“I have several options for you in the dressing room.” She motioned to a hall about fifty yards away. “Let’s see if any work, and we’ll go from there?”
I nodded again, almost dreading the walk.
“Great. This way, please.” She stopped at the hallway’s entrance. “I’ll leave you here. Yours is the last one on the right. Ring if you need anything.”
When I opened my dressing room door, Mark was there.
Waiting, beside the only chair in the space.
“Don’t speak.” His voice was low under his breath. “Step forward and shut the door.” He was standing with his arms folded over his chest.
My stomach dropped. I was in trouble. I could see it in his eyes.
My soaking cunt tingled.
“I said step forward. And shut the door.” When I did, he pointed to the floor in front of the chair. “Kneel. Facing the mirrors.”
I did my best to mask my hobbling.
Once down, I peeked at Mark through the center of our triptych reflection. Feeling my desire hammering from my chest, quaking my every bone. I was dripping all over my new panties, and my ass was so tired I almost couldn’t breathe.
“I didn’t say you could look at me.”
I dropped my eyes to the carpet.
“Do you remember what I put on the line to be with you?” Mark walked forward, between my heels and the silver velvet chair behind me. “I asked you a question.” He sat down.
The memory constricted my throat.
After I lost Frank, I couldn’t fathom going back to my college teaching job. The idea of so many students gawking at me with this massive slash on my face was unbearable. But the idea of staying inside, in the home Frank and I built, without Frank there anymore, was even more unbearable. I needed something to busy my hands, that got me outside and didn’t require too much of me mentally. I took a job in construction, helping to rehabilitate and landscape some of the parks in Manhattan, thinking no one there would bother me or care about my face. One day, however, Mark, one of the investors in the project, walked across the site just to talk to me. He introduced himself and said, “I don’t normally do this, but I feel like I need to know you, and I’ve decided I would like to get to know you . . . Will you have dinner with me?” At the end of that date, he told me he’d wondered about me every day since the first morning he saw me, that he’d watched me during his on-site visits for years.
“Of course I remember,” I whispered.
“Am I the type of person who would risk losing my success, ruining my reputation, if my attraction to you wasn’t real?” Mark tilted forward, reached around my waistband, and opened my jeans.
“Of course not.”
“Could I even be attracted to you, if I didn’t find you beautiful?” He slid his fingers inside my new panties, stopping when he’d found my clit. “I’m waiting.”
“No . . . ” I noticed my voice had gotten small.
“That’s right. The answer is no.” He curled his other hand around the base of the plug in my ass, pushing it in deeper, like he wanted me to moan.
So I did. Because it hurt, but I liked it, and even though he’d caught me by surprise with all of this, I liked that too.
“Look at me in the mirror.”
I wanted to keep staring at the floor, but I knew better. I couldn’t take anything more anywhere in my body. I could barely take what he was doing already.
“I need you to see what I see.” Mark increased his pressure on my clit, going faster and harder, the way that always made me come. He took his other hand off the plug and used it to turn my chin toward our reflection, bringing my scar into the light. “I said look at the mirror. I need you to see how lucky you are to be mine.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes and I didn’t want to be crying, but I gave in. I didn’t understand how I could feel so many sensations at once. When Mark said the word “lucky,” I couldn’t help flashing back to the weeks after the accident. Frank had died before I’d woken up from my coma; I had this permanent gash on my face, and every doctor around me was saying, “You’re so lucky the windshield missed your eye.” “You’re lucky you were wearing your seat belt.” “You’re so lucky,” over and over.
A tear crept forth, sliding down my cheek. I didn’t feel lucky whatsoever, until Mark came over to me that afternoon and asked me to dinner.
I couldn’t comprehend how I could orgasm inside Barneys in that moment. In so many ways I was still heartbroken about so many things. All I could see was how raw my wounds had remained, but something about the look in Mark’s eyes made me feel safe. The safest I had in years. Maybe ever. And with his arms around me, when he whispered in my ear, “Come for me, baby. Let go . . . ” I couldn’t resist.
