Dirty Vacation - Janice Collins(ang.)

Copyright © 2016 by, Janice Collins All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or locals is coincidental.





By Janice Collins



Also by Janice Collins







Table of Contents Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Free Short Stories by Author Megan West

First Free Story Second Free Story

*Free Stories in the back of book*

Chapter One

Jen undid the knot of the towel tied around her waist and let it drop to the sand so she could run out and join her friends in the ocean. It was a perfect summer day; the sun was out and bright, the sound of laughter could be heard everywhere, and there was plenty of fun to be had.

She ran into the water, shivering as the cold water hit her warm skin. She jumped and splashed Lacy, one of her friends, who splashed her back with a shrill giggle. They held hands and pushed against the weight of the water to meet up with Samantha, Joan, and Lizzie. The three of them had gotten into the water first and were already up to their chest deep.

“Well, ladies, it's official! Our vacation has started!” Lizzie shouted. She threw her arms in the air, sending drops of water flying at her friends every which way. They had arrived to the hotel late last night and, after a long flight, had all crawled into bed for a good night’s sleep.

It was a moment where each one should have had a margarita glass in hand, but they opted to splash each other playfully instead. They drifted along in the ocean, soaking up the rays of the sun, and chatting about everything they wanted to do during their vacation.

“My friend, Jeremy, can hook us up with some parties,” Lacy announced. This got the attention of all the women, who huddled around her to hear more.

“He's not here but,” she twisted her soaked hair around her hand and let it fall onto her back, “he just needs to make some calls.”

“Sounds fun!” Lizzie exclaimed. Joan and Samantha chimed in with excited murmurs of agreement. Jen looked at them all with a smile.

“I'll message him when we go for lunch,” Lacy told them. They continued to play around while delighting in everything the beach had to offer. It had been so long since Jen had even been to a beach. By the time their bellies were rumbling with hunger, it was about time to get out of the water anyway.

They dashed off to where they had dropped their towels and belongings to dry off before heading to the public showers. After washing off and changing into flowing sundresses, they threw their bags over their shoulders and headed along the boardwalk to decide where to eat.

Jen noticed a little deli on the corner with brightly colored walls and what looked to be a lovely patio on the second floor.

“How about there?” she asked, her arm outstretched and finger pointing at the patio. She turned to look at her friends who eyed it before turning back to look at her.



Samantha shrugged and nodded, “Looks cute.” The others agreed.

It looked quite busy inside, giving Jen the feeling she made a good choice. It was promising enough for a casual lunch on the beach’s boardwalk.

Jen walked in first and headed toward the counter. “Is the upstairs patio seating open?” she asked, having been the reason she set eyes on the place to begin with.

“Sure is,” the woman behind the counter said cheerfully. Her smile was overly wide and her eyes enthusiastic. It kind of irked Jen, but she let it go.

“I'll take you right up!” the woman informed Jen and her friends.

She slid out from behind the counter with ease and led them up a staircase that was set off to the corner of the deli’s main dining area. The five young women followed her upstairs and were delighted at the view it gave along with the cool, ocean breeze that came along with being seated outside. The hostess handed them each a menu and told them a server would be up shortly.

Jen flipped through the entire menu before starting to look over every page carefully. After deciding on one of the deli’s specialty subs, she closed up the menu and looked over to her right at the ocean. It was calmer than it was earlier that day.

It was midway through lunch when Lacy asked if they wanted to go for a party that same night. “I already messaged Jeremy and he is ready to give us a whole list,” she told her friends as she looked at something on the screen of her phone.

Jen silently took a sip of her unsweetened iced tea and awaited for what her friends decided. She would be fine either way.

“Let's take a vote,” Lizzie suggested. She looked around the table with a smile, “I vote we go to a beach party tonight!” She threw her hand up in the air and waved it around excitedly before dropping it back down to grab her glass of ice-cold water. Samantha nodded in agreement and raised her own glass of water in cheers.

"I'm totally down,” Joan offered between bites of her sub.

Jen grinned and nodded. “Let's do it then,” she finally told her friends.

If a beach party was anything like this, being out in the open and enjoying the ocean breeze, she was sure it would be a lot of fun. Besides, she had never and actually been to a beach party. The closest she had ever gotten to that was a theme party back in her college days. She laughed, causing her friends to turn

and look at her in question. “I was just remembering that themed frat party we went to our third year of college. Remember, Lacy?”

Lacy looked at Jen and burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh!” she said with an excited shrill. “I do! It was so ridiculous,” she told the others, fanning her face with her hand until her laughter died down. She went on to tell the other three all about the themed party and how she and Jen had ended up there in the first place. By the time the story was over and all of them had tears in their eyes from laughing, the sun was starting to go down and their bellies were full. They paid their bill and walked back to the hotel.

Just before each of them went back to her own room, Lacy let them know Jeremy had successfully found them a beach party right near their own hotel.

“It's walking distance,” she informed her friends.

Jen felt a sweep of relief at the news. It would all be much easier having the party so nearby. Jen stepped into her hotel room and leaned her back against the door, eyes shut. She drew in a deep breath. Although she had been having a blast with her friends, she felt a trace of tiredness running through her. She opened her eyes and looked over at her bed.

“Maybe a little nap is in order,” she mumbled, kicking off her shoes and taking long strides over to the large balcony door. She slid it open a bit just to let in some of the cool ocean breeze and so the sound of the waves crashing on the beach would lull her to sleep. She set an alarm and dropped down on to the bed, eyes closing and mind immediately drifting off to serene thoughts.

It was about an hour later when Jen was woken up by the loud sounds of knocking on her door. She jerked her head up and looked toward it, feeling groggy and a bit confused. She shook her head and pulled her eyes open before getting off the bed and stumbling forward to look through the door’s peephole. It was Lacy. She yanked open the door and spun around to trot back to bed, not even bothering to ask what her friend wanted or needed.

“Lovely,” Lacy teased as she walked to stand in front of Jen’s balcony door. She looked over her shoulder at Jen, who had already slumped back into bed and was lying there with her eyes closed. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Lacy asked.

Jen groaned. She didn’t even know what time it was, but it felt too soon to be fussing over her appearance before heading down to a party. She wanted to rest a bit longer, something she would have done had her friend not interrupted. Finally, she opened her eyes and peered over at Lacy. That was when she noticed the sky outside her bedroom had grown dark.

“What time are we going to the party?” she asked in a groggy voice. She wanted to go and she was looking forward to it, but she realized a nap had not been the best idea. If anything, she felt a lot more tired now than when she had first gotten back to her hotel room.



“Maybe about 8 or 9,” Lacy responded before sitting on the armchair next to the balcony. She pulled at the strings attached to her bathing suit’s tank top hanging from between her cleavage.

“That's new,” Jen commented. It was bright red and showed off her friend’s large breasts. Before, that would have been cause for Jen to feel a bit self-conscious. She was a far cry from flat chested, but she wasn’t exactly spilling out of her shirts like Lacy constantly was. But those feelings happened when she was younger and thought she needed larger breasts to be more attractive. That was no longer the case.

Lacy smiled and nodded as she let go of one of the strings and it fell back into place. “Bought it for this vacation. Figured this party would be the perfect time to debut it,” she shared. She looked up at Jen and raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, aren't you going to get ready?”

Jen groaned. She went from feeling tired to just being plain lazy. Her bed was so inviting and the night view of the ocean was beautiful. She slumped forward on the bed and looked at the clock. It was close to 6pm. “Why? I’ve still got a good two hours before we leave, if not more!”

Lacy sighed and got up from the armchair to go to Jen and pull her up by the arms. “Haven't you ever heard of pre-partying?” Her smile was devious and her eyes twinkled with excitement.

Jen grimaced and pushed her friend’s hands off her, but still walked over to the dresser. She pulled open the top drawer and looked at the different swimsuits she had brought along for the trip. Deciding to go bold, she reached for a white bikini with lime-green polka dots. She knew just the denim shorts to pair with it along with wedge sandals. She threw the items on the bed and placed the sandals at the foot of it before turning to look at Lacy.

“So?”

Lacy looked at the outfit with a raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“What? What's wrong with it?”

“Oh, nothing's wrong with it. I just didn't think you'd wear a bikini top, is all. Much less one that's so revealing,” she said with a snicker. She picked up the bikini’s minuscule top and held it up for the two of them to observe.

It was her smallest one, but she liked the outfit. Besides, it was a beach party and if it wasn’t the perfect time to wear that as an actual top then what was? Jen shrugged and snatched the bikini top from Lacy’s hand only to drop it back down on the bed.

“Well, that's what I'm wearing,” she said.

Lacy walked up to the mirror beside the dresser to start fussing over her hair. Jen ignored it. She was used to her friend being ready far too early and then spending the rest of the time primping and perfecting every last detail. Jen, on the other hand, had a much more laid back approach to it all. She generally threw outfits together quickly, let her straight blonde hair fall freely over her shoulders, and wore little to no makeup. Lacy always complained about how Jen ended up looking great despite the little time and effort she actually dedicated to her appearance.

This time, however, Jen was going to do something a bit different. She pulled the bikini off the bed and skipped to the bathroom to change into it. Throwing her clothes on the bed in a mess, she pulled out her little box with hair and makeup items she had brought along to reach for her brush and a simple, white hair tie. She pulled her hair up into a messy, high ponytail and wrapped the hair tie around before reaching back in to the box for a little seashell clip. She pinned it to the side of her ponytail and looked in the mirror with a smile.

“Well?”

Lacy looked up at her from the magazine she had started flipping through and her jaw practically dropped. “You look gorgeous,” Lacy said in earnest.

Jen turned to look at her friend and then turned back to her reflection. She had to admit even to herself; she looked good. Her long, straight blonde hair flowed from out of her ponytail and her abs looked nice and tight. The curve between her small waist and hips stood out and the bikini bottom landed just below her hipbone, where it peeked out in a tantalizing way.

She pulled on the tiny denim shorts and turned from side to side, admiring how she looked in the outfit as a whole. It was the perfect beach party look and totally gave off her a cool and casual sexy attitude. She was pleased. She dropped down onto the bed and slipped on the wedge sandals, buckling them at the back and then draping one leg over the other before looking up at Lacy.

Lacy was still looking at her in delight, but Jen also detected a slight bit of jealousy. Lacy was, on the whole, quite confident in her looks. But what Jen had over her was something that came naturally– that completely carefree attitude that made her so effortlessly attractive. Lacy stood up and walked up to the mirror, turning to her side to look at her own reflection. She made a small frown at first, but then smiled.

“You look really good,” Jen reassured her, leaning forward with an elbow on her knee. And she meant it. She never thought Lacy was someone lacking in the looks department and she didn’t really see a reason to compare herself to her friend. They each had such different looks and personalities that their attractiveness differed.

Lacy was tall, supermodel tall, with a lean frame. She had defined abs and legs, honey colored eyes, and dark black hair that framed her pretty face. Her tan skin always glistened. She was a knockout and looked very different to Jen, who was of average height, a bit curvier despite her thin figure, and had fair skin with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Jen was also a knockout in her own right, but it had been a

long time since she stopped wondering if she was the less attractive of the two.

Lacy pulled Jen by the arm and led her back to her hotel room, where Samantha was already waiting with a plastic cup filled with some kind of cocktail. She was lounging on the armchair near the balcony and wearing a grin that suggested the cup in her hand wasn’t her first drink of the evening. She turned when Lacy and Jen walked in and her jaw dropped. She jumped up out of the chair, not caring that some of her drink spilled out, and skipped over to Jen.

“You look amazing!” she cried out, grabbing one of Jen’s hands and tugging. Her eyes roamed over Jen’s body and she gave a thumbs up, her grin growing even wider.

Jen walked over to the minibar to help herself to a cocktail. She poured gin and tonic into a glass with ice and sipped. It wasn’t delicious but it would do. She slumped down on the bed, one leg draped easily over the other, as she sipped and watched Samantha chat excitedly with Lacy. They were talking about the party and rumors they had heard about it.

Lacy was glad she was able to get them in through her friend Jeremy. Samantha was just glad they wouldn’t be spending another quiet night inside their rooms. It was nearly an hour later when Joan and Lizzie finally showed up. They awarded Jen the prize for most revealing, and sexiest, outfit before taking a celebratory shot.

They followed that up with a shot to make it one heck of a night and then made their way out of the room in a great mood.

Chapter Two

By the time they were walking the pathway of the beach, cool night breeze hitting their skin, they were chatty and loud, but Jen wasn’t drunk. She was just having a good time and her mood was great. They walked along, Lacy claiming the party was less than five minutes away along the same row.

“It’s not a hotel,” she told her friends. “It’s like a rental house. Hotel house? Something like that!” she giggled and made the rest of the young women laugh along with her.

It wasn’t long before the sound of music reached Jen’s ears and she knew they were drawing near. She saw a small crowd gathered in front of the house, a small fire in a pit burning and casting a nice glow on the front wall of what looked to be a medium-sized beach house.

“I think that’s the place,” Lizzie whispered excitedly as they got closer to the small group of people. There were two young men, laughing loudly and shoving each other, holding up a rolled piece of paper and a pen standing right in front of the door through which loud, fast-paced music could be heard thumping inside.

Lacy cleared her throat and straightened up, walking up to the two young men with her chest pushed out slightly. Jen held back a giggle; her friend always did that without even realizing it. She saw the two young men check Lacy out and then look at each other with approval before asking if she was on the list. One of them seemed quite sleazy, so Jen wasn’t surprised when her friend only addressed the other one, who happened to be holding the rolled up paper.

“I’m on the list,” she declared. Then she turned and motioned to the other four young women and mentioned, “They’re with me.” The two guys looked over her shoulder at Jen and the rest of them with a smirk. It was obvious they liked what they saw. The one with the list hurriedly checked off Lacy’s name and motioned for all of them to go inside, giving them a warm if a bit suggestive welcome.

Jen walked past them without so much as a glance in their direction. She didn’t like to give attention to men with their behavior. She had no interest. Once she was inside, her eyes were met with dozens of loud, drunk, happy people dancing the night away in bathing suits and short, revealing summer clothing. The patio doors were thrown open and they led right onto a small patch of private beach, on which more people were dancing and drinking. Lacy immediately started a hand holding chain with her friends and led them out to the sand.

“This is awesome,” Samantha muttered as she looked around with excitement.

Jen had to admit it was pretty cool. She had never been to anything like it. She had just started scanning her surroundings when she felt someone tugging on her hand. She turned to look at Joan, pulling

her to meet up with the others who were already nearing the outside bar.

They skipped over and Jen immediately heard Lacy ordering a round of shots for all of them. She took it from her friend’s hand a minute later before pushing it up into the air along with a cheer before downing it, knowing she had a fun night ahead of her. As the five of them made their way to the center of the back patio overlooking the private beach area to dance, it dawned on Jen just how long it had been since she really went out to this type of party with her friends.

“This is what vacations are really about,” she cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, her friends following suit.

She noticed a few people looking over in their direction, a couple strangers even joining in on the cheer. They continued dancing until Lacy declared it was time for another shot. They ran over and did another, cheering to having the best vacation ever, and then decided to go down to the private beach area.

The music could be heard a good amount of the way down there and even some of the partygoers were still dancing up a storm. Lizzie was the first to twirl about and scream excitedly before starting to dance. The other four followed right along, all of them in good spirits from the good vibes and the strong liquor.

That was when Jen saw a guy standing off to the side of the small bonfire. He was alone and just standing, staring off into the distance, save for the random moments he raised a lit cigarette to his lips to take a drag. Jen slowed the swaying of her hips in favor of staring at him, for some reason completely taken by his looks and his attitude.

