Nikla handed the waitress money before she could even set down her bill. “You want to be my friend? Stay out of my private life.”
She stood and left the table. With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Nikla needed an outlet. She hopped in her car and drove away from the parking lot, not wanting to confront Deana again about the ways to be a good friend.
She drove down to the empty suites. Nikla parked her car directly in front of the empty storefronts. Bobbi, being true to her word, had removed the “For Lease” signs in front of the two units.
Nikla pulled out her phone and dialed Sweet. She’d never called him. He’d always called her or they would make arrangements during their meetings, their dates, their fuck fest sessions.
“Nikla?” Sweet answered the phone with a questioning lilt in his voice. “What’s going on? Are you not able to make it tonight?”
“No, I’ll be there.” She chewed her lower lip. “I just needed to talk to someone, to you. I needed to hear your voice.”
“Are you okay?”
Beyond her control, Nikla grunted and kicked her foot against the wall. Like the first time Sweet had met her at this location, she wanted to scream out her frustrations.
Sweet must have heard her.
“Where are you?” Sweet asked with panic in his tone.
“Our spot. The suites.” Nikla disconnected the call.
Her day started off so wonderful, so full of promise. Then her dear friend filled her head with doubt. Nikla couldn’t blame her distress all on Deana. Deana voiced what Nikla had been feeling for a while.
Why couldn’t Nikla be one of those women who could do what Deana said, hit it and quit it? She and Sweet had talked about the dynamics of their relationship. Until a decision had been made on the units, they would play and have sex and that’s it. Once a decision had been rendered, they would go their separate ways. Nikla started wondering if she wanted her leash to be released.
Nikla heard the rumbling of Sweet’s truck before she saw it. He pulled into the spot next to her and got out of the truck. He came around to the driver’s side of her car and opened the door.
“What’s going on?” Sweet stroked his thumb over her cheek.
Before she knew it, he had her out of the car and into his arms, hugging her. Nikla gripped him like she needed him. He smelled like his store, sugary sweet and fruity. Right now, those scents calmed her down more than a field full of lavender.
“Bad day at work?” he asked as he held her.
Nikla shook her head. “Bad lunch.”
Sweet pulled back from her and stared into her eyes.
To calm his fears, she told him about the argument with Deana. “No one seems happy for me.”
“Why do you need anyone’s approval?” Sweet framed her face in his hands. “My brother does the same thing to me. He’s my rain cloud, although he’ll tell you that he’s my conscience. Don’t hate your friend.”
Nikla shook her head. “I don’t hate her. I just hate that she gets to be reckless but I’m not allowed. I’m always supposed to be good.”
“You are good. If you weren’t you wouldn’t have gotten so upset.” He stared at her for a moment.
Nikla swallowed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You were pissed and you called me.”
“Do you find that strange?”
Sweet removed his hands from her face. “Strange?”
“Considering our arrangement. We’re not a couple.”
“There’s one thing you need to do.” Sweet leaned forward and whispered in Nikla’s ear. “Stop defining us based on the norm. There’s nothing normal about us.”
Sweet had been right about that.
Nikla took a deep cleansing breath. “I’m sorry for pulling you from work. I feel silly.”
“Don’t. You needed someone. I’m just glad I could be here for you.”
“I won’t hold you up.” Nikla turned to her car.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Sweet asked.
She returned her attention to him. “What?”
He glared at her long enough that she understood his unspoken message.
“Here?” She peered out at the traffic zooming by the building. “People will see. People who won’t understand.”
“You’re telling me you know everyone driving by?” Sweet pointed to the speeding cars. “You don’t know them. They don’t know you or me. It’s just us.”
Nikla stepped closer to him. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed one cheek. She moved over to the other one and pressed her lips against it. When it came to his lips, she had no problems covering his mouth with hers. She slipped her hand behind his head to hold him there. She’d hoped the sensual expression would let him forget about her lowering herself to her knees.
When Sweet pulled back first, Nikla knew he wouldn’t let her get away with not doing the last step of the introduction.
Nikla hesitated. She looked around the area to see if she could find anyone looking at them.
“I’ll pick you up tonight around six.” Sweet went to the driver’s side of his truck.
The disappointed look on his face stopped Nikla’s heart. “Wait. I didn’t bow.”
“And you weren’t going to do it, either. Be ready when I get there.” Sweet pulled away without looking back.
Damn. Nikla seemed to be pushing all kinds of people away from her today. She sat down on the curb and rested her head in her hands. Dinner tonight with Sweet’s brother would be interesting.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sweet sat in the convenience store parking lot near Nikla’s apartment complex, thinking about how the evening would go. He didn’t want to carry the disappointment he felt over Nikla not doing the full introduction earlier into dinner.
Since Nikla had done so much within the BDSM world with him, he tended to forget that she had so much more to learn before she could feel comfortable. Each time he thought about her calling him when she needed someone to talk to, to hold, his body became warm all over.
On the vanilla side, they clicked. Why couldn’t he get her on his other side? Then again, maybe the problem had nothing to do with her.
At that thought, Sweet put his truck in drive and headed over to Nikla’s apartment. He parked in front of her building and then went up to her unit. Sweet glanced at his watch. On time. Right at six on the dot.