I closed my eyes and let out a noise I’d been striving to swallow for more than a decade.
Mark moved his hand over my mouth to hold it for me. Protecting me, until it passed.
Then he lowered his palm to my chest, calming me.
“It set my teeth on edge when you joked last night about how you used to be pretty, implying that you aren’t anymore.” He studied my reflection, unleashing a burdened sigh of his own. “I can’t be with you, Diana, if you continually refuse to see what I see . . . ” He zeroed in on my softening eyes. “If you ever discount your beauty again, I will leave.”
“I don’t want that,” I whispered.
“I don’t either.” Mark brushed the side of my cheek, wiping my tears. He slowly stroked his last finger over my scar, as if it hurt him more than it hurt me. “But I mean it.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my weight into him, nodding, listening to his ragged heartbeat, howling in tandem with mine.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Calliope Bloom
It was a clear, starry Halloween night, and when Sophia opened the door to her apartment, her Maid Marian costume made my breath catch in my throat. She was wearing a pale silver-green dress in a shimmery fabric that clung to her hips, with a deep plunging neckline and a tight bodice that pushed up her small breasts. She and I had gone out together every Halloween since we were in college, and over the years, I had watched her go home at the end of the night with a succession of men—sometimes boyfriends, sometimes one-night stands. But I always secretly wished she would come home with me. Tonight, I wished more than ever that I had the nerve to tell her how I felt.
“Hey you,” she said affectionately, giving me a quick hug. I could smell the citrus of her shampoo as her long dark hair brushed my cheek. She sized up my costume and laughed. “Nice. You make a cute unicorn.” I was wearing pink short-shorts with a fuzzy tail pinned on, a pink camisole, pink high-top Chucks, retro leg warmers, and a headband with a sparkly unicorn horn and pink ears. It was the most pink I’d ever worn. I stepped into Sophia’s living room, took off my jacket, and leaned my cane against the wall.
“I figured I’d give in to the stereotype,” I said. “Most of the people I meet on dating apps seem to be looking for a unicorn—a bi woman who’ll sleep with straight couples, basically as a novelty for them. It’s so original when you encounter it for the millionth time.” I rolled my eyes.
“Ugh,” she said. “I haven’t been there, but I sympathize. You want to sit down? Kai’s almost ready.” I sat down on her couch and tried not to let my eyes stray to her cleavage, which was now directly in my line of sight. I don’t want to objectify my friend, I thought to myself sternly. But I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about unlacing her bodice, then kissing my way down her throat to her breasts. I had never wanted to jeopardize our friendship. I tried to keep reminding myself of that.
I fixed my eyes instead on the Art Nouveau poster on her wall. I said, “And then if I click enough with someone to go on a first date, they see me walk up with a cane and get so weird about it, as if they just saw me grow a third eye but are trying really hard not to mention it.”
Sophia shook her head and frowned. She sat down on the couch next to me and bent to put on
her boots. “A lot of people are idiots,” she said. “I’m sorry, Angie.”
Her boyfriend, Kai, came down the hallway from the bathroom, drying his curly black hair with a towel. Kai had a lean, muscular build and deep-brown eyes that were almost black. He made Sophia laugh and he respected her, but I was still a little wary—he struck me as someone who was too accustomed to getting everything he wanted.
“Hi there,” he said to me. He kissed Sophia lightly on the lips and laid his hand on her waist, and my chest ached imagining what that might feel like.
Kai was dressed as Robin Hood in a deep-green tunic, a short cloak, and dark jeans underneath. I had to admit, he looked rakishly handsome. He hung the towel over a chair and put on his shoes, then picked up a bow and quiver of arrows from the side table. “Ready?” he said, handing Sophia her jacket. “After you, fair maidens.” He gestured toward the door with a flourish.
We went to a party hosted by one of Sophia’s friends at a place near the harbor. But when we got there, the apartment was crowded shoulder-to-shoulder, the heat of so many bodies was stifling, and we couldn’t hear anyone well enough to talk over the music. We hadn’t been there for long when Sophia motioned furtively to me, took Kai by the elbow, and we ducked out early.
