Fierce Encounters Book 3
Emma inserted a hand quickly between them, completing the handshake and keeping him at a distance beyond the reach of her lips. The awkward encounter with Gage made her miss Daniel all the more, but she also knew that he was likely to be off somewhere with his blonde ex-wife.
She took a step back and made eye contact with her would-be suitor. “Gage, you’re a nice guy, but I’m just not in the right place to start anything at the moment. Maybe if things don’t work out, I’d be ready in a few months, but I can’t promise you anything. I don’t know what will happen in the future. I just know that at this moment, nothing can happen.”
He nodded, smiling with a sheepish grin that made Emma think about her choices. She bet that Gage enjoyed regular sex and didn’t have wildly neurotic women chasing after him.
They walked back to the table in silence, though Jamie had an eyebrow raised when she spied them. Emma gave her the slightest shake of the head to let her friend know.
Perhaps because she’d had a few drinks or because of the aborted encounter, Emma picked up her phone and texted Daniel. “Friends and I are at Benny’s. Saw you with a blonde at dinner. What’s going on?”
She put the phone down on the table and tried not to focus on the amount of time it was taking for Daniel to respond. She didn’t want to think that he was still occupied with that woman, doing the same sorts of things he’d done to Emma over the weekend. The thought made her vaguely ill.
The phone still had not buzzed by the time she left, so Emma slid behind the wheel, sober and disappointed. Sometime during the drive home the phone buzzed on her lap, but she was too focused on the road. Plus she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a quick response. He’d received the text approximately an hour after he’d left the restaurant, so urgency was not the name of the game here.
She pulled into her garage, careful to close the door, so Daniel couldn’t just walk over. She went into the house with the lights still off and moved stealthily to the bedroom. Damn, this was definitely the downside of dating a neighbor, when you didn’t want him to know when you were coming home. She shucked her clothes into the corner and slid into bed. She’d deal with her teeth and hair tomorrow along with whatever hangover lingered.
The message back was simple. “We can talk soon.” Emma’s heart sank. It was a close approximation to the old “We need to talk” line. Daniel had decided to go back with his wife and leave Emma alone. Maybe she should have just kissed Gage, but it wouldn’t have felt right. She would see this through to the end and then date new people after this had healed. She didn’t want to be one of the serial monogamists who began on their next partner before the current partner was completely gone.
Like a fool, Emma had not bothered to charge her phone after that disturbing message, so she woke late without an alarm. She had only minutes to shower and dress before leaving for the day. She’d left her phone on the nightstand charging. Several times during the day she fought the urge to ask to leave or to sneak home during a break. Even with the text message she’d received, she still held out a small hope that things could be retrieved. She had just felt such a connection. Had she been wrong about that?
The day dragged, and Emma finally was able to leave work a few minutes after her normal quitting time. She kept her speed under the limit. No use in rushing, only to get a ticket. Finally at home, she bustled into the bedroom as fast as she could and checked the text log. Nothing.
She sighed and took a deep breath. Daniel’s idea of soon was not the same as hers. After all the worrying and endless speculation of the day, she made herself a salad and sat down with a copy of Jane Eyre. She was in the mood to read about an ex-wife getting the treatment she deserved.
It was nearly 8:30 when the landline rang. Emma had lost track of the time, enjoying her time with the book and forgetting the world’s problems. She reached over and picked it up. “Hello.”
“Emma, it’s Daniel. Do you have some time to talk tonight?”
Emma looked at the clock again. This would not be an easy conversation, and she knew that she was already running nearly empty, since she’d been out last night. She paused before Daniel said, “Emma. Are you there?”
She sighed. “Yes. Come over and we can talk. I just have to get up early, so we can’t talk too long tonight.”
“Understood. I’ll be right there.”
Emma put down the book and walked to the front door to wait. She could see Daniel coming and she waited there quietly until he arrived. The air had a nip in it tonight, a cool reminder of the rapidly approaching autumn.
Daniel kissed her at the door, a quick chaste peck. “How are you doing?”
“Good, but work is crazy.” Emma stood back and let him pass. He walked to the area where Emma had been reading and took a seat near her reading chair.
“Same here. I had thought this new job would be a little easier on my schedule, but so far it hasn’t been that way. It’s worse than ever.”
Emma sat down in her chair and curled her feet back under her. She wanted to wait and let him make the first move. That decision reminded her of their encounter last week, the passion they’d shared. Now she wondered if they would ever share something like that again or if he was here to break things off permanently.
“Last night was not what it looked like at all. My ex-wife insisted that we meet. She’d kept the dog after we split up, and she uses him to get what she wants from me. So last night she wanted to talk about ‘custody’ of the dog.”
“What happened? Do you have a new pet at home?”
Daniel shook his head. “No, it was all a game to her. We got there, and she just wanted to reminisce about old times. She had no intention of giving me the dog for a day much less to share custody.”
Emma gave him a wan smile. While she felt sorry for anyone who lost a pet, she still felt uncertain of her own role in Daniel’s life. “Sorry to hear that. Why does she want to jerk you around like that?”
“Long story.”
“Is that what you came over here to tell me – this long story?”
Daniel sighed loudly. “I can. – if you want me to.”
Emma laughed. “I’ve wanted nothing but that for quite some time. I’d like to understand better.”
Daniel looked like he was blushing from where Emma sat. His ears had a reddish tinge, and his cheeks appeared ruddy, even against the remains of his tan. “It’s just awkward and embarrassing.”
“Everything in life is that way. So tell all.” Emma sat back and let him tell the story at his own pace. She’d waited this long for it.
“Renee, that’s my ex-wife, and I separated about a year ago. I wanted to try out domination. She tried it a few times with me, but she obviously had no intention of doing this for any other reason than to have something to use against me.”
“What do you mean?” Emma sat up on the edge of her seat.
“It was always a case of I tried what you liked, so now you have to do this or buy me that. It got old fast. She just looked at my kink as a way to get her way on everything else. After a few months I just gave up and left.”
“Well that should have been better. She didn’t have to do anything in the bedroom that she didn’t like.” Emma wondered if she sounded like she didn’t want to do that either. It wasn’t her intent, but the words hung in the air for a second before Daniel went on.
“For a long time after I left, I just thought that guys with kinks wouldn’t be able to find a relationship or love. They’d only be able to have one-night stands or advertise on Craigslist or websites that accepted that sort of thing. It wasn’t an appealing thought to me.”
“Aren’t there any – I don’t know, support groups for people who like BDSM?” Emma knew that there were because she’d seen some on-line when she’d been researching what might happen to her before their first session. She wondered at why people did not Google more often. It was a lifesaver for her.
“There might be, but I didn’t know of them. I was just out there on my own thinking I was the only one who wanted the best of both worlds. It was a pretty lonely time in my life.”
Emma looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. She felt sorry for him. “So then what happened?”
“After a while, I tried to date, but usually when I told a woman what I enjoyed in the bedroom, it was the last date for us. She’d make it sound like she was still interested but it was always a string of cancelled dates or unanswered calls after that. I just thought the two were incompatible.”
“So how does all of this affect your ex-wife?” Emma asked.
“It doesn’t really. I mean, the divorce was finalized by then, and we rarely talