Licorice Whips

by Bridget Midway

  Sated, he fell back against the shower stall wall. Nikla rose to her feet. Before she could do anything else, he pulled her into his arms and held her so tightly, he thought he would squeeze the air out of her.

  “Nikla.”

  She peered up at him. “Not Sugar Baby?”

  Sweet gazed down at her. “Are you still going to protest in front of the store?”

  Nikla regarded him with seriousness before she nodded.

  “Then we can’t keep doing this.” Sweet waved his hand between their two bodies. “However this ends, we’re only going to disappoint ourselves.”

  ****

  After a real shower, and thanks to a brand new toothbrush Sweet had given her, Nikla cleaned up and got dressed. It still seemed so surreal that the same business she wanted to see shut down gave her some fond memories.

  Sweet’s dose of reality hit her harder than she thought. She had the same argument running through her head as well about them continuing to have a sexual relationship. Not willing to cut herself off cold turkey, and curious about his chosen lifestyle, she agreed to continue learning to be a submissive. She just hoped she hadn’t made a huge mistake.

  When she reemerged from the bathroom, she didn’t see Sweet in the office. She went into the kitchen area and found him in only his pants. Facing away from her, Nikla saw the claw marks across his back that she’d inflicted on him. Good. She wanted a reminder on him of what he would be missing.

  Nikla touched his skin. “I left my mark on you.”

  When Sweet turned around, he still carried a serious expression on his face although his eyes seemed softer when he looked at her. In his hand, he held a jar filled with the caramel they’d made.

  “Here.” He held up the jar to her.

  Nikla didn’t want to turn him down, but she shook her head. “I can’t take that.”

  He turned the jar around to show off a special label that he’d attached. On it, it read “Sugar Baby’s Topping.”

  Nikla laughed. “Cute. I still can’t take this.”

  “I want you to keep this.” He placed the jar in her hands. “Always remember what we did.”

  “Why not keep this at your place?”

  Sweet’s mouth hung open. He waited a beat before he answered. “I’d rather you keep it. I know how to make this again.”

  His answer sounded good, if not guarded. A tickle crept up the back of her neck when she suspected that he hid something from her. Maybe he had a wife in his place. Could he be just like Justin?

  Before Nikla could ponder other possibilities, her cell phone rang. “One second.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. The number didn’t look familiar but she answered it anyway. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Dearwood? It’s Bobbi.”

  Nikla glanced up at Sweet. As she stared at him, she said, “Hi, Bobbi.”

  Sweet blinked and crossed his arms as he stared at her.

  “I’m so sorry for missing our appointment. I hope I didn’t ruin your evening plans.” Bobbi sounded strong and lively considering she had stood up Nikla and Sweet.

  “I did miss you this evening, but I managed to fill in my time.”

  When she said that, Sweet leaned against the counter.

  “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to reschedule. I’ll be able to give you an answer about the unit after Halloween.” Bobbi asked.

  “After Halloween? That’s two more weeks.” Nikla watched Sweet’s expression change to confusion as she spoke to the elderly owner.

  “If my schedule is not convenient for you, you’re more than welcome to look for other locations. I will be tied up for a couple of weeks,” Bobbi said.

  Nikla glanced at Sweet and wanted to agree with Bobbi on being tied up. She dropped her gaze to the floor.

  “I don’t want to make any commitments until I return. But I have your proposal. I will review it carefully. My office will contact you again in a couple of weeks if you’re still interested.”

  “Yes, Bobbi. That would be fine. Feel free to call me anytime if anything changes.” Nikla tried to suppress her anger until she could disconnect the call. With the call ended, she turned to Sweet. “Bobbi is going to leave us on the hook. She’ll be tied up for a couple of weeks.”

  “Then the two of you will have something in common.” Sweet started to approach her just as his cell phone rang.

  “Bet you it’s Bobbi.” Nikla beamed.

  Sweet answered phone. “Yes?” He looked at Nikla. “Hi, Bobbi.”

