The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

She was drunk when she said it.

They were all drunk at that point, some four or five rounds into the evening. The bar was a cozy refuge from the wet, chilly December evenings that had recently descended upon the entire country, and dozens of flashy young partygoers crowded inside. The atmosphere was electric and impatient and exciting. The place was old and lacked a jukebox, but someone had smuggled in a speaker bar to hook up to their phone, and tinny Europop beats added a frantic background to the scene. The four friends held their usual table at the back of the room, a spot chosen for its proximity to both the bar and the restrooms.

“No really. That was the last one. I really thought I had that job, I really did. Now I’m out of time and I have to go back.” The young American threw back a shot of… whatever it was that Sergio had ordered. It burned the back of her throat, and she frowned, but it was too late. No sooner had the empty shot glass hit the table than the tall Italian boy had it cleared away, replacing it with a fresh set of golden mystery liquor. She thought about how drunk she was getting, then thought about how awful the day had been, and concluded that it was a bit of a tie.

“Come on Beth,” said Elena, poking her in the shoulder. “There has to be another way for you to extend your visa. Can’t you just re-enroll for another semester or two?” The Spanish girl eyed Sergio’s collection of shots and finally reached for one.

“With what money? My parents hate me enough already,” said Beth, shaking her head. “They told me straight up, once I graduate from this program I have to come home or get a job here. And since I can’t get a job here… ugh.” Her hand hovered near the shot glasses, but she pulled it back. “I even tried London. Do you know how much it costs to live in London? I told the company I’d sleep under a bridge if I had to. They told me that all of their bridges were currently occupied and that I’d be better off in the States. Gah! So much rage! Why is everyone so intent on sending me back home to America?” She crossed her arms, in part out of anger and in part to keep her hand, which seemed to have a mind of its own, away from the booze on the table.

Raul downed a shot. “So what is wrong with America? You have hamburgers and New York City. That does not seem too bad to me.”

“You haven’t seen my home town,” Beth fired back. “Tiny, flat, humid, boring as hell. I can’t afford New York City any more than I can afford London. Besides, I love this city, and I love you guys! I don’t want to go anywhere else! Not London, not New York, not Springville, not anywhere! I mean, look at this!” She spread her arm across the table, and by extension, across the bar, as the others ducked to avoid getting hit in the head. “This is my home now.”

She paused to fume. “Do you know what they told me at this interview? They said that if I were local, they would hire me in an instant, but because I’m an American, it’s too much paperwork. Like, I’m sorry I wasn’t born here! I’m sorry you won’t let me just be a citizen! Maybe I should just marry a local and get a green card or whatever.” She stretched her neck and looked around. “Hey! Any locals wanna marry me? Any guys want a sham, sexless marriage for a couple of years? Come on, sign up!”

An embarrassed Elena grabbed Beth and scrunched her down in her seat. “Beth! Beth! Look, we will miss you if you leave, but it is not the end of the world! I’m probably going to have to go back home next year, too. It happens. It’s life, right? Maybe fate will bring us all together again somehow.”

Raul drummed his fingers on the table. “I’ll do it,” he said softly.

Beth turned to him. “Do what? Another shot? Me too. Let’s do them together. Let’s make them carry us out of here tonight.”

“No,” he said, louder this time. “Marry you. I will marry you. Then you can stay in the country.”

She leaned over and playfully smacked the top of Raul’s head. “I wasn’t serious, you nut. I’m not going to fake-marry my way into the country. No one would believe it, anyway.” She watched his face fall. “No offense, Raul. You’re cute. But I’d rather just leave the country instead of getting arrested and then thrown out of the country.”

Raul’s fingers resumed their drumming. “My cousin works for the immigration office. He can arrange for all of the paperwork. Trust me, it is not that hard to become a citizen here. I mean, who really wants to live here?” He smiled. “No offense, Beth.”

By now the alcohol had taken up residence in Beth’s head, and in spite of her better judgment, she found herself nodding. “Okay, okay,” her mouth said, ignoring her brain. “You’re serious? You would marry me, for real, rings and all, until I can get residency and become a real citizen?”

He took her hand. “I promise. It is only for a year in this country. We will have to live together to show that we are really married, but Roger just moved back to Australia and I need a new roommate anyway. We will get married, we will get you a residency permit, and in a year, you can be one of us for good.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it. Just to be clear Raul, we’re not actually getting married. We’re just roomies who just happen to be lying through their faces to the entire world about our living situation. But, seriously though, you are amazing. If I can get my parents to send over some more money, I will pay your rent for the whole year. I mean it.”

