Sweet Ultimatum

by Naima Simone

  “I could come just from watching you touch your pussy,” he confessed, his attention never wavering from her fingers and their sensual movements. “Do you think of me?” Her eyes jerked to his to find his scrutiny had moved from her sex to her face, the hawklike stare penetrating in its intensity. “When you touch yourself,” he clarified, “do you think of me?”

  Caitlin stared up at him, the answer—the truth—trapped in her throat. Even as passion claimed her, the wounded part of her soul cried out against giving him another weapon to use against her. If Selig guessed the power he wielded over her…Caitlin didn’t know if she trusted him with it.

  “Lie to me then,” Selig murmured, circling her wrist and lifting her fingers to his lips. He drew first one, and then two, fingers into his mouth, sucking the cream free. The caress so mirrored her dream, her pussy clenched in response. “Lie and say it’s me you dream of when you come.”

  “Yes.” The truth erupted from her lips, the combination of his words and the desperation she doubted Selig realized was reflected in his eyes, dragging the admission from her. She’d given him control over her body and now she’d just committed the same with her heart.

  A shiver coursed through his frame and for a quick moment he buried his face in her neck, his lips pressed to her throat. He whispered something against her skin, but the words were lost to her. In an abrupt motion, Selig straightened and she ached for the loss of his touch. He reached out toward the loveseat and dragged an arm cushion from the furniture. Tucking the pillow beneath her hips so her back arched off the floor, Selig leaned over her once more, taking her mouth in another hot, wet kiss. The hair dusting his thighs tickled the soft skin of hers. The dark wings of hair swung forward enclosing them in their own private world. She broke off the kiss, turning her head to nuzzle the thick strands and tunnel her fingers through the dark waves. She’d loved his curls years ago, but the longer length emphasized the darker, harder edge of his sexuality. A side of him she’d come to crave.

  Selig stretched over her, grabbing his jeans and removing a silver foil from the pocket. He ripped the packet open, and as he extracted the protection, she touched his hand, arresting the movement.

  “Please,” she whispered, “let me.”

  Selig considered her for several long moments, a muscle ticking in his clenched jaw. With a small nod, he handed her the latex and tossed the foil package on top of his jeans.

  “Do you know what it feels like having your fingers on my cock?” He wrapped his fingers around his erection, stroking up the steel length before encircling the base. The motion enthralled her, seeing Selig pleasure himself was erotic as hell. While he steadied his cock, Caitlin slid the condom down his length in a slow caress. She used both hands, taking unabashed joy in stroking his erection in the journey downward, not stopping until her fingers met his.

  An audible breath shuddered from him before his palms slid down her legs until they reached her ankles. Encircling her ankles, he lifted her legs, bending them and pressing back until her thighs rested against her chest. Leaving her open and vulnerable. The air of the room brushed her exposed sex. She whimpered, not sure if it originated from discomfiture or the brutal sexuality of the position.

  “Damn, it’s pretty. So soft and pink. All that cream for me.” She cried out as he bent and swiped his tongue through the folds. “It’s so good, baby.” He leaned back and notched the head of his cock at her pussy, pushing forward until it sat just inside her, “Fucking you is better than breathing. It’s addicting. Like a fucking drug. And it’s mine.”

  Selig withdrew and seconds later slid forward lodging another inch inside her rippling core. He repeated the motion several times and minutes later half of his cock had yet to be gloved by her heat. Caitlin squirmed beneath him, trying to arch up to meet his measured thrust, and finding her efforts hampered by the position. She remained at his mercy, the pace and depth in his complete control.

  By the time his cock was seated from root to tip inside her pussy, they both shook with need and sweat poured from their bodies. The position, coupled with the cushion beneath her hips, deepened the penetration, making his shaft seem larger, heavier. He stretched the walls of her vagina, leaving no space untouched.

  “Selig,” she panted, her fingers digging into his muscled forearms, scrabbling for purchase.

