by Kit Rocha
Did it matter, in the end, if she enjoyed it? "I liked it," she admitted. "I like imagining you doing things."
"Things like this?" His hand moved higher, and his thumb brushed the thin fabric covering her sex.
The touch set off a cascade of desire that left her trembling, and yet it was so gentle. Too gentle. "Worse things." It came out as a breathless whisper. "Bad things."
"Luscious things," he countered, turning her head toward Dallas's stage. "Watch them now."
Her breath escaped on a gasp as she watched Lex take Dallas between her lips, into her mouth—deeper. Noelle clutched at Jasper's arm, transfixed as Lex surged down again. "She's taking him into her throat?" She couldn't decide if the thought was terrifying or so hot she might combust.
"Swallowing him whole." The pressure of Jasper's thumb increased, but only for a moment. "Does it look like she's submitting?"
She parted her lips to say yes, but hesitated. There was too much power in Lex's posture, too much defiance. Even when a dark-haired man covered in tattoos slid behind her and began to ease up her dress, Lex looked entirely in control of both men, as if Dallas was putty in her hands and the man behind her was there only for her pleasure.
"No," she answered finally. "She's not submitting."
"No. She's in charge. She's the one who decides." He moved his hand then, lifting it to cup Noelle's breast through her thin dress. "Just like you."
Her nipple grew tight, pushing against his hand, and she wanted to feel his broad fingers against her skin. "What if I don't want to be in charge?"
"Then you get ink. Because once you submit to a man, really submit, he's not gonna want to let you go."
She wet her lips, suddenly uncertain. "But how do I keep from doing that before I'm supposed to?"
"You give pleasure, not yourself." He pulled the bodice of her dress lower, baring her breast.
Across the room, a redhead with a wicked smile stared at her. No, at her chest, his gaze starved as it traced the curve of her breast, the tight nipple, and she felt the first stirrings of power. Was this how Lex felt when Dallas gazed at her with naked hunger? This certainty that she was desired, coveted, and could grant or withhold her affections at her whim?
Maybe bestowing it would be enjoyable. Lex seemed to revel in tormenting Dallas with her tongue while the dark-haired man stroked his fingers between her thighs.
Noelle turned her face enough to speak against Jasper's jaw. "Do you want me to give pleasure to other men?"
"Your desire, Noelle," he reminded her. "Do you want to?"
"I don't know," she lied, because she didn't want him to encourage more fantasies. Her imagination was all too ready to conjure one involving the smiling redhead and Jasper and being held immobile as rough hands explored her body.
Jasper made a quiet noise and set her on her feet, rising behind her. "Back to the platform," he murmured.
"Why?" she asked, nerves rendering her clumsy, but he was already guiding her back to the raised platform where Dallas watched her approach with half-open eyes.
"Because you won't know if you like pleasuring other men until you do it." Jasper's voice dropped, and his lips brushed her ear. "Get your mouth on his dick this time."
An order. A command. No shame in obedience, no wondering if they'd find her dark urges repellent. The stage was low enough she could climb onto it without using the steps. It left her on her hands and knees, her dress riding up to flash her panties, and she twisted to peer at Jasper, more aware this time of the way she must look to the room. "Now?"
He reached out and slid his hand up Lex's spine. "Move over, greedy bitch."
Lex braced one arm on the couch beside Dallas and drew her tongue up the underside of his shaft. "Plenty of room." She brushed Noelle's cheek with her free hand. "You come back for another tutorial, honey?"
Pressing up to Lex also brought her closer to the tattooed stranger. He was familiar—maybe he'd been the one with Jasper in the market, had helped to rescue her.
He grinned at her and gave Lex's hip a swat that made Noelle's insides clench in envy. "Want me to knock off, Lex? Or are you so good you can teach a virgin to suck cock while you're riding my hand?"
"Ask our fearless leader here how good I am, Ace." She circled her hips slowly against the man's hand as she leaned over to lick Noelle's lower lip.
