“I guess you could say that, but the guys in the shop do the work.”
“They wouldn’t have inspiration if you didn’t design it for them. I can’t wait to see more.”
Everett looks down at his plate.
“I don’t share it unless it ends up on a bike.”
“Hmm … I bet I could entice you into a trade.”
He glances back with a semblance of warning.
“If you want to finish dinner, you better hold off on comments like that. Um,” he nervously looks to his food again, moving his fork around, “why did your ex have you in tears today?”
“Uh, it’s not important.”
“If it made you cry, it is to me.”
I wipe my mouth with my napkin and lay it back on my lap, using the moment to figure out how to proceed.
“He called me out on some personality traits or maybe behavior is a more appropriate word. He told me something about our break-up that I wasn’t aware of.”
“Was he mean or threatening?” Everett’s forehead creases.
“No, what he said was sad. I guess I’m not girlfriend material and definitely not good enough to be a wife.”
“He said that to you?” His voice is an octave higher but laced with anger.
“In so many words, but he did say that maybe it was because he wasn’t the one for me.”
“He sounds like a dickhead, so I’m thinkin’ that’s the reason you’re not together.”
“Look, he was never an asshole. I didn’t give a hundred percent of myself to the relationship, and that was all he was trying to tell me. He thought when he broke up with me, I’d see what I was losing and beg him to stay. I didn’t. Can we talk about something else?”
I’m quickly becoming angry, not wanting to discuss my flaws. Everett reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I’m sorry for pushing. I needed to know he didn’t hurt you.”
“Why? I’m not your responsibility.”
“You’re mine while we’re intimate, Reese, so I’m going to look out for you. Don’t start shutting me out again because this is uncomfortable.” His gaze is hooded, daring me to challenge him.
“OK, but I still don’t want to discuss it. What do you want to do this weekend?” I ask, attempting to change the subject.
“I can think of all kinds of things.” He smirks, but the lust is still in first place.
“Besides sex. We’re downtown, so we should do something. I didn’t think to bring a dress since we packed abruptly.”
“I live outside of it for a reason. It’s not my scene.”
“Oh, have I touched on something that makes Everett uncomfortable?” He stares, and I’m getting the vibe there will be consequences for that comment. A thought comes out of nowhere, and I’m shocked I’m having it.
“When we played the game about what we have or haven’t experienced sexually, you said you wanted to do them with me. Were you hoping to experience all of the acts we wrote down?”
Ooh, he’s concentrating hard, likely recalling every slip of paper. “Where are you going with this, Reese?”
I chew on my lip and scrunch my forehead.
“I’m scared you’re going to try to get me to have anal sex, and I’m no way ready for that, so I was thinking of a compromise.”
“If you said no to anal sex, I wouldn’t try to make you, so a compromise isn’t necessary, but I’m definitely intrigued.”
“I want you to brave downtown with me. We said we would make the most of this and try new things, so, um …” My face is warming and breaths quickening.
“You’re blushing, so now, I’m extremely curious.”
“If we found the right woman while we’re out, I’d consider a threesome.” His eyebrows fly up as he laughs, so I scowl at him. “It’s not at all funny. This will take some courage.”
“Yes, it is funny, fancy face. There is no way in hell you’d go through with it, and how do you propose we find a willing participant?”
Thinking, I remember what Dwayne said about never getting Everett to go out.
“Dial Dwayne for me. I want to chat with him.”
“You are not bringing him into this. You worry about the guys at work knowing we’re fucking, yet you want to tell Dwayne Barnes that you’re looking for a chick to make up our threesome?”
“He’s not your brothers, and from meeting him, I can tell he’ll find it quite humorous.”
Everett drops his phone on the table.
“You are bluffing, but I haven’t figured out what you’re up to.”
My eyes trail away as I recollect Everett’s passionate words in my office. “You were upset with me yesterday, and I didn’t like it. I thought about what you said, and I’m trying to let go and live a little. I’ll worry about the consequences later.”
