She never ate chocolate or caramel after that.
*
When Unchained transferred her to the L.A. office, Akie accepted it the best she could. She knew she would be under Ned, and just hoped to make the best of it. She couldn’t let this ruin her career, as Suzette had done. After all, it was just sex. Humiliating, mind-blowing, messy sex.
That first day, Ned had called her into the office. He told her he knew they could both be professionals, even given certain…events in their history. She never thought she’d met a bigger asshole, and was resolved to be a success.
And so it was the eve of another Valentine’s Day. Danny had asked her if she wanted to have a special dinner or something, but she explained to him (somewhat lamely) that she really had no need to do anything for Valentine’s Day, and that she would rather just lose herself in the Androgynous Punk international tour marketing campaign that she was gearing up. She didn’t even realize until she looked out at the dark of the evening that it was 8:00 p.m. Time to wrap it up.
There was a tap on the frame of her office door. Ned. She looked up at him. “Ned, I’m just on my way out.”
“Akie, I wanted to just…”
“What?”
He hesitated. “Look, we never cleared the air about what happened last year. I was drunk and—didn’t handle things as well as I could have…”
“Ned, I’d rather just let it lie.” Ned started to speak again, but she put her hand up. “It’s Valentine’s Day. I’m tired. It’s late. I’m going home.” She left him with his apology hanging on his arrogant mouth.
*
March 14th arrived with more baggage than she ever wanted at the mid-week point. She had joined Danny at his friend’s wedding up in Napa last Saturday. She figured it would be the perfect chance to take their relationship to the next level: an opportunity to get in good with his friends, in wine country at a charming bed and breakfast, no less. He’d had the whole thing set up by the book, complete with a fire on the hearth and bubbles in the bathtub. It should have struck her as the most romantic evening. But right from the get-go she just wasn’t feeling it. As idyllic a setting as it was, the sex itself was just ho-hum. She cut out the minute she was done getting ready Sunday morning, using the same excuse as always: Androgynous Punk needed her attention. And the whole way home she couldn’t stop her mind from flashing images of the intense evening she had shared with Ned just over a year ago.
Danny must have been in a different sex scene than she had, because that Monday he had proposed. Akie felt like total shit, but she had to say no and break it off. There was just no comparing the sex to what she wanted to forget in Tokyo. And there was no forgetting.
It was after-hours and she’d already put in 9 hours non-stop. The sun had gone down without her taking time to flip the switch in her office. She was sitting there in the semi-darkness, gazing out the window of her 15th-floor office when she heard the tapping at the doorjamb. Ned again. And he had something behind his back. “Everything okay?” he asked.
Akie rubbed her eyes. “What? Oh, yeah, right on track with unveiling Androgynous Punk live to their new Tokyo fan base.”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean, it’s late, and here you are just sort of…And earlier I saw that there was some…tension between you and Danny.”
Shaking her head, Akie urged, “Ned, please, not now…”
He put his hands up. “I’m just observing. But never mind…Look, I know it doesn’t make up for anything, but—here.” He moved his hands from behind his back, revealing a small gift-wrapped package. “Happy White Day.”
White Day. In Japan, it was men’s counter-cue to Valentine’s Day, a time for them to return the gifts offered three-fold. Akie was dumbfounded. “Ned, what…?”
“Look, I know you said let it lie, but—I just felt like I should make it right. Not that I think this could even begin to—well, you know…What happened was shitty. But I offer you a chance to make amends.” He advanced into the dimness of her workspace, closing the door behind him. He set the package on her desk.
She sat there for a moment, regarding the present silently. She should throw it back in his face, but her curiosity was too strong. Untying the wire mesh bow, she began slowly and methodically the process of opening the gift. She was surprised and thrown by what she saw. “What…is this—matcha?”
Ned shrugged his shoulders. “I noticed you drinking it a lot and…Well, my grandma was Chinese and—she used to tell us that tea could be a symbol for many things, including an apology…I mean—technically, I’d be pouring this for you but—it felt weird to come in here hauling a tea tray.”
Akie laughed, despite herself. “You’re following a Japanese holiday by offering a symbolic Chinese apology—sort of—in the form of Japanese matcha.”
“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m cross cultural. It’s…nice matcha, you know.”
“I know, I can tell. Thank you.” She regarded him there in the dim light. “He proposed,” she blurted, before she knew what she was saying.
