by Jade Onyx
“Jessica Wyatt.”
“Stop sounding like an office machine!” Geneva Dubois's screech interrupted Jessica's reverie.
“Sorry, Jen, that was automatic.” Still, Jessica could not help but smile at her friend's scolding. She started to clean up her makeup counter.
“You can't be on auto-pilot tonight!” Jen continued. “If you do, you won't get laid.”
A squeaky, stainless steel, angular robot getting laid entered her mind's eye. Jessica giggled. “I'm not trying to get laid tonight.”
“This ain't funny, missy. Nobody's gonna be interested enough to follow up if you don't screw your siren head on.”
Funny. Jessica was thinking her lips were already painted siren. She appreciated Jen because in so many ways the two of them often vibed on the same wavelength.
“Speaking of head,” Jen muttered, “what about your hair?”
“What about it?” Jessica looked into the full-length mirror. Nothing wrong with her hair, as far as she could tell.
Jen cussed. “I bet you haven't done anything with it. You really want to date nasty next morning club hair for breakfast?”
Jessica sighed. “What do you suggest, Oh Mighty Queen of Club Hair?”
“What are you wearing?”
“A halter top dress.”
“Braid it.”
“And look like a pixie?” Jessica arched an eyebrow.
“Low. Start low and loose just below your ears and tie it at the shoulders. The rest of your braid will straggle quite nicely beyond that tie down to your dress and scream SEXY with a capital S, especially with those killer shoulders of yours.”
Hmm, Jen had a point. Jessica started braiding her hair.
“I'm five minutes away now. Be down there in your struts by the time I get there.”
Tying her hair with a slim black hair tie, Jessica knew what Jen meant by struts.
“Aye, Captain. See you in five.” She hung up and hurried over to her shoe organizer to slip into a pair of black lace, pointy toe, mid-high pumps. The pumps were high enough to be sexy but low enough for her to dance for a good few hours straight without screaming for a foot op.
She slipped into a black faux leather cropped zip front jacket and shoved her keys and phone into a champagne glitter wristlet pouch. She liked this clutch because of the added security of the wristlet. Plus, the metallic glitter fabric underscored her necklace and earrings.
Taking one last look at the mirror, Jessica bounded out to meet Jen.
***
An Tang set the barbell back in its cradle and sat up on the bench. He wiped the sweat off, stripped and took a quick shower. This Sunday evening routine at his pad was getting boring, yet much more bearable than the weekly phone calls from Má.
As if on cue, his cell rang. He settled down on the couch and took the call. “Má.”
“Is that any way to greet your mother?” she scolded.
He tried to sound cheerful before but the greeting had come out strangled and clipped. He stared at the plush carpet near his feet.
“No, Má. I've had a rough week at work. Thank you for calling.” He held his breath, anticipating Má's next words.
“I found someone you might be interested in. Courteous, traditional, and from a good family.”
And probably not my type at all.
He took a deep breath, willing air into his constricted chest. Má was matchmaking again, probably tired of his sorry excuses for the past year. How blunt. How could he refuse without being disrespectful?
“Thank you, Má, for going through the trouble. I'm quite busy for the next few weeks.”
“You're thirty.”
And you want grandkids... His eyes squeezed shut for a moment.
“You aren't getting younger.”
Bro, I wish you were here. That way, at least An would not shoulder the pressure as the sole heir to continue the line of Tangs... He let out a slow breath.
“You ought to meet her anyway sometime.”
Here goes...
“Thanks, but I met someone.” A complete lie. White, but still a lie. He pressed his lips into a thin line.
“What? That's big news. Why did you not bring it up before?”
“I want to be sure before I introduce her to you and Ba.” He gulped. This was getting deeper. He hated lying, but that seemed to be the only way Má would back off at this point.
“Perfect. How about we come visit you next weekend to meet her?”
Fuck. You wanted deeper, man? You got it.
“It's too soon, Má.” Agitated, he brushed his hair back. “You might scare her off.”
“Nonsense. We'll just be in the area and meet you for lunch or something.”
By the time they got off the phone, An knew that Má was going to get her way. How long could he keep his dutiful son facade?
What a clusterfuck. He was screwed. Damn, he needed to clean up his language, too. Being around ex-military was rubbing off on him. Slumping over on the couch, he buried his head in both hands.
His cell rang again. He stood up to take the call. “Frank, what is it?”
“An, do me a favor.” If he was not Frank, An would have put the man in his place. However, this was Frank, grad school buddy and entrepreneur extraordinaire. He could talk to An this way.
An arched an eyebrow. “You're not the kind to seek any from me.”
“Ah, hell. Geneva promised me she'd give me her whole weekend next week if I could do just this one favor for her.”
“Gotta be huge, if she promised you a full weekend.” He half-grinned.
“Yeah, well, she's going clubbing tonight with a couple friends, one of whom she'd like you to meet.”
“Great. That narrows it down. I haven't even met your girl and she wants favors?” An walked to the patio door and peeked through the blinds. Night had set in.
Frank laughed. “I've been keeping her to myself, and this is one of her best buds she wants you to meet.”
Another matchmaker. What was it about Sunday evenings?