Joan slapped her on the arm. “What are you staring at?” she asked, her head turning toward the direction of the guy. Then she smiled knowingly and turned back to look at Jen. “Looks like we’re gonna lose a member soon!” she announced to the other three with a laugh.

Jen nudged her. “Shh,” she said, pressing her index finger to her lips.

Lacy pushed Lizzie aside to squeeze between Jen and Joan. “Oh? Who are we looking at?” she asked, never stopping the movement of her body to the rhythm of the song pumping from the speakers.

By that point it had all started to sound the same, but it made it no less fun to dance all night long anyway. Jen rolled her eyes and pressed her lips shut. She refused to make a scene out of it and she knew her friends well enough to know one of them would end up talking to him for her if she didn’t make a move. She felt her face burning.

“I know,” Lacy whispered, nodding her head toward him. Joan giggled and nodded. “Nice,” Lacy smirked.

“Don’t even think about it,” Jen warned, causing all her friends to start laughing. They pretended to

huddle but she quickly broke them apart.

That was when they saw a red haired woman walk up to him. He smirked, draped his arm over her shoulder, and casually started kissing her. She looked needy. He looked almost bored. The five friends were stunned.

“Oh,” Lizzie said, sounding disappointed for Jen.

Although Jen certainly felt let down at the prospect of talking to him, it wasn’t that big a deal. She shrugged and continued to dance, trying her best to ignore the glances from her friends. She had no clue why they were making such a big deal out of it, but it was making her insides twist. She didn’t like the feeling. After a while, a group of guys approached them all. They were attractive to be sure and nice enough, but that was when Jen realized she had no interest in anyone at that party except the guy who was, apparently, unavailable.

She sighed, but decided to just go along with everything since there was no point in thinking about him. She didn’t even know him. And there was a tall, jock-looking guy right next to her giving her googly eyes and cute smiles. She would have been a fool to pass that up.

“Want to get a drink?” he asked when he noticed he had finally gotten her attention.

Jen gave him a toothy grin and nodded. He placed his hand on her upper back and started leading the way. His touch was warm. He had muscular arms and defined six-pack abs. His golden tanned skin glistened as the light of the bonfire bounced off him. His windswept, blonde hair made him look as if he had just wandered into the party from some sort of photo shoot.

Jen ordered a weaker drink, not wanting to get any tipsier than she already was, and he lifted it off the bar to hand it to her. He motioned for them to walk out to the beach where the music wasn’t as loud and there was a bit more space to walk freely.

She agreed, but couldn’t help turning to look at the first guy who caught her eye, red haired woman still attached to his lips. She noticed the woman was practically on top of him, but he seemed just as indifferent as before. He gave off a carefree, uninterested aura. She could tell he spelled trouble, but that just made her even more intrigued to talk to him. After all, she was on vacation and a little exploration was part of the plan.

Just as she was about to turn away she saw Mr. Carefree open his eyes and look directly at her. There was no mistaking it, especially when he winked at her. His eyes were twinkling and he pulled away from the kiss, briefly looking at the red haired woman and awkwardly patting her shoulder. He looked back at Jen and grinned before moving in to kiss the woman again.

Jen stopped in her tracks, wondering what the heck that was about. She didn’t know what to make of

it. The guy she had been walking with, Don, stopped and turned to look at her.

“Everything alright?” he asked. Jen snapped back into the moment. She turned to look at him and nodded slowly. It was such an odd thing, what had just happened.

Her insides squirmed as she continued to walk along with Don, all the while thinking of the eye contact she had exchanged with the nameless guy.

That moment had further reaffirmed her thoughts he was definitely the type who was trouble.

So why did she feel even less interested in Don and more of a pull toward Mr. Trouble?

Chapter Three

“That was one hell of a party,” Lizzie said the next day over brunch.

All five of them had basically collapsed into bed near dawn and slept until noon. It had been a lot of fun and brought along a lot of exhaustion. It was safe to say none of them had partied that hard in quite a while.

Jen’s thoughts wandered back to the guy by the bonfire rather than back to Don, with whom she had hung out the rest of her time at the party. They had even exchanged phone numbers even though she wasn’t sure if she would end up calling him or trying to meet up with him again.

She had fun, but Don didn’t do it for her. Not like the nameless guy could do with just one moment of electrifying eye contact. It was something Jen hadn’t even told her friends about and was thinking of keeping to herself.

“Any parties on for tonight?” Samantha asked.

Lacy hummed and reached forward lazily to check her phone. She scrolled for some time until she finally nodded, announcing her friend Jeremy had put them on three different lists.

“They’re all within walking distance of each other,” she added.

“Party hopping it is,” Joan said.

There were murmurs of agreement. Jen could already feel the ache of exhaustion, but she was all for it anyway. Secretly she hoped the nameless guy would be at least at one of those parties, but she knew the chances were slim. That was when her mind switched gears and she wondered if she would have to end up dodging Don. She plucked at a piece of lint that had landed on her pants and rolled it through the tips of her fingers.

“What about Don?” Lacy finally asked, eyebrow raised.

Jen shrugged, not bothering to actually look up at her or any of the others.

“If I see him, then I’ll see him,” she responded unenthusiastically. When her comment was met with silence, she finally dropped the piece of lint on the floor and looked up to meet Lacy’s gaze. “He was nice. I had fun. I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I saw him again,” she said honestly.

Those were her thoughts. She wouldn’t seek him out but she wouldn’t be against hanging out again. Jen

could tell, however, that Lacy had an inkling of what was up. Lacy pursed her lips and gave a little nod as if to say she had a clue Jen was still thinking about that other guy. From what she had observed, it certainly didn’t seem that the red haired woman was his girlfriend.

She was likely just his hookup of the night. Her stomach churned. If she hooked up with him, that as exactly what she would end up being too. That thought was still not enough to stop her from silently hoping he would pop up at one of the parties at the same time as her.

As Jen lounged around on her hotel room’s balcony a while later, unread book in hand, she couldn’t help but wonder if he would recognize her. She started tracing along the outline of the little sailboat prints on her pants as she remembered the way he looked by the glow of the fire.

She closed her eyes and remembered how it was clear he had a toned, lean body even through the tshirt had on. He was one of the only men there that night who was actually wearing something other than beach shorts. She remembered his thick, dark brown hair and the way it framed his chiseled, oliveskinned face. He was so good-looking.

Her eyes shot open and she shook her head. There was no reason for her to be daydreaming over some guy she had only seen once at a party. It didn’t matter if there had been some intense eye contact between them. That moment of electricity was still something she was confused about. Had she been the only one who felt it? She shook her head again and finally opened her book only to stare at the title page, focusing instead on trying to recall the color of his eyes. She hadn’t gotten the chance to properly look at them. She sighed and turned to page one, but her mind wasn’t in it.

In an effort to stop focusing on him, she closed her book and stood up to walk over to Lacy’s room. Just as she was about to knock on her friend’s hotel room door she stopped and thought about it. Lacy was likely the only one of her four friends to question her about the nameless guy. She was the only one who had caught on that Jen still had some interest in him. So Jen uncurled her fist and dropped her hand to her side, walking over to Joan’s room instead. She knocked, but there was no answer. Jen grimaced.

“Lonely?” came Lacy’s voice from down the hall. Jen turned to see her friend near the elevators holding a bucket of ice and some kind of beverage. Lacy started walking to her and nodded toward her hotel room. “Come hang out with me,” she said as she neared the door and pulled out her key card.

Jen walked in silently. She wasn’t going to brush off Lacy, but she also didn’t want to talk about the party from the previous night. She didn’t even want to discuss Don or recount her night with him. She was there for a vacation and it was already starting to feel like guy drama was brewing up. It bothered her.

She reached for a couple of plastic cups on the table, but Lacy clicked her tongue. Jen turned around to see Lacy reaching into a cabinet to grab a couple of clean glasses. She placed them on the table and then served ice and the carbonated, flavored water she had bought. Jen took a sip and found it delightful.

“What are you wearing tonight?” Jen asked. If she steered the conversation she had a better chance of

avoiding the topics she had placed off limits in her mind. Plus, the whole point of seeking out a friend had been to distract herself.

Lacy grinned and stood up, walking to her dresser with a bounce in her step. She pulled out a slinky, black dress and waved it around. It was easily the shortest and most revealing dress she had ever seen form part of Lacy’s wardrobe. It was more on the casual side, but she knew Lacy would dress it up a bit, which made her start thinking on what she should wear for the night.

“Very nice,” she commented. She tapped her index finger on her lips.

“Let’s go choose what you’ll wear,” Lacy suggested with a grin.

Jen eyed her suspiciously. She wondered if her friend was thinking about making her look enticing in case Mr. Carefree/Trouble showed up. She wouldn’t put it past Lacy to think up a little scheme like that but keep it quiet.

Deciding that wasn’t exactly a bad thing, Jen nodded and stood up. They walked over to her hotel room and Lacy wasted no time in rifling through her clothes. She finally settled on a strapless red dress. It was one Jen hadn’t worn in a long time, the last of which had almost resulted in a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.

Jen raised an eyebrow and took the dress from Lacy. She ran her fingers over the smooth fabric and asked, “Really?” Lacy bit her lip, grin still wide, and nodded enthusiastically.

Jen shrugged and tossed it on the bed. She didn’t feel like thinking of something else and she had brought the dress, so why not.

It wasn’t until a few hours later when she was finally getting ready to walk out of the room and meet her friends in the hall that Jen wondered if she had made the wrong choice. The dress was a lot shorter than she remembered it being– she felt like she could barely move for fear of accidentally exposing herself. When she pulled Lacy inside and shared her worries, it was met with an eye roll.

“You’re exaggerating,” Lacy appeased her. She grabbed Jen’s hand and gave her a twirl. “You look hot, definitely keep it on,” she said slyly, adding a wink at the end for good measure.

Jen scoffed and nudged her friend’s arm before turning back to look at her reflection in the mirror. Lacy was right; the dress wasn’t as short as Jen was making it out to be. But it was skintight and accentuated every single one of her curves. It showed off her cleavage and almost every inch of her legs.

The red popped against her fair skin and Jen knew that was something that made it even more eyecatching than how tight and revealing it was. She ran her fingers through her long, blonde tresses and finally nodded.



“Let’s go,” she said. The two of them walked out to the hallway and Jen was met with playful catcalls from her friends.

As they walked down the lobby of the hotel to go out and hail a cab, Jen noticed how much taller she was with the black pumps she had chosen to wear. She smirked knowing her legs looked good when she wore those. She couldn’t help but think she definitely would catch the nameless guy’s attention if she were to run into him. Of course, Don would also be quite taken with her appearance if he popped up. She took a deep breath and smiled.

If Don did come around, she would enjoy his company. He was hot and fun and she was on vacation. It was simple, really. She wasn’t out there with her friends to get hung up on some guy, much less one whose name she didn’t even know.

The cab dropped them off just a few minutes later in front of a condominium complex. The five women walked through the lobby, greeting a staring attendant, and clamored onto the elevator. They hadn’t ‘pre-partied’ this time around, but they were all in high spirits and, as a result, quite loud. They shot up to the eighth floor and the music from one of the condos could immediately be heard as the elevator doors slid open. They walked inside, nobody to check the list, and quickly found out why. The party was a complete dud. They decided to head to the next one in less than thirty minutes.

They walked about five minutes down the street to a gated housing complex. The houses were the cookie-cutter, two-story development home types, but it didn’t exactly look like a family type of area. It looked more hip and modern, which explained why a complex like that was in the area to begin with. They didn’t even need to rely on the address numbers to find the house– the lights and music couldn’t be missed.

“This looks more like it,” Lacy said. She walked up to the two men handling the list at the door, both of which eyed her hungrily. Jen wasn’t surprised. It was the type of thing that happened constantly, especially when they were all dolled up and ready for a night out. They smiled and motioned for all five women to go in and, less than a minute later, it was clear this was a much better party than the first.

The five of them walked over to the self-serve bar area and Lacy immediately busied herself with preparing a special party cocktail she had concocted for them about a year ago. Jen took the opportunity to turn around and scan the room. She pretended like her eyes were just wandering around aimlessly, interested in observing those around her, but she was really in search of one face and one face only.

She was so focused on her search that she failed to notice Don standing a few feet away from her until he smiled and waved a bit enthusiastically. He must have noticed she wasn’t paying attention. Remembering her resolution, Jen grinned at him and waved back. Lacy shoved the drink in Jen’s hand and saved her from having to decide whether or not to walk up to Don yet. She didn’t see why she had to spend the entire time at the party with him just because they had gotten along well the night before. After all, she was there with her friends.

“To another awesome night!” Samantha cried out. The five of them raised their cups and took large gulps of their cocktails.

It tasted delicious, but Jen already knew it was strong. Regardless, she took another sip and that was when she felt a warm hand on her exposed shoulder. Instantly she knew it was Don. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at him with a large and mostly genuine smile.

“Hey there,” Jen said rather flirtatiously. She had seamlessly transitioned into her fun, go with the flow mindset. If she was going to do it, she would be all in.

As she looked up into his brown eyes and realized he was even cuter than she remembered. Or maybe she was a bit more open to him now. Either way, he was good to look at and fun company. He looked her up and down with a grin. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear, “You look good.”

But he lost her right at the end of her sentence because the very person she had been searching for earlier had just walked through the door.

Chapter Four

“Thanks,” Jen said loudly before murmuring something about getting back to her friends. She tried to walk as gracefully as she could over to her group while still going about it as quickly as possible. She didn’t even bother to look back at Don’s reaction.

As soon as she slid up beside Lacy, who was already swaying her hips seductively to the rhythm of the music, she turned to look toward the door. Mr. Carefree was no longer standing there, but looking not too far to the right she saw him. He was leaning against the wall, eyes lowered to what seemed to be the floor. Jen stared at him and her stomach flipped. He was incredibly sexy. Everything about his demeanor was attractive. It didn’t matter that everything about him had the word “trouble” written all over it; if anything, like before, it only made her all the more drawn to him.

Lacy nudged her arm and leaned in. “I know who you’re looking at,” she taunted her. Jen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her eyes immediately darted around to her other three friends hoping they hadn’t heard or caught on. She really didn’t want this to become a big deal for any reason, even though she was quite aware her little obsession with talking to him was already turning into a big deal. Jen bit her lower lip and nodded.

“So why don’t you go talk to him?” Lacy stopped dancing and looked at Jen.

Jen turned to look at her. Although she doubted the red haired woman from the previous night’s party was his girlfriend, what if she was wrong? Or what if he was already there with somebody else? She didn’t want to admit, not even to herself, that she was nervous about being reject. Then she looked back at him and saw his eyes scanning the crowd.

Their eyes met and she was instantly reminded of the intense, yet brief, eye contact they had shared the previous night on the beach. It had been unmistakably deliberate, especially with the little wink he had delivered at the end. Even now, he wasn’t breaking eye contact. Jen’s eyes wandered down to his lips. There was a little smug smirk tugging at one of the corners of his mouth. Her stomach flipped again and, without thinking too much about it, she pushed forward through the crowd to talk to him.

Just as she was a few feet away, a large body blocked her way. “There you are,” came the sound of a familiar voice.

Jen groaned and was glad the music was loud enough to drown it out. She looked up into Don’s eager eyes. As her mind raced to find an excuse to get away from him and finally meet the other guy, she felt one of his hands land on her arm. Slowly and smoothly, he slid it down her arm and placed it on the curve of her waist. Jen gulped. He was being much more forward tonight and she was pretty sure where he wanted this to end up. It was obvious he liked her, at least for a little fling, but her sights were set on an entirely different person. Were it not for that, she would have been much more interested in Don than she was now.

“Don,” she said softly, but she couldn’t think of a reason to slide out of his grip and go talk to someone else. He would see her, no doubt, and she also didn’t want to be rude. She didn’t owe him anything, but it seemed a bit tactless, in her opinion.

