Steamy Screams: Anthology of Erotic Horror

PHANTOM DEPOSIT Larissa Alloway

The bank lobby was dark, half-hidden in shadows. A winter storm had blown in around three o’clock. It looked like a nice, soft snowfall at first, but, just before closing, it had intensified. I toiled at my desk, rushing to finish closing duties before I got stuck at the bank.

Snow collected rapidly in the corners of the windows, adding an eerie sense of isolation to the lighted island of my desk. I felt jumpy and wished I had all the lights blazing, not just the floor lamp to my left.

No need to be paranoid, Viv. You can handle this.

The other bank managers hate closing. They find dealing with the tedium of balancing accounts and locking things up for the night boring. For me, the ordered world of the bank—assuring balance and that everything is in its place—provides armor against the chaos of the rest of the world.

The sound of the snowstorm brushing against the windowpanes and the act of counting the money in the drawer lured me into a trancelike state. I was finishing up with the last drawer--all the coins in neat rows on the desk, the currency separated by denomination with the presidents’ heads all facing the same direction--when the phone rang. I jumped as the silence was shattered, knocking the coin towers across my desk.

“Damn!” I grabbed for the phone. “This is Vivienne.” I spoke sharply, distracted as I tried to resort the coins.

Static buzzed through the phone lines, but I thought I recognized my bank manager’s voice on the other end. Steve’s words came through like Morse code, in stutters and stops, but I could pick out words like ‘emergency’ and ‘closure.’ Then the phone line went dead, cutting the static off abruptly. I stood at the side of my desk, holding the phone until it began beeping.

After carefully setting the receiver back into the cradle, I crossed the lobby once again to peer out the windows, the heels of my shoes making staccato taps on the wooden floor. They echoed in the large room, a reminder that I was all alone.

The snow didn’t seem very deep and actually appeared to be slowing, so Steve probably hadn’t been talking about road closures.

But what had cut off the phone service, then? Maybe the storm was worse than it looked.

I peered out the window when I felt light pressure on my shoulder. I screamed and jumped away, spinning around to face the lobby. I was shocked to see David, the new night officer, who had started at the bank several weeks ago.

“Jeez! Where did you come from? You’re not supposed to be here.” My voice sounded thin and out of breath. Feeling foolish, I leaned against the window, my legs weak from the adrenaline rush.

“Relax, I didn’t mean to scare you. Steve asked me to come down and make sure you got out of here okay. Didn’t he tell you?”

“No. Well, maybe. He just called, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The phone lines are all broken up.”

Out of all the bank officers, David was the youngest and the best looking, with soft black hair, deep brown eyes and smooth caramel skin. He probably lifted weights every day, because his body was tight and muscular.

He looked at me, a small grin playing around his mouth. I smiled back, not immune to the warmth in his eyes. Although I wouldn’t say I’m bad looking, I’m not the kind of girl someone like David would ever be interested in. Smart, gorgeous men very rarely notice shy, awkward, average women.

I looked down at the floor. “Well, let’s get out of here, then. I was just ready to put away the deposits and do the last run through before setting the alarms.”

As I headed for my desk, I realized that David wasn’t moving, but remained by the window. I looked back at him. “Are you coming?”

Shrugging, he strolled across the lobby. The way his body moved reminded me of a wild cat prowling the jungle, all heat and muscle. Our eyes once again locked and a different kind of warmth spread through my body, a fire settling in my pelvis.

Embarrassed, I turned back to my desk. “I’m almost done,” I repeated. My self-consciousness growing, I dropped quarters as I tried to put them into coin wrappers. Knowing David had to be thinking I was an idiot, I tried to get a grip on my libido.

I took a deep breath which caught in my throat when I felt his hand on my shoulder. My head swam for a moment, and I vaguely thought I might fall, my knees once again refusing to support me. His fingers lightly brushed the nape of my neck. I almost whimpered as he gently turned me toward him, his fingers reaching up and curling into my hair.

Unbidden, I leaned my body against him and pressed my hips against his. I could feel his excitement. When I lifted my face to meet David’s, there was a heat in his eyes that seared me, erotic flames licking through me. My thighs tingled and a warm blush spread over my skin. As he touched his lips to mine, I thought, This can’t be happening, but as our kiss deepened and our lips twisted in passion, I quit thinking altogether.