The three of us walked down to the pier and stood there looking out over the dark water. “What now?” Kai asked.
Sophia looked at me. She knew my legs ached if I walked too far. “What are you up for?” she asked. “An adventure?”
Sophia had always been the more adventurous of the two of us. In college, she sneaked into the pool to go skinny-dipping late one night. I was too afraid of getting in trouble to sneak in with her. But we weren’t college students anymore, hadn’t been for years. I looked at her in that dress and took a deep breath. “I’m up for anything,” I said.
Sophia smiled and pointed at a huge yacht moored farther down the pier. Light poured from its windows, silhouettes of people milled on the upper deck, and the heavy bass of music drifted from inside. “Let’s go check it out,” she said.
“A party this fancy must have a bouncer,” I said nervously as we strolled along the pier, trying to look casual. But as we came closer, we saw that the gangway leading from the pier to the boat’s deck was deserted.
Sophia nudged me with her elbow and whispered, “See?”
Down at the end of a shadowy dock a little distance away, I saw what looked like the bouncer, a broad-shouldered man in a white uniform, locked in a passionate kiss with a handsome Han Solo. They were fumbling to undo the buttons of each other’s pants.
“Now’s our chance,” Kai said. Sophia walked across the gangway confidently and Kai followed.
“I’m not sure about this,” I whispered.
“It’s up to you,” Sophia said softly as I stood on the edge of the pier.
She and I looked at each other silently for a long moment. The bouncer and Han Solo were still keeping each other busy. I squared my shoulders, held my head high like I belonged there, and walked across the gangway onto the boat.
We made our way along the deck to one of the doors leading into the spacious cabin. Inside, there was dance music playing. We blended in with groups of other party-goers in costume—other than the fact that everyone else’s costumes looked like they cost ten times as much as ours.
“We could rob from the rich and give to the poor,” Kai said with a grin, looking at the sparkling jewelry and expensive shoes of the party guests. “Take some of their food and give it to a good cause?”
“I think we’d get caught if we tried to take a whole platter of lobster canapés out of here,” I said quietly, glancing at the waiters in tuxes who were circulating with hors d’oeuvres.
Instead, Sophia led us down a red-carpeted hallway past laughing guests and carts full of fancy drinks. We passed a ballroom, the kitchen, and rounded a hallway lined with closed doors. For the moment, no one else was around. Sophia opened the biggest door and motioned us inside. It shut behind her heavily.
We had stumbled into what looked like a stateroom with plush carpets underfoot, huge mahogany tables, and red velvet couches and chaise lounges arrayed around the room. The walls were covered with nautical maps, and hanks of rope hung decoratively on hooks. No one else was here, all too busy on the dance floor or enjoying the drinks and food. Sophia hopped up to sit on one of the tables and smiled at me.
“Still nervous?” she said.
“A bit.” I was pacing with my cane and kept watching the door. Kai was leafing through an oversized atlas on a side table.
“When’s the last time you did something you were terrified to do?” she asked me.
“Besides right now? I don’t know.”
“I swear, it gets easier the more you do it. What’s something you want to do but have been too scared to?” When she motioned for me to come sit down next to her, I did.
“I don’t have anything like that,” I said.
“You sure?”
“Okay,” I said and took a deep breath. “I would want to kiss you.”
She looked surprised and I panicked. Now I’ve really fucked things up, I thought. I opened my mouth to try to walk back what I’d said, but she stopped me. “Well,” she said, “I would like that too.”
“Oh,” was all I could say. Sophia reached out her hand to take mine. Her hand was warm as she laced her fingers in between mine. My pulse quickening, I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. She kissed back, harder, and then her hands were in my hair, and I felt my body coursing with warmth as she pressed closer to me. With her tongue in my mouth, I stood up and put my hands around her waist, pressing her against the edge of the table. I wanted her so badly it made my chest ache.
