Vibrizzio (26 page)

His eyes flicked over her face, and the goofy grin that had flirted upon his lips retreated. “What?”

When the crease between his eyebrows was fully indented, she answered, “My middle name is Marie.”

Within milliseconds, his mouth was back on hers, and she felt his wide smile match hers until they once again melted into each other.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Exactly One Year Later

“I’ve got a surprise,” Hayden said.

“Me too.” Lyssa smiled.

Hayden had flown into Chicago to celebrate their one-year anniversary, which they’d decided to define as the date on which they’d started kissing and never stopped. They sat in the same Old Town restaurant where she’d dined with Sean that fateful night.

“You go first,” Lyssa said.

“Okay. This is a good news/bad news kind of thing. Which one should I start with?”

Lyssa scowled. “Anniversary surprises aren’t supposed to have bad things attached.”

“Sorry, hun. This one does. So which will it be?”

“The bad.”

“I thought so. Well, the bad news is that my travel schedule is going to increase.”

“By how much?” His current slate of business trips already put a dent in the amount of time they could spend together.

“It’ll likely double.”

“Oh.” She didn’t want to be unsupportive of his career, but there was no purpose in hiding her disappointment from him; he already expected it. “I think I need a shot of the good news now.”

“The reason it’s going to increase is because I’ll have to spend one week a month in Boston.” He watched the confused crease form in Lyssa’s brow, and his lips spread into a grin. “Carlo agreed to let me base myself out of Chicago—on a trial basis.”

“Really?” Her face exploded into a smile, and she instinctively reached her hands across the table, where his jumped up to receive them.

“Yep.”

“I … I didn’t even know that was a possibility.”

“I didn’t want to say anything because I wasn’t sure he’d go for it. It’s taken a couple months to convince him, but pretty good timing, huh?”

“Yeah. The timing’s definitely interesting.” She looked down at the table and ran her thumbs over the sides of his hands.

“But you caught the part about
trial basis
, right? After three months, we’ll evaluate how it’s going, and there’s a possibility they’ll want me to move back out east. But I promise you—I’m going to do everything I can to make this work. Even if they call me back, I can start looking for different job opportunities around here.”

“You’d do that?” She glanced up.

“To be with you more, of course I would. I’m tired of having to say goodbye to you, Bates.” He squeezed her hands and stared directly into her eyes. “But since it’s all tentative right now, I’m not sure it makes sense for me to sign a full year lease on an apartment, and short-term rentals are so damn expensive, so I was thinking … ”

“You want to move into my place.” Uncertainty pinched Lyssa’s features.

“Yes. If you’re ready for that step. I am. But if you’re not, I’ll figure something else out.”

Lyssa shook her head, “No, Hayden, it’s fine. You’re welcome to move in. It’s just that … nobody else is going to be there.”

Hayden’s grip on her hands slackened, and he leaned back, a shadow crossing his handsome face. Lyssa slid her hands completely out from his and reached down to pull an envelope from her purse. She unfolded the letter that was inside and handed it across the table. It was an acceptance letter to the MBA program at Boston University.

Hayden stared at the paper for several moments. Then he slowly lifted his gaze with the hint of a smile playing on his lips. “You never mentioned BU.”

She shrugged. “I wasn’t sure I’d get in, and it was all reliant on getting approved for a partial grant that came in last week. I didn’t want to say anything ahead of time and jinx it. They have a really great two-year, full-time program, and I’ve decided full immersion is the right route for me.”

“You’re definitely going?”

“That’s the plan. It’ll mean loans in addition to the grant, but when I mentioned graduate school to my parents, my dad showed the first ounce of enthusiasm I’ve seen from him in a while, and he wants to help out.”

Hayden wagged his head from side to side, grinning. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

“Well, I’ll need to be frugal on living expenses, so if you know of anyone looking for a roommate … ”

Hayden pulled out his phone and started tapping away.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Texting Carlo with a huge
never mind
.” He stopped tapping. “So this means…you’re ready to move in together? You’re sure?”

She bit her lip and nodded. Hayden catapulted from his chair and kneeled beside her, attacking her face with tiny kisses while he threaded his fingers into her hair. Lyssa would’ve liked to have kissed back, but she was laughing too hard.

* * *

Later that night, on Lyssa’s futon, their kisses were slower, longer, and deeper. Gripping the thick waves at the back of his head, she opened her eyes. Even after a year of being a couple, she sometimes needed these reassurances that it was really him. She loved him so much, and her affection increased every day. She’d expected to have moments of distrust, especially with him living in another city, but once she made the decision to give this relationship a chance, she refused to let doubt in until he gave her a reason for it. So far, he hadn’t.

Closing her eyes again, she ran her hand up Hayden’s firm chest, and his hands roamed over her hips and thighs, his fingers pushing beneath her bikini panties to grab hold of his favorite of her assets. It was somewhat intimidating to her to be with someone so very near physical perfection. Hayden only ever told her how sexy he found her curvaceous body to be, but that didn’t stop her from cranking her workouts up a notch, and he didn’t complain about the results.

They kneeled in front of each other, and he pulled her to him. Hayden had been right all along—the Vibster couldn’t replace real men entirely. There was no satisfactory substitute to having the warm body of someone she loved wrapped around her. But Vibrizzio was still in the picture. Her faithful friend was a godsend for getting her through her boyfriend’s absences, and she and Hayden often brought him out to play when they were together, but not always.