Nikla’s door opened. Sweet clenched his jaw at what he saw.
“You’re not dressed,” he said tightly.
“No.” Nikla stepped aside to allow him into her place.
Although she had makeup on and her hair piled into a bun on top of her head, she wore a red satin robe and pink bedroom slippers.
“I was very clear when I said you needed to be ready at six o’clock.” Sweet followed Nikla to her bedroom.
“You were. But I need you to do three things.” She picked up two garments from her bed still on their hangers. “Which dress?”
The black sweater dress looked nice, like it would keep her covered from her neck to her knees. The cut of the dress looked like it would show off her hourglass shape. Judging by the footwear she had on the floor, it looked like she would be wearing black boots with it.
The red dress she held up would guarantee that Sweet would not be paying attention to any dinner conversation and would only be staring down into her cleavage. Next to the black boots sat a pair of red pumps.
“So you do have red shoes,” Sweet said and nodded toward the pair.
Nikla glanced down at them. “I just bought them.”
“Then you should break them in properly. The black dress and the red pumps.” Sweet pointed to the garment first before the shoes.
“Two birds with one stone. My second question was going to be which shoes I should wear.” Nikla disappeared into her closet with the red dress.
“And your third question?” Sweet didn’t want to play games. If he arrived late to his brother’s, he knew Masaun would
never let him live it down.
Nikla reemerged from the closet with her robe opened. She wore a flesh-colored bra and panty set, only the bra had nothing covering her breasts. Sweet’s heart pounded as she moved closer to him.
“I think I deserve some punishment.” She strolled by him. After removing her robe and tossing it on her bed, she placed her hands on her dresser and bent over. “I didn’t do the greeting earlier and I wasn’t ready just now.”
Sweet remained cemented in his spot for a moment. He knew if he touched her they would never leave the apartment. That didn’t stop him from approaching her. Sweet planted his hand next to hers on the dresser. The other hand he let hover over her firm ass.
The heat from her body warmed his hand. It didn’t help that Nikla arched her back to raise her ass up higher.
She turned to him. “Should I count out the spanks, Sir?”
Sweet connected his gaze to hers. Before he could touch her, he backed away. “Get dressed. We’re going to be late.”
Nikla looked like she wanted to argue with him. Instead she righted herself and greeted him like she should have done in the parking lot earlier. She kissed his cheeks and his lips, then lowered herself down to her knees.
Sweet reached out to touch her hair but stopped himself. “Up.”
Nikla rose to her feet and slipped on her dress. Just as he imagined, the sweater dress hugged her body like a second skin. She accentuated her tiny waist with a skinny red belt. Her nipples jutted forward and could be seen through the dress. That part he did like.
“Why can’t you do that all the time?” Sweet asked. “When we’re behind closed doors, you’re fearless. When we’re at the club, you can do anything as long as you’re in a mask. Out in public, you freeze up. What gives?”
“I didn’t grow up in a family that held hands and said ‘I love you’ all the time. My father was very strict. He didn’t praise accomplishments. You were expected to excel.” She stared at him. “I’m not used to being that expressive. I’m trying.”
Sweet had to respect her honesty. He still wanted more from her.
She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse. “Did you tell your brother anything about me?”
“He knows some things about you but not everything.” Sweet reached for the door to open it for her.
“Like what? What tidbit did you leave out?”
Sweet opened the door then closed it. He spun Nikla around and pressed her back to the door. “He doesn’t know that your pussy tastes like honey. He doesn’t know that when you come you scream and a single tear runs out of your eye. And he doesn’t know that I want to fuck you in every way possible including up your ass.”
“Oh, God.” Nikla’s mouth hung open.
“Have you ever had anal sex?”
She shook her head. “Does it hurt?”
Sweet smirked. “I wouldn’t know.”
Nikla chuckled. “Yeah, I guess not.”
He watched her breathing increase. Nikla reached out and touched his belt.
“Can you call your brother and tell him you got a flat?”
Sweet wrapped his arm around Nikla’s waist and pulled her away from the door. “No. We’re going to dinner. You will apologize for us being late. Your punishment is going to be sitting through dinner thinking about what I’m going to do to you when we get back.”
Nikla’s face relaxed and she groaned. “Damn it.”
“I told you BDSM wasn’t all about the physical. It’s mental as well.” He opened the door. “Come on.” Sweet gave Nikla a playful smack on her ass.
Nikla yelped as she walked out of her apartment.
If things went well tonight, he would be inside that tight ass.
****
Nikla had to cross her legs the entire trip to Sweet’s brother’s house to douse the flames at the apex of her thighs. The entire trip Sweet would mention little things he would do to her.
“You have the perfect bed to tie you down,” he’d said at one traffic light.
Nikla could do nothing but sit and listen. Thankfully she wore her shelf bra that just elevated her breasts but kept them unobstructed. The soft fabric of her dress brushed over her hard nipples.
“If we have sex tonight, I don’t want you to come until I give you permission.”
Nikla smiled. “Yes, Sir.” She put her hand on his leg.
“Did I tell you how gorgeous you look tonight?”
