The Boss's New Plaything

by Layla Valentine

  “You ready?”

  Mid-suck, I nodded.

  “You want it?”

  Throwing my head up and down, my tongue mashed its answer against his shaft and then, finally, his base: Y-E-S.

  In response, with a great shuddering, he groaned and poured into me, a hot surge down my throat as I pounded up and down. When I’d had my fill, I slipped off, and, incredibly, he still had more for me. I savored it, let his warmth rain upon me, upon my face. My eyes were closed, my lips parted, my tongue out—and time stopped and there was only this flickering, warm rain. After the last drop, his hand stroked my head, smoothing my hair back.

  His eyes closed while his hands played over my body. It wasn’t for anything but for the movement itself, for the enjoyment of this perfect moment between us. He ran his hands over me like mine was the only body he’d ever touched, like it was the only one he’d ever really felt. And, in a way, maybe it was.

  I lay there while he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me like it was the first time, running his hands through my hair like it was silk. I sank into him, lost myself in him.

  When I opened my eyes, we were under the covers. His head was enveloped by a halo of light. His eyes were intent on me.

  “You’re really something you know.”

  “Hold me,” I whispered, and he did.

  I stared into those eyes, those eyes that were full of want but something else too. Those eyes that—but surely I was wrong—looked like they belonged to a man who would do anything for me.

  It didn’t matter anyway; his hands were stroking me, and all that mattered now was how my body felt. There was no choice anymore, only a giving in. It was a must.

  His finger strokes were slow, light, leaving trembles in their wake. Slowly, he built my pleasure more and more, until his fingers were curling inside me and my whole body was thrashing to their rhythm and my lips were begging him, “Please, give it to me now. Please.”

  And he did. With one easy slide, he was in, and it was perfect.

  God, I was so filled.

  My pussy was screaming in ecstasy already, and it only grew as he pumped himself in and out of me. It was a slow, deep rhythm that was perfect, that was better than perfect, that was gasping out of me with moans and groans that I could hardly take, and yet there he was, fucking me harder, faster, deeper. When he slipped his dick out, I groaned, but when he flipped me around, propped up my ass up with a pillow, and began fucking me from behind, my moans were even more desperate for him to keep going and give me what I needed. It was a deliverance only he could give me.

  Already, I was on the brink, my whole body trembling with pleasure like never before.

  Grasping my chin in his hand as he pumped me slower and rougher, Jake asked, “Are you ready?”

  I nodded.

  Sliding himself all the way in and leaning down so his face was an inch from mine, he growled, “Do you want it?”

  Panting, I nodded.

  So, he gave it to me. Grabbing my hips, he fucked me full throttle, his cock crashing into me, the pleasure surging through me, my moans a foreign wailing, my orgasm coursing through me while I felt his cum inside me.

  We let out one final collective gasp of glorious victory before we collapsed onto the bed, him on top of me, still inside of me, our breaths one sated gasp. We lay there until we fell asleep in the soft morning sunshine.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jake

  Oh God, what had I done?

  The blissful, sleeping creature before me was too perfect, her soft smile too serene. Her short, thick lashes ruffled slightly as she slept, totally oblivious to the warring sensations going on inside me. Instead of the usual superior self-satisfaction I felt at looking upon another one of my conquests, this time I felt fear.

  Alice was a good girl, a kind, generous, one-of-a-kind woman, and now I had inextricably involved her in my life. As I watched her sleep, as my fingers felt at her in the way I couldn’t get enough of, the realization was terrifying, ridiculous, and yet inevitable. I’d known Alice Pryce all of a few days, yet as I watched her sleep now, I knew I would never be happy watching another do the same.

  I got up and went downstairs. At the bottom of the steps, I already missed her, but I was hungry and needed to get away anyway. I couldn’t stand this helpless feeling.

  The refrigerator was as empty as the possibilities left to me. Alice was to be married; she had her life waiting for her. And me? I was a felon on the run, a criminal too irredeemable to be saved.