“You really do look,” he said with a pause. He leaned back slightly and checked her out again, the hunger in his eyes evident even in the darkness of the house. Jen felt she had already lost her chance with the other guy likely from the moment Don had stepped between them.

“Thanks,” she responded automatically.

That was when Lacy came to her rescue. That was the moment she realized the importance of her friends knowing who she was actually interested in, even if they blew it out of proportion.

“Stealing her back!” Lacy said lightheartedly, followed up by a cute little giggle. She wrapped her hand around Jen’s and tugged her back to the circle of friends, from which Jen immediately noticed Joan was missing.

“Thanks,” Jen whispered into Lacy’s ear, a lot more sincerely than when she had said the word to Don. Lacy grinned and nodded her head toward Lizzie. When she saw Jen furrow her brows in confusion she nodded again and Jen looked behind Lizzie.

He was standing there and looking directly at her, the smug little smirk more pronounced than before. She wasn’t going to waste time thinking about it or being nervous. Lacy had pulled her away from Don specifically for this and she didn’t want to lose another shot. Jen ran her flattened palms over the fabric of her dress and walked across until she finally stood in front of him.

He didn’t move an inch. Not even his gaze shifted.

“Hey,” Jen said. She leaned in toward him and immediately his scent met her nose. Her stomach clenched. Everything about him was so captivating to her. He just nodded once, curtly, in response to her greeting.

“I’m Jen,” she pressed on. The nervous feeling was growing stronger by the second. She wondered just how hard she would actually have to work at this.

“Ryan,” he responded.

His voice was deep and raspy with a slight drawl to it. A shiver ran down her spine. It was only now that she was right in front of him that she noticed the very light five o’clock shadow on his face. It made him look even edgier than she had remembered him. The trouble was written all over him. She looked into his eyes and finally saw they were hazel. She swallowed. She didn’t know what to do or say from there.



For some reason, her not knowing what to say made her take a step forward to be much closer to him. Once again, he didn’t budge at all. “You here alone?” she finally thought to ask when the image of him making out with the red haired woman popped into her mind.

He nodded. “Mind some company?” she asked, her voice much more seductive now that she knew for certain he was alone.

Finally, he moved. He leaned in toward her until she could feel his hot breath on the lobe of her ear. “Sure,” he said simply, his raspy voice sending another shiver down her spine. The feeling of his breath on her skin played no part in that, no doubt. She felt his hand slip onto the curve of her waist and her stomach clenched again. She hadn’t gotten any of these feeling with Don. With him it was sure and easy. With Ryan it was anxious and exciting– more of what she had been looking for even if she hadn’t known it.

“Let’s get a drink,” he told her. That was yet another difference she noticed, she thought, as they walked over to the self-serve bar. Don had asked if she wanted a drink. When they reached the bar and he reached for two beers. He wasn’t even asking what she wanted but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

It was when her hand curled around the ice-cold bottle that the same icy feeling ran through her. She saw Don standing right behind Ryan, looking at her with a bit of disappointment.

“Hey,” he said in a downtrodden tone before reaching over for his own bottle of beer. He uncapped it and immediately walked away, leaving Jen to feel guilty until the moment she looked back into Ryan’s hazel eyes.

“Friend of yours?” he asked. He didn’t sound all that interested in her actual answer, but he also didn’t sound disinterested. It was strange.

“Something like that,” Jen responded.

Ryan placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her over to the same spot on the wall he had been standing before when she first started walking over to him. That was when it hit her that maybe, just maybe, he had gone to her group of friends in search of her. Maybe he had been waiting for her.

Her stomach clenched at the thought that he was actually interested in her. She wanted to ask if he remembered her from the previous night but decided against it. She would be too embarrassed if the answer were no. They stood in silence drinking their beers but every so often, Ryan inched closer and closer to her.

Eventually, his side was pressed right into hers, his arm wrapped around her back and hand resting on her hip. Before she knew what was happening, he turned around to face her. His face was mere centimeters from her own.



“Done with that beer,” he said.

It was meant to be a question but he certainly didn’t make it sound like one. Jen nodded slowly even though there was still a good amount of the frothy liquid in the bottle.

“Good,” he whispered. He bridged the miniscule gap between them and Jen instantly felt his lips press against hers briefly before he pulled back and said, “I need a smoke.”

“Okay,” she responded.

She was dumbfounded. He had kissed her, if that was what it could be called, and now he wanted a cigarette. Was she supposed to go with him? Would he be back? Her questions were answered when he took the beer bottle from her and tossed both of them into the bottle bin. He placed his hand on her lower back again and guided her out the front door, his other hand reaching into his coat pocket for a pack of cigarettes and a silver lighter. Jen noticed the lighter was engraved with something, but with the poor lighting she couldn’t tell what it was.

He guided her round to a little secluded area and pulled out a cigarette.

“You smoke?” he asked. Jen shook her head. He shrugged and lit his cigarette, closing his eyes when he took the first drag. She had never cared whether or not a man smoked which was why she found it so odd that she found it hot to see him do it. There was something about him that made her weak in the knees, despite him pretty much just standing near her. It gave him an odd sort of leverage on her. She kind of hated it, but also just went with it.

“Fuck it,” she muttered, “It’s vacation.”

“What’s that mean?” he asked, eyebrow arched.

Jen bit her lower lip and shrugged. “Nothing,” she responded. Her cheeks were burning and she was sure that if they had been in better lighting he would have seen her blushing.

Ryan took another long drag before dropping his arm to his side. He exhaled the smoke and stepped toward her. They made intense eye contact for a moment before his free hand moved up and landed on the side of her neck. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers only this time he didn’t immediately pull away. This time he took a step forward so she could feel his body touching hers, even if slightly.

He ran his tongue over her lower lip and Jen instinctively opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. She could taste the alcohol and cigarette smoke in his mouth, but she didn’t mind it one bit. It suited everything about him and their encounter.

He pulled back from the kiss and took another drag from the cigarette without letting her go. He blew out the smoke away from her face and looked back into her eyes.

“So, what you wanna do?” he asked.

“You,” Jen blurted out. Her eyes shot open and she slapped her hand over her mouth. She might have looked like a fool, but she couldn’t believe she had actually just said that. She had been thinking of it as a corny joke, but her brain to mouth filter had failed her at that moment.

Ryan let out a long, drawn out laugh and then leaned in to kiss her again. His kiss wasn’t rough or harsh, but there was some kind of coarseness to it she couldn’t describe. She wondered if he was more interested in kissing her than he had been to kiss the red haired woman from the previous night. She also wondered if he had sex with her.

“Alright then,” he said against her lips before kissing her again. “I didn’t take you as the type to be so bold,” he told her.

Something about her little outburst seemed to have broken down one of the many walls between the two of them. It was like she had tapped into something in his mind he never expected. She liked it. It made her even more attracted to him. It excited her.

“I’m not,” she admitted. She bit her lower lip and he responded by pushing his body further up against hers. She could distinctly feel a hard bulge pressing against her thigh. Clearly, he wasn’t shy about any of this.

Jen gulped.

“Thought so,” he said. He took a final drag of the cigarette and dropped it onto the asphalt, stomping it out with his foot.

“Let’s go,” he said as he turned around and placed his hand right on the top curve of her ass and continued walking. Jen noticed he wasn’t heading toward any sort of exit. He was leading her to what appeared to be a little recreational area that was abandoned at that time of night. This was all so fast and so crazy. She knew practically nothing about him, aside from the fact that he smoked and liked beer. That was all she knew about him yet she was perfectly willing, and excited, to go hook up with him.

She’d had one night stands before, two to be exact, both times with men she had spent time getting to know.

But she had never done anything like this.

“Guess there really is a first time for everything,” she muttered with a chuckle. This was set to be her

biggest adventure on vacation. He pushed open what looked to be a bathroom door, but it turned out to be some sort of locker room. It was the women’s room, she noticed just before the door shut. It was almost pitch black inside and lit only by a red exit sign off in the corner. But she soon discovered light wasn’t necessary for what was about to happen.

Chapter Five

Ryan pushed her back against the wall and ran his hands up and down her sides. He was kissing her again and her mind was lost. She was far gone in a world of excitement and ecstasy. Now she knew his name, what his breath tasted like, and even what his steadily hardening bulge felt like as it pressed against her leg.

That was a far cry from a mere 24 hours ago. He unceremoniously tugged her dress down to expose her black, strapless bra. Without a word, he reached around and unclasped it. Jen heard it fall but had no clue where. She could find it later on, now wasn’t the time to think about where her clothing was landing. She could already feel a ton of hot moisture between her legs.

“Fuck,” she choked out as he kissed her neck and rubbed one of her breasts. His touch was rough and forceful. It was interesting and exciting and perfectly suitable for everything about him. She didn’t even know if he was there on vacation or a local. She had no clue if she would ever see him or speak to him again. But she was kissing him and being touched by him and getting everything she had wanted from the first moment she had laid eyes on him the previous night. This was exactly what she wanted everything to escalate to and, boy, did it happen quickly.

Ryan moved down and closed his mouth around one of her hard nipples, sucking it and pulling it in between his teeth as his fingers rubbed over the other one, occasionally delivering a pinch. His mouth trailed back up and kissed her while his hand ran down until he could reach under the short hem of her dress.

He ran his hand up her thigh and pulled the crotch of her panties to the side, causing her to break the kiss with a loud gasp as his fingers brushed over her soaking wet slit.

“Fuck,” she moaned out. He wasted no time pushing a finger into her and working it back and forth, adding a second one soon after. It wasn’t long before his thumb was pressing down on her clit and Jen was moaning so loud she was on the verge of screaming.

Whatever his fingers were doing inside her felt absolutely amazing. She dropped her head on his shoulder and gripped him with her hand, her other hand grabbing at his arm. She curled her body up against his and started rocking her hips against his hand as he continued to finger her, never letting up on her clit. Her body trembled, then went limp against him once the orgasm overpowered her.

“Fuck, fuck,” she breathed out hot and heavy. Ryan pulled his fingers out of her and wiped them on the inside of her dress, the crotch of her panties snapping back into place. He gave her a moment to catch her breath before kissing her again, his hardness pressing relentlessly against her leg. Jen reached down and undid his jeans, sticking her hand into his boxers and gripping his manhood. It was a lot thicker than she had anticipated as she let out a little gasp of surprise. She could feel him smirk against her lips. He knew exactly what her little gasp had been about.



She started stroking, but pretty soon felt his hand on her shoulder, pushing down slightly. He wasn’t forcing her, but he was very clear with what he wanted. And she was totally down for it. She wondered what he tasted it like. Even just from stroking him she could tell his dick was big.

Fitting it all in her mouth would be a challenge she was more than happy to take on. She knelt down in front of him and shoved his jeans down along with his boxers. His cock sprang out and nearly hit her on the cheek. She let out a cute laugh before sticking out her tongue and flicking the middle of his shaft. Ryan cleared his throat and shifted around to lean back against the wall.

He dropped his head back and the moonlight filtering through the high windows of the locker room cast a soft glow on his face. She could tell he was enjoying it. Then he let out a deep groan as her soft hand wrapped around the base of his dick. She saw him look down just in time to see her tongue running along her lips, looking as if she were salivating at the mere thought of having his big, hard cock in her mouth. And the truth was she kind of was– after all, she had wanted him so bad in any way and now it was finally happening, she was beside herself with desire.

She looked up at him sensually and gave one last, deadly smirk before opening her mouth and slipping him past her lips. He groaned and let out a small gasp as she ran the tip of her tongue right along the ridge of his head before she swallowed his entire length in one go. She knew he wasn’t expecting this at all, not from her. She was being bold in the same way she had been when she openly admitted she wanted him, even if it had been an accident. She slid his shaft back out with a pop and smirked again as she looked up at him.

Ryan was breathing heavily, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down quickly with gulping breathes. Already Jen had done a good job of getting him going and she felt an odd sense of pride for it. That was when she realized she really did want to taste his come in her mouth and make a show of swallowing it, just for him.

She had somehow mastered being completely open and bold with him. She had gone from being nervous and not knowing how to even talk to him to this. Whatever she had opened up in him by taking him by surprise, he had opened up something inside of her, just from the intense lust he caused.

Jen slowly slipped him back in to her mouth. She bobbed her head back and forth slowly a few times before picking up the pace a bit and applying pressure to his shaft with her tongue. Once she removed her hand from the base of his cock, he grabbed a lock of her hair and wrapped it around his hand.

She looked up at him, eyes full of encouragement even though she knew he probably couldn’t see it. He started to pull and push her head, setting the pace at which his hardness slid in and out of her mouth instead of letting her continue with her own speed. He decided how deep his dick went into her mouth and how long he held it there. It felt dirty and it thrilled her, something she would have never expected.

Jen felt saliva accumulate at the corners of her mouth. Her face felt hot and her eyes watered. She

coughed every so often from the labored breathing. He pulled her head back enough for his entire length to slip out. She heard him taking a few deep breaths. She took the opportunity to do the same. She was debating on whether or not to quickly clean up her face with the palm of her hand when he started to really go at it.

Despite Ryan setting the pace and depth, she never let the pressure from her tongue lying flat against his shaft let up. She decided to take it a step further and curled her tongue against his dick when she could, swishing it around and varying the pressure.

She knew he liked it from the moaning grunts and the fact that his moans were getting louder. His pace of pushing her head back and forth was starting to speed up as if he were headed to a much needed, desperate release. All the while, he was sliding his cock quickly back and forth through her puckered lips, all the way down to the hilt now with every stroke. She knew he was closer when his thrusts got more erratic and sped up even further.

He was still pulling her hair, but it was out of sheer pleasure and the need to hold onto something. Now his hips rocked forward and his dick shoved back and forth in her mouth as he got off. She had never been fucked in her mouth like this before and she could think of no better person or time to try it out.

Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and pulled it out of her hair while pushing his hips back against the wall. His dick bounced a bit from the sudden exit of her mouth, but she was quick to hold it steady. She closed her mouth around the head of his dick and started sucking as if she were milking him, her hand stroking the shaft quickly with pressure. It wasn’t long before he warned her he was about to come. Jen only sucked harder. She took his entire length into her mouth and felt the hot liquid burst from the tip of his cock and slide straight down her throat. She was pleased to hear him groan until the very last second.

As soon as he was done, Jen collapsed back to sit against her legs, palms of her hands resting on the cold tile floor of the locker room. Her breasts were pressed up and out of her dress, but she didn’t care. She needed a moment before standing up, cleaning up, and getting dressed. Once she finally felt strong enough, she grabbed onto his hand and he helped her up.

She had already wiped off her face with her hand. Much to her surprise, he pulled her in for a kiss. It was short and coarse, but she liked it. It was a somewhat kind gesture on his behalf, one she would have never expected.

“That was fun,” he whispered against her lips. His raspy voice and the feeling of his hot breath made her knees wobble yet again. He knelt down to feel around for her bra and handed it to her, helping her put it on and adjust it in the dark. They stepped outside for a bit of light and Ryan helped her look a bit more put together before they went back to the party.

Before they parted ways at the front door he said, “Maybe I’ll see you around.” He smirked and pulled a cigarette out of his coat pocket, lighting it as he walked away.

Chapter Six

“Whoa,” Lacy said in shock the following morning.

She had come over to Jen’s room to get all the dirty details, but at least she had also brought coffee and bagels. They were sitting at the little dining table in Jen’s hotel room because she hadn’t wanted to talk about it out loud while sitting out on the balcony. It made her feel like she could be overheard too easily.

“I know,” Jen responded. She took a sip of coffee and closed her eyes. It was delicious. “I don’t know what came over me,” she added.

