Exasperation covered Brax’s cool expression. “Call your boss out here.”
His demanding tone forced her to comply. After calling Julie to the front, Zora stood a few feet behind the duo as she tried listening in on their conversation. The only thing she recognized was that Brax pointed to Zora, to his pants and shoes, then to the front door. He kept his icy blue stare directly on Julie.
As though he hypnotized the woman, Julie approached Zora and took the dog from her hands. “Take as long as you need,” her boss said. “I’ll take care of this little guy.”
When she was sure Julie was out of earshot, Zora asked, “What did you say to her?”
Brax smiled. “I presented a very compelling argument that she couldn’t refute.”
“Should I get my purse?” Zora asked Brax.
“I just need you.” He held out his hand.
Her heart pounded in her head, drowning in sounds coming into her ears. Good thing. She couldn’t hear herself tell him she would go with him.
Chapter Twelve
“Hungry?” Brax asked Zora, as she scarfed down the rest of her turkey-andcheese sandwich.
“Nervous,” she answered, once she wiped her mouth.
Brax folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. The last thing he needed to do was look even more regal and commanding than he did. With his new stance, diners who sat around them glanced at him like he owned the restaurant and the city of Virginia Beach.
“Why would you be nervous?”
Zora washed her sandwich down with some ice water, then attempted to look Brax in his eyes. The feat proved too daunting for her, so she dropped her gaze back down to the table.
“I don’t know what to expect from you. I see what you do to Lynia and I---”
He cut her off. “What I do with my wife is consensual. You do believe that, don’t you?”
She nodded, hoping he would believe her. Then again, did she truly believe it herself?
With a flick of his wrist, Brax juggled his expensive-looking gold watch around and glanced at the time.
“Should I be getting back?” Zora asked. She peered down at her watch.
“No. I’ll decide when you should return.”
“Until then you have me hostage, right?”
The obscene thought rolled in her head until she imagined that he would take her out to his Escalade and demand that she please him, sucking his cock, licking his body, fucking him until he came. She crossed her legs to tamp down the flames that had been building. The seam of her jeans rubbed her clit until the friction felt too good to stop.
“A happy hostage.” He smiled. “So tell me why you eat when you get nervous?”
120 Zora shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Sit up straight and don’t shrug your shoulders like that. You’re a beautiful woman. Furthermore you’re a beautiful black woman.”
She opened her mouth to reveal her racial identity but Brax barreled through.
“Men around you take notice of you whenever you enter a room. I’ve seen it. So I don’t want you to ever act as though you aren’t important.”
Hearing his encouraging words, Zora sat up straighter and put her hands in her lap.
“Again, now tell me why it is you eat when you’re nervous.” Brax brought his body in close and stared at her so hard she knew his full attention would be on everything that came from her mouth.
“I’ve done it since I was a child. It’s an awful coping mechanism, I know. But at least now I’m eating healthier foods than the junk I ate as a kid.” She laughed but Brax’s face remained serious.
“I want you to stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Stop eating to soothe yourself. It’s unhealthy. You’re just running away from problems you should be dealing with.”
She nodded, unable to stop his rant.
“From now on, I want you to follow a diet that I’ll set up for you.”
“Are you serious?”
His glare made her want to swallow her question.
“When you feel nervous and you want to eat, give me a call.” From his jacket pocket, Brax pulled out a business card and handed it to her.
Along with the name of his company, Tantric Publications, his name, cell phone number, office number, pager number and e-mail addresses were printed on the card. This man was serious.
“So what are you saying? You think I’m fat?” She left the card between her thumb and index finger, tapping it against the glass tabletop.
In a not so low voice, Brax replied, “I love the shape of your body and I can’t wait to see you naked.”
A response like that snatched her breath away.
“So, your first swapping experience was last night. How was it?”
This time some diners at another table turned to them. Not interested in giving anyone a free ear show, Zora stood.
“Maybe we should finish this conversation outside.”
Instead of waiting for his response, she walked to the door and went out to his black shiny truck. In the noonday sun, it glittered like it begged to be looked at, admired.
Brax made his way through the restaurant door. He slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses before he crossed the parking lot to her. In his dark jacket and his shades, he looked like a secret service agent. A sexy one at that.
When he got to the passenger door he said, “I have to break you of being so reserved from talking about sex.”
He opened the truck door and slammed it closed once she got inside. When he got in on the driver’s side, she waited a beat before speaking.
“What if Grant likes me being a little shy?”
Brax turned to her, with the glasses still covering his eyes. “Then I’ll have to convince him that he should want you to be more open.”
After instructing her to put on her seatbelt, he took off and headed back to Doggie Style. He parked in the front and looked up at the building.
“Cute name,” he said.
“Draws a lot of attention.” Zora fought to keep from shrugging her shoulders.
“I bet.” Then he glared at her. “Is that how you like it?”
She wanted to pretend she didn’t understand what he was asking. Her hands trembled until she had to ball them into fists and push them against her legs.
“Yes,” she croaked. Then said a more confident, “Yes,” to make sure he understood her.
