“I’m not so sure. I’m a little dizzy. I think that beer went to my head.”
“Come on, do you trust me or don’t you?”
“I don’t know you.”
“Didn’t I treat you right before?”
“Sort of. In a ‘this is so wrong but at least he’s kind’ sort of way.”
“There’s your answer. I can be kind.”
“I don’t know.”
He stopped suddenly and put his hands in the air. “I surrender. You don’t want to play, you don’t have to.”
“Really?” She turned her beguiling gaze his way.
“Navy boy’s honor.” He crisply saluted her.
She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “Okay, then. I’m ready.” She began marching straight ahead like she was about to do battle.
He laughed.
“What?” she said, pivoting to look at him.
“You’re funny. This isn’t a dead man walking kind of thing, honest.”
Her mouth quirked like a Disney heroine, all innocent and wondering.
“Don’t make faces like that.”
“Like what?”
He waved his hand impatiently at her. “Like…like that. It makes you look naïve. I’m sure you’re stronger and smarter than that, Aphrodite.”
“What if I’m not? I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. Except when I’m…”
“Pretend. Now go.” He shooed her ahead.
She stood tall and proceeded.
At the end of the alley stood an old, red, phone booth, like something iconic out of a London street or a Harry Potter movie. Beyond the booth loomed an endless sea, barely visible in the darkening night sky. The swish of the waves could be heard layered over a tinny backdrop of distant carnival rocker tunes.
“Does this even work?” She cracked the creaky booth door and peeked inside.
“Last time I checked it did. You’re going to make a phone call.”
“To whom?”
“Your boyfriend.”
Her eyes grew flinty. “No way.”
“Way.”
“What will you be doing?”
A slow smile crept along his face. “Need to know.”
“What if I don’t like it?”
“You tell me. Don’t slap me, though. I hate being slapped.”
“So you’ve done this before? This whatever we’re doing?”
“Not this particular thing, no.”
“Do I have to…?”
“Enough questions, Aphrodite. Put the phone call on my card.” He retrieved it from his wallet and held it up to his face, squinting in the dim light. “Ready?”
“I don’t know, Adonis, this doesn’t seem like a good idea. He’ll know something’s up. What if he wonders why I’m calling him from a pay phone?”
“Don’t tell him. Tell him you’re calling from your hotel.”
“He’ll think he has to pay for the call. He’ll be pissed.”
“Jesus Christ, Aphrodite, you need some independence, girl! Fuck! I hate when women don’t own their power. Guys, we’re nothing but dumb fucks and you all give us the keys to your Queendom. And then you walk away and break our stupid hearts holding nothing but a worthless key.”
She studied him, something like alarm or extreme unease coloring her features.
“This is a bad idea,” he said. “You’re not ready for this. You’re not ready for me.” He ran a hand over his short-cropped, sun-bleached hair.
Her expression softened, as if she understood the pain in his heart. Then, it changed to something determined and fierce, like “challenge accepted.” She squared her shoulders and said, “I’m ready.”
A half smile formed on his face and he regarded her. “Nah. This is a mistake. You’re a lot of fun, but…”
Her mouth fell open. “That’s it? I have a moment of indecision and you decide to quit? I get to have time to make up my mind, too, you know. Maybe I have my own sense of timing.”
He let out a deep breath. “Okay, spitfire, if you’re sure.” He opened the phone booth door wide. “Enter Satan’s den.”
She smirked at him and said, “Its Aphrodite’s Pleasure Palace, sir. Puh-lease.”
He inclined his head. “Good girl. Much better idea.”
She picked up the black receiver, connected with a snaky metal cord to the phone base. Then, she presumably punched in the number to her boyfriend, entering Zack’s credit card number as he supplied it. “What if he’s not here?” she whispered. Her fingers shook as she strangled the phone.
“We make up a new game.” He placed his hands on either side of the door, looming over her petite frame.
“Hey, Justin, it’s me.” She sat down on the tiny corner seat, glaring into the phone.
Zack used her distraction to unzip his gym bag and make ready his intended plaything.
