Should she take her notebook computer to work on?
How about her computer tablet to read?
Maybe yarn and knitting needles to work on a scarf for the charity program she knit for in the evenings?
Theo had said she could bring some movies. But how many? What kind would he like? Did he mean her children’s collection or something more adult?
Leaving the bedroom, she headed to the living room. Opening the cabinet beside the hanging television set, she stared at the extensive collection of movies she had put together over the years. Turning her head sideways, she read each row, pulling out one here, two there, until she had more than a dozen DVD cases stacked in one hand.
She was only going to be with him for four days, she did not need all these movies. But how many should she take?
Her too-fast thinking mind changed channels, and worries. Leaving the movies on the table, she headed into the kitchen. If she was going to be gone for four days, she needed to clean out the refrigerator, take out the trash, and make sure the dishes were all washed. The last thing she wanted was to come home to a kitchen full of bugs.
She had just finished dumping leftovers into the trash when the doorbell rang, pulling her attention away from the kitchen. Wiping her hands on the dishtowel, she hurried through the house. She peeked out the front window and saw a big black motorcycle parked behind her Jeep.
Theo had arrived. Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall beside the television, she frowned. Had it already been an hour since they had parted ways?
“Hi,” she said when she opened it and found Theo on the other side. “I’m not quite ready to go yet. I have to finish dealing with the dishes and the trash, and you didn’t say how many movies I should bring, so I pulled my favorites, but I think fourteen is too many, and…”
Her words stopped when Theo stepped inside, wrapped a hand around her head, tilted her head up, and kissed her. When he straightened several long minutes later, breaking their lip-lock, she had forgotten everything wanted to tell him.
She blinked and stared up at him, mesmerized by his smile, and the happy expression she saw in his deep brown eyes. Eyes so dark they reminded her of her favorite candy bar. Without a word, she turned and scurried into the kitchen, pulling the last candy bar out of the box she kept on the snack shelf. After taking the box and breaking it down, she tossed it in the recycle bin by the back door. Then she returned to the snack shelf and pulled out several single-serving packages of her favorite crackers, and a couple of snack-size boxes of raisins, all of which she put on the counter with the candy bar. She hoped Theo didn’t mind if she brought her own snacks.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned and found Theo standing in the doorway, watching her. “Okay, little bird, what happened?”
“What do you mean what happened?”
Theo studied her with a solemn expression. “You were fine when you left me downtown, and now you seem to be in some sort of wild, manic state. Do you do drugs? Are you on something?”
Lyssa shook her head. “No, no drugs. Never have, and don’t ever plan to. I did smoke cigarettes for a few years in and just after college, but I quit those years ago.”
Listening to herself talking, and the fast, pressured way she was speaking, Lyssa knew what was happening. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to take several slow, deep breaths. As she did, she worked to slow down her thoughts. When she felt back in control, she opened her eyes and looked at Theo.
“Sorry about that. When I get overwhelmed with tasks to do and decisions to make, I get a tad wound up.”
Theo nodded as if he understood, though Lyssa doubted he did. How could he? He’d probably never been nervous or overwhelmed or scared of new things in his life.
It was the last thing she wanted, but she decided to give him a way out. Later, after he was gone, she would mourn the loss of a perfect man who appeared to know what she needed better than she did herself. “If you want to back out of the weekend, or of everything, it would be okay. Being with me can be challenging, especially for someone who’s never had to deal with my brand of crazy before.”
Turning away, she looked around the kitchen, trying to remember what she had been doing before Theo arrived. Cleaning up the kitchen. Squaring her shoulders, she crossed the counter where she had left the dirty leftover food containers. Stacking them together, she carried them to the sink and began to rinse them out before putting them in the dishwasher.
She hadn’t heard the front door close and wondered if Theo was still around, or if he had silently made his escape. She was afraid to look, so she forced herself to finish the task at hand.
Once the dishwasher was loaded, she closed the door and turned around. “You’re still here,” she gasped at the man who was still in the doorway, only now leaning against one side of it.
“Of course I’m still here. Where else would I be when my Little girl obviously needs me?” Theo asked as he straightened. “And in my profession, we’re all crazy, all in our own way.”
“Umm…okay. I have to take out the trash now,” Lyssa said.
“How about I take out the trash while you go into the living room and choose six movies that you’d like to watch this weekend?” Theo said.
Lyssa pointed to her left. “The garbage bin is around the corner by the driveway on that side of the house.”
Lyssa walked to the doorway but stopped when Theo did not move out of her way. “Excuse me,” she said softly, suddenly feeling drained after her extended burst of nearly irrational manic behavior.
Theo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to lean against his chest. “It’s going to be okay, little bird. We’ll take things slow and easy, and I now know to be very clear in my instructions from now on.”
Lyssa nodded as she took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of man and wind and something spicy. Releasing it in a whoosh, she found herself relaxing completely. Lifting her arms, she wrapped them around Theo’s waist, holding on as he slowly tightened his embrace. Every second he cuddled her felt like heaven, much like when she loved on Squish, her hippo stuffie.
