Party Favors

by Jennifer Dunne, Madeleine Oh

  And tonight, she would celebrate. Master Alex had been gone again when she woke Sunday morning, leaving her another dry note of apology, saying he didn’t want to unduly tempt her. But he’d invited her to return again tonight at eight o’clock. Sunday night, alone in her bed, she’d ached to be with him. The day had crawled by, fueling her restless need to research, the research that had paid off so handsomely in today’s meeting.

  She had much to thank Master Alex for. And she would. However he wanted her to thank him.

  Her body pulsed, heating with readiness for his touch, and she rolled down the window to get some air. The ride back to the office couldn’t be quick enough. She needed to get away from Jimmy and Susan, and be alone with her thoughts of Alex.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Eight o’clock found Keri bounding up the stairs to Master Alex’s apartment. Just the thought of soon being with him had her blood pumping, her nipples tight and tingling, and her sex hot and wet. She was so primed, she’d probably come just from hearing his voice.

  Once again, the door was open. This time, a trail of aromatic cedar shavings led back to the dungeon. She inhaled deeply, thinking of secluded meetings in dark woods, of Alex tying her to a tree while he ravished her completely, of lashings with pine boughs whose tiny needles brought her to one shuddering, screaming climax after another.

  Oh, God, she wanted him. She was trembling so hard she could hardly walk. There must be something wrong with her, to need Alex so badly. Yet she’d never felt as right as she did with him, as completely loved and cared for, and as certain of her place in the world.

  She entered the dungeon, stopping just inside the doorway. Alex was not there, not that she’d expected to see him, but he’d arranged three of the whips artfully on the bed, their bright colors clearly visible on the black and gold comforter.

  He’d curled the lashes to make the form of a woman. The handle of the red whip formed the head, with four of the knotted braids separated and spread out to form the woman’s arms and sides. The final two lashes curled around to form breasts, the knotted ends rising up like erect nipples.

  She imagined the heavy lashes of that whip beating her back, her arms, and her delicate breasts, and trembled with fear. It would be too much to bear. She knew she could never withstand it. But Alex would know that, too. He wasn’t planning on using such a brutal whip on such delicate flesh. Was he?

  The rest of the whip figure didn’t reassure her. A beautifully ornate gold-handled whip with dozens of flat leather lashes of deep green leather was spread to form the woman’s legs, bent at the knees, with the handle rising between them. The tiny blue whip nestled against the gold and green handle, mimicking the soft bush of the woman’s pubic hair.

  That was the whip Alex had used on her the first night. That was where he had used it.

  Keri grabbed one of the wrought iron bed posts and held on, no longer certain her legs would support her.

  Alex moved quietly, her only awareness of him when she felt the heat of his body behind her, and smelled the spicy scent of his cologne. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, finding his shoulder.

  “Master,” she whispered.

  He put his arms around her, holding her close, and let her draw strength from his hard, firm body. Slowly, as her shivers abated, he unzipped her quilted jacket and slid his hand inside, gently fondling her breast. She was soothed beneath his touch, and was soon arching into his cupped palm and moaning softly as his fingers tweaked and squeezed her nipples.

  “Adina, my ornament,” he murmured, kissing the side of her neck and under her jaw. “What troubles you?”

  “The knotted whip. It’s so…brutal looking. To have it hit there…”

  She whimpered as she turned her face into his shoulder, nuzzling his neck with her eyes closed. Reaching up, she grabbed his arm to hold him tight, keeping his hand warm and reassuring over her heart.

  Alex continued stroking and caressing her until her panic faded. He kissed her temple, her cheek, her ear, and her jaw with soft, feathery kisses that were like gentle caresses of his lips. Then his mouth closed over hers.

  The kiss began softly, with a gentle brush of his lips against hers. He nibbled her lower lip, teasing it to fullness, as his fingers brushed and flitted over her nipple in time to his kiss. When he unexpectedly pinched her nipple, Keri gasped, and his tongue thrust into her open mouth.

