Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology

by Gina Kincade

  Dammit!

  As she calmed a bit though, she had no real idea what had made her so upset in the first place—or at least that's what she told herself.

  Liar!

  “Okay, listen, I don’t know where the humbug thing came from, but really, just let me ignore the holiday and I will let you celebrate it if you insist. Just do it without me.” She sighed and forced her mind back to her counting and ordering as she chatted via speakerphone with her longtime best friend, Mark.

  “Look, I get it. You got dumped on Valentine’s Day, Shan. But it’s been three years is all I am saying. It's time to get over it. Look how far you‘ve come in the past few years. You've made an amazing success of your bar. Rage on the Water is the hot place to be at here in Cleveland, now.”

  His voice took on a growly, low tone. “You’ve had some great times, at least I think so from all the screaming you’ve done, experimenting with me and coming out of your shell these past few years. You've spent more time screaming in pleasure rather than anger, at least, right? Don’t you think it’s time to move on?

  “Mark! Stop it! We're friends, remember. No relationship stuff, just sex. Why mess with a good thing? I like where we are. And I have put the past behind me. Doesn’t mean I have to start cutting out lacy pink and red hearts and going on romantic dinners. I like our…encounters. We have fun. Let’s not change things between us, okay? ” Shannon huffed, blowing a stray lock of her dark hair from her forehead.

  She could hear Mark clicking his tounge as he practically begged, and yet a third, almost whiny tone took over his voice this time. “Give Valentine’s Day a chance again, Shan. Maybe even give romance a chance again. All I’m proposing is a little dinner, just you and me. On a little bit more of an intimate level than the fun-as-friends, no-strings-attached type we usually have. Come on, Shan. Be my Valentine.”

  “Listen, I'll be working in my office tonight, avoiding the whole Valentine’s Day crowd. Staying away from all the lovesick people making stupid dopey eyes at each other; the ones in love. As well as from the desperate ones, the creeps just trying to get laid rather than be alone on this most holy day of love. I have no need of any of it, is all I’m saying. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Wasn’t a big fan of the holiday before I got dumped on it, all right? Look, I should go. Before I get a count wrong and end up with no rum and five cases of whiskey or something. And lord forbid I don’t have enough fuckin’ red straws tonight!” She groaned.

  Mark sighed, the huff of air sounding like static through the phone. “Okay, okay, I get it. But listen, Shan, hear me out. How about you don’t work tonight. I come over. We can have some fun at least, right? No dinner, forget I even mentioned it. We stay the same. Fun. Sex. No strings. If that's all I can have of you, then I’ll take it. I just hope some day you come around, get back in the game, give us a fighting chance. I thought I saw something the other night in your eyes, and I just hoped…ugh. Well, never mind. Sorry I brought it up. Guess I was seeing things.”

  Shannon rolled her eyes. The argument was similar to others they'd had about the topic of her lack of a real love life, though this was the first time he'd ever claimed to want more, have feelings for her that were more than just friendship. What was she supposed to do with that?

  She sucked in a breath over hear teeth, pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind. Now was just not the time. “I don’t know. Maybe tonight just isn’t a good one. The bar will be so busy.”

  “That place runs like a well-oiled machine, with or without you there. You made sure of that. Since buying the place from your uncle, you have proven multiple times over that you are a young business owner extraordinaire. Come on. Rather than ignore the holiday, do something to represent hating it at least, then. But, do something with me. Okay? No more talk of romance. I promise!”

  Shannon growled. “In a minute I’m going to take you up on that. And I’m going to explore my dominant side again by giving you the spanking of your life if you keep trying to change things.”

  “Fine. I’ll take it.” Mark chuckled.

  “Yeah, well, the mood I am in... Why don’t you bring a friend and save yourself some of the pain.” She laughed, the idea of spanking a few people sounding rather nice after all. She might just take one herself if the mood suited her.

  A good fuck. Now that is the cure to all that ails you.

