The Assignment

by Jade A. Waters

  “You wanted my attention, sweetheart?” he said, his voice smoky and low. The grit of it teased my ears with the feel of Dean already against my skin, and he peeked first at me, then at Dean as if checking his presence was acceptable.

  Neither of us objected.

  “You’re fucking hot,” the man said. This near, I made out the tattoo of an emblem on his upper arm that the sleeve of his T-shirt mostly covered, and the scent of a woodsy cologne that wafted off his lean, built body when he stepped closer.

  Dean continued grazing my breasts, and a shiver stole through my gut. The pounding of my heart transformed into a deafening jackhammer. I was high on the sensation of being watched, on the wicked idea Dean had proposed and now this man standing right in front of me.

  “Do you two swing?”

  Dean spoke. “We do not. However...” The bump of his pelvis against my ass drew a shudder from me. What was he about to say? I lowered my hands to his arms, torn between temptation and embarrassment once the man started stroking himself through his denim. “I think Maya might have a craving she hasn’t spoken aloud yet.”

  Did I?

  The stranger lifted his chin. “Is that so?”

  Was it?

  How was I supposed to think straight?

  Moans and music echoed in the air, and Dean lowered his hands to my mound, confirming I was still on display. When he traced his fingers between my thighs, my eyelids fluttered. “You’re so wet. So, so wet... If you want it, I’m okay with it. Any pleasure is yours,” Dean said.

  He’d mentioned others touching me the last time—someone grazing my lips with his cock. But with Dean fucking me, it would be naughtier. Hot and wrong, all at once. My heart bounced around my chest like a trapped butterfly.

  “So what’s this craving?” The man rubbed his temple, his crooked smile strangely endearing and his voice countering Dean’s in such a different gruffness that it swarmed my ears over the backdrop of moans and bodies slamming together.

  Dean crept his fingers over my clit. He worked it into a tighter knot and breathed in my ear. “Do it. Show me what you want, how far you’ll go. Show him.”

  I reached for the top of the man’s jeans, catching the intake of his breath and the widening of his dark eyes under the dim lights of the room.

  “Oh yes,” he murmured. His voice dropped lower when I curled my fingers under his waistband, his skin warm against my fingertips. It was almost as hot as the search of Dean’s fingers, discovering how maddeningly aroused I was by what was about to occur.

  “Tell him, kitten,” Dean said. He rubbed against me again, and I gasped.

  I gave the man’s waistband a tug. “I want you in my mouth,” I said.

  “Hell yes.” The man let me steer him close, his body smashing against me, trapping me between him and the familiarity of Dean’s strong chest.

  Dean curved one hand around my side and weaved the other in my hair, gathering it in his hands so he could hold on to me when the stranger wrapped his arms around my waist. Quickly, he tilted his lips to mine. It was an icebreaker, a fast acquaintance before we continued. I trembled as the man shoved his tongue in my mouth and gyrated it with mine in a rough, messy kiss. He tasted of alcohol, and his breath fell heavily against my lips. The whole time, Dean tugged on my hair, reminding me of his presence, caressing my waist. The man’s cock lifted against my bare cunt through the thickness of his jeans, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a spasm of heat once he arched up his hips.

  The man pulled away with a grin and swung his head back and forth. “I feel like I should buy you a drink first.”

  Dean moved alongside me, his hands gliding all over my skin and making me suck in air. I was already blind with lust, lost in the potential of this encounter. “Actually,” he said, “what if I fetch the drinks? Let the two of you get acquainted.” I turned to gaze at him, and he nodded reassuringly. “You can explore a little without me.”

  Exploration.

  But without him?

  A chill ran through me, clouding the heat that burst through my limbs. Could I start without him? Explore without him?

  “I won’t be long.” Dean shifted my skirt back in place and stroked my back.

  The man flashed a coy smile.

  I could do this. “Okay.”

