Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever

by L. V. Lewis

  Jada moves to Nathan with two hands out and clasp his. “This guy needs no introduction. We see you in our living room almost every week during basketball season.”

  Nathan absently shakes her hand, squinting. “Have we met?”

  Jada is adamant. “I don’t think we have.” Then she waffles, “Well not formally, anyway. We may have attended some event at the same time, but then we were both in the presence of other companions, I’m sure.”

  What the hell? I thought she said she was “dying” to meet him. Looks like they’ve already met.

  I don’t have time to think about that. Tristan grabs my hand. “Jada, Nathan, play nice. I have something I need to square away with Keisha.” I follow, half-running to keep up with his long strides. He looks from one door to the other in our tiny hallway. “Which room is yours?”

  I point right, not sure my voice will work. He hauls me into my own bedroom and shuts the door, pinning me against it. He kisses me in all my morning-breathed glory. I try to avoid giving him access to my tongue, but his is stronger. Knowing that resistance is futile, I relax and let him sanitize my saliva until I taste only what he tastes like. I think it’s Scotch, but I can’t be sure.

  When he decides to come up for air, he releases me abruptly, and I’m a limp noodle against the door.

  “How can you say no to this kind of passion?” He asks.

  I think I whimper, because my thoughts are so fucking garbled at the moment.

  His hands go to his knees, but he forces himself to stand upright again. “What are you afraid of? Do you need to do a trial run?”

  “I just don’t like the idea of being involved with you when we’re doing business together. I’m going to apologize to Princess Danai and see if she’ll take our project on.”

  “I wouldn’t approach her right now if I were you,” he says. “I had to talk her out of pressing charges, and filing a lawsuit against you.”

  I cringe. What did I expect? Her eye is probably still some variation of black and purple right now.

  “Oh.” That’s all I can muster, faced with my current reality.

  “If you’re going to open in a little over three weeks, I’m the only shot you have of doing that,” he says.

  “What happens if this,” I gesture between us, “doesn’t work out for us? I need assurances that Kente doesn’t become one of your acquisitions if this doesn’t work.”

  “Have you read the contract?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve included a provision for that. I think the language says that if personal relationships are severed, White Enterprises will ensure that your company is backed by another entity before we part ways, amicably.”

  “You would do that?”

  “Right now, I’d do anything it takes to make you mine.”

  My Triple-G and my Fairy Hoochie Mama both faint in a synchronized swoon.

  Damn, this white boy is off the chain.

  #

  I try not to cry out with wild abandon as Tristan pounds me from behind. I am bent over the stuffed chair in my bedroom, his fingers doing wicked things to my breasts, and lavishing my neck with kisses. I am so close I can smell my release, but he has other plans.

  He pulls out and flips me over, kneeling he places my legs across his shoulders at the bend of the knee. My head is in the seat cushion against the other arm of the chair, and he has me at a forty-five degree angle. He clamps his mouth onto my sex, bringing it all into his mouth, searching all its creases and crevices with his tongue.

  My eyes roll back into my head as if I’m about to seize, but what happens is an earth-shattering orgasm. He laps me up with fervor, and then carries me to the bed, where he enters me quickly and continues. He only completes about a dozen strokes or so more, before he finds his release, but he doesn’t pull out or let me go.

  Tristan laves my breasts, and licks, sucks and teases until I have another orgasm.

  Only then do I think about Jada and Nathan again.

  Through my panting, I say, “What is Jada and Nathan going to think?”

  “That we’re in here fucking,” he says with a throaty laugh.

  I punch him, knowing that my puny fist isn’t doing any damage to him. “Do that again, baby,” he teases. I move to roll away, but he traps me with his muscular body. “Where are you going?”

  “Tristan, I just met your brother. He’s going to think I’m some kind of skank ho.”

  “Do you care that much about what other people think of you?”

  I thought a second. “No, not really.”