“I have to hear this, so I want it on speaker, and I can’t wait to see you turn fire engine red. You’ll be back-peddling in seconds.”
“Want to bet?”
“Absolutely,” he answers with a grin. “You go through with this phone call, and I’ll go out with you tomorrow night, so I can see you fall apart then. But if you bail on this call, then I get to do whatever I want to you this weekend.”
He reaches across the table and takes hold of my chin. “And baby, you won’t be leaving this penthouse. You’ll be lucky if you’re untied long enough to do anything other than take the pleasure I’ll be giving you.”
“Except for anal sex,” I say.
He rolls his eyes. “Except for anal sex.”
“What have you done to me, Everett? I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
“You’ve even surprised me on this one.” His arms are now crossed, and that cocky grin is spelling out how humorous he’s finding this.
“Dial it,” I say before biting on my nail. It rings twice, and I might be ill.
“Hey, my man. Is there a problem with the penthouse?” Dwayne asks.
Everett is still smiling, waiting for me to speak.
“Um, Dwayne, this is Reese, Everett’s friend.”
“Hey, fine girl. Everything OK? My buddy ain’t already being a party pooper is he?”
“Uh, maybe. The phone is on speaker, so he can hear us, although, I don’t think he wants any part of this conversation.”
“You got me curious.”
“I see what you were saying about Everett and the city. He’s truly not fond of it, so I’m trying to entice him to go out tomorrow night.”
Dwayne chuckles loudly. “I have a feeling I’m going to love this.”
“Could you give me the names of a classy strip club, if there is such a thing?”
My eyes flash to Everett’s and his are wide.
Dwayne sounds like he’s now rolling on the floor in laughter. “I’m kicking his ass if you get him to go. Over the years, I have had no luck dragging him to one, and I tempted him with … well, let me say he had many fine options.”
“Oh, I bet he did. That’s an interesting tidbit of information that I will have to explore further.”
“I’ll let you stay in my penthouse twice a year and give you a thousand bucks if you get his ass there. Send me a picture and it’s yours.”
“Reese has failed to tell you the most interesting reason she wants us to go,” Everett says, eyeing me as if we’re on the battlefield.
I shake my head rapidly, eyes large and round.
“That isn’t even necessary,” I whisper.
“We had a deal. So, either suck it up, buttercup, and tell him, or you’re being held prisoner in this place. Take your pick.” His gaze is heady again, lust stirring like a whirlpool.
“Oh, you have to tell me, Reese,” Dwayne says.
“Ok, um, I can’t believe I’m sharing this. See, Everett and I have this arrangement, and we’re fulfilling a sexual checklist, you could say.
“One is to have a threesome, so I’m hoping if we go out, we might come across a woman who would participate.”
After g
iving us the biggest belly laugh ever, Dwayne coughs a few times and regains his composure.
“Damn, girl, I knew there were so many reasons to love you. I felt it. Everett, buddy, I don’t think you can handle the likes of this one. Fine girl here is a live wire.”
I lean over a little closer to the phone.
“In Everett’s defense, you’d be surprised. He holds his own. You know, a real closet freak.”
“Alright, I think we’ve shared enough,” Everett says, sliding his cell more his direction as I giggle loudly.
“I’ll text you the name and give them a call to ensure they treat you right, but I don’t want any freaky chicks in my bed, Ev,” Dwayne says in a demanding tone.
Everett rolls his eyes. “We’re not even in your bed. Please don’t go there; this is weird enough already. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve opened Pandora’s Box with this one.”
“Damn, you kids have a great time, and I better get evidence that you’re there. I won’t believe it otherwise.”
“Thank you, Dwayne. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of your status. I only needed a name of a cool place,” I say.
“You’re a friend of Everett’s, so I know that. I want to do this for you since I’m dying to know how this all plays out.” He’s bubbling with laughter yet again.
