I travel a lot, and…"

"Mr. Dagon," Kate interrupted icily… "Aside from the fact that I don't want to see you again… your job offer might be of interest to a single girl… but I am married, a fact that you seem to have completely overlooked!"

"Oh, no I haven't overlooked that, Kate," he started the car up again, swinging around and heading back out of the park the way they had come.

"You see, I really need a kind of overseer for the grounds, too… actually the job would be perfect for a young couple. I know you can't give me an answer now, and I don't want you to, after what just happened, but I want you to think about it later… It might be just the thing for you and your husband, until that book of his gets published. Oh, yes, and, of course, there are no strings attached. Besides, your husband will be there…"

Kate remained silent until she caught sight of the familiar surroundings of Potrero Hill.

"Left at the next corner," she said. She just wanted to get inside her apartment and close the door, but still, in spite of herself, Sam Dagon's words were swimming around in her mind.

"Again my apologies," Dagon called out of the door and Kate hurriedly stepped out in front of the wooden, two story building. "And promise me you'll think about what I said!"

Kate kept walking without turning around to look as Dagon pulled away. Then as she got to the top of the steps she turned and watched as the big car turned the corner. She realized that her knees were weak and she felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. Her hand was shaking as she placed the key in the lock. She had never in her life had such a terrible experience.

She entered the apartment as quietly as she could. She and Tim had the downstairs apartment in the building… and she could see that Tim was most certainly asleep in the bedroom. All the lights were out with the exception of the night-light that he kept lit for her in the living room. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was indeed asleep, not knowing just how to cope with what had just happened. She couldn't really tell him about it because she felt oddly responsible for what had happened, as though she had led Dagon on… when she knew that that wasn't true. As she tiptoed into the bathroom, she felt the strange tremor in the bottom of her stomach again. The memory of Dagon's hand touching her sent a chill through her as she closed the bathroom door, and she knew that what was really bothering her was the fact that she had had a moment of pleasure… a split second granted, but pleasure right on.

She washed hurriedly and put on her nightgown in the bathroom, before going into the bedroom. In the darkness, she could make out Tim's prone figure tangled in the blankets of the bed. His heavy breathing filled the room, and she knew that he wouldn't awaken easily. A stab of anger swept through her… there he was sound asleep, having done nothing all day probably… while she had worked all those hours at Alfie's and then had that horrible experience! For a moment it seemed like the whole thing was his fault… his fault for not working at some kind of regular job… any job so that she wouldn't have to be placed in such a position.

She turned on a small lamp and stood at the dresser, undoing her cold cream jar, Tim's reflection mirrored in the glass before her. As she slowly creamed her face, tears welled up in her eyes… it just wasn't fair… none of it was fair…! She was tired of being so good, so understanding about everything! There spread out on the dresser were the turn off notices for the electricity, the overdue rent bill, and the water bill which would have to be paid by the end of the week.

"Oh, God," she thought… "Why can't he take care of it, why do I have to even think about it?"

The angry tears streamed down her face as she brushed her long glistening hairdo, and then fastened it behind her head with a hair piece. She went to the bed and pulled some of the covers away from Jim so that she could have some for her side. He grumbled sleepily and turned over, taking most of the blankets back with him.

"Damn you…" she said in a loud fierce whisper… "Damn you, anyway!!"