  Ransacking every drawer and corner of the old fridge was done in vain. All I found were some onion skins and one little triangle of Laughing Cow cheese that had expired months ago. The freezer wasn’t as dismal. I found a package of hot dogs—just enough for a hungry kidnapper and a sleeping princess. Holding the package, I checked Gerald’s tank. He looked about as miserable as I felt, and as hungry.

  “I’ll feed you after I’ve fed me,” I promised him, turning away.

  I paused, glancing at the door.

  Seeing Gerald reminded me of the others, of the shed, but I didn’t have time for that now. Later, maybe, I could slip away. Who knew what Alice would say once she woke up.

  Cooking the hot dogs was calming, easy. I knew what to do, what pot to get out, the water line already etched on the pot’s old interior. And then, standing there, I got to wait. I didn’t have to worry about what was coming or going, about the beautiful girl in my bed who I might have lost already. All I had to do was stand there and wait and wish it would never end.

  But it did. Too soon, the lid started clattering up and down—signaling it was time to turn down the temperature and take off the lid. Then, after only a few more minutes, filled with a test with a fork and a plop on an artistic-looking cracked plate, our meal was good to go.

  But I wasn’t. I took another useless look at Gerald, paced around the cabin, and then, finally, took a deep breath, grabbed the plate of hot dogs, and made my way up the stairs.

  In my bed, Alice looked completely at ease enveloped in the sheets, like she was a part of them, only a flopped-over foot and a blissful face visible among the expanse of ivory cotton.

  When I sat beside her, she only shifted her position and switched the side of her mouth that was smiling. When I poked at her lips with a hot dog, the pink-lipped side smile grew to cover her whole face. One eye fluttered open, then the other.

  “Jake?” she murmured.

  I lay beside her and slipped the hot dog between her lips.

  “Lunch.”

  She grinned, bit down, chewed, and then, sitting up, sighed.

  “Mmm…”

  We sat there, me feeding her, her smiling and chewing and smiling some more. I couldn’t take not kissing her any longer. My lips met hers, our tongues twirled together, and her hands gripped my face like she couldn’t bear me stopping. My hand slipped under the covers, and the hot dogs tumbled off the plate.

  “Shit,” I said as she giggled.

  Turning on her side to face me, Alice asked, “What now?”

  I lifted another hot dog, slipping it between her lips.

  “Now, we eat.”

  Alice took another bite. Then her expression became grave.

  “And then?”

  There was something in her face that indicated this wasn’t an innocent question; there was an answer I was supposed to give. And yet, while I had no idea what answer she expected or wanted from me, looking into those clear blue, hopeful eyes, I knew what I had to do.

  “Then I have something I want to show you outside.”

  She grabbed a hot dog and slipped it between my lips, nodding.

  “Okay.”

  Finishing the hot dogs took longer than I would’ve thought. Although Alice was ravenous, taking two huge bites at a time, it was the kissing that did us in. Every few bites, I’d glance over, see those intent, expectant eyes doing the same, and I couldn’t resist. I had to kiss her.

  And so I did, our kisses delicious a
nd warm, my hands delighting in her body once more.

  God, I wanted her. And yet, I stopped my hands at her waist, stopped them from going farther toward their true desire. If I got started at that again, I’d never stop, and we’d never get anything done.

  When the hot dogs were gone and we’d had one last long kiss, I broke away. I walked over to my closet, picked out the biggest and longest shirt I had, and tossed it at her.

  “Some new fashion for you to rock.”

  She grinned and, cocking her head at me, asked, “Pants?”

  I shook my head and she pouted, so I threw her a clean pair of boxers. Hurrying downstairs stopped me from kissing her again as she got dressed. She followed me shortly after.

  “C’mon,” I said. “We’ve got to get some food for Gerald, but first I have to show you something.”

  “Okay,” she replied.

