by M. S. Parker
I began at the point where she’d last seen us and gave her a complete play-by-play, including Howard’s flirting with me, and the big-breasted women hitting on Gavin. She made all of the appropriate comments and sounds in all the right places, laughing when we burst in on the old woman in the bathroom stall, and fanning herself when I described how Gavin had stopped me from touching myself, declaring that he wanted to be the one to make me come. When I finally got to our encounter in my bedroom, she’d quit trying to eat. The only thing I didn’t tell her was about Gavin’s daughter and fiancée. If he’d told only Howard and me, I couldn’t break his trust to tell Krissy, even if she was my best friend. It wasn’t my place. I’d wait until he told me it was okay before I told her any of that.
When I finished with a vague summary of his note, she let out a low whistle. “Shit, Carrie, where the hell did this guy come from and are there any more of him?”
I shrugged and took a bite of my pancake. It had cooled during my storytelling, but it was still delicious. Krissy and I spent a few minutes eating in silence before I brought up something that had been hovering in the back of my mind since last night.
“I’m thinking about going on the pill.”
Krissy nearly spit out her mouthful of pancake.
I could feel my face burning, but I remembered what Krissy and Gavin had both told me. I was an adult. There was nothing wrong with what I was doing or what I wanted. And I wanted to know what it would feel like to have him inside me without anything between us. Skin against skin. How it would feel when he finished inside me, filling me up.
I shook my head and cleared my throat. I wasn’t going to tell Krissy any of that, of course. I had another explanation, which was part of my reasoning, though not the main part. “When we were going into the bathroom, I remember thinking that I hoped he had a condom because I was going to be pissed if he didn’t. Then, when we came back here, I realized that the ‘emergency’ ones I have wouldn’t fit him.”
I didn’t realize what I’d said until Krissy began coughing and had to take a gulp of her iced tea. I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to look like I hadn’t just said something a little more detailed than I’d planned.
“Okay, spill.” Krissy’s voice was hoarse but demanding. “Are we talking you have mediums and he’s a large, or...”
I sighed. I knew she’d never let this go, and if I didn’t tell her, she might even consider saying something in front of Gavin, just to satisfy her curiosity. “You know those ones that we always joke about in the store? The ones we say have to be there for false advertising?”
Krissy shook her head. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
I gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. “Nope.”
“Wow.” She gave me a once-over. “How are you even walking straight?”
“Krissy!” I practically shrieked her name, completely mortified.
Tears streamed down her face as she laughed, doubling over. I leaned back in my chair and glowered at her as she cackled. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of any other type of response. Instead, I decided to call my OB first thing Monday morning and try to get in that same day. The idea of being able to tell Gavin that he didn’t have to be prepared, that he could just slide inside me whenever... I shivered.
Finally, Krissy calmed down and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice was sincere. “I just never... I mean...”
I held up my hand and shook my head. “Just stop there. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s change the subject.”
“Agreed.” Krissy took a drink of her tea. “Did you find out anything more about the club?”
I shrugged. “Not much.” I sipped on my coffee. Ah, caffeine. “I didn’t actually get around to asking him about it, so I just know what he’d said before. Twice a week, the club is closed to the public and only members have access on those days. The same members who can use the room upstairs.” I flushed as I remembered my encounter in that room. “I have no idea how many members there are. I didn’t ask.”
Krissy laughed. “Oh, you mean you were too busy actually having sex to learn more about it.”
I rolled my eyes, but I wasn’t actually that annoyed. Krissy always teased me about sex. It was just nice that, for once, it wasn’t about my lack of it.
“So,” she leaned forward, an eager expression on her face. “We got a little distracted before when we were talking about that room. You never did get to tell me much about it.”
I picked at a piece of bacon as I answered. “What do you want to know? How there are restraints attached to the orgy-sized bed? Or about the absolutely massive dildo I found in one of the chests?”
Krissy’s eyes widened. “So this isn’t just a vanilla sex kinda place.” It was a statement rather than a question.
I shook my head. “Oh, no. Not even close.” I smirked at the look of surprise on Krissy’s face. I knew she wasn’t exactly vanilla herself, but hearing me talk about a sex club in general was something new. Adding something spicier into the mix made this even more fun. “I opened one of the chests and there were ball-gags and nipple clamps.” I fought to keep myself from blushing as I listed off the things I’d looked up on the Internet over the past week, just so I could have names to go with what else I’d seen. “There were also cock cages, clamps for... other body parts, and chains to connect the different clamps. All that was on one side of the chest. On the other side were dildos, strap-ons and vibrators in more sizes, shapes, and colors than I knew existed.”