  Dean said, “All right. Drinks it is. What’ll you have?”

  “Beer. Any beer.” The man was too distracted. He raked his eyes over me and licked his lips.

  I nodded. “Same.”

  “Done.” Before Dean left, he grabbed my chin. He rested against my hip and turned my face sideways, forcing my lips apart to slide his tongue into my mouth. In huge, passionate sweeps, he twined his tongue with mine, claiming me in front of the man. But he released me so fast I nearly toppled over. My legs wobbled beneath me and my heart pounded hard. Dean ran a finger over my lips and narrowed his eyes before reaching into his pocket. When he held a condom up in the air, I stared between it and the man.

  He’d thought of this.

  This was part of the assignment.

  My heart beat harder, my body tingling with anticipation and yet my mind spinning questions at light speed.

  Had he planned this out? Having someone join us like he’d described before, and me seeking that man out?

  Or was this a random coincidence he’d hoped might come our way?

  “Just in case,” Dean said. He pointed at the adjoining hall with its partitioned rooms. “Find a space, and I’ll be quick.”

  He laid another kiss on my lips after the man snatched the condom from his hand, and when Dean dashed away, the man gestured ahead. “Lead the way.”

  I walked, charged yet shaky, the man’s eyes on my back, every noise of the room amplified around the beating of my heart. The second curtained space in the hallway was open, so I slinked through the sheer fabric and spun around. In the lighting here, I could make out the excitement on the man’s face. He didn’t bother with formalities at all, instead reaching for me and yanking me hard into his chest. He groped my sides and ran his hands up my back, then dove in for another kiss. When his tongue plunged between my lips, I succumbed. The idea of this was so hot—but the man surprised me, sneaking his fingers beneath my skirt and between my thighs, shoving them up against my wetness.

  I fell back. “Whoa. Slow down.”

  “No?” he said.

  I wanted him and Dean—him in my mouth, Dean in me. Him touching me felt off without Dean there. I smiled despite the rumble of my nerves and ran a hand down his chest and to his fly. “How about we stick with what I’ve offered?”

  The man shrugged. “Okay. Fine by me.” He started helping me with his pants, rushing my movement. “Have you two done this before?”

  “No,” I said. The man freed himself from his boxers right as the threesome in the neighboring stall started to moan louder than the music. I looked to them, their writhing bodies visible through the sheer curtains—one woman smashed between two men, like I was supposed to be.

  “Hey there.” The man caught my chin and jerked me back to him. He was far rougher than Dean, aggressive for someone I didn’t know. “Stay with me,” he said. He tore open the condom and rolled it over his length, then guided my hand around him.

  “Let’s slow it down a little,” I said.

  He cocked his head and tugged me in for another kiss. I relaxed into it, relieved. Dean should be here any minute. But the man broke away and pushed on my shoulders to nudge me down to the floor.

  My skirt crept up on my thighs as I settled onto my knees, and electricity rippled through me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t blown men I hardly knew before. I loved the act.

  And Dean knew where I was. He’d find me. He’d be right back.

  I stared at the man’s nakedness, my breath growing wild, my
pulse racing. He pressed his crown against my lips, urging me to spread. My body raged with empowerment, uncertainty and energy. I had a flash of embarrassment—this strange man demanding from me under the pretense of Dean joining us. But Dean would join us, soon enough. I’d have two men right here, with anyone able to see. A rush numbed my face and I opened my mouth to take the man along my tongue.

  “Oh yeah, honey. Just like that.”

  I slipped farther down his shaft.

  Would Dean be here soon? Was it crazy to start without him?

  He’d encouraged me to do it, right? To be his kitten?

  The man groaned once I sealed my lips over him. Beside us, the threesome tossed around. On our other side, two women had started wailing in their tussle. The sounds spurred me on, and I swallowed the man down farther, ignoring the taste of the condom and breathing in his musk. I wished Dean were here, behind me, touching me, fucking me. Seeing this. The man grunted when he reached the back of my throat, his eyes shutting tight before he pulled back and thrust hard. I coughed.

