Hook, Line, and Garter (Bitches and Queens)

by James, Rachael

  Taking in her reaction, Sam coyly said, “That’s why I didn’t want to tell. I was planning to wait until after you’ve been there for a year and the company began draining your soul before I casually mentioned the connection.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Kate said and then grasped her arms around Sam waist. “Thank you.”

  Sam held her in his arms for a moment and then pulled away. “I bought you something for the occasion,” he explained and then pulled out a small gold box topped with a scarlet bow from his oversized Louis Vuitton handbag.

  Although she tried to conceal her delight, Kate was certain it sparkled in her eyes. Every day with Sam was like Christmas. Most of the presents were small trinkets such as flowers or charms for the gold bracelet he bought her four months ago, but everything he gave her was so thoughtful and appropriate—as if he committed her every word to memory and was determined she would want for nothing.

  When she opened the box, Kate was momentarily speechless, thinking silently he really outdid himself this time. “Oh, thank you, Sam.”

  “What is it?” Jenner asked and rushed over to look inside. Her excitement was quickly dashed by a perplexed frown. “Wow, nothing says congratulations like a roll of antacids.”

  “For your heartburn,” Sam explained. “And underneath, you’ll find an appointment card. I got you a referral to the best cardiologist in the city.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment, but this really isn’t necessary,” Kate murmured.

  “We’ll discuss it later,” Sam casually dismissed. “Now, where should we go to celebrate your new job?”

  “Just let me know, and I’ll text Tyler so he can meet us there,” Jenner said.

  “Sounds great,” Sam said drily, clearly wanting it to be just Kate and him.

  “You pick. I’m starving; anything sounds good to me,” Kate answered brightly and then looked at Jenner. “Have you seen my red cardigan?”

  “The red cardigan? No, I don’t where it is,” Jenner answered.

  “Are you sure? I thought you borrowed it last week.”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Well, could you help me look through your room just in case?” Kate asked with exaggerated patience.

  “Fine,” Jenner groaned.

  As soon as Kate closed the door behind them, she turned to Jenner and said, “I know what you’re doing, and I’ll love you forever for it, but really I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure? What if you have another panic attack?”

  “I’m fine. I promise.”

  “How about you let Tyler and I tag along for a while just this last time?” Jenner asked.

  “All right, just for tonight,” Kate conceded. “But I want to wear your flesh-toned, sequined dress.”

  “What?” Jenner questioned incredulously.

  “You know, the mini-dress with the spaghetti straps.”

  “Yes, I know the dress, but why do you want to wear it? Seems a bit like playing with fire, if you ask me.”

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t ask. I know both of you have the best intentions, but I’m tired of being handled like some fragile china doll,” Kate said.

  “I was only trying to help.”

  “I know that, and you have helped more than you’ll ever know, but I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” Kate reassured.

  “It’s not you I’m worried about. Why yank the strings if you already have his heart?” Jenner questioned.

  “I’m not yanking anything,” Kate denied.

  “That’s exactly the point,” Jenner dismissed as she walked to the closet to retrieve the dress.

  Contrary to what Jenner believed, she wasn’t doing this to Sam; she was doing this for them. After they talked outside of MMI, Kate had an epiphany. Actually, it happened when she got home. She was troubled by Sam’s challenge, not that he had issued it but because she didn’t know if she could look at him while she was saying it. Standing in front of her bathroom mirror, she practiced until she could repeat the line in a confident, determined tone. For her next test, she held up a picture of herself with Sam. Only this time, words failed her. Struck mute by her paralyzed tongue, no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t pry the words from her throat. The very thought of Sam with another woman made her stomach turn and consumed her with jealousy until she wanted to scratch the imaginary bitch’s eyes out.