“Uh-huh.” Krissy was staring at me. “What about in the other chests?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but if the research I did was any indication, I found the tame stuff.”
“Research?” She started shaking her head, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you telling me that you...?” Her voice trailed off.
I nodded. “You know me. When I don’t know about something, I research it.”
“So, what did you think?” She pulled one leg up so that her foot was on the chair and her knee was against her chest.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
“What – what if Gavin’s into the whole S&M stuff?”
I met her eyes. That was one of the things that had been hovering in the back of my thoughts since finding those toys.
“You did say he held your hands above your head,” Krissy pointed out. “What if he wants to tie you up? Or something even kinkier?” She munched on the last piece of bacon. “I mean, are you going to go all leather and whips on me?”
I laughed, brushing aside the question as I reached for my coffee. I was going to drink my hot beverage and hope to avoid the question. It wasn’t that I had a problem sharing with Krissy, but rather than I didn’t know the answer. If someone had asked me a few weeks ago if I’d ever considered anything remotely kinky, I would’ve laughed at them, but now, I wasn’t so sure. Gavin had already made me move beyond anything I’d thought I’d ever do. With the way I felt about him, the way my body responded to him, I wasn’t sure how far he could coax me to go.
Chapter 3
I spent all of Sunday working on my paper for school. I hadn’t been lying to Howard when I’d said that I needed to get it done. Normally, I could just put on headphones and apply laser focus, wading through case law and applying it to my thesis, but I’d been distracted lately. Well, okay, distracted since noon when I started thinking about when Gavin would call. Now it was evening and he still hadn’t called.
I told myself to focus on my schoolwork, and, for a good deal of the time, I managed to do just that. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite stop the thoughts from popping into my head every now and then, wondering what Gavin was doing, why he hadn’t called. I stopped them as soon as they came. I’d never been one of those women who craved attention twenty-four/seven. It had everything to do with me just wanting to be with him, and nothing to do with me thinking that my boyfriend had to be in constant contact.
/> That gave me pause. Boyfriend? Where had that come from? Granted, Gavin had referred to us as being together, but he hadn’t said anything about any type of commitment. And though he’d mentioned me meeting his daughter, there was always a chance that he’d just said that because he’d been caught up in the emotion of the moment. For all I knew, his definition of “together” could mean a fling for a couple of weeks or maybe even a couple of months. It didn’t necessarily mean the same thing to him that it meant to me. Not that I really even knew what it meant to me.
I glanced at my phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. Even though I’d barely been away from it and had checked every time I’d returned, I still tapped the button to take off the energy saver. No calls. No texts.
I frowned. Should I call?
Absolutely no way in hell. I could hear Krissy’s voice in my head.
I sighed. Of course not. I stood and picked up my empty glass. I needed more iced tea. I headed into the kitchen, moving through the darkness with ease. When Krissy wasn’t here, I rarely turned on lights as I moved around the apartment. As long as I’d cleaned and knew there wasn’t anything on the floor to trip me, I could make my way through the entire space without a problem. The refrigerator light was more than enough for me to refill my cup by.
The silence was almost deafening. The people next door had left early that morning and Krissy had gone to the movies with Leslie, so the only sounds I could hear were the noises of traffic below and the muffled voices of those who were above and below. The walls might have been thin, but the ceiling and floor had good insulation. All of this was in the background, the kind of white noise that people get so used to that they barely even think about it.
Then, a sound cut through the air. A clip of music. A ring tone.
Shit.
My phone was ringing. I almost dropped my glass in my haste to get back to my room. As it was, I splashed ice tea all down my front and across my arm, soaking my t-shirt. When I saw his name on the screen, I forgot about being wet.
“Hi.” I sounded out of breath and hoped he wouldn’t realize that I’d been racing to get to the phone.
“Hello, there.” He sounded amused. “I’m truly sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I’ve been swamped with work.”
I sat down and eyed my laptop screen. “That’s okay. I really did have to work on my paper.” I didn’t mention that I hadn’t gotten as much done as I’d planned.
“I have to go out of town for a couple of days on business,” he said.
A stab of disappointment went through me. If I said I hadn’t been hoping he was going to ask me to come over tonight, I’d be lying.
“I was hoping I could see you Wednesday.”
I smiled. “That would be great.” My voice came out a lot more nonchalant than I felt.
“Can you come by the club after work, say around five? I’d like to give you the official tour of the club.”
“Oh.” I suddenly didn’t know what to say. I wanted to see him very much. My entire body was thrumming at just the idea. But, I wasn’t sure how I felt about going back to the club. Images flashed rapid-fire through my mind.
Gavin showing up pretending to be my boyfriend.
