Licorice Whips (27 page)

He released one breast so that he could spank her. When he did that, Nikla wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. He felt her heart pounding in her chest. Her knees pressed against his hips.

“Come. Come, baby.” Sweet cradled the back of her head.

Nikla pounded her fist on Sweet’s back as she came hard. He had more to give.

Sweet rolled her onto her back then got out of bed.

“Where are you going? You didn’t come.” Nikla pressed her back against the pillows arranged on the headboard.

Sweet ducked into his closet and found a couple of old neckties he hadn’t worn in years. He returned to the bed. “Hands up.”

Without question, Nikla brought her hands up and grabbed his headboard. Sweet tied one wrist to his bed, being careful to avoid her new candy bracelet. He kissed her fingers before moving around his bed to get to the other side. After tying her other wrist to the headboard, he deposited the condom he wore.

“I trust you.” Nikla stared at him. “You can trust me.”

He knew what she implied with her statement. “I’m clean.”

“I got checked recently.” She spread her legs. “I get the shot.”

Sweet knew she wouldn’t get pregnant. A small part of him wanted her to carry his child. Shit, he needed to stop thinking that way and think about the future.

He returned to bed. Sweet needed to receive every type of sensation possible. He placed his body on top of hers and enjoyed her warmth and softness. Before he did anything else, he ran his hands down her strung up arms, to her face, over her breasts and to her stomach.

“You feel so good. So soft.” Sweet kept his gaze directly on her eyes.

He ran his hand over her hair. Nikla lifted her head to get the full experience. Sweet nuzzled his face in her hair. He picked up her usual jasmine scent combined now with a honey aroma.

When Sweet entered her this time, he felt different. The walls he had around himself came down so hard he thought he would climax at that moment. To feel her hot vaginal walls tightening around him connected him to Nikla more intimately than he thought it would.

Nikla pulled on her restraints. “Swithin.”

Sweet thrust himself inside her and held himself there. “Keep saying my name.”

“And cursing?” Nikla smiled.

He nodded. Sweet swept one hand back and grabbed her thigh. He positioned her leg around his body just to feel her more. This time with her, Sweet wanted to take his time.

Nikla licked his bottom lip. That move gave him the permission to capture her mouth. He drove his tongue in her mouth. Thanks to the strawberries he’d fed her for dessert, she still tasted sweet.

“Mmm.” He thrust into her again, curving his hips this time.

“Swithin.” Nikla’s body undulated under his. She matched his movements in every way like a well-played tennis match.

With Nikla, he could go on for hours.

“I love this.” Nikla gripped the ties holding her arms down. “Keep me tied here all night.”

Sweet kissed her neck. “I’ll just put jellybeans on you and tell you not to move.”

“Or just ask me to stay.”

Sweet said nothing. He continued making love to this beauty as he let the idea of having Nikla in his bed, by his side, every night and every morning, roll around in his head. If he could make it work, if he could have this amazing woman by his side, he would be over the moon.

Sweet continued making love to Nikla until she came twice. He untied her wrists. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed her on his lap. His body shook as he drove in her deeper and deeper until he exploded.

Nikla placed her head on his shoulder.

“What are we going to do? What the hell are we going to do?” Sweet stroked her back.

****

Nikla watched Sweet sleep. She brushed his hair from his face as she listened to him breathing heavily. She scanned his body, the same one that gave her endless hours of pleasure last night.

She circled his nipple with her index finger until he moaned. When he opened his eyes, his expression quickly changed to something quizzical.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” he asked.

“You. For the first time, I saw you smiling.” She brushed her fingers down the side of his face. “You smiled in your sleep. It was wonderful.”

Sweet groaned and sat up. “I was dreaming about you.”

“You were? What was I doing?”

Sweet remained quiet. He stared at her almost with a bit of remorse in his gaze. He must have been thinking about what had occurred to her as well. When Bobbi decided who would get the units, what would happen to the two of them? 

Nikla ran her fingers down over his face to his lips. “You have a wonderful smile. You should do it more often.”

