by R. R. Banks
After a few moments, Sam rested his hands to my hips and pushed me down to my knees. I complied willingly, the excitement building in my belly as his long, beautiful cock came level with my face. I didn’t need to wait for instructions. I drew my tongue quickly along the underside, smiling when his erection jumped in response to my touch. I licked again, slowing down so I could enjoy the taste of his skin as I traced from the base to the tip. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be allowing him to teach me and I looked up at him.
"Open your mouth," Sam whispered, returning to his role as my instructor.
I did as he asked, parting my lips and allowing him to touch the smooth, silky head of his cock between them. I left it where it was for a moment and flicked my tongue along the slit at the tip, savoring the salty taste of the drop of fluid there. Craving more, I parted my lips further and he pushed forward until I held him fully in my mouth. He whispered instructions to me, cupping his hand around my head to guide the movements of my mouth until I was sucking smoothly and quickly, reveling in the feeling of his erection against my tongue and lips.
"Stop," Sam gasped suddenly, and I pulled my head back.
"Did I do something wrong?"
Sam growled low in his throat and pulled me to my feet by my shoulders. Though he had sounded frightening, there was nothing but arousal in his eyes when I looked at him and I felt at ease again.
"Not at all," he answered, the smoothness gone from his voice so that it now sounded gravely with desire, "but if you keep going like that, I won't be able to move on to the final lesson."
Sam reached over toward a box sitting on the end table and withdrew a condom. As he opened the package I noticed it declared that it was ribbed. As he put it on, I saw that the texture of the surface of the condom was different from the one that Lee had used, intriguing me. I reached forward and brushed his hand away, taking control over the process and rolling the condom into place. When I was finished, I lowered my mouth to his, gaining courage from the pressure of his lips and the indulgence of his tongue sliding across mine. Sam pulled back and looked into my eyes.
"How do you want me?” he asked.
I tilted my head at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
All I knew is that my body was aching for him and I desperately wanted him inside me. Sam slid further back on the couch and he used one hand on the back of my hips to pull me forward toward him. He led me until my knees hit the cushions and buckled slightly. As my knees bent, he caught the backs of my thighs and guided me up so I straddled his thighs. My core cradled his erection and I rocked my hips slightly to glide along it.
"Do you want me to make love to you, or do you want me to fuck you?" he asked and my stomach clenched.
My body was trembling and I felt like I was on the brink of losing control.
It was a question that I fully understood, but one that I wasn’t going to answer.
"You are supposed to be the one who is teaching me," I said, trying to control the shaking in my voice.
Sam smiled.
"I am. I'm teaching you to know what you want and how to ask for it so that you can get every bit of pleasure and enjoyment that you deserve.”
"I want you," I said.
"You could lift your hips just a little right now and I could plunge right inside. Or I could lay you on your back and take it a little slower."
I brought my mouth to his ear and licked his earlobe.
"You can do anything you want to me," I said.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth Sam's hands clamped down on my hips, lifted them, and brought me down hard on his erection. I screamed at the sudden mixture of pain and pleasure so much like him biting down on my nipple as he suddenly filled me. I could feel every ridge of the condom as it stimulated my walls, creating unique sensations that made me more aware of the depth and shape of my body.
"Then I am going to fuck you like I promised I would," he growled against my ear, reaching up to grab a handful of my hair and he wrapped his other arm around my waist to hold me in place.
I felt my pleasure spiraling upward as he used his hands to bring me up and down in hard, intense thrusts. The speed gave my body little time to stretch to accommodate him and each stroke brought both delicious pleasure and sharp pain. I stopped trying to control my reaction and let out a sharp cry. Sam slowed and I opened my eyes to look at him.
"No. Don't stop," I said, grinding down against his pelvis to bury his cock deeper inside me.
"Don’t worry. I'm not going to stop," he said. "Wrap your legs around me."
I did as he asked, and Sam stood, bringing me up with him, then turned to lower me to my back on the couch. He took my legs from around his waist and placed them on his shoulders, immediately driving him deeper into me. I gasped as he leaned forward to rise over me, his hands coming to rest on the couch beside my shoulders.
I groaned at the incredible sensation this completely new position created. Sam withdrew slightly, then plunged forward. At the sound of my pleasure, he started to move at a frenzied pace, pounding into me harder and faster. Suddenly I felt the tension building in my thighs and stomach again. I moaned and writhed against the bed.
"Don't fight it," Sam whispered.
I let myself surrender to him and almost immediately my body contracted around him. A loud scream poured from me as tremors rolled through my walls, drawing him deeper into me. That moment pushed Sam into his own oblivion and he let out an animal cry, slamming into me a final time as he spilled hot streams into me with a series of hard pulses.
When his body relaxed, Sam lowered my legs and rested his head to my chest briefly before looking up at me and laughing. I could feel his sweat dripping off of his face onto my skin and his breath rippling down my chest and stomach. I felt a laugh bubbling up from my chest. I wasn’t sure why I was laughing, but it felt like a release as much as the orgasm.