Lex made it easy to fall into. It felt good to kiss her, open mouthed, felt better to follow her back to where Dallas's erection—dick, she whispered to herself, cock—stood thick and glistening, harder than before. Shivering, Noelle parted her lips and traced the tip of her tongue up his shaft.
Dallas sank a hand into her hair, his fingers more gentle than commanding. "Come now, kitten. Lex didn't teach you to be so prissy."
No, Lex had lapped at him like a melting ice cream cone on a hot day. The image made Noelle laugh as she opened her mouth wider and swirled her tongue around the crown of his cock.
Jasper whispered her name, and she felt the careful brush of his hands pushing her skirt higher, up over her hips to her waist. Then he curled his fingers under the back of her panties and drew them down.
The whole room could see her. Jasper's bulk might block some people's field of vision, but others would see everything. Her bare ass. Her—her pussy. Just thinking the word felt wrong, even with one man's cock under her tongue and another man pushing her panties down her legs.
Her cheeks burned, but the rest of her burned so much hotter that she prayed Jasper would touch her and put her out of her aching, frustrated misery.
He eased her legs apart, as far as they would go with the restraint of ruffled lace still around her knees. His touch strayed close, so close, to her throbbing clit...and vanished.
Then his palm descended on her ass with the sharp, stinging crack of flesh on flesh.
She couldn't stop herself from squealing. The cry escaped her lips, and she tried to throw her head back, but Dallas's hand tightened, holding her in place as she panted and squirmed.
Jasper's handprint was burned into her skin, but somewhere inside her the sharp pain had twisted. She was twisted, a dirty, wicked girl who wanted this crude mistreatment, who craved it.
Maybe if he spanked her enough, he'd purge all the shame from her heart.
Dallas tugged at her hair, forcing her to look at him. His lazy gaze drifted over her features, and his lips twitched up in a smile. "Ah, Lexie my love. Your kitten's a bad girl. You'll have to make sure she doesn't get distracted from my cock."
"Dirty old man," she muttered, sliding her fingers into Noelle's hair. "Take him in your mouth, honey, and trust me. Yes?"
"Yes," she whispered, savoring Lex's touch. Different than the men's. Softer but more direct, as if she knew just what it took to blur pleasure into pain.
She probably did. She probably knew everything, all that Noelle wanted so badly to learn. So she parted her lips and let Lex guide her head down until Dallas's cock pushed into her mouth, hard and hot and deliciously demanding.
It was a good thing Lex was showing her what to do, because most of Noelle's attention was focused on Jasper, on waiting for him to touch her again. Please, please spank me...
But it was Lex's hand that drifted down her back and over her ass, her nails lightly scratching the reddened handprint Jasper had left behind. It sparked a squirming sort of pleasure, different from the fleeting pain of the slap.
Then she slipped her hand lower, over Noelle's swollen, wet pussy lips, and immediately pressed deeper. Searching.
Noelle moaned. Whimpered. Her hips shifted on their own, rocking desperately, and it was Dallas who groaned as his cock seemed to jump in her mouth. "Goddamn it, Lex," he growled. "I said keep her from getting distracted, not get her off."
"Oops." Lex moved her fingers, but only to spread Noelle's aching flesh wide. Opening her.
And then she whispered something that sounded like Jasper's name—a mere second before a beard grazed Noelle's upper thigh. A second before his ton
Her thighs trembled as he licked her, the sensation so sinful she couldn't concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing with her mouth. Every pulse in her body had centered on that one point, and she realized hazily that there must be more to pleasure than she'd ever known because this was what she'd always thought an orgasm felt like, but clearly, clearly there was more. Her body knew it. Strained for it.
Dallas hissed and jerked her head up with the hand still threaded through her hair. "Watch the teeth."
"Sorry, s-sorry—" How could the mortification make her hotter? "Let me try again, I won't—"
"Shh. Tell us the truth—have you ever come before?"
Were her cheeks as red as they felt? "I think so. Maybe."
Lex nuzzled the spot under her ear. "Maybe means no, honey. Definitely not."
