by Zoe Mullins
She nodded and released her leg from around his waist, her skirt falling back in place.
“I’m going to give you a rule; can you live with that?” he asked as he released her arms.
“What’s the rule?” She lifted her head from his chest and massaged her wrists.
“No panties, never, beneath a skirt.”
“Not even at dinner with your parents.” She grinned.
“Not even then,” he warned her.
“Oh Mr. Steele.” She smiled coyly as she pulled him up the walk. “You are a very bad man.”
“I’m just getting started.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sophie had already opened up the studio when Cait arrived the next morning, a half hour before classes started.
“I’m not stupid enough to think that smile is because you had a nice dinner with the parents.” Sophie leaned over the counter on her elbows. “So what’s the dirt?”
“Dinner was nice.” Cait toed off her shoes on the front mat and hung up her sweater.
“And you had sex.”
“Not at dinner!” Cait exclaimed in mock horror.
“Come on, Caitie!” Sophie pleaded. “Give me something.”
“He drove me home after dinner,” Cait told her. “And we had sex in his truck, and then against his truck and then he stayed the night and he woke me up early this morning for more sex. Is that enough details?”
“Not nearly. But it’s a start.” Sophie threw her arms around her. “I am so happy for you.”
“Yes, well, it’s not like this wasn’t your goal when you talked me into moving back here.”
“Well, of course it was.” Sophie beamed. “You are two of my favorite people and I want you both to be happy.”
Cait sighed. “I am happy. The only bit of unhappiness isn’t from us, it’s from his sister.” She explained how Suzanne was still the bully she’d been in high school.
“Well.” Sophie shook her head and dragged Cait through the studio and out onto the back deck. “Here’s another hiccup in your perfect world.”
She turned her around to face the exterior wall. There were the remnants of spray paint, starting from the one side of the patio doors to the other. Whatever had been painted there, ended in an E.
“Holy shit!” Cait cursed.
“I got it all off the glass, so no one inside the studio willknow the difference.”
“What did it say?”
“Oh sweetie, you don’t want to know.”
She scowled at Sophie. “What did it say?”
“Whore.”
Cait felt her breath come in short gasps, as if she were about to hyperventilate. She wanted to burst into tears.
“Oh, don’t do that!” Sophie wrapped an arm around Cait. “Ben assured me that the paintwill come off the window casement with a bit of scrubbing, and he’s going to send a team to paint the little bit of wood siding back here where the paint splashed. It needed it anyway.”
“I just can’t believe they would do this.”
“Wait, what?” Sophie glared at her. “Do you know who did this?”
“No. I don’t know. I meant the generic they.” Cait shook her head. “But there’s been notes left under the door of the studio or in my mailbox. That sort of thing.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this.”
“They weren’t particularly threatening, just mean,” Cait insisted. “I figured it was someone who wanted the shop location or something.”
“Or someone holding a grudge.” Sophie suggested. “Someone like Little Miss Suzie-Q?”
“She’s pissed off at me, but I don’t think she’d do this. We’re not kids anymore.” She shrugged. “It’s probably unrelated. Just kids getting up to mischief.”
“You are probably right,” Sophie agreed, but she didn’t look convinced. “You didn’t happen to keep the notes, did you?”
Cait frowned and shook her head.
“Right. I’ll ask Chet—he’s the ranking officer in this area—if there’s been any other vandalisms lately. He’s stopping by the bank later to take my statement. I’ve already emailed him pictures of the damage.”
“He didn’t come out to see?”
Sophie shook her head. “Small town, remember? Your spray paint doesn’t take precedence over a domestic dispute, a fender bender with a tractor, or a missing kayak.”
“Just another Friday night in St. Augustin.” Cait leaned against Sophie’s shoulder. “What would I do without you?”
“Wash your own damn windows.” She laughed.
The bell above the front door jingled. “Cait,” Jack called.
“Back here, Jackson.”
They heard him pound through the small studio space. He swept Cait up in his arms. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t even here when it happened. I was with you.” She tried to laugh but he was holding her too tightly.
“Put her down already.” Sophie chuckled. “She’s fine. We’re fine. The studio is fine.”
“Ben just called me this morning to tell me,” he explained. “Are the police coming?”
“Chet is taking Sophie’s statement this afternoon,” Cait informed him.
“And he will call to arrange a time to take yours,” Sophie added.
Jackson put Cait down and she stepped back, looking at the damage. “Should you close?”
“No, of course not. There was never anyone inside and the mess can’t be seen from the studio. It will befine.” The process of convincing Jack helped to convince her. “No, it’s a Saturday morning like any other.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Thank you, Sophie, for cleaning the windows. Jack, let me know when a crew can get over to paint. I am going to put tea on before our senior ladies start arriving.”
“Cait,” Sophie began, but Cait held a hand up to stop her, to stop them both.
“Look, I know you want to help. But let the cops handle this. I am fine. No one hurt me, they just painted some shit on my walls. I will be careful, but we are going to get back to normal.”
She saw that they were both biting their lips to keep from saying what they wanted to say. They both had protective instincts. She wouldn’t let them think she was weak or scared because they would go overboard to make her feel safe.