“It’s the hotel phone,” she griped. “My phone’s dead. No, you don’t have to pay for it, I used my money.”
Keeping his back to Aphrodite, he pulled out a dildo, purchased for pleasure with Stephanie, fuck her very much and not in the way I wanted to, opened a condom with his teeth and rolled it on the dildo. May as well get some good use out of it. Next he retrieved some lube product called Silky Stuff, and poured a generous dollop over the sex toy. He moved it behind his back as he turned to face Aphrodite.
“I’ve been wandering around by myself, what do you think?” she said to Justin. She glanced up at Zack and cocked her head, trying to peer behind his back, making a puzzled face. “Where’d I get the money?” she huffed, eyeing Zack. “That’s a need to know basis.” She grinned. Then, her face fell. “No, I didn’t steal it from you, jackass. And no, I didn’t use your debit card. Fuck you. Go ahead and check.”
Zack guided her to standing, turning her so she faced the phone console.
She worked her humongous bag into place on the small seat, shoving the contents into some semblance of balance.
She still wore her bikini bottoms, a low cut, loose-fitting, yellow tank top over a bikini bra, and pink flip flops. Easy access. He crouched to run his palm along her heavenly leg, guiding her into a wider stance, sniffing her delectable sex. The lube on the dildo dripped onto his other hand. He brought it around and wiped some onto his fingers, gliding up and down her leg.
She yelped into the phone at the touch of cold lube. “What? I saw something out the window. It surprised me.”
Zack unfolded his body, moving his hands under her loose-fitting tank top to stroke her belly.
She leaned into him, pressing her shoulder blades against his chest. “Wait. No, Justin, don’t hang up. I…I…I miss you. I wish you were here. I’m lonely. Talk to me.”
Zack’s hand pushed under her bikini top. Finding it difficult to get proper access, he fumbled with the clasp in the back, managing to unhook it with one hand. Much better, he thought, feeling the weight of her plump breasts hang in his palm like swollen, succulent fruit.
Aphrodite started to let out a moan but stopped herself. “What am I doing? I’m, uh, thinking of you and getting all turned on. Of course, I’m serious.”
Zack tweaked her nipples, rocking his hips into her rump, keeping her sandwiched between his exploring hand and his throbbing need. He let his hand drop to the crease between her legs, hungrily pushing aside her bikini to find her sweet silky gateway. “Damn, you’re wet,” he whispered into her ear. “And I’m locked and loaded.”
“Jesus,” she breathed. “What? You must have heard the TV. I don’t know what’s on, I’m paying attention to you.”
A snuffling sound caught his attention and he turned his head to see a mongrel rooting around in his bag. He tried to shove it away with his foot, thinking beat it. Scram!
The dog lunged away, eyed his bag, looked at him and crept toward the gym bag.
You can’t have my sandwich, mutt. Not wanting to release Aphrodite, he kicked at the dog like a mule.
The mangy canine let out a yip and a whine and trotted away.
“Some dog show, I don’t know. No, I don’t want to turn it down. I’d have to get up and I don’t feel like it. You always do what you feel like. Maybe sometimes I want to, too. I’m not at your beck and call all the time.”
Zack got back to his lusty ministrations after scooting the carryall closer with his foot. He stroked her luscious lower lips, fingering her, exploring, growing harder by the second. So fucking hot.
She pressed against him, saying nothing into the phone. “What? Yeah, I’m still here. I miss you, I told you. I was just feeling…I got sad and quiet thinking of you.”
Zack pushed a couple fingers inside her, still rocking his rigid heat against her ass. “I could come in a second, Aphrodite,” he whispered. “One hot second and I’m…”
“Shhh,” she said into the phone. She reached her free hand around to the front of his shorts. “I was saying ‘shhh, Justin, I don’t want to hear about your race.’ What, are you deaf to me now? You no longer care about my preferences? Wait—you never did, I forgot.”
He swiftly pulled down his shorts to give her access, barely acknowledging his bare ass revealed for any to see. Who comes down this alleyway at night?