Raul laughed. “This is what I like about you. You are such a hopeless romantic.” Suddenly he was on the floor, down on one knee. “Beth Charles, will you marry me?”

She giggled. “Why yes, I do declare!”

They both enjoyed the polite cheers from the bar patrons who were close enough to hear them. One of them sent another round of shots to the table, and the four friends toasted the upcoming nuptials until they were too drunk to walk home.

Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.

Hemingway’s words echoed in Beth’s head as she and Raul stood in line at the government office. Even though the building was perfectly bland on the outside and equally unattractive on the inside, they both decided to splurge and dress up for the wedding. Beth wore the pretty green cocktail dress she’d hauled over from Springville but had never worn, and Raul went so far as to buy an actual suit for the occasion. “I will certainly have to use it many times for interviews,” he explained.

Nervously, they stepped forward. The official, a middle-aged man with thick glasses and an equally thick beard to match, looked them over with bored detachment. He shuffled a stack of paperwork and stamped every other page. Whump. Whump. Whump. He looked up at the young couple and thrust the stack of papers in their direction. “Congratulations,” he said. “Now you… Beth… as an American, you will have to visit the immigration office within a week to get your residency papers. Otherwise the marriage will be declared void and you will be sent home.

Beth flashed him a winning smile. “Well of course! We’ll get on it right away! I could never bear to be taken from my darling Raul.” She leaned over and kissed her dark-haired friend on the lips, her arm pulling him to her side. “Thank you so much!”

They left the building arm-in-arm, laughing and dancing all the way back to Raul’s apartment.

“I can’t do this, Raul.”

“You can and you will. It is not that bad. It will go well. We are both smart, and many of these government officials? They are not so smart. They get their jobs from family connections, not from neural connections.”

Beth smiled. “Okay, that one was a stretch.”

He grinned and shrugged. “My plans to be a big-name American comedian have been destroyed. By my own wife, no less! Oh, the world is terrible.” He tumbled onto the sofa, coming to rest next to her. “They are going to ask us a few questions, that’s all. About why we got married, about what we know about each other, about our shared story together. For two years we’ve been best of friends, Beth. Anything they ask, we can answer for them.”

She lowered her head and ran her fingers through her hair. “Raul, you know how nervous I get with tests! I mean, what if I get something wrong? What if they ask something weird and I screw it up? I don’t want to get deported. I don’t even know what happens to people who get deported! Like, will I be in a jail cell? Do they frog-march me right to the airport in chains?” Tears formed in her pretty blue eyes. “Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should just grow up and go home, you know? I’m sorry, Raul. Your wife is kind of a basket case. Divorce?”

“Never, cross my heart, dearest wife.” He crossed his heart with his right hand and, for good measure, saluted with it as well. He watched her break into a smile, and smiled back. “I think that maybe I can help you, Beth. Do you remember when we first met? I was studying to be a doctor.”

“Therapy, yeah,” she said. “You were right though, the program was bullshit. You’re better off with your business degree.”

“Well one of the things that I learned- one of the things that I was best at, in fact- was hypnosis. I could—”

She punched him in the arm. “What, you’re going to hypnotize me into being your wife? We’re already married, dummy.”

He rubbed the arm and rolled around on the sofa like a fallen soccer player. “Ow! Ow! No, I am serious! Do you know why they teach you hypnosis? It is to calm people down, to help their brains work better, to not be stressed or anxious or worried all of the time. Kind of like how you are right now, right? If you let me hypnotize you, I can calm you down. No nerves, no suspicious officials, no problems. You will pass wth flying colors and we will stay married. Okay?”

She eyed him warily. “You’re not going to turn my brain into mush?”

“Cross my heart!”

“You are very relaxed now, Beth. Continue to breathe in and out, in and out. Slowly and carefully. In and out, just as you have been. Relaxing more and more. It is good to relax more and more.”

She lay on the sofa, her head propped up by a few pillows from the bedroom. Above her, Raul dangled a silver medallion from a chain. The sight of it, when he first brought it out, nearly ruined the entire hypnosis experiment before it even got off the ground. It took ten minutes for Beth’s laughing fit to finally settle down, and for Raul to convince her to give it a try anyway. Another ten minutes were wasted on hypnosis jokes and a quick recap, for the confused Raul’s benefit, of an old episode of Scooby-Doo. Finally they settled down to work, and Beth, in spite of herself, quickly found herself sinking into the soft pillows. Relax more and more, Beth. Relax.

Raul gave the medallion another spin, causing reflections to scatter around the room. He watched as Beth’s eyes widened slightly as each reflection struck them. “And now you are so relaxed that you are beginning to drift, Beth. Drifting and floating through space, completely relaxed. Your legs are weightless and relaxed. Your arms are soft and floating through space, totally relaxed. Your body is a feather, just floating on a cloud. There is just my voice, and the coin. Nothing else but the voice and the coin.”

