by Regina Cole
“You can’t go through life mistrusting every guy because one of them dicked you over. Tyler is an ass, and he hurt you. But the only person you’re cheating by shutting everyone out is yourself. It’s hard to put yourself out there. But when it’s for the right guy? It’s worth it, babe. Totally worth it.”
When Eliza opened her eyes, she wasn’t surprised to feel a tear slip down her cheek.
“You’re an awesome friend, do you know that?”
Bree sounded a little choked up, too, when she replied, “You are, too. I love you, you dork. Now go call that boy and see what he sent you. And then send me a text, because I’m nosy and I want to know what it is.”
Eliza laughed and dashed the wetness from her cheek. “Okay. You got it.”
She ended the call and set the phone down on her nightstand. Then she walked directly to the kitchen, picked up the box Chandler had sent her, and sat down in front of her laptop.
Her hair was wet, she was wearing no makeup, and no bra. She didn’t care. Chandler was waiting for her call, and she wanted to do this.
Bree was right. Eliza was brave enough to try.
Chandler was in his kitchen when his laptop began to trill the alert for an incoming Skype call. His heart quickened the pace of its beating as he dried his hands on the dish towel that hung on the front of the oven door.
Eliza. Had to be. Nobody else would Skype him out of the blue, right? Of course, this wasn’t exactly out of the blue.
His surprise must have arrived.
He clicked the green Accept button as soon as he sat down at his computer desk. It took just a moment for the video call to connect, and then there Eliza was on his screen.
He wished she was in his office with him, but he’d settle for this for now. Just a few more days, and they’d be together again. Hopefully it would be as wonderful as Hawaii had been. Who was he kidding? Of course it would be.
“Hi,” Eliza said, pushing her wet hair back from her shoulder. Her T-shirt was damp where the ends had rested. She looked completely delectable.
“Hi. You look good enough to eat.”
She shook her head and cut her gaze at him. “I look like death warmed over. Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying. You look great. Like, good enough to strip and fuck the brains out of.”
“And there’s your problem. You shouldn’t look with your cock.”
He laughed, adjusting the lean on his desk chair and rubbing his hands on the arms. “It’s the smartest part of my body, after all.”
“Smartest? Hardly. But it’s not bad. I’d give it an A for effort.”
“Now you’re just being mean.” He gave her his best lost-puppy imitation. She shook her head and adjusted the box in her lap.
Oh yeah, the box!
He raised one eyebrow at her. “So I see you got my little gift. Ready to open it now?”
Eliza looked down at the box in her hands, her brows lowering slightly. “I don’t know. It’s not something that’ll make me want to throttle you, is it?”
Hardly, but he wasn’t above teasing her a bit. “Maybe. How do you feel about live reptiles?”
She shrieked and dropped the box. Chandler just laughed.
“I’m kidding you. Come on, open it. Nothing alive. But it will move if you treat it right.”
“Oh yeah?” She shot him a distrustful glance as she picked up the box and began to remove the brown packing paper. “I will kill you if something jumps out of here and scares me.”
“You’d be totally justified. But I didn’t do you like that. I promise.” He waited, anticipation prickling the hairs on his arms as he watched her methodically remove each bit of packing paper until the plain white box inside came into view.
“More and more mysterious. Unlabeled box.” Eliza pulled it free and pushed the brown cardboard aside. Picking at the tape that sealed the side, she frowned. “Is this a gift, or is it Fort Knox?”
“I couldn’t risk a nosy postal worker checking out your goods. Get some scissors.”
She did, and her disappearance gave him a second to breathe. He’d done the right thing, he knew it. Was it super-kinky? No, he hadn’t been able to come up with something that far into left field on such short notice. But it was unique enough to give them a good time tonight, and that was all he wanted. A little reminder for Eliza of what it would be like when he got there, when they were together again.
“Back,” she said, and ran the scissors over the sealing tape. “There.”
Chandler held his breath as she lifted the lid off the white box and examined the objects inside.