  Damn it, Sam was her man. In the very same breath, Kate realized that regardless of what he might believe now, there would come a day when he would need to go home to more than his warm, cuddly hand. So, for him, for herself, for them, Kate knew she had to try—even though the prospect filled her with terror. A small part of her mind rationalized she knew Sam, loved him, but most importantly, trusted him. She knew he would never do anything to hurt her. If she couldn’t control her fear, she knew he would stop no matter how far things had gone. Even if he was a breath away from the magic moment, Sam would stop.

  The only thing left to do was to convince the rest of her brain. As she gathered her courage, Kate began to send a few subtle signals in Sam’s direction. As far as she could tell, he had yet to receive any of them. For a man who claimed to desire her, he was either completely oblivious or she was miserable flirt. Obviously, the subtle approach wasn’t working so she decided she needed a more direct approach.

  Kate strolled into the front room fully armed and loaded with all the ammunition she would need. Wearing the clingy, tiny dress, she felt naked and stopped in front of Sam carrying two pairs of heels—his fetish. Or at least, one of his fetishes. Sam was rather diplomatic in his approach to women’s footwear. He would never expect a lady to wear something he wouldn’t wear himself.

  “Which one? The snakeskin Lanvin or the platform Fendi?” Kate questioned innocently.

  “The…hmm…” Sam swallowed and blinked several times, “…the black ones.”

  “The black ones it is,” Kate answered with a smile and then proceeded to place the shoes on her feet the exact way he once instructed how to do. According to Sam, to achieve ultimate sexiness, whenever a woman puts on a pair of shoes in front of a man, she should do so standing. He said it was the definitive act of grace and balance. Of course, it had taken her several times to achieve this state without hopping across the floor foolishly.

  “Nicely done,” Sam murmured.

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  “So I see.”

  “I was very blessed with a marvelous mentor.”

  “Lucky you,” Sam said as he stood and walked to her side. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful, but you always do.”

  Later that evening after eating at a sushi steakhouse, the foursome ventured to a blues club. They sat near the back in a crowded booth. The soft, muted atmosphere seemed to be the perfect place to end their night of celebration. Tyler, a second-year medical student and Jenner’s current interest, took to Sam marvelously. Throughout most of the dinner, he seemed completely unaware that Sam was actually a man, and when he did discover the truth, he took it in with only the briefest pause.

  When they got to the blues house, Sam started teasing him because he mistakenly assumed Sam was transgender.

  “Well of course, I’ve been on the hormones for a while now. The surgery is scheduled in a few weeks, but I’ve got to admit I’m a little nervous,” Sam said earnestly.

  “That’s certainly to be expected,” Tyler answered seriously.

  “I’ve heard it can be a little painful,” Sam confided.

  “I imagine so.”

  “But I guess what’s a little pain, unless…” Sam gulped, “…I change my mind and want my dick back. Do you think it can be reattached?”

  “I’m not exactly certain, but I don’t believe it will still work the same.”

  “That’s a shame, that’s truly a shame; I’ll really have to think about this.”

  “Sam, stop,” Jenner laughed. “He isn’t having the operation. He’s a transvestite,
Tyler.”

  The talk of penis removal did nothing to damper Tyler’s ardor. If anything, he seemed so relieved he still had one that he was determined to use it and dang anyone who dared to stop him. Their public display of affection wasn’t just irritating, it made Kate downright uncomfortable.

  “For heaven sake,” she groaned quietly.

  Sam laughed softly in her ear. A few minutes later, Jenner and Tyler gave a rushed excuse and dashed off. Kate could only stare in utter disbelief. After they disappeared, she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, they couldn’t wait? They had to find the nearest closet for a quickie.”

  “Looks like,” Sam said indifferently.

  “That’s disgusting,” Kate spat.

  “You sound like a prude,” Sam teased. “I think it’s kind of sexy, but I’ve always been a bit of a voyeur.”

