Stripped (9 page)

***

I
fished my cell phone out of my purse. It was turned off. I didn’t remember
doing that. Flicking it back on and there were three messages from Jake. I
didn’t bother listening to them. I didn’t want to hear the worry in his voice;
that was clearly evident on the message on my home phone.

My
fingers trembled as I dialed Jake’s number. It rang just long enough that I
thought I could hang up, but then his voice was there.

“Abby?
How are you?”

“I’m
fine. Sorry about not getting your messages. I was out of town and my cell
phone got turned off somehow.”

There
was silence for a moment. I pictured Jake, tall and dark, so handsome it almost
hurt to look at him. And I realized how much I’d missed him, and how much I’d
enjoyed being with Chase.

“I
want to see you, Abby. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve
missed you, Jake. More than I thought I would. Can we have dinner tomorrow
night?”

“Absolutely.”
There was a smile in his voice. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

***

I was
ready an hour early Monday night, pacing back and forth. I was really excited
to see Jake, to hear how his trip had been. But most of all, I wanted his
reassuring presence, the comfort of his arms around me.

There
was something in Jake that made me feel safe, cherished…loved. Chase made me
feel almost like a horse…one of his fillies. Loved as a possession, not
necessarily for myself. 

But
Chase had unlocked something deep and primal in me, led me down some dark paths
to experiences I’d never had with anyone.

Jake
was my dominant. I turned that relationship over in my mind, wondering how I
felt about that now. Did I still want to explore relationship that with Jake?
To be his submissive, to give control to him in return for a different kind of
wild ride?

I
didn’t know if Jake had it in him as a dominant, the way Chase did, to take me
to those places.

I was
certain thought that Jake, as a lover, could take me anywhere I wanted to go. Jake
had the passion, if he’d let himself go and he fueled my passions in a
different, but no less exciting way, than Chase did.

The
doorbell interrupted my swirling thoughts. Jake was there, tall and dark, blue
eyes sweeping over me.

Without
hesitation, I pulled him against me, winding my arms around his neck. My mouth
found his, my kiss urgent, my body suddenly needing him in a way that startled
me.

I
pulled him into the apartment, pushing the door shut with a slam. He broke
away, looking down at me.

“Abby…”

I
didn’t let him continue. “The hell with dinner, Jake. Make love to me. Now.”

I
pulled him down the hall to my bedroom. He had the sense not to argue but I
could see a shadow of confusion cross his face.

But
that left him as I pulled at his shirt, undoing the buttons with eager fingers.
His hands reached for my blouse, pulling it over my head. We made quick work of
the rest of our clothing, falling onto the bed.

Jake
pulled me against his body, my fingers running eagerly over his chest, loving
the feel of his lean frame, my hands running down the familiar contours of his
body, over the flat plane of his stomach, the rise of his erection.

We
were a tangle of arms and legs, Jake’s hands squeezing my breasts, reaching
down to cup my ass. Our lips were seeking, tongues probing each other’s mouths,
reclaiming forgotten territory.

I
pushed Jake over on his back, straddling his hips. His hands reached up,
pulling me down to him, his lips finding my breasts, running his tongue over my
skin.

I
could feel his erection pressing against my inner thigh, hot and hard, and
suddenly I wanted him inside me. Pulling away from Jake, I sat back, rising up
on my knees. Jake was watching me, eyes taking in every part of me.

“God,
Abby, I think you’re more beautiful than ever. You look amazing. I really have
missed you, not just this…” he waved his hand “…but you. I’ve missed you, Abby.”

“I’ve
missed you too, Jake. More than I thought I would.” I reached down, taking his
erection in my hand, stroking him slowly, sitting back on his thighs for a
moment, loving the feeling of his hard cock in my hand.

Jake
shifted beneath me, his hips rising in time with my thrusts. I rose up, rubbing
the head of his cock against my pussy, circling my clit with it, sliding just
the head into my body.

I
held him there a moment, watching his face, feeling him pressing against me,
seeking to thrust into me. I took a deep breath, letting myself down on him,
feeling him thrust up, meeting me. We both exhaled at the same time.

“Oh,
god, Abby. I’ve missed this, to be inside you. God, how I’ve missed this.”

I
leaned down, my mouth on his, my tongue flicking over his lips, brushing
against his, moaning softly against him. Jake began moving beneath me, his hips
rising and falling, the delicious length of his cock filling me.

We
were moving faster, each of us now urgent in our desire to return to the
familiar, to the feeling of our bodies working tougher as one, the delicious
melding that we’d experienced before.

I sat
back at one point, riding him hard, my hands on his narrow waist, loving being
in control, grinding down on his hips with my body. Jake was holding my hips,
his fingers digging in slightly, as his hips rose beneath me.

Eventually,
he shifted, bracing his feet on the bed, changing the angle of his thrusts into
me. I could feel his thighs brushing against my ass, his movements making the
bed shake. He was grunting with each stroke, almost a sound of frustration.

“Abby…oh,
god.” There was a subtle shift in momentum between us; I was ready to let him
take over, have control.

I
rolled over, keeping Jake inside me, wanting him to use me for his pleasure and
take me along for the ride. I pulled my legs wide, letting him thrust as hard
as he wanted, needed, into me. He spread his legs, bracing his thighs against
mine, arms on either side of my shoulders.

He
was breathing hard, his eyes locked on my face with that intense and
penetrating gaze I loved. I reached up, stroking his face and he turned his
head, kissing the palm of my hand, closing his eyes.

Jake
came with such suddenness I think surprised both of us. There was a brief
moment where he hung in the balance between holding back and letting go and
then he was making short sharp jabs into me, his hips pivoting from side to
side, his warmth filling me. He buried his head on my shoulder as his body
continued moving, spurts and twitches inside me.