  The bar and everything she'd busted ass to create at work was great, took up most of her time and energy. But what she had going for the last few years with Mark had been fantastic—beyond fantastic. From friendly cuddling and watching her favorite shows on Netflix, to indescribable sex and multiple orgasms some nights. What an ass he was being, trying to change a thing about them. Well, there was no them, really. Their non-relationship was perfection, and she refused to think about anything else. Especially since the idea of anything more tied her stomach in knots like food poisoning after a gourmet meal. Yeah, not going there. A gourmet girl she was not. Nope. She was good with greasy fries and…

  What the hell are you talking about, girl? Shit. Just count the blessed straws!

  “Oh, the lady is up for a ménage tonight, huh? Last time was fun. Maybe I could get Scott again. I think he would be up for getting a red ass on Valentine’s Day. I’ll tell him it’s a sacrifice to the holiday gods to turn a black heart red again.”

  “What? ” Shannon smacked her pen down on the glossy dark wood of the bar. She'd lost count, again. “Come on, Mark, I gotta get off here and get some real work done before the crowds swarm in. I might be talked into a bit of spanking tonight, but you will not be winning me over to the holiday. So give it up already!”

  “I don’t know about that. Let’s up the stakes here. Why don’t I invite a few other ladies along. You host a spanking party. You get it all out of your system, these pent up frustrations of yours. A little spanking, a whole lotta screwing, all your way, whatever you say goes all night. You like playing the dominatrix, right? I’ve seen you in action. And, if you have fun like I know you will, you go out to dinner with me sometime soon.”

  “Why, Mark? Why mess with what we have? I like it this way. You want more then maybe we should call it quits. Maybe we are seeing each other too much. Or maybe I should just release you from what we have and let you explore other women. I’m being selfish here. The no strings thing never works, everyone says so.” Shannon turned her back to the bar, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge on the other side as her stomach rolled, a wave of nausea—no, it was definitely sadness—rushing through her.

  Ugh. Man, this night just kept getting worse.

  Of course she'd be sad if this thing she had going with Mark ended. They'd been friends forever. And add to the mix that the guy was hot and just understood her better than anyone ever had; even her two-timing, cheating-low-down-scum of an ex. Sexually? In truth, the sex had just been beyond what she'd thought sex could ever be. She had to admit that. Who wouldn’t miss it? Bound to happen. Even non-relationships end badly, apparently.

  “No! Absolutely not!” Mark yelled.

  Shannon almost spit out the water she'd just gulped. She glanced around the empty, actually closed bar, to see if anyone had heard him. “Geez, Mark. No need to yell.”

  “Sorry. Fine, I'll play by your rules. No dinner. But how about the two girls idea? You liking adding in more people.”

  “Girls, as in plural? Why now? I mean I’m not opposed, you know I like it when Lisa joins us. Might be nice to give more than one girl a try, but why? Why two girls and two guys all the sudden. That’s a lot of people. You are taking us from ménage to group sex here. I mean, we’ve done a lot of experimenting, but never with this many witnesses before” She forced a laugh that sounded fake even to her ears. Her lip starting to ache made her realize she’d been biting at it in between talking. A bad habit she’d never outgrown, sometimes giving her a permanent red blood blister on her lip. Always attractive!

  “Guess I just want to up things with you. You won’t move onto a date, th
en we take it up a notch with what we have going on. I just liked the idea of couples given the day. You can pair us up and spank us all. Wouldn’t that be fun for a Valentine’s hater like yourself?”

  “You know a few girls who would go for this?” She ignored the jab, going back and forth was getting them nowhere, and just wasn’t as fun as it usually was.

  “I do. Let me arrange it all. You just be in your apartment by nine in that sexy dominatrix outfit you have. I will do the rest. Okay?”

  “Okay. Why not? I’m in, as usual.”

  “What would you do without me, babe?” Mark said, and then clicked off the phone.