She blinked once, then again, more slowly the second time. “Yes, Beth, it is very tiring. You are so relaxed now, you are ready to drift off into sleep. Drifting away on your soft cloud, away into sleep, relaxed and sleepy. Blink, so sleepy. Every blink, more and more tired, Beth. Blink, tired, sleep. Every blink, a little more sleepy, a little closer to sleep, a little more tired. Blink. So tired now, Beth. So soothing and relaxing, drifting on your cloud. Blink, tired, sleep. Relax. Blink, sleep. Sleep. Sleep. You can sleep now, Beth. You’re so tired and relaxed, and ready to sleep. Close your eyes and sleep. Close your eyes, and drift. Close your eyes, and relax even more. Sleep. Sinking down into sleep now. Sleep. Rest. Sleep.”

He watched as her eyes slowly closed and her body sank deeper into the sofa. Her thin lips were lightly parted, a slow and even breath passing through them again and again. The rest of her was still and silent. He lowered the medallion and placed it in his pocket. “Beth, you are asleep now, but you can hear my voice. You can hear my voice like you can hear the voices in your dreams. Safe, wonderful, relaxing dreams. Can you hear my voice, Beth?”

She slowly nodded her head.

“Very good, Beth. Do you remember what we talked about earlier, about me helping you to relax?”

Another nod.

“Beth, you are so relaxed now. It is easy to speak out loud in your dream, as you hear my voice. Just talking in your sleep, just like now, when you are deeply asleep. Can you say things out loud, Beth?”

Her lips moved. “Yes, out loud.”

“That is good, Beth. I am going to help you now, as I promised. Help you to relax, and help you to be confident. You would like that, Beth. Wouldn’t you like that?”

A dreamy smile. “Yes, I would like that.”

Raul kept her under for a while, repeating and re-repeating suggestions that would make her more confident in front of strangers, less fearful of the unknown, and gentle reminders that she would always be, no matter what, a beautiful and successful woman. As he did, he couldn’t help but admire his fake bride as she lay before him, her generous breasts slowly rising and falling with each breath, her long brown hair carefully framing her pretty, sleepy face. He took a deep breath. “And now Beth, you are feeling so much better. You are feeling much better and confident in every way, aren’t you Beth?”

Another smile. “I’m feeling so much better,” Beth sighed.

“If you ever feel yourself feeling bad again, I will always be here to help you to relax. Because I am your friend, Beth, and I want to help you.”

She nodded.

“And if you want to be hypnotized again, Beth, if you are ready to be hypnotized again, you will fall back into this deep hypnotic trance when I show you the coin again. But only if you are ready and you want to be hypnotized, yes?”

“Yes. If I want to be… hypnotized.”

“I’m going to count to three now, Beth. One, starting to wake up, starting to come out of sleep. Two, still feeling very relaxed, but ready to open your eyes, ready to be awake. Ready to remember everything that happened and everything we talked about. And three, fully awake, fully awake now Beth. Wake, wake up, eyes open.”

Her eyes fluttered open. She stared at him. “I don’t feel any different.”

He smiled. “Why would you? It is just hypnosis. It is not a vampire or Scooby Doo. It is science. Do you feel better?”

Beth pulled herself into a sitting position. “I feel a thousand times better, Raul! Like I just slept for a year, and while I was asleep, all of my problems solved themselves. I mean, holy shit. Why didn’t you become a therapist? I wish I’d known about this before final exams. Before even moving here, for that matter. I feel amazing!”

He beamed with pride. “See? I told you it would help. Now we can stop worrying about marriage for a while and go back to having fun. Sergio has challenged us to another drinking contest. Maybe I will hypnotize myself into beating him? I have an iron stomach, I have an iron stomach, I am unstoppable.”

She smiled, and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Best fake husband ever.”

Beth came home to find Raul sitting in his bedroom, drumming his fingers nervously on the edge of his desk. “I’ve got groceries,” she offered. His face remained pointed at the desk.

“It is bad, it is bad news,” he said, finally looking up at her. “I have spoken with my cousin, the one in the immigration office. It is bad.”

Beth felt her heart fall to the floor. “What is it? Do they know? How could they know? They haven’t even spoken with us yet! This is bullshit!”

“No no, nothing like that.” He waved his hands in the air. “It is just.. apparently they are being difficult this year. Immigration is such an issue everywhere right now, even in ugly little countries like this one. My cousin says that everyone has been asked to be very careful about who they let into the country.”