“Does it matter?” Lacy asked. Her eyebrows were arched as she smirked. “You got what you wanted and you had fun. You’re on vacation. Live it up!” She giggled and took a tiny bite off her bagel. “The others were asking where you had gone off to,” she said with a smug smile. “I just told them you found your prize.”

The two of them burst out laughing. Once they settled down, Jen recalled the look on Don’s face when he had seen her talking to Ryan at the bar area at the party. She wondered if he had seen the two of them walk out together not long after that.

“Did you talk to Don at all?” Jen couldn’t resist asking. Curiosity got the best of her.

Lacy grimaced. “No, but I saw him. He looked somewhere between annoyed and disappointed? I don’t know. Why? Did he see you with Ryan?” Jen nodded. Lacy hummed in understanding. She reached for the cream cheese and carefully spread a minimal amount on her bagel. “I was thinking we can take a night off from partying tonight,” she finally said.

“Good for me,” Jen agreed. She didn’t feel a need to go out and party every night of the week they were there. And with her little exploits the previous night, maybe a night in would be a good break from her.

Little did she know she would see Ryan at the cantina they decided to have lunch at.

He smirked and walked up to her as she left with her friends. He rounded up in front of her and stopped her from walking. She saw her friends notice and stopped walking, Lacy nodded to let them know it was okay. She could only imagine the snickers, questions, and teasing she would endure on the walk to the aquarium they were going to check out.

“Got plans tonight?” he asked.



Jen was shocked. She didn’t expect to actually see him again, much less in a setting that was anything other than a party. The last thing she ever expected was for him to actually ask her if she had plans. She shook her head.

“Why?” He smirked again and she saw his gaze lower down to her cleavage, poking out enticingly from her halter top. She felt a quiver between her legs. Much as she had enjoyed their little rendezvous in the locker room the previous night, it would be a lie to say she didn’t want to know what he felt like inside her. Aside from that, she had a lot of fun with him and the attraction hadn’t died down at all. She wasn’t opposed one bit to hanging out with him again, whatever that meant.

Jen stuck her head out to the side and looked at her friends. Nobody had mentioned anything about the night. It was just a visit to the aquarium and dinner they had planned.

“Uh,” she said as she straightened up to meet his gaze again. “Nothing,” she responded.

“Well,” he said.

She expected him to go on, but that was all he was giving her. It felt a lot like the first few minutes they had spoken only now she was a lot let less nervous. It was pretty obvious he was interested in her at least in some way, probably the same way she was interested in him, though not as strongly.

“Come over,” she told him. He nodded.

They exchanged information, settled on a time, and parted ways. When Jen rejoined her friend the inevitable cooing and avalanche of questions came about. She tried to evade as many as possible, but eventually gave up. However, she didn’t give them the details she had given Lacy about the night before.

“I assumed it would be okay to make plans with him since-”

“Of course!” Lacy interrupted. She grinned and swung her arm over Jen’s shoulders.

They went to the aquarium from there and had a blast. Jen’s thoughts weren’t stuck on Ryan the rest of the day. She fully enjoyed her time with her friends. It was one of the biggest and coolest aquariums she had ever been to. Afterwards they went to dinner and talked about everything, including how Joan had ended up spending the night with the guy she was dancing with the previous night.

“We exchanged phone numbers,” she told them. “He’s here for another two weeks so if we go to a party he wants to meet up again or something.” All the four friends made oooh noises as if they were schoolgirls talking about silly crushes.

They finished up dinner and walked leisurely back to their hotel, enjoying the evening breeze of the

ocean sweeping up their hair. It was a relaxing day. It had been fun and easy. It wasn’t until Jen stepped into her hotel room and reached for her phone to let Ryan know she was back and free that it felt completely different. She knew exactly what she had invited him over for, there was no doubt about it. And while she had absolutely no problem with it, there was still an odd feeling to admit it to herself.

She looked in the mirror and wondered if she should change. “Nah,” she decided. She figured he had already seen her in what she was wearing and quite clearly liked it based off the way he had eyed her. Not only that, she doubted if she would be keeping her clothes on all that long. It was a few minutes later when her phone dinged with a notification of a new message.

He would be over in less than twenty minutes. Her stomach clenched. She had no idea why that started to make her feel nervous so she stepped out of her room and knocked on Lacy’s door.

“Aren’t you waiting for lover boy?” Lacy asked cheekily.

“Shut it,” Jen said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “He is not lover boy.” Lacy laughed and stepped aside so Jen could go inside. They watched some random television show together for about ten minutes before Jen decided to go back to her room and wait. But having been with Lacy that time made it go by faster and did a lot to calm her nerves. It was only a few minutes after she had gone back to her room when there was a knock on the door.

She looked through the peephole and, sure enough, Ryan was standing in front of the door. She pulled it open and noticed he wasn’t wearing the jacket from earlier. He just had on a faded black t-shirt, jeans, and his tennis shoes. He looked so hot and she already couldn’t wait to get started with him. He walked in without really looking at her and walked straight to her balcony. He threw his pack of cigarettes and lighter on the end table out there and said, “I know this is a non-smoking room.”

She walked out onto the balcony and picked up the lighter. She ran her thumb over it and finally saw what was engraved on it. It was the face of a lion with the initials RJD underneath it.

“Gift?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he responded.

She dropped the lighter on the table and walked back inside as Ryan called her name. “Jen,” he said in his deep, raspy voice.

She stopped dead in her tracks and was pretty sure he saw her quiver. His voice was sexy enough on its own but when he lowered it and talked to her like that, it turned her on so much.

Jen barely had time to turn around fully when he was already pressing her back up against the wall beside the balcony door. She had thought to close it before they got started, but then she felt his lips

kissing her roughly, more so than the previous night, and it completely got pushed out of her mind.

It wasn’t that he had suddenly become a rougher person, or that his treatment was more rough. He had more desire and urgency this time around. He leaned in and pressed his body up against her. She could smell cigarette smoke on his breath and, like the previous night, she found it oddly a turn on. By that point she thought everything about him was a turn on.

She turned her head to break the kiss if only to catch her breath for a moment. “Oh wow,” she breathed out. She knew what he was coming over for and she had wanted to get started the moment she saw him, but she still had been caught by surprise. She supposed that was the thing about being with a guy like Ryan. The guys that were trouble would always take you by surprise and that was why it was best to keep him as a vacation adventure.

He placed his hands on her waist and gave slight squeeze. Then he ran a hand up her body and rested it on her cheek. He leaned forward to kiss her again. His kisses were never soft or tender. They were never slow. But she would have been shocked if they were. She had been quite taken with him from the moment she laid eyes on him the first night, but she knew he had steered everything from the moment their eyes met as he stood with the other red haired woman by the bonfire.

It had been electrifying and was something she had never experienced. She pulled back and looked into his hazel eyes. Finding courage, she finally asked, “Do you remember me?”

“From last night?” he asked with an incredulous tone.

“No,” she scoffed. “From the night before that at the beach party.”

His smirk told her everything she wanted to know. He most certainly did remember her. “You really doubting it or you just wanna hear me say it?”

Jen gulped. She breathed in the intoxicating scent of his breath. He had seen her, it had been deliberate, and he was interested from the start. She shook her head. He responded by moving in to continue kissing her and she let herself get completely lost in the moment. That was really the only question she had wanted an answer for.

She felt his hands slowly moving up and inward until he was rubbing her breasts over the fabric of her halter top. She moaned with need against his mouth and he responded by thrusting his hips forward, rubbing his hard bulge against her. The friction felt so good that she broke the kiss to whimper with an open mouth.

Ryan reached behind her neck and untied the strings of her halter top so it fell open and exposed her breasts– she never wore a bra with that top, which had turned out to be quite convenient for this little meet up.



He immediately dipped his head down and ran the tip of his tongue down along her collarbone. He continued on until she felt his hot breath on her cleavage. He traced his tongue along the line of her cleavage and then she felt his mouth close around one of her pert nipples. She gasped out loud at the sensation of his warm, wet mouth on her. When he started to suck she inhaled sharply and clenched her eyes shut.

He reached down and undid the button and zipper of her denim shorts. He pushed them down relentlessly until she started to wriggle her body so they would slip down her legs. Once they were around her ankles, she stepped out of them and kicked them aside. Now she only had her panties on but he was fully clothed, breathing against her skin with hot breath.

He immediately pushed her back against the wall hard and she let out a little squeal from the impact.

“You okay?” he asked through heavy breaths. She nodded as he continued messaging her breasts. She moaned and writhed against the wall, something that was about to intensify. She felt one of his hands run down along the curve of her small waist, cupping her hip before moving in and slipping under the waistband of her panties.

She let out a heavy moan into his mouth, which was now kissing her again, as she felt the tip of his finger run up and down along her soaking wet slit. He pushed his body against hers, right at the moment he pushed his finger inside her.

He started moving his finger in and out of her before adding a second. He was fingering her again, but it was clear this wasn’t the end game as it had been the previous night. He wasn’t putting as much effort into it nor was he doing everything he had done inside her this time around. He pressed his thumb against her clit a couple times before finally stepping back just enough to unbutton and unzip his jeans.

Jen reached out and took his shirt off before he rapidly pushed his pants and boxers down at the same time. She looked down at his throbbing cock. She already knew how big it was from having it in her mouth, but it was different to actually see it again. She felt a throbbing of need between her legs and she squeezed against his fingers, making him smirk knowingly.

She ran her hands over his toned stomach but only for a moment because he grabbed her hand and moved it back, pinning it to the wall. He moved in close and kissed her again with need and want. It felt good to know he wanted her as much, or almost as much, as she wanted him. He groaned into her mouth when his hard cock rubbed up against the wet crotch of her panties and he slid his hand out from them.

He gripped her waist and Jen could feel her warm wetness rub against her skin from his touch. She started to move her hips against his manhood to create more friction and they both broke the kiss to make panty sounds of pleasure. Ryan pinned both of her wrists above her head with one of his hands, leaving his other hand free to press her hips back against the wall and keep her from moving them. He licked down her neck, stopping to suck at the base of it with his tongue darting out every now and then to run

along the same spot.

He jerked his hips forward once with force and she moaned at the quick, hard contact. He did it again a couple more times before finally letting go of her wrists and taking a step back away from her. She saw him rake his eyes over her body. His tongue ran across his lips hungrily as he reached out to take her hand so that he could turn her around and push her onto the bed.

He climbed over top her and kissed the back of her neck. He rolled over on to his back and pushed his body further up the bed so that he was leaning back against his elbows and looking down at her. She reached out and stoked his cock, giving it a few jerks. She climbed on top of him and leaned down to kiss him as she rubbed against his hardness, panties still on. He was groaning and grunting into her mouth. That excited her even more.

Once they had enough of the teasing and foreplay, he flipped her onto her back and made quick work of taking off her panties.

Jen opened her legs wide for him. She watched in anticipation as he firmly grabbed the base of his shaft and pushed his hips forward slightly, just enough so the head of his cock made contact with her wet slit. She let out a breathy moan and let her hips rise slightly in response. Ryan ran the head of his cock up and down her wetness a few times before looking her in the eye. He raised one of his eyebrows as if asking her one final time if she really was sure. She nodded, almost desperately. This was the moment she had been anticipating ever since she first saw him.

With the okay, he pushed into her. They both groaned at the sensation. Without warning or warm up, he shoved the rest of his cock inside her. Jen moaned loudly, verging on a scream, as her back arched. She slammed a fist against the bed. He filled her so much. He pulled out of her entirely and then rammed his entire cock into her once again, earning a sharp yelp from her this time around.

He started to rock his hips back and forth, thrusting at a moderate pace but still making sure to penetrate her deeply with each stroke. The rhythmic slapping of their bodies filled the room as she clutched at the covers. Her breathing was heavy and there was already light sheen of sweat making her skin glisten.

Ryan adjusted his position and angled his cock upward a bit as he slid it back inside, hitting a sensitive spot that caused her to cry out in pure pleasure. He started thrusting faster and faster, hitting that perfect spot every time, as he pushed down on her hips with force.

He started to thrust faster and faster, sending her into a fit of endless moans and cries until she felt her body tense up with the orgasm that went through her entire body. His hips jerked forward suddenly and he grasped her waist tightly, allowing him to pound into her with short, rapid movements until his entire body went stiff as he came. As soon as he was done he pulled out and rolled over to his side before getting off the bed and walking over to the bathroom.

After he cleaned up and got dressed, they sat out on the balcony talking for a while.

It turned out he was living in the area for a year, of which only three or four months had passed. He was there on business, something she wouldn’t have imagined. He was actually an interesting person, but it was clear that what she thought of him was true– he was trouble.

It was clear he was a partygoer, womanizer, and had commitment issues. She minded none of that considering the sort of relationship they had, but knew he was the type who could easily break a lot of hearts. That had probably been his draw, besides being so hot– he was the bad boy who wouldn’t actually hurt her.

He ended up leaving a couple hours after they finished, but this time there was a finality to it and she was okay with it. Inevitably, she saw him at a couple more parties over the course of her vacation. They greeted each other, but that was it. She had no intention of trying to strike up a conversation and she doubted if he had any real interest in doing so. Even though they had surprised each other and had a lot of fun together, but that was all there really was to it.

The first time they saw him at a party, Lacy asked in shock if Jen was okay because he was making out with some random woman. She was even more shocked to find out her friend really was okay with it. Jen hadn’t really expected anything different from the entire thing.

Because she’d had her little fling with him and the thirst had been satisfied, it wasn’t a big deal. It was only awkward when she saw Don again for the first time, but then they put it behind them and he seemed intent on trying to start something up with her again.

Having had her other fun, she decided to give it a go, but nothing came of it. It wasn’t for lack of interest or anything, it just never worked out. He sure did make a fun party partner and he was a good kisser.

It turned out to be a great vacation and just what she needed. The End

A note from author Janice Collins: I can’t thank you enough for reading my book! Readers like yourself keep me writing and I strive to give you quality, entertaining stories.

If you have the time, please leave an honest review. It helps me know what to write next and tells other readers what buy.

Read on for a couple of super spicy free bonus stories from erotic romance author Megan West. Thanks for reading!



First Free Bonus Story

Chapter One- Marry

The morning sun lit up the bedroom. The windows were open with sheer curtains waving as a gentle breeze flowed through them. The walls were as white as the linens, but pops of color from the pillows, blankets, and well-placed décor brought the room to life. The birds chirped outside and the faint sound of sprinklers could be heard. It was a lovely, lazy Sunday and even the easy rocking of the bed was lazy as well.

I draped one arm over Ryan’s shoulder, the other stretched out atop the bunched up comforter. My golden-brown hair was splayed out over the pillow and the sheet he had draped over his body was half off by now. His hair was messy and fuzzy. His eyes were slightly droopy and his breath was coming low and heavy. His thrusts were long and slow, almost like the effort wasn’t worth it. I had woken up and stretched, naked breasts popping out over the sheet, and he woke up with morning wood. I had brushed my hand against his shaft and he instantly rolled over onto of me and pushed his lips against mine.

“Mmm,” I hummed quietly against the slack kiss. He responded by rubbing the head of his erection over my opening. “Okay,” I told him. And then he got started.



As his hips moved back and forth in an endless rhythm and I felt my body grip ahold of him, I wondered if the increasingly lazy sex was a bad sign. It only took looking into his eyes to now it wasn’t. Ryan was as into me as ever; he had just wanted to get off, but the energy wasn’t entirely there. Still, I wanted something more. I had wanted something more for some time now but hadn’t really thought about how to bring it up. My ideas weren’t exactly conventional. Even though it was doubtful Ryan would have a problem with the conversation, regardless of whether or not he was keen on trying any of the things I had in mind, it was a conversation that required a bit of tact.

But as he shifted slightly and started to pick up the pace, I ran my fingers through his messy hair and smiled.

