by Scott Wylder
“Hello? Tavia? I’m at work. You’ll have to speak up, ‘k?” The music continued.
Speaking as loud as she dared, Tavia asked, “Pepper, should I wait for Jensen or try for Daric now? I don’t wanna be waiting in the wings forever and I don’t wanna miss out on Daric, either. Do you know if Jensen has plans for us or not; if you do tell me now, or I’m going to go for Daric.”
“Wow! You’ve put a lot of time and effort into Jensen to just forget about him now, haven’t you? I mean, we all thought you were making your play for Jensen—a future with him. We just thought you were taking it slow. Is that not what you were doing all this time?” Pepper was yelling and when there was a two second lag in music as the song changed, she seemed even louder.
Holding the phone away from her ear a few inches, Tavia listened and debated. Is that what she’d been doing all this time with Jensen? When she thought about all of it, she wasn’t sure what she’d been doing, or what she’d been thinking. “I don’t know, Pepper. Has he said anything about us?”
“I’m sorry, Tav. He’s not mentioned anything to me. I’m going to have to go soon.”
“I know. So, any advice?” Tavia used her free hand and cupped it around her mouth, directing her voice into the phone.
“You’re not in a relationship with Jensen, Tav. You’re definitely not married to him or anyone else—enjoy the hell outta yourself, is my advice. We were all too busy with school and careers to have too much fun until recently. Live it up; be careful; don’t expect much from anyone but yourself—and go easy on yourself. You’re allowed that much. I gotta go now, Tav.”
“Thank you, Pepper. Bye.” She disconnected and checked her messages again.
Still nothing from Jensen.
Sighing, she put the phone back in her pocket. Sitting on the sofa, she looked around the apartment from her point of view. Imagining herself in that setting five years in the future, Tavia could see herself being comfortable, untroubled by the secrecy, and she and Daric being a couple, but loosely and without jealousy.
Whether or not that would be true, she had no way of knowing, but it did help put her mind at ease. She had no desire to be owned by a man in real life—only in their sex role playing. She thought Jensen wouldn’t understand that.
Daric would understand that. He had already proven that much.
Chapter 7
The water shut off in the shower and Tavia quickly turned on the television, not wanting Daric to know she’d been sitting there the whole time just thinking about things. He might decide she was taking things too seriously and ask her to leave. Then again, he might think that she was bothered by what had transpired between them and…ask her to leave. Better for him to see her searching for a movie or show to watch.
“Are you all right, Tavia?” Daric spoke from the bedroom doorway.
“Yeah. I’m just looking for something halfway interesting to watch while we wait on the food.” She only glanced back at him and then turned her full attention back to the television.
He paced to the kitchen and the fridge opened. She heard glass bottles clink and knew he was bringing another beer.
“Here. I’d say the last ones got too warm to drink sitting in here all that time.” He handed her one and sat on the sofa toward the other end instead of on the cushion beside her as he’d done earlier.
“Thanks. Probably not good now, no.” She tilted the cold beer toward the other two sitting on the coffee table and then took a long swig.
“The food should be here in a few minutes. Are we gonna watch TV while we eat or are we going to eat in the kitchen, at the table?” He leaned his head in the direction of the kitchen, smiling.
“What? You mean like adults and stuff?”
“Absolutely what I mean.” He chugged a good draught of beer.
“Then, absolutely…not. I won’t make a mess in here and I can see the TV better from here. Kinda hard to see it through the wall, there, Kimo Sabe.” She winked and made a clicking sound with her tongue.
Laughing, he nodded. “All right then. Teen night, it is, I guess.”
“Do you take your meals at the table at home?” She made her eyes wide, imitating shock.
“Of course.” He turned to her and said, “When I’m eating dinner at my mom’s house.”
Tavia laughed loudly and put her hand over her mouth to stifle it. “Me too.”
The laughter died down and Tavia settled on a horror movie that was running the opening credits. “Ah, we’ll get to see this one all the way through! Do you like horror movies?” It was almost an afterthought; she fully intended to leave the television on the cult horror classic no matter what he said.
“Horror’s fine by me; but I wouldn’t have thought of it as your genre of choice.”
“You haven’t the foggiest idea! I’m a horror buff, Daric. I’m a horror geek. I love horror anything! Everything else is so boring, bland, tasteless, blah!” She chuckled. If she allowed it, she would be off on a tangent about all the horror stuff she’d been involved with over the years and bore poor Daric to death. She bit down on her lip to keep from talking more about her secret passion—horror!
“Whoa! I think that’s the most passionate I’ve seen you all evening.” Feigning a wounded look, he said, “I’m hurt and a little jealous. I’ve been far outdone by a genre.”
Laughing easily as if they’d known each other for years instead of hours, Daric and Tavia exchanged playful banter for another couple of minutes before falling into a natural silence as the movie started in earnest.
Tavia pulled her feet up onto the couch and tucked them to the side of her, sitting in her normal, comfortable position. As she let the movie take her away for a few minutes, she actually forgot that she was in a man’s secretive apartment, and she barely knew him. That should have made her uneasy, she supposed, but she was perfectly comfortable with Daric.