  Soon she was writhing in his arms, the sweep and thrust of his tongue keeping time with the pulls and tweaks of his fingers. She was burning, each touch stoking the fire to blaze hotter and higher. She rocked her hips, leaning back to fit her ass against the bulge of his erection, the friction maddening her with promise but leaving her pulsing core achingly empty.

  Alex reached between her legs with his free hand, cupping her sex. She moaned into his mouth, and bucked her hips more urgently. Shifting his hold, he bent one finger so that the knuckle pushed against her clit. Her next pump of her hips drove her against the rigid lump, sparking a climax that had her muscles clenching and spasming in uncontrollable tension and release. He just held her, supporting her and comforting her, until the shaking stopped.

  “Feel better now?” he asked.

  “You know I do.”

  “Good. You know that I would never harm you.”

  “I know.”

  “The whip was another ice cube, another way to frighten you with possibilities. You’re not ready for that whip yet, and would never be ready for it to hit your breasts. It’s meant for lashing backs and asses, well-protected areas that can take that kind of punishment.”

  She shivered, her fear rapidly translating to arousal. Catching herself turning in his arms, she checked the motion before she could accidentally see his face. Instead, she bent her head to lick and nuzzle the pounding vein in his neck, while her hands rubbed and caressed his broad back through the fine cotton of his soft shirt.

  “I promised myself that I would thank you, tonight, however I could. What can I do to thank you, Master?”

  “Thank me for what?”

  She hesitated, not sure how to explain without breaking his rule that she not discuss the real world while she was with him.

  “I had a very successful day at work, today. And it was because I was so lonely for you yesterday, I threw myself into the preparations with more passion than usual.”

  A short laugh escaped him. “Then it seems my loss will be amply rewarded. Although I would have preferred to have you here with me yesterday.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I know the perfect way for you to thank me, then. Keep your eyes closed.”

  He moved away, and she heard the rustle of bedcovers, followed by the zip of his pants and the twin thumps of his shoes being kicked off. Taking her by the hands, he led her to the bed, then sat on the edge while she knelt between his legs. The soft weight of the comforter settled over her head, cocooning her in a dim tent with only his rampant cock for company.

  Alex’s fingers stroked through her hair. “Open your eyes, now.”

  She admired the sight of his cock, large and straight, thrusting up toward her face. The musky scent of him made her mouth water.

  “Do you want me to take you in my mouth?” she asked. It would be a struggle to fit his entirety. The head of his cock would go all the way to the back of her throat, maybe even sliding down it a ways. She’d be choking on cock, endlessly swallowing until he found his release. The thought terrified her, at the same time as it made her wet with desire.

  “Eventually,” he answered, his words only slightly muffled by the comforter. The same gaps that allowed light and air to enter let her hear him clearly. “But before I put my cock down your throat, it needs to be lubricated. Lick it. All over. Until it’s as wet as your sex.”

  Perversely, her mouth went dry at his provocative image. Her sex pulsed and steamed, wetting her panties with her readiness, while her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

  She bent her head, nuzzling his c
ock and balls and inhaling deeply of his scent. Heat rose from his balls, and blood pulsed loudly in the artery of his thigh.

  Moisture flooded her mouth, and she began kissing and licking, working her way from the hairy base all the way up to the open and eager tip, already beading with desire. She lapped up the salty-sweet droplet, probing the cleft with her tongue.

  He groaned, his fingers clenching in her hair. Then she scraped her teeth along the underside of the head. He cried out, his hips lifting from the bed, his hands tightening into painful fists.

  Keri slid her hands beneath his raised hips, cupping his firm ass, and continued to kiss and lick his cock while her fingers found the cleft of his ass, probing inside for the sensitive entrance.

  He cried out again, his ass muscles tightening around her questing finger, and his cock bobbed and waved with the trembling of his thighs.

  “Too much,” he gasped. “Too much. Back off.”

