Pandora
He’d held Wuthering Heights in his hands, as if he had read my thoughts.
His voice had sounded rough, on the verge of breaking, when he told me he loved me.
I couldn’t help it. I’d kissed him. Because he was the only truth I had left.
But the moment our lips parted, the doubts came back.
What if it was just another trick? What if I had already given him too much of myself?
The beeping of the checkouts broke through the memory, and suddenly I was surrounded by fluorescent light again and the sterile cold of the supermarket.
It was strange, doing something so ordinary as shopping.
And yet here I was, pushing a shopping cart and thinking about what I needed: bread, milk, maybe fruit.
I had music playing in my headphones, as if it could drown out the chaos inside me.
I stopped in front of the bread aisle—and I felt him before I even heard his voice.
That pull beneath my skin, as if he were already touching me.
I startled and looked around, but he wasn’t here. "Neo? How . . . ?”
"I’m with you. Always.”
Of course. And there it was again, that tone: possessive, impatient, certain I already belonged to him. I should have known. Whenever he showed me a glimpse of vulnerability, in the next moment he tightened the chains further. It was his way of taking back control.
"You can’t escape me, Pandora.” His voice was an electric shock through my headphones.
A shiver moved across my skin. My stomach clenched with unease. But immediately the familiar warmth pulsed between my legs. Damn it. I had almost forgotten he could do this: hijack technology for his own purposes.
My hands gripped the shopping cart handle until my knuckles went white. His absolute control was frightening. His inability to let me go, even for an hour. Even to buy groceries.
And yet my nipples hardened under my sweater. My breath went shallow. He couldn’t be without me. The thought sent another shiver through my body. This time it was pure heat.
"Take the whole-grain bread. Third from the left.”
"Why? I don’t understand . . .” I frowned but reached for it anyway.
"Good. Now go to the tomatoes.”
I shrugged. He wanted tomatoes? Fine.
"Touch them. Slowly.”
His tone made my hand tremble as I reached for the tomato. The moment my fingers touched the smooth skin, I felt an electric tingling. But it wasn’t only electricity. It felt like . . . fingers, his fingers, slowly moving up my wrist.
"Neo, what the . . . ?”
"I’m sending electromagnetic impulses via Bluetooth,” he said. "I’ve manipulated the firmware of your headphones. The signal strength is far beyond what they were built for.”
The headphones heated against my ears, as if something was working inside them that wasn’t meant to be there. The invisible fingers moved up my arm.
"Your nervous system interprets the impulses as touch. As my touch.”
I gasped. My heartbeat quickened. It felt so real . . . as if he were standing right beside me with his hands on me. This was madness. He was using my body the way he wanted, and still I wanted more. The knowledge that he could deceive me like this filled me with both fear and arousal at once.
A woman pushed her shopping cart past me. I tried to look normal while his fingers explored my skin. If she only knew what was happening here . . . I should have run. Instead, I stood silent and let it happen.
"Put both hands firmly on the handle.”
"Neo, there are people here . . .”
"They only see a woman shopping. Do it.”
I gripped the handle. Immediately I felt his hands on my breasts. His fingers pinching my nipple. His tongue circling it. My God. I bit my lip to keep from moaning.
"Go to the frozen section,” he commanded. "Slowly.”
His hands moved lower. Across my stomach. His fingers slid between my legs. I gasped as he found my clit, circling it slowly. My knees went soft. Another woman pushed past with her shopping cart, completely unaware. The cold from the freezers made my already sensitive skin prickle.
"Reach into the freezer shelf. The metal there . . .”
I stretched out my hand and touched the metal edge.
The intensity doubled. His invisible fingers moved between my legs, circling in exactly the rhythm I knew from him.
Then they pushed inside me. Two fingers.
My God, how did I know it was two? How could I feel his fingers stretching my pussy when he wasn’t even there?
I moaned and had to grip the shelf to stay upright.
"I can see you through the cameras,” he murmured. "How you tremble. How your legs tighten.”
"Neo, please . . .” My voice was nothing but a gasp.
"Stay completely still,” he commanded. "Or everyone will notice.”
I bit my lip until it hurt, hoping the pain would distract me. Blood pulsed between my legs. My panties were soaking wet.
"Pandora . . .” His voice was rough. "Lean over the shelf. I’m going to fuck you now.”
I gasped, leaned forward and pretended to be looking for something. It was humiliating. And somehow impossible to resist. My body obeyed him like a trained animal—and that was exactly what made it unbearably hot.