Maybe it was what they had shared since coming to the apartment that made her feel easy around him; maybe it was something else all together. There were days when she believed in destiny; there were also days when she believed in nothing at all. Today, however was a day that she happened to believe in destiny—so maybe she was easy in his company because it was her destiny to be with him for longer than the night.
Rubbing her temples, Tavia pushed such thoughts away, not wanting to get side-tracked into rushing the expectation of a relationship after one night. He might never contact her again. She might not want him to contact her after one night. Separation had a certain effect on her feelings—when she was with a man, she was sure that she loved him and wanted him forever; when they were apart for a few days, she was sure that she’d had a brain fart and that she didn’t really want him around forever.
Fifteen minutes into the movie, and just when Tavia was starting to really relax into the storyline of the movie, someone knocked on the door.
Daric shot up off the couch so suddenly that Tavia gasped in surprise. He held a quieting hand out toward her and never took his eyes from the door. As he edged closer to the door, he tilted a lamp that sat squarely in the center of a wooden table to the right of the door and pulled a handgun from a hidden cubby there.
Tavia’s heart skipped and then started hammering against her ribs as she eyed the gun. She wasn’t afraid of guns, but this one, appearing so suddenly and without more provocation than a knock at the door when they were expecting a food delivery, scared her to her core. What the hell was Daric involved with that would warrant his having a hidden gun that he saw fit to carry to the door every time someone knocked?
The knock sounded again and Daric cocked the gun quickly. Standing to the hinge side of the door, he asked, “What?”
“Your order, Mr. Miles.” The voice was that of a man who sounded as if he could have been the biblical Noah’s grandson for his age.
Sighing, visibly relieved, Daric said, “Thank you, George. Just leave it there. I’ll get it in a minute; I’m not decent right now.” Daric didn’t safety
the gun and put it away. Instead he waited for the mumbled reply that Tavia couldn’t understand, and then he used the peephole in the door.
Tavia’s stomach tied into knots as she watched Daric’s actions. Was he paranoid without cause? Was there a threat against him that she didn’t know about? And, again, what the hell could he be involved with that would require such paranoid actions?
A nervous sweat popped out of her pores and made the shower seem as if it had been a week ago instead of a few minutes ago. Her heart hammered faster as she contemplated the possibilities of things he could be into.
After what seemed an eternity, he opened the door, pulled the cart inside, and shut the door. Checking that the food was okay—or perhaps he was checking for bombs—Daric rolled the cart behind the sofa and handed Tavia a tray that held her dinner plate, dessert, and drink.
Accepting it with shaking hands, Tavia found that she couldn’t speak and so she nodded thanks to Daric.
He put the gun back in the hidden cubby under the lamp and then came back for his own tray. Sitting to eat as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Daric immediately began eating and got back into the movie.
Tavia’s appetite had dwindled significantly thought she’d definitely worked up an appetite.
Chapter 8
If Daric wanted Tavia to know anything about his personal business, he didn’t show it. She dared not ask, either. The less she knew, the better off she’d be in the long run. So she hoped, anyway. There was an undeniably sexy aspect to the element of danger and mystery. Though she’d been terrified for a few moments after he grabbed the gun, she was excited afterward. Telling him that wouldn’t happen, though. Most likely, he wouldn’t understand that and she didn’t know how to explain it.
Several minutes after he’d started silently eating and watching the movie, Daric spoke and took Tavia by complete surprise. “So, who’d you call earlier? Was it the non-boyfriend Jensen?” He never looked at her; just kept eating and watching television.
“Um. No, it wasn’t Jensen.” What right did he have to question who she’d called? She hadn’t put him through the Inquisition about his call.
“Mm. Who was it, then?” He took a deep swig of beer and still avoided looking at her.
“A friend. Why? Is there a problem with me calling someone now?” Becoming uncomfortable, she put her feet back on the floor and set her tray on the coffee table.
“Not at all. I was just wondering if I was supposed to give you permission to do that. If so, I didn’t and that means you get punished for it.” He grinned over at her and she saw the lust in his eyes again.
Immediately the sight of his lust lit the coals of desire deep in her body. “Oh! You like my little game, do you?” She purred and scooted forward onto the edge of her seat, eyeing him with a playful grin on her face.
“Game? It’s just a game? I thought you were my slave and had to obey my every command.” His expression was straight and sober as he looked her up and down.
Was he playing? Was he serious? Did he know she was confused? He had to be playing. Had to be.
“Ooh. Okay, I see how you’re wanting to play this. That’s fine with me. I like it realistic.” She stood and pulled off her shirt, letting it fall onto the couch where she’d been sitting. She hoped like hell that he was playing the game and that he hadn’t had some sort of mental break.
“Did I tell you to undress?” He eyed her levelly.
Shaking her head, she answered, “No, you didn’t. I’m sorry.” Looking demure and covering her bare breasts with her arms, she lowered her gaze, getting into game mode and getting more turned on by the second.
