The Arrangement

by Thayer King

  Ariadne looked down at her salad and sighed. Suddenly her appetite was gone. She hadn’t talked to Erika since their argument. It was the longest time the two of them had ever gone without talking to each other. Even when she’d been in the Bahamas with Ted on her honeymoon, Erika had called her several times.

  “Baby, I’m sorry about that. I wish I could promise you that we won’t run into anymore of my exes, but I can tell you that none of them-”

  She waved a hand. “I’m not upset about Sandy, though that wasn’t exactly thrilling. No, it’s Erika.”

  “Oh. You miss her?”

  “I miss her. And I’m still mad at her, too.”

  “I’m so sorry, baby. I feel like it’s my fault that the two of you are arguing.”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s not you. I’ve thought about it until my head hurts. It was just plain selfish and petty of her.”

  “Ari, I’m over it.” He reached across the table and took her hand. He linked their fingers. “I’ve got you. I don’t care. There’s no need of you to stay angry with her on my behalf.”

  Ariadne was nervous as Asher’s fingers undid the buttons to her blouse. His mouth was fused to hers even as he worked to get her undressed. He always got rid of her clothes first since she had on more clothes than he did. She’d learned to appreciate his propensity for sleeping naked and not wearing underwear.

  His tongue swirled around hers and she moaned. He yanked her blouse down her shoulders and undid the zipper of her skirt. When he stepped back to admire his handiwork, he froze. “Oh, fuck.” His eyes flashed over her in the black bustier. He groaned. “Damn, baby, you’re so beautiful. Are you trying to kill me?” His hands trembled as he reached out to grip her waist. He turned her around, his hands never leaving her body.

  She watched him over her shoulder. His gaze was on her ass as he bit his lip, his sharp incisors digging into the corners. He caressed her sides and then gripped her hips. His voice was a deep guttural growl as he ordered, “Get on the bed, baby.” He gave her a little nudge.

  Once she crawled on, she rolled over to watch him. He practically ripped off his shirt and tie. He was only slightly more careful as he undid his fly. His pants dropped to his ankles. She was immediately riveted by the sight of his cock, thick and wet at the tip. He took a moment to kick off his pants and remove his socks and shoes.

  Naked, he climbed on after her, the hungry look in his eyes making her feel like the main course for a predator. “You like it?” she asked, breathless as she reacted to his obvious desire.

  “Oh, yeah. I love it.” He covered her and kissed her once more. He rolled onto his side. He trailed his fingers over the curves of her bosom where it pushed out above the bustier. “Did you buy this for me?”

  She nodded.

  “Thank you, baby.” He explored the lacy cups, his thumb tweaking her tight nipples. He bent and kissed and nibbled the sensitive tips through the material even as he reached behind her to undo the bindings. When he had it loose enough he tugged it down until he’d bared her flesh. Groaning, he sucked a nipple into his mouth.

  Ariadne held his head to her breast and arched into the wet suction. He flicked, kissed, and sucked her nipples until she was writhing on the bed, rubbing her thighs together to relieve the throbbing in her pussy. She knew the thong was soaked even before he slid his broad hand beneath the tiny scrap of material. He teased the seam of her wet pussy lips with one thick finger before circling her clit. When he drew his finger out and popped it in his mouth, she knew what was next. He was already moving down her body, his green eyes dark with passion. He fisted the sides of her panties in preparation to pull them down. In a minute, he’d be eating her out and driving every other thought but having him fuck her from her mind if she didn’t stop him.

  “No, Ash.” She shoved at his shoulder, toppling him over onto his back. He gazed up at her in surprise. He took control so quickly and effectively that she rarely got the chance to explore his body. And what a body it was. She ran her hands over his chest. His eyes narrowed and he growled when she flicked his nipples. So she did it again, ending in a pinch. His hips arched an infinitesimal amount, drawing her attention once more to his cock. “You’re so beautiful, Ash,” she said, sliding a hand down his cobbled belly to grip his erection. “Would you mind…if I tasted you here?” She gave the tip of his cock a squeeze.

  He groaned and bucked his hips. “I’m yours. Whatever you want to do to me, I’m yours.”