  An image popped into her mind of having two men and two women bent over her couch, spanking them all, then watching them play. All at her command and getting in on the action as she wanted. Her body started to tremble, actually creating a buzz at her core, one that built wetness between her thighs. No matter what her mood, this man could always can make her body go there!

  All of the trial and error sexual play, her letting go of all of her inhibitions with Mark, had proven more than worthwhile so far. She would even go so far as to say it was healing, mind, body and soul, so why not? That had been her attitude these past few years and had served her well. With Mark, she hadn’t felt the need to date. She’d had someone to look forward to going home to without him actually living there, without the emotional entanglements. That was the plan, damn it, and it had been working beautifully.

  Chapter Two

  She stood there, her hand now frozen on the top of a jar of cherries she’d been counting for behind the bar for tonight. What would I do without him? Thinking on the answer to that for even just a second shut her down. He’d been everything to her outside of this bar these past two years. He had been her shoulder to cry on, her confidant, her support system with the bar, and her cock to fuck. They had been friends since high school, losing touch a bit during her infamous relationship with her ex, but then after the break up reconnecting as friends again and then so much more. It was just their friendship was on a whole other level than most. She was well aware of how lucky she was to have him. The ladies who worked for her, ones she considered friends and family, reminded her of that all the time.

  The thought of life without him scared the crap out of her. And, he had been hinting at changing things for a while now. They ate dinner together all the time, but new he was asking for a date, and asking on Valentine’s Day yet? That was just too much. What if he ever decided he wanted more and gave her an ultimatum? She wouldn't even think on it!

  And, I need to stop talking to myself, here!

  Get back to work. Things can’t change.

  Nope. Things are great as they are.

  Her foul mood suddenly got much worse as she changed the direction of her thoughts back to counting stock. First behind the bar, then moving stock, then counting stock in the back and filling in order sheets. As she went, jars and bottles and everything else got clanged together. She was lucky nothing broke as the afternoon turned to evening and her staff started coming in to prepare for the Valentine’s crowd.

  She’always had everyone in, all staff reporting, and she worked in her office in the back over the past few years for this particular holiday. They would all be surprised she was leaving. As she told them her plans, the few she really trusted anyway, she dared them to raze her. No one spoke a word. They just got right to work like good little minions. They knew better than to mess with her on this day. At least her other friends were respectful of her one day a year to be a bit fragile. Cherry, her main waitress behind the bar, had once said it made Shannon seem more human to those who didn’t know her as well, who only knew her as the ‘Type A’ boss lady.

  She loved them all, though, like family. Unlike her own actual blood family, they seemed to know when she needed time alone. Not with her thoughts, of course, but to avoid them really. Happier for the moment to be surrounded by them, she dug right in with her employees to get ready for the big night, only refusing to hang the decorations. So she got a little good-natured razing at that, but she gave as good as she got until the first customers started coming in. And then she left the bar in her employee's very capable hands.

  Chapter Three

  At home, Shannon showered and did her hair, leaving it in big, long curls, but pulling back the sides and clipping them to the back of her head so they didn’t fall into her face during some inopportune moment. She rifled through all the costumes and fetish-wear her and Mark had picked out over the last few years. It was really starting to take up a big part of her closet, but she loved the indulgence of buying and wearing it. The two of them had not taken up any lifestyle, but had looked a lot up online, fetishes and kinks they had interest in, and had tried many of them out together. Just some good-natured and sexy experimentation, which had proven, for the most part, to be highly rewarding in ways she’d never expected.

  She chose a dominatrix outfit for tonight like he’d suggested. She loved the power play, especially with Mark, who kept himself quite fit. She loved cuffing or tying up the big. strong guy, and using his body in any way her imagination could dream up. She loved him for letting her try out any whim, without judgment on his part.

  Loved him?