Sweet gazed down at her. To Nikla’s relief, he smiled at her.

“Now that I have something to smile about, maybe I will.” He kissed her. Then he plopped his head back on his pillows. “What a night.” He looked at her. “I never even asked, what were you thinking when you saw Wasabi?”

Nikla smiled to herself. “When I first saw them, I thought you had gotten some world-class chef to cook our dinners for us.”

“I did.” He pointed to himself and laughed.

Nikla even loved his laugh, a deep-bellied, full-on laugh. “Dinner and dessert were pretty amazing. When I saw the bag full of ropes, I thought you were going to hang me. I was thinking, man, this guy really wants those units.”

Sweet’s face went somber. “I told you I would never hurt you. If someone even thought about hurting you, I would stop them dead in their tracks.”

The seriousness of his tone struck Nikla deep. She’d never have anyone defend her like that or even want to protect her. The notion made her feel good, made her feel safe.

“When you described what it is that Master Wasabi did, I was curious.”

“Had you ever seen it before?”

Nikla shook her head. Sweet’s smile widened as he got out of bed. He went over to his closet and retrieved something from the top shelf. When he backed up, Nikla saw he had a large, flat coffee table book in his hands.

Sweet got back in bed and handed the book to her. “Take a look at that.”

Nikla looked at the cover. The title of
Wrapped Up
went across the top and emblazoned in red. The image of a woman’s torso bound in thick rope accompanied the salacious title. She opened the cover and the first picture that greeted her contained a man and a woman both with ropes constricting their fit bodies and contorted in a way that it looked like rope connected their bodies, like intestines and arteries providing life sources to each other.

The black-and-white shots made the pictures look more artistic. Page after page, Nikla’s heart pounded.

“Look at this.” Sweet held up his camera and showed her the screen.

Nikla took the camera from his hands and stared at the picture of herself. Her back bend looked deeper as she hovered in the air. With her leg kicked up, she saw herself as a superhero. The picture looked surreal, but in color, it made it even more real.

“I did this.” Nikla shook her head. “I got naked and allowed strangers to tie me with rope and suspend me in the air.” She looked at Sweet. “And you have it immortalized.”

“I can delete it if you want.” He reached for the camera.

Nikla pulled away. “No. No. I like it. I like that you have it. You’ll always have it.” She scanned her body. The deep indentations that the ropes had made no longer marred her skin.

Nikla brushed her hands over her chest, arms and stomach. Sweet slid his hand over her hand and rested it on her stomach.

“No marks.” She gazed at Sweet. “It’s like it never happened.”

Sweet tapped the camera. “Only it did.”

Nikla nodded. “You made it happen.”

He shook his head. “No, you did. You could have said no. You could have walked out and never seen me again. Or run to the media and talk about me and my strange ways.”

“Like you said before, telling on you would be like telling on myself.” Nikla rested her hand on his chest.

Sweet pulled her close to him. “Thank you for being brave. I don’t know a lot of submissives who have been in the lifestyle a while who would even do this.”

“But you subjected me to it. Why?”

Sweet looked serious. He didn’t look her in the eyes, a first for him. “I keep thinking you’re not real. I put you through tests to see at what point you’ll run.”

Nikla laughed. “I’m still here.”

“I should have known you wouldn’t shy away from this.” Sweet held her hand. “You’ve taken training as a submissive very seriously. I want to do so much more with you.”

Nikla put her hand to her wrist. “My students are going to wonder why I’m wearing a candy bracelet.”

“What will you say if any of them asks?”

Nikla thought about the question before she answered. “I’ll just say someone special gave it to me.” She glanced at the clock next to the bed. “Damn. I need to go. I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”

“Maybe you should the next time you come over.” Sweet put his hand on her thigh and rubbed his thumb over her skin. “I want you here a lot.”

Nikla beamed. “You don’t want to come over to my place sometime?”

“I have better toys here.”

She laughed. “Says the man who told me he can make anything kinky.”

“Is that a dare?” He wiggled his fingers into her sides.