Finally, he eased the embrace and, after dancing them around in a half circle so she stood in the doorway and he was in the kitchen, he released her. “Okay, go choose your movies while I take out the garbage. Then we’ll pack your clothes and whatever else you might need for the weekend.”
Chapter Five
“So, where do you hide your toys?” Theo asked, twenty minutes later.
They had finished picking out clothes and packing them in her duffel bag, and now Theo was curious to see what Big girl toys his little bird owned that they could play with. Zeroing in on the three-drawer nightstand by the bed, he began pulling out the drawers.
“Toys?” Lyssa sounded confused as she folded a sleepshirt with a cartoon female superhero on the front and placed it in the bag. She had introduced him to Squish, her stuffed hippo friend, when they first walked into the room.
“Yes, toys. Every woman over the age of twenty has Big girl toys to play with.”
A glance at Lyssa proved he had to be close. Her skin from hairline to the V of her shirt began to pink up.
The top drawer held a leather-bound journal with a pen stuck in it. He pulled it out and handed it to her. “You might need this.”
She accepted the journal and dropped it in the bag. Then she hugged Squish to her chest as she stared at the bottom drawer.
The middle drawer was empty. He hit the jackpot when he pulled out the bottom drawer. “Ah-ha. Found them.”
He began taking things out and looking them over. A dildo, butt plug she’d only used once, and a bottle of lube were laid on top of the nightstand. Several other items, including a large box of condoms she had never opened, were returned to the drawer.
“Oh ho, what’s this? Don’t tell me you’re more butch than you appear,” Theo said, sounding both curious and delighted as he pulled the last item out of the drawer. The large flesh-colored dildo looked
obscene as it dangled from the black elastic straps wrapped around his hand. Theo turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised. “Lyssa? Are you into girls as well as boys?”
Though his tone was gentle and curious, there was still an underlying thread of steel running through his words. He hoped she understood that he would not give up until she answered his questions. He watched her tremble as she swallowed hard, her gaze glued to the strap-on.
“No,” she whispered. “I’m only into boys.”
Theo watched as Lyssa blinked several times as tears filled her eyes. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
“Lyssa? What’s wrong?”
He refused to let this go. There was a story behind this sex toy, and he had a feeling he needed to know what it was in order to help his Little girl.
Shaking her head, Lyssa turned away. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Before she could escape into the bathroom, Theo stepped in front of her and pulled her in to lean against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her back, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Her trembling grew worse, and then he heard soft sniffs as if she were trying to keep from crying.
“Shhhh, little bird. Don’t cry. You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”
* * * *
Theo’s deep voice rumbled through her body, soothing the jagged emotions that slashed through her heart at the sight of the vulgar sex toy. Lyssa took a deep breath and burrowed deeper into his hold, wishing she could disappear into his body instead of answering his question. His arms shifted, one tightening around her back, and the other slid up to the back of her skull, holding her securely against his chest.
A feeling that she could tell him anything without recriminations bloomed in her, and she began to talk without realizing it. “A therapist I saw just after my ex died suggested I wear it whenever I felt particularly weak and insignificant,” Lyssa admitted softly. “It was supposed to help me embrace the strength of my femininity and understand that I don’t need a penis to be worthy of anyone’s respect or approval.”
Theo’s hand brushed her hair back from her face, then began to rub up and down her back. “How did that work for you?”
Lyssa found herself smiling. “It felt silly, but it did help me overcome some issues about being a single woman in a man’s world. I once wore it to a meeting with my agent and a publisher, and I was able to ask questions and make demands I never would have dared to without it. The publisher refused my demands, but the memory of that feeling stayed with me. The next time I had to negotiate with someone, I remembered that feeling.”
“So, you’ve never worn it for sex?” Theo’s voice had dropped into the range that Lyssa was coming to recognize as his aroused Dom voice.
“I’ve only worn it twice, and it felt weird both times,” she said. Her body grew stiff as her thoughts turned worrisome. “Would you like me to use it on you? Are you heteroflexible? Should I be worried about losing you to a man instead of another woman?”
Before she realized he had moved, Lyssa found herself off the floor and lying flat on her back on the mattress with Theo half lying over her. Shock held her frozen while he stared deep into her eyes.
“I already know that you are my woman, my Little girl, and, I think, the other half of my soul. Yes, there have been other women in my life, but from the moment I saw you this morning, I knew you were it for me. There will never be anyone else in whatever bed we sleep in. Just you and me for as long as you want to be with me, which I’m hoping will be forever.”
“Oh my.” Lyssa breathed as tears filled her eyes, this time for an entirely different reason. “You can’t say those things. It’s too soon.”
Theo ignored her as he looked at the strap-on. “If you’re a very, very good girl, I might be persuaded to use this on you. Imagine me filling both pussy and ass at the same time. Double penetration without another man.”
With that, he pressed his lower body against hers, rubbing his long, thick cock up and down over her mound. He then leaned down and used the tip of his tongue to lick across the seam of her lips.