  She grinned at him. “Good.” He watched her as she stroked him up and down. She licked her lips before leaning down to swirl her tongue around the swollen head of his cock. He was salty and sweet. She licked him from base to tip before settling on the tip. She sucked him in and Asher groaned.

  “That feels so good, baby.”

  Slowly, she took more of him into her mouth. He was too large for her to take all of him so she continued to pump him with her hand. Asher started to lift his hips, thrusting himself into her mouth.

  “Harder,” he rasped. “Suck me harder.” He placed a gentle hand on her head as though he couldn’t resist but he didn’t push her down or direct her movements.

  Ariadne obliged as best she could and received a rewarding gasp from Asher for her efforts. She changed her angle so that the back of the head of his cock slid across the top of her palate. Asher swore and shivered. She did it again and again and skated her tongue in the slit at the tip so as to gather more of his sweet flavor.

  Asher writhed beneath her. Panting, he tugged on her hair. “Stop, baby. I’m about to come.” She could feel him swelling in her mouth. He shifted as if to move away from her, but he couldn’t seem to stop his hips from thrusting. She held on to him, suckling hungrily until he swore. Groaning loudly, he capitulated to her, his essence bursting forth from him in a hot geyser. She didn’t catch all of it. It ran down the sides of his staff in erstwhile streams and she licked him clean as best she could.

  When she finished, she sat up. Asher lay on his back panting and looking as though he’d been slayed. She couldn’t help but grin at him. She was proud that she could reduce him to a quivering mass of pleasure as he did to her every night. She licked her lips, savoring his flavor.

  His eyes narrowed on her. “I saw that look. You’re thrilled that you made me lose control.” He lifted himself onto his elbows. “But guess what?”

  “What?” she asked, turning wary as that slow smile tipped up his lips.

  “It’s time for payback.” He pounced on her and with a few tugs rid her of the bustier and sent it sailing over the side of the bed. He feasted on her nipples for scant minutes before moving down between her thighs. Spreading them wide, he made room for his broad shoulders. He licked the seam of her pussy through the barely there panties and she felt every bit of pressure from the flat of his tongue. The heat of his breath teased her and she arched for more.

  Asher gripped the sides of her panties and yanked them down her hips. They went the way of the bustier. He spread his palm over her belly and she got the brief opportunity of continued lucidity to enjoy the contrast of their skin tones. And then her hold on reality splintered as he lifted her with a hand at her spine and lowered his mouth to her pussy. His tongue fluttered over her clit before circling it to draw it between his lips. Then he teased her with flicks of his tongue that had her hips dancing for more contact. She tunneled her fingers into his hair to press him closer, but he only backed off, keeping her frustratingly on edge.

  “Please, Asher,” she whimpered when he continued in this same vein for some time.

  “Please, what? What do you want?”

  She didn’t hesitate to beg him. He had her on the knife’s edge of pleasure. Sucking him and hearing him come had her more than ready. “Please suck me.”

  “Anything my baby wants.”

  She cried out as he suckled. He thrust two fingers inside her pussy, curling them so that they stroked over
her g-spot. Ariadne convulsed and flew apart. Before she could come down from the high of her orgasm, Asher was flipping her over onto her belly. He positioned her hips up in the air and plunged inside of her in the next instant.

  Ariadne screamed. The sudden invasion pushed her orgasm to the next level and made her hungry for more. She clawed at the sheets to brace herself for his thrusts. He slid deep, hitting her g-spot with every slam of his hips. She couldn’t keep in the raw moans tore from her throat.

  He held her hip with one hand, helping her move herself on and off his cock. His other hand roamed her body, first pinching her nipples, then spreading across her belly, and last snaking between her legs to pluck her clit.

  She was so wet that she could feel the moisture sliding down her thighs. But she didn’t care. All she cared about was the man buried so deeply in her belly. He fucked her harder and harder and she took him eagerly, spreading her thighs wider so that he could have as much of her pussy as he wanted.