  “Shh,” he crooned, the heels of his palms pressing her knees, “I have you. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Again, his words duplicated those from her dreams. Her heart clenched, wishing his declaration was true. Wishing…

  The first hard thrust sent her hurtling toward orgasm. Her cry of shock and need ripped through the air and she squeezed his thick arms, clutching tighter as Selig fucked her with abandon. His hips slapped against the back of her thighs, his balls tapping the small entrance between the globes of her ass. His cock drove in and out at a furious pace, his face twisted into a grimace of agonizing pleasure.

  “Take it, Caitlin. Fuck, baby, you’re so good. Take me. Yeah, baby, that’s it. That’s it.”

  Her head twisted from side to side, her cries escalating to screams and pleas for mercy, for more. The need tore through her, convalescing into a tight, hard knot in her sex. Incoherent with the hunger that clawed at her womb, she surged upward with the last of her strength, her hips lifting from the cushion. Oh…God…this was it…this was…

  She screamed, the knot exploding into a white-hot ball of fire that consumed her, hurled her into the flames. Her body bowed, the force of the orgasm lifting her until only her shoulders pressed to the floor.

  “Damn you,” Selig snarled above her right before shoving her knees apart and arching over her. One hand slammed to the floor next to her head and the other tangled in her hair, dragging her head up to meet his bruising kiss. She quaked in his hold, the wild thrusts of his hips stretching the orgasm out until she almost begged him to stop. Then, with a curse, he stiffened and his head fell back on his shoulders. His hips continued to buck as bursts of semen jetted inside her, setting off aftershocks that felt more like mini-orgasms. Selig groaned long and deep, his head sagging forward. Tremors shuddered through his large frame and Caitlin soothed her palms over his shoulders and back, calming the shocks strong enough to drag low grunts of pleasure from him. His hair shielded his face from her, and though she wanted to smooth it back and gaze into his face, Caitlin feared what she would see. She closed her eyes, her hands sliding away from him to rest next to her body. With a sigh she succumbed to the fatigue settling over her like a heavy blanket. Her last thought before drifting off was Selig had won.

  She would give in to his demand to exorcise her from his life. If it meant being with him, Caitlin would seize the time for however long it lasted. The irony didn’t elude her. To rid himself of her presence in his life, Selig had succeeded in trapping her heart forever. He would walk away free leaving her a prisoner.

  Chapter Eight

  “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

  Caitlin glanced up and grinned. She pushed her chair back from the restaurant table and rose to her feet. She gave Alise a quick, tight squeeze of welcome. Alise returned the embrace before pulling the remaining chair from the table and plunking down into it with a loud, dramatic sigh.

  “I’m sorry about being late. There was so much traffic out today.”

  Caitlin glanced out the window that offered a perfect view of New Eden’s Main Street. A car-free Main Street.

  “Traffic?” She arched an eyebrow. “Right.” Caitlin cast a pointed glance down at Alise’s shirt. Her friend’s gaze followed hers to the ragged tail where a lone button winked at them—since its buttonhole had been matched with the one above it. Both women looked up, staring at each other for a beat of silence. Laughter spilled from them in the next instant.

  “Okay, busted,” Alise chuckled, slipping the last four buttons through the holes and refastening them with their correct mates. “In my defense, we are newlyweds. We’re supposed to have nooners.”
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br />   Caitlin hunched her shoulders, holding her palms out in a “whatever floats your boat” gesture. “I didn’t say a word.” She picked her menu up and perused the lunch specials, a smile still tugging at the corner of her mouth.

  Laughing, Alise studied her menu and for the next few minutes they selected their meals and drinks. Once their waitress returned with the beverages, Alise folded her arms on the table, leaning forward to give Caitlin a conspiratorial wink.

  “I was going to ask for a cigarette, but I think that might be frowned on.”

  “Oh I don’t know,” Caitlin snickered. “If you explained to management that it’s a post-coital smoke, they might accommodate you.”