“Oh! Wow…um…”
Akie shook her head. “No—I didn’t accept. I…” She sighed. “It may have been one drunken night, but it really made an impression. Not for romance or anything, but—well, I never had anything that raw and intense. And satisfying.” She felt a tingle in her pelvis, thinking of the need that had gone unfulfilled during her getaway with Danny.
“Neither have I. You were something special, Akie.” He regarded her for a silent moment.
Akie got up. “Well, thank you for the—Chinese matcha apology.”
“Truce?” asked Ned.
“Yeah,” she said. She moved in for an awkward hug. He responded by squeezing her a little too intensely. She buried her face in his neck. He smelled of cologne and Barbasol. “Wow,” she said, facing him. She realized they’d never kissed.
“Are you sure?” he asked, breathing heavily.
“No,” she responded, leaning in and feeling her lips sealing over his. Their tongues moved together urgently. She allowed them to break briefly. “I just really need a distraction right now.” She dove right in again. His arms locked around her, hands moving down to caress her backside.
He paused. “What is it you need right now?”
“I just need to fuck. On my terms. No strings. Just fucking. And no questions tomorrow, unless I ask them.”
“You got it,” he agreed. And with that he tore open her blouse. Her breasts swelled under her bra, and he reached in to remove them. He dove his face in-between, licking the crevice and then lightly tonguing each tip. It aroused her almost instantaneously. She pushed him onto her office chair, pulling her skirt up as he quickly pushed his pants out of the way. He readied himself with one hand while he pulled her towards him, flicking his tongue over her clitoris while his fingers dove into her hole, first one until it slid with ease, then two, then three. He used his thumb to massage more. By the time she lowered herself facing him, she was in a frenzy and used her hand to guide him partially into her.
“I remember this took some work,” she said as she thrust herself around him. He used the fingers of one hand to twist at her nipples, and the other move around underneath to spread her around him. They both groaned once they pushed him completely into her, and Akie used her legs as leverage to move over him. She maneuvered over him, digging her tongue into his mouth for more of those perfectly-timed, throat-deep kisses. After a few minutes she spun away from him, continuing to grind him into a lap dance he would never forget. “Forget the matcha,” she grunted, allowing his generous endowment to hit all the spots that had been missed by Danny, “your steel-cold cock is just the remedy I need for what’s ailing me.” He grunted wordlessly as she continued to use him as her own real-life dildo. She thought nothing of what he wanted or how he was feeling; she connected only with that dagger with which she was triumphantly stabbing herself, and the detachment from her emotions was strangely empowering. This must be what it was like to be a man in that unspoken world of
strip parlors and happy hour deal-making: command over sex, control over emotion. She knew their secret now, and it was her turn to be the master.
They both came at the same time. She lingered over him for several moments before detaching herself, grabbing a tissue from her desk. “That was exactly what I needed.”
Ned sat there for a minute, catching his breath. “Yeah.”
Adjusting her underwear and straightening her blouse as best she could with the missing buttons, Akie then pulled her skirt down. Breathlessly, she looked down at him. “You can go now—your obligation is fulfilled.”
He looked up at her. “Akie, no—I didn’t out of obligation.”
She smiled cunningly. “I know you didn’t. But I took it that way. A debt repaid. A fuck for a fuck. Thank you. And now I can wrap it up here. I have work to do.” She turned away from him, reaching over him to grab her purse and jacket, and the matcha. Walking towards the door, she spoke over her shoulder. “Turn the computer off on your way out, will you?”
***
BONUS READ
Excerpt from Samantha Egret’s “Desire’s Anthem.”
She's gonna rock his world...
Danny Ayres has always lived his life on his terms. As a marketing exec for a big-time record label, he never had to look far for a willing fling, and rarely gave repeat performances. When he falls for a once-in-a-lifetime woman, he knows that even he can't negotiate out of this deal. But when in the same week he loses his job and his proposal falls flat, he starts to wonder if he's lost his touch.
Hannah Mercury has always found comfort in the straightforward procedures of civil service, and has organized her suburban life to high standards. Recently estranged from her husband and vulnerable from a careless indiscretion, she knows it's wise to keep Danny at arms' length.
During a chance meeting at lunch, Danny strikes up a conversation with Hannah, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. But after a brief and unexpected encounter takes the two beyond the platonic and into the erotic, Hannah realizes just why Danny's only been successful at one-night stands. She makes a proposition to teach him, in way he never dreamed possible, what it takes to REALLY satisfy a woman sexually and win back his dream girl.
But can they satisfy their carnal desires without losing control of their hearts?