She wrapped her hand around him, making him want to groan. He grabbed his lower lip between his teeth instead, biting hard enough to draw blood. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He withdrew his hand from her core and brought it to his mouth, sucking ardently, savoring her musky scent mixed with his own blood. So fucking hot.
Releasing his fingers, he brought the dildo into position with one hand, the other gently cupped under her chin, urging her head against his shoulder to prevent her from looking down. Her feathery soft hair brushed against his bare chest.
She gave a quick inhale and seized her lip between her teeth same as he’d done. “No. Don’t bother coming down here. You already made your decision to do a short track race. I hope it was worth it.” She ground the last sentence home.
Saucy little spitfire. Zack’s tongue slipped between his teeth in concentration as he guided the tip of the dildo inside her core, slowly sliding. It wasn’t as big as him but it served as good preparation should the occasion arise. He used his thumb to circle her clit. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her sexy lips part and her breath emerge in slow pants. Ha, ha, got her.
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m talking to you.”
The tromp, tromp, tromp of unsteady footsteps sounded behind him. Shit. He reached behind him to close the door as best he could, creating a mash up of bodies inside the cramped booth, his gym bag smashed in the doorway, half in, half out. For fuck’s sake. Both he and Aphrodite held still.
“Hey,” a slurred voice said. The intruder rapped on one of the small rectangular windows. “Hey, got a light?”
The pair stayed silent as boozy flumes of the man’s breath puffed into their small chamber.
The obviously drunk intruder became belligerent. “Hey! All I need is a light! What are you doing in there? Give me a light!” He began to pry the door open.
Not wanting to release the pleasure toy or the beautiful babe in his grip, Zack gritted his teeth and let his hand drop as he reached through the crack in the door, groping for the man’s nuts. He found a squishy wad of something covered in fabric and squeezed hard with his weight-trained grip.
The man shrieked, racing away, cursing.
“Oh my God, this awful movie just came on!” Aphrodite said, with exaggerated emphasis.
Hoping for no more interruptions, Zack decided to get this show on the road before anyone else tried to bother them. He slid her bottoms lower on her legs with his free hand, gliding the dildo in and out of her tight pussy with his other hand. Then he got busy fingering her clit. Sweet Jesus. She’s so hot.
Needing more lube, he spit into his hand, coated his erection, and slid it up and down the crack of her ass. His body tensed, an oncoming climax rolling through him like an out of control train. He plunged the dildo in and out of Aphrodite, keeping steady pressure on her juicy clit. Thoughts of Stephanie’s betrayal romped through his head like angry jackals, circling for a feast. You never gave me a chance to weigh in on my baby.
Aphrodite tried not to move as she spoke to Justin. He knew she was inches away from O. His goddamned thoughts of Stephanie kept interfering. His movements became frenetic, as he plunged the latex toy in and out of Aphrodite’s sex, gliding up and down her ass with his stiff dick, trying to rid himself of his demons.
“Oh, God, Justin, I’ve got to go. I’m going to cry. I, uh…I miss you. I…I’ll…I’ll call you. I’ll call…” Aphrodite slammed the receiver onto the silver metallic holder. “Adonis,” she cried out. “I’m about to…I’m…”
“Tell me,” he yelled. “Why did you destroy my child?”
She jerked in his grasp. “I…I…this is me, Aphrodite. I’m not the one who hurt you.” Her words were frantic, clipped, forced, caught between her bliss and his torment.
“Tell me. Tell me why,” he roared. “I was buried in a tin can at sea.” His voice emerged in an indistinguishable, anguished growl like someone else took over the controls of his vocal cords. Tears pricked his eyes. I would have been a good dad. I would have been a great dad.
“I…I didn’t know it would hurt you so bad,” Aphrodite called out. “I got scared, thinking I’d have to raise a child by myself.”
He shook his head free of the remnants of his outburst, wondering if he lost a few screws between here and Los Angeles, where Stephanie lived. “Shhh, Aphrodite, shhh. I’m sorry. Lost my mind for a moment.” He focused on the goddess before him, stroking her clit more gently.
She let out a long, sexy moan that felt like she drove a hot spike into his libido.