“Well, obviously I know what this is,” Eliza said wryly, pulling the sleek blue and white vibrator from the box. A small protrusion on the top side of the shaft held a secondary vibrator, the shape reminiscent of a jackrabbit. It was soft, modern, and completely charged. He had been thoughtful enough to do that before he’d dropped it into the mail.
He folded his arms and grinned. “There’s a little more to it.”
Eliza set the vibrator down and looked in the box. “Well, the lube is obvious.”
“Got to ensure your comfort.”
“Naturally.” And then she pulled the small plastic square from the depths of the box. An auxiliary jack extended from the narrowest side, with an empty port on the other. Eliza turned it around and around in her hands, fumbling with the wheel atop the box, examining the jack. “Okay, you’ve got me. I’m stumped. What is this supposed to be?”
Chandler rubbed his hands together to deliver the sales pitch he’d been practicing for the past couple of days.
“That vibrator is controlled by sound. So you plug it into the speaker of whatever you want. Your MP3 player, or phone, or maybe your computer. And then the vibrator moves according to what it hears.”
Eliza’s eyebrows climbed nearly to her hairline, and her smile was one of bemused pleasure. “Oh. Okay.”
“So if, for instance, your boyfriend was a few hundred miles away, and wanted to make you feel extremely good, you could connect it to your computer. And then my voice would do the delicious, dirty things to your body that my hands, mouth, and cock really wish they could.”
Eliza stared directly at him. “That’s brilliant.”
Chandler grinned. “I know. So plug it in, baby. We’ve got all night, but I don’t want to waste a minute.”
As Eliza stood and began to plug the receiver into her laptop, Chandler pulled off his shirt and loosened the button on his pants. Even just watching her move was good to him. Her nipples were hard beneath her T-shirt, and every time they pressed against the thin fabric he longed to reach out and touch them. But he couldn’t. So he told her.
“Your breasts are calling to me, Liza. Your nipples look amazing.”
In response, she stopped moving and pulled her shirt tight over her chest. Chandler’s hand slipped into his underwear and he palmed his cock as she teased him.
“God, yes.”
“Move your camera,” Eliza said, her voice growing a bit husky. “I want to see you touching your cock.”
He tilted the laptop screen down a bit until he could see what was going on in the preview window. Eliza’s eyes darkened as she saw his hand moving up and down on his hard erection.
“It makes me crazy to watch you touch yourself.”
“Then get ready to be insane, baby. Take your shirt off.”
She did, and then replaced her earbuds. She turned the receiver and the vibrator on, jumping and smiling when the blue vibe started to pulse in her hands. But then it went quiet, and she frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Chandler grinned evilly. He’d tested out some things before letting that little gem leave the house, so he had some plans for her.
“Eliza, I want you to remove your panties and put the head of that vibrator against your clit.”
With each of his words, the vibrator jerked and rumbled in her hands. Eliza let out a delighted laugh.
“Oh God, you’
re going to enjoy this way too much.”
“And so are you,” he said, rubbing his cock faster as she stood and shimmied out of her panties. She’d moved the laptop to her living room, and when she placed it down on the coffee table he was right at eye level with her beautiful pussy. It was a bit shiny, as if she’d been getting wetter and wetter over the past few minutes. He closed his eyes, imagining he could smell her body, taste her skin, plunge his hard cock into her wet, hot depths. Shit, he was going to come soon.
“Okay,” Eliza said, nudging her beautiful lips apart so the blunt head of the blue shaft was barely penetrating her. “Now what?”
“Now, listen to me. And this.” And then he pressed Play on the bass-heavy playlist he’d crafted over the weekend. Quiet storm? This was more like a category-4 hurricane.
“Ohmygod,” Eliza moaned as the vibe kicked into high gear. “Oh God.”
“Now listen to my rhythm as I fuck you from here, okay? In. Out. In. Out.” Chandler timed the strokes of his cock to the strokes of her vibrator. Her hips were twisting, her mouth opening as she gasped and writhed on her couch. He could see all of her, her legs spread wide, her hand moving between her legs as she thrust the toy inside her, the smaller shaft on top bumping against her swollen clit.