  Behind her, Asher was groaning and his thrusts were growing wilder. She felt him swelling and knew he was about to fill her with his heat. And suddenly, she couldn’t take any more. Her pussy clamped down on his dick. Asher growled loudly, slammed deep one last time and exploded. He didn’t pull out, just ground himself into her as he spilled his warm seed.

  Sighing, she collapsed beneath him. Asher followed her down. He rained kisses on her neck and shoulder. “I love you, Ari. Love you so much.”

  Chapter Ten

  “We’ve got to get our wives back together,” Asher said without preamble the second Ted joined him in the booth at the burger restaurant. He didn’t waste time with pleasantries. He’d called Ted that morning and asked him to meet him for lunch. The situation was getting dire. His wife was unhappy and he couldn’t have that.

  Ted ran a hand over the top of his bald scalp. “You’re not kidding me. Erika is miserable and she’s sharing the misery. I love my wife, but I swear some of the shit girls talk about, I just don’t want to know. Since she’s not talking to Ari, I’m the one who gets to hear about her manicure and I get to help her decide if she should get a keratin treatment at the salon. I mean, what the fuck is that anyway?”

  Asher shrugged his shoulders. “Look, they go back to work in a week. We need to get this resolved before then.”

  “I agree, but what can we do?”

  “You get Erika to apologize.”

  “Uh, yeah, you might not know this, but my wife is stubborn.”

  Asher closed his mouth as their waitress came over to take their orders. When she left, he leaned forward. “Well, my wife is in the right so I can’t very well ask her to apologize. It’s your wife who’s being unreasonable. She’s got to accept that Ari and I are together now. Can’t you knock her up or something so that she has something else to focus on?”

  “We’re working on it. Or we were until you started fucking her best friend.”

  Asher sighed. “I’m not going to apologize for finally getting the woman I’ve wanted since before she was legal.”

  “How is that going?”

  “It’s going great,” he said and tried to sound enthusiastic. There was only one thing marring his joy. He didn’t say it, but he could tell from Ted’s expression that he hadn’t hidden his feelings well.

  “Okay, you’ve fucked up a friendship that’s lasted since elementary school. What the hell is wrong? And if you tell me that you’re tired of her-”

  “No. I love her. I tell her every day.”

  “So what’s wrong?”

  Asher drove his fingers through his hair. “She hasn’t told me back.” And it was driving him crazy.

  “You don’t think she feels the same?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t argue anymore since neither of us is picking a fight.” But that could be because they were both mellow from all the sex. “She seems happy. She doesn’t even get angry when we run into my exes.”

  Ted snorted. “The woman is a saint.”

  Asher nodded. “Yeah, she’s too good for me. She’s mostly angry with Erika on my behalf.”

  Their drinks arrived and Ted picked up his glass and drained half the contents. “I love Erika, but she’s not the most reasonable woman. I keep hoping she’ll wake up and let go of this shit.”

  Asher winced. “I’m sorry man.”

  “Don’t give me that look. It’s not like she’s calling out your name during sex.”

  He grinned. “I don’t know why the hell not. I’m so good sometimes I call out my name.”

  “Are you sure it’s not your ego that’s keeping Ari from telling you that she loves you?”

  He laughed. Their waitress had just stopped by their table with their food. She moaned and bit her lip. “Is something wrong?” He glanced down at the steaming plates that she still held. “Did you burn yourself?”

  “No, um, I…”

  Ted grinned and shook his head. “I thought Ari told you about that laugh.”

  He glanced at his friend and then back at the waitress. Her face was red as she placed their food in front of them. Arms crossed over her chest, she made a hasty escape. “Shit,” he said, incredulous. “I thought she was joking. Damn. I mean, I thought it was just her. Now I’m going to be self-conscious.”

  Ted lifted his burger. “Forget about it. You’ve lived this long with that laugh, no need to change it at this point. So what are we going to do about our wives?” He took a big bite out of his hamburger.

  Asher picked up a thick fry and dipped it in ketchup. “Hell, I don’t know. Suppose we get them to ‘accidentally’ meet up somewhere? Then they can work it out themselves. They love and miss each other. Maybe they’re ready to make up.”

  “I don’t know,” Ted said dubiously.

