Rings of Fire Ch. 01

I thought I should write a foreword. This is my first step towards penning a steamy thriller. Yes, 'Steamy Thriller'. I've done my best to develop a nice plot that keeps things rolling at every stage of the story. This first chapter is a bit descriptive, and I hope the coming ones will be more spicy. There are more than 20-something chapters that would follow, with lots of twists and turns. I'm sure you'll like the whole series.

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Nov 19 2005. 12.30 AM:

It was a cold Saturday morning on the streets of Chennai. The white Toyota Qualis whirred softly with a cat's purr as it raced alone under the glowing orange lighting of the halogen streetlights. It was yet another of those hundreds of company cabs that belonged to the call-centers. Chandru, the cab driver was driving the vehicle, as Charulatha sat next to him in the front passenger seat, with thought after thought going through her mind.

Like most of the days, it would be her silent drive home. Charulatha was 22. She had completed three years of bachelors study, and like every other youngster at her age, the prospect of the tech boom and the awe of living in a huge city like Chennai attracted her to that burgeoning city.

Chennai gave a feel of a big city, especially for people like her, who hadn't grown up here. It had been a few months since she decided to move to Chennai. It was with a broken heart and a lost love that she had come to Chennai, the city where people can get lost in the crowds. No one knew her there.

Hers was a face, which people used to see, remember for the night and forget the following morning. That was years back. Now, she was much different. Physically, with a fair skin colour and a slim voluptuous body, she was one of those kinds who'd make heads turn. She was 5'9", with shoulder length hair, black eyes and 36-34-36 body. She was a natural beauty. She knew that herself. She was single but she was not a virgin either. But, that didn't make her a slut. There have been a couple of serious relationships in life, which didn't work out well in the end.

She had a feeling that she was not that great at sex, but somehow people continued to look at her more like a sex goddess than a normal home made girl who would love to have serious relationships. People looking at her, was not something new to her. The very first place a guy's eyes would grope would be her voluptuous breasts as they were firm, round and eye-catching.

She never regretted for being the object of dreams for guys. She seriously felt there was no harm in letting people look. She knew that she excited people who see her and she knew they mentally undressed her, even while she was there with them or when she leaves after meeting them. As a person who had studied English literature, she thought she had a good grasp of English; and there wasn't a better way to make good use of it than to work in a call center.

Even though her English unquestionably matched her other capabilities, she'd say, she got the job at that reputed call center only because of her looks all through the selection process. She didn't mind. She simply thought, if that's the case, then let it be. She didn't mind.

Since living in a women's hostel didn't do any good to accommodate her late night shifts, she had to rent a separate house for myself. Thankfully, the salary was good enough for her to rent a house alone. Both the landlord and the landlady were good. It was an apartment building in the fourth floor.

All she had above her was the apartment's terrace. No one usually came that far up frequently. The apartment next to her wasn't rented, so there wasn't anyone on the whole fourth floor other than her. The best thing was that she could come and go at anytime. She knew some people in the lower floors, but they got to see her only when she went out for work in the afternoons. And they never saw her comeback, because, it would be late night when she finished her shift.

She always thought as if she was doing magic, appearing to leave house daily but returning back mysteriously. People were nice. To them she was doing her job, and she was left to herself. It didn't lead to any serious friendships, cos, all the women she knew at her apartment complex were married and had kids. They knew she had friends, and they didn't mind her bringing guys to her home occasionally for a coffee. Even if they thought she was into sex with every guy who comes home, she didn't mind. No one knew her that close. She was a lost face. And she was more than happy to keep it that way.

She was the only daughter to her mom and dad. Dad always gave her thumbs up to be independent. Mom was the one who got worried about her. And when there was news that a girl working at a call center was raped and killed, mom almost freaked out. It took her hours to explain her that everything was fine in the place she worked.

Even the company made it more stringent, and changed a couple of cab drivers who used to pick her up for work. Luckily, Chandru stayed back. He is the cabbie who used to pick her up usually. It was she who used to get picked up first and dropped in back at her house last for every shift.