  He was moving too fast.

  Again, he pushed, this time cupping his hands over my ears, muting the sounds of the music, of everyone around us. He subjected me to the tunnel sound of my own thoughts, to the slurping sound of him along my tongue as he started fucking my mouth, and my head started to spin. I remembered the night with Dean, his slow glides along my tongue, and how much I’d trusted him and loved it because of that very trust, that care.

  “Fuck yeah. Your boyfriend likes you sucking other men off? Damn, you’re good.”

  My shoulders tightened and I stalled my motion.

  Where the fuck was Dean?

  “Don’t stop.”

  The man clenched my head, intent on controlling my movements, and my blissful headspace morphed into something else—a clatter of chaos, of uncertainty, of pressure. Dean still wasn’t back. I lifted my hands and wrapped them around the base of the man’s cock to pace him, my thoughts whirling around and distracting me. Did I want this? Yes, but with Dean here. The man drove forward, lodging himself so far into my throat I choked.

  “What a good little slut you are, sucking on me...” He moaned.

  I shuddered and coughed, a flash of Charlie’s voice seizing my mind. A good whore takes it deep. You like being taken over, don’t you, slut?

  Where the fuck had that come from?

  The man reached one hand down to my nipple and twisted it.

  I lurched back, shoving against his hips and letting him fall from my mouth. “I can’t.” Anxiety tore through me. The back of my throat hurt, and my jaw was sore. I stood up and the man flung out his hands.

  “Come on, baby.”

  And yet still, Dean was not back. I smoothed my skirt in place and adjusted my top. I felt untethered, disconnected. Out of control.

  Too out of control.

  The mix of emotions came sudden and hot. Sweat broke over my body, apprehension steamrolling its way through me. I moved past the stranger and through the curtains so fast I didn’t even see Dean coming in. I smashed into him, our bodies colliding around beer bottles and sending one crashing to the floor. The glass shattered in a mess of booze around our feet.

  “Shit, Maya! Okay, I found you. Sorry it took so...” He looked from the spill to my face. “Maya?”

  The lights struck me as overly bright, and the sounds around us didn’t intrigue me anymore, they made me dizzy. Dean placed the other two drinks on the floor and took my shoulders in his hands.

  The man came through the curtain, fastening his pants with a huff. “Your girlfriend is a trip.”

  Dean frowned and shooed him away before cradling me in his arms. I didn’t care that everyone could see us, or that the beer had started soaking into my shoes by the time a security guard came to check the spill on the floor. All I cared about was Dean touching me, smoothing his hands over my sides and my hair. His words were tender whispers, trying to bring me back from wherever the hell I’d gone in my mind despite his total confusion about what had happened.

  Without him.

  “You weren’t there,” I said.

  “There was a line at the bar. I thought—”

  The security guard ushered us aside. “I need you folks to move so we can clean this up.”

  Dean led us back into the main room, the moans around us overwhelming, loud. “Talk to me.”

  I should talk. Explain.

  I can’t.

  Not here. Not now.

  “Can we leave?” I blurted. Dean leaned back, the concerned glaze of his eyes reflecting the dim club lights.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve got to leave.” I crossed my arms over my chest, unease tumbling through me.

  Worry plastered Dean’s face. He brushed down my hair and adjusted my clothes, making sure I was presentable. He folded his arms around me. “Let’s go,” he said.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I’d never been so confused in my life.

  Dean fetched our coats, then walked me out to the curb and held me. He kissed my forehead and cheeks, trying to break through my spell. But my mind was trapped in a loop, feelings circling, dizzying, unceasing. Come out, come out wherever you are...

  Dean’s words were kind but distant, his forehead creased as he searched my face for answers beyond my clipped responses. “What’s going on?”

  “I needed to leave.”