Beth sat down on Raul’s bed. “So we’re screwed?”

“No, I think it is not the end of the world. You are American, and that is either a good thing or a bad thing. It depends on the person interviewing us. Sometimes you are popular and sometimes you are not so popular, you know? I will try to get my cousin to find out who will be handling our case. That will help us to plan for what we say and do.”

Beth stood up. She began pacing, walking into the hallway and then back into Raul’s bedroom, over and over. She ran her fingers through her hair again, something she only did when she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “I’m sorry, Raul, I just can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry. I know you hypnotized me and we did the confidence thing but… I’m just freaking out right now. I literally just told my parents today about us, and about how we got married, and how I’m going to live here… Raul, they’re looking at plane tickets, for fuck’s sake!” She sat back down on the bed.

Raul got up from his chair and took a seat next to her. He put his arm around her waist. ‘Listen, it will be okay. You trust me, right? A good wife trusts her husband, even if he is fake.”

She fell back onto the bed. “Maybe I’ll just run away. You know? Live on the road. Sleep under bridges after all. Fuck those limey Brits, I’ll kick them out of my bridge spot if I have to. Sleep under the stars in Poland, maybe sell trinkets in Rome? Something, anyway. I can’t go back home, not now. Not after what I told my parents. I bet they’re telling… oh my God, Raul, they’re going to tell everyone back home about us!”

She lowered her head and peered past her feet to Raul, still seated at the edge of the bed. “Can you…can you do it again? Hypnotize me? Tell me it’s going to be okay? Because I really want to jump out of a window.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the medallion, sliding down the length of the bed until he was even with Beth’s chest. He let the silver coin dangle from its chain. “Take a deep breath, and relax.”

Her eyes slid closed.

“Beth, you are back in your dream, where you can hear me speak and you can say things out loud. So peaceful on your cloud, drifting. How do you feel, Beth?”

“Good,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Floating on a cloud.”

“Thats right Beth, you are safe and floating on a pink, fluffy cloud, weightless and relaxed, deeply asleep and relaxed, hypnotized and relaxed. Hypnotized. Hypnotized. Sinking deeper now into a hypnotic trance. Deeper and deeper. Where are you now, Beth?”

“Hypnotized.”

“That is right Beth, you wanted to be hypnotized, and that lets you sink deeper and deeper into a hypnotic trance. Free from your thoughts and your worries. Safe and deeply asleep, deeper than any sleep before, completely hypnotized and deep. Very deep now, Beth. How deep are you?”

“Deep. Very deep.”

“I’m going to help you again, Beth, just like we spoke about before you fell into this deep, relaxing sleep. So deep and relaxed. Would you like me to help you again?”

“Yes, please.”

Raul felt the bulge in his pants. He tried shifting his position on the bed without disturbing his entranced friend. The discomfort only faded slightly. “Beth, there is an easy way to fool these people. To fool them so that you can stay in the country. It is very easy, so easy that anyone can do it. You can do it so easily, Beth, without even trying. You are smart and they are dumb, Beth. Would you like to know what this way is?”

“Yes. I’d like that. Want to know.”

“If you love me, Beth, they will not know the truth. They will not know that we are lying to them. If you love me, they will think that we are in love, and of course married people are in love. What are married people, Beth?”

“They’re in love.”

“Yes Beth, they are in love. We are married. Are we in love? We must be in love, because we are married. If we are married, we must be in love. You must be in love with me, because we are in love. Are we married, Beth?”

A frown formed on her gentle face. “Married… but not… s’not real.”

He pressed on. “But the marriage is real, Beth. Think back now, think back and remember. Remember that we got married. Remember the man with the thick glasses. Remember how beautiful you looked in your dress, how happy you were. Remember what the man said to us. What did he say? He gave us the papers and he said something. What did he say?”

The frown smoothed away. “He said, ‘congratulations.’”

“Yes Beth, that’s right. You are right. He said congratulations, because we just got married. And we were so happy, because we were married. Remember that we skipped and danced all the way home that day. Skipped and danced because we were happy and married. Happy and in love. Married and in love. Totally in love. Madly in love. Married and madly in love with each other. So in love.”

“In love…”

“Yes, of course. And if we are both in love, then you must love me. I love you, and you love me. It is the only way that people can be in love, no? Especially if they are married. They are truly in love and it is a wonderful thing, to be in love. Remember how happy you were in your green dress? Twirling and dancing because you were so happy, so in love. In love with me. With me, Beth. Totally in love with me.”

“In love… with you.”