“More like she's been keeping you busy from your own buddies,” An grumbled, stepping away from the patio door.
“I'll send you a photo.”
“You got one of the girl?” Going out after a shower wouldn't seem so bad if the girl was attractive.
“No, but she's the one with the darkest hair.”
“What's in it for me?” An asked, crossing one arm over his chest.
“Besides the fact you've had quite a drought for awhile and this just might be the way to wet up some?” Frank chuckled.
An humphed.
“How about I relieve you of your duties this week at the club?” Frank offered.
Couldn't say An wouldn't jump on the opportunity. Everything felt routine. Empty. Obligatory. “The whole week?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Game on.”
“Right on then. I'll text you the club info after I send you Geneva's pic.”
The evening just got interesting. Maybe he would actually have someone to show off to his parents this coming weekend, at least for the weekend . . .
***
Hot, heavy dance music pulsed through Jessica's veins. The strands of hair near her cheeks stuck to her face. In a groove well into the night, the party was just getting started for a Sunday night-Monday morning.
Dancing in a circle facing each other, Jessica smiled widely at her good friend Jen and their mutual friend Mariah Olsen. Jen and Jessica had gone through college and their MBA program together. They were tight. Meeting Mariah at the Chamber of Commerce about a year ago was icing on top. Together, the three of them hit it off as the few unpretentious female executives in the Seattle area. Now, the trio often got together to let off steam. Clubbing was just one way. Spa day was another. They hit the gym, too, once in awhile.
Jessica admired Jen's blond side braid, which perfectly displayed a pair of monarch butterflies tattooed near her other collarbone. The courting butterflies perche
d on a green ivy vine that wrapped artfully around her slender shoulder.
Ethan.
Her heart ached and her legs felt weak all over again. Seeing the two butterflies made her feel the absence of a mate. Once again, an ex had dumped her—just a couple days ago, officially. She had already felt they were growing apart a few weeks before the call, but she never expected him to be so spineless to just call and dump her over the phone. She couldn't blame him, though. Here she was, richer and smarter than most men she had dated. Ethan was just another statistic.
She wished. Oh, she wished she had a man. A real man.
“Jessica!” Jen's annoyance snapped her back to attention. “Damn it! You thinking of Asshole again?”
Caught, Jessica shrugged impishly.
“You can't fool me, missy!” Jen swooped toward Jessica, patted and pinched her buttock with one arm and cradled her breast-to-breast with her other arm. “How about a girl-on-girl dance?” Jen's sly smile made Jessica's cheeks flush. “You know how hot men get when they see this action?” Jen glanced over her shoulder and motioned Mariah over. “Get close and hump me from behind!”
Jessica giggled nervously. “Jen! How do you come up with this stuff?”
“Just relax, missy. We've got you.”
While Jen rubbed her up and down, grinding into her full frontal and on the side, Mariah made her way around Jen to flank Jessica and shimmied her way up and down along Jessica's spine. Pulling Jessica's hips toward her crotch, Mariah pumped and swayed with the music.
Jessica could not help but burst into raucous laughter. In fact, they were all laughing.
A firm hand with an expensive watch shot through the tangle of female pheromones towards her. “May I cut in?”
The throaty voice sent Jessica's heart skipping a beat. Her eyes snaked up the fit arm past the black button vest on his stocky shoulders, past the button white T-shirt that showed up blue in the black light, past his full lips and connected with twinkling cordovan eyes that shot electricity to her brain.
Short circuitry. She did not know when she reached out her hand. She was vaguely aware of Jen and Mariah parting their way to reconfigure their girly arrangement.
The moment their hands met, Jessica felt the zap. She almost retracted her hand, but he held hers firmly and pulled her toward him into a tight embrace to lead her in a dance to their own beat. He smelled of pine and musk, as if he was just getting started.
“You just got here?” she asked, when she finally recovered her ability to speak.
“Not long ago.” His black bangs were brushed to the side, yet several strands flirted with an eye. His hair was long enough to cover his ears and curled out at the ends.
Fuckable. He was definitely fuckable. Dark and fuckable. She ached to pull that hair.
Jessica threw her arms around his shoulder. “So Mister Dark and Fuckable, what brings you here?”
“A lovely dark damsel,” he quipped back. He grinned, revealing dimples in both cheeks.
Jessica's knees almost buckled. Did an angel send this fantasy to her? No, not fantasy. He was real, in flesh, in her hands.
“You don't strike me as someone who shows up here to pick up damsels.” Jessica smiled sweetly.
“Only damsels in distress that need to be rescued from their girlfriends,” he said, amused.
“Oh, so I'm on a list of virtuous acts?” Jessica did not like being “rescued.” She was so over cheesy contrived fairy tales where helpless bitches get swept off by some megalomaniac's stunted acts.
“No, you're on a list of pleasureful favors.”
“Favors?” Jessica's eyebrows shot up. Warning bells rang.
He shrugged. “I promised a friend I'd show up here tonight.”
“A woman friend or a guy friend?” she asked.
“Doesn't matter if I find the damsel, does it?”
“Are you telling me you were ordered to be here to doctor me up?” Jessica felt her stomach sink.