Copyright 2015 by Samantha Egret
All rights reserved.
EXCERPT:
Danny’s head had been spinning since Friday. He couldn’t believe how wild Hannah was. That lap dance she had given him had nearly made him burst in his pants. And he noticed that she’d groomed herself considerably more down there—all that was left was a silky veil of hair. He just didn’t know how to resist her, even though he knew it would be wise to do just that. But when he thought of her laying there, in his arms, those pink cheetah panties the only thing between him and pure, wet pleasure, those soft thighs waiting to push against his hips, he swelled with need. Jesus, a man sworn to celibacy wouldn’t be able to resist that—how did he think he could? He thought of her smile, and of her lips, her kiss, and of how hard he was, and he wanted nothing more than to see those lips wrapped around his cock as he choked her deep. What would those big, green eyes look like as they looked up at him from down below? How hard could he pull her soft blond hair as he commanded her to consume him? And would he be able to last long enough to plow it into her other end? Or would it end with his milky cum trickling out of the smiling corners of her obedient, rosy lips?
He remembered their agreement, and how she had promised that she was seeking nothing but fun from him. He wasn’t so sure she still believed that, and he knew he couldn’t commit to her in the way that she needed, for her kids and her happiness. No, it was best that they never take the foreplay into the full-fledged, hardcore sex that he imagined. He didn’t think she was mentally ready for intimacy without commitment—and he was only ready for that with Akie. Friendship and fun—that had to be their rule.
When she entered his cubicle Monday morning, Hannah had a resolve he hadn’t seen in her. She seemed so sure of herself. It was so hot.
“Wanna go to lunch again?” she asked.
Trying to keep his cool, Danny rolled back in his office chair. “On a Monday?”
Hannah laughed. “Come on, I’ve been waiting all weekend to see you.”
Danny tried to be as aloof as possible. “Okay, but it can’t take long.”
“We can pick one of the quickie spots in the Arts District,” resolved Hannah. “Besides, parking is free on that side of Downtown. See you at noon?”
Danny smiled at how determined she was. “Nooners it is.”
“No, sweetie—just lunch,” she said, and winked. He laughed. She sure did have a bit of the devil in her. It made her almost irresistible.
She was cool the whole way there. Not once did they talk about what happened last Friday at the bar—and after. Danny was starting to feel so at ease that he let his guard down. They talked about the final steps of getting the fire station built, and of some of Danny’s plans for marketing the Grand Opening. It was like old times, and Danny wondered whether Hannah had realized how far they’d gotten and decided to pull back, too.
Once they got to the Arts District and found parking, though, she turned toward him, placing her hand on his thigh. “I thought about you all weekend,” she said as she caressed it.
Danny laughed. “That’s no fun.”
Hannah let her hand move up. “Oh, but it was, Danny. I touched myself and thought of you. Of all the things I want you to do to me. I can’t come anymore without thinking of you.” She cupped his growing erection, and leaned over to kiss his neck.
“I’ve imagined doing a lot more to you, too. Many times.” He let her continue to kiss and bite his neck. “I wish we could run away together, just ditch work one day.”
Hannah took a break from her nibbling. “We could, you know. Just call me before I get off the train, and instead of taking the red line to work I’ll take it to Hollywood, and we can have a fun day together.” She settled back in the passenger seat. “Oh, Danny, why don’t we?”
He looked at her regrettably. “Come on, Hannah. You remember our deal. We can’t let this thing we have get in the way of our lives, and that includes our jobs. Our goals for success.”
She looked at him. “And then there’s that girl…”
“Akie,” he said. It felt awkward to say her name at that moment. Hannah hesitated. “I’m sorry, Hannah—I think maybe that was insensitive.”
“No—it’s just that…”
Danny raised an eyebrow. “Just that what?”
Hannah took a deep breath before speaking. “What if I could guarantee you that the next time you see Akie, she will never want to leave again?”
***
“Desire’s Anthem” is available from most online book retailers.
About the Author
Samantha Egret was born of a passion for writing and a desire to create an open dialog on female sexuality. She resides in Downtown Los Angeles, among the high-rises and large-living, a graduate of the high-stakes world of public relations. Desire's Anthem is her first novel.
Connect with Samantha at www.samanthaegret.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/samanthaegretauthor.
Watch an interview with Samantha where she discusses her inspiration for writing “Desires’s Anthem.”
Her Tokyo Valentine Conquest: An Erotic Short Story Page 2