Even though she was not that close to him, she was not a total stranger to him. He always greeted her with a smile. And never once would he start the ignition of the cab before having a good look at her body and relishing her for a moment.

It was fine for her. She knew he drove the cab whole day. If a small pleasure like looking at good looking girl made him relax and work better, then that was great really. Things went well. She never spoke much but they knew each other, except when he called her by addressing her as 'madam' when he picked her up for work.

But then it happened again, the news of the second girl having been kidnapped and raped by a call center cabbie. Mom as usual went hysterical. It was dad who supported her. He said, 'The best way to fight the enemy is to befriend the enemy'. So he asked her to maintain a balance, be friendly and become closer to them.

She really didn't know where to start in that. Even though, Chandru looked at her sexually, she knew that he was basically a good man. That made her like him a lot really. She always felt decent people deserved more. As long as they were decent and respected her as a person, she believed it is okay to give them more than they actually expect. An occasional sexual favour wasn't that bad to repay their decency, in her opinion.

People like Chandru don't crave for that, but accept or deny it gracefully even if she offered them anything like that. It was the girl's instinct that can easily grasp the guy's intentions and say if they are good or bad.

Even then, she felt there wasn't anything wrong in fraternizing with his sort. It was a cold November night, and it was almost 1 am in the morning. She was the last person in the cab. It was Chandru driving the Toyota Qualis as usual. She was in the seat next to the driver. The Radio Mirchi was blaring with some old songs in that misty morning.

"So, Chandru, how was your day today?" She started a pointless chat.

"It was fine madam." He said to her.

"Are the shifts really bad?" She asked him.

"Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not." He said in a monotonous tone.

"Where are you from Chandru? Are you from Chennai?" She asked him.

"No, madam. I do not belong to Chennai. I've been here for a number of years now. So it has become somewhat like home away from home for me."

"Are any of your relatives here?" She asked him.

"No madam. It is just me." He said.

"Where do you stay?" She asked.

"I stay with three of my friends." He said.

"Are they cab drivers too?"

"Yes, madam." He said.

"Are they good?" She asked him. It was a stupid question to ask, but she did ask.

"Why are asking like that madam?" he asked her back.

"Are you cab drivers really good? I mean, I was wondering if you'll kidnap me one day, have sex with me, rape me and kill me one day, just like what had happened in the news?" that question should've ripped his heart straight through.

"Madam, don't worry madam. Personally I wouldn't have sex with any girl, unless she allows me to." He said.

"I know you like me. I know how good I look." She said smilingly.

"I know too madam. You are one of the most beautiful women who work at our company." He said grinning.

"Thank you." She blushed accepting his complements.

"Do you like me??" She asked him teasingly.

"Yes madam." He said.

"If I let you have sex with me, will you do that??" She asked out of the blue. He was stunned, or at least he seemed to appear that way. She continued, "In my opinion, I thought, rather than letting you look at me and undress me mentally every night, and then end up getting raped one day, it would be better to simply do a favour. That way, I could keep myself alive." She joked.

"You don't have to do that madam. We are here to get you home safe every night." He replied.

"Why? Am I not beautiful? Am I not good enough for a nice session of sex?" She taunted him. She could see him becoming a bit restless as he drove the cab.

"It is not like that madam." He said.

"Don't call me madam. Call me as Charu." She said to him, "From now on, we are good friends. If you ever feel like having it, just ask me and I'll be very happy to do it for you. I don't mind."

"Okay." He said silently.

"So, what are you doing after dropping me tonight?" She asked him.

"Nothing, really. I go home and get a good night's sleep." He said.

"Are you tired?" She asked him.

"Yes, a bit." He said.

"Would you like to come to my house for a cup of coffee?" She asked him.

"It is okay. I'll do fine." He said.

"Come on Chandru. It is okay. It wouldn't hurt if you go home a bit late." She said to him.

He was silent.

"Are you coming?" She asked him again, but now placing her hand on his shoulder and then brushing his thighs as she brought back her hand. That helped it.

"Yes..." he said.