“I’m gonna hang up, man. Someone needs to be bound and spanked for pulling this stunt.” Everett is giving me a look I haven’t seen before. It’s a cocktail of lust, anger and stress. I’m in hot water.
“OK, closet freaks. Go have your fun.”
After pushing end on his phone, Everett’s gaze bores into me. “I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming or you following through, but do you realize what you’ve done?
“He’s going to torment me over this for as long as we live. Not to mention, he will likely spend a grand or more ensuring we get the best treatment.”
“I didn’t mean for him to spend his money.”
“I know that and so does Dwayne, but he’s generous.”
I reach for Everett’s phone. “We should call him back and tell him it was a joke.”
“I know what you’re doing, and if you’re backing out, then you’re going to admit it out loud, especially after that phone call.”
I tip my chin up and hand him his phone, disguising my widespread fear. Thankfully, he can’t see the knots my stomach is twisting into.
“I’m not backing out. I told you I could keep up, so we’re doing this.”
Everett
Reese has shaken my world, big time, throwing me off kilter. She doesn’t want a threesome. She wants to do this for me and obviously didn’t learn her lesson the first go at it.
Another beautiful woman and Reese touching each other in front of me. Holy fuck, I can’t even process how I feel about that, but I guarantee it’d be an erotic sight.
I snap out of my fantasy when I discover her standing in front of me at the table, still wearing only panties and my Henley shirt.
“You appear in deep thought,” she says before straddling me. Taking hold of her wrists, I move them behind her back and hold them together. Nipples pebble instantly as her mouth opens slightly, her breaths uneven and heavy.
“You’re brash behavior this evening isn’t sitting well with me. If you haven’t noticed, I prefer to be in control, so what is it going to take to put you back into submission?”
She scoffs, her mouth falling open more.
“I am not a submissive person.”
“Oh, but you have been with me.” Starting inside the open buttons of her shirt, I skim my nose up her chest, forcing her head to tilt upward as I prowl along her throat with my tongue.
Bounding her wrists tighter, I hold my face as close to hers as possible. “Feel that, fancy face? Your nipples hardened the second I restrained your wrists. Have you forgotten it was only hours ago that they were sealed tight in a zip tie?”
Her lip is quivering directly in front of mine, her blazing breath burning straight to my twitching cock. “Fuck, it was thrilling seeing you exposed and defenseless to the pleasure I delivered.”
Gathering her wrists better with only one hand, I pull the other back around and run it between us. I palm her pussy, the wetness soaking through her panties.
“That’s what I thought. It turns you the fuck on, too. Your cunt is aching, needing my dick buried deep in it … wanting to get off.”
Reese’s mouth slams against mine, her tongue pushing right in. My fingers slip inside her panties, and rub her juicy clit. Penetrating moans collide with our tangled tongues, and I swallow them up, but they’re not enough. I can’t get my fill of her.
“Slide off of me, baby.” My fingers slip from her as I help her to the floor. Keeping her body right in front of me and wrists clamped, I discard our underwear and sit back in the chair.
Straddling me again, she sinks right onto my rigid cock. My eyes squeeze shut as the immense pleasure stays isolated to every nerve ending sheathed inside of her. “Holy shit, you feel good. Ride me hard.”
Tightening her thighs against mine, she lifts and sinks onto me repeatedly. Her tits are bouncing as her head falls back, and that talented mouth is open enough for her moans to escape.
“You’re gorgeous. So. Damn. Breathtaking.”
Her head lifts, those expressive, green eyes possessing mine with striking beauty. Reese’s restraint shatters before me … around me, sharing her release not only physically but visually.
I watch as she is momentarily incapacitated by pleasure, surrendering to me, until I tip over the brink, too.
Holding her hip down firmly, I come, pulsing inside of her, and it’s at that moment I realize I’m delusional to believe I’m in control. She has seized it all. In less than two weeks, I’m under her spell, and I don’t want out.