Dallas reached down to rub his thumb over Lex's lower lip before doing the same to Noelle's. "You're gonna miss a hell of a show down there, Jas. Don't you want to see how big these eyes can get?"
Jasper locked his hands around her hips and lifted her off her knees. The world spun, and when she landed it was on her back, on the floor at Dallas's feet.
Only Jasper didn't slide down between her thighs again. Instead, he loomed over her, his gaze boring into hers. "I already know how big her eyes get."
He blocked out everything, became her entire world. Noelle raised a shaking hand to his shoulder, barely daring to touch him as she drowned in the darkness of his eyes. "Please. Show me what it feels like. I'm dying."
"Not dying. Waking up." He kissed her, warm and firm, his beard brushing her chin and his tongue on her lips. She wanted to press them tight together so he'd lick them forever, but at her first gasp he was there, edging into her mouth, and she opened for him with a small sound that took all the air she had.
Her dress was rucked up beyond her waist, and the back of his hand grazed her stomach as he glided his tongue over hers.
More. She tried to say it, but it came out muffled against his mouth, a hungry noise that would have to be enough. No one had stopped her from touching him, so she slid her fingers down his arm until she encountered skin and edged one fingertip under his sleeve.
His muscles tensed, turning to steel under her touch, but his hand was gentle between her thighs as he explored, tracing the shape of her pussy, fold by fold, before delving deeper.
If her panties hadn't been tangled around her knees, she would have spread her legs like a true harlot, anything to encourage him. She needed it so hard she spoke, whispering her plea against his lips. "I'm so empty I ache."
He caught her lower lip between his teeth, caressing it with the tip of his tongue as he pushed one finger inside her, stretching untried muscles. Then he lifted his head with a groan. "Not empty anymore. Tight as fuck though, sweetheart."
Overwhelmed, she dropped her hands to her sides, whimpering as her fingertips scraped across the smooth wooden stage. Nothing to cling to, nothing to anchor her as he stroked over places that shouldn't feel this good, this much.
This had to be it. "I think I'm coming."
"Getting there." He moved his finger, twisting his hand so he could rub circles over her clit with his thumb too, and that was too much. Her back formed an arch as his touch sparked electricity, so sudden and wild she cried out and tried to pull away.
Soft hands, Lex's hands, gripped her wrists and stretched her arms over her head, holding her in place. Jasper rocked his whole body, thrusting his finger deeper—and grinding his denim-clad erection against her thigh.
Noelle's pulse expanded until her entire body was beating. A shudder welled up, shaking her as she clenched around Jasper's clever, wicked finger, and then she understood what Lex's words meant because all of that pleasure was a prelude to this. This moment where she screamed her relief because all the needing turned to hot, slick bliss.
Chapter Five
Noelle spent so much of the night drifting in and out of dreams where Jasper smoothed his hands over her skin and rasped dirty words against her cheek that at first she thought the familiar rumble of his voice was just another dream.
Lex's irritated reply wasn't.
Noelle jerked upright, clutching the sheet to her chest as Lex continued grumbling. "I'm going to take her myself. Later, when normal people are awake and moving. So fuck off, Jas."
He shook his head, ignoring the fact that Lex was yelling at him and stark naked. "No ink yet. Dallas says she goes with me or not at all."
"Do you mean shopping?" Noelle sounded breathless, but maybe they'd attribute it to sleepiness and not the way her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of Jasper's stern face.
"The market," he confirmed. "Meet you out front?"
A whole morning with him. "I'll be right down."
Lex shut the door and wrapped an arm around her bedpost as she watched Noelle scramble off the sofa bed. "No, that's okay," she said wryly. "I can make other plans."
Noelle froze, teetering on her toes. "I'm sorry. I just thought—if you want me to go with you, or if you want to come with us..."
"With you and Jas?" Lex laughed. "I think I'd rather eat glass than watch you two make googly eyes at each other, especially after last night."
Noelle's cheeks heated again, but she hurried toward the closet. "Last night was...interesting." What a confusing understatement.
"Yeah. If you're planning to talk to him about it, you might want to sound more enthused."
