The Possession of Tyra Dove

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

As he paid the taxi and stepped out into the driving rain, Alex Mundy was beginning to wonder if this was really worth the aggravation. The tip-off that Tyra Dove had a secret researcher had come from a photojournalist who had worked with her before. And that this researcher’s exclusive information had been instrumental in Tyra’s meteoric rise to fame had come as no surprise to Alex.

When Tyra had first arrived at The New England Crucible, she had been regarded by most of the established staff writers as something of a novelty. They all knew the story of how she had been abducted by Dalton Gibbs, a mentally disturbed vagrant who got his s****l kicks by humiliating pretty young women. Tyra had later bravely volunteered to act as the bait when the police finally apprehended him, and as a result, had been dubbed by the media as the Springfield College Girl. She had gone on to attain a degree in journalism and had then started writing for a small-scale women’s interest magazine. She certainly hadn’t set the journalistic world on fire and appeared to be coasting on her limited celebrity status. Then, a year ago, she had tipped off the police about a human-trafficking ring, and once again the Springfield College Girl was in the spotlight. This was followed by a string of similar scoops, all involving women’s rights, and Tyra was suddenly hot property. Inevitably, the major newspapers were now clamoring for her services and somewhat surprisingly, she had opted to join the Crucible.

Her arrival in itself hadn’t unduly interested Alex at first. He was the paper’s leading investigative journalist with his own weekly column, and although Tyra wrote the same type of material, her feminist topics did not clash with Alex’s.

Life started to get complicated for Alex however, after he was first introduced to Tyra. He didn’t remember seeing any news pictures of her, and because of her reputation, he had been expecting a frumpy, unattractive lesbian type. He couldn’t have been more wrong! He could still clearly remember the way she had energized the room when the editor-in-chief had presented her to the staff. Tall and lean, with sharp, intelligent, dark eyes, and gorgeously full lips, she took all the attention in her stride – and she was getting plenty of it.

Alex had discreetly studied her as she had chatted with her group of admirers, male and female. He had tried to visualize what she might look like under that sensible charcoal gray suit. She didn’t look like she had much of a rack, but Alex reckoned her butt would be tight and firm. He’d had a sudden vision of her kneeling before him, taking his cockhead in between her plump lips, and in that moment he decided that he simply had to have her.

Now, as he pulled up his collar and joined the other pedestrians hunched against the rain, he flinched inwardly in recollection of that disastrous night when he had tried to ask her out on a date. Alex Mundy’s reputation as a ladies’ man was unrivalled at the Crucible. He knew he had the looks and the style, and he was certainly not short on self-confidence.

He had been prompted to make his move a couple of weeks after her arrival at the paper. He had been drinking with a group of reporters at a local wine bar when Tyra had walked in with the Crucible’s fashion editor. As the two women had seated themselves, conversation had briefly stalled at Alex’s table as the men watched her hungrily. Then the comments had started.

“Damn, she is hot.”

“You know who she is?”

“Sure I do. That’s Tyra Dove, the Springfield College Girl.”

“No s**t?”

“She’s at the Crucible now, right, Alex?”

“That’s correct.”

“Look at those legs. They say she’s a fitness freak. I bet she’s great in the sack.”

“Forget about it. I heard she’s a dyke.”

“Ever seen her with a guy, Alex?”

“Uh-uh.”

“It doesn’t matter; I’d pay to watch her getting it on with another girl.”

“Maybe the blonde is f*****g her.”

“Nah, look at those lips. She likes her c**k alright; it’s just that she thinks her s**t doesn’t stink. Broad like that’s not going to put out for just anyone.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked her out yet, Alex,” one of the guys from the Globe had said.

Aware that his drinking buddies were aware of his lady-killer notoriety, Alex had replied, “I’ve thought about it, but to be honest, I prefer to have t**s on my bitches.”

He knew it had been a lame response. The truth was, he had been anxious to talk to Tyra ever since her arrival, and the reason he hadn’t, he was forced to admit, was that she somewhat intimated him. This unexpected reaction to her presence both worried and annoyed him – Alex Mundy, philanderer and legendary womanizer, could not be seen to be afraid of a woman!

Then the Globe guy had said to him, “You know what? That babe is such a class act, I’m not sure even you’d manage to get to home base.”