“What are you thinking?”

"I'm thinking," I said in a playfully flirty voice. "Hmmm… I'm thinking," I raised my hips to press against him. He slid a little deeper into me and I let out a long breath, “How about-”

The loud blaring sound of his cell phone ringing not only ruined the moment, but it startled the two of us. He gave a small jump and pulled out of me, turning to look at the phone atop the nightstand. It was still ringing loudly and he squinted his eyes to look at the name on the screen.

“Shit!”

“What?”

“I was supposed to pick up Gina today! Oh, fuck,” he groaned before turning to look at me with a frown.

I could practically read his mind, “Why don’t we just finish up here and then you go? Hmm?” I raised one of my legs and guided him back inside me. “You’re late anyway so…”

I let out a small moan of encouragement and that was all it took. He started thrusting again only this time it was faster in a hurried sort of way. He rocked his hips back and forth quickly, as if on a mission, until I heard the throaty sound he always made when he was about to come. He pushed forward into me and held still for a second just before finishing. I gave a small smile and traced his jawline with my thumb.

“Can’t believe I have to go now,” he muttered as he stood up.

“Can’t believe you agreed to pick her up in the first place,” I shot back with slight irritation.

He turned to look at me with half a smile. He stepped forward and kissed my forehead, “You have

nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not worried,” I clarified as I stood up and stretched in the nude, “But that doesn’t mean I’m exactly thrilled at the prospect of the two of you-”

“The two of us aren’t doing anything. I’m just picking her up at the airport and driving her over to wherever she’s staying,” he promised.

He hopped on the bed and crawled over to me. He pulled me down and cradled me in his arms. He pressed his lips to my temple and traced circles on my stomach, slowly working his way up to a tickle. I squirmed and shoved him back, making a face at him. He laughed.

“Who did I just, you know,” he cleared his throat.

“You can do it, but you can’t say it?”

“Oh, come on. Well, that’s not what I did,” he laughed.

I laughed too. Even if I wasn’t happy about him having to pick Gina up and give her a ride in the first place, I wasn’t actually angry with him. I also wasn’t one to let a good joke go off without a laugh. I sat up and kissed his cheek. Then I kissed his other cheek before kissing him on the lips. It was a peck and then another peck and then a full-on, passionate kiss. I leaned forward into him, bare breasts pushing against his chest. I ran a hand up his thigh and then pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Fine. Go get her, but remember it’s me you can continue this with,” I muttered.

He laughed again and gave me a peck on the lips before getting out of bed and heading off to the shower. That was when I realized he hadn’t only ignored Gina’s call, but he also hadn’t gotten back to her at all. I picked his phone off from the nightstand and stared at the black screen for a minute. Rolling my eyes, I quickly tapped out a short text to Gina letting her know he would be on his way soon and he was sorry for the delay. I set the phone down and stood up as I turned to look at the bed I knew Ryan had been looking forward to spending the day in.

“Oh, well,” I whispered as I started to pull off the dirty sheets to put them in the wash.

I walked over to the small closet in the hallway where the washer and dryer was and stuffed the bed sheet in. The shower went off and I decided to hop in quickly before eating breakfast. I briefly flirted with the idea of going for a run before deciding against it, in favor of just being lazy for the day. I smacked Ryan’s ass playfully walking past him on my way to the shower and hopped in, immediately working the shampoo into my thick, long locks. I lathered up, washed off, and got out just as Ryan was looking for his car keys.



“You left them on the coffee table in the living room, hun,” I told him as I pulled on a clean pair of panties.

“Right,” he mumbled before heading out.

I placed a kiss on his cheek and he walked out the front door. I looked out the window and watched him drive away. I yawned and walked into the kitchen to prepare pancakes from scratch, turning on the television to focus my mind on an old comedy sitcom rerun rather than thinking about Ryan and Gina.

Chapter Two-Ryan

“So you’re still living with Marry?”

“Of course,” I told Gina once we were speeding down the highway toward her hotel.

“Oh,” Gina said with obvious disappointment.

“There’s really no reason for you to think otherwise,” I told her dryly.

“Just because there’s no reason for me to think it doesn’t mean there’s no reason for me not to hope it,

Ryan.”

“Well, there actually isn’t a reason for you to hope and you know it.”

Gina stayed quiet. She leaned against the door and turned to look out the window. There were few cars out and it made the ride that much quieter. It was obvious she was annoyed, but it was really something she’d brought on herself. Any possibility of her being my girlfriend had disappeared long, long ago. And from my perspective there largely had never existed one, to begin with.

“So how is she?”

“You don’t have to ask, you know.”

“How is she, Ryan?”

“Great, actually,” I said.

I wasn’t able to help the smile that formed. Marry had just gotten a great promotion at work and an old friend of hers had recently moved back to town. Things were going quite well, actually. Even if our relationship hadn’t done much by way of excitement, that didn’t mean we weren’t in a good place. Things were just calm for the time being. I liked to think it was just a small, but peaceful lull.

“Great,” Gina said, sounding extremely sarcastic.

“If you’re going to be like that I’d really rather you not ask,” I told her. I exited the highway and made a couple turns before pulling into the parking lot of the hotel. I pulled into the nearest parking stall and turned to her, “You know, we’ve known each other a long time. I’ve been with Marry a long time and you know it’s serious. The least you can do is respect that.”

“So now I don’t respect you?”

“That’s not what I said, Gina,” I sighed.

“Let’s not argue, Ry Ry. I haven't seen you in so long and I'm finally back in town, hopefully, to stay. How about we just keep things on a good note?"

“Fine, but don’t call me Ry Ry!”

Gina giggled and nodded before getting out of the car. I helped her pull the luggage up to the lobby where the staff of the hotel took over. After letting her know I couldn’t hang out for a while and had to go, Gina pulled me into a hug. I instantly tensed up. I knew Marry wouldn’t be happy with such a display of

affection, especially not when Gina had already made it perfectly clear during the short car ride that she was still interested in me. I quickly pulled out of it and cleared my throat, catching the look of irritated disappointment on her face.

“Anyway,” I said awkwardly, “Give me a call sometime and good luck getting settled.”

“Right,” she breathed out before turning on her heel and walking to the elevator.

I walked right out and got in my car, taking a moment to breathe before peeling out of the parking lot. I sped home and practically ran from my car to the front door. I walked in to find a nearly Marry on only in her panties and lounging on the couch, a half-eaten plate of pancakes sitting on the coffee table. I walked forward and plopped down on the floor, silently turning to press my lips to her cheek. She smiled, but didn’t look at me so I kissed her neck. When that gave me the same response, I pressed my lips to the center of her breasts. Her smile grew, but even then she didn’t look at me. So I grinned deviously and pressed my lips to her nipple.

She shifted slightly and glanced down at me for a brief second before turning back to the television. But we both knew her attention was on me, waiting for whatever I would do next. I kissed her other nipple and then plopped on the couch, pulling the plate of pancakes toward me. I cut off a large piece and shoved it in my mouth, chewing happily. I made an “mmm” sound and took another big bite, this time making sure to be slightly obnoxious with my chewing just to bug her. If I bugged her enough, she’d eventually burst. I was almost done with the pancakes when she finally grunted in frustration. I turned to look at her, blue eyes round and innocent.

“Nothing,” she muttered, moving to stand up.

In a snap, I set the fork down and pushed her back down on the couch to climb on top of her. I ran my hand up her thigh, over her stomach, and rested it at the side of her chest. I stared deep into her eyes. I breathed every time she exhaled and the two of us remained silent for a long time.

“Did you want to go for round two?”



Chapter Three-Marry

I said nothing. Ryan waited for my response, but it never came. I could tell he was trying to figure out what was running through my mind. He kissed me on the lips, but I wasn’t very responsive and that was when the panic started to creep up.

“You have a call again,” I told him suddenly.

“What?”

“A call. On your phone. That thing in your pocket?”

“How did you-”

“I can feel it vibrating against my thigh,” I said as I pushed him off.

I stood up and picked up the plate from the coffee table, going into the kitchen to throw away the small bits of pancakes before washing the dish.

“I didn’t think you’d call this soon,” I heard Ryan say in the living room.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was Gina already ruining a moment between us for the second time that day. Ryan was definitely not interested in her, but that didn’t stop the woman from somehow finding a way to create tension between us. I scrubbed the pan I had used furiously until my hand started to hurt and I dropped it with a loud clatter in the sink.

“Hold on,” Ryan shouted into the phone before running into the kitchen to check on me.

“I’m fine,” I told him.

I picked the pan back up and rinsed it. He stood against the counter and watched me, phone still pressed to his ear. I could hear the faint noise of her voice through the earpiece of the phone. Ryan mostly responded with “uh-huh” and “yeah,” but his eyes were fixed on me, as was his attention. It was clear he didn’t care much for whatever Gina was saying and she was either oblivious to that fact or it was of no consequence to her.

Many things were of no consequence to Gina, after all. This was the woman who brazenly hit on him even in front of me. I had always stood my ground, but wasn’t too harsh. Getting mixed up in the drama

wasn’t my style. The discussion of why Ryan remained friends with Gina was old and tired. It was just the sort of thing that I accepted and was, for the most part, okay with.

“Well, why don’t you call Libby?”

I turned to look at him. I knew where this was going. Gina was trying to worm her way into our Sunday. She would either fish for an invite to join us at our home or wherever we might go or try to get him to make plans for her. I exhaled and turned around, yanking open the refrigerator door and grabbing my bottle of water. Going for a run now didn’t seem like such a bad idea after all. I stormed into the bedroom and pulled out an outfit from the drawer where I kept my workout clothes. I had just gotten my running shoes out of the closet when Ryan walked into the bedroom.

He pulled the shoes from my hands and threw them behind him.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” He stepped forward and rested his hands on my hips, “Were you really going to leave for a run right now?”

“Seems just as good a time as any,” I told him.

I had absolutely no interest in masking my annoyance. Even if I had accepted his friendship with Gina it did get tiring to deal with that woman. I wondered what sorts of things she had said on the drive and whether or not Ryan actually shut her down. I knew he always had my back, but sometimes things got a little iffy. I sighed and took a step back, just enough to pull out of his grasp. He reached around me and shoved my outfit to the floor before placing his hand on the small of my back. He pulled me close to him for a kiss.

It caught me completely off guard. I was unresponsive at first, but soon the feel of his lips against mine won out. I sunk into the kiss and ran my hands up and down his muscular arms. I sighed into his kiss. He pulled me even closer until my body was flush against his. He slipped his hand under the waistband of my panties and kneaded the flesh of my ass. It wasn’t entirely sexual, not the way he was doing it. It was actually shaping up to be a nice moment until the sound of his phone vibrating on the wooden surface of the dresser interrupted us yet again.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered against his lips.

“Ignore it,” he said, kissing me again.

He walked me back to the bed and guided me down, climbing over me at once. I felt his hand running over every part of my body. I knew he was enjoying how soft my skin felt to the touch. He ran his hands over my breasts and his fingers grazed over my nipples. He kissed my jawline down until he closed his

mouth over my neck. He sucked gently as his hands continued to explore every inch of my skin. He kissed down between my breasts and a zigzag line over my taut abdomen. He lightly tickled over the waistband of my panties before pulling them off me slowly. He kneeled down in front of the bed and pulled me forward by the legs, draping one over each of his shoulders.

“What’s gotten into you,” I breathed out blissfully.

Ryan chuckled and responded with a simple kiss on the inside of my knee. Even though it was obvious where he was going with this it didn’t make the anticipation any less. He kissed very slowly and deliberately up my thigh until I was breathing heavily and waiting, just waiting to feel his mouth on my most sensitive area. He kissed my upper thigh and traced a small circle with his tongue. I could feel his hot breath land on me and I sucked in a breath.

“Just do it already,” I whined.

“My, my. Someone’s impatient,” he teased.

“Come on,” I said.

He chuckled and the way his breath landed on me made my entire body quiver. I writhed and scooted down closer to him, but he pulled his face back just in time. I groaned in frustration and lifted my head to meet his gaze. He was wearing a look I hadn’t seen in a long time, one that showed he was truly enjoying teasing me like this. Even if I would never openly admit it to Ryan, this was one thing I actually missed.

He smirked and then kissed my hip before whispering, “Moving on.”

“No! Don’t move on!”

Ryan grinned, “Why not?”

“Ry-an,” I choked out as I pushed my body forward even more.

This time he didn’t move his face away. This time he waited for me to move forward until his lips made contact with the spot I so wanted to feel him. I let out another choked noise of success, but that still made it clear I needed more. He chuckled again and sent vibrations through me. I squirmed on the bed and moaned, asking him to keep going. He opened his mouth and closed it around my center, giving a strong suck to get me going even more.

“Oh! Ry-” I gasped out.

He sucked again and I moaned loudly. He stuck his tongue out and ran it up and down a few times,

lapping up my warmth. He pushed the tip of his tongue in just past my opening and swept it up until he flicked my hard nub with strength. I moaned even louder and called out his name, my body twisting from one side to the other. He did it again and then pushed his tongue a little deeper inside me. He ran his fingers along my legs and I knew he was savoring every moment of this. Ryan truly enjoyed eliciting such strong reactions from me, feeling me, and tasting me.

He finally pushed his tongue inside of me entirely and began to work it. He had always been great at this. Even though he liked it and I derived so much pleasure from it, occasions were somewhat rare. There was no real reason behind that, it just sort of happened. I didn’t altogether mind because it gave me something special to look forward to sometimes. In practically no time, I was writhing and crying out as he carried on. My body soon tensed up and I clamped my eyes shut as a strong orgasm ran through me. I exhaled loudly and opened my eyes, body relaxing.

I sat up and placed my hand under his chin, “What was that about?”

He shrugged and responded, “You never know when inspiration is going to strike.”

I laughed and he laid down on the bed beside me. I turned to my side and placed a hand tenderly on his chest, with a smile curling my lips and satisfaction in my eyes. It had turned out to be a good afternoon after all. I dismissed the lurking thought in the back of my mind that maybe he was setting me up for some bad news or something.

We were silent for a long time until I finally decided to ask, “So what was that about?”

“I told you, inspiration-”

“Not that! I meant the phone call.”

“Oh,” he said as he flipped onto his side to face me, “It was Gina whining that she’s bored. I told her to call other people but you know how she gets. Doesn't matter, though."

“Why not?”

“Because I told her I’m not free today,” he told me simply, reaching out to brush a stray hair away from my face. “I had every intention of spending this day in with you and there was already one interruption so…”

I smiled and placed my head on his chest, closing my eyes. Serenity descended upon us and we remained quiet for a while. I had to admit even if it wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world there were few things that could beat peacefully laying in bed with the man I loved.







Chapter Four- Ryan

“I don’t think we can avoid her for long. Well, mainly you,” Marry said Monday morning over a breakfast spread of vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit, and toast. “I need coffee,” I complained.

“You always think you need coffee,” Marry said before taking in a spoonful of yogurt and repeating, “She can’t be avoided for long.”

“I know,” I said somewhat irately, “I know. I just…” I stood up and walked to the coffee maker, but closed my fist and shook my head, “I just want to put off dealing with it.”

“You mean dealing with the ever-present palpable tension between Gina and me."

“Among other things,” I said shortly before taking a large bite of toast.

She eyed me, but decided to drop it. I was clearly not in the mood to discuss this and the last thing she wanted was to push me so that we ended up arguing. She finished up her yogurt, popped one last juicy grape in her mouth, and headed into the bedroom to get ready. She pulled out the outfit she’d prepared, put it on, and then got started on her hair and makeup. I walked in just as she was pulling her hair into a bun.

“You look so hot with your hair like that,” I commented before walking into the closet to rifle through my work clothes.