  And so we walked out of the cabin.

  Pip somehow knew already. She was grinning at the two of us as she danced at our feet, barking her congratulations for what we had done and what we were about to do. It wasn’t far to the shed, and Alice didn’t say much. She understood that now wasn’t a time for speaking but for seeing and understanding.

  The shed was quiet. It was tucked beside some trees, and even just putting my hand on the door calmed me. I swung it open, stepped in, and, grasping her hand, brought her in with me. Now the shed wasn’t quiet, but Alice was. Taking in what she saw, she took a moment before she spoke.

  “Jake… These…they’re all yours?”

  I nodded.

  She took another look at the cages. There was Bernie the owl with his bandaged-up broken wing; Oswald the baby marmot, still suckling its little bottle; and Helen the once half-starved pika, rolling gleefully around her pile of food.

  I regarded my little family, the collection I’d acquired over the past few months of wandering through the Rocky Mountain forests, and the words came forth to explain.

  “I’ve always had this love for animals, like they were beyond all the cruelty people had shown me. Like I could trust them. I found Bernie a few weeks ago, half-paralyzed at the bottom of a tree, abandoned by his family. Oswald I stumbled on a month or so ago, crying out of an empty nest for a mother who never came. Helen was trapped underneath a fallen tree, half-starved and too weak to move. The Internet told me what to do, and experience taught me the rest. These little guys, it’s silly, but they and Pip are the most family I’ve ever known.”

  Bending over, Alice peered into Oswald’s cage, the smile on her face growing.

  “Jake, you know what this means, don’t you?”

  Without waiting for my answer, she continued. “You could do this, Jake. You don’t need to be a criminal forever; you could really do this. You could help animals. You could get a regular job.”

  At my own thoughts voiced by her sweet, eager voice, I threw my arms around her. I held her, my most precious find of all, and she turned around and kissed me, while my animal friends chattered their approval.

  A few minutes later, when we’d finally separated, I asked, “So, you’re okay with going for a food run for the little guys then?”

  Alice grinned and nodded.

  “Of course. What do we have to find?”

  I rhymed off the list I’d memorized by now. “Helen eats sedges, alpine avens, and clover. Oswald will go for most grasses and flowers and any crickets or worms we get for Gerald. Bernie would like to eat Helen or Gerald if I’m being perfectly honest, but he’ll settle for some worms and insects too.”

  I held up the container I’d stashed in my pocket.

  “We can use this to collect everything.”

  “Sounds good,” Alice said. “Let’s go.”

  So we did, Pip bounding ahead eagerly while we walked behind. I hardly noticed we were walking; all I noticed was her warm hand in mine. We walked and we felt. We smiled.

  Maybe this was what love was, being able to walk with someone forever. Not really doing much and saying less, and it being all right. It being more than all right—good, great even.

  When I looked over at Alice, she was already looking over at me, smiling like she was thinking the same thoughts. Always ahead, always barking with glee, Pip danced as happily as our thoughts. Even when worry started to creep in about what tomorrow would bring, how in the world this could work, Alice would squeeze my hand just in time and I’d know. With this extraordinary woman by my side, everything was going to be all right.

  As we walked, gradually we spotted what was needed. It was just part of embracing our walking, really, the soft grass under our feet, the cricket smiling up at us. All of it presented itself to us, and we plopped supplies into the container and continued on. The rest of what we needed presented itself to us similarly—some worms by a rock, a bunch of flowers farther on, tucked amid some clover. Grass was everywhere; we just had to stop, pick it up, and drop it in the container.

  I didn’t realize Pip had been taking us back to the pond until we got there. It looked even more beautiful than usual. The willows had flourished in only a day, and it seemed like there was a long strand of leaves over every part of the pond. Sunlight was trickling through them just so, illuminating the strands the wind was playing with.