Alex had looked around the table as they had waited for his response. The challenge had been laid down and his reputation was on the line. He had downed his drink and had said, “Like I said, she’s not really my type, but if I get a date, dinner is on you guys. Agreed?”

“Go get her, stud!” the Globe guy had smirked.

Alex had sauntered as casually as possible over to the two women. “Gemma, how are you?”

Gemma Stevens, the fashion editor – a stylish blonde who made no secret of her distaste for Alex’s misogynistic behavior – had nodded politely, while Tyra had given Alex a curt glance. Up close, she looked more radiant than ever, her cheeks flushed with a healthy reddish hue, as if she had just been working out. Alex had felt his stomach tighten.

What the hell is it about this woman?

Alex had given Tyra his most charming smile and had said, “I’m afraid it’s been a bit hectic and I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself. I’m Alex Mundy.”

Tyra had accepted his hand graciously enough, and after an exchange of glances with Gemma, had agreed to his request to join them. The rest of the conversation hadn’t gone as he had hoped, however. After some initial pleasantries, Alex had – unusually for him – begun flirting a little too obviously, and to his horror, his advances were met by a growing amusement from the two newswomen. Too late, in his haste and misplaced self-confidence, he realized that he had set himself a trap. It quickly became apparent that Tyra was going to reject him, and yet with the guys watching, he couldn’t simply accept defeat and walk away. To make matters worse, Gemma Stevens was a notorious gossip – he should never have put himself in this position in front of her! Even if he was to lie that he had secured a date with Tyra, the office would very quickly know the truth.

Finally, in desperation Alex had made a clumsy attempt at asking Tyra out on a lunch date. Thinking about it now, he would never forget the delighted look on Gemma’s face as Tyra had politely turned him down. In retrospect it would have been better if Tyra had been offended – at least then he could have pretended that he had been deliberately crude to her.

Sure enough the next day, word had spread rapidly around the Crucible. Apart from a few friendly jibes from the guys, nothing much was said about it, but they all knew, and to himself at least, Alex’s stature was in tatters. Over the following weeks, Alex had avoided being in the same vicinity as Tyra but his resentment had only increased as he had observed from a distance how popular she was becoming.

Then, three days ago, came the hammer blow. The editor-in-chief had called Alex into his office and gently informed him that his column was being moved to a smaller and less prominent place in the paper – to make way for Tyra’s. Her work was receiving far more interest in the letter pages, his boss had explained, although he did reassure Alex that his own output was still highly valued.

For a man with an ego as sensitive as Alex Mundy’s, this was the final straw. In his mind, not only had that b***h destroyed his playboy reputation, but now she had humiliated him professionally. Furious, he had stewed for a day, considering his future. It was then, out of the blue, that the photojournalist – who was evidently also not a Tyra Dove fan – had told him about the secret behind her success.

The best way to track this girl down, Alex had learned, was to find her in a coffee shop, not far from Boston College which she attended. This was now Alex’s third visit in as many days, and all he had to go on was the girl’s name, Laurie Bass, and a rough description – ‘cute, bookish, with gloriously long red hair, and a huge rack of t**s’.

He ducked into the coffee shop and quickly glanced around at its arty décor. The place was quiet at this early hour, but Alex’s heart jumped as he spotted a cherub-faced redhead curled up in an armchair by the window. She had a delightful little frown on her face as she studied her Mac Book, and if this little honey was indeed the one, then he might just end up getting an added bonus from his voyage of discovery.

He hung up his coat, put on his best strut, and when he was settled at a table, glanced over at her. To his surprised delight the lovely little minx couldn’t take her eyes off him! He suppressed a grin as his damaged self-belief surged back with a vengeance. He gave her a nod and she flushed and averted her eyes. Alex took the opportunity to give her a quick appraisal and he liked what he saw. She was wearing ass-hugging maroon leather pants and a beige, woolen sweater which did nothing to hide the shape of her ample assets. She had taken off her ankle boots and he saw that pink socks covered her small feet. After a moment, she looked back across at him, made eye contact again, and her pale, freckled skin turned bright pink.

Oh yes! This is going to be easy!

He felt a stirring in his c**k as he prepared to make his move. This delectable young morsel was about to become his gateway into the private world of Tyra Dove.