  Nikla aimed to distract the hell out of Sweet. As he spoke to Bobbi, getting the bad news himself, Nikla did a little dance in front of him. To entice him more, she teased him by pretending to pull down her pants, tugging on one side then the other.

  When Sweet seemed to not break as he continued talking, Nikla upped the stakes. She pulled her pants down and bent over in front of him.

  “Look forward to seeing you again, Bobbi.” Sweet ended the call and tossed his phone to the side as he went after Nikla.

  Before she could right herself, he grabbed her and pulled her back against himself. Through his thin pants, she felt his hardness.

  “You will learn very quickly never to tease a Dom.” Sweet gave her a rough kiss as he backed her against the same butcher block center island table, the same one he disciplined her on using only candies.

  “What happened to us not having sex anymore?” she asked. Her body begged for Nikla to shut the hell up.

  “One last time.” Sweet reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a string of condoms. “I had a feeling I would be able to use this before you left.”

  He pulled down her pants and turned her around. Nikla braced her hands on the table as she felt Sweet pulling down his pants. She heard the sound of him ripping open the wrapper.

  Nikla managed to remove one foot out of her yoga pants to give her more freedom. Sweet placed his hand on the small of her back. She felt him sliding the tip of his cock up and down between the folds of her nether lips.

  “You are so sexy.” With that declaration, Sweet eased himself inside of her pussy and held himself there.

  His shaft filled her completely. Nikla pushed her ass back against him to get him in deeper. The pounding of her heart sounded in her head, but she heard Sweet’s panting breath.

  He kept his thrusts slow and even. He controlled her body, her every emotion. Nikla loved the spontaneity. Damn Deana.

  In keeping with the surprises, Sweet pulled out of her, turned Nikla around, picked her up, and placed her on top of the table. Grabbing her legs, he pulled her forward. When he entered her again, Nikla had to grab his broad shoulders.

  Sweet grabbed her top and pulled it up above her breasts. As he cupped one, his mouth latched onto the other. His skilled tongue circled her nipple, getting it hard enough to be both painful and pleasurable.

  Nikla wrapped her legs around Sweet’s body. When her pants dangled from one ankle, she felt silly that she hadn’t removed them. She had no idea that Sweet would take her like he did, especially since he seemed dead set against touching her at all except to discipline her.

  “Don’t come.” Sweet stared into her eyes, challenging her.

  Nikla felt her vaginal walls closing in around his thick cock. Sweet must have felt it, too. He slowed his thrusts and kept his stare on her.

  “Trust me.” Sweet stroked the side of her face and placed a kiss on her lips.

  Nikla wanted to trust him. Throughout the night, he’d been a man of his word. He hadn’t hurt her. He did teach her how to cook at least one thing. He also gave her the best pleasure she’d had in a long, long time.

  The annoying voice in the back of her head questioned why Sweet hadn’t revealed his real name to her. When a man fucked this well, did she really need to know?

  Yes.

  Nikla rotated her hips. The motion felt too good to her. Sweet hit spots inside of her that she’d never hit with her vibrator.

  As soon as Nikla felt Sweet shaking, she kn
ew he couldn’t hold out for much longer. She brought one hand down and squeezed one of Sweet’s hard nipples. He groaned and gripped her ass.

  “Now! Now!” Sweet screamed.

  Nikla released her pent-up feelings and with it, an intense orgasm that made her legs tremble.

  As the two of them tried to regain their breaths, Sweet broke the ice.

  “I want you tomorrow night.” Without disengaging from her, he kissed the side of her face. “I’ll pick you up from your apartment.”

  “Really? I don’t get a say so in that?” Although Nikla wanted to sound like she hated him for taking over her life, she actually loved it.

  Sweet shook his head. “If you want this, you need to give me control. I’m going to tell you what I want you to wear.”

  Nikla felt her heart starting to pound. She took a deep breath.

