What Caroline Wants

by Amanda Abbott

  She rarely did that.

  She was usually content to play along with his banter, taking on a more passive role. But occasionally, if she was hot enough, she would do something like this, and it drove him bat-shit crazy.

  It was more than lighter fluid—it was sexual napalm.

  Without waiting one more second, he drove into her, her fingers still opening the entrance wide for him. He gloved himself to the hilt, and true to his words, he rolled her up on the bed and ground himself into her, his hands gripping her ass tightly as he pumped frantically.

  She called his name.

  He was close. He was going to have to slow down if he wanted to make this last, like he promised. This was the kind of sex that was meant to be savored and enjoyed.

  With effort, he stilled, keeping himself locked inside her, panting.

  She brought both her hands up and ran them across his chest, stopping to take his nipples between her fingers. He shuddered in pleasure. “You are a temptress, Caroline.” His voice was barely above a whisper. It was all he could manage. “You have the face of an angel and the heart of a dominatrix. You are the perfect mix of woman for me.”

  “Glad to hear it.” She wiggled beneath him, causing friction between them. “Now quit taking your own sweet time and slam your cock into me, please.”

  He groaned and did as she asked, bringing her legs up and over his shoulders. Then he tugged her to the edge of their bed, making damn sure they stayed firmly connected.

  Their bed stood high off the ground for this very reason. He was tall and loved fucking his wife standing up. They’d shopped around to find a bed that fit the bill, which hadn’t been easy since he was six-three.

  He began to thrust again as he eased her thighs wider apart, while keeping her legs firmly draped over his shoulders, spreading her wide open. She moaned in pleasure as he drew in and out, bringing the tip almost all the way out so his head rubbed against her, then back in faster.

  She brought her hips up to meet him.

  “Do you need it harder?” he rasped, finding it hard to form words.

  “Yes,” she answered, her eyes closed. “I need it harder. So much harder.”

  He began a pounding rhythm, shaking the headboard.

  He watched as her luscious tits bounced in unison with his thrusts. They were honestly the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen. Her skin was honey-colored, now flushed with heat. She was so sexy, he couldn’t get enough. “You feel so damn good.”

  “Jace,” she murmured. “Just like that. I’m almost there.” Her head rocked back and forth.

  “Don’t you even think of coming, Care,” he panted, slowing down. “I’m not done yet. I want you to tell me what got you so excited this morning. Say it out loud. Was it our discussion”—another thrust—“or was it the way Michael’s hand lingered on Piper’s thigh last night? I know you saw that.” Jace seated himself against her and rocked his pelvis until she cried out. “Or the way Michael described their sexual encounters”—he pulled out and slammed back in—“as erotic, hot, wet, and the most dynamic pleasure he’s ever experienced?” Jace gripped Caroline’s tight ass as he watched himself slide in and out of her with each delicious pull. He was on the verge of coming, and he knew she was, too. Sweat coated each of their bodies, making them gleam. “Or was it when we watched them leave and saw Michael push Piper up against the garage and take her mouth hard, and we both couldn’t look away?”

  Caroline broke apart underneath him, clenching her sheath against his cock as she came.

  A few more thrusts, and he was right behind her, burying himself inside while he yelled her name, pressing his face in her neck.

  He loved her smell.

  He loved everything about her.

  2

  __________________________

  ____________

  There was a knock at the back door. It was noon and Caroline was just getting ready to have lunch. “Who’s there?” Caroline called as she got up from her desk. Her office was just off the den, about ten paces from the kitchen.

  It could be only one of three people.

  Either it was her mother-in-law, who liked to walk around and investigate things before she decided to enter the house, or it was Michael or Piper Collins.

  The closest route to the Collins’ house was through the back door. As Caroline entered the spacious kitchen, which was decorated in a contemporary style with blacks, whites, blues, and grays, Piper opened the back door and poked her head in.

  “Is this an okay time?” Piper asked. “Are you busy?”