She smiled, but said nothing, only focusing on finishing up to head out. Even with the impending hang out with Gina, which could very well be as early as later that night, Marry could tell it was going to be a good day. She kissed me on the lips and headed out.

_____Mary_______

“I’m just saying, I knew it wouldn’t be long. And sure enough…”

I placed the salad, bought at the local grocery store, in a large wooden bowl and then got to work on plating the salmon and rice pilaf Ryan had bought. Gina would arrive soon for dinner. It went without saying that I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but I was in high enough spirits to deal quite well. I had

just set the third plate on the table when the doorbell of our little house rang. I looked up and sighed, walking just behind Ryan as he went over to open the door.

“Ryan, darling, lovely of you to have me over,” Gina said in as slithery a voice as ever.

She leaned over the threshold and pulled him into an inappropriately tight hug, rouge painted lips planting a quick peck on his cheek. He stepped aside and Gina looked at me with the same poorly masked disdain as usual.

“Hello, Gina,” I greeted in a significantly less terse tone of voice than usual.

Gina forced a smile before looking over at the table and exclaiming, “Oh, it’s ready! Good thing because I’m starved.”

She rudely pushed past me and took a seat, looking over at Ryan expectantly. Gina tilted her head and smiled at him. It was a genuine smile, much unlike the one she offered me. On top of that, her eyes were filled with infatuation but I knew she was milking it just to work my last nerve. Unfortunately for Gina, I had already decided to let things slide so long as they didn’t go too far. If what Gina wanted was to get a rise out of me, she was going to be disappointed.

The three of us sat at the dinner table and I asked, “So how long are you planning on staying in town?”

“Thinking about staying for good this time,” Gina responded as she cut her salmon into small bites. “I have quite an interest here, anyway,” she added, looking directly at Ryan.

I ignored it and casually asked, “Have you found a place to live yet?”

"I'm actually looking at this lovely one-bedroom apartment that's about a ten-minute walking distance from here!" She smiled somewhat triumphantly.

I began to feel warm and irritated. The thought of Gina living so close to us permanently was far too much. I knew that woman was doing it to work her way between our relationship, but that wouldn’t happen. In that moment, I resolved to put an end to this once and for all. That also meant taking a strong stance where Ryan was concerned, but I was sure he would understand, even if he didn’t quite like it at first. After all these years of me grinning and bearing it, I figured he had to at least be willing to comprehend why this was too much and I had to take action.

“Really?” Ryan didn’t look or sound excited, something I noted with satisfaction.

“Yes! Oh, Ry-Ry, you’ve got to-”

“I already told you not to call me Ry-Ry,” he reminded rather sternly.

Gina’s face flushed and she looked down at her plate. I smirked and leaned my body toward Ryan. I knew how much he’d always hated that nickname, but he’d never been so serious about telling her to stop. I thought it was about time because, in my opinion, he’d always been a bit too considerate of Gina’s feelings.

“I forgot. Force of habit, Ryan.”

He looked her dead in the eye, “I don’t think you’ve called me ‘Ry-Ry’ often enough as of late to claim it’s exactly a habit.”

I chewed my bite of salmon slowly, watching their interaction with interest. It was the first time I could remember the tension being between the two of them rather than between Gina and I. It was an interesting turn of events.

“Okay, but don’t be upset. Please?”

Gina had turned on her cutesy voice, but it had no effect on Ryan. He just shrugged and shoveled some salad into his mouth. He looked straight ahead and didn’t say anything so I decided to keep the conversation going.

“Any other places catch your eye, Gina?”

“Not really. This was the best one I’ve found. I should know in the next couple of days whether or not I’ll get it.”

“Oh, well keep us updated on that,” I said flatly before faking a smile and then taking my last bite of salmon.

The mood was weird enough that Gina didn’t try to worm her way into staying longer. She didn’t suggest a movie or a game. She didn’t drag out any of her boring and pointless stories. I was pretty pleased, but if I knew Gina, this was far from the end of it. If anything, she would only work harder to get Ryan’s attention. I actually felt a little sorry for her being unable to just let him, and that twisted dream of being with him, go.

“Walk me to my car?”

Ryan turned to look at her, but I was the one who responded, “I’ll walk you. We can have a little chat in private.”

“Oh, am I in trouble?”

Even though Gina’s voice was clearly mocking me, I smiled and responded, “Maybe.”

Ryan muttered a quick “goodnight” before escaping into the bathroom. Gina crossed her arms and her face turned red. She was absolutely terrible at masking her annoyance. I knew Gina hoped to spark something with an inappropriate way of saying goodbye, but he’d very obviously snubbed her.

“Shall we?”

Gina looked at me and then back in the direction in which Ryan had gone. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head and she suppressed the urge to laugh. This was even sadder than her constant advances on a man who was very much in love with and very much committed to me. She huffed and then nodded, walking over toward the door without waiting for me.

I felt anger flood over me. No matter what, Gina would always be blatantly rude to me. That was what bothered me the most about the whole situation. I took a deep breath and readied myself to put an end to this. Focusing on Gina’s rudeness had to take a back seat to what was about to be done. We walked in silence until reaching the car, at which point Gina turned around to look at me with a face that asked, ‘Well, what the hell did you want to talk about?’

I worked past my anger and kept my demeanor cool and controlled. If I was going to pull this off, I had to come across a certain way. I very slightly curled the corners of my lips and looked Gina dead in the eye.

“Gina,” I said softly as I took a step closer to her, “This needs to stop.”

“Look, if you’re going to-”

“Shh, shh, shhh… I’m not done speaking,” I said, “You may have a lot to say, defend, or simply not care about, but all of it is of no consequence to me. So save that precious breath of yours.”

Gina exhaled loudly and her look turned stony. I could tell she was trying to deflect, but the truth was she’d been caught off guard and didn’t like it one bit. My plan was working out perfectly so far.

I took another two steps forward until I was practically in her face. We were close enough to kiss, I thought with amusement. Without thinking twice, I reached out and stroked a loose lock of Gina’s hair. She gulped, but didn’t look away. She was at least trying to hold her ground in some way.

“I want you to listen carefully because I won’t be repeating this: You need to stop. You will stop,” I took a long pause before continuing, “Give it up, Gina. Save what little dignity you have left and just let

him go. Trust me, you don’t want to ignore me.”

I leaned in and pressed my lips to Gina’s cheek before turning on my heel and sauntering back inside. I locked the door and looked through the window, waving goodbye with what I knew was an unsettling smile.

“That,” I heard Ryan’s voice from behind me, “Was so fucking hot.”



Chapter Five-Marry

I shut the drapes at once and turned to look at Ryan with a smirk. I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Didn’t know I had it in me?”

Ryan hummed in brief contemplation before responding, “I wouldn’t exactly say that.”

“Oh no?”

He smiled and moved closer to me, shaking his head. I leaned back against the glass, sticking my chest out proudly to entice him with my large breasts. He glanced down at them and lingered before looking back up.

“I’m not exactly surprised,” he told me, “You have an edge.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” he breathed out in a raspy voice as he took another step toward me.

My heartbeat was starting to go faster. It was pretty clear where this was headed, but something in me said now was the moment. This was the perfect time to bring up what I had been thinking about for a while now. And if he was so turned on by the way I handled the Gina situation outside, surely he must find me attractive in the dominant position. I smirked because, as Ryan would say, that was not exactly surprising. I reached out and placed my hand square in the middle of his chest, exhaling loud and slow as I looked deep into his eyes.

“And you like it,” I said.

“Oh, yes, I do.”

“It wasn’t a question,” I told him a low voice.

Ryan arched one of his brows and tilted his head in interest. My heart rate picked up even more. This was the perfect moment, but it was also a serious talk. It wasn’t easy to tread the line between the two perfectly. I curled my fingers inward and gripped his shirt, pulling it off his chest. I pulled him toward me, but didn’t allow him to get too close. That would have to wait.



“What is going on,” he breathed out, immense interest shining in his eyes.

I walked my fingers up his chest and placed them under my chin as I responded, “I’ve been thinking about something for a while now.” I stroked his cheek gently with the tip of my index finger, “I think tonight’s a good a night as any.”

“A good night for what, exactly?”

“Something new. Something exciting.”

“I like the sound of that,” he muttered.

He tried to step forward, but I instantly placed my hand on his chest to stop him. It wasn’t hasty or forceful. It was direct and effective. Ryan’s eyes lit up even more. I was pretty sure he could sense what direction I was taking this in and the fact he was so receptive to it from the start made it so much better.

“Good,” I told him.

“Good,” he repeated, “So what is this new and exciting thing?”

“A little more of this and then some,” I told him vaguely.

He laughed, “Do I get clued in sooner or later?”

“Of course,” I told him, softening a bit. This was it. This was the moment and I had to be direct. So I placed my hand on his shoulder, “What are your limits, Ryan?”

“With you? I’d say not many.”

“Is that so?”

“Mm-hm. I trust you and I love you and damn if you aren’t insanely hot.”

At this I couldn’t help, but laugh. I also couldn’t help, but pull him in for a passionate kiss. I tugged his hair to pull his lips off mine and looked deep into those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

“So if you misbehave-”

“Then you should punish me as you see fit.”



“Oh, I like that you had that response ready to go,” I told him.

“So that’s what you want, huh? You want to tell me what I can and can’t do, keep a close eye on me to make sure I’m punished if needed?”

“Oh, fuck,” I groaned out before kissing him fiercely.

He kissed me back and pushed me against the wall. “That’s supposed to be my move,” I thought but didn’t care enough to stop the kiss. I bit his lower lip and moved down to rub the hard bulge in his pants. He groaned into my mouth and I cupped him, giving a tight squeeze before letting go. He pulled back and gasped sharply, eyes dark with desire. I loved how easily he got all worked up with me.

“That wasn’t approved behavior,” I told him.

“Sure seemed like you approved of by the way you groped me,” he retorted.

I slapped him. His hand shot up to rub the angry red mark on his cheek but nothing in his expression conveyed dislike. If anything, he looked more intrigued and even more turned on than before. I reached out and brushed his hand away to stroke his cheek. I wrapped my slim fingers around the back of his neck and stared him down.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that,” I warned.

“Understood,” he replied.

“Now, Ryan, we’ll start easy today. But you still need to choose a safe word.”

“Ah, right, a safe word. How about ‘yes’?” he grinned mischievously.

“Ryan!”

“What?”

“This isn’t a joke!”

“Okay, okay. You’re right. Oh man, a safe word? That’s not exactly something I’ve ever given much thought to.”

“Well, now’s the time,” I said, kissing the corner of his lips. He smiled and leaned in for another kiss,

but I pulled back and shook my index finger back and forth. “Not now,” I told him.

"How about 'pencil'?"

"'Pencil'? That works but how did you even think of it?"

“There’s one on the windowsill for some weird reason,” he laughed.

I laughed with him and gave him another kiss on the other corner of his lips. He smiled and the two of us shared a moment of just looking into each other’s eyes. It was like we were both so happy we could share something like this together and it was so easy. We both knew if one hadn’t been into it, it would have also been okay. I switched gears and leaned back against the window, frowning unhappily.

“What’s wrong?”

I reached down between my legs and started rubbing under my dress, holding back a laugh when Ryan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. I leaned my head back against the windowpane and exhaled loudly as I rubbed myself a bit faster. I could feel the warm moisture between my legs and the heat spreading through my body. I opened my eyes and looked Ryan straight in his.

“I’m just so bothered,” I told him, voice dripping with lust, “And you are just standing there instead of doing something about it. I wouldn’t consider that good behavior.”

I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him down to kneel in front of me. I gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward, shoving his face between my thighs. I draped a leg over his shoulder and thrust my hips forward. He didn’t fight it. He mashed his face against me and I felt his hot breath even through the fabric of my panties. He opened his mouth and sucked. He ran his tongue up and down over the fabric and pushed against me. He found my most sensitive nub and pressed the tip of his tongue insistently against it, not letting my underwear get in the way of pleasuring me. I moaned and reached back, but there was nothing to hold onto. I could feel the orgasm building in my body, but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of having brought me to such great heights of pleasure so soon.

I pulled my hips away and gripped his hair, pulling his head up so he looked at me. He breathed heavily and I could see his face around his mouth was damp– my warm moisture had soaked through the fabric. My breasts heaved with every breath I took but I hardened the look in my eyes nonetheless.

“Stand up,” I ordered. I was pleased to see him comply at once. “Take off your clothes,” came the next order.

He was quick to do as he was told. Not two minutes later he stood in front of me, fully nude and ready to do whatever I wanted next. But I noticed him rub his shaft after taking off his boxers. It was fast, but I caught it. I bit back a smirk.



“Do you really think you can pull a fast one on me?”

“What?”

“Don’t worsen your punishment by playing dumb. Crawl to the bedroom. Now.”

I watched him drop down to all fours and make his way to the bedroom. I followed him inside and silently went into the closet to pull out one of his ties. Careful to select a thinner one, I told him to stand up again. I knelt down in front of him and carefully bound his balls. He inhaled sharply through gritted teeth, but didn’t oppose what I was doing.

"Now it's time for a spanking," I told him, "But it won't be traditional. You'll be punished in the area that is deserving of it, as is fit."

“What’s the-”

I slapped him and yelled, “Quiet!”

I placed two fingers on the center of his chest and slowly dragged them down, stopping just before touching his stiffness. He gulped and looked down. I smirked and opened my hand before delivering a smack to his shaft.

“Fuck!” he cried out before gritting his teeth and groaning.

I glared at him and shook my head before delivering the second smack on the other side. He groaned again and looked up at the ceiling, though this time he managed to keep his expletive cry in check. I delivered one last smack and then ordered him to lie down on the floor on his stomach. I could tell it was impossible for him to get into a comfortable position with his balls bound and his erection pressing uncomfortably into the carpet.

I made quick work of undressing fully before lying on the floor on my back. I positioned myself so that he was between my legs with his face a mere inch away from my warm, naturally lubricated center.

“Look up at me,” I told him.

As soon as he did, I began to rub myself. I spread the liquid over the outside of my center before slipping a couple fingers inside and moaning in bliss. I continued to masturbate, making him watch. I knew that with his face so close to mine he could breathe in my scent. I also was well aware that it was torture for him not to lean in and take me with his mouth. He loved doing it and teasing him this way was getting to him.



“Oh, come on, fuck,” he complained.

I didn’t stop until my brought myself to orgasm. Once I had, however, I sat up and snapped my fingers for him to crawl over me. The head of his erection rubbed against me and he instinctively pushed his hips forward. I reached down between our bodies and gripped his shaft, increasing the pressure little by little until he winced.

“I told you not to pull anything,” I warned.

I relieved the pressure and then started to pleasure myself again. It took all his might not to press against me again, but this time he couldn’t contain his huffs of need. I grazed him from time to time as I worked myself to a second orgasm. I wrapped my hand around his shaft and squeezed until he winced again before pushing him onto his back.

“I told you I’d go easy this time,” I told him, “But don’t get used to it.”

“Oh fuck,” he groaned when I finally straddled him and he entered me.

It took less than three minutes of me riding his erection for him to come. He grunted and moaned loudly. I kept riding him until the third orgasm hit and then I rolled over to lie beside him on the floor. I placed my hand over his shrinking member and shook it.

“Next time,” I told him, “It definitely won’t be this easy.”

“This wasn’t exactly easy,” he told me.

I sat up to look at him and smirked, “Oh, trust me, you’ll soon agree with me.”

I gave him a peck on the lips and headed off to the shower, only to be joined by him a couple minutes later. He pulled me into his arms and held me. We stood under the warm water in each other’s arms for a long time. He kissed the top of my head and then looked into my eyes.

“Even if you hadn’t stepped up the way you did, I would have made sure she didn’t become a problem,” he assured me.

“I know,” I told him.