  Sweet must have recognized her uneasiness. “Breathe.” He held onto her wrist and pressed his sizable thumb against her inner wrist. “Trust me. I will take care of you.”

  The concentrated feeling allowed her to regain control of her breathing and anxiety.

  Nikla nodded. “I would probably feel more comfortable if I knew your real name.”

  Sweet pulled out of her and pulled up his pants. “You know my name. It’s Sweet.”

  “Right.” Nikla jumped down from the table and got dressed. She grabbed her jar of caramel. “Thanks for the gift I can’t use.”

  “I guess you’re willing to wait to see if Bobbi will allow you to have the other unit, right?” Sweet glared at her.

  “And you’re still going for both suites, too, right?” She clutched the jar. Right now the jar felt warmer than Sweet. “You thought I would give up my dreams for a man who won’t give me his real name?” Nikla shook her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Sweet.”

  “Good night, Sugar Baby.”

  With her newly anointed scene name, Nikla now wondered who the hell she was. How could she explain this life to her friends and family? How could she tell her father that not only had she slept with the enemy, she would be following his every word?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sweet bounded down from his apartment and strolled into the Decadent Treats store with only one thing on his mind: Nikla. Although he hadn’t expected to have sex with Nikla, he knew he couldn’t allow that to happen again. As a Dom, he had to keep in control. With Nikla, he only felt out of control.

  Before he headed to the kitchen, he went to the office. Sweet had cleaned up the kitchen before he retreated to his apartment after Nikla went home. He hadn’t expected to see Masaun in the office so early.

  “Morning.” Sweet looked through some mail piled in the inbox on the desk as he scanned the floor. He thought he had picked everything up, including his discarded condom wrappers.

  Knowing Masaun, he could find one small piece of evidence that proved what Sweet had done in their office.

  “Did you forget to tell me something?” Masaun asked as he sat behind the desk.

  Sweet cut a glance at him but continued looking at the mail. He wondered for a moment if Masaun had found out about his side deal to acquire the two suites in downtown Virginia Beach. A tickle crawled over his belly as he thought about his arguments for what he wanted to do.

  “Hanson requested to get off early on Halloween.” Sweet shrugged.

  “I knew about that. Anything else I might have missed?”

  Sweet didn’t like Masaun’s fishing expedition. “Nope.” He headed to the kitchen to start on some fudge.

  “Okay. Hey, you’re welcome.”

  Sweet stopped at the doorway and turned around. He felt his eyebrows draw together. “What am I supposed to be thanking you for?”

  Masaun opened his desk drawer and pulled out two unopened condoms. “Supplying you with protection when you were in the office fucking your brains out last night.” He threw the condoms at Sweet, who caught them in midair.

  “Don’t you dare come off as innocent.” Sweet closed the door just in case Connie or Hanson showed up early. Then he shoved the condoms in his pocket. “You’re the one who put them in the drawer in the first place. You were going to fuck Kindle in here had I not caught you.”

  “I didn’t. I only had the condoms in the desk because they happened to be in my pocket. Kindle and I had gone to a party, and there were bowls of them all around. Coincidentally, she said that we should grab some for you. She put some in my pocket. I was emptying it out and put them there.”

  “Yeah, because your car is just so far away. Oh, wait. They were for me, right? Damn. If you only knew where I lived. You are so full of shit.” Sweet thought about what Masaun had said. “How did you know I had someone in here? I cleaned up. Do you count your condoms or something?”

  Masaun cocked his head. “Don’t be silly. I forgot some paperwork here last night so I showed up and saw you in the office with a woman. Against the wall. Nice touch.”

  Good. Masaun hadn’t seen Sweet with Nikla on his desk or, especially, on the couch, the shower or in the kitchen. Sweet hadn’t even heard the door opening or the alarm being disabled. He had used every bit of his will and concentration on Nikla and her satisfaction.

  He swallowed, waiting to see if Masaun knew that he’d been with the lone protester.

  “I am at least happy to see you getting over Melinda. Is this the woman you said you just met?”