  “I’m not busy at all. Come on in.” Caroline gestured for her best friend to enter. “My website is down for maintenance today, so I’m just doing paperwork.” Caroline ran a small stationery business out of her home. She sold her one-of-a-kind designs, printed on various cardstock, directly to her customers from the manufacturer’s warehouse.

  Piper entered and shut the door behind her. She was taller than Caroline by a good four inches and had a long, beautiful mane of chestnut hair and a pair of sparkling hazel eyes. She was beautiful and always managed to make Caroline feel underdressed. Today Piper wore a pale pink sundress with strappy leather sandals Caroline knew were designer.

  Caroline walked over to the island, which took up a good chunk of space in the middle of the kitchen, and fingered her ponytail absentmindedly, wishing she’d at least worn jeans today instead of her usual sweats. It was a silly thought, since she and Piper had been friends since the very first day she and Jace had moved in five years ago, and Piper had seen her in her “work-from-home outfit” too many times to count. Not dressing up was the biggest perk of not working in an office.

  But today she felt more inadequate than usual.

  “Is it too early to drink?” Piper asked smoothly as she slid into one of the leather barstools next to the island. “It’s only noon, or I would’ve brought over a vat of wine. Instead, I’m going to have to do this sober. I’ll get right down to it and not waste your time. I, hand to the Almighty above”—she thumped her hand over her heart—“wish that Michael had never brought up our personal stuff last night. I’m so sorry. I was wildly uncomfortable, and I’ve been unbelievably embarrassed all day. I hardly even know what to do with myself—and, believe me, that’s a rarity. I know you must think we’re heathens or sexual perverts, and because of that I apologize from the bottom of my soul. Had it been my choice”—she placed a finger on her chest—“that would’ve stayed private until the day we died.”

  Caroline blushed at her friend’s confession, remembering all the details Michael had spilled last night, her fingers trailing over the gray-and-white-veined granite. She couldn’t fault her friend for not confiding in her. Caroline had never broached the topic of sex in all their years of friendship. It wasn’t her style. “Honestly, Piper, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Your decisions are your own. Jace and I are not ones to judge anyone’s behavior. Whatever you and Michael choose to do behind closed doors is your business.”

  “I know. But I also know you, and you believe that up to a point. But this is different. This isn’t just me deciding to cut my hair or dye it black like I did a few years ago. Or even me deciding to have an affair with another man. This is something that marks us as different. This is the kind of information that changes friendships forever. If Michael had admitted he committed a gruesome murder last night, I think it would’ve been easier to swallow than admitting we get our rocks off with other people.”

  Caroline couldn’t help but laugh.

  Her friend had that effect on her. Piper knew how to diffuse a situation faster than anyone she’d ever met, and she was one of the wittiest people on earth. “I wouldn’t go that far. Having a few…consensual encounters is a lot different than killing someone.”

  “Okay, then how about killing someone’s dog?” Piper appeared miserable. She rested her arms on the counter and settled her head on them face first, like she was a kid in elementary school. “And I wo
n’t blame you if you want nothing to do with us ever again.” Her voice was muffled. “Believe me, after the first time, I didn’t want anything to do with us either.”

  Caroline pulled out a stool and sat, placing a hand on her friend’s back. “To tell you the truth, I’m actually dying of curiosity.” She leaned closer to Piper, who was still hunched over. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and you’ve never once mentioned anything like this. Not even a whisper. And I don’t blame you. I’ve never been one to kiss and tell. But, I have to tell you, I’ve always pictured swingers to be…I don’t know…less put together.” Caroline began to giggle. She tried to stifle her laughter, but failed as she continued with, “Which is totally ridiculous. I know swingers aren’t total degenerates. I just never thought they’d live…you know, next door to me…and be so…I don’t know…fun.”

