I grinned back and said, "I never promise more than my best effort, ma'am."
Toni pretended to think deeply about that for a moment, then said, "That'll do."
She kissed me hard and lowered herself until I was buried to the hilt within her. Holding herself very still, she gave Sel a mock look of vast surprise and said, "Oooo... That damned thing's kinda big, isn't it?"
Sel laughed at Toni's clowning as she reached for her drink. "It's always been big enough for me," she said. "Just don't break it, okay?"
"Oh, hey, I'll second that," I said quickly. "Don't hurt me, lady."
Toni laughed, creating some interesting sensations around that part of me that was deep within her, and began using me. I say it that way because that was how it seemed to me. Whether she was posting, grinding against me, kissing me, or tasting my shoulder and neck, she gave me no impression whatsoever that she gave a fat damn how I was receiving her attentions. Her actions seemed to concern only her self-pleasuring, and I felt as if I was essentially only her means of achieving her goal.
With Selena, almost nothing much that either of us did at such times wasn't geared at least partially to pleasure the other person. Not so with Toni. She simply used me until she almost screamed her completion, and then, when her head cleared a bit, she seemed puzzled by the fact that I hadn't come.
"It's still up," she said. "It didn't go off."
"It doesn't always. That doesn't mean I didn't have a good time, ma'am."
Sel giggled and said, "I think he was too busy watching you. I know I was. You're such an animal, Toni." Turning to me with another giggle, she asked, "Do you feel used, Ed?"
With as much of a look of innocence as I could muster, I said, "Oh, yes I do. Definitely. Used is the word, ma'am. Very used. Taken, in fact. Had, I'd call it."
Cracking up with giggles, Sel managed to say, "Pooor... Baaa-by!" before she rolled over to smother her laughter in a pillow.
With a look of mock irritation, Toni reached to goose her, which made Sel shriek and stiffen before another fit of laughter claimed her. Toni lifted herself a bit to ease the pressure on her legs, relaxed back to full impalement, and then let herself fall forward until her face was nose-to-nose with mine.
"So why didn't you come, really?" she asked.
I kissed her and said, "I was too wrapped up in watching you. I forgot."
With a skeptical gaze, she lingered there for a moment, then kissed me deeply and sat back up. She bounced herself on me a couple of times, then reached behind herself to cup my balls and tickle me.
"Uh-uh," she said. "I don't get off until you go off."
"Delicately put," I said. "But what if I'm not ready to come, ma'am? What if I'm having too much fun being up and inside you?"
"Uh-uh," she repeated. "Here's how it works, Ed. You man, me woman, and this woman say man always come in this woman. Got it?"
I gave as much of a shrug as I could manage and said, "Go for it, then. Be my guest. Mind if I ask why?"
Selena was the one to answer that. She'd rolled over onto an elbow and lay looking at me as she said, "Sometimes things just don't feel finished, Ed. Even when a woman comes, it just doesn't always feel complete if the man doesn't blow his wad inside her. It doesn't have anything to do with orgasms. It's just what it takes sometimes to make a woman feel... well, like she's really gotten what she came for, you know?"
I looked up at Toni. She nodded in silent agreement, then said, "Sometimes an orgasm is enough. This isn't one of those times."
Sel snickered and said, "Better cooperate, Ed. Women who don't get what they want can turn real mean, and she's in pretty good shape."
I laughed and ran my hands over Toni's thighs as I grinned up at her and said, "She damned sure is. It will be my extreme pleasure to satisfy you, miLady. Make me come. You may have all you can squeeze out of me."
Sel said, "Save me a little for later, Toni. Now I'm probably going to feel the same way my next time at bat."
Toni chuckled and started posting her way toward her -- our -- new goal. After some minutes and a bit of frenetic effort, she felt me expand slightly inside her and stiffen a bit more. Her eyes opened and met mine as she very deliberately rammed herself upon me the few more times it took to trigger my throbbing and spurting, then she sat up straight and held herself very still as she felt it happen deep inside her.
After wiggling and stroking to encourage the last few driblets and drops out of me, she relaxed, lay forward, and kissed me. "Now we're finished," she whispered.
Sel giggled again and asked, "Do you still feel used, Ed?"