With that he smiled. “Good to know.”
He turned off the truck and got out. She opened her door but as he walked around the front of the truck he put his finger up to stop her.
Once to her side, he opened her door, took her hand and helped her out of the high vehicle. He held her hand as they walked to the building, an intimate gesture considering everyone in the office knew Grant and knew she was with him and loved him.
Brax opened the front door for her. Behind the front desk sat Inez, who looked at Brax as though the man came from another planet.
“I want you to come over to my house tonight.” He told her the time and waited for a response.
“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’ll be there.”
“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “Thanks for accompanying me to lunch.”
“Thanks for taking me.”
“See you later.”
As the door closed behind him, Inez scrambled to Zora.
“Who the hell was that and does he have a brother?” Inez asked.
“That’s my neighbor.” And the man Zora most likely will be fucking tonight.
“Can I move to your neighborhood?”
Zora laughed but her insides felt like they were balled up in a knot. How the hell
was she going to explain this to Grant?
***
“Brax wants you to go over to his house tonight?” Grant asked as though he didn’t understand her the first time.
After hearing how his ne
ighbor showed up at Zora’s job, Grant’s blood started a slow simmer but he wasn’t angry. Looking at how excited Zora was to have been asked, he smiled. He liked that Zora had come home and told him everything that happened between her and Brax, including his whacked-out request to follow his specified diet. And he wasn’t jealous because, no matter what, his Zora would come home to him.
“Okay,” he said.
“You don’t mind?” She chewed her lower lip.
His thumb coasted over her mouth and pulled her lip from between her teeth. “Considering what you were like this morning after being with Art, I can’t wait to get you back in the morning.”
She kissed him, offering a bit of her tongue in the exchange. “This may not be sexual at all. Like I said, he talked about my diet. Maybe he just wants to talk some more about the foods he thinks I should be eating.”
“I know what I should be eating.”
Grant lowered himself to his knees in front of her, his face directly in front of her sweet-smelling sex. He forced himself to get past the scent of wet dog hair and shampoo to take in her aroma. At times he could recall the smell of her pussy while sitting at work.
His fingers worked to undo her jeans when the sound of their front door opening stopped him. Heels clicking against the floor signaled the approach of someone coming down the hall to their bedroom.
Standing in the doorway stood Lynia dressed in skyscraper black stilettos, black patent leather wrist and ankles cuffs and her thin black choker. Other than that, she was completely nude.
God help him, even while at Zora’s feet, Grant couldn’t stop the slow rise down below as he stared at Lynia in all of her nude glory.
“Hi, Grant.” She waved to him.
Afraid of saying or doing something stupid, he waved back and offered a smile.
“Brax and I are waiting for you,” Lynia said.
“But I haven’t had dinner and I should shower and change.” Zora put her hands on Grant’s shoulders.
From her touch, Grant knew Zora needed some support.
Lynia must have gotten a different message from Zora’s response. She beamed as thought Zora had admitted to having the winning lottery ticket and wanted to give it to her.
“Perfect!” Lynia said. “Come with me now.”
“Okay.” Zora bent over and kissed Grant.
What started off as a standard goodbye kiss turned into something more passionate. Grant slid his tongue into her mouth, making her moan. Her hands cradled his face until they moved up to his hair, fisting it as though she wanted to take him with her.
Zora lifted her head. She trailed her fingertips down the side of his face. “Will you be okay for the night?”
Lynia approached them both. “He’ll be fine.” Her innocent smile contrasted with her wanton, sexual look. But the purity of her voice made him feel okay to let Zora leave with her.
“If you need me, you call me or just come home.” He held her hand even as Lynia pulled her away.
Zora held his hand for as long as she could. “I will. I love you.”
“Love you too, babe.” Before the duo could leave the room, Grant got Lynia’s attention. “Don’t let her get hurt, okay?”
As a way to respond to his request, Lynia offered a smile as she took his love away. When he heard the front door close, his heart stopped beating. Grant was sure the organ wouldn’t resume its duties until Zora came back to him safe and sound.
Until then, he would keep busy by touching up the trim work in the spare bedroom. He’d managed to get the room completely painted that day, using his pent-up energy from their day’s sexual Olympics.
Picking up a smaller, angled brush, he shook it out before dipping it into the thick sallow-colored paint. The front door opening stopped his motion. His heart started beating again as he threw the brush down and ran to the front door like an obedient lap dog.
“Decided to come back home after all?” he asked as he rounded the corner.
He stopped short when he saw that it wasn’t Zora who’d come back.
“Hi, Grant,” Winta and Garland said in unison.
Chapter Thirteen
Zora fidgeted as she stood in one spot in Brax and Lynia’s home. Before she made herself a statue, she noticed how different their home was decorated compared to Art’s and Garland’s. Whereas Art’s home felt comfy and livable, and Garland’s home seemed to be a close cousin of a hands-off museum, Brax’s home was a strange mixture of the two.