Nikla gasped. “Uh, no.”
“You are. With makeup on...” Sweet trailed off and just shook his head. “I didn’t think you could get any sexier.”
Sweet pulled his truck up to a large two-story brick home. Even at night, Nikla noticed the colorful flowers and rosebushes that still had bloom thanks to the warm October weather.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nikla glanced at the serene house then back at Sweet. “We’re breaking our own rules. Nothing more than play.”
“We broke that rule as soon as we had sex.” He held her hand. “Sugar Baby, I think the rule book is out the window.”
A shiver went down her spine when he held her hand then mentioned her scene name. Sweet’s thumb brushed over her candy bracelet.
Nikla shook her head. “It’s one thing for us to do what we’re doing with each other. Now we’re getting outsiders involved.” Getting so involved with Sweet never factored into her plans.
So much for taking Deana’s advice to just get with a guy to get Justin out of her thoughts. Now she couldn’t get Sweet out of her head...and heart.
“You talk as though you have to explain what we are to people. I thought you learned something from the Lifestyle.” Sweet connected his gaze to hers. “Only thing that matters is that you stay true to me, yourself, and what you really want.”
The truth part killed her. Nikla had a crucial secret to tell Sweet. She still had to figure out how to break it to him and her father about their competing businesses.
Sweet’s expression went very somber. He peered around Nikla. “Brother is watching us. Let’s get in before he comes out.”
Sweet got out first then opened the door for Nikla.
As they walked up to the door, Nikla asked, “Since your brother is a Dom, too, should I bow to him? What should I do?”
“This is a vanilla dinner. I’m Sweet. You’re Nikla. He’s Masaun and his girl is Kindle. It’ll be a chill event.” He put his hand to the back of her neck and massaged it. “I should have told you not to wear panties.”
She had to smile. “We still have time. I can remove them now.”
“See. You are learning.” Sweet rang the doorbell then knocked on the red door.
When it opened, Nikla saw a striking couple on the other side. Until she focused on their faces did she realize that she had seen these people at the club. Now they wore way more clothing.
“It’s my fault we’re late,” Nikla said quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem. Don’t just stand out there. Come on in.” Sweet’s brother stood to the side to allow Nikla and Sweet to come into the home.
Nikla’s heels clicked against the dark hardwood floor. The simple but classic decorations matched the look of the couple. Both appeared so straight laced but Nikla knew of their dark sides.
“Masaun, this is Nikla Dearwood.” Sweet put his arm around Nikla’s waist.
She extended her hand to Masaun, who resembled Sweet slightly. Masaun’s brown wavy hair had some control to it, not like Sweet’s longer hair. The two brothers matched in height with Sweet being a little bigger. Their eyes gave them away as brothers. From his conservative look and dress, she guessed Masaun to be the older one.
“Very nice to meet you.” Nikla shook his hand.
Masaun smiled. “I wanted to meet the woman who could make my brother smile again.”
“Hey. Don’t tell her that. She’ll never let me live it down.” Sweet gave his brother a playful punch against his shoulder.
“Nikla, this is my fiancée, Kindle Langs
ton.”
After Masaun’s introduction, Nikla shook the woman’s hand. Even though Kindle wore a simple orange shift dress that complemented her darker skin tone and tan flats, she looked polished and accomplished. She had her black hair parted in the center with soft waves surrounding her face. She had arms that would make Michelle Obama jealous. The way she looked at Masaun, Kindle had a love that Nikla desired.
Nikla kept her gaze away from Sweet to hide her disappointment. Would she ever experience real love like that? Could Sweet love her like that?
“Let me take your purse and jacket.” Sweet removed the items from her.
“Please make yourself at home. I’ll get the hors d'oeuvres.” Kindle looked at Masaun. “Will you help me? Maybe Sweet can give Nikla the tour.”
“Yeah, keep her out of the dungeon,” Masaun said.
Nikla laughed. When she saw no one else did, she looked at Sweet.
“They do have a play room.” Sweet nodded.
“Oh. Okay.”
Sweet put his hand to the small of Nikla’s back. Over his shoulder he shouted, “I’m going to show her the room anyway!”
Sweet brought her through each bedroom and bathroom. Each room looked understated and elegant, just like the duo that lived there. At a doorway, Sweet paused.
“This is where the magic happens.” He opened the door and hit a switch on the wall.
Nikla peered into the room before taking a step inside. The room looked like a miniature version of The Dollhouse. A St. Andrew’s cross sat in the corner. In the center of the room hung a long beam, kind of like the beam Sweet had her handcuffed to recently. Across the back wall hung different whips, canes, paddles and floggers. Just looking at them had her clit twitching.
“My brother had to get all of his items from New York or have them made for him.” Sweet strolled around in the room. “He had a local friend of ours make the cross.” He picked up a dark brown flogger. “This he had made when he went up to New York to conduct some business.”
Nikla ran her fingertips over a fur-lined paddle. “Is that why you want to open your own store?”
“One of many reasons.” Sweet slipped his hand into Nikla’s. “Let’s go back out before Masaun comes back here and kicks us out.”
Licorice Whips Page 25