He placed a sweet kiss on my lips and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”



He kissed me sweetly and deeply. I was more sure than ever that Gina would never be a problem between us again. Then I smiled against his lips thinking of all the newly exciting times that laid ahead of us.

Second Free Bonus

Chapter One

Carrie heaved and wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead. It was a hot day and the sun was beating down her back as she tried to lug in the heavy box from the garage to the house. Richard wasn’t home and she really didn’t want to be the kind of person who had to wait for someone else to get something done.

She had never been that kind of person and being unemployed for the better part of a month had really started to weigh down on her. She gathered great strength to pull the heavy box up the stoop and in past the backdoor, collapsing back on the floor to take a brief break. She looked around. The kitchen was spotless, thanks to her. Sighing, she pushed her body up off the floor and dragged the box over to the living room before plopping down on the couch to opening it up to inspect the contents. Why she thought it was a good idea to line the bottom of the box with books, place a sheet over it, and then pack a set of clothes she used exclusively for work was beyond her.

She pulled out an indigo blazer, her absolute favorite, and smiled. It felt like so long since she had last worn it. She set it aside and looked back in the box. She was in search of a specific blazer, one she

thought would be perfect for her first shift at her new job later in the evening. She spotted it about halfway deep in the box—a red blazer with deep V-neck and only two buttons she rarely used.

It was sexy, but still very much professional or at least she liked to think so. She removed the stacked pieces of clothing on top of it and pulled it out, unfolding it and running her eyes over each wrinkle that had formed due to being put away for so long. Without hesitation she stood up, pulled out the ironing board, and got to work. She remembered her supervisor had mentioned she could wear jeans so long as she dressed them up so she settled on her darkest, nicest pair.

With her blazer and some simple black pumps, she would look great without being overdressed. It was about an hour before she actually had to leave but she was already all dressed with her hair and makeup done.

“You look nice,” Richard noted as he walked into the room to hang up his suit jacket.

He stood behind her and looked at her reflection in the mirror as he loosened his tie. His job was a lot stricter on the dress code. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on the side of her neck, eyes roaming over her voluptuous body, before walking off to change into more comfortable clothing.

Carrie sighed. He hadn’t turned cold with her, not by far. But that kiss on her neck and the way he checked her out was the closest to anything steamy they had gotten in months now. She wanted with every fiber of her being to turn to him, grab him by the collar, and kiss him passionately. But there was no time for it.

There was no way they could have sex and she could get ready for her first day at a new job again in such a short amount of time. It killed her because it was the first time she felt being aggressive and forward might have actually worked. Her legs started to shake so she sat down on the loveseat they had placed in the corner of their bedroom, looking at a shirtless Richard take his time in picking a t-shirt to spend the rest of his day in.

“Are you hungry?” She was staring at his bare stomach. She had always found him incredibly attractive. But now the feelings were a million times worse due to how sexually frustrated she had become over the course of the last few months.

“I am,” he said. “But I’ll just whip myself up something quick. You relax a bit before going into work.” He kissed her on the cheek, smiled, and walked out of the bedroom. She knew he was being sweet and considerate, but it left her feeling even emptier than before. It was like she had wound up with the most caring and affectionate roommate, one she longed for sexually, but could never get.

Before she knew it, it was time to head off to work. The first person she met was Zoey, another young woman who had worked there about a year in the same position Carrie had been hired to fill. She was

easy to talk to and a lot of fun to work with. In the week that followed, Carrie would quickly grow attached to Zoey as a co-worker and the two would start speaking to each other on friendlier terms. By the end of her second week at the shop, the two of them went out for dinner and drinks. It was then that Carrie learned a lot more about Zoey’s interests and life. She had already thought the job was a perfect fit for her, but now knowing a bit more about the woman really confirmed it.

“You mentioned you have a boyfriend?”

“I do,” Carrie responded after sipping from her third and relatively weak cocktail. “We actually live together,” she added.

“Ooh,” Zoey responded, eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

Carrie merely laughed it off. She didn’t want to tell her co-worker, the person she was just starting to befriend, that her life with Richard wasn’t at all like that anymore. Had it been even five or six months ago she would have had a lot more excitement to contribute to the conversation, but that was no longer the case. That playful statement on Zoey’s behalf, however, was enough to put a damper on Carrie’s mood so she faked a headache and suggested they call it a night.

When she got home she was happy to see Richard was there as well, but was disappointed to find him napping on the couch. He was either gone or exhausted lately and she knew that had a lot to do with their dwindling sex lives. He had been competing for a recently opened position within his company, one that would provide a considerable pay raise and benefits. But he was putting himself through the wringer to get it.

That wasn’t the whole story though and she knew it. He hadn’t found out about the position until a little over a month ago, but their dry spell had started at least two months prior to that. During the first couple weeks Carrie hadn’t been all too concerned.

“All couples go through ruts,” she justified to her own reflection in the mirror.

Then it had started to become a month and then two. That was when she knew it wasn’t just a run of the mill dry spell. There was something more going on, but just when she had finally gathered up the courage to approach Richard about it, he had found out about the position at his company and practically disappeared from her life.

Even weekends were spent locked up in his home office doing extra research and putting together the best presentations. He definitely had to shine above all the other candidates and was doing everything in his power to make sure it happened. He still paid enough emotional attention to her so at least she could find solace in that.

Not once had it occurred to her he might be cheating. He just wasn’t the type. Nothing about his

behavior suggested it and she had complete trust in him. After all, he had never given her any reason not to trust him.





Chapter Two

Carrie looked at the inventory Zoey was putting away with sort of a ravenous hunger. She had never been one for sex toys or bedroom implements but her supply wasn’t meeting her demand. She sighed, which prompted Zoey to turn and look at her while still holding a box containing a bright pink vibrator.

“What’s up?” Zoey asked, packing the box away to pick up another after making a tally mark on her inventory sheet. She turned to look at Carrie again when her question went unanswered, finger tapping the side of the product box.

“Um,” Carried responded, blowing out air. She felt flustered. She got along well enough with Zoey and the two of them had chatted about their personal lives before, but this was entirely different territory. Just because they worked at an adult store didn’t mean she was necessarily ready to divulge the details of her own sex life, much less reveal her unmet needs or explore desires she never knew she had. But the truth was that working at the store had opened up a door in her mind to what seemed to be a whole new world.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Zoey finally told her, packing away the box in her hand and picking up another. She was moving much more slowly than usual.

“It’s just that I don’t really know how to talk about this stuff,” Carrie admitted sheepishly. She closed up the register and locked it.

Zoey laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You talk to our customers about this stuff every day! You work at a sex shop, for crying out loud!” She looked at Carrie like she was a little crazy.

“I know,” Carrie responded, “But it isn’t the same thing as talking about my personal life. It’s not just some fun little sex device, you know.”

“Okay,” Zoey replied coolly, “Then what is it?”

Carrie pursed her lips and fiddled with the zipper of the money bag on the glass counter top. This was something that was bothering her and, from the looks of things, the situation was headed toward being worse rather than better. She took a deep breath and confessed to Zoey everything wasn’t all well and good in her relationship.

“We haven’t had sex in almost four months,” she paused and made sure to avert Zoey’s gaze when she added, “and I’m, uh, well…”

“Horny?”

Carrie looked up at Zoey, eyes wide. Zoey had no shame and suddenly Carrie found herself wishing she could be a bit more like that. Giving up the charade, she finally nodded. Zoey asked if she masturbated, to which Carrie responded she did but it wasn’t enough. She missed Richard and craved his touch. She wanted excitement. Everything was lacking in that aspect of her relationship but she had no clue why it had ended up that way.

“It’s not like we were ever crazy sex fiends,” she half-joked, half spoke honestly. “But it wasn’t like this. We connected before and now it’s like I have a roommate rather than a boyfriend I live with.”

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” Zoey asked. Carrie shook her head, a small trace of shame in her eyes. It was the basics of a relationship to communicate but she simply hadn’t mustered up the courage to actually do it. Zoey hummed in disapproval but stopped suddenly, eyes focused on the box in her hand. A cocky smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. She turned to face Carrie and waved the box around. “Have you ever tried one of our products?”

“What?” Carrie asked, flabbergasted. “No. I haven’t.”

“No need to sound like you’re so appalled by it. Aren’t you supposed to be selling this stuff?”

“I’m not appalled at all! I just never thought of it…”

“Well,” Zoey said. She took a step forward. “They are a lot of fun, you know. I would be remiss not to recommend this one in particular,” she said, tapping the top of the box she was holding. It was the same bright pink vibrator she had been packing away and marking off on her inventory list. She pulled it out of the box and lifted it for Carrie to look at.

Carrie felt her cheeks grow hot. She was sure she was blushing. Zoey’s cocky little smirk disappeared just as suddenly as it had curled up her lips. She walked slowly up to Carrie and placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close to her face. It was uncomfortably close, but Carrie didn’t back away. She was rooted to the spot and completely caught off guard.

“Come on,” Zoey breathed, “You know you want to try.”

Carrie heard the buzz of the vibrator, still clutched in Zoey’s hand. Then she felt the tip of it pushed against the crotch of her jeans, sending pleasurable pulses through her.

“Oh,” she squeaked out.

Zoey’s smirk returned only this time it was much more devious. She pushed the vibrator further against Carrie, making her wriggle.



“There’s not shame,” Zoey whispered, “in taking care of yourself. There’s always the back room, you know.” Then she leaned in to whisper right in Carrie’s ear, “I’ve used it many times.”

She pressed the vibrator even more against her crotch before taking Carrie’s hand and curling it around the bright pink shaft. She winked and walked away, leaving Carrie standing there awkwardly holding a vibrator against her jeans. She wanted to resist. The entire situation was bizarre, but it had been so long since she had a strong orgasm and a bit of adventure. That craving was strong enough that she could move past just how odd it was that her co-worker wasn’t only urging her to masturbate at work, but had actually initiated it for her. Zoey was certainly more open than she ever dreamed she would be.

Carrie bit her lower lip. Her eyes darted around the shop even though she knew full well nobody was there aside from her and Zoey. Without shutting off the vibrator, she walked over and slid quietly into the back room. She slid off her jeans, shoved her panties to the side, and ran a trembling index finger over her wet slit.

It was crazy to her that little situation had somehow turned her on, but she figured it had a lot to do with how badly she needed some relief brought on with something other than her own fingers. Rather, she wanted some sort of adventure and if Richard wasn’t giving it to her then she had to find it on her own– or have it thrust upon her by a very bold co-worker.

She held up the bright pink vibrator, inspecting its color and perfectly crafted shaft. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the tip of it against her slit and shuddered. The vibrating waves it sent coursing through her already felt great. She could only imagine how amazing it would feel once it was inside her.

She eased it inside, down to the hilt, and shuddered right as a moan escaped her lips. It wasn’t long before she was working the vibrator in and out of her, moaning with reckless abandon. Less than ten minutes later her entire body shook and she let out a choked out scream as the most intense orgasm she had experienced in months pulsed through her.

She only opened her eyes when there was a rap at the door and heard Zoey say, “Now that’s more like it.”

Zoey had poked her head into the room and was smiling. Carrie shrieked, struggling to pull her pants over her lap, vibrator falling to the floor and buzzing against it. Zoey laughed loudly and shook her head.

“Relax,” she said, “It’s not a big deal. But if you’re uncomfortable…” She closed the door and Carrie heard her footsteps fading.

After a moment, during which she pulled her self together, she picked up the vibrator and shut it off before properly pulling on her pants. Her panties felt like a sticky mess. She couldn’t wait to get home and wash up. As she looked at the vibrator and wondered what to do with it, an idea came to mind. After a little cleaning she could use it again and maybe, just maybe, she could achieve more of her much needed

orgasms with it. She stepped out of the back room to find Zoey weirdly loitering around the area. “I can’t believe I really just did that,” she said but she didn’t regret it.

Zoey grinned and winked. “Do you know now why I recommended it?”

Carrie nodded. Her gaze drifted down to the vibrator, still in her hand. “You know,” she said, voice louder than usual. “You actually gave me an idea.”

“Oh?” Zoey asked looking intrigued.

Carried smiled and responded, “But you’ll have to wait to find out until after I know if it’s a good one or a bad one.”

“Well,” Zoey said, holding her hand up to keep Carrie from walking past her. “You know you work at a very convenient place, right? This is the perfect time to do a little shopping on your own. It’s quiet. You’ll have no interruptions. And,” she said, placing a hand on her chest and arranging her face into a very proud expression, “You’ll have the absolute best, top of the line assistance, to answer any and all of your questions.”

Carrie grinned and asked, “Are you suggesting I take you on as a personal shopper right now and see what I can take home?”

“I think I’ve already proven that taking matters into your own hands can be of great help to solve a problem,” she responded confidently.

Carrie looked at the door leading back out to the store and thought of everything there she had never really stopped to look at. She had taken this just as a job, but never really looked at the products or thought to use them, which she found odd now that she had actually used one of them. She nodded and the two of them headed to the main display room. Just as she started thinking it was time to bypass the dildos and vibrators because, for the time being, she could stick to the one she already had. A glint caught her eye. She turned to the left and against the wall she saw a lot of silver and leather.

“Oooh,” Zoey said. She sounded impressed. “That fun little kinky wall caught your eye, huh?” She tapped her lips and walked to stand in front of Carrie, facing her. “A lot of those are a lot of fun, but it’s something you need to make sure your boyfriend would also be down for.”

Zoey turned on her heel and set off toward the wall anyway. She bent down and pulled out a box. On it was a photo of what looked to be silk tie cuffs. “These are nice little starters and pretty harmless, I think.” She slipped the box into Carrie’s hand, leaning forward to whisper in her ear, “It’s a good way to figure out if he might be into a little more exploration, if you know what I mean.”

Carrie looked down at the box and closed her eyes, trying to imagine using them with Richard.

Although she couldn’t fully picture it, the idea of him using the cuffs on her was more than exciting. Perhaps in combination with her original plan it could work. It wasn’t like she was showing up at home with a whip or anything. She just wanted to try something exciting and new.

Besides, he would be tying her up. If it were the other way around, then it would be much harder to pull off. She nodded and said, “Well, now you have more interesting gossip to look forward to.”

Zoey laughed and placed her hand on Carrie’s arm.

“Update,” she corrected. “You’ll be giving me an update not gossiping.” The two of them laughed and finished closing up to finally head home.



Chapter Three

It had been two days since Carrie had decided to make a move to improve her sex life, or rather revive it, but she had decided to wait until Friday night. After telling this to Zoey, who couldn’t comprehend the point in waiting, she realized it had been perhaps been a mistake to give a specific day.

By closing time on Thursday night, once everybody had gone home, Zoey started incessantly asking questions and chattering about it until Carrie had to put a stop to it. Laughing she said, “I appreciate your interest but, really, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m going to end up being even more nervous!”

“But why are you even nervous?”

“I’ve never done anything like this before and we haven’t had even boring sex in months. I think that’s plenty reason to be a bit nervous.”

Zoey shrugged. “True,” she finally agreed.

The two of them finished closing up and parted ways after Carrie pried a ball gag out of Zoey’s hands. Zoey had gotten it in her mind it would be fun for Carrie to try out with Richard before finally agreeing that bringing in too much, too soon was actually not a good idea at all.

Carrie got home. Disappointment quickly filled her when he wasn’t there. Richard had been staying late at work all week.

“I hope he gets back earlier tomorrow,” she muttered, pouring some apple juice into a small glass and taking a sip. She didn’t want to mention that to Zoey because she was afraid her co-worker, and now friend, would have something unpleasant to say about it. She didn’t want to have to fight off unpleasant thoughts and theories based off nothing more than their dwindling sex life and his more recent late stays at the office.