  “Always be secure in who you are. Never give anyone that kind of power, and you’ll do well in the business world.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” I say, “but if it’s all the same to you, I think we should get dressed and go back in there.”

  No sooner are the words out of my mouth than I hear Jada screaming, “Yes, Master! Yes! Yes! Yes!” And her yeses are punctuated by what sounds like the crack of a whip. At this moment, I am so glad our bedrooms are on the opposite side of Mrs. Dobbs’ bedroom suite.

  I gasp. My eyes are wide with the knowledge they’re in a scene, but just to be sure I whisper to Tristan. “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?”

  “Knowing my brother? Yes.”

  I am happy Jada’s finally gotten the opportunity to hook up with Nate White, but at the same time, furious that she’s apparently been holding out on me about her own—proclivities.

  “That bitch!”

  “Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” he admonishes me. “Now, you have a friend in the lifestyle you can talk to. It’s going to be perfect.”

  “So, I’m not bound by the NDA from talking to Jada?”

  He glares at me, but it’s not a disciplinary glare. It’s playful. “If you’d read it, you would know that you are allowed to talk to other women, friends in the community.”

  “Oh.” Why does this man shorten my vocabulary so? But I like it when he’s playful, and not so serious about the BDSM stuff.

  He sits up and swings his long legs off the bed. I’m not altogether sure my bed is long enough for him, but I find myself wishing he would stay.

  It’s my turn to ask. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to phone the after-hours car service and cancel it, then text Moses to arrange for a six-thirty pick-up here.”

  I grin so wide my face hurts, but then I stop when Tristan turns to look at me as he waits for the driver to answer the phone. His eyes hold delicious sexual intent for the rest of the morning.

  ~*~

  83

  Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever

  Chapter Seven

  The White brothers are long gone when Jada and I emerge from our bedrooms at the same time in the morning. She has an ambivalent, guilty look on her face, and I glare at her doing my level best to show her just how wounded I am. Then we both burst into laughter, but not for the same reasons, I don’t think.

  “You . . . should see your hair,” I wheeze.

  “And you . . . should’ve seen . . . the look on your face.” She laughs harder.

  When it subsides, we walk companionably to the kitchen where she puts on some coffee, and I forage through the fridge for breakfast.

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me you were into BDSM?” I try to keep the accusation out of my tone.

  She frowns as she sets two mugs onto the counter. “There isn’t a large community of African Americans in the lifestyle. I guess I didn’t think you would understand.”

  If I hadn’t met Tristan White, and wasn’t about to do exactly what she’d been doing for I don’t know how long, I wouldn’t have been understanding. In fact, I know I would’ve been downright judgmental.

  “You’re right,” I say. “Unfortunately, I wouldn’t have had a frame of reference then. How long have you been doing this?”

  “Since our freshman year. Derek introduced me to the lifestyle.” Derek was her boyfriend until just before we graduated
.

  “Oh man! And to think, I accused him of being abusive to you. No wonder I got that vibe from him.”

  She nodded. “Derek could be intense.”

  “I thought you broke up with him because you finally came to your senses.”

  “I figured you didn’t believe me,” she chides. “For the record, we did break up because he got a new job in San Francisco. We weren’t ready to take our relationship to the next level, and forget a long distance relationship. I did that shit in high school. It ain’t fun.”

  “Word.”

  “Since graduation, I’ve occupied the top position in my recent relationships.”

  “Get out!”

  “I haven’t met anyone I wanted to submit to since Derek.”

  This doesn’t surprise me about Jada. She’s fierce. “Sounds like you were really into Nate last night.”

  Jada brandishes a coy smile. “You don’t know the half of it. So, you’re going to sub for Tristan, huh? Is that why you didn’t want me to see what was in the package he sent you?”

  “Yes. Well that, and his fucking NDA.”

  “People guard their privacy in the community, therefore there are rules for the lifestyle.”

  “I know, right? The first rule of the lifestyle, you do not talk about the lifestyle. Second rule, you DO NOT talk about the lifestyle. Third rule, if the submissive safewords, the scene is over.” I recite to her like the rules of Fight Club. “This is the first time I’ve ever signed a contract to give somebody some.”