  “We’re not swingers.” Piper lifted her head, cracking a small smile. “Not in the technical sense anyway.” She sat up and ran her hands through her long hair, bringing it behind her ears as she turned on her stool to face Caroline. “And, just so you understand, we’ve only done it a handful of times—eight or ten at the most. And only with two other couples—but not two at once,” she amended quickly. “Good grief, this is not coming out as planned.” She looked miserable again. “We actually stick to some pretty steadfast rules, or I’d never be able to live with myself.”

  “What kind of rules?” Caroline asked. The question had come out on its own, which surprised her. Digging into another person’s intimacy was not in her comfort zone. But, she had to admit, while she’d been shocked by the news last night, seeing Piper being her normal, funny self now, right here in her own kitchen, made her lifestyle choice seem much less outrageous.

  That, and she honestly wanted to know how her friend handled it.

  Piper raised an eyebrow, but began, “Well, for one, you can’t kiss anyone else’s spouse on the lips.” She spread her palms on the counter and took a deep breath, seeming to gather herself. “You can’t be alone with another partner. All sexual acts have to be within view of the other participants, all the time. Actually, in the beginning, there was no penetration of any kind allowed, only foreplay. We worked our way up to penetration. But, that said, having sex with someone else is always optional. But the biggest rule we have is no intimidation or pressure of any kind. You can leave or stop whenever you want to. It has to be completely mutual for everyone.”

  “So have you…done the penetration part? Have you slept with someone else?” Caroline had to ask. Michael hadn’t specified last night.

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘slept with someone,’ but yes.” She held up a single finger. “But only once, and it took me a long time to get over it. I might’ve even had a little, teensy breakdown after, so I don’t think I’ll ever do it again. It was fairly traumatizing.”

  “Has Michael…penetrated someone else?”

  “Yes, a few times, but only with my permission.”

  Caroline tried not to look totally aghast, but judging from the look on Piper’s face, she wasn’t succeeding.

  “You don’t have to look like I just killed your dog,” Piper said, her voice dejected.

  Caroline tried to make her expression impassive, but the news was just so shocking.

  “Caroline, to be honest, this has been a very long road for Michael and me. I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that it turns me on to see him with another woman. I used to think something was wrong with me. But over time, Michael has helped me see that I’m not broken. What I like just doesn’t fit into what society thinks is normal. Therefore, I’m labeled a sexual freak.” She shrugged. “That’s really the bottom line.”

  Caroline nodded along. It made sense on some level.

  Piper continued, “Michael is connected to me during the entire…episode, for lack of a better word. And afterward we go home and have explosive sex—like, the best ever. It lasts for weeks. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s satisfying on so many levels. Obviously, it’s satisfying”—she made a funny face—“or we wouldn’t keep doing it. The sexual stimulation I get from it is…mind-blowing. Like hyper orgasms, three or four in a row. There’s nothing like it.”

  Caroline tried not to act shocked about Piper’s blatant confessions. Instead, she straightened and focused on the countertop as she asked, “How do you cope with the guilt?” Piper had to feel guilty. “We’re not exactly trained to be okay with sharing our partners, like you said. How do you rationalize it in your mind, so you can get through the second-guessing?” She wasn’t going to confess to Piper that it had taken her much too long to shake the guilt after watching a single porn movie.

  “I’m not going to lie. The guilt was extremely brutal at first. I thought for sure we were going to get divorced. There were a lot of tears, agonizing, and hand-wringing.”

  That’s exactly how Caroline would’ve reacted. She nodded. “How’d you finally get over it?”

  “We just kept talking about it, kept the conversation open. The simplest answer I have is because we love each other very deeply. And what it all boils down to in the end is it’s just sex. It’s not love.” Piper rested her elbow on the island, a slightly amused expression on her face. “About a year after the very first time, and all the angst was behind me, I was ready to try it again. And the second time—lemme tell you—was much better than the first. I knew what to expect, and the experience was greatly improved. Michael and I have since learned to make our own rules on the way over, and we always stick to them. With the couples we interact with, we can only do it once or twice a year. It takes a lot out of us to be with them. But, like I said, the payoff is fantastic. When I watch him with someone else, it’s hard to describe it accurately, but it’s like the biggest vibrator in the world is in my pants. It’s that hot.”

