They came to the opening late. It was November 5, and Dean bemoaned not being in the UK for Bonfire Night festivities. Stella smirked at him, told him that he was a bit of a traitor himself and he should be content with that. The filth that he whispered in her ear, made her forget about her remaining bristle with him about the things that had happened leading up to the opening.

Plus she loved the hell out of his sexy British accent. He cradled one of her buttocks, then slapped it so hard that Stella looked around to see if anyone had noticed.

The filming for Menaced, short from The Menaced Assassin, the Magritte painting that loosely inspired it was so long ago…so many things had happened since. She was discreet as her hand slipped into Dean’s. She had had so little contact with Elijah, since the blow-up over the leaking of their actual lovemaking during a scene. A small part of Eliza believed that Dean had done it on purpose because he wanted her for himself. He swore that it was not like that, but did she really care now? Elijah had been irate, and they had broken up. The breakup has been devastating for her, because she was with Elijah in her real and pretend roles in life. Dean was conveniently there to pick up her pieces, and they had been together ever since.

Sitting in the back of the screening, she rested either arm on arms of her seat. Dean continued to whisper filthy things that he wanted to do to her, and she tried not to make a sound. He stood up suddenly. She had not memorized the sequences in the film, it was that scene.

That scene.

“Come on, let’s go! It is almost the end–”

Stella was frozen in her seat.

“I have to watch it Dean, I have avoided it all this time. I have to see it just this once…”

“Fuck me if I am going to sit here and watch it! I will be outside…”

She was dreaming about the masquerade when she looked at the screen again. In her seat, she was squirming. When their masks kissed onscreen, she wished that she was wearing a mask. She hoped that no one noticed that she was there in the back, watching herself fuck Elijah on the screen.

And then, somewhere through it the scene, Dean came and sat back down next to her. She put her hand over his jacket sleeve.

“I just need to see it this once, just this once to not be afraid…”

When she saw herself and her expressions and the way she was caressing Elijah…she gasped. Dean put his hand over her mouth, and kissed her neck. She stilled and he moved his hand, continued to kiss her neck. Stella was silent, even though she squirmed in her seat all the more. Dean roughly pulled up her skirt, and she knew he was pleased that she was already wet from the way his fingers caressed her there…slowly, like Elijah used to. He pushed one finger into her, caressed her lips so she would not cry out. She saw herself faux making love to Elijah on the screen later in the scene, but she was thinking about making love to him for real in her mind.

And then as he added another finger, and another and she was about to burst. She buried her face in his shoulder, and then she knew.

She had not been imagining Elijah.

She closed her legs tightly, but it was too late. Stella came so hard, tears filled her eyes from the pleasure and because she knew, she knew…

She pulled her skirt back down, and rushed past Elijah. She knew his scent and his touch as real this time, and not the times she had imagined them.

He held her thigh, stood up and whispered as she tried to push past him.

“Are you still afraid Stella? Are you feeling menaced?”

She kneed him in the groin, he covered his mouth.

Stella ran because she was afraid for a myriad of reasons…

Darker flames can be found here:

magritte’s the menaced assassin via wikipaintings.org