  “Tristan and Nathan are high-profile individuals. It wouldn’t do for, what mainstream America considers, their deviant sex lives to be revealed to the public. It’ll be scandalous enough that the most eligible white bachelors in Chicago will be linked to two black women.”

  “Yeah, forget once you go Black, you don’t go back. Once you go White, it’s outta sight, or some shit,” I say, and we collapse in peals of laughter.

  “No, once you go White, it’s dy-no-mite!” Jada enunciates like Jimmy “JJ” Walker from Good Times. “Even better, Fifty Shades of Black and White.”

  “More like Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever,” I say when I catch my breath. “You ever see that Wesley Snipes movie?”

  “No, you’re the movie buff. I’m sure it was a stellar work of celluloid goodness.” She pauses, then continues in a serious tone. “Look, Keisha. I know your background. Tristan doesn’t. If it ever gets to be too much for you, remember you can always safeword.”

  This is why I love Jada so fucking much. She knows me better than anyone and has all the details about my deceased, abusive, alcoholic father.

  I smile through tears I do everything in my power to prevent falling. “Thanks, bestie.”

  She links her arm through mine and leads me to a seat. “Now, tell me, have you read Tristan’s submissive contract?”

  “Yes, several times yesterday. After Church. I thought I was gonna have to go back, and seek some spiritual cleansing, an exorcism or something afterwards,” I say. “Talk about some freaky shit.”

  She looks stung.

  “Joking. I’m really looking forward to him doing some of that stuff to me, believe it or not.”

  Jada sighs in what I assume is relief. “What are your hard limits?”

  “I’m glad Tristan didn’t have any of that nasty shit I read about on the internet on his hard limits list. I wouldn’t let anybody piss or shit on me. That is fucking gross. None of that choking shit either.” I tick off the short list on my fingers. “Basically, I will not swallow, and I might consider a pearl necklace if he lets me clean myself up afterwards. But, I don’t think I’m going to be able to allow him to whip me with stuff.”

  “Some people have weird fetishes. But, some of the floggers don’t even hurt, Keisha. Really.” She looks sincere, but then again, she hadn’t been beaten by her father for years, either. “There are crops he can use that will give you only pleasure, not pain.”

  “What you talking about, Jada!” I say it like I’m little Gary Coleman, addressing Willis.

  “All I’m saying is, just don’t rule out all the crops and floggers, because then, what’s the point in embarking on this relationship for you or him? But if I may give you a piece of advice?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Tell him about your past.” I’m shaking my head, but she keeps talking. “As your Dom he’s interested in everything concerning you. He will take care of you, and he won’t allow any emotional or physical harm to come to you in your role-plays.”

  I stand up, and don’t realize until I look at my hands that I’ve left marks, I’m clenching my fists so hard.

  “Now that’s the biggest hard limit for me,” I say. “I’m not telling Tristan about that. I will not have him feeling sorry for me.”

  With a stubbornness I get from my Mama, I dig my figurative heels in, and Jada knows me well enough to let it go.

  “Then, always remember your safewords. He will stop if you use them, if he’s a good Dom.”

  “I think he is,” I say. All I have to go on is what he’s told me, and how he’s made me feel. Somehow, I get that he intends to do right by me. “Okay, enough heavy stuff. Are you seeing Nate again?”

  Her face lights up. “Yes! Oh my god, Keisha, he’s everything I dreamed he would be, and more.” Where had I heard those words before? Oh, from me, about Tristan and his sexual prowess. I get moist just thinking about him.

  “Keisha?” Jada snaps her finger in front of my face. I must’ve zoned out.

  “Sorry. Oh, by the way, I thought you hadn’t met Nate before?”

  “Well, I couldn’t tell you, ‘Oh yeah Keisha, I saw Nate White quite a few times last year at some BDSM parties.’ He was there, but I never got to meet him personally. He was with that supermodel, Lavender, then.”