If only he was there, his balls smacking hard against her as his cock filled her. Chandler’s breath was loud and ragged, but he had to keep talking. His voice was his direct connection to her hungry body, and he didn’t want to deprive either of them.
“In. Out. Fuck yourself harder for me, Liza. Your body is so hot, so beautiful. I can’t wait to fuck you again. Your mouth is so hot, I love the way your pussy walls grip my cock. I want you to come for me, Liza. Feel that vibration inside you? That’s me. That’s mine. You’re all mine, and I’m going to fill you with my cum. So don’t wait. Don’t you want it? Show me. Come for me. Now.”
He shouted the last word, and her hips lifted clear off the couch. The vibrator was so far inside her he could only see the white handle jutting out of her. Her scream was loud through the microphone, but he didn’t care. She shuddered, moving slower and slower. And then he let himself go. Spurts of hot white cum covered his hand and dripped onto his shorts.
They stared at one another through the screen, both out of breath for several long minutes.
“Holy shit,” Eliza said, wincing slightly as she withdrew the toy from her body. “How long till you get here again?”
“Not nearly soon enough.”
23
Eliza hummed to herself as she put away the instrument from her last test. Gosh, it was good to be packing up. Somewhere down the hallway, Christmas music was blaring. Normally it would annoy her, but today? Screw it. Nothing could get under her skin.
Chandler was in the air and soon he’d be in her car. Once things were cleaned up here, she was heading to the airport to wait for him.
A giggle escaped her as she removed her lab coat. She felt like a twelve-year-old girl waiting for her first date. The last few days had been hard to wait through, but nightly Skype sex had eased the anticipation just a little. That setup he’d sent her was genius. She’d have to thank him again for that.
As her depraved little brain descended into multiple lusty ways for her gratitude to be shown, a knock on the door made her jump.
“I’m sorry, Miz Jackson.” Tyler drew out the title as if it were an insult. “I’m going to need you to stay late tonight. There’s a problem in the Tobacco Products Department, and their shift supervisor’s already gone.”
“Sorry, I can’t.” Eliza didn’t look at him as she packed her stuff into her backpack. “I’m picking up a friend at the airport.”
Tyler sneered. “I bet you are. Let me guess. Female? Buzz cut, leather bra, complete dyke?”
Cold rage fell through her veins like icy daggers from the sky. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before answering.
“No. And my private life is none of your business, Tyler. Sorry I can’t help you tonight. Besides, Tobacco’s not my department.”
Tyler stepped close to her, and Eliza fought the urge to scramble backward. Stand your ground. He’s just trying to intimidate you. He can’t hurt you.
“I’m your boss, and you’re salaried. When we need you, you’ve got an obligation to be here.”
Eliza leveled her gaze at him, even though looking at him made the bile rise in her throat. The thought that she’d once been intimate with this guy, thought she could love him, made her want to puke. “I’m on vacation starting now, and it’s been approved. You can take it up with HR if you’ve got a problem with me. Now, if you don’t let me go, I’m going to be late to the airport.”
Tyler’s gaze raked her up and down. Eliza curled her hands into fists to keep from shuddering in disgust. He looked down his nose at her. “I’m sure she can wait an hour or two while you fix Tobacco’s problem.”
“No, he can’t.” She leaned on the pronoun, just for the satisfaction of seeing Tyler’s face go white with surprise.
“He? Oh really. Trying to fake some other guy out with your bisexual tendencies?” Tyler bent down, his face only inches from hers. “How long before you beg him to do some of the sick shit you forced on me?”
She’d swallowed all this for so long. She’d bided her time, sure that Tyler would eventually get tired of spreading rumors and tales about her. Turning the other cheek had only gotten her more and more abuse at his hands. Now his breath was blowing across her face, his hands were much too close to her body, and every cell in her was glaring red and shouting Klaxon-like warnings at her.
Defend yourself, now.
She’d ignored her inner voice for much too long.