Letting her wrists go, I bring her to me. Her sweat covered forehead lays against my skin. She’s encompassed by my arms, her pounding heart hitting my chest with each laborious breath.
I hold her like this for a time that could never be long enough, stroking her hair and kissing her head. As she rode me, our locked eyes passed something between us. I can’t name or recall ever feeling it before.
“We can add having sex on Dwayne Barnes penthouse balcony under the stars to our list,” I say, attempting to ease us out of this intense moment. Feeling her smile against my chest makes me smile, too, and this night has been overwhelming.
Lifting up, Reese snickers. “Oh, do you think anyone could hear us?”
“Up here? I doubt it.”
“Um, I have to buy an outfit tomorrow,” she says. My body tenses as I recall negative memories with Krystal. “I know shopping is typically a drag for men, so I’ll get up early and go. You can sleep in.” She kisses my forehead.
Unreal. Not only is she being considerate, she’s not expecting me to buy her shit. I should be giving her more than sex. “We’ll go out together, explore this city that you and too many other people find appealing.”
Her eyes light up. “Are you sure? I don’t mind going alone. I mean, you already have to venture out tomorrow night.”
Unable to resist, I pull her to me again and hug her.
“I don’t want to be here alone when I could be spending time with you. Come on, let’s get to bed.”
Chapter Nineteen
Everett
“I can’t believe we’re this close to so many stores. I guess if you have the money to live in this district, then you’d likely have the dough to do a lot of shopping,” Reese says. “I haven’t been in Lenox Square in a few years.”
“Don’t you want to go to Phipps Plaza?” I ask as we drive down the road.
“Are you nuts? I can’t afford those stores. I can’t imagine looking through Versace for a dress or walking into Jimmy Choo and asking to see a shoe.” She giggles. “Yeah, right. I can barely afford shops at Lennox.”
I remember a time when I couldn’t afford it, but that didn’t stop Krystal from expect
ing to shop there. I have it now, and I want to spend it on Reese.
“I want to buy you something to wear tonight.”
“Thank you, but I got it. It’s my fault I didn’t bring something.”
“We’re going to Phipps Plaza, and I’m buying you a damn dress,” I order.
Without even looking, I already know she’s pissed.
“You can’t make me do that.” Taking a glimpse at her, I see the crossed arms and scowl.
“Fancy face, please let me do this. It’s already crushing my ego that Dwayne is basically paying for your fun weekend.”
Her arms fall to the side. “He might be paying, but you’re providing the fun, not him. I’ll compromise. I’ll let you buy me an outfit if I can pick something out at Lennox, where it will at least be more affordable.”
Shaking my head, I reach over and squeeze her hand. This disagreement is polar opposite of what I had grown accustomed to in my marriage so it’s strange.
“OK, that’s fair, but I’m buying you something you love. I’m not letting you hold out on me any further.”
“You’re sweet,” she says.
“You’re a breath of fresh air, fancy face; the sweeter one by far.”
Reese
“It was a pretty spring day, and we had a delicious lunch. Did you or did you not enjoy yourself?” I ask as we track into the penthouse. “Or did I pull you to too many stores? I didn’t intend to do that to you.”
Wrapping his arm around my waist, Everett pulls me close and kisses my temple.
“I had a great time.”
“Oh, good. I got caught up in the shopping. I’m going to the bedroom to hang my dress up, so it doesn’t wrinkle.”
I place the outfit in the closet and take a deep breath. What was I thinking last night? I don’t want to have a damn threesome, and I’ve never been to a strip club. That makes me nervous as hell.
The image of Everett admiring any other woman makes me ill, especially a naked one, but if it’s something he’s fantasized about, then I’ll go through with it this time. I pledged to experience new, exciting things, and maybe I’ll like it. I frown, doubting that thought.
Trust Game Page 12