  She did sound like a prude, but maybe it was because she was just overly sensitive at the moment. After all, her mind had been filled with wicked thoughts for the last few days. Feeling like a school girl ready to give away her virginity on prom night, tonight did seem like the perfect night. Unfortunately, while the timing might be right, the setting was all wrong, and he didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. Finally, she answered, “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  “Oh, come on, Kate,” Sam laughed and then leaned forward and said, “You can’t tell me you have never been so desperate that it didn’t matter where you were or who was close-by.” He paused for a moment. His eyes dropped to her mouth. When he looked back up, his smoky eyes had dilated. He took a deep, heavy breath, before he continued in a hushed whisper, “The only thing that mattered, the only thought rushing through your brain, was that you knew you had to be inside them or you might go completely insane.”

  Kate remained silent, staring deep into his eyes, being pulled forward by the sound of his words. Her mouth had grown parched. She started to lick her lip.

  “Don’t do that,” Sam pleaded and then pulled away. Leaning his arm against the booth, he closed his eyes and began rubbing his brow. “You’ll get chapped lips,” he said drily after a moment.

  “Will you send for a consultation with a mouth specialist?”

  Sam chuckled unevenly. “I already have the perfect person in mind.”

  “To answer your question, no. I’ve never been so hot and bothered I had to have sex in public,” she said.

  Sam lowered his hand. “Then you’ve never had a good orgasm,” he challenged.

  “I’m not going to discuss this with you,” Kate rushed with embarrassment, inwardly adding, not here at least.

  Sam started to laugh. “What’s this?” he teased and then grew serious. “You’ve never had an orgasm by anyone but yourself?”

  “That’s none of your business.” Dang it all, why were they talking about this now? Why couldn’t he wait until they were alone, preferably with a bed close-by?

  “Not even by yourself,” Sam stated incredulously.

  “We are not discussing masturbation,” Kate stated firmly. Not until they had had sex once. It was bad enough he thought she was naïve, she didn’t want him to know just how inexperienced she truly was. Although they had never talked specifics, from what little bits that had slipped from his lips, Kate gathered he had an adventurous and colorful past, sexually speaking. His ex-girlfriends weren’t the kinds of women that read those 1,001 Ways to Please Your Lover articles in the women magazines; they wrote them. Kate could count the number of lovers she had had on one hand. In her vast experience, anything beyond missionary was tantric.

  “Why do women always pretend they don’t do it? I’ve never understood that. All you have to do is walk into any toy shop in town, and know that isn’t true. They make vibrators and dildos in every size and shape known to man, yet you all act like you aren’t using them. Someone is buying them, or they wouldn’t keep making them.”

  “Well, I’m not using them,” Kate declared and then clamped her lips tight. Was that the right thing to say? Or should she have lied and said she had a drawer full of them? This so wasn’t going how she pictured it in her mind. In her vision, there was a lot less conversation.

  “You should be, at least then you would know what you’re missing. I could help you,” he offered innocently.

  “Don’t you dare buy me a dildo,” Kate warned.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it until you knew how to use it properly,” Sam answered. “Actually, I was thinking of a more hands-on approach.”

  That caught her attention. Maybe he hadn’t been so oblivious after all? Why was he bringing this up now? If she could just find a way to make him shut up, get him back to her apartment, and then casually ask about his hands-on approach.

  “What’s a little masturbation between friends? College girls do it all the time,” Sam said.

  “Only in your sick, perverted fantasies,” Kate gasped.

  “See, that’s the problem. There is nothing sick or perverted about it. It’s a natural function of the human body, and in my personal opinion, one of the best and certainly most beautiful, functions.”

  “Someone might hear you,” Kate hissed.

  “Fine, I’ll stop.”

  “It’s not like I haven’t tried,” Kate admitted impatiently.

  “Then you weren’t doing it right,” Sam countered.

  “How would you know?”

  “You have a clitoris, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you can have an orgasm,” Sam dismissed with the wave of his hand. “Simple as that.”

  Hearing that Sam wasn’t put off by her lack of experience, Kate felt more confident. Against her better judgment, because she didn’t believe this conversation would get them anywhere while they were having it here, she asked because now her curiosity was peaked, “Well, what am I supposed to be doing that I’m not?”