“Of course. It is only natural, for us to be in love. We are married and in love. You know this in your heart, now. Your heart knows nothing but love for me. When they ask you if you are in love with me, what will you tell them?”

“I’m in love with you.”

“Yes Beth, that is the truth. They cannot find fault with us, because we will tell them the truth. That we are in love. And they will let you stay in the country as a citizen, because they will see that we are telling the truth. From the bottom of our hearts. That so wonderful, Beth. You will get to stay in the country, you will get everything you wanted, all because you are in love with me. This makes you happy.”

She smiled. “Yes, so happy. Everything I wanted.”

“Do you love me, Beth?”

The smile broadened. “Yes, of course.”

“You love me, and you trust me. It is what married people in love do. They trust each other completely. Just as you trust me now completely, and I trust you completely. Just as you trust me now completely, and listen to my voice. Just as you trust me now to make you feel better, always, because you trust me, and because I always make you feel better. And when I show you the coin, you will always let yourself be hypnotized, because you trust me completely. Let yourself fall deep into hypnosis, let yourself be deeply hypnotized, as deep as now, deeper even, because you trust me, because I make you feel safe. Because you love me. When I show you the coin, Beth, what will you do?”

She sighed. “I will be hypnotized. Trust you and love you.”

“I’m going to count to three again, Beth. When I reach three, you will be fully awake and aware. One, just starting to wake yourself up. Feeling wonderful, feeling in love. And now two, letting your memories of being hypnotized fade away, like a dream, because you do not need them to feel in love, to feel good. You can leave your memories of being hypnotized behind as you slowly wake up now, rested and happy, forgetting things until it is time to remember them, awake now three, eyes open, awake, fully awake.”

She blinked, and opened her eyes. She raised her arms above her head and stretched. “Mmm, holy cow, Raul, that was amazing.”

He found himself staring at her chest. Instinctively, he jerked his head to focus on her face, only to find her looking back at him. His face turned red as he realized that he’d been caught ogling her, but she only smiled.

“How long was I out for, Raul? I feel like I’ve been asleep all night long. Why don’t I remember anything this time?”

Now it was his turn to smile. “Does it matter if you remember anything? It is what you feel and think that is important, no? If you remember, you will maybe not be as confident, maybe you will not trust yourself. This would be not good.”

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “You’re right. I trust you, Raul. You’ve always been there for me.” She paused, and then kissed him on the lips. They lingered for a second, lips locked together, before she pulled away. She closed her eyes and sighed again. “Okay, you’ve done your work for the day. Dinner is on me. I hope you like cabbage.”

Raul watched as she bounded out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. From the kitchen came sounds of singing and pots crashing against one another. Then a voice on the phone, sounding gruff and annoyed.

“Cousin,” said Raul. “I need a small favor from you.”

Beth stood in front of the mirror again. She swiveled her hips, trying to catch every part of her in the mirror, even if only for a second. I want to be perfect tonight. Somehow it just didn’t seem like enough, even though the dress was new and gorgeous, the hair was perfect, and the perfume was the one she knew he liked the best. She thought about the time he’d told her about it, on a sunny summer day while they were riding the tram, her hair fluttering in the warm breeze. I love how you smell right now, Beth. Like summer itself. Like a summer that does not end.

She looked into the mirror and laughed. “Whoa girl, calm down. We’re talking about Raul, here.”

He was sweet enough to fake-marry you, Beth.

Beth knew that Raul was in love with her for real. She’d seen it on that night she and Sergio got drunk and finally put a semester’s worth of sexy flirting into actual practice. She still remembered Raul’s sad face as he watched Sergio make out with her on the bus ride home, kissing and groping her as she did the same in return. Raul gave her the same look when she ran into Hans the Handsome Backpacker on the train and spent the next four months fucking his dimwitted brains out, and Raul was the first one to welcome her back into their little circle of friends after Hans finally ditched her for that weird Swedish chick.

Raul was cute and sweet. He was also, well, Raul.

She fished a totally fake gold necklace out of her dresser and giggled. “Imagine getting married to Raul and then actually being married to Raul. Elena and Sergio would go apeshit! Hee!” She snapped the clasp closed. The necklace may have come from an unregulated, backwater factory located in the darkest corner of the Continent, but it looked great on her, and to her delight, it looked even better with the dress she’d chosen.

She twirled again. When Raul finally got married for real, this was the kind of girl he needed to come home to.

Raul was not happy.

He was happy enough when Beth appeared in the doorway in her slinky, curve-hugging dress, and happier still when she told him that she had made dinner reservations for them at the fancy restaurant across from the cathedral. But now he was sitting on the sofa, head resting on his palms, elbows on his knees, looking miserable. “It is all going wrong, terribly wrong. I am sorry, Beth. I tried.”