Between Toni's quick little kisses, I said, "Yup. Do. Still. Very."
Toni laughed and said, "Good. You're supposed to. Oh, my legs! They won't move! I think they're stuck! Sel, would you get me a towel? I may not be able to get up in time to keep from leaking."
Rolling off the bed, Sel said, "One towel, coming up." As she trotted to the bathroom, she called back, "Ever think of trying a different position?"
"I have," said Toni. "But I really like this one best, at least until it's over."
As Sel walked back to the bed and tossed Toni a hand towel, she said, "I like it from the rear most times. It feels even bigger that way, and he can really drive it in deep."
Toni smiled and asked, "How do you like to do it, Ed?"
I grinned and said, "With you."
Toni poked me in the belly with an index finger and said, "You know what I mean."
I pretended to give the matter some thought, then said, "That depends on the woman, I guess. Since I naturally want her to think I'm the best she ever had, I'd rather do it in her favorite position. Or positions. Whatever she gets the most from."
Sel stepped around the bed and said, "Knowing you, that's probably the truth as you see it, but we want to know which position you like the best."
I made an effort to look dubious. "Well, gee, that's kinda personal, lady."
Toni laughed and rolled off me, tucking the towel between her legs.
Sel said, "Hey, fair's fair! I told you, didn't I?"
I shrugged. "You had to. Otherwise it would have been up to me, and who knows what would have happened?"
Toni laughed again and said, "His favorite position is probably in. That's all; just in."
Sel shook her head and said, "Uh-uh. Everybody has a favorite position. C'mon, Ed. What's yours?"
I sighed and conceded to her curiosity. "Rear."
Her response was instantaneous. "Why?"
"Well, damn, nosey. Why do you think? It lasts longer that way."
Toni really laughed that time. "You don't think you last long enough? I had to ride you twice to get you off."
"Doesn't matter. I'd rather stay up and stay in than get off and get soft. Besides, when I'm up one way, I'm up all the other ways, too. Enthusiasm tends to soften with everything else afterwards. Like now, for instance. What am I doing in a bed with two wonderfully naked women? Talking. Just talking."
I put a fingertip on Toni's right nipple and said with a grin, "If you hadn't been so damned greedy, I'd still be up. And in. Now I'm not, and it's all your fault."
"Awww," said Sel, cupping my face in her hands for a kiss, "Pooooor little guy. We'll just have to make it up to you somehow."
Toni waved dismissively and said, "You make it up to him. I got what I wanted."
"Greedy," I said. "Like I said before. Greedy. No conscience. A damned nice ride, though, for a woman with no concern for the needs of others."
Toni stuck her tongue out at us and laughed in a theatrical bad-guy manner, "Mmwahaha... She's had her way with yet another innocent young man..."
"Kewl. She called me young, Sel. I can almost forgive her, just for that."
"It was a figure of speech," said Toni. "I will say, however, that you were a good ride, too. Does that help?"
"Immensely. Glad to be of service, ma'am. Proud to have expended myself in such a cause. And in such a woman."
Sel seemed s
lightly disgruntled. "If you two are finished stroking each other," she said, "Would someone see about another round of drinks, please?"
I looked at Toni and stage-whispered, "I think the 'someone' she's referring to would be me."
"Naturally," said Toni. "My legs are still feeling it and I'm still leaking. And you have to admit, you are the odd man out in here."
I sat up and pulled Sel into a kiss, then asked, "May I puh-leeze have you next, miLady? Just as soon as I'm able again?"
Without releasing her gaze, I ran my fingertips over her jawline, neck and shoulders, then down the backs of her arms, over her breasts, and onto her thighs. Trails of goosebumps followed my fingers, but she drew herself up and said, "We'll see how you mix the drinks, first."
As I slung my legs off the bed, she smiled slightly and said, "On second thought, try to get some rest while you get the drinks. You'll need it."
I kissed her again and said, "Promise me that."
"Count on it."
"Close enough. Back in a few. Should I knock first?"
"Yeah. Do that."
"How? I'll have drinks in both hands."
"If you're rested enough, you'll be able to use something else."
Toni laughed and asked, "Do you two rehearse this stuff?"