  The words ran out in her head. As if it was scripted in a movie, the radio started playing an old Pink song, 'Glitter In The Air.' Each line sung out as if written just for her in this moment. Could the Universe be any more blatant and obvious sometimes in its message? She was about to throw some glitter.

  She considered herself in the mirror in one of her favorite outfits, which made her feel sexy and authoritative at the same time. She had ordered it initially due to the name, an Executive Leather pencil skirt with zip up leather corset. She had the garter belt and thigh highs with spike-heeled, black leather boots to complete the look. As a business owner and boss lady, she liked being in command, so maybe group sex could be good for her tonight.

  She clicked off the radio as the last note of the song ran through her body, tightening some muscles and relaxing others. She refused the abominable sting of tears behind her eyes.

  What the hell?

  Yes, she did love him, of course, in her own way, as a friend, the best of friends, and no strings attached sex partner. Adding in another had never been a problem for them, but tonight they were adding in three more, if he could really pull that off, and the thought both terrified and thrilled her. They had added a guy and added a girl before on several separate occasions, no jealousy given their so-called relationship. Well, none that was more extreme than them just being protective over each other. She'd told herself that was the reason at the time anyway.

  Shaking off the thoughts, the negative feelings, she pawed through her box of toys, her pussy dampening more as she selected each piece. First, she grabbed her leather flogger. She wasn’t into BDSM, exactly. Hadn’t really studied it enough to know, truth be told. But giving and receiving a decent spanking did excite her to no end. She liked seeing Mark’s ass nice and red. Tonight, a few red asses seemed appropriate. She was going to have some fun. Maybe she could get into Valentine’s Day after all. With gusto, she grabbed out the fraternity-like leather paddle as well. Soft leather, no holes, she liked the simplicity of it, and the feel of the thing on her own ass, too.

  Baring her ass to Mark, bending over, as humiliating to submit as it was exciting, especially when she played in her wet folds in between smacks. She shuddered. A chill sliced down her spine as heat rose across her neck, her bottom tingling with a memory of its own.

  Shannon toyed with the cuffs and ties, but decided against them.

  Not tonight.

  It'd taint the toys to be used tonight.

  Chapter Four

  Shannon finished putting the finishing touches on her hair and outfit and stepped out of the bedroom just as there was a knock at the door. She rushed down the hall, through the livingroom and to the door, but then stopped. Smoothing her fingers down over the lea
ther hugging her body, squeezing her thighs together in an attempt to lessen the incessant buzz going there, she opened the door.

  Mark stood at the front of the crowd—and they did look like a crowd standing on the small deck and flowing down the stairs that lead to her apartment from the back alley.

  “As promised, Ms. Shan, your willing victims tonight.” Mark grabbed the guy right behind him by the arm of his jacket. “You remember Scott fondly, I assume. He remembers you that way.”

  Did Mark just grimace as Scott winked at her. Damn.

  No. Surely he was just joking around if he did.

  Focus. Your turn to speak lady.

  “Yes, come in, Scott.” She waved her hand in the direction of the apartment where Scott had already walked.

  The guy looked over his shoulder. He gave her a cocky grin as he eyed her breasts, pushed up nicely by the corset.

  “So glad to be allowed back again, Ms. Shan,” he slurred the words. Ever flirting, that one. Jeans and a sweatshirt appeared as he shrugged off his coat. The guy looked good. She smiled, remembering him without anything on, too.

  Soon!

  “And, I’ve brought Lisa back again,” Mark continued ushering in a girl they had both played with before.

  She noticed his hand on Lisa’s back and the way her own brow furrowed, before she could think to stop that type of shit. Lisa’s curves were beautiful; a full-figured girl that Shannon had a great time tasting and being tasted by before.

  “But, our newcomer tonight is Missy. She is all for letting you take out your rage against the holiday on her ass and for whatever else happens.”

  He slapped the woman on the ass as she slipped in by him, and Shannon arched one eyebrow at him in question to his antics. He seemed on a little too much for Mark.