Coins scattered all over the floor as David lifted me onto the desk. Cradling my head with one hand, his other stroked an electric trail from my knee up my inner thigh, lightly brushing over my waiting need. I gasped at the intensity of my desire, but his hand had already continued over my stomach, pulling my shirt over my breasts. As he lowered his head to lick my exposed skin, I felt myself grow wet. I reached for his waistband, but David grabbed my wrist firmly and secured it behind my back. He lowered me the rest of the way onto my desk, my back arching over our arms. As he released the front closure on my bra, I shivered with anticipation.

His lips tantalized the nipple closest to him. The breath and heat of his mouth caused me to flush, my blood racing. Moving on to the other nipple, David sucked gently, sensuously. I arched my back even further, desperate to feel his mouth devouring me. David started sucking harder to match my growing intensity.

A low groan escaped from him, a feral noise of need. I helped him pull my skirt up and this time, he allowed me to undo his pants. His hands slid my satin panties down my hips. Reaching between my legs, he caressed me, lightly touching my sweet spots. I cried out as he reached inside me, teasing me with his fingers.

“Oh, God.” The whimper I had contained earlier slipped out. My body dropped back onto the desk. In a fluid movement, David pulled my hips to the edge of the desk where he was standing and used his own legs to push between mine. My whole body trembled as I sensed he was losing control.

I needed him inside me.

I grabbed his hips and pulled him into me. His shaft was hot and smooth. He slid in deep, filling me with his throbbing heat.

He stroked my breasts, rolling the nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. A shudder rippled through my body. I clutched his shoulders, nibbling on the solid muscle.

My eyes closed, I focused on the warm, tingling sensations I felt from his cock sliding in and out, in and out. Together, our breathing became ragged and David grabbed the curve of my hips, helping to orchestrate our rhythm. Barely able to control my body, the need for release grew until, finally, an explosion of pulsating waves rocked me. David followed shortly and we collapsed together back onto the desk.

Lying on his chest, I began to giggle. His eyes still closed, David stretched an arm over his head.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just never would have thought anything like this would happen, ever, in my entire life.” I sat up, kissing his lips quickly as I reached over him to retrieve my shirt and bra. “I’m going to go to the bathroom to straighten myself up,” I said.

David just nodded and looked like he was going to sleep.

It was while I was in the bathroom that I realized exactly how much trouble we were in. I could barely hook my bra. The video surveillance tapes probably caught our entire encounter.

My exuberance transformed into a dark knot of fear in my stomach. I splashed water on my face, but it didn’t help. I walked back down the hall toward the lobby, my stomach churning.

My mind raced. I tried to think of solutions that would get us out of this mess. I began talking to myself, although I was whispering, more than talking. “Maybe we could somehow damage the tapes. But wouldn’t we get into trouble for that? Maybe we could rewind them and tape over them. Do they have ways to check if the tapes are tampered with? Or, is there a live digital feed somewhere? If that’s the case, then we are in really big trouble.”

I put my hands to my heated cheeks. “Oh, God! I am so out of my league.”

Entering the lobby, I didn’t see David anywhere. I stood confused for a moment, and then figured he must have gone to the restroom as well. I debated waiting for him but decided to go ahead and check out the surveillance cameras.

I jumped when the front door swung open. Steve burst through, snow sticking in his hair and to his wool dress coat. I stared at him, my mouth slightly open in shock, as he battled the wind to close the door. Once the lock was latched, he crossed over to me.

“Vivienne, are you ok?”

My heart thudded in my chest. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?” I struggled to keep my voice calm.

“The roads were closed and I had to turn around. I called to warn you to get to a motel and not try to go home tonight but when the lines cut out, I got worried and came back to make sure everything was ok.”

“Thanks for your concern, but David is here with me and we were just getting ready to leave.” I’d have to deal with the surveillance videos later. I looked at Steve with a self-assured smile that I certainly didn’t feel. He returned my smile with a puzzled look. “Who’s David?”

“David, the new night officer? You asked him to come after me?”

“Vivienne, what are you talking about? David was killed in a car accident last week while you were on vacation. He can’t be here.” Looking into his eyes, I could see fear. “Is there someone in the bank right now? We’ve got to go—they might be armed.”

I tried to explain that Steve was wrong about David, but I couldn’t form the words. He quickly wrapped my coat around me, and I meekly followed him out of the bank and into his car, where he called the police.

When the police arrived, the only footprints visible in the snow were mine and Steve’s. Although they did a complete search of the building, the detectives found no one. Even the surveillance tapes were no help. I needn’t have worried about them, as whatever had caused the phone lines to break up had interfered with the security system. From the point of the phone call on, only static was recorded.

To this day, I still don’t know what happened. If I think about that night at the bank, I feel overwhelmed with the questions that linger by David’s strange appearance. So, I don’t think of it. Not much, anyway.