Noah was leaving my room when I finally got back to the retreat that night. He looked me up and down before he said anything.
“I baked some cookies today,” he said. “I left some for you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“How was the concert?”
“Loud,” I admitted. “The type of music wasn’t really my cup of tea.”
“Oh, I also left you a cup of tea.”
I laughed and Noah joined me. Our voices quieted and I suddenly didn’t want him to walk away. I gestured toward the door.
“Do you want to come share the cookies with me?”
Noah’s eyes slid toward the door as though he was tempted, and then he shook his head.
“Thanks, but I should probably get to bed. I have to get up early to bake bread in the morning. Maybe tomorrow, though.”
I nodded.
“I don’t know anybody who makes bread. My mother never even made bread. I look forward to trying it.”
Noah gave a slightly tense smile.
“Good night,” he said. He started down the steps and then turned back to me. “I was right about that dress, by the way.”
Chapter Fourteen
Snow
I took the dress that I wore the concert out of the dry-cleaning bag and hung it in my closet beside the jersey. Someday I might wear it again. Maybe. One of the songs that Sam had played at the concert echoed through the house, streaming off of my tablet where I had placed it on my bed. I still didn’t love the genre, but I was getting used to it. There was something different about it having witnessed the musician himself perform the song. I thought back to the rehearsal that I had watched. Sam had been confident and sexy as he gripped the microphone and sang, his body moving in time to the music that played around him. I hadn’t known it then, but it was a preview of what I would experience that night, his hard body pressed against mine on the dancefloor, and then filling me in the lounge.
When I closed my eyes, I could still feel the adrenaline rush of standing in the crowd after the power problem was fixed and the band was ab
le to take the stage. The fans around me screamed and reached up toward them, some of the women calling out suggestive pleas of what they would like the men to do to them. I hadn’t been able to withhold the smile that came to my lips as I thought about the fact that, if even for that one night, I was the woman that they all wanted to be. At the end of the show I had joined them in the lounge and then enjoyed the rush of running out of the venue with Sam’s hand gripping mine, the fans screaming and cheering around us.
I was still dwelling on the memory of the cheering when I heard a knock at my door. I turned off the music and walked toward the door, expecting to see my new date box waiting for me. Instead, when I peeked through the peephole I saw Lucille standing on my front porch.
“What are you doing here, Lucille?” I demanded through the door, not bothering to release the chain lock or the deadbolt.
“Aren’t you going to open the door, Snow? I just want to talk.”
I was familiar with the saccharine-sweet tone that she was using. It was the same manipulative way that she had spoken to every man I had ever heard her interact with and the way that she tried to convince people to trust her. Unfortunately, there were times when it worked, but I knew it too well to be swayed by it.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I said.
I was starting to turn away from the door when she spoke again.
“Open the door, Snow. You don’t want your neighbors to see me standing out here and hear me demand to know why you’ve been sleeping with my husband when I’m pregnant with his child.”
She had lifted her voice slightly to emphasize her point and I tore the door open, the fury pushing in my chest until I felt like it would burst through.
“You are a fucking liar, Lucille.”
She flattened her hand on my door to push it open further and stepped into the house, forcing her way past me.
“Am I now?”
“Who told you that I’m sleeping with Walter?”
“Walter? Don’t you think that’s a little bit personal for a subordinate? You should probably get accustomed to referring to my husband only as Mr. Royal.”
“You might be pregnant, but I’ve known your so-called husband for far longer than you have.”
Lucille scoffed as she perched herself on one of the backed stools that stood at my elevated dining room table.
“Get serious, Snow. I’m not pregnant. Do you honestly think that I would let that man get anywhere near me without a condom? I might have to suffer my way through the occasional wifely duty, but I can guarantee you that I won’t be producing any heirs for him. That won’t stop me from telling him that I will, though.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Am I? I’ve gotten everything that I’ve wanted so far. Why not go for a little bit more? He’s more than happy to give it to me.”
“Almost everything,” I said.
“What do you mean ‘almost everything’?”
“I still work for the company.”
The smug expression that her face had held since she stormed the house faded away, replaced by searing anger.
“Not for long, Snow.”
“There’s nothing that you can do about it. You already tried.”
Lucille stood and took a threatening step toward me, but I refused to back down.
“Why don’t you just give up, Snow? I’ve won. You may have been Walter’s pet, but I’m his wife. He’ll do what I say eventually, and if it takes too long, it’s not like he’s going to live forever. I can make your life miserable until then. Why don’t you just make it easier on yourself and go away?”
“You haven’t won anything, Lucille. You might think that you have, but you haven’t. You’re going to ruin your marriage just like you have ruined every other opportunity you’ve had because you are a greedy, conniving bitch who nobody can stand to be around. I’m not going to give up my chance to watch you crash and burn.”