She asked him to park the cab somewhere safe and walk with her to her home. As he parked, she let loose her T-shirt a bit, by opening a couple of buttons, revealed some of her bra and her cleavage.

The moment he walked to the other side of the cab to join the walk to her home, she saw his eyes grazing over her opened up T-shirt. Under the gleaming orange rays of the mercury street light, she could see that he was stunned.

"What happened?" She asked him as she noticed his hand move over to cover the embarrassing bulge in his pants.

"Nothing. I'm fine." He recovered.

"This way." She said, motioning him to walk in her direction.

It was the quietest of the night. Everyone was asleep. Even, Tommy, the dog at the second floor aunty's house was asleep. As she walked up the floors two steps at a time, she saw Tommy look at the stranger with her. Then making sure that he was with her, it went back to sleep again.

"Do you live alone here?" Chandru asked seeing the dusty deserted corridor, as she fumbled with the lock under the little light from the night bulb.

"Yes. Why?" She asked him.

"It seems like no one else is here in your floor." He said.

"Yes, I drove away every single person so that I can have the floor just for myself." She said jokingly.

"May be I'll show you around." She said, as she left the door and walked across the corridor towards the other house. Under the light from the screen of her mobile phone, she took him inside the empty house. "I like this place really. From here, you can see the planes take off and land at the nearby airport." Her voice echoed around as she showed him the distant lights from the airport from the balcony of that deserted house.

"Beautiful." He punctuated.

"At the end of the corridor is the terrace. It is cold out there tonight. I'll show it to you someday." She said to him.

They tiptoed back to her house. He followed her.

"Make yourself comfortable. But don't switch on the TV or the light. Everyone else in the complex would be sleeping." She said to him softly.

"Okay." He whispered back smiling at her.

"I'll get myself changed and then I'll make coffee for you." She said to him

"Okay." He said again, settling down in the darkness at the sofa.

She went inside her room, intentionally leaving the door open and switching on the bedside lamp, leaving the soft light fill the drawing room as well through the bedroom door. The house was in darkness except for the light from her room. She knew it would make shadows into the wall on the drawing room. She wanted to tease him a bit.

One by one, she removed her dress. The T-shirt came off first, and then the jeans. She knew he would be watching her shadow in the drawing hall as she undressed. She didn't stop there. She unclasped the bra and then dangling it in her hand for a couple of seconds she threw it on the bed. As she bent herself to remove her panties, she could see the shadow of her round breasts with her nipples sticking out.

He should surely see her shadow, holding her panties in her hand, she thought. And thus he would surely know that at that moment she was standing stark naked in her room.

She didn't bother to wear any bra, but chose to wear a pair of panties, a casual free flowing skirt and a casual shirt. He would by that time, know that she wasn't wearing her bra inside. She zipped up her shirt half way and then disappeared from near the lamp to take off her shadow from the wall.

Intentionally she left the zip on her shirt open a bit and that left her breasts stretching her shirt as she wasn't wearing her bra. The moment she came out of her room, she saw his eyes glued on to her half open shirt. She knew it made him horny. And the thought that she made him feel horny, made her feel horny as well.

"What happened? What are you looking at??" She asked him.

"You... You look..." he stammered.

"Sexy??" She asked him giggling.

"Yes..." he said.

"Okay... I'll make some coffee for you now." She said laughingly, and then went into the kitchen, switching on the light.

"Don't you feel lonely and afraid staying here alone?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen, standing beside the kitchen door.

"Afraid? Afraid about what?" She asked him.

"Like you said, someone may come and rape you while you are alone?" he said smiling at her.

"Well, I won't let it happen that far. If sex is what they want, I would simply let that person have sex with me. Then there wouldn't be a need for someone to rape me, isn't it??" She said smiling.

"Who would want to have sex with me anyway? I'm never at home. I come home at the middle of the night." She added.

"Well, people like me..." he let the idea hang a bit.

"Hmmm... may be night owls like us can do when we get time..." She said and continued, "Do you want to have sex with me?"

"Hmm... may be. Do you?" he asked back.

"I don't mind. If you really want it..." She said to him trying to boil the milk on the stove.