  Alise’s hearty shout of laughter turned several heads their way. Not that her friend cared a bit. It was one of the things Caitlin loved—and envied—about the other woman. From her flaming red hair to her loud belly laughs, Alise embraced life, living it to the fullest and damn anyone who didn’t like it. She had met her friend at the same restaurant they dined at during a packed lunch hour. They had ended up sharing a lunch and by the time they’d risen from the table, had planned a date for another. Caitlin had discovered later that Alise was engaged to Mac, Selig’s best friend.

  “You are so bad.” Alise wriggled her brows. “Although about half an hour ago, I was worse.”

  “Please,” Caitlin groaned, “I beg you. No details. My young heart and bleeding ears can’t take it.”

  “Okay, your loss.” Alise sighed, lifting her glass for a long sip of her soda. “You’ll never know how good Mac is at—”

  “Oh God!” Caitlin squealed. Her arm shot out to slap a hand over Alise’s mouth.

  “Fine.” The muffled word came on the heels of a breath of laughter. Caitlin lowered her hand, eying her friend in case she decided to let any more details of her sex life slip. Damn, she shuddered, all she needed were those mental images. “You’re such a sissy.”

  “I’ll take that.” Caitlin sipped from her iced tea, “I’d rather be a sissy and still be able to sleep at night without all those nasty nightmares of you and Mac going at it.”

  When Alise’s lips parted, most likely to impart another tidbit of her husband’s prowess, Caitlin held up a warning finger. Grinning, Alise mimed twisting a lock over her lips. Yeah, as if she trusted that.

  “Now don’t forget about tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow night?” At Alise’s glare, Caitlin shrugged, sheepish. “Sorry. What’s tomorrow night?”

  “Your date.”

  Well, shit. She had forgotten about that. She groaned, turning imploring eyes on her friend, but Alise’s steely gray gaze didn’t show signs of sympathy.

  “Don’t think it, Caitlin Madison,” she growled. “You promised to go as a wedding gift to me and you are not backing out. I already set it up with Rick so don’t even consider calling it off.”

  “Alise…” Caitlin had agreed to the blind date just to stifle her friend’s constant haranguing about being a recluse. She’d set the date for a night during the week Alise was supposed to be on her honeymoon. That way she could cry off without guilt and the other woman finding out. That plan seemed shot to hell.

  “Don’t ‘Alise’ me. You’re not cancelling that date. And just to make sure, Mac and I are going too.”

  “I’m surprised Mac agreed to go. He’s not that fond of me as it is and you coerce him into going on a date with me?” Mac was polite for his wife’s sake, yet he had never made any bones about not caring for the woman he believed betrayed his best friend.

  “Mac has warmed up to you over the year.” Caitlin shot her an incredulous look and Alise laughed aloud. “Okay, maybe ‘warmed up’ is stretching it, but he did agree to go for me. So, I repeat, you are not getting out of it.”

  “A double date, great,” Caitlin muttered. “Just like high school. Maybe we can go to the drive-in afterward.” She scowled over the rim of her glass.

  “It’s probably been so long for you, you wouldn’t know what to do in a backseat if I gave you a manual.”

  Caitlin coughed, choking on the tea trapped in her throat by laughter. Ever helpful, Alise leaned over and clapped her on the back.

  “A manual?” she gasped, dabbing at her eyes with her napkin. “Do you really think I’m that hard up?”

  “Let’s just say for your birthday next month I planned on giving you a pack of batteries.”

  Caitlin hooted with laughter. It wasn’t a bad gift and her supply had dipped lately with all those hot, erotic dreams of Selig.

  “Guess who pulled up in the driveway just as I left the house to meet you?” Not waiting for Caitlin’s reply, Alise answered her own question. “Selig.” She fanned her hand in front of her face, rolling her eyes in lascivious delight. “That man is hot as hell.”