She felt that familiar sinking feeling again. She followed it down to the sofa, landing heavily next to him, feeling utterly defeated. “I’m afraid to ask, Raul. Is it about the green card?”

“Residency permit, Beth. Residency permit. Only in America are the cards green. I’m sorry, I am rude. I spoke with my cousin, the one in immigration, and he has bad news for us.”

“Fuck. It’s just always something with this whole experience.”

He took her hand. “There is a man in the immigration office named Kovar. He is the toughest of the inspectors who work there. According to my cousin, he was married once, to a Ukrainian girl. This was before he was an inspector, when he was young, as young as us I think. He learned that the girl was just using him to get a residency permit. The whole time they were together, start to finish, she was lying to him completely. She left him the very day she got her papers. My cousin says that he went to the very same office the very next day and applied to work there. Ever since, he has been the wolf that preys on the sheep. A bitter and lonely man.”

She squeezed his hand. “And he’s been assigned to our case, hasn’t he?”

Raul slapped the sofa with his free hand. “Yes! We are cursed, Beth. I asked my cousin how we could get anyone else, but there is nothing he can do. My cousin is very low level there. And of course Kovar cannot be bribed or reasoned with. He will try his best to prove that we are trying to trick him.”

“We have this down to a tee, Raul. We spent all of yesterday going over our stories, and we’ve known each other for two fucking years.”

He shook his head. “Kovar will ask us things about each other that we will not know, things that other inspectors are not so rude about. What we look like without our clothes. He will ask me where your moles and birthmarks are, and he will ask you what my balls look like and what our favorite lovemaking positions are. If our stories do not match?”

She dabbed her eyes, trying not to let tears ruin her makeup. “I mean, what can we do? If he’s tough, he’s tough. We’ll do our best and if we fail, we gave it a try. You know what, Raul? I think the hypnosis really worked on me. I’m not scared any more. Sad, but not scared. So they can drag me to the airport and maybe I’ll kick this Kovar in the crotch on my way out. I’ll go home, and you can come visit me, and I can take you out for hamburgers and ice cream. Real ice cream, not the crap you guys have here.”

He reached into his pocket. “I have a better idea, I think. Please look at this, Beth.”

The silver medallion dropped in front of her face.

She blinked. “But, Raul, buhhhhhh.” Her eyes closed and her head fell to her chest.

“Open your eyes, Beth. Eyes open, and deeply asleep.”

She stared through him, her blue eyes dull and empty. They were both standing in the middle of Raul’s living room. He held her hands in his own.

“You are deeper than you have ever been, deeper in trance than ever before, deeply hypnotized, Beth. Deeply hypnotized. What are you, Beth?”

“Deeply hypnotized.”

“Beth, you are very brave. You are right, there is nothing to be afraid of. We will beat Kovar at his own game, because we are brave and smart. I have the perfect plan, Beth. You know that it is perfect because you trust me completely, yes?”

“Yes. I trust you.”

He pulled off his polo shirt and undid his belt buckle. “The plan is perfect because we know what Kovar will ask us. He will ask us about my chest. You see it now, Beth. You no longer have to guess because you can see my chest right in front of you. Can you see me, Beth?”

“Yes.”

“And now you will memorize every inch of my body, from head to toe. From head to toe, Beth. From head” -he pulled down his pants and boxers- “to toe. Head to toe. Repeat, head to toe.”

“Head to toe.” He felt himself getting hard as her eyes roamed his body, dutifully starting at the top of his head and ending at his feet. Her empty gaze returned to meet his.

“This is very good, Beth. Now you will pass with flying colors, yes? And you remember, now, that we talked about how Kovar will ask me about you as well. About your body. I must memorize your body as well, Beth. Then we can fool him, but only if you remove your clothes now. You must take off your pretty dress, Beth, just for a little while, so that I can memorize your body, just as you memorized mine. Remove your clothes, Beth.”

Her hands reached behind her and slowly slid the zipper down her back, letting the dress pool at her feet. He gulped. “You must remove your underwear, too, Beth. Your bra and panties. You must be naked for our plan to work.”

“Yes.” She unhooked the lacy red bra and let her breasts fall free. The panties joined the dress on the floor. Raul had her pirouette slowly, like a figurine in a music box, allowing him to take in her beautiful form. Her long, toned legs, her rounded ass, her slim waist, her lovely tits, her angelic and placid face, her light brown hair. His erection was burning now, and he ordered Beth to stop spinning.