“My life isn’t a typical romance movie,” she muttered before finishing up her juice and promptly washing the glass.

She walked into the bedroom and as she was changing into her pajamas her nightstand caught her eye. In the bottom drawer, still in its box, was the vibrator she had enjoyed using just a few nights ago.

“Save it,” she whispered to herself.

She pulled on her pajama pants and slinked off to the living room to watch some television in hopes Richard would get back sooner rather than later. As if he had somehow read her mind, her phone buzzed with a new message from Richard telling her he was on his way home. Much to her surprise he behaved rather affectionately as soon as he walked through the door. He sat on the couch and pulled her over, giving her a sweet peck on the lips.

“I’m exhausted,” he muttered.

It had to be true. She could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him, a smile forming when he leaned into her and seemed to drop every ounce of stress out. She loved that he still relaxed with her. Even if they rarely saw each other and even though they hadn’t had sex in so long, there was still some of the connection left between them. The fact he had grown to rely on her as being a major part of her life hadn’t disappeared. For a long time she tried to convince herself that was all that really mattered but, as time passed, it became clear to her that simply wasn’t true.

“I’ll fix you a cup of tea. You go get changed and relax.” She gave him a sweet peck on the cheek and walked off to the kitchen, filling up the teakettle and placing it on the stove. She stood in front of it and waited completely ignoring the old expression about a watched pot never boiling. She wasn’t waiting to watch it happen. Her mind was in a completely different place.

Her mind was in the bottom drawer of the nightstand, where a very exciting and functional vibrator was waiting for her. Tomorrow night, she thought. He had a business dinner after work and wouldn’t be home early. She actually didn’t have a closing shift at the shop. So she would have plenty of time to get back to her house, strip down, and get started with her toy until he got home.

But by the time it was down to the wire and she was actually stripped naked the following evening, she suddenly started to feel nervous. All the negative thoughts of him having a poor reaction and the plan going horribly awry started to creep in and make her feel incredibly uneasy. She picked up her phone and called Zoey before reaching a full-on panic attack.

“Find that confidence in the pure urge you have,” her co-worker said over the phone. “Tap into that ravenous desire that made you go at it even at work.”

Carrie knew Zoey was right. This time, however, it was much more than just the urge to have an orgasm. This time it was hunger to be with Richard, the man she loved, after so long. She longed to feel his touch. She pulled the box with the silk tie cuffs out from her nightstand and set it on top where he would surely see it. Even though they had never been too wild in the bedroom, she had a feeling he would enjoy it. It was something new and exciting that relied on trust– something both of them strongly had in one another.

She had already looked into the basics of this because she wasn’t one to enter into an adventure

without prior information. She had already chosen her safety word: lilac. She giggled quietly. He was sure to understand she had chosen it due to her aversion of the scent so it only made sense in her mind she would use it if she was having an aversion to a new act they were engaging in.

Shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, she swiped the bright pink vibrator from off the bed and rolled onto it. The sheets were clean and soft and felt lovely against her skin. Keeping her eyes closed, she softly caressed her inner thighs. The whole time she imagined Richard’s fingers in place of her own, but by now she had almost forgotten what they felt like.

She gulped and pushed away the sad thought replacing it with the hope that dry spell would end tonight. She opened her legs a bit and teased herself by running her fingers right around her center, but never actually touching. She tried to remember how Richard’s hot breath felt against her skin when he got really into things. She thought about the way his lips had sent a shiver down her spine when he kissed the nape of her neck on her first day of work. Those thoughts alone were more than enough to turn her on so she pressed the tip of the vibrator against herself. Her entire body shuddered. The anticipation was so much greater now with her plan in full swing.

She turned it on the lowest setting and slowly slid the entire length inside. Thinking of Richard finally touching her and being inside her spurred her on even more. Almost immediately she set the vibrator on the second setting and started working it in and out of herself, hips rolling up and down on the bed. Little did she know the plan worked to perfection because Richard got home earlier than she had anticipated. He walked into the bedroom to catch her midway through toward her first building orgasm.

“Carrie,” he croaked our dryly, eyes wide at the site of her spread out on the bed masturbating and deriving much pleasure from it. She stopped and looked at him in great surprise.

“I didn’t expect you home already,” she told him honestly. She had let go of the vibrator, which was still inside her, to place her hands on the surface of the bed and sit up. She squirmed feeling the vibrations, but she didn’t want to pull it out now. She wanted to wait for his reaction and move.

He stared at her for a moment longer before dropping his briefcase loudly on the floor and walking forward. He crawled onto the bed and kissed her more passionately than he had in months. When she felt his hand run down her side, over her hipbone, and grab the vibrator she squealed. It was really happening and it was in a way she hadn’t expected. That was the thing about plans– they rarely went the way you thought they would, but that wasn’t always a bad thing.

He continued the fiery kiss as he worked the vibrator in and out of her, bringing her right to the edge of orgasm before pulling it out and shutting it off. She whimpered but it was right at that moment he finally noticed the box containing the silk tie cuffs on top of her nightstand.

“What are these for?” His voice was teasing, but his eyes were as sincere as she had ever seen them. This gave her the strength to carry out the next step of her plan.

“Well,” she said, “I thought we could… experiment a bit. Spice up our sex life. Try something new and exciting!” Richard nodded solemnly, clearly doing his utmost to ensure the safety and well being of both of them. “What do you want your safe word to be?” “Lilac,” she said. “I’m not likely to accidentally say it and ruin the scene, but it’s simple enough that I’ll remember it even if I’m overwhelmed by sensation or emotion.” She considered fighting him for a moment, playing out the fantasy, but then realized that for once she longed to be submissive and trust him, as she’d never trusted any man before. Not that one or two men hadn’t proposed something along these lines, seeing her in black leather and a fast car, but the very idea of playing out their fantasies of what she should be turned her off. Yet with Richard… she wondered if some little part of him had considered this too, and if he’d waited for her to propose it. She would have to ask him at some later date. Her other leg secured, she now lay spread on the bed, incapable of much movement. She lifted her head to watch as Richard kneel between her open legs. He was still fully clothed, though in his sleeves and coat, and his eyes had that well known playful glint. He was turned on by the sight of her, she could tell that, but he was also in complete control of himself.

He met her gaze for a moment, then leaned over her, kissing her abdomen, her stomach, slowly moving up with his warm mouth. He was so gentle, so loving, the scrape of his cheek rough as he crept up her body, adoring her. His shirt was soft against her bare skin, the tantalizing heat of him emanated from beneath.

He kissed between her breasts, and across her neck, under her chin, up her arms stretched above her head, avoiding her most erogenous zones. He came to her mouth and pressed a deep kiss there, forcing her mouth open. The intensity increased; her body burned for him. She could feel his hardness against her thigh and she tried to shift to raise her legs around him, but she couldn’t move within the restraints. Whatever he wanted, whatever he could think to do to her, she would accept it wholeheartedly. With greater speed, he descended down the length of her body, tucking his hands beneath her lower back to lift her up. He kissed her open center, probing into her with his tongue as his fingers traveled down and stroked her wider. She could barely breathe as he kissed her, licked her, touched her as only he had ever touched her. The hands above her head closed, her nails digging into her own palm as he drew her closer and closer to climax. She moaned, imagining him inside her, and pulled on the restraints, rising as best she could against his mouth. He pressed his thumb up inside of her as he kissed her clit,

accompanied by a few thrusts that were tantalizing and insufficient. Then suddenly he was gone. She called out for him and rattled the cuffs against the bed. She raised her head and saw him standing, slowly and meticulously taking off his clothes, arranging them as he always did on the chair near the bed. First coat, then shirt, no movement wasted even when he stripped. Somehow the sight of those broad shoulders being exposed drove her wild. “Richard,” she moaned, desperate for him to address her. “This is what you wanted,” he said, taking off his trousers. “Wait for me.” She threw her head back, breathing heavily. He stretched out on top of her, hard cock rubbing against her, but not entering her. The torture was far from over. He was just beginning. He took a nipple into his mouth, rubbing at the other with the ball of his thumb. Kissing, flicking, biting at her, using her as a playground for his hands and mouth. He straddled her leg, his hands traveling over her body a little roughly, allowing his curbed power to filter out into his caresses. The whole action stimulated her to the millionth degree, but he avoided touching her where she most wanted him. It was dreadful, at times, to be with a man so in control of his own body. She could feel his desire to let go and equal unwillingness to let it end. She tried to shift her hips against him, to rub against the leg that was between them. “Not yet,” he said. “I can’t stand it,” she said with a whine. “You will.” He kissed her with aggression, biting on her lower lip until she moaned. Then he lowered his mouth to her ear. “I want to hear you. I want to take you so deeply that you cry out until you’re hoarse. I want your fantasy to pale in comparison.”

Every word made her writhe, his voice rough and deep as he described what he wanted to do to her, and how. His hands held her down, stopping her from even that slightest movement to relieve some of the nearly unbearable tension. He was strong – she had reason to know how strong. “Richard,” she cried as one hand slid down her body, barely brushing her, then back up again. “Say my name,” he rasped into her ear. “My proper name.” “Richard,” she moaned, obedient. He reached down again and touched her with two fingers. It took barely a moment until a hot white orgasm surged through her. Her body raised off the bed as far as it could. But he didn’t stop. He laid half on top of her, kissing her, touching her until her convulsions waned. His voice murmured in her ear, telling her how wonderful she was, how beautiful, how much he wanted her, how he wanted to make her feel, how she made him feel. “No one else has ever done this to you,” he told her, stroking a nipple with the tip of his finger. “No,” she whispered, incapable of finding more words. Impossibly, her arousal increased. His fingers weren’t enough. She was desperate to come with him inside of her. She turned her head to look into his eyes – dark, feral, aroused beyond description. “You’re enjoying this,” she said. “I am. Aren’t you?” “Yes.” He kissed her, hard. She pulled at her restraints, wanting to break free and grab his head, lock her legs around him, feel his muscles beneath her hands. She half-wished she’d never made the suggestion, but knew that it wouldn’t be the same, not if she could touch him. He was using her, toying with her, delighting in giving her pleasure but not that ultimate, final release that she badly wanted. She was wholly dependent

on him and he knew it. And trusting him, she submitted to his will. But it couldn’t last. Richard broke the kiss and rose above her on the flats of his hands. He reached down, using his fingers to spread her wide and guide himself inside. He entered her in two thrusts, plunging as deep as he could go. She cried out at the finality of penetration, the feel of him finally within her, and he withdrew and plunged again.

Her wrists pulled at the cuffs, hands twisting against the metal. The combination of the intense pleasure of every stroke and the bruising pull of the metal on her skin was intoxicating. He was intoxicating, the smell of his sweat, the power of his body, the hardness of his cock inside of her, the guttural, animal noises he made as he thrust hard against her.

He shifted within her at her encouragement until he struck that one spot that sent white electrical charges up and down her body, separating her from the earth. A hand slid between them and rubbed her clit as he withdrew and thrust again. “Cry out for me, Carrie, Let me hear you.” It was a demand. He knew only he gave her this pleasure, that only he ever did this for her. He was claiming her and she burned to be claimed. He drove into her again. “Let me hear you.” He was begging too, begging to know that he pleased her. Her wrists twisted, her ankles pulled at the restraints. Confused thoughts spread through her mind, then everything grew momentarily clear. It was more than trust, more than dependence. It was an exchange, willful and total. Richard would save her when she needed to be saved. He would kill for her. He would possess her only because she gave him everything willingly. He was her partner, her friend, her lover. He could have anything he wanted because she would give it to him. Because she knew he’d give her everything in return. She didn’t need to be told to cry out. The orgasm was unlike any she’d experienced before. It surged

over her in a wave, engulfing her. She screamed, and it was cry she'd never heard from her own throat. She had a confused notion of Richard becoming a part of her, of absorbing or being absorbed by him, incorporated into him. Then stars danced before her closed eyes, blood rushed into her head and she was transported far beyond anything she’d ever known or felt. She didn’t know if he came, though he must have. As it ended and she became aware of being back on the bed, she felt him slip out of her. She felt the gentle softness of the silk slip over first one wrist, then the other. Her arms lowered, aching wrists freed. One foot was untied and she rolled over, reaching for Richard. She caught him before he could free the other foot and pulled him into a trembling embrace, taking in his scent and the warm skin beneath her own sweating palms. A sudden wash of coldness came over her and her skin rose in goosebumps. “Are you all right?” he asked, stroking her back. She nodded, though with her rather violent trembling she understood why he might be worried. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, holding her hands, and she saw the honest concern in his grey eyes. “No.” She ran her hand down his body, delighted at being able to touch him again. “I liked it." He leaned down far enough to release her other foot, then brought himself back up against her, both of them reclining against the pillows at the headboard. They remained there for a few minutes with their breathing finally coming to a calm. She listened to his heart beating against her ear.



Chapter Four

Carrie awoke the following morning to find Richard’s arms still wrapped around her. She smiled serenely and shut her eyes again as if she could possibly will herself to fall back asleep. The previous night now seemed like a dream she had, but it had really happened. Not only had they finally been together in bed again, they had formed a new type of connection that hadn’t been present in their relationship before. It was the act of exploration that had brought it on. A new element had been added to their relationship and she loved it.

She opened her eyes and started caressing his arms. He stirred and opened his eyes as well. “I'm sorry,” she murmured, pressing her lips to his skin.

“Why?” he asked, tone heavy like someone who had just woken up from a deep slumber.

“For waking you,” she responded.

He smiled and met her gaze. “Don't be silly,” he told her reassuringly. It was a cross between that and a playful scolding. She smiled back at him. It was Saturday morning and for the first time in a long time she actually was able to keep him in bed for a cuddle. She missed him so much and she figured if there ever was a time to bring it up, now was it.

“You know,” she started, “I really have missed you.” For some reason it felt as if her heart was aching as she admitted it out loud to him.

He pressed his lips sweetly to her forehead, “I really missed you too.” There was a moment of silence before he took a deep breath and rolled onto his side to face her head on. “I'm glad you were so bold last night,” he told her.

She followed suit and rolled onto her side as well. The early morning sunlight drifting through their shutters as they laid face to face. He confessed to her he had felt like there was a rut or lack of excitement.

“I didn't know how to talk to you about it. We've always been so open and honest, but that feelings were so suddenly onset that it took me complete by surprise. For a while I wondered if it was just a problem with me. Then I got busy and, well, here we are.”

Carriers eyes lit up. “Really? That's what it was?” Richard nodded but a look of concern crossed his eyes. She explained to him how she had felt so sad about their dwindling sex life. It concerned her, but only because she was so confused about it and nothing more.

“I'm kind of in the same boat as you, actually. By the time I mustered up the courage to ask what was going on you found out about the position and I didn't want to add any more stress to your work load.”

He pulled her in to a tight hug. They were silent for quite a long time, just enjoying the warm and prolonged skin on skin contact. It was one of the absolute, most comforting things in the world to Carrie and she knew it was the same for him.

They had found in each other what they had never found in anybody else and this was absolutely no exception.

“Next time,” he said seriously, lips brushing against her hair. “We need to talk about things right away. It doesn't matter if we are busy, stressed, or thinking it’s a problem with us. We can't let this sort of thing happen again. And I'm not just talking about sex.”

Carrie smiled and nodded against his chest before pulling back to look in to his eyes. She pressed her lips against his. It was a soft kiss but full of pure emotion. It was clear just how much they loved each other.

“I completely agree,” she said. He made a move to get up and she knew he was going to prepare breakfast. She really had missed those days and was very much looking forward to it now.

But before they moved on to breakfast she held his arm tight, “on that note.” He stopped and looked at her with great interest.

“Let's do this again and, um, maybe more?” She bit her lower lip. He smiled and nodded.

“Definitely.”



Also by Janice Collins