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Gunnar’s wolfish face looked annoyed. She saw that he thought she’d carried the game too far— but that’s what he got for putting this sort of demand upon her. He wanted her to secretly sex the two men under the table — well, she’d showed him how to do it right!

The only trouble was he had more jollies in mind for the rest of the evening!

“What do you mean— go to the company apartment?” she asked Gunnar angrily when they’d left the restaurant and he drew her aside while the others looked for a cab.

“Just that. I want us locked solid with Hunt and Weber. I can’t have one without the other, because they’re buddies. The other two don’t count.”

“I’m no hooker!” she protested bitterly. “I’ve already done too much for your friends.”

“Oh, you’ll put out,” he told her. “I can make you too much trouble for you to refuse.”

“I’m trying to help. You’re going too far, Gunnar. You can’t have unlimited license with my body, no matter how much blackmail.”

He patted her round fanny. “Just tonight, dear heart.”

She swung on him furiously, slapping his face with a blow that echoed.

“Not tonight! Not ever!”

His eyes blazed as he grabbed her arm. He told her that they were going to a company apartment that the bank maintained for out of town customers. He told her the address, as Hunt and Weber succeeded in pulling a cab to the curb. She jerked loose from him and began to run, which was possible since she wore a split skirt. Because of her heels she ran on her toes until her calves ached, losing Gunnar and his friends, losing herself in the nighttime crowds of the city that was never still. It felt good— as if she ran from her dangerous past and her even more dangerous present.

Gunnar was insane if he thought she would…

She wished she’d gone on with Leaf and the other two for a tour of night spots. There’d be a lot of kidding and fast talk but nothing serious in sex would happen with that innocent group.

It took no great brains to see Gunnar was too reckless to ever pull off a successful computer theft. He was bright enough, but took sex too seriously. Her plans were infinitely subtle, carefully worked out so that she siphoned off small amounts and transferred the losses from one budget to another until it became a tax deduction. If a certain amount was going to be sent to the government in taxes anyway, nobody looked too closely at those deductions. It was already lost money. Whatever the company could save in deductions was most welcome.

The tax people seldom bothered with challenges of a few thousand dollars, especially when the whole company’s financial affairs were serviced by a computer. Even tax people thought computers were honest.

She had poured over the company’s complete financial set-up for long hours, preparing the way. Once her “Starshell” system started to operate, she was further protected that if a programmer challenged her special accounts she knew of it instantly and could wipe out that part of the computer’s memory. Then it was merely a machine mistake, and everybody knew that computer start-ups always meant early mistakes. It took a long time for company executives to get used to a new computer and work the bugs out.

But Gunnar— too reckless — too impulsive. They were bound to get caught. It was bitter, bitter to have just set up everything so nicely and then have this madman nail her!

She walked a few more blocks, calming down, remaining lost in the misery of her entrapment. Then she hailed a cab and went to the address of the company apartment.

Gunnar expected her, the crud! He merely gave her his insolent grin.

“I knew you’d come, but I didn’t know how long it would take.”

“How did you know, Gunnar?” she asked wearily, defeated.

“You think I’m stupid, Crystal. The challenge is— if I’m stupid, you’re smarter. If you’re smarter, you should be able to outfox me, save yourself, shake me off, and come out clean.”

“That’s correct.” Give him his points.

“I accept the challenge. Now take off your clothes.”

“I will not!”

He caught her by the hand and led her into the apartment living room. The place was big, elegantly furnished, but impersonal. Hunt and Weber both jumped up with anticipatory smiles. She stood there like a fool, listening to an argument break out between the two friends as to who would be first. Talk about a girl being set up as a piece of meat! She spun on her heel to go, but Gunnar, who’d listened to the debate with a delighted grin, caught her arm.

“Crystal has a great idea as to how we can settle who’s first,” he said. “We simply turn off the lights and each man gropes in the darkness for the prize. The first one who catches her undresses her and takes off. I’ve already locked the doors so she can’t cheat.”

“What!” she cried. “Why I never— that’s ridiculous — you-you…”

Even while she sputtered Gunnar slid to the walls and cut off the lights. The last thing she saw was the two faces of the astounded men, surprised as she was by Gunnar’s game. Then she found herself in pitch blackness.

Hand it to Gunnar! He’d thought the whole thing out ahead— her protests, a way to get her stripped and into the action. The men were big and strong. They could strip her all right and probably fuck her, too. Gunnar didn’t have to rough her up or do any of the dirty work.

“Gunnar, you bastard!” she shrieked. Then she heard the whisper of movement and began to run around the big living room in desperation. The girl hunt was already on. She bit her lips against her rush of anger. If she was to save herself, she’d have to be quiet and clever. She immediately adjusted to the new situation, discarded her shoes, and tossed them on the rug for someone to trip over. Sure enough, Weber did almost at once. He and Hunt got a big kick out of this game, once the first surprise was over— calling to each other and laughing.

“I can see better than you in the dark, Hunt. You’re a loser,” said Weber.

“You move too slowly, Weber. You’ll never make it,” retorted Hunt.

The apartment was really pitch black. Gunnar must’ve arranged that ahead of time. The two bankers quickly caught on that talking and sounds of movement alerted their prey. Suddenly the room became very silent.

Crystal drifted toward the spot she was sure there was a door. Maybe if she pulled it back and crouched down… Dammit, here she was playing Gunnar’s game. So were the others. Maybe he was smarter than she thought.

She heard the two men moving about the room, occasionally bumping into furniture and giving muttered curses. Then she was swept off her feet by strong arms. She knew at once it was Gunnar. He bore her swiftly through the door into a bedroom.

“Gunnar,” she gasped. “How the devil…”

“Smell,” he said. “Your perfume.”

The fight on the bed in the blackness was short and fierce. She inflicted a few scratches, and lost her clothes, every stitch, in about one minute. Gunnar, the beast, had already stripped and was hard, of course.

Gasping, she rested for a minute. “I think I can put you in jail for this,” she said hotly.

“Sure you can,” he said brightly. “Just go to the police and tell ’em who you are— and who I am…”

“Damn you…”

There was no more time for words. He pulled her, struggling on top of him, spread her legs, and jabbed his stiff cock at her cunt. She almost died of astonishment as he violated her. Why, her cunt was hot and wet-really flowing.

“Gunnar, you beast…”