  She pulled her finger away and lifted her mouth from his swaying cock. Above her, he panted in ragged breaths, slowly regaining control. Finally, he was able to speak again.

  “God, if you do that again, I won’t be able to stop myself from coming. And I want this to last a lot longer than that.”

  “Yes, Master. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  He paused, and she suspected he really wanted to tell her to do exactly what she’d just done. But eventually he said, “Suck my balls.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Obeying his order, she pushed her face between his thighs and took his left ball into her mouth. With her tongue, she stroked and caressed the soft skin, while she sucked it deeper into her mouth, pulling it gently. Alex’s soft groans of pleasure guided her to discover what he enjoyed the most. Turning her attention to his right side, she repeated all of the things that most pleased the left.

  “Now the cock,” he whispered, his heavily accented voice hoarse with strain. “Lick it again, then suck it.”

  She complied, bathing his cock with long strokes of her tongue until it glistened. Then she opened her lips and let the heavy weight of it slide into her mouth. She swept her tongue around the head, teasing the cleft and the tender underside of the head, while Alex groaned and moaned in agonized ecstasy.

  Slowly, she swallowed him, one precious quarter of an inch at a time, rejoicing in the slippery slide of his head along the roof of her mouth, and the hard sides of his cock against the inner walls of her cheeks. As he moved further into her mouth, she sucked, pulling him even deeper, drawing reluctant beads of cum from the open head. The first drop hit the back of her throat, and she swallowed convulsively.

  Then she had to keep her throat loose and relaxed as he pushed his way to the back, filling her mouth and throat with cock just as she’d imagined. His cock trembled, her head rising and falling with the shaking of his thighs, but always keeping him sealed tightly in her mouth.

  His hands found her skull, and guided her mouth to slide up and down his wet cock. Every slick thrust elicited a harsh grunt from him, and every slow release pulled forth a shuddering sigh.

  Soon he was gasping for breath, thundering in and out of her mouth while she gripped his ass and struggled to hold on to his writhing, bucking body.

  “Now!” he gasped. “Now!”

  There was no way she could ask what he meant, not with her mouth full of cock, and she knew better than to interrupt his rhythm for something as trivial as words. Realizing she needed further guidance, he released her head, trusting her to maintain the driving rhythm he’d established, and gripped her wrists.

  Oh! She slid her fingers over the taut and straining muscles of his ass, slipping on the sweaty skin, until she found his cleft.

  “Yes!” he rasped. “Now!”

  His hands once more held her skull, urging her to take his cock faster, deeper, and harder. Meanwhile, she struggled to keep her grip on his sweaty, straining ass, while her fingers probed for the elusive entrance. Finally, she found it, thrusting her finger against his tight bundle of nerves.

  Alex screamed his release, flooding her mouth and throat as he spasmed and twitched, his muscles convulsing around her finger. He kept coming and coming, longer than any release he’d ever had with her before, while she swallowed again and again, taking all that he had to give.

  Finally, he subsided, his muscles quivering, and his cock slid out of her mouth to lie limp and spent, glistening wetly between his legs. His hands stroked and petted her hair, the only embrace their positions would allow.

  “Oh, God,” he whispered. “Oh, God. That was… Oh, God.”

  Keri smiled, thrilled beyond words that she had pleased him so thoroughly. Her heart glowed with gentle radiance as she lay her head in his lap, closing her eyes and resting her cheek upon his still quivering thigh.

  “I’m happy that I pleased you, Master.”

  “Oh, you did.” He hesitated. “Are your eyes closed?”

  She fought the instinctive urge to open them at his question. “Yes, Master.”

  “Keep them closed.”

  He pushed the comforter away, freeing her from the dusky warmth that had contained her, and pulled her up onto the bed with him. Drawing her close, he lay with her in a full embrace, him still wearing his shirt and her fully clothed but with her jacket undone.

  As he clung to her, his face buried against her neck and his arms wrapped tight around her, she realized this was not part of their elaborate Master/slave play. This was Alex, needing to hold her close because the gift she’d given him had so stunned him, he couldn’t bear to part from her. This was real, true emotion, beyond fleeting passion and great sex, even though it had been the sex that created it.