I
rolled up to meet him, my body pulling at him, wanting him deeper inside me. My
hips were grinding up against him, my legs almost wrapped around his shoulders
when I came. I felt like I could be split open, taking him so far inside me.
There seemed no end to the waves of pleasure that ran through me. The blood was
pounding in my head; my ears filled with the sound of it, of my voice and of Jake’s,
his muffled against my neck.

It
was a long time later when Jake lifted his head, brushing the hair back from my
forehead. He kissed the end of my nose, smiling down at me.

“So
much for the dinner reservations.” He rose up on one elbow.

“Your
nose is sunburned. You must have gotten some sun over the weekend.”

I
felt myself blush, hoping the dark would hide it or it looked like the flush of
passion.

“Um…yeah,
a little bit. Are you hungry? We could order pizza, if you like.”

We
did order pizza, sitting cross-legged in my bed, seemingly unable to leave the
comfort of the tangled sheets and blankets.

It
was a long time before we slept. Jake took me again, slowly, our initial
appetites sated, but a deep lingering hunger was still there. It seemed we
couldn’t get enough of each other, and we spent most of the night locked in
some kind of embrace. We eventually fell asleep in an exhausted tangle of arms
and legs.

My
alarm went off much too soon. I couldn’t afford to miss any more work and this
was Jake’s first day back in the office. We took a brief but highly sensual
shower together, got dressed and parted ways on the street.

“I’ll
call you later.” Jake kissed me hard, leaving me at my car, sprinting off down
the street to his, parked at the curb. I saw him pull a parking ticket from
under the wiper and stuff it in his pocket.
Lucky he didn’t get towed.

I was
in a foggy state of sleep deprivation and general confusion at work. I stumbled
through several client meetings, managed not to upset my boss too badly and
finally collapsed in my office chair after lunch. I was just attempting to sort
through my email, listening to voice mails. There was one from Jake which made
me blush, asking me for a session on Saturday. I was just picking up the phone
to call him when it rang. I pulled my hand back, startled.

“Hello,
beautiful girl. How are you today? I’ve missed you.” Chase.

“I’m
fine. Busy. It’s been a hectic day. You know, Monday and all.”

Chase
laughed softly. I could imagine what it sounded like, when I had my head on his
chest, the way it rumbled beneath my ear. “Abby, you do realize today is
Tuesday. You must really be having a bad day if it’s a Monday all over again.”

I
cringed, shaking my head. “My brain is all scattered today. Yes, it’s Tuesday.
I know that.”
Stop talking, Abby, just stop now.

“I’d
like to see you again this weekend. Come up on Friday, stay until Sunday. That
old tom cat you’ve got can do without you for the whole weekend, can’t he?”

I had
the fleeting thought that he was talking about Jake, but realized he actually
meant my cat. But I also remembered Jake wanted a session on Saturday.
Oh,
crap.

But I
wanted to see Jake, wanted a session with him. I missed that part of our
relationship, not just him. I took a deep breath.

“I
have plans for this weekend, Chase. I’ll have to take a rain check.” I closed
my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t ask me for details. I wasn’t awake enough to do any
mental gymnastics at the moment.

There
was silence on the other end of the line. “I see. Okay. How about dinner at my
condo on Friday, say seven? If you like, you can come to the club with me, not
as a sub, but as my guest. You might enjoy the surroundings a little more this
time. Take in the ambience, so to speak.”

I let
out a mental sigh of relief. The thought of going to the club was interesting,
something I thought I’d like now that I’d gotten my feet wet, so to speak.

“Yes,
that’s a great idea. Dinner and the club.”

“You’ll
be home, safe in your own bed by Saturday morning. I promise not to tie you up
and leave you there, as a captive.” There was the briefest pause, in which my
mind leapt to all sorts of wild conclusions. And then he laughed again, Chase’s
warm laugh, making me smile.

“You’re
only allowed to tie me up in public, Chase, not in private. I don’t think I
trust you enough yet.”

There
was a smile in his voice. “I agree. You never know what I have up my sleeve.”

He
left me again with explicit directions to his condo. After I hung up, I rested
my head on my desk.
What the hell are you doing? You’ve never managed one
relationship successfully, much less juggling two men at the same time.

***

I
called Jake back, setting a session for Saturday afternoon, late. We talked a
bit about what we’d explore this time.

“Do
you have anything you want to try? Something you’ve been wanting to experience?”

My
mind was still foggy. “I’ll think about it and let you know. Right now, I’m
sleep deprived.”

“Same
here. But it’s for a good reason. When I was traveling I didn’t sleep well. I
thought about you, wished you were there with me.”

I
blinked. “I missed you too, Jake.” But I couldn’t tell him that I hadn’t
thought about him at night. That tiny fractured piece of guilt still resided in
my heart, that I had something I didn’t want to tell Jake.

I
hung up the phone. All I wanted was a hot shower and my bed. As luck would have
it, there was a knock on my door. Leslie was standing in the doorway.

“Hey,
Abby. You look like three kinds of crap.”

“Thanks,
Leslie. I feel like three kinds of crap.”

She
sat down. “Late night with Chase?”

I
shook my head. “Late night, early morning with Jake. He’s back in town.”

“Oh.
Wow. And? Did you tell him about Chase?”

I
shook my head. “No, and I don’t have a reason to. We have this
no-strings-attached relationship…but...” I sunk my head into my hands. “I feel
guilty.”

Leslie
nodded her head. “Yeah, I’ve heard that. So if you have this open kind of
thing, why the guilt?”