“Back away from me,” Eliza said, carefully keeping her face turned to the side. She didn’t want to smell his breath, didn’t want to take the chance that his lips would come any nearer to hers. His body was so close to hers, much too close. “Right now. You’re invading my personal space.”
“Like you invaded mine when you invited some bitch to fuck you instead? You don’t understand just how screwed up you are, do you?”
He was yelling in her ear now. Fear leapt up and clogged her throat, and she wanted to turn and run. She wanted to, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Back away now, Tyler. I’m warning you.”
“What’ll you do, you fucked-up little cunt? You can’t lay a finger on me because I’m your boss, and you know it. So what now? Is your guy friend some kind of transgendered freak? Someone who can satisfy your greedy, fucked-up fantasies? I bet he is. Or is it she? Shim? How the fuck should I know?”
It wasn’t the hateful words that did it, the terrible things he said. It wasn’t even the way he was using his size to intimidate her. She hated that, but she was used to it. No, it was the laugh that caused her to snap. That caustic, evil son of a bitch was laughing at her, mocking the very real pain he himself had caused her. So she stopped being afraid, and she started getting mad.
“Back off, Tyler!” She planted her hands on his chest and shoved backward as hard as she could. Tyler wasn’t expecting the attack, so he flailed backward, off balance. Knocking into a table, he grabbed at it for purchase, but his hands slipped. He hit his ass on the floor, hard. He sat there and stared up at her, his mouth hanging open like a fish’s.
Eliza’s heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to hear anything. Her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat, her breathing ragged like she’d spent the last half hour sprinting. A surge of adrenaline was still coursing through her, and for a moment, she didn’t care. She let her feelings out, and unfortunately for Tyler, the perfect target was sitting stunned at her feet.
“I told you to back off, and you didn’t. So fuck you, Tyler! Fuck you for making me trust you. Fuck you for taking what I told you in confidence, in the privacy of our relationship, and exaggerating it to everyone you’ve met since we broke up. Ninety percent of what you’ve said about me is a lie, and you don’t e
ven realize how much you’ve hurt me. So fuck you. You’ve got two choices. You can shut up about me and leave me alone, or you can understand when I cut off your balls and mail them to your mother for Christmas. So what’s it going to be, dickbag? Your move.”
She was standing between his legs, her fisted hands between him and her as she screamed at him. God, it felt good to finally tell him off. Retribution was so sweet. Too bad the feeling didn’t last that long.
“Mr. Hagans!” Schweitzer, one of the youngest chemists on staff, was standing in the doorway. He looked petrified. “Do I need to get Security?”
What? No! She wasn’t the one.... Well, it probably looked that way. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but Tyler spoke before she could.
“Yes. That’d be great. Tell them that Ms. Jackson has been fired, and needs an escort off the premises.”
“What?” As quick as it had come, Eliza’s adrenaline surge disappeared. She felt empty, dumbfounded. “You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I did.” Tyler struggled to his feet as Schweitzer took off down the hall. “Collect your belongings and leave immediately. You’re being terminated for physically attacking me.”
“But you started it! I warned you, and I—”
“Feel free to take it up with HR, but it won’t get you anywhere. They know all about your deviant habits, so who do you think they’ll side with?” Tyler shot her a glare, then dusted off his pants and left the room.
Eliza stared after him. Had a bomb just gone off in this room? Had an experiment gone badly and left rubble spread around her? Because that’s what she felt like. The only thing she had left, the only thing in the world she’d gotten up for since Tyler had fucked her over was this job. And now, just like that, he’d taken that from her, too?
“It’s not fair,” she whispered as tears tracked down her cheeks. “It’s not fucking fair.”
HR would bury the problem in paperwork. If she wanted this termination reversed, and fast, there was only one way. If she didn’t hurry she wouldn’t make it. Eliza grabbed her purse and ran down the hall in the opposite direction of the Security offices. If she made it up the back stairs to the executive level, they wouldn’t be able to intercept her before she talked to the CEO.