  “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  “I can’t talk about it.”

  “Maya, talk to me. Come on,” Dean said.

  Come on, baby.

  I shivered and clenched my fists. I couldn’t form the words, and yet they swirled round and round in my head.

  Dean should have been there.

  He hugged me closer. “Do you want to go to the hotel? I can drive.”

  “Yes, please.” I pointed at the parking garage that housed my car. I stammered, “B-but my car...”

  “Will you be towed?”

  I shook my head.

  “Okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay the ticket. Let’s go.” He walked me toward his car, checking on me every few steps.

  I kept responding, but I didn’t know how to explain what was happening in my head. Everything had been consensual. I’d been into it. I’d wanted it. But not without Dean. I’d known he was coming back, but he’d taken too long.

  When we got to our hotel room, Dean embraced me, filling me with warmth despite the ice that had formed inside me. He took my coat off me and laid it across a chair, then helped me with my bustier and skirt. I waited for him, naked, slipping off my heels while he removed his clothes.

  “Come here,” he said. He led me to the bed, and I followed, my lips taut, my body aching. Dean drew me into his arms, leaning us back until our heads rested on the pillows and my face was buried against his chest. He wove his legs with mine and said nothing for a while as he held me close. His shirt smelled of cologne, sweat and sex, and under it all, the natural scent of him—luscious and masculine. Strong.

  “Did I make you uncomfortable?”

  I shook my head.

  “Did he?”

  I squirmed.

  Dean kissed my forehead, cinching me in his arms. “Tell me.”

  I want to pull that sexual creature inside you to the surface and push aside all the rest.

  I didn’t want him to see me like this. Didn’t want to scare him. “I can’t talk right now.”

  “I didn’t think it would take that long. There was a line, and I wouldn’t have suggested it if I’d known it would—”

  “Can we stop talking, please?”

  Dismayed, he ran his fingertip along my cheek.

  “I’ll be okay,” I said. My words were hollow, my body cold. Wh
at the fuck is wrong with me?

  * * *

  For the first time in years, Charlie invaded my dreams.

  His was the angry shout that used to make me cower, an ongoing bellow of disgust and criticism. I fought to break free as he hovered at my back, chanting, scolding and calling me names. I ran from him, into Dean’s arms, into other arms, tangling myself in beds and touches so sweet and electrifying, drawing me out. They told me it was okay to do these things, to find myself. To enjoy the sharp bite of cuffs at my wrists or the slide of a finger in places I used to hide. To love every pleasure afforded me and to run free in the exquisite ecstasy of it all.

  To never be ashamed again.

  But Charlie returned, a dark cloud of anger swirling around me, crushing my spirit and breaking me down. He called me a slut and a whore and told me I was ugly, and that I didn’t deserve these things. That coveting them made me weak and strange. He hit me and slammed me into walls, and told me I was his to control forever.

  I screamed and fought against him, more powerful than I was in those days but still too weak.

  He held my wrists in his hands, that same bitter sneer on his face, his eyes lasers of hatred. “You like to be hurt. You like to be used. You like to be punished and fucked because you’re weak. A weak fucking whore.”

  “No! I don’t. It’s not the same. It’s not the same!”

  “Maya!”

  “No, no! Stop!” I shrieked. “Get away!” I kicked at his shins and clawed at him. Charlie tightened his arms around me, holding me in place, but I kept fighting. I wasn’t powerless. He couldn’t control me anymore.

  It wasn’t the same.

  “Fuck, Maya! Wake up!”

  I opened my eyes. Dean stared down at me, his face contorted in pain. It took a minute for me to recognize him, to understand where I was. He wasn’t Charlie, he was Dean.

  “Hey,” he said. He clenched my wrists and tugged me closer, his voice gentle. “It was a dream. Come back to me.”

  Shudders barreled through me, and I buried my lips against his neck. “Oh, God.”

  “Are you okay?”