"No, it was amazing. It was." She wiggled into her borrowed pants and hesitated. "It's just that everything was so good, and then he stopped."
Lex arched an eyebrow. "You didn't expect him to fuck you the first time, did you? And at one of Dallas's parties?"
No one else had hesitated. Every surface at Dallas's party had been covered by naked bodies writhing together in pairs and trios and some tangles with too many limbs to easily count.
"I didn't know what to expect," she admitted, tugging on a shirt. "I still don't."
"Well, how did he treat you before last night?"
It seemed like weeks or months had passed since she'd nearly collapsed at his feet, but it had only been a matter of days. "He's been kind. Careful."
"Okay. So if he treats you worse after last night, kick his ass to the curb. You don't need that shit." Lex stifled a yawn. "That's not really Jasper's style, though."
Noelle tried to imagine a world where she would be capable of kicking a man like Jasper anywhere, much less out of her life. Impossible. Then again, a week ago she wouldn't have been able to envision a world where she could take advice from a naked woman as if nudity were a casual, acceptable thing.
She settled for a noncommittal, "I'll remember that. Do I need anything else?"
"To go shopping or to deal with Jas?"
"To go shopping." She knew she wasn't ready to deal with Jasper.
Lex grinned, leaned over to dig through her nightstand, and emerged with a handful of folded bills. "Don't let him pay for anything."
"Lex, I can't—" The other woman pressed the stack of money into her hand, and Noelle hesitated for a moment, struck by the novelty of holding cash. Actual bills, the tangible paper kind that her father never would have let her touch. All banking in Eden was electronic, with accounts tied to the bar code you were given at birth. But the rich and powerful kept paper money in vaults, along with stacks of gold bars and precious jewels, all the things they swore were unnecessary in a clean, digital world.
It wasn't the only way her father was a hypocrite. Noelle closed her fingers around the bills. "I'll pay you back."
"Are you kidding? Dallas wipes his ass with that kind of money. I'll get it from him."
"Thanks." She tucked the money into her pocket and smiled. "Go back to sleep. I'm sorry he woke you."
"Mm-hmm." Lex crawled back under the covers and dragged them up almost over her head. "Just be yourself, Noelle. You'll make out all right."
She would have replied, but Lex was already asleep by the time she slipped out the door. No one else was stirring this early in the morning—no surprise, not after last night—so Noelle navigated the twisted warren of hallways that led to the front entrance alone.
Jasper leaned against the front wall, a cigarette in one hand. "Walk or ride?"
"Is it safe to walk?"
"It is. Market's only about five blocks." He held out his hand.
She stared, caught up in the memory of him working those broad fingers into her body, stretching her as pleasure singed her from the inside out. Her nipples tightened as arousal crept through her, riding the moment when memory drifted into fantasy. In her dreams, he'd pushed his cock into her one agonizingly blissful inch at a time, making her beg for each thrust with obscene words she could only imagine saying in her own head.
Praying that he couldn't follow the path of her thoughts, she slid her palm against his, shivering as calluses scraped her skin. "Let's walk."
He folded his fingers around hers and pulled her toward the street. "Lex give you a hard time?"
"No, not at all. She's good to me."
"I know. I was teasing." A smile tilted his mouth at the very corner. "I'm bad at it."
She was gripped with the irrational urge to stroke his cheek, where a tiny dimple had almost formed. Maybe if she could coax him to smile wider, it would appear. "I need practice being teased. You should do it a lot."
"I just might."
"Maybe I'll even learn how to tease you back."
"Someone has to." Something oily and noxious had puddled on the cracked asphalt in front of them, and Jasper lifted her over it like she weighed nothing.
Even when he set her on the street again, she gripped his arms, dizzy from his proximity and the surreal moment of tenderness in a dirty, dark alley. "Thank you."
"Sure." He dropped his hand to the small of her back.
Hard-looking men were already filling the narrow gaps between buildings, but they averted their gazes as Jasper led her past, and the few stragglers still in the street melted to either side. One or two nodded to Jasper in recognition, but even those greetings were tinged with as much fear as respect.
-->