“Oh, if you were my patient, I'd have you on the gynecology table right now and give you a nice swat on that pussy.”
The unwelcome image sent an involuntary chill surging down Jessica's spine. Yet, she was infuriated with this man's boldness and whoever had ordered him to be here to console her. Plus, if the whole evening was going to be her asking the questions, she would get bored rather quickly.
“Well, I'm done with my inquisition. It was nice to meet you,” she said, loosening up her arms and starting to back away.
“Oh, is that how you roll?” He held her tighter and moved them to the music. “We're just getting started.”
“You've got the rest of this dance,” Jessica hissed. “Then I'll be meeting with my gynecian friends.”
***
An downed his drink at the bar and eyed the damsel on the dance floor. As soon as their song ended, the female threesome had reunited and ignited a smoldering passion deep within him.
He willed his raging hard-on to still. She looked so fuckable in that loose sexy braid flinging around in sensual abandon. He wanted to give it a tug when he took her from behind, riding her and reigning her hair and head back as if he was pulling the reins on a horse.
Her scent lingered on him. A cross between lemon and raspberry. How would she taste like? He could spend hours making her come again and again, having her beg and scream his name.
He could still feel her body pressed against his and the armful he had when he exerted his dominance. She felt right in his arms. He smiled at the memory of her perky beads against his chest when they danced.
He had tested her with that gynecology comment to see how she would respond. Her flat-out retort coupled with her body's submissive response to his body excited him. How much was talk? How much was show? How much fun would he have making her come, free from her own spinning wheels?
When he was sure he could stand and walk without embarrassment, he sent a text to Frank. Favor done. Heading home.
He could use another shower to take care of himself and get a good night's rest.
***
“It's no use, Jen,” Jessica huffed. Tears streamed down her face. She knew her mascara was a goner now. If the assertion was correct, that raccoons only came out at night, then Jessica sure looked and felt like one. “I just want to curl up into a ball, hide away, and sleep the whole day off.”
Jen removed one hand from the steering wheel and set the car to park along the Seattle waterfront. They were only minutes away from Jessica's place. “Missy, enough of your pity party. You're a hottie and that guy earlier was hot for you, too. Hold your head up high. Asshole was worth less than shit.”
“No one wants to date me,” Jessica weeped. “So what if I'm beautiful, brainy and just so happen to be a billionaire by default? All the good rich men are taken.”
“Stop this blubbery mess over that bastard!” Jen ordered. “Any decent man would have faced you to end things instead of dropping the bomb on you over the phone.”
Hearing how her ex broke up with her aloud only sent Jessica into another bucket of wails.
“Jessica, I know of someone who might just be the perfect rebound man for you right now.”
Jessica sniffed. Her wails subsided enough for her to listen further.
“How does great sex with no strings attached sound to you?”
“You mean, like a fuck buddy?” She wiped away her tears. Nothing appeared as a blur anymore.
“You know you want some and that dickwad was sure not giving you any.”
Jessica sighed. “No, he wasn't. Even if he did, he was more interested in getting off than tending to me. I don't think I ever orgasmed with him. Come to think of it, I don't think I've had the big O with any man I dated before.”
“So you're fine with fucking for fuck's sake then?”
Jessica shrugged. “Might as well enjoy myself to pass the time before I settle down. I mean, I'll know what I want when I find it and see it.”
“Well, this guy's great,” Jen assured. “
I know, because he's best buds with my man and they're into the same... They have the same turn-ons.”
“Jen, is there something you're not telling me?”
“Well, he's... Well, Frank told me he's Asian. I mean, I've never seen you date Asian before.”
Jessica paused. “Other than the food and business trips to Japan, I have no experience with Asian men. I mean, I imagine they have the equipment to please.” An image of a dinky man with a dinky dick came to mind. She grimaced. “Jen, are you sure about this...this fuck buddy arrangement?”
“Well, the best way to find out is to go on a double date,” Jen suggested. “I'll send you details tomorrow, once I talk to Frank.”
“Okay, Jen. I'll try it. I'm up for adventure.”
Jen smiled. “You don't know how much.”
“For some reason, I think there's still more that you're not telling me.”
“You're right and I'm looking forward to you finding out for yourself.” Jen smiled mysteriously and started the car again. “Let's get you home before you need to call in lovesick for work. I'd rather you call in sick from bedhead after our double date.”
OceanCrest Series
Prison Break
A Novelette
When breaking free means breaking open...
When Natalia escapes a loveless relationship and fails to seduce an old flame, she makes use of her alluring attire in the comfort of her suite when two strangers hand her a bag and a phone. Some quick and dirty phone sex might be exactly what she needs, but Mateo's not done with his pleasureful punishment yet.
This is a 10,000-word erotic romance novelette with light MaleDom BDSM by HER ~ Healing Erotic Romance ~ author Jade Onyx.
Eat Mì (Eat Me)
A Novella
Bound by desire...
Jessica Wyatt has all the ingredients for beauty, brain and dough as a billionaire executive using her MBA in global management to aid her father’s expanding business ventures. Only problem is, all the good rich men are taken and her latest spineless ex dropped the bomb over the phone.