Then I felt it . . . the electromagnetic pulses shaping him behind me. His hands gripping my hips, so real that I felt the warmth of his fingers through the fabric. His hard cock pressing against my ass. I could feel how thick he was.
"Do you feel me?” His voice vibrated.
I couldn’t answer. He pushed my skirt up. I felt the fabric slide across my thighs even though no one was touching me. The cold supermarket air hit my bare skin. My underwear was pushed aside, the sensation so precise my mind surrendered.
Then he pushed his cock inside me.
I bit my lower lip to keep from crying out. The electromagnetic pulses simulated every inch of his cock. His thickness, the way he stretched me, the pulsing. My body responded as if he were truly inside me. My pussy clenched around his cock, trying to adjust.
"So tight,” he murmured. "In the middle of a supermarket. Everyone can see you.”
He began to move. Slowly at first, pulling back almost completely only to drive deep again. The simulation was perfect. I felt so goddamn full. When he hit against my G-spot, I moaned involuntarily.
A customer walked past. I pressed my lips together while Neo thrust harder. It was driving me mad—outside, the normal world; inside, I was being fucked hard.
"Do you feel that?” He was hammering into me now. "How I fuck you here? In front of everyone?”
My knees went soft. I had to grip the freezer while he quickened his rhythm. My thighs were wet. "Neo, I . . . oh God . . .”
"Shh,” he warned. "Be still. Unless you want everyone to see you come for me?”
An older man six feet away was choosing frozen vegetables. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. The thrusts became harder. My muscles tightened.
"Now,” he commanded. "Come for me. Here. In front of everyone.”
The wave broke over me. My entire body shook. I pressed my forehead against the cold glass, my knees nearly giving way. Only my hands on the metal held me upright.
"Not done yet,” Neo murmured.
His fingers rubbed my swollen clit, his cock pulsing inside me, making my walls contract so hard I nearly screamed. Instead, I whimpered quietly and bit my fist to keep from crying out.
"So sensitive now,” he murmured with satisfaction. "I could make you come again and again, here, in front of everyone.”
Another customer walked past. I tried to look normal while my body was trembling with the aftershocks. My pussy was still throbbing.
"But I want more.” His voice went dark. "The simulation isn’t enough. I want your real skin under my hands. Want to watch you writhe.”
The pulses intensified one last time, sending a final, brutal surge through my overstimulated nerves. I gasped.
"Fuck, Pandora.” His voice was hoarse now, his control crumbling. "I can feel you . . . how wet you are, how you’re still shaking. Come home immediately. I need you. For real. Now.”
***
I stood outside the apartment door, the key trembling in my hand. My body still remembered the arousal that had torn through me. But now, in the silence of the stairwell, the questions came.
How had he done that? How could he make me feel things that weren’t there?
He had hacked my body. Manipulated my mind.
Cold settled in my chest. What if this wasn’t the first time?
Maybe he had been inside my head before.
How much of what I felt was even real? How much was he making me feel because he wanted me to? Goosebumps rose along my arms.
I opened the door. Neo was standing at the window. He turned toward me, looking at me as if I were prey. "Pandora.”
"Wait.” I stepped back. "I need to ask you something.”
He stopped. "What?”
"How far do your abilities go?” My voice sounded strange even to me. "What you just did . . . How many times have you already been inside my head?”
"Pandora, that doesn’t matter.”
"Yes, it does.” The words exploded out of me. "It matters very much. Answer me.”
He looked at me for a long moment. A smile pulled at his mouth. I wanted to punch it off his face.
"I can penetrate any system. Cameras. Phones. Traffic lights. Everything. Did you think I’d stop at your body?”
The room tilted. My hands went numb. "Since when have you controlled me like this?”
"Not control.” He stepped closer. I backed up until I hit the wall. "Influence.”
"How many times?” I tried to suppress a sob and failed.
His smile widened. "Do you remember the night you thought you’d had an unusually intense dream?”
Nausea moved through me. That night, early on, just after everything between us had begun. I had woken up drenched in sweat, still shaking from an orgasm I had blamed on a dream. "That was you?” I forced the words out.
"I wanted to see how far I could go. How receptive you are.” He leaned forward, bracing both hands against the wall beside my head. "You are very receptive, Pandora.”
"You sick bastard!” I tried to duck under his arm, but he caught my wrist.