  Alice was illuminated, her smile soft, her closed eyes haloed as she inhaled the clear air. Then she opened her eyes, fixed her gaze on the pond, and a shadow passed over her face.

  And I realized I had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Alice

  What was I doing here? Back at the pond I hadn’t swum in last time and wouldn’t swim in this time. It didn’t matter that my hand was in the clasp of the most incredible man I’d ever met in my life; I couldn’t do this. But as I turned to him with the “no” on my lips, he was already nodding. He already understood.

  “Hey, babe, it’s okay. It’s all right. You don’t have to go in,” Jake said, tracing my jawline with his pointer finger.

  I nodded, but as I gazed into his mossy green eyes, the thought came to me.

  “What if I did?”

  Jake cocked his head at me, but already I was stepping away from him, my hand slipping out of his. In this dreamlike state, I took off Jake’s shirt and his boxers. Then I was stepping into the water. Everything was quiet and cool. The pond was so clear I could see my pink-polished toes sinking into the dirt below.

  Seeing me join her, Pip did half leaps of jubilation, while, behind me, Jake didn’t move. He knew. I had to do this by myself. And, one foot after the other, one deep breath after the next, I did. Step by step, I walked toward the middle of the pond and kept walking until the ground was out of reach, the water too deep. Until I was swimming.

  As the forest burst into sudden celebration, the birds tweeting, the wind whooshing, the trees swaying, I did it. I swam, floated, and smiled.

  Next thing I knew, Jake was bounding in after me, scooping me up in his arms and twirling me around.

  “I knew you could,” he said, and I could only laugh in response.

  Because I had never known, still couldn’t believe, that I had been capable of it. My fear dribbled off me in watery beads, and he and I laughed, this man who had been my greatest fear and was proving to be my greatest salvation. My past, present, and maybe even future all wrapped up into one extraordinary package.

  Jake dunked me and I splashed him. Pip barked her approval before darting off into the forest after some ducks. And it was funny: Here we were in the same place, the same people with the same dog—hell, with the same ducks—and yet nothing at all was the same. Everything was different.

  I didn’t know how long we spent there, swimming and kissing and swimming some more. I didn’t know how many times Jake paused to peer into my eyes or kissed my smile. All I knew was that when the sun started to set, Jake scooped me up out of the water.

  “Dinnertime,” he murmured in my ear as he carried me out.

  “Didn’t know my tummy had been that lo
ud,” I commented with a grin.

  He stopped to pat it, and then we were off. While the walk the first time had been long, and the second time nice but still long, this time it seemed to last only a second. After an instant of glancing up at the stubbly, still-smiling, handsome face of the man carrying me and our clothes, we were back at the cabin.

  He put me down and said, “Don’t move. I’ll just be getting dinner now.”

  I didn’t. No, I slumped on my back and watched him walk outside. Through the side window, I saw him take out his phone. I sat up. Something told me he wasn’t just getting dinner ready. As he spoke into the small black thing, I made my way to the door. As I creaked it open, Jake walked in.

  Patting my cheek, he smiled affectionately.

  “You’re really not one for following orders, are you?”

  I drew back. Scrutinizing his face, I said, “So, you were getting dinner ready, huh?”

  His face fell.

  “Yeah, I was, actually.”

  I scoffed.

  “On the phone.”

  Jake only smiled.

  “Wait thirty minutes, and then you’ll see.”

  For my second search of his face, he still wore the same calm, open expression, so I stalked over to the couch and flopped down. Pip ran up to me, and I absently ran my hands through her fur. Coming over to me, Jake lifted the container of our recent finds.

  “Almost forgot. Want to help feed the little guys?”

  I shook my head, and he shrugged.

  “Suit yourself. See you in five.”

  My anxiety only increased once the door shut behind him.

  How could Jake have been getting food on the phone? It wasn’t like there was a Pizza Palace just around the corner. He had to be lying, had to have been talking to someone he didn’t want me knowing about—his employer, “Sunshine,” maybe.