Nikla laughed hard enough that her sides hurt immediately. “No! No! No tickling! Please!”

“What’s the word?” Sweet straddled her body and continued tickling her.

“Red! Red! Red!”

Sweet stopped but continued smiling at her. “You are a quick study.”

“And you are an unfair competitor.” She gave him a playful slap on the arm. “Here.” She held up his book.

Sweet climbed off her. “Keep it.” He nudged it toward her.

“Thank you. I’ll give it back.”

Sweet waved his hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I do have to go.”

“Not until I make you breakfast and set up your meal plan.”

Nikla so wanted to slide back down in bed and snuggle next to Sweet, or Swithin as she now knew him. She had to go home. Even though she would be leaving with the clothes she’d worn the night before, there would be no shame in her gait.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked as she got out of bed.

He gave her a salacious smile as his answer.

Nikla’s clit twitched in response. “I want us to do something I’m good at.”

Sweet’s smile broadened.

“No. Not that. My last class is over around five. Are you able to break free then?” Nikla tiptoed back toward the bathroom.

“Maybe seven. Would that be too late?”

Nikla shook her head. “Wear workout clothing.”

Sweet groaned again. “More yoga?”

She shook her head. “Not this time. But it will be very physical. Are you game?”

Sweet got out of bed and stalked toward her. “There’s nothing you could do that could scare me away.” He guided her into the bathroom.

Nikla held onto his shoulders as she stared at him. Before he could say anything, she kissed his one cheek, then the other, then kissed his lips. When she lowered herself to her knees in front of him, she felt the muscles in his thighs tighten.

“Call in sick. Stay here.”

Nikla brought her gaze up to meet his. She shook her head. “I can’t. I want to.” She brought her hands up to his cock. “I have people who depend on me.”

Sweet held her wrists and pulled them back from his body. “I’ll see you tonight then. Let me get your breakfast going. Take your time in the bathroom.” He kissed the top of her head before leaving her.

Nikla allowed her body to slump down even more once he departed. She had to figure out what she wanted, what she needed, in her life. Managing this balancing act didn’t suit her. From Sweet’s reaction, he must not have liked it either.

Sweet was right. What the hell were they going to do?

Chapter Twenty

“Oh, my God!” Masaun stared at Sweet with his hand over his mouth.

Sweet looked down at the fudge bars he’d just made. “What? Something wrong?” His mind had been on Nikla and her luscious body so he wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d done something strange with his fudge, like adding Pop Rocks to the mix.

Masaun walked up to him. “What is that?” He pointed to Sweet’s face. “Is that a smile?”

Sweet grabbed his brother’s finger and shoved it back. “Asshole. It was funnier when I said it to you not too long ago.”

Masaun laughed. “I think it’s great. I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long, long time. What gives?” He leaned against the counter as he watched Sweet package each portion of fudge he’d cut.

“Can’t I be happy about making a beautiful tray of fudge?” Sweet wrapped another piece and put it on a pile with the other ones he’d wrapped.

“They are great looking. But I know you.” Masaun wagged his finger at him. “Is it the woman I caught you here with the other day?”

“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?” Sweet set the empty baking sheet by the sink.

“Is she the same woman you were playing with at the club?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. Really?”

The question in Masaun’s tone caused Sweet to bring his attention back to his brother. “What?”

“The whole thing with Melinda. I don’t want you to go through that again.”

Sweet waved his hand. “Won’t happen. We talked. We established some rules. We both know what we have going on is only going to be for a short time.”

“But you think about her and smile. You don’t see anything happening beyond just play and, uh, other activities?”

Masaun’s question had been rolling around in Sweet’s head for days. Did Sweet see a lasting relationship with Nikla? He wanted one. In her he’d found his dream woman, one open for both playing and sex with drive and ambition that rivaled his own. The competitiveness concerned him.

“Look, just be happy I’m getting out there.”

“Trust me. I am. Where you were before worried me.” Masaun put his hand on Sweet’s chest.

Sweet brought his full attention to his older brother.