We broke apart for a moment to catch our breath. “I want you,” I said quietly.
“I want you too, Angie,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed. “I—I’ve never had sex with a woman before.”
“Really?” I said. “I guess I thought you’d done everything.”
“No,” she laughed. “I’ve wanted to.” I remembered we weren’t alone and looked up nervously at Kai, who seemed totally unfazed by our passionate kissing. Sophia said, “Oh, it’s okay. We’re in an open relationship.” Kai smiled and gave an awkward half wave. “Is this too weird for you?” Sophia asked me.
“No,” I said. I didn’t care anymore about getting caught on this stupid boat. All I could think about was how good Sophia’s skin felt, how much I wanted to keep kissing her. I started slowly leaving a trail of kisses down her neck, biting her softly, and she sighed in pleasure.
She pulled my camisole over my head, knocking my unicorn headband off, and then her hands were on my breasts. I moaned into her neck. I kissed my way down to her cleavage, pulling her breasts free from her bodice to suck one of her nipples into my mouth. At the same time, she pinched my nipples hard and sent an electric current to my clit.
“God, that feels good,” I said. I kept sucking on her nipples as I ran my hands over her sheer stockings, her smooth calves, and up to her thighs. There her stockings ended, and I felt the lacy edge of her panties. “Can I touch you?” I whispered in her ear.
“Yes,” she said, “please, I want you to.”
I trailed my fingers lightly over the outside of her underwear. She closed her eyes and gasped as my fingers grazed her clit. I teased her a little, caressing with my fingers just along the edge of her pussy lips and the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. When she was starting to look desperate, I pulled her panties to the side and began rubbing my finger in slow circles against her clit. I dipped my fingers into the opening of her cunt, which was dripping wet, and Sophia grabbed my shoulder and made little panting gasps into my ear as I rubbed her clit faster and faster. Pulling her panties all the way down to her ankles, I used my left hand to slide two fingers into her, moving slowly in and out, my right hand still rubbing her clit. She started to shake and buck her hips against me. “Fuck,” she said. When she opened her eyes to loo
k at me, her face was contorted with pleasure. “Yes, right there.”
I smiled, getting wet from watching how much she was enjoying this. Kai came over and kissed the back of Sophia’s neck as I kept finger-fucking her. She leaned back to kiss him on the mouth. He cupped her breasts in his hands, tweaking her nipples between his thumb and forefinger.
As Sophia let out another moan, Kai and I smiled at each other like coconspirators. Sophia opened her eyes, looked at me, and said breathlessly, “I’m going to come.”
“Then come for me,” I said. She closed her eyes again as I fucked her deeper with my fingers and rubbed her clit faster and faster. She cried out, and I felt her muscles tense as she came. I kept moving my fingers in and out of her cunt, slower and slower, before running my fingers through her hair as she caught her breath.
“Come here,” she said. Sophia stood up and kissed me hard, turning me around. She pulled my shorts off and lifted me to sit on the edge of the table.
Kai stood behind her and rubbed her clit as she kissed my throat, my breasts, and down my stomach to the edge of my panties. Then she pulled down my underwear and kissed the strip of hair just above my clit. I shuddered with anticipation of what Sophia was going to do to me. I felt her warm breath on my cunt, and then her tongue was on my clit, lashing short, fast strokes that sent waves of pleasure through my body. “Oh, god,” I said.
I heard Kai unzip his jeans and unwrap a condom, then Sophia’s mouth pressed harder into me as he started fucking her from behind. She gave a muffled moan of pleasure as his cock slid into her, the sound reverberating against my clit. The harder he thrust, the harder her tongue pressed against my clit. I closed my eyes and leaned back on the table, losing myself in the sensation of Sophia eating my pussy while Kai pounded into her.
I was getting close to coming when the door to the stateroom burst open. The three of us froze and looked up to see a tall, short-haired woman in a white uniform with epaulets on her shoulders. The door swung shut behind her. “What the hell are you doing?” she said.
Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 4 Page 4