  Softly, gently, unfurling like the tender green shoots of a flower stretching toward the sun in the Springtime, a previously unknown emotion took hold and grew inside her. Her arms settled around him, returning his embrace and holding him close as they breathed in tandem. And she realized that somehow, in the blazing inferno of their lovemaking, passion had been transmuted into love.

  They held each other, neither saying a word, just breathing together, for nearly an hour, before Alex finally spoke.

  “That wasn’t what I had planned for the evening, but I certainly approved of the change. What about you?”

  Keri nodded, her hair rubbing up and down against his shirt-clad chest. Suddenly, she started to laugh.

  “What is it?”

  “I think this is the longest I’ve been with you fully clothed.”

  After a moment, he joined in, his laughter rich and fluid. Then his laughter faded, his arms tightening around her again. “We can fix that.”

  The soft promise in his words sparked a firestorm in her blood, and suddenly she wanted to be completely naked, feeling her body writhing against his. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “You’ll need to be blindfolded again.”

  Suddenly, she hated her promise. It was one thing not to see his face when he was her mysterious Master, giving her the best sex of her life. But she wanted to gaze into the eyes of the man she loved. Maybe not during the sex—she liked being tied up, tied down, and pushed around too much to forego the pleasure just for the benefit of seeing her lover’s face while she came—but before, seeing his expression of anticipation mirroring her own, and after, seeing how satisfied she’d made him. That’s what she wanted.

  But if it was a choice between seeing his expression as he said good-bye, and not seeing his expression as he taught her body new meanings of the word “ecstasy,” the choice was simple.

  She closed her eyes and released him. “Whenever you’re ready, Master.”

  Soon, the blindfold was blocking out all light, and his hands were moving over her body, undressing and caressing her. But in the back of her mind, she wondered why he insisted that his face remain hidden. What was he afraid she’d see?

  She kept recalling a scene from the Charmed episode when Paige first learns that Cole is half demon. Paige had asked her sister, “How�
�s Cole? Morphed into any demons lately?”

  The words repeated in Keri’s brain, endlessly looping. Morphed into any demons lately? Morphed into any demons lately? She loved Alex. But that hadn’t been enough to save Phoebe and Cole from the disastrous effects of their doomed love. Would her love be enough to overcome Alex’s secrets? Or would those secrets eventually drive them apart?

  * * * * *

  Keri woke to darkness. The rubber sheet beneath her stuck to her sweating skin, so she knew she was still in the dungeon. But where was Alex?

  She swept her arm across the bed, searching for him. Nothing.

  “Alex? Master? Are you here?”

  Her voice was swallowed by the cavernous room, the special paint and ceiling tiles absorbing the sound.

  She closed her eyes and rolled over, wincing as she pressed against one of the bruises on her ass. Alex had tied her to the massage table and shown her the wonders of whipping, which had made her forget all her doubts and fears as the sensations flooding her body consumed her. By the time he finished, her back and ass were on fire with desire, although he’d been careful not to break the skin or cause any serious damage. He assured her that the few small bruises would fade by morning.

  But that didn’t stop them from hurting now. And not in a good way. In a way that kept her from getting back to sleep.

  And now that she was awake, she realized she needed to go to the bathroom. The more she tried to ignore it, the more urgent the need became.

  “Fine. Not like I was sleeping, anyhow.”

  Careful to avoid any additional pressure on her bruised ass, she put her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Extending one hand like a player in Blind Man’s Bluff, she stumbled toward the bathroom. The door was already ajar, and she reached out, fumbling for the light switch.

  The overhead bulbs flared to brilliance, just as Alex was coming through the connecting door to his bedroom.

  “Oh my God! It was an accident! I didn’t mean…” Keri’s apology stuttered to a halt as her sleepy brain recognized the man in front of her. Andy Thibodeau. “You!”