  “She’s in the lifestyle?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Jada goes to the coffeepot and pours us both a cup. “And she was insanely jealous. I saw her kick some other chick’s ass one night who just looked at him a little too long.”

  My eyes stretch. She reassures me. “Oh, that doesn’t usually happen at these events. That girl who got the beat-down was new and didn’t realize you shouldn’t be eyeballing other subs’, Doms.”

  “Oh.” Now I’m at a loss for words with Jada.

  “They’re having a Munch soon,” she says. “I think Nate’s going to see if Tristan wants to go. If so, he’ll bring you.”

  “What’s a Munch?”

  “It’s a gathering, usually at a restaurant somewhere, where we eat good food, and get to know other people in the lifestyle. And Nate’s going to get us tickets to the games for his upcoming season.”

  I frown still thinking about this Munch thing. “I don’t know if I’ll be ready. I have so much to learn.”

  Jada smiles. “You just stick with me, girlfriend. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

  I was beginning to feel better about this kinky shit, more and more.

  #

  Jada is true to her word, she teaches me everything she knows about submissive postures, role-plays, language I might hear from my Dom, and ways to keep myself out of trouble. She even shows me her secret stash of sex toys, salves, and creams she uses to prevent scarring.

  “I thought it didn’t hurt,” I say. “Why do you need this stuff?”

  “As Tristan eases you into the lifestyle he’s going to use a soft touch. But just because you’re olive-skinned, doesn’t mean you won’t bruise, or that some implement he uses won’t break the skin. He’ll most likely have all this stuff, but you need your own supply to use when you’re not with him.”

  I pick up a pair of crotchless panties. “You have some of the kinkiest lingerie.”

  She grins. “The kinkier, the better, I say.”

  “You sound like someone else I know.”

  “You’re preaching to the Choir. I just had a long night with his twin. What are the odds they’d both be into BDSM?”

  “Nat
e didn’t tell you how they got into it?”

  “Girl, we didn’t do that much talking. After he remembered where we’d met, and told me he’d gone the majority of last season without a submissive, he asked if I were up for the challenge. I think our interview was quite possibly the most erotic conversation I’ve ever had. Then the role-play, and the sex.” She fanned herself. “It won’t be long before we’ll be able to practice total power exchange twenty-four seven.”

  “What is total power exchange? Tristan said something about that Saturday.”

  “It’s a mindset where you become hyperaware of your dominant and he has complete authority and influence over your life, making the majority of decisions. Some couples do 24/7, which means that protocol in the D/s relationship is in play anytime, anyplace and the dominant partner gets complete power at all times. It’s euphoric, it’s pleasure being reciprocated in your every word, deed, gesture. You’re firing on all cylinders. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll know it when it happens.”

  “How?”

  “Take a cue from your Dom. He’ll be exceedingly pleased with you, and he’ll make you feel like you’re in heaven.”

  #

  Jada and I ride to Tristan’s building together in his limo for the signing of the contract between White Enterprises and Kente Studio Records. I hesitate to tell her I won’t be riding back with her, but I needn’t have worried.

  “Who says I’m going back home?” She smirks. “Nate’s picking me up after and we’re going to his place to—”

  “I hope you guys have a nice dinner,” I cut her off, then nod toward Moses.

  She laughs. “I’d bet our first month of profit, he’s under an NDA, too.”

  “You would be right, Ma’am,” Moses pipes up. He smiles at us through the rear-view mirror, and we relax.

  “Anywho,” Jada says. “I probably won’t be back until Thursday night.”

  “Same here. Good luck!”

  Our process through reception is smooth, and we’re walking off the elevator on the penthouse floor in less than five minutes. Darryl ushers us personally into Tristan’s office, where Nate is sprawled on the sofa, and Tristan’s at his desk. They stand as we enter the room. The guys are cordial, until Darryl leaves the room, then the familiarity ensues.