The way he looked at me when I was dancing with Krissy.
Kissing him for the first time.
Walking into that room and knowing we would be having sex.
One mind-blowing orgasm after another.
“Carrie?” His voice cut through the memories. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I answered automatically. Before I could talk myself out of it, I spoke again. “And, yes, I’ll come by after work.”
“Great!”
I could almost hear him smiling and I knew how his eyes would be lighting up. Heat unfurled in my stomach.
“Go to the side door and press the buzzer so I can let you in. And I’ll have something for you.”
I frowned. “No more gifts, please.” He hadn’t asked for the necklace back yet, and I was still trying to figure out a way to ask about it tactfully. There was no way he could’ve meant for me to keep it. Was there?
“It’s not a gift. Not exactly,” he assured me. “But it will please you.”
Heat turned into flames and I shifted in my seat. The way he said the word “please” made me think that he wasn’t talking about some little gesture. His tone rather hinted at something deeper and perhaps darker, something that spoke to a primal nature I hadn’t realized I’d had until I’d met him. Then again, that could’ve just been wishful thinking on my part.
“I have to go, but I’ll be thinking about you and our next meeting.”
He hung up before I could answer.
“Oh, fuck.” I put my head down on my desk. “What did I just get myself into?”
I tried working on my paper after that, but I couldn’t think about anything other than what Gavin could possibly have in store for me. Finally, at ten o’clock, I gave up. I took a shower and headed for bed, intending to read until I fell asleep. Instead, I stared at the same page for half an hour, my imagination running wild.
Gavin slowly stripping off my clothes, then his own, before jumping into the pool.
Laying me back on the bar and burying his head between my legs until I screamed.
Another trip to the upstairs room where he tied me to the bed and teased me mercilessly.
Exploring the various chests and toys as he taught me the uses for each one.
I was still fantasizing about all of the things he could do to me when I fell asleep, and my desires followed me into my dreams.
Chapter 4
Was it sad that the most exciting part of my week prior to Wednesday was when I was able to get an appointment with my OB on my Monday lunch hour? Not that the appointment itself was exciting, just what it promised. I was able to get my prescription filled that day and start taking the pill right away. Even though the timing meant I was probably covered right away, I was going to wait a week just in case. Still, knowing that I’d be able to tell Gavin that he didn’t have to use anything was heady. I thought about calling him, but that seemed a bit too forward. Then I thought I’d tell him on Wednesday, but decided against it. First, I’d hint around about getting tested so I’d know that there wasn’t a reason other than pregnancy that meant we needed to keep using condoms. Then, I’d schedule a night next week for us to meet and tell him that I wanted him to come inside me, bare. I could just imagine the look on his face. In fact, I did imagine it through the entire examination and then on the way home from work that night. The only reason I didn’t keep thinking about it between those times was that I’d had work to do.
It took a while, but I finally learned how to concentrate when amorous thoughts wanted to take over. Every hour, I’d allow myself five minutes for my fantasies. I’d think about Gavin and how his body felt against mine. Sometimes they’d be memories; other times, I’d think of something new. Once those five minutes were up, I got back to the task at hand.
That task, for the past two days, had been doing more research on Howard. Mimi had instructed me to find out as much as I could about the women Howard had been seen with the most during the last year before his separation. If any of them were able to testify that they’d had sex with Howard while he’d still been living with his wife, his case would be seriously damaged.
I’d been able to tell when she’d called me into her office first thing Monday morning that things weren’t going the way she’d wanted. As soon as she’d told me what she’d discovered, I understood why. She’d gotten the prenuptial agreement finally and had spent the weekend reading it. It looked very bad for Howard.
Just before the couple married, Howard had been near bankruptcy. His business had been failing and no one would give him a loan to bail him out. Then, a big investor had come along and given him what he needed to get through that rough patch. The investor had been Howard’s wife’s family. The day after the wedding, Howard’s company had been saved, but to protec
t the family’s investment, the lawyer had written into the prenup that fifty percent of the company would belong to the family. The other fifty percent would be split between Howard and his wife – except in the case of infidelity. If Howard had been unfaithful, his wife would get everything and Howard would lose his company. My mission was to find out if Howard had actually had an affair. That meant I would be spending who knew how long finding out as much as I could about the women who had been seen with Howard prior to six months ago.
The celebrities were easy. If I didn’t know them, a quick reverse image search gave me their names. Once I’d searched for articles linking Howard with each of those women and found nothing, I was satisfied that I didn’t need to go any deeper with them. If there’d been any dirt there, the gossip magazines would’ve found it. No, the ones I had to worry about were the women who weren’t celebrities.