“There is one more thing that we must do to succeed, Beth. You can trust me completely. You trust me completely, Beth, because I have worked out this wonderful and clever plan, so that I can help you. Because I love you, and you love me. You remember now, Beth, that you love me. That we are in love, because we are married and in love with each other. Who do you love, Beth? If Kovar asks you, what will you say?”

“I’m in love with you,” she whispered.

“That’s so wonderful, Beth. You love me. You can feel the love warming your heart now, spreading through your chest, into your arms, down your body to your feet, into your neck and your head. Warm and wonderful love. Love for me. Desire for me. Love and desire for me. Love and desire, Beth. They are one and the same.”

“The same…”

“You can feel the desire in your body now, Beth. In every place there is love, there is desire. They are one and the same. One and the same. Your body is filled with love, so it is filled with desire. Hot, burning desire. Hot, passionate desire. Running through you now, from your heart, down to your fingertips, down to your toes, up to your head, up to your mind, turning you on, exciting you. Hot, passionate desire.”

“Mmmm.” Her hands rose to her chest and cupped her tits, squeezing them. “So hot.”

“Yes, Beth. You are filled with desire now. Desire and passion and love. You are filled with desire and passion and love. It feels so good to feel so full of desire, and passion, and love. So exciting, so hot. Your body is ready for sex now, Beth. You need me inside you. You need my hard, huge cock inside you right now, filling you with pleasure. Filling you with pleasure, Beth. We will make love because we are lovers, yes? Because we are married and in love. Make passionate love to each other because we are in love. What are we, Beth?”

“In love,” she gasped.

“In love, that is right. And when we have sex, we will know each other like lovers, and we will answer all of Kovar’s questions correctly, so we will get what we want. What you want, Beth. You will get everything you want.

“Everything…yes.” Her hand was stroking her pussy, and her breathing was heavy and irregular. Her eyes had closed at some point.

He took a deep breath. “Everything you want, Beth. Everything you desire. Including me, Beth. You desire me. You want me. You want me inside you, filling you with desire. Say it, Beth. Tell me what you want. As soon as you say it, you will believe it completely, and you must have it. You must have it. What is it that you want, Beth?”

She opened her eyes and gave him a smoldering, lustful glance. “I want you. I want you so much right now.” She pulled him to her and kissed him hard on the lips, their tongues sparring and exploring. She ran her hands across his back, across his shoulders, cupping them behind his head as she pulled him in for another series of desperate, passionate kisses. “Fuck me,” she panted, pushing him onto the sofa.

Raul tumbled backwards, wincing as his head struck the thinly-padded arm of the sofa. “Ouch! Beth, that…” Before he could finish, she was on top of him, kissing his chest, his neck, his face. She pressed her warm, glistening body against his. He reached for her hips and helped guide her onto his aching cock, both of them moaning with pleasure as they did so. “Ride me, Beth. Slowly. Slowly, Beth.”

She obliged, slowly rising up and down as he worked himself deeper inside of her, letting him kiss and caress her breasts, slowly building in intensity as they both moved closer to climax. “Oh. Fuckyes… Raul… Ohgodyes…” Her immaculate hair was damp, wild and messy. Her eyes were closed as she came, her body trembling and shuddering as she felt Raul explode inside of her.

They lay on the sofa for a while, panting for breath and holding each other, until Beth arched her back and pulled herself into a sitting position. Taking Raul’s hands into hers, she looked down the hall to her bedroom. “My bed. Let’s go.”

They managed another two rounds before thy both passed out in exhausted bliss.

“Do you think I look bride-y enough, Raul?” She emerged from the bedroom wearing a white turtleneck sweater and white slacks paired with a pair of sleek white boots. “These are the only white things I own. I’m not going out there in this weather with a lacy white sundress or any- oh shit, sorry, you’re on the phone.”

Raul paced a circuit around the living room, phone in hand. “Yes cousin, I am very excited. I am grateful for all of your help. No, she does not have a sister! Whatever happened to your girlfriend? Oh. Oh! Well, I will not tell her anything that you will not tell her, cousin. It is our secret, yes? Okay, I must go now. We do not want to be late. Yes. Yes. Thank you, cousin.”

He hung up the phone. “That was my cousin, of course. He wished us good luck. He said that Kovar is there in his office. So we today will be lucky or not lucky.”

She placed her hands on his face and kissed him. “Just let me at ’em. He won’t know what hit him.”

“Remember, Kovar is very old-fashioned. He does not like independent women. He is more of the, what is it, barefoot and pregnant type. Just be quiet as a mouse and answer questions. He will be happier I think.”