Lyssa could not hold back the moan of need that bubbled up. Lifting her arms from the bed, she wrapped them around his neck. At the same time, her hips began to pulse up against his, asking for more. “I think I’d like that, Daddy. A lot.”
Before she could rip their clothes off so they could get busy, Theo rolled off her. He did not stop moving until he stood beside the bed, looking down at her. Grabbing the strap-on from where he’d dropped it on the bed, he tossed it into the duffel bag. He grabbed the other sex toys he’d laid on top of the nightstand and added them, as well.
Then he turned his attention to her. “Let’s go, little bird,” he said, extending the hand to help her from the bed. “We have a Daddy and Little weekend to get started.”
Lyssa took his hand and giggled as he easily pulled her from the bed. “Yes, Daddy.”
* * * *
Once they finished in the bedroom, Lyssa headed back to the kitchen. After packing enough snacks for both of them in a cloth shopping bag, she moved on to the living room where she added the movies she had decided on. Turning, she stopped and stared longingly at the notebook computer sitting on the coffee table where she often worked.
“No,” Theo said when he saw what she was looking at. “This is a weekend to get out of your head and experience, not get caught up in your writing.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said softly as she followed him to the front door.
Grabbing her purse along the way, she hoped he would allow her to keep the paper notebook she had been writing in that morning, even though what she had written was crap of the worst kind.
“Keys,” he said as he opened the door and guided her out onto the porch.
Lyssa handed him her keys, then watched as he locked both the knob and the front door’s deadbolt. Turning, she froze and murmured, “Oh, shit.”
He’d ridden a motorcycle to her house. He wasn’t expecting her to ride that beast of a machine, was he?
She remained on the porch while he crossed the yard and packed the bag of food into a saddlebag. Then he turned to look at her. “Come on, little bird. Time to motor.”
“But,” she started, then stopped and bit her bottom lip.
How could she explain that there was no way she could ride on the back of his motorcycle?
He studied her for a few seconds before closing the distance between them. “Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?” he asked as he took her hand and led her closer to the two-wheeled monster.
She slowly slid her head left and right. “My husband refused to take me on his because he said I was too fat,” she whispered. “After he died, I’ve been too afraid to get near one.”
Theo muttered a curse, then pulled her in for one of his hugs. “Your husband was an ass, you know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know,” Lyssa said with a slight smile. “He actually did me a favor by dying. I was getting ready to leave him when he went out drinking and had an accident on his bike. I know that sounds harsh, but…”
“I’d love to have you ride on the back of my bike. We can take it nice and easy until you get used to it,” Theo said. “All you have to do is hold on and lean with me. Think you can do that, little bird?”
Lyssa thought about it a moment before realizing this was one of those moments she needed. The moments that terrified her, but would give her a new experience to write about. And hopefully would help her overcome another of her too many to count fears. She had been working hard on defeating the things that scared her, so she nodded slowly. “Yes, Daddy. I can do this.”
“And if you need to stop, just pat my belly. We’ll stop and figure out another way to get home.”
Taking a deep breath, Lyssa dropped her head back to smile up at him. “I won’t need to stop. I’ll be brave, Daddy.”
Theo leaned down and brushed a kiss on her lips. “Good girl. I know you can do this.”
He he
lped her position her duffel bag so the strap lay over one shoulder and across her body. He then tightened the strap so it lay tight against her back. Once he was satisfied it would not cause problems on the ride, he pulled a black clamshell helmet out of a saddle bag, plopped it on her head, then quickly connected and snugged the chin strap up tight.
When he climbed onto the motorcycle without a helmet, she tapped his shoulder. “Where’s yours?” she asked, pointing to her head.
“I only have the one. I want you to wear it. If this goes okay, we’ll stop at the shop, and pick you up one of your very own. So, think about what color helmet you want,” he said. “Now, climb on and put your feet on these pegs. And don’t move them once you’re on, or you might burn your leg.”
Lyssa climbed on and settled on the seat. Theo helped her put her feet into position before he started the engine. Once the motorcycle thrummed loudly between their legs, he took her hands, which were resting on her thighs and pulled them around his middle. She slid closer so she was hugging him with her upper legs as well as her arms.
Between the motorcycle’s vibrations and holding him tight, Lyssa found herself fighting down an arousal unlike any she’d ever felt before. When he revved the engine, she hugged him tighter, and closed her eyes, hiding her face against his wide back, though the helmet wouldn’t allow her to get as close as she wanted. She prayed she wouldn’t scream in fear or throw up on him as they began to move, slowing turning out of her driveway and heading down the street.
By the time they had gone a half dozen blocks, Lyssa had opened her eyes and loosened her grip on Theo. Turning her head, she watched wide-eyed as the world flew by. She was grinning widely by the time Theo turned into a driveway and entered a fenced-in property. He drove down a narrow road for another few minutes before finally pulling into a driveway and parking.
“So, little bird, what do you think?” Theo asked as he parked the bike and helped her climb off before dismounting himself.
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