I stood very straight and tried to look solemn as I said, "As often as possible, but I'm beginning to think she knows me too well."
Sel looked at Toni and said, "Count on that, too. Five years ago, I was just an innocent young woman, laboring to make it through college..."
Toni couldn't contain her burst of laughter, then she acted contrite and said, "Oh, please pardon my outburst, of course. Go on with your story."
Looking somewhat miffed at the interruption, Sel continued, "As I was saying... A woman friend introduced me to her man friend -- this guy -- and we all had a thing for about four years before she moved to Atlanta to use her scholarship. I sort of inherited him when she left. You know how it is. I couldn't just turn him out into the cold."
Playing along, Toni agreed. "No, of course not. Then what?"
Sel shrugged. "Well, it hasn't been that long since she left, so there really hasn't been much 'then what' until you came along. I've just been having him up here on weekends or as necessary to help keep me from banging every guy I see."
Toni nodded sagely. "Good thinking. I have to say that most of what I've seen on campus is too much like what I saw in high school, anyway. Jerks and geeks. What makes this one different? The fact that he's older and wiser or something?"
"Well, that's definitely a factor, of course, but then there's his willingness to please and the fact that he seems to have been everywhere and done everything. I can ask him about a piece of music or art and he'll spit out the answer most times. The same goes for geography and history. That's kind of handy for a student."
"Well, I guess so. American history or world history?"
I'd been silently regarding them in turn as they chatted about me. Sel suddenly grinned and faced me as she said, "Any history, as far as I can tell. Go ahead, Ed. Say something historical."
I shrugged and said, "Okay. Who led the Boston Tea party?"
Toni blinked. "Damn. Does anybody really know that?"
Sel said, "He does, or he wouldn't have asked."
Toni gave me an appraising look and then surprised me. She whistled a few bars of music, then grinningly asked, "Who dunnit?"
"Schubert," I said, "Piano sonata #11 in F minor."
She squinted at me with her mouth hanging open, then composed herself and whistled another bit of music.
"Ace of the Base," I said. "From their 'Bridge' album, but I don't know the song's title."
After a moment, Toni muttered, "Close e-fucking-nough. Jeez." She thought a moment, then excitedly said, "Get this one, Brainiac: Big event in France in 1889."
"If you mean Paris, that's the year they completed the Eiffel Tower."
"Ow, damn it! Okay, okay, just a minute!"
"I'll get the drinks while you conjure up a really good one," I said.
Toni irritatedly said, "Yeah. You do that."
Chapter Twenty-Three
I heard the buzz of their voices and the occasional snicker or giggle while I made the drinks. As I returned to the room and handed the ladies their glasses, Toni and Sel had canary-eating grins on their faces.
After sipping her drink, Toni asked, "You ready, Brainiac?"
I smiled and said, "Try me."
"Okay, then. In what year was the first book printed in English?"
"Officially, William Caxton did that in 1475."
Both ladies had a minor hissy fit of irritation, then settled enough for Toni to ask, "Hey, you aren't cheating, are you? Is Stephanie feeding you the answers through that thing in your head?"
Sel reached to touch Toni's arm and shook her head. "No, Toni. Don't go there. We used to play this game long before he got involved with the Amarans."
Toni settled back and said, "Yeah. Okay. Sorry, but it just occurred to me, you know? I don't know him like you do."
"No sweat," I said. "I've heard things like that before."
"Damn," said Toni. "I wish my brother were here... Well, no, I don't really, given the circumstances, but I'll bet Teddy could kick your ass in sports trivia, Ed."
I laughed and said, "I'd guarantee it, Toni. I don't mess with sports trivia. That's why I don't try out for game shows. They'd get me every time on that stuff."
"Not at all? Not any sport? Why not?"
"Okay, you asked. No slight to your brother, but sports crap is as boring as most sports. I don't care who did what in which game when, so I never bother with it."
"Well, how is knowing who printed the first book in English more valuable?"
I shrugged. "Maybe it isn't," I said, "But it's more interesting to me than sports."
Thus went the weekend. When we weren't in bed, we were in the shower or the hot tub or devouring pizzas and drinks. Now and then Toni or Sel -- or both of them --would kick up a question about something obscure just to see if I could answer it. I missed one of Toni's questions having to do with pop music from the seventies, largely because I was in the middle of Africa at the time the song made the charts.