For a brief second, I thought that Lucille was going to attack me and I could only hope that one of those neighbors that she had just threatened me with would be able to hear me screaming if it happened. After a tense moment, though, Lucille brushed past me and left, the squeal of her tires against the road the final punctuation on the conversation. I strode over to the door and closed it. I had just turned the deadbolt when I heard another knock on the door. My fists clenched beside me and I wrenched the door open, ready to confront Lucille again. Instead, I saw my date box sitting on the porch and the tail end of a car sliding down the street.
Letting out a breath to try to blow away the aggression, I reached down and picked up the box. I carried it back inside and immediately brought it to the living room, feeling like I needed this little bright spot to get over the confrontation. The customary white box was tied with a brown satin ribbon that held the note in place. I took the envelope and opened it.
“Saddle up”
“Well, that could go a couple of different ways.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lucille
I wove in and out of traffic, pushing my foot down harder and harder on the gas pedal, forcing my car along the road at ever-faster speeds. The growl of the engine and the pull of the wheel in my hands helped to draw the anger out of me, the frantic reactions of the other drivers as they swerved to get out of my way assuaging me as I went. I didn’t care about any of them. They were less than me and they knew it. Just a look at our cars or their appearances could tell anyone that. They should get out of my way when I wanted them to and let me go first. At least they knew their place.
I couldn’t believe the way that the confrontation with Snow had unfolded. I wanted her to fold beneath me. I wanted her to recognize once and for all that I was far superior to her in every way and that the life that she had been living her entire adult life was rightfully mine. She refused now, but I wasn’t going to stop. I was in the place of power now and I would do whatever it took to ensure that I didn’t have to deal with her anymore.
I heard the wail of police sirens behind me and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the squad car gaining on me, drawing up close enough that they were able to see my license plate. I didn’t bother to slow down. Just as I expected it to, the police car fell back, its lights and sirens turning off. I laughed, pushing the gas pedal a little harder to force my car to the limit of its capabilities. As with any other police officer in the area, the one behind me had run my plates and seen who I was. My marriage to Walter had linked me to one of the most powerful men in the area, even if he didn’t always act like it, and, as the ubiquitous “they” always say, money talks. I was untouchable.
I skidded to a stop in my private parking deck beneath the Royal and Company building and walked through my entrance. Cindy looked up as I came down the hall toward her.
“I have a message for you,” she said.
“Save it for later,” I said, starting past her.
“He said that it was urgent, that he needed Walter to get back to him immediately.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
I paused by her desk and reached for the paper that she held, swiping it out of her hand to look at the message. I felt my stomach sink when I saw the name on the paper. I quickly straightened and offered a smile.
“Thank you, Cindy,” I said. “I’ll take care of this right away.”
I stepped into my office and closed the door, leaning back against it as I looked down at the message again.
He wouldn’t. Would he?
Robin
“Hello? Snow? This is Robin. You remember? Your nearest, dearest, and most devoted best friend? Just thought you might need a little reminder. I haven’t heard from you in a few days. Call me. Email me. Tweet me. Like me. Poke me. Swipe me. Smoke signal me. Do something.”
I ended the voice mail and dropped my phone to my kitchen counter. Turning back to my stove, I took hold of the wooden spoon and stirred slowly. The rich aroma was starting to fill my lungs and I was eagerly anticipating the concoct
ion when I heard a key in the lock to my apartment and the door opened. Snow stepped in and looked at me strangely. I noticed that she was holding her phone to her ear.
“Did you just tell me to swipe you?” she asked as she closed the door and locked it.
“Well, since guys are apparently your life now.”
“And you know that you will always be my very best guy.”
“No, I don’t know that,” I snapped, a little more aggressively than I might have wanted to.
“What’s that all about?” Snow asked as she came into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just missed you the last few days. I haven’t even heard from you this week.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. She sniffed the air. “What is that?”
“My specialty,” I said.
“Packaged hot chocolate with crème de menthe?”
“Only the classiest.”
“Pour me a cup.”
I looked at Snow a little closer as she climbed up onto one of the bar stools positioned around the kitchen island. There was something different about her. She had only been to the retreat a few times, but I could already see it changing her. She had always been sure of herself with a personality that could fill a room, but her confidence was stronger now. She held herself differently, as though she had become more acquainted with her body and knew better how to hold and move it. The way that she was looking then, though, didn’t seem that she was enjoying the change as much as she should.
“What’s going on with you today?”
“Lucille came over.”
“She what?” I asked, ladling the hot chocolate into two mugs and sliding one over to her. “I thought that the two of you hated each other and now she’s stopping by for a friendly chat and afternoon tea?”
“Well, there was no tea and I wouldn’t exactly call the encounter a friendly chat.”
“How did she even know where you live?”
“She’s running the company. She can look in my personal file and find out anything about me that she wants.”