  Caroline didn’t want to admit to herself that she was turned on by Piper’s confession, but she was. She wasn’t interested in having a liaison with Piper and Michael, but hearing her friend talk about voyeuristic sex was stimulating. You’d have to be dead not to feel anything. “Why is it hard to be with the other couple more than once or twice a year?”

  Piper shook her head. “Because they’re much more adventurous than we are, especially one couple. They’ve been doing it a lot longer and have very few inhibitions. Even though there’s never any pressure to perform, sometimes it still feels like there is. If I could change one thing about our entire experience, it would be that we would’ve entered into this lifestyle more slowly. We could have used a little more patience. But I can’t argue with the outcome. It’s been nine years.”

  “Wow. That is a long time.” She tried not to feel hurt that Piper had never mentioned anything about this throughout their friendship. These things were very private in nature. She’d been friends with Piper for the last five years, but like any friendship, it had taken time to build. They were closer now than they’d been a few years ago. “But I don’t understand how you could’ve gone slower.”

  Piper smiled. “There are ways, grasshopper. You can have sex with your spouse in front of another couple, never touching anyone else. That’s a soft way to enter the lifestyle. That alone can be explosive, the pleasure intense.”

  Caroline shivered.

  “Or you can just have heavy foreplay with your spouse in bed with another couple who are doing the same thing. That can be erotic, still with no touching beyond your own partner. The guilt is lessened that way. You can actually do it that way for years. Or you can do the foreplay thing with someone else’s spouse, which is not sex, and is also easier to handle.”

  Caroline politely coughed into her fist. The things Piper described so casually with other couples was so intimate. It made her blush. “I see.”

  “You think I’m a total slut,” Piper said, a small accusation behind her words. “I can see it in your eyes. We’re never going to get through this, are we?” Piper dropped her head back into her hands. “I wish I could go back in ti
me and snatch the words back from Michael’s loud, over-sharing mouth and erase them.”

  “No, we’re going to be fine,” Caroline assured her friend. Then she hesitated. “I have something to admit to you, though, and I think it might help.”

  Piper raised her head, a hopeful look on her face. “Like what? That you and Jason are actually swingers?” Piper gave out a choke of laughter. “That would totally make my day.”

  “No, but I’m not the prude you think I am.” At Piper’s skeptical expression, she continued, feeling more confident. “Yes, I’m from the South, and I generally dress a little more conservatively than you do, but I’m not as innocent as you think. I do enjoy a little…kink on occasion.”

  Piper leaned in, sputtering, “Kink? Oh, really? Do tell. What kind of perversions have you and Jason been getting yourself into?”

  “Well, I’m particularly fond of anal beads.”

  Piper almost fell off her stool. She had to right herself before she could speak, her palms hitting the countertop with a loud slap. “Whaaat did you just say?” She followed that with a bellow of laughter. “You didn’t just say what I thought you did.”

  Caroline crossed her arms. “For your information, when your partner pulls them out slowly, during a climax, it adds to the pleasure exponentially. It’s quite nice, actually.”

  Piper was laughing so hard she couldn’t respond.

  “You don’t have to act so dumbfounded,” Caroline huffed. “I’m a little adventurous, so what? You just told me you had sex with other people. Anal beads are in a tame fifth or sixth place compared to your revelation.”

  “Once.” Piper held up her index finger. “I had sex with another person one time. But I can truly say I’ve never had the balls to try anal beads. I thought only hookers used toys like that.”

  Caroline arched a look at her friend, and then burst out laughing. “Yes, because hookers are taking the time to find ultimate pleasure with their johns.” She shook her head at her friend. “Anal beads are not the only shocking things in my bedside drawer, either. But after that hilarity, I might refuse to share any more juicy gossip.”