“Are you done?” Jackson asked.
“Yes.” She nodded. “As long as you really heard me.”
“We heard you.” He gestured to Sophie who nodded. “But if you think we aren’t going to worry about you until we figure out what is going on, then you’re out of your mind.”
“I don’t want you two hovering,” she complained.
“No hovering,” he promised and pulled her close to kiss her forehead then turned her around and pushed her inside. Sophie followed them.
“Sophie is going to work, and I am heading over to my parents. We will let you do your job, but we will be keeping an eye on you.”
“That’s what friends do.” Sophie winked at her.
“Fine.” She hugged them both as they left. Happy not to be dealing with this entirely on her own.
Her happiness only dulled a little when she saw Ben hanging around the front desk after her last class. She suspected she’d have more people hovering than usual thanks to this morning’s incident. That’s how she had begun referring to it in her head. The incident. She didn’t like to think that someone had gone out of their way to damage her property or hurt her.
“Sophie’s working at the bank this afternoon,” she told him.
“I know,” Ben said. “If you look at your phone, you’ll find a text from Jack. He was waiting on Patrick to drop off dinner. So I am your chauffeur.”
“I’m feeling a certain lack of privacy with all this.”
“Because we all knowyou’re going to be spending the next eighteen hours or so having naughty fun time with Jack?”
“That would do it.” She laughed. She had forgotten what it was like to have close fri
ends who weren’t afraid of sex. Talking about it. Joking about it. Doing it.
“Don’t be embarrassed because I know what you’re going to be up to tonight,” Ben reassured her as he locked the studio door and turned the sign to Closed. “Be embarrassed because I’m also Jack’s errand boy to deliver this.” He held up a gift bag. “And I know exactly what’s in it.”
She snatched the bag from his hand, peeking into it. She was a little scared what she mayfind in it, but she also knew that Jack wouldn’t do anything to embarrass her. She pushed the tissue paper aside.
“Go change already. I’ll wait for you out here,” he told her. “This time. But if you aren’t quick about it, I may come in to find out what’s taking so long.”
“You would not.” She laughed.
“Don’t try me, luv.” Just then Ben’s text notification sounded. “I don’t want to have to tell Jack that you kept me waiting.” He pulled out his phone.
Cait dashed into the ladies’ change room. She yanked open the bag. There were a couple of parcels inside. The first she unwrapped were shoes. A lovely low-heeled, brown gladiator sandal that wrapped to mid-calf.
“New shoes,” she squealed. She loved them.
Next she unwrapped a soft green jersey dress. It had a scoop neck that gathered in the front and back creating a figure flattering A-line. Lastly she unwrapped the small box. Inside lay a beautiful three-strand silver nipple chain.
She quickly stripped off her capris and tank, and set about changing out her nipple piercings.
“Tick-tock,” Ben called from reception area.
“Keep watching the clock,” she called back. “You can’t rush a piercing change.”
She rinsed the new barbells before sliding them in.
“Did Jack say how he wanted my hair? Up or down, because I think up would look best.”
“Your choice.”
She slipped on the dress. It fit perfectly. It draped over her breasts, but because it was lined, you couldn’t see the barbells, though she could feel the chains swinging between them, grazing her skin. The bottom of the dress hit mid-thigh. Shorter than she usually wore, but not trashy. Feminine and summery.
She zipped the sandals up the back. She needed to adjust a couple of straps, but once done they too were a perfect fit.
Lastly she grabbed elastic from her yoga bag and pulled her hair into a knot, a few shorter pieces still floating free around her face. A quick touch of a nude lipstick and she was ready to go.
She tossed her yoga gear into her big cotton bag and opened the changing room door. She ran into Ben’s chest. “Oomph.”
He steadied her. “Careful.”
“You just couldn’t wait.”
“I was very patient.” He didn’t look very patient as he took her duffle out of her hand. “Now step back and turn around so I can see you.”
She took two steps, turning slowly around like a runway model.
“Very nice.” He crooked a finger and she stepped back to him. “You remembered his rule.” He bent slightly, running his hand up the outside of her thigh, lifting the skirt as went. His hand stroked the length of her thigh, skirted her waist and slid back down her ass.
“Satisfied?”
“Not nearly.” He dropped his hand and grinned. “Come on then.” He passed her bag to her and watched as she locked up.
In the fifteen-minute drive to Jack’s, Ben made small talk. Asking about the studio, the house. Whether or not she thought she and Jack would be interested in going out to Gina’s next weekend. He talked about anything, she realized, to keep her from thinking about him having touched her.
As they turned down the drive into the small wooded subdivision she reached out and touched his arm. “It’s okay,” she told him. “I wasn’t embarrassed.”
He looked at her. “You weren’t?”
She shook her head. “It was kind of hot.”
Jackson’s gamesalways were. He went for the mindfuck, as much as he went for the physical accoutrements of the lifestyle. Logan didn’t have that flair. You always knew exactly where he stood and what he wanted. Jack knew she was cautious about a third party being involved, and so he pushed it, using a third party judiciously here and there. Enough to make her wonder how far he would push it, but not fearful enough to use her safe word. His gamesgot her excited, even if he wasn’t there.