Daric was turning out to be the best role player she’d dealt with in a very long time. Most men would have already broken character to inform her that it was indeed just a game and for her to please play along. Not Daric. That tiny little element of mystery and the other not-so-tiny element of fear—he definitely had a knack for how to mix them into the perfect blend with the sexy pains he would inflict at just the right moments to make her want to orgasm and which made her climaxes the most pleasurable and the most uncontrollable that she’d ever had.
Pushing his tray away from him, he looked at her and gave her the come hither gesture. He patted his thigh and she turned to sit on his leg. He pushed her away.
“I think you should take off your pants and then bend over my knee. You’ve been bad and need your punishment.”
As she pushed her pants down, Daric reached out and took both breasts in his hands and squeezed them deliciously and tweaked their nipples until Tavia moaned. Standing, she pressed her breasts toward his hands again, wanting more.
“Oh, you’ve forgotten your place again. That’s another bit of punishment, slave.” He abruptly removed his hands from her breasts and extended his leg. “Over you go, now.” He patted his thigh again.
Tavia let her breasts fall between his thighs as she leaned over his leg. He moaned and ran his hand from her neck to her ass gently.
“You misbehave so nicely that it almost seems a shame to punish you. But, if I’m to be a good master and teach you, then I must discipline you when you need it.” He gripped her ass cheek and squeezed it hard. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.” Without a doubt, she loved the feel of his hand on her bare skin.
He withdrew his hand and slapped her ass hard enough to really burn.
Tavia bit back the squeal and tightened in anticipation of the following licks.
Four more skin burning licks and he had finished.
“Now that your discipline is over, go to the bedroom and wait on me by the bed.”
Without a word, she stood and walked, her ass burning delightfully from his hand. She waited in the dark, by the bed as commanded. Daric was behind her within seconds.
“I think you’ve learned your lesson. Now, I’m going to show you pleasures that you’ve never known. Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” Her answer was breathy, wanton, needy.
“Good. I always want you to believe me.” Something in his tone implied that he actually meant that.
Tavia wondered what he had meant by always as he stepped up behind her, pressing his nakedness against hers.
Two hours later, Tavia lay on the bed so exhausted that the thought of getting up just to go pee made her want to sob.
Daric hadn’t lied when he promised pleasures she’d never experienced. Her opinion of him as a rookie at the master/slave role play changed drastically. He was no rookie at anything when it came to sex.
Chapter 9
After recovering for almost a half-hour, they both agreed that they needed to shower before falling asleep. Together, they showered, soaping each other gently and in silence until they were clean again. Barely taking time to towel dry, they both headed for the bed in the next room, bleary-eyed, mentally, and physically worn out.
Tavia tried to remain awake until she was certain Daric was asleep, but she began dozing fitfully only a minute after laying her head on the pillow. Daric pulled the cover up and over her arm and shoulder, snugged up to her back, and rested his arm over her waist. That’s all it took for her to start dozing.
His arm over her and his strength, heat, and the way his body fitted perfectly against hers gave her a sense of security like none she’d ever experienced and she fell asleep fast.
The next morning, she awoke to Daric tracing his index finger along the bridge of her nose. Opening her eyes, momentarily startled, she saw that he was propped on one arm, looking down at her, mischief written in his expression.
“What’s that look for? What did you do while I was unconscious? Did you take advantage of me, sir?” She giggled playfully.
“Not at all.” He traced the bridge of her nose again, lightly and gently. “Your nose is so perfect, just like the rest of you, Tavia.” The look in his eyes softened.
“Thank you but I find nothing perfect about me at all.” She longed to tell him how gorgeous and sexy he was, but fea
red he’d think she was just saying it because of his compliment.
“That’s only because you’re a silly little female, you know.” He grinned wickedly again.
“Really? Did you say that because you’re a male chauvinist pig?” She grinned and giggled.
“That’s exactly why I said it.” His finger traced her brow to her temple and down to her ear.
Tavia wanted the moment to last forever. She’d never been one for the cuddly-cuddly after a night of sex, but she found it was desirable with Daric. What was different about him? She couldn’t put her finger on it. She’d been with other men who were equally as sexy and just as gorgeous as Daric, but everything about him seemed to have a mysterious or dangerous facet that remained hidden from plain sight.
It was this hidden thing that made him so attractive to her, she was sure of it. She definitely wanted them to be together long enough for her to find out what it was about him that so intrigued her.
She closed her eyes and let him caress her, reveling in his attentions. Her bladder was strongly objecting, but she was determined to let him caress her until he stopped of his own accord.
He said, “Did I mention that you’re perfect?”
Not opening her eyes, she smiled broadly and replied, “Why, yes, you did mention something about it, I believe, but my memory isn’t what it used to be so I’m not really sure exactly what you said. Could you repeat it?”
Chuckling lightly, he tweaked her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I said you’re perfect and even your nose is perfect.”
“Mmm. Is that all?” She snuggled closer to him under the covers.
“I said you’re perfect and apparently you didn’t hear the but.”
Her eyes flew open. “There was a but? But what? You know that when you compliment someone and end it with the word but that it automatically nullifies everything before that word, right?”
Shrugging, he said, “Yes, but I can’t help it. There was a but and I’ll tell you what was after it, if you want to know. You know you do want to know—all women want to know what is after that but.”