"May be..." it seemed he was still undecided and he was still grossly looking at her deep cleavage and her breasts.

"By the way, I've been noting that your eyes never left my breasts ever since you stepped into my house." She grinned.

"Because they look beautiful." He said.

"How could you say that without even seeing them fully?" She asked him.

"I can guess from what little I can see. I guess it would look good fully." He was saying.

"May be you should really have a good look at it fully and then say if it really looks beautiful." Saying so, with one swift motion she unzipped her shirt completely and let it open, showing off both her naked breasts to him.

He just stood there looking at her full breasts and her half naked torso.

"Are you just going to stand there looking at them?" She asked him.

He snapped out of his thoughts and coming close, and standing just in front of her, he brought both his hands and started caressing her breasts slowly. The moment she felt his hard hands on her supple milky breasts, she felt as if she would trip over her senses.

It felt amazing to feel a man touching her breasts after a long time. She simply closed her eyes as he fondled with both her breasts. Silence filled the room except the hushed sound of burning gas in the stove. She switched off the stove. It felt useless to heat the milk to make coffee. The purpose was already being served.

"Is your cunt feeling horny??" he asked using raw words.

"Hmmm..." His words surprised her and she moaned closing her eyes as she felt his hands play ball with her breasts.

"Show me to your bed." He ordered.

She moved ahead out of the kitchen silently, like a dog on a leash, walked across the hall and into her bedroom. Once there, she simply stood there awaiting his next move without saying a word. He had switched off the light in the kitchen and walk behind her to her bed.

"Will you let me fuck you tonight?" he asked as he twirled and twisted her nipples with his fingers.

"Hmmm... yess..." She moaned.

Then, within a matter of seconds, he quickly removed his dress and became naked. His hard brown skin shined under the light from the bedside lamp.

She could see his shoulder biceps fletch as he came near her. 'Boy, he is one of those rough ramming types...' She thought.

He looked like a mini-Arnold Schwarzenegger to her, with his body all toned up.

With force he pulled off her shirt from her shoulders and then letting a finger inside her skirt, snapped the button open. Her skirt fell at her feet, leaving her wearing only her panties.

She thought he would pull down her panties making her look as naked as was on the day she was born. But she felt him let his fingers on the side of her panties, and then grabbing the elastic on the hem, pulled it away from her hips as far as it would go, and let it go. The elastic returned back to her hips with a sharp painful rap on her skin, pushing her horniness off the edge.

"Amma...." She gasped as she felt his finger sneak inside her panties to her crotch and started to caress her cunt lips softly, giving her a feeling that was in stark contrast to the sting on her hips.

Closing her eyes, she hugged him tight, feeling her taut nipples rub against his manly chest. The hairs on his chest sent ripples on her nipples. She felt her breasts go hard; hardest in months, aching for the touch of a hand.

Lifting her in his hands, he laid her on her bed, stretching her legs aside. Grabbing the sides of her panties, instead of pulling them down, he pulled them up as much as they can go towards her tummy. The soft cotton cloth of the panties' crotch stuck to her cunt, forming a camel-toe.

She saw him bring his tongue close to her crotch and then lick her panties, letting her feel the warmth of the wetness from his tongue. The thin line of cloth between her cunt and his tongue only hiked up her pleasure in a way she had never imagined.

As the wet spot on her panties grew, he pulled away his tongue replacing his finger on her panties along the cleft in between her cunt lips, giving it a small rub and a nudge all the way up and then down.

"Hmmm...." She gasped and moaned as he continued to tease her.

She knew she was one of those types who could endure the longest of foreplays. However, it was not the case at that moment. The long draught in her sexual heaven needed drastic countermeasures. She didn't want to go into foreplay anymore.

When, not even a few minutes have passed since he stripped her off her dress, she started to plead him.

"Pleasee...." She said.

"What happened?" he asked her like an affectionate lover.

"Please, don't tease me more... do it now..." she said in a pleading tone.

He continued to tease her adding more fuel to her flame of horniness.

"Please... Chandru... Please...." She pleaded again. "Fuck me now, please... please..." she begged him.