  Sweet nodded.

  “You know. I get that when you get the urge, you have to act on it.” Masaun stood. “What I don’t get is why you didn’t take her to your place. It’s not like you had far to go.”

  Masaun could never understand Sweet’s need to keep his sanctuary his own. Opening up his home would be like opening up his soul. Sweet could do a lot of things. Being that vulnerable couldn’t be one of them.

  “Like you said. The need hit and we had to act on it here. It won’t happen again.” Sweet started to leave again when Masaun’s voice stopped him.

  “So you’re not going to tell me about this mystery woman? Is she vanilla or is she interested in–”

  Sweet cut off his brother. “I don’t know. Too new to tell. Probably just a one-night stand type of thing.”

  Masaun regarded Sweet for a while before he spoke. Sweet knew his brother knew he hadn’t told the full truth. Had he been honest with him and himself, he would have confessed that, just like with Melinda, he would want to take this relationship to both a romantic and kinky level.

  “Okay. Just be safe. I know the beating you took after your last one.” Masaun walked over to Sweet. He patted him on his chest. “Protect that and you’ll be okay.”

  Easier said than done. Sweet made a crucial misstep by having sex with Nikla, not once but twice. Then that incredible treatment in the shower where she gave him the best blow job he’d ever gotten from any woman, or any submissive or slave for that matter. He couldn’t get her out of his head.

  Thinking about it now started to make his dick hard. A part of himself wanted to jump into his truck and drive over to her apartment to take her again. If he couldn’t find her there, he would go to where she worked. Maybe get her in a locker room. His mouth watered just thinking about tasting her, using some of his caramel on that cleanly-shaven pussy of hers and devouring her until she came over and over and over again.

  “Morning, boss.” Connie barreled through the hallway.

  “Morning. Be right back.” Sweet had to take care of some business first before he could be any good for the day.

  ****

  At the end of her second class of the day, Nikla still felt wound up. Sweet had given her a lot to chew on since last night. First the incredible sex that he didn’t want to have happen again...even though she could tell that he did. Throw on top of that the idea of starting this lifestyle that she’d fantasized about but never thought in her wildest dreams that she would do.

  Maybe a good, long swim in the recreation center pool would help ease her sexual tensions. Just as Nikla headed to
her work locker to get her swimsuit, her phone rang.

  Nikla recognized the number being from the Zuberi office. “Bobbi.” Nikla drew up a smile. “I’m surprised to hear back from you so soon.”

  Nikla heard Bobbi giggling a little. “I just wanted a quick word with you before I go. I suspected something about you and just wanted something cleared up.”

  Nikla felt a tickle creep up the back of her neck. “Suspected something about me? Did you get something from a background check on me?”

  Bobbi laughed. “No, dear. Nothing like that. I just wonder if owning and running a business is really something you want or are you just trying to prove something to someone.”

  Nikla gritted her teeth and counted to ten before answering. “With every fiber of my being, I truly want to have my own business. It’s been a dream of mine for years.” She hoped her conviction came through on the call. Then a little niggling of doubt existed in the back of her head. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “Maybe I’m making that assumption in comparison to Mr. Hawkes. He showed a lot more passion for his businesses.” Bobbi’s conviction in her voice worried Nikla.

  She almost wondered if the owner had her mind made up already, and she needed Nikla to convince her otherwise.

  “I think because he’s already a business owner that he’s used to getting his way.” Nikla pressed her phone to her ear using her shoulder as she put away the rolled mats into a supply closet. “Rest assured, Mrs. Zuberi, I want this more than you know.”

  Nikla didn’t mean to sound so heavy handed with the pressure for Bobbi to side with her. She wanted the woman to know what acquiring this space meant for her.

  “Message received.” The lightness in Bobbi’s voice came through on the phone. “I am still considering your proposal. I hope I haven’t worried you about that.”

  Nikla blew out her breath.

  “So did he keep his word?” Bobbi asked. “Did he teach you how to make candy?”