Chapter 8.

Iyke thought his head would explode. He shook his head dazedly. This was not a dream. A live witch was inside the house.

"Oh Lord, oh Lord," he continued shouting. "Women, women! Jesus!"

Flora raced to the door and yanked it open. "Iyke, you're home?" she asked, smiling nervously. She came to hug him. Iyke pushed her away roughly, like she was leprous.

He kept moping at her, face contorted with a grimace of disgust.

"Welcome dear," Flora tried again.

"Welcome your own," he retorted, pushing her aside as he stormed into the house.

Flora was seriously freaking out. What did he hear? How much did he hear? She followed Iyke into the house, trying not to panic. Oh how foolish of her to have talked so flippantly, as she tried to prove some stupid point.

Iyke walked straight to his room, ignoring her totally. He was shocked! He fell on the bed and lay motionless for a long time. What was he supposed to do now? Just what the hell was he supposed to do! He crossed an arm over his face, in deep thought.

The evidence was there. She had told the story with her own mouth. She was probably thinking this was a game, right? She had destroyed a thriving relationship with her greed. She had smothered the happiness of her own friend so wickedly, without even an iota of remorse. Witch!

Iyke simply couldn't believe that he had been so blind as to follow her stories sheepishly. Was that how he would practise as a barrister? Falling for pretty lies from pretty, pink lips? He hissed in annoyance. He seriously wanted to beat up himself. And poor Lily. Poor, beautiful Lily with the kindest heart. Just how did he crucify her without giving her a chance to defend herself? Lily could never hurt a fly. He had failed Chris as a friend. He inhaled deeply.

Now to the main task; casting that demon out of this house. He owed Chris and most especially Lily that much. Iyke was still thinking of a perfect way to handle the situation, when the door handle turned. Flora padded into the room, wearing a lingerie and smiling seductively. She quietly closed the door and leaned on it. Iyke struggled to swallow past the lump that formed in his throat. So it had also come to this? Nice one.

Yes, it was true that he was most definitely infuriated with the desperado that was Flora, but she wasn't really such a bad choice after all. She had all the curves in the right places. Her smooth, dark skin filled like tar into a figure that was daintily sculptured like fragile China wares. His eyes fed on those great legs blatantly displayed. Yes, she was physically endowed, but was obviously a cheap whore.

Flora smiled smugly when she saw him gawking. She finally got the dude. A pink tongue came out to caress her lush lips, in unrehearsed seduction. She winked and bit her lower lip, sucking in breath. Iyke's eyes fastened on her lips. That was where she wanted him to look, right? A little fun wouldn't hurt.

She proceeded towards him in slow, hypnotizing, fluid motion. Good move! She learned from the best, Iyke thought, enjoying the show. Now she was coming to lie over him. Kai! She smelled like heaven.

Flora smiled again, then slowly brought down her head. Iyke was sure he would lose his mind. What did she want to do? He closed his eyes so that he could tell God that he was not a witness. He was supposed to push her off. That was what any responsible man should do, but this was a welcome temptation. He lay there like a caged rat, sweating under the air condition.

"I know you want me, but it's gonna be a deal," Flora whispered into his ears. Iyke's eyes flew open as hot breathe hit his ears, accompanied by the shameless words. He was glad to have regained whatever bit of sanity she snuffed out of him. He pushed her off him, breathing hard.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Iyke asked, moving over to a table to take a long, survival draw from his water bottle.

Jeez, he had just reached the junction to hell and come back. Thank you Jesus! He leaned on the table watching her, his face devoid of any expression. Flora lay on her belly, with both hands supporting her chin, while taking care to expose as much of her bosom as possible.

"I mean, you don't tell on me and you get one night," she said, winking at him. She was proud of her feminine power. Could that work on Chris? She wasn't sure. Chris was simply unpredictable and too disciplined, but he was a man right? He might send her away if she ever tried it and that was one of the many things she loved about him. Chris would never cheat. But Iyke fell for it right? And all men were practically the same, she concluded.

"What do you mean by telling on you?" Iyke asked, feigning ignorance. He folded his arms across his chest and waited. Let the bitch expose herself. Guilty conscience.

Flora was visibly confused. Maybe he didn't hear anything, or did he? Her brows furrowed thoughtfully. He must have heard something. That was why he shouted back then and had been outrightly rude. Iyke was usually gentle and kind.

"I thought you heard... You know, something."

"Something like what?" Iyke queried further.

Flora twirled a lock of hair around a finger, in sincere confusion. Maybe he didn't actually hear anything. Maybe he was just in a bad mood.

"Nothing," she replied finally, getting up to leave. She had wasted her time with the asshole and even went as far as offering herself. She almost hissed in annoyance. Her face burned with shame. She was about to open the door when she heard the statement that cleared all her confusion.

"She was your best friend," Iyke said accusingly, those eyes convicting her of every sin she'd committed.

She halted spasmodically. That stung. That always got her. Was she supposed to live the rest of her life worshipping Lily for helping her?