Zack’s movements became more insistent. Another growl shot from his throat, laced with animalistic pleasure.
A strangled noise ripped from her throat. “Oh, God, oh, mercy…” She panted, clearly in the throes of ecstatic release. “I…I’d never…” She panted. “…hurt you like that, Adonis. Never.” She pushed against his caresses and let out a wild moan, as if her cells were being rearranged.
The sound shoved him over the edge. Roaring with pleasure, he came over her back, her ass, her thighs, while his hand rocked the play toy in and out of her body. Tears of betrayal or maybe joy—he honestly couldn’t tell—slipped unbidden from his eyes.
The goddess in my arms would never hurt me like that, he repeated, both skeptical and hopeful. Gently sliding the sex toy free, he pulled Aphrodite close to his chest, wrapping his free arm around her in a tight embrace. “Don’t say anything. Not a word. No questions. I’ve, uh…I’ve been having a rough time.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “No questions.” She fell silent in his arms, one of her small hands curling around his forearm in a gesture so soft and tender he wondered if he’d crack in two.
After what felt like a forever moment, he pried away from her. “Hold on. Don’t move.” He used his shirttail to wipe away his fluids, spitting on his hand to get the places where it had dried. When he’d finished, he pulled up his shorts and buttoned his shirt to cover the dried semen on his abdomen.
“Justin’s going to wonder. He’s going to be suspicious,” Aphrodite said, clasping her bikini bra.
“Maybe. Maybe he deserves whatever’s coming to him. I don’t like that guy. I’d never abandon my girl alone in a strange city with no money of her own.” He kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering on her soft hair, the same way he’d kissed it in the ladies room this afternoon. Then, he backed out of the phone booth.
As he unrolled the condom from the dildo, she said, “Where’d you get that?”
“At a sex shop, where else?”
“I’ve never…Why’d you use that instead of…?”
He could barely see in the dim light but it looked like her face turned crimson red. Why do you think I didn’t want to insert my dick into you? Do you think I’m a serial unwanted child producer? He grimaced and shook his head.
&nb
sp; She turned away from him and nodded.
Stephanie apparently got pregnant via a broken condom. A new thought forced its way into his brain. Maybe she did what I’m doing while I was trapped at sea. Suspicion brewed in his mind.
“Do you…do you maybe want to get something to eat?”
Aphrodite’s words broke through the stronghold of suspicious conjecture about to pull him under. “I…” I probably wiped out my meager account with your phone call. “I’ve got a sandwich. But thanks.” He pushed her oversized purse thing up on the shelf, retrieving a few items which had fallen out. Then, he picked up his gym bag and deposited the dildo on top of his t-shirts and Navy uniform. Maybe it will make my shirt smell like her pussy.
“I’ll buy. I have Justin’s debit card. Well, it’s my debit card but it’s on his account. He allotted funds for food.”
He took both her shoulders in his hands and looked into her smoky dark eyes, faintly lit by a streetlight winking on and off a few yards away. “Tell me you’ll stop being dependent on him.”
“I will. I’m still in college, but I’ll find a way.”
“Good girl.” He chucked her chin with his thumb and finger. Straightening, he buttoned his shirt and made himself look somewhat presentable. He reached for the gym bag, zipping it, slinging it over his shoulder.
“Dinner?”
“Nah, I’ve got to be somewhere,” he lied. All his weekend plans had been shot to hell, actually. I’m supposed to be at Stephanie’s.
Her face fell into sorrow and some sort of anxiety. “Look, you don’t owe me anything but let me buy you dinner. I don’t want to be alone in this town. Not at dark.”
His shoulders rose and fell in a deep sigh. “Does he check receipts?”
“Yes, but I’ll tell him I lost it. I’m already in so much trouble, what’s a little more.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, considering. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I could use a good meal. Save my sandwich for the morning. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. Sandwich, remember?” He patted the side of his gym bag.
“Please, Adonis. Please. I don’t want to be alone.” She practically whispered the last part.
“Okay, but let’s get something cheap, like tacos. No sense raising alarm bells.”
Field Stripped: 15 Steamy Military Romances Page 134