  “Well, I’m at a loss for a better plan. Unless you have one, we stick with mine.”

  ***

  Ariadne scanned the freezer in search of something for dinner. She grabbed a package of pork chops. The doorbell rang so she put the package in the sink and washed her hands quickly. She dried her hands on a towel as she walked to the door.

  She was surprised to see Ted on the porch. “Hi, Ted. Weren’t you and Ash supposed to meet for lunch at the restaurant? He’s not here.”

  Ted nodded as he stepped inside. “Yeah, I know. We already met. I came to see you.”

  “Okay.” She led him to the den. “Have a seat. What’s up?” But she thought she knew. He was here to convince her to apologize to Erika.

  “I want to talk to you about Ash.” He sat on the sofa. “You know that when you two first brought up the idea of getting married I was against it because I didn’t want to see either of you get hurt. I just knew the lines would get blurred.”

  Her stomach twisted and her heartbeat sped up. Was he here to dump her on Asher’s behalf? He’d seemed happy when he left this morning, but she suspected when the end came it would be sudden and unexpected. “Yes, I recall your objections.” She joined him on the sofa but couldn’t bring herself to sit back. She perched on the edge of the cushion.

  “Ash told me that he’s told you that he loves you.”

  She nodded, wishing that he would just get on with it so that she could lose this sick feeling in the pit of her belly. “And he’s changed his mind?”

  “What? Hell, no. I’m not here to discuss him hurting you. I’m here to try to keep you from hurting him. That was my concern from the very beginning.”

  She was shocked and offended all at once. “How do you…Why would you think that I would hurt Ash?”

  Ted leaned forward, his expression earnest. “You could hurt him without even trying. You’ve never noticed the effect that you have on him.”

  “I understand that he’s desired me for a long time. Finding that out was a shock, but other than asking me out once, he gave up.” She shrugged. “And this summer, he saw an opportunity. He says he loves me
, but I don’t know how many other women have heard the same thing.”

  “Probably none. Ash has always been commitment phobic. Do you know that he quit smoking because of you?”

  She winced. “He told me it was that stupid cancer comment.”

  “Yeah, but did you know he’d been trying to quit for years? He couldn’t kick the habit until you refused to ride in his car.”

  She frowned. But they hadn’t even been getting along when she said that. To learn that even an offhand comment of hers had had such a profound effect on Asher was astounding. “I didn’t realize.”

  “So what’s wrong? What’s holding you back? Ash is a great guy now. You couldn’t ask for a better husband.”

  She sighed. “It’s his past. He’s used to much more exciting women than me.” She spread her arms. She wore a comfortable cardigan over a faded t-shirt and jeans. Though it was hot outside, she kept the air up on high inside and her rooms were chilly. “I mean, if he got tired of them, how can I hold his attention?”

  “You should discuss that with Ash, but I strongly suspect his past isn’t as wild as he’d have you believe. Over the years, he’s tended to downplay his good traits.” Ted frowned and then he sighed. “I’m going to tell you something that no one knows besides me and Ash. Have you heard about the BMW he wrecked?”

  “Sure. Everyone did. His dad had just given him that car. He crashed it in his back yard one night when he was drunk. It’s a good thing that he didn’t make it onto the road.”

  “Well, that’s what we told everyone. The truth is I was the one who was driving. I was drunk, too, and we’d come up with some crazy idea of doing wheelies. I was right there in the hospital with Ash. I only had a few scrapes on me so they didn’t hold me. When Ash’s dad arrived, he was livid. I’d never seen him so angry and still haven’t since. He really laid into Ash and I expected Ash to tell him the truth—that I was the one who’d wrecked the car. I would have been dead if he had. My dad was a cop, too and we couldn’t afford so much as the ‘B’ in BMW. But Ash didn’t tell. Not even when his dad told him that he wouldn’t be getting a new car. He’d be getting a used one and he’d have to work for his dad to pay for that. And let me tell you, Ash was pissed about that because he had plans to spend the rest of the summer break in Cancun. He spent that summer and the next running errands for his father, but he never breathed a word of the truth.”