“Hey,” Ben said, laying his hand over hers. “We’re here.”
“Thank you for the ride.”
“My pleasure. You two worry about nothing but having fun. You both deserve some time to yourselves.”
Bengot out of the car and came around to her door, opening it for her. He gave her a hand to pull her out and the skirt slid up. “You saw nothing,” she said sternly, raising her brows.
“As you say.” He smiled, passed her the tote bag and watched her start up the walk before getting back in the car and backing out. She waved goodbye as she knocked on the door.
* * * * *
Jack swung the door wide, the sight of her stealing his breath. She was beautiful. The short dress showed off her beautifullong legs. That’s where his eyes went first then he pulled his gaze slowly up to her face. She was smiling sweetly. Seductively. This was not the same woman he had met a few weeks ago. This was his Cait.
He pulled her into his arms for a long slow kiss. He felt her nipples hard against his chest as she sank into him. With one hand splayed against her lower back, he pulled her tight against his groin. No panties, he could tell, and he groaned into the kiss. He cupped the side of her cheek, his fingers sliding into her hair.
She wrapped her arms around him. One around his shoulder, lifting herself against him. The other around hisback, pulling herself closer. He felt the warmth of her body through his thin T-shirt.
“Now that is my kind of hello.” She smiled when they finally came up for air. She slid down his body until she was standing on her own two feet again.
He pulled her inside the house, kicking the door closed behind them and leading her back to the living room.
“Wine or beer?”
“Beer please.” She tossed her duffle on the dining room table and walked out onto the deck. She was never going to stop loving this view.
He followed her, watching the dress sway back and forth against her thighs. He passed her a can of Red Racer. He pushed the tab back on his own can and took a swig, trying to regain some semblance of control.
He watched her take a long sip and swallow. God he remembered what it felt like to have his cock in her throat as she swallowed. At the thought, it began to harden painfully against his zipper.
“I had all these great intentions of how I wanted tonight to go down, but I’m looking at you in that sexy dress, and those shoes, and I have no thoughts except fucking you.”
She set the beer aside. “Nasty fucking?”
“Is that what you need, baby girl? Nasty, wet fucking.”
She nodded and bit her lower lip, her eyes drifting down to his groin.
He pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it to the deck in front of him.
She smiled and licked her lips.
All his careful planning was blown out of the water when he watched her tongue trace her lips, making them glossy and wet. He slid a hand around her waist and trapped her to him.
Now that she had stopped running, the need to dominate her overwhelmed him. His hands tangled in her hair, tugging the elastic free. Her small hands clung to his forearms as he pulled her face to his, his lips slanting over hers.
His tongue surged inside and she met its urgency. Accepting the thrust of his tongue as he consumed her.
This was what he wanted, needed. This was the fresh start they both deserved. There was no wariness between them. There was just them, and this moment. And he would be damned if he’d let her run again.
Her hands slipped from his forearms and slid along his chest. She moaned into his mouth and he bit down on her lip. She was taking her time exploring his chest, raking
her nails over his pecs and down his torso. Her hands stopped on the waistband of his jeans. She gave the waistband a tug and he relinquished her lips.
“Is that what you want, baby?” he asked.
She bither lip and nodded. Her hands still on his waistband.
He stepped back and grabbed a seat cushion. He tossed it to the ground in front of him. “You may be on your knees awhile,” he explained with a wink.
She looked up at him coyly. “Yes Sir.” She dropped slowly in front of him, her knees sinking into the pillow.
“Go ahead,” he instructed her. “You know you want to undo my pants. You need my hard cock, don’t you?” She unzipped his jeans and slid the belt from its loops. His cock, pressed hard against the zipper, sprung free. Engorged and pulsing, need hummed through his veins.
“Get rid of the dress, baby. Show me that pretty new jewelry.”
She pulled off her dress and tossed it onto a chair. Her nipples were hard and needy. The gentle tug and sway of the chain between them a constant but pleasant reminder of whom she belonged to.
“I love my jewelry on your tits,” he said as he pushed her back on her heels so he could admire it. “When I come, I want tocome all over you. I want to watch my cum drip down those beautiful breasts.”
The scent of her arousal filled the air. Her neck and chest were flushed pink. “I want to touch you, Sir.”
“Not yet.” His voice was deep and gruff. He was more excited than he could remember ever having been. He spread his legs apart. “Give me a child’s pose. Thighs wide, hands between your legs.”
She pouted a minute but bent forward, her cheek on the soft cushion. She reached her hands between her legs, resting against her toes.
“Touch yourself. Tell me how wet my pussy is. Your pussy is mine, you get that, right? It belongs to me. You belong to me.”
“I’ve always belonged to you,” she whispered.
In this position, her pussy was splayed over her hands. He watched as she slid her hand between her legs, cupping her mound. He could see she was already wet. He chuckled and told her what a nasty girl she was for needing it so badly. Then he told her to hold her pussy lips apart, spread wide and waiting.