Black leather furniture decorated all of the rooms, including the dining room. The chairs that sat around the dining room table had black leather padded seats, backs and arms, held on by brass studs. As a result, even if the lighting in the place wasn’t so dim, the rooms appeared dark and almost sinister.
Oriental rugs covered the honey-colored hardwood floors. On the walls hung black-and-white photographs of Lynia, all nude, in all positions. When Zora’s gaze stopped on one large photo of Lynia with her hands bound to a black horizontal bar over her head, she glanced at her hostess, who must have noticed her staring at the picture. Lynia smiled and made her way by her husband.
The distinct scent of leather hung in the air, sweet and aged. Wearing just the white shirt he’d worn earlier for lunch and the same pants with a water stain on the legs, Brax put his hands on his hips as he stared at Zora, taking her in like he was checking out a new sofa.
“I see you and I haven’t had a chance to change yet,” he said.
The sound of his booming voice ignited a spark in her body. She jumped and hoped he didn’t notice. From his sly smile she gathered that he had and he liked her unsure nature.
“I, um, offered to shower and change but Lynia said you wanted me here now.” Zora clasped her hands in front of her body, then realized how scared it made her look. She released the hold and put her hands to her hips like Brax.
Brax turned his gaze to his sweet wife. With his hand to the back of her head, he stared at her for a moment before saying, “Good wife,” then smothering her delicate mouth with a kiss.
Zora had to cross her arms over her chest to hide her hardening nipples under her tight t-shirt. No way could she be turned on by this caveman attitude. But then again, how many times had Grant chased her around the house and, when he caught her, slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, like a possession? And she loved it.
She loved when he held her hands down against the bed so that she couldn’t touch him. She loved his breathtaking kisses. The man knew how to drive her crazy.
“Did you run the bath?” he asked.
Lynia smiled and nodded.
“Good.” He glanced at Zora. “Come with us.”
He didn’t bother to explain himself. He and Lynia walked down a hallway, then up the stairs. Zora followed, trying hard not to fall too far behind. The deeper she got into their house, the more her heart thudded. Why did Brax, more than Art and especially more than Evan, scare her so much? Aside from how he treated Lynia, he hadn’t done anything to Zora. And maybe he wouldn’t treat her the same way. Maybe.
At the top of the stairs, both Brax and Lynia ducked into a room to the right. By the time Zora got to the room, she found Lynia unbuttoning Brax’s shirt.
The room was sparsely decorated. A huge, flat bed took up residence in the center. Only a dresser and a nightstand competed for attention. Zora assumed this was their spare bedroom. After looking at the living room, she suspected that this duo’s room would be decorated more than one was.
“Your diet specifications are on the dresser.” Brax nodded his head to the paper sitting on top of the chin-high piece of furniture.
Zora nodded and brought her attention back to Brax.
He jutted his head forward and gave her an icy stare. “Get it.”
“Oh.” She went to the dresser and picked up the three pieces of loose paper.
Her gaze swept over the paper. As she read each entry, her eyes widened. This wasn’t a diet. It was a restriction.
�
�You must be---”
Zora stopped when Lynia unzipped his pants and dropped them to his feet. Standing in only a pair of black silk boxers, Brax waited for Lynia to remove his shoes before he stepped out of his pants.
Zora cleared her throat. The sight of his rippling abs dried her throat and buckled her knees.
“Um, this diet,” she began.
“Yes?” Brax shot back.
“It doesn’t seem realistic.”
With great delicacy, Lynia folded Brax’s clothes.
“They go to the cleaners,” he said to her as she walked away with the garments.
Lynia nodded and stepped out of the room, probably going to their bedroom.
“So what’s unrealistic about the diet?” Brax pressed.
Zora’s gaze dropped down to the paper as soon as Lynia returned to the room. “The breakfast sounds fine. A half cup of plain yogurt, a half glass of orange juice without pulp and a half of a plain bagel, not toasted. But the lunch.”
Lynia pulled Brax’s boxers down. Zora couldn’t help but stare at his penis. She blinked when she saw his pubic area hairless. But the more she took notice of him, the more his penis came alive, engorging until she had to bring her gaze back up to his.
“What about the lunch?” he asked.
“Um, you have that I’ll only have half of an apple, ten raisins and ten almonds. That’s rabbit food.”
“Food is for sustenance, not entertainment. Eating what you need instead of eating what you want will prepare your body to be an efficient running machine instead of a slave.”
With the word ‘slave’, Lynia brought her gaze up to her husband’s. He smiled and kissed her lightly on her lips. The tenderness touched Zora’s heart. She felt warm all over.
“Undress her,” he told Lynia.
Zora’s body went cold. As Lynia stepped forward, Zora stumbled back until she met the dresser behind her.
“You’ll have to be bathed,” he said as a way to explain his request.
Lynia took the papers from Zora’s hands and put them back on the dresser before she started stripping her down. First her t-shirt came off. Instead of tossing it on the floor, Lynia folded it and set it on a chair. She lowered herself to her knees and removed Zora’s sneakers, setting them by the dresser.
Fascination Street Page 14