Explaining my reason for not knowing the answer opened the door for some questions I simply didn't want to answer. It didn't seem to me that Toni was the type to be able to understand the motivations of combat activities very well, so I generally avoided all mention of those times in my life or redirected any questions that seemed to lead that direction.
After one such redirection Sunday afternoon, Toni slumped in her chair at the kitchen table, crossed her arms, and huffed, "Okay. I get the damned hint."
"Maybe another time," I said. "I just don't want to take a chance on spoiling things this weekend."
"The weekend is damned near over," she said, still in a frump about it.
"There's plenty else to talk about, Toni. Sometimes talking about things like that spoil other things for me, and I'd rather not take that chance, either. I'm kind of happy with those other things just as they are."
Toni seemed to peer at me for a moment, then brightened with a trace of embarrassment. "Oh! You mean that there are some things you'd rather forget, right? Hey, I'm sorry, Ed."
I shrugged, rather than try to reply to that. There was nothing that I particularly wanted to forget, but the idea that there might be gave Toni an excuse not to feel slighted by my refusing to tell her anything of my time in various war zones.
Sunday evening, Toni excused herself on the grounds that Monday would be a big day at school and headed home to Gainesville. After seeing her off, Sel seemed to have something on her mind for a while that put her in a rather somber mood, but the mood disappeared about an hour later when we shared a shower and went to bed. I took my time in pleasing her and left no goosebumps unturned in the process. A few hours later we were ready for another shower and some sleep.
Monday morning, Selena
was out of the house and on her way to her campus by seven. I saw her off, then lingered over coffee and toast as I waited for Linda's call. When her call hadn't come by eight, I asked Steph to locate Linda for me.
Steph popped in to sit with me as she said, "Linda's at her office, Ed. Her car shows no signs of having been used within the last ten hours."
"Thanks, Steph. I'll give her a ring and roust her."
Using my comm implant, I called Linda's datapad and waited. When a few minutes had passed, I asked Stephanie if Linda was alone in her office.
"Yes," said Steph. "She appears to be asleep on her office couch."
"Well, her offices will be full of people shortly, and I doubt that she'd be happy to have any of them walk in on her. Let's wake her up."
"Are you sure you want to do that, Ed?"
"She can go back to sleep after we talk. Linda said she wanted to talk to me before I went to Dr. Breen's office, so I figure she must have had a reason."
"Okay, Ed."
I waited some moments for some response from Linda before I asked, "Is she awake, yet?"
"No, Ed. She isn't responding to my callings."
"Nudge her and..."
"I just tried that. Linda seems unable to waken, Ed. Her vitals appear normal, but she isn't waking up."
"Keep trying for another few minutes. If we can't wake her up, we'll call Doris and have her drop by to give it a shot."
A couple of minutes ticked by before Steph said, "She's awake, Ed. She says to give her a few minutes to get organized."
Relief washed over me, startling me slightly because I hadn't realized how tense I had been. I sipped coffee and waited for Linda's face to appear on my pad, but instead, she activated her voice-only link.
"Are you there, Ed?"
"Yup. More importantly, are you there, Linda? Awake, I mean?"
"Yes. Barely. Thanks. I have about ten minutes before the world starts beating on my door. About Dr. Breen..."
"In a minute. What about you? Why were you so hard to wake up? I've seen you bolt out of a bed because of some wrong sound a block away."
"Just damned tired, Ed. There have been some new developments concerning One Earth. The Grand Forks cops picked up a One Earther on an old assault warrant. He's a third timer, and that means that he'll go back to prison for a long haul. The DA and the feds may try to make a deal with him if he seems to know anything worthwhile. But never mind that. Dr. Breen is someone we want aboard our boat here at 3rd World, and your shooting incident gives us a perfect opportunity to explain what happened by showing her some things that we ordinarily couldn't. We've -- I've -- pitched her before, but she couldn't or wouldn't accept our offers at that time. I don't have time to tell you why right now because I have to get ready for work. Just do your best to make her want a better look at what we have to offer."
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 3 Page 17