"You won't understand," She said succinctly, laying her aching head on the door.

"Oh? I won't? What won't I understand? That you have a lot of ugliness masked with that pretty face? That you're a low bitch who will do just about anything for men? That you're a shameless whore who set up her own friend for a man? Just tell me," Iyke vituperated furiously.

Flora shut her eyes and slowly sank to the floor like she always did whenever Papa yelled at her. It was a protective instinct, as blows always followed the yelling. It was all coming back. Would he just stop now? She had accepted it, Flora was a bad girl. People always said that to her. She never did anything right, but she had promised to love Flora, to be there for Flora and to give her the very best even if it killed her.

She would never give in to any form of censure. She needed a man, a Chris type of man and she would get him. This brat wouldn't do anything about it, absolutely nothing.

"Will you tell him? Will you tell Chris?" Flora whispered, folding her hands on her laps.

"What a question. No! I will be jumping up and clapping for you," Iyke spat out in disgust. Did she have to ask? She was leaving this house the moment Chris came home.

"Hope you know it's your word against mine?" Flora asked again, her voice deceptively silky.

Iyke didn't know whether to laugh or not. "Sorry to disappoint you Miss, but I can throw you out even without his permission. I will just keep you here so that he can have a last look at the snake that shattered his happiness."

Flora nodded mutely. If he had conceded, they would have struck a deal, but since he wanted it the hard way, they would do it the hard way. You don't mess with Flora. She stood resolutely, gathering her shattered bits of dignity around her like a cloak against Iyke's condemning gaze. She left the room and went to get her phone in the parlour.

She sent Chris a brief text message, "Pls come back home now. I'm dying."

Chris's office was few minutes drive to the house. She had to meticulously maximise her time. Either she left the house or Iyke did. One of them had to go. She waited for a couple of minutes, then dropped the phone, squared her shoulders and headed back to Iyke's room.

She met Iyke changing his clothes and jumped on him. She was no novice when it came to men, she knew how to weaken the strongest of them. Iyke was startled. He tried to shake her off, but she clung to him like a leech.

"What the hell?" he asked, disengaging her arms from his neck.

Flora wasn't taking that. "Shh..." she murmured. "I came to apologize."

"Well, I think you're apologizing to the wrong person," Iyke said curtly.

Flora let go, then ran her silky palms along the planes of his back, placing a gentle kiss everywhere her palms touched.

"Maybe. But I'm really sorry," she breathed, her words caressing his skin.

Iyke was no longer moving. Heck! Was he so damned weak? Flora was making calculations. If Chris left the office immediately on seeing the text, he should be home in fifteen minutes. If he wasted a little time, that should take twenty minutes or thereabout. She gently pushed Iyke down to the bed. His expression was hooded, as if he wanted to know just how far she could go with this.

Flora smiled slowly. She would show him. She glanced at the table clock beside the bed. Chris should be on his way now. She kissed his heavy eyelids closed, while rhythmically massaging him in the right places. She felt the tension in his muscles. He was struggling to remain calm. She smiled again, then murmured soothingly into his ears, telling him how sorry she was, how she never intended to hurt anyone.

Her fingers worked wonders on the hard lines of his stomach, heating him up. With legs astride him, she began to move her hips on slow rotatory motion. Iyke stifled a groan. He should tell her not to do that, but he couldn't bring himself to.

The sound of tire on gravel proved that someone was driving up to the house. Iyke wasn't sure. He made to get up, but was pushed back gently. He succumbed without the least resistance. That could be a car driving past the house. It was too early for Chris to be home already. Iyke was distracted by those wandering fingers. Then they got lower, joining the hips to create a rhythm that drove him totally crazy.

Suddenly his patience snapped, almost audibly. This was torture. The bitch wanted to get laid huh? She would get just that! Too bad she didn't know when someone was trying to remain a gentleman. He lifted Flora off him and turned her on the bed, his lips capturing hers, angry, demanding. Flora grinned triumphantly, trying to catch her breath. Perfect timing. Her ears picked the sound of the front door opening and she glanced at Iyke to see if he heard it, but he was too busy to notice.

Suddenly, Flora started screaming. "Get the hell off me Iyke! Leave me alone!"

Iyke laughed harshly. "Oh really? You wanted a man right? You just got one." He thrust his tongue into her mouth, drowning out her impending screams. He was angry and would definitely teach the bitch not to play with fire.

Flora broke off the kiss and screamed harder, pummeling his chest softly. "Somebody help! Iyke let me go!"

But Iyke was having none of it. She brought herself here. She would most definitely have a taste of the beast she unleashed. No, he would never force her, but would make sure he scared her so much that she would never try this with him ever again.

Flora screamed on top of her voice, while doing nothing to show she actually wanted to be left alone. There was sound of running shoes and slamming doors, then the door burst open. Christian Chukwu was totally confounded at the sight that confronted him.

To be continued...