  Her body’s response to his name was instantaneous. Her heart beat a little faster and her stomach dived toward her feet. Her thighs tightened, a dull ache blooming in the flesh between. She averted her gaze from Alise’s, studying her tea as if it held the answers to the questions of life—including would she ever stop loving Selig Richardson.

  “Now that was telling,” Alise drawled.

  “What?” She forced herself to meet her friend’s narrow-eyed inspection

  “I say his name and you become as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

  Caitlin gaped at her, Selig momentarily forgotten.

  “Wow,” she snorted, “your Southern roots are definitely showing.”

  “Oh shut up.” Alise glowered across the table. Their waitress arrived with their entrees, setting the chef salads down before them. Once she left to refill their drinks, Alise resumed their conversation. “Stop trying to avoid the subject. What’s up with you and Selig?”

  The forkful of salad paused midair. Caitlin regarded her friend, disbelief and laughter warring for dominance. Another Alise character trait—no tact.

  She completed the aborted action, sampling the crisp lettuce and flavorful bite of ham.

  “There’s nothing going on with Selig.” She lifted her napkin to her lips, patting it and returning the linen to her lap. Damn it, she couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask that?”

  “Oh I don’t know.” Alise swallowed a bite of her salad before stabbing the air between them with her fork. “You two disappear at my wedding reception…”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “You’re at the mall together…”

  “Coincidence.”

  “Where you two engaged in intimate conversation…”

  Caitlin stared at her. “He said, hello.”

  Alise considered her, a smirk playing with her lips. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you? Funny,” she tilted her head to the side, “when I questioned Selig he had the exact answers.”

  “Alise, what are you up to?” An idea occurred to her—a disturbing idea. “Why are you bringing all that up?”

  The other woman sighed, digging back into her salad. “Mac told me to mind my business.” She glanced up at Caitlin from under her thick auburn lashes. “I wondered if maybe you two were…” Her fingers twirled in the air as if searching for the right word. “Having nooners. Or nighters.”

  “No,” Caitlin denied, “no nooners or nighters.” Just clandestine meetings in libraries and his home to fuck. No tender pillow talk. No nights spent in his arms. Years ago she’d had that with him, but not now.

  “Does talking about him upset you that much?” Alise reached out, her hand covering Caitlin’s. “I know it was a bad breakup just because both of you refuse to speak about it. Still, that was years ago. I kind of hoped you two would—kiss and make up.”

  She restrained the urge to wince. Oh she and Selig had kissed and so much more. But make up? When together, they sniped and fucked.

  “It’s history, Alise. Ancient history. There’s no going back.” Or forward.

  “Does he know about the baby?”

  Caitlin blanched, rocking
back in her seat and snatching her hand from under her friend’s. She couldn’t move or speak and the words seemed to resonate in the silence. Does he know about the baby…baby…baby…

  “How did you?” she finally rasped. She’d never revealed the reason she’d left New Eden to anyone. The pregnancy and the devastation of losing her child had remained her secret for six years, and one she’d intended to take to the grave. If Alise knew, who else did? Oh God, had she told Mac?

  “I haven’t told anyone, Caitlin. Not even Mac,” Alise reassured her and Caitlin assumed she hadn’t hid her alarm well. “When I helped you move to the rental, there was a box.” She glanced down and away as if ashamed she’d discovered Caitlin’s skeleton in the closet. “It fell and the sonogram pictures were in the box.” Sympathy softened Alise’s face and she looked as if she wanted to pull Caitlin into a tight embrace. Instead, she folded her hands on the table. “I didn’t mean to pry, Caitlin. Since you never mentioned a baby…”

  “I lost her,” Caitlin grated out. If she didn’t say the words, she never would. “Her. She was stillborn.”

  “I’m sorry, Caitlin.” Alise stretched her arm across the table and grabbed her hand again. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, what you still suffer.”

  “I’m fine.” She shook her head, ending the conversation. She couldn’t talk about this. The grief, though not as raw as it’d been, still had the power to wound her.