Hayden’s warm lips traveled over her clavicle, past her bra strap, and to her shoulder. She adored it when he took his time building up to the act, stripping off bits of clothing one by one, easing into it slowly, deliberately. He could be a very patient—and taunting—lover. Of course, she’d also liked it earlier that day, when minutes after arriving, he’d practically undressed her with a snap of his fingers and taken her roughly against the back of the front door. If any neighbors had been in the stairwell, they’d gotten a good earful. She loved every time with Hayden.

“I have another surprise for you,” he murmured. Pulling away, he reached into his weekend bag on the floor next to the bed.

Lyssa was still half in a daze from his kisses when he handed her a wrapped package. Shaking her head into focus, she unwrapped it and found a garish, elongated monstrosity inside. It was huge, longer and wider than any iteration of Vibrizzio she’d ever owned, and made of transparent, silvery plastic that revealed the guts of the complex operation. Three rows of colorful beads wrapped around its middle like a Mardi Gras choker, and a smaller limb branched out from the side, topped with what looked like wispy cockroach antennae. At its base was a small panel filled with buttons.

A proud grin stretched across Hayden’s face. “This is the iPhone of Vibrizzios—it does everything.”

“Yeah, including terrify me.” She let out a nervous laugh, and he took the package from her, ripping apart the casing and pulling off the batteries that she now noticed had been taped to it.

“Hush, you’re going to love it. Look.” He inserted the batteries and pressed a button. “It even lights up.” Sure enough, Long Duck Dildo glowed.

“Why?”

“All the better to see you with?” He stared curiously at the contraption and then flicked another button. The entire thing whirred, sending the wispy bits flailing about while the head pulsed and rotated halfway in one direction before whipping around in the other. Another flick sent it into hyper drive. When he moved it toward her, Lyssa yelped and scurried to the edge of the mattress. “Darling, that’s rude,” he said. “You’re going to make your new lover feel bad.”

“Look, I appreciate the thought, but that thing is far too advanced for me. I’m really quite fine with my standard models.”

“Oh baby,
quite fine
isn’t good enough for the future Mrs. King.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something at dinner? I don’t remember a huge rock being placed on my finger.”

“Think of this as a test to see how big you can handle.” He inched the monstrosity closer and she scooched back one inch too far. Her hand met empty space and plummeted downward, taking the rest of her body with it.

She thudded onto the floor. “Ow,” she whined as she pushed up on her smarting arm.

Hayden peered at her over the edge of the bed. “No worries. I think this has a massage mode.” He pressed yet another button and sent the entire thing undulating from base to tip, throbbing and emitting a steady moan that sounded distinctly like the groan of a cow in heat.

Lyssa was taken over by a fit of giggles and crumpled back onto the floor.

Hayden laughed too and asked, “Are you really okay?”

He shut off the monster and gently helped her back onto the bed, where they got more serious. Between kisses and caresses, she agreed to give the new toy a shot, and he agreed to take it slowly. The kisses turned to bites and suckles, and the caresses turned to gropes. Somewhere amid it all, the new Vibrizzio got pushed aside, completely forgotten as Lyssa’s body responded to Hayden’s rocking inside her. Her leg kicked out, shoving the machine to the floor, and neither of them even realized it was gone.

The End

Acknowledgements

You might think a woman who writes about vibrator love would be entirely self-sufficient. I assure you, I am not. Praise God I don’t have to be as I’ve been blessed with the support of many wonderful people in my life.

My A Team on the Vibster::

Author Jennifer Lane was my amazing crit partner on VIBRIZZIO, giving me invaluable feedback so I could attack the third and fourth drafts with clear direction. Mizz Lane also makes a most excellent cheerleader. I’m so happy to be on this publishing adventure with you, Jen!

I’m not sure why Colleen Keough Wagner, sister extraordinaire, puts up with me, but she does. We’re separated by nine years and an ocean, but that doesn’t stop our minds from often surfing the same wave. Her never-tiring ear, limitless compassion, and unwavering loyalty get me through the birth and raising of each and every one of these stories (and a whole lot of other stuff). Love you, Weenie!

Georgia McBride will never know how much her enthusiasm for this story has meant to me. It’s the very best feeling in the world to write something I’m excited about and then have such a respected figure in the publishing industry feel the same way. I’m honored to have been invited to join the talented lineup of authors at Swoon Romance!

Editors Kerry Genova and Nichole LaVigne expertly found the things I never would’ve on my own. Thank you both for polishing this manuscript and teaching me some things along the way. Thanks also to author liaison Jennifer Million, a lifeline from the very beginning of the process, Allie Kincheloe for shepherding the manuscript through production, and publicist Laura Carter for orchestrating VIBRIZZIO’s launch into the world.

To my mom, dad, husband, and children…yeah, uh, sorry ’bout this one.

About the Author

NICKI ELSON

Writing fiction wasn't something Nicki set out to do; it just sort of happened when she realized writing reports was by far her favorite part of her investment consulting position. She traded stock allocation and diversification for story arcs and dialogue and now weaves her creative writing time in with the other activities of her busy life with her family in the Chicago suburbs.

Nicki writes with two goals in mind: #1 to keep the characters realistic, even when their circumstances are anything but, and #2 to make the reader feel. Her other published works include Three Daves, a light-hearted romantic romp through a 1980s college campus, Divine Temptation, a romantic novel of angelic proportions, and Hans & Greta: a Twisted Fairy Tale Novella. Her published short stories include “Sway” (available as a single), “I Don’t Do Valentine’s Day” (part of A Valentine Anthology), and “Impressionism 101” (included in the debut issue of Insatiable: The Magazine of Paranormal Desire).

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