  “I couldn’t say unless I saw you doing it.”

  “I couldn’t do that in front of you.”

  Sam leaned forward. “Just turn around,” he commanded.

  “Why? What are you going to do?”

  “Do you trust me or not?”

  “Yes,” Kate said weakly and scooted in the booth so that her back was to his front.

  He gently swept her hair over her shoulder and placed his warm hands on her shoulders. “The first thing you have to do is relax. You can’t force it. Now, I want you to pretend that your shoulders are your thighs. And here where you spine meets your neck is your clitoris,” Sam instructed, sounding very formal, but as his fingers danced across her skin he didn’t feel like any physician she ever had. “The important thing to remember is that this…” Sam paused and lightly touched the sensitive flesh below her neck, “…is the final destination—not the entire trip. No matter how tempted you might be to jump straight to the end…” Sam explained as he made a large circle with the tips of his fingers, “…don’t do it because you will miss out on all sorts of wonderful little spots, each more than worthy of your full attention.”

  Sam’s hands continued to work their magic against her skin. After several minutes, Kate felt the tension slip away like an itchy wool sweater falling to the floor. Her bare flesh reveled in the sensation of freedom. She had grown so relaxed, like a dollop of warm melted butter, she stretched back against him.

  “And now that you’re ready…” Sam whispered against her ear, “…you have to listen to your body. It will tell you where to touch, how to touch.”

  His hands were stretched wide against her shoulders. While his fingertips dug gently into her muscles, he paid special care with his thumbs as they sashayed back and forth across her spine.

  Kate was entangled in his delicious web of sensation. His words, each sound striking against her skin, felt as soft as a feather. It was drugging, it was intoxicating, and Kate quickly came to realize that she never wanted this feeling to end.

  “Do you want me to teach you how to touch your breasts?” Sam whispered quietly.

  “Hmmm,” Kate could only mo
an incoherently.

  Sam released her shoulders. Her reached down and pulled her hips closer to his. After she was nestled against his crotch, he leaned over and kissed the tender flesh below her ear. His fingers circled her waist and then one hand danced up along the line of her tight tummy and settled across her collarbone. His long fingers caught the tiny strap of her dress and pushed it down her shoulder.

  Kate started to tense. Sam had kissed her hundreds of times, but not like this. Never so hot, so wet, so urgent. She belatedly realized when the strap of her dress fell limp across her shoulder that the rules of their little game had changed. His nimble fingers slipped past the hemline.

  “What? Wait? No, Sam, someone might see,” Kate cried and crossed her arms over her breasts.

  “Shh,” he kissed against her neck. “No one is paying attention to us,” he reassured as he palmed her breast. His thumb brushed against her nipple until it had grown as hard as a pebble and then he gently rolled it between his fingertips.

  Kate gasped aloud. Arching her spine, her head rested against his chest. His warm, wet lips trailed down the column of her neck. She tried to fight the sensation, wanted to fight it, she didn’t want to be feeling these things here and now, but his hand and mouth sent a surge of liquid gold straight down to her vagina. She could barely restraint her hips from twitching and tried to cross her legs tightly to ease the sudden, unbearable, wet desire. Losing herself in the moment, she became terribly confused and started to feel her panic rear its ugly head.

  “Keep talking,” she pleaded.

  “What do you want me to say?” Sam smiled against her skin.

  “Anything, it doesn’t matter,” Kate moaned. “Just keep talking, or I’ll freak out.”

  Sam’s mouth moved along jaw. “Did you know that the first time I saw you I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen?”

  Kate managed a small smile. “And?” she begged.

  “And…” Sam whispered in her ear as his hand that was resting against her waist moved lower and settled on her thigh, “…then you walked over and I saw that your jeans were unbuttoned. It drove me crazy all night thinking about it. All I wanted to do was slip my fingers into your panties to see if you were as wet as you looked.”