“Point taken, mister husband. Point taken. You’re so sweet, Raul. You really are. This whole crazy week, with everything going on… I can’t thank you enough. This means the world to me.” She kissed him again. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get married for real one of these days.”

“Are we not married now?” He held up his hand and pointed to the silver band on his finger.

She laughed. “No, I mean it! A for real marriage, Raul. Not a paper marriage. No promises though, okay? Let’s just see how this goes and let it take us where it takes us. You’ve been amazing to me. But relationships are hard. I love you, but I don’t want to rush things. No matter what, we’ll always be friends. You know that, right? Always.”

He looked down at the floor. “I know.”

She walked to the front door. “Okay, are we ready to go do this? Find out if I’ll get to keep drinking cheap beer and eating mystery cheeses?”

He reached into his pocket. “Actually there is one more thing. Please look at the coin, Beth.”

She turned to face him. “What are yuhhhhhhhhnnn.” Her eyes fluttered shut.

“Beth, are you deeply hypnotized?”

“Yes. Deeply hypnotized.”

“That is very good, Beth. Now there is one thing you must remember about Kovar. We just spoke of it now. Do you remember, Beth? He is very old-fashioned.”

She nodded. “Old-fashioned.”

“Listen to my voice, Beth. Kovar expects you to be quiet and obedient, so that is what you must be. Quiet and obedient.”

“Quiet and obedient.”

“He expects wives to obey their husbands, so you must obey your husband, Beth. Who is your husband?”

“You are my… husband.”

“Yes Beth. I am your husband, and we are married. So you must obey me. I am your husband, and you must always obey me. Because wives obey their husbands, and I am your husband. So you must obey me.”

“Obey you. But. But…”

“It is important that you remember this, Beth. We are so close to success now, we do not want to make a mistake at the very end. You must always remember to always obey me without question. Do you understand? You just trust me, as you always do. Trust me.”

“Trust you. Without question. Without… I…”

Kovar will be suspicious of us if you do not, Beth. You do not want to be caught, not when you are about to get everything that you want. To live here forever. You cannot risk that, can you?”

“No. Can’t risk that.”

“Then you must remember, Beth, that you must obey me without question. I can help you to think this way. I can help you because I am your husband, and we are in love. I am always here to help you, Beth. Would you like me to help you, so that we can get what you want?”

“Yes, I would. Like that. To help me.”

“Then repeat after me, Beth. You will say these words for me. I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul.”

“I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul.”

“Again.”

“I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul.”

“Each time that you say these words, they will become more and more important to you. Again and again, please.”

“I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul. I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul. I will always obey Raul. I will always love Raul. I will always desire Raul. I will…”

Whump whump whump

Inspector Kovar glared at the sheet of paper in front of him. His eyes narrowed. “How can I sign and stamp this, I ask you? How? When the budget is so small that I cannot afford- thank you, Hana- when the budget is so small that I must always be forced to borrow ink pads from my colleagues?” He freshened the stamp with Hana’s ink and pressed down. Whump, whump.

He slid the paper across the desk, and beamed. “Congratulations to you both!”

Raul and Beth looked at one another. “I am so happy that it went so quickly, Inspector!” Raul shook Kovar’s hand. “There is a common rumor that the agency keeps people here for hours, asking them questions about every little thing.”

Kovar laughed. “If that were the case, sir, we would never be able to finish our work! If I spend hours on you, and hours on the next couple, I would have to place a bed under my desk and call this building my new home. Besides, it is rude to ask too many questions about personal things. I have a reputation in this office for being a soft-hearted romantic, but I have been doing this job for twenty years. I know when a couple is in love and when they are faking it.” He looked at Beth, who was gazing longingly at Raul. “Miss, it was a pleasure to have met you. Welcome to our country.”

She flashed a dazzling smile. Her blue eyes danced with energy and joy. “Thank you, sir. It was my pleasure as well. I’m so excited about starting my new life here with Raul.”

Kovar shook their hands again. “Please remember to return here in about eleven months, so that we can get started on your official citizenship papers. Until then, you are both free to go.”

“Thank you, Inspector,” said Raul. He turned to his new bride. “My love, are you ready to leave? We have relatives to meet for dinner.”

Beth looked at him. “Of course, dear. Whatever you say.”

They left, arm-in-arm.

Hana returned for her ink pad. “Those two seemed happy,” she noted.

Kovar tossed the stamp into a drawer. “They were. Very much in love, those two. A little old-fashioned for my taste, though. I like very much that my wife and I are on, I would say, more equal footing than that.”

“So you are buying the groceries every week. I see.” She laughed and walked away.

Kovar leaned back in his chair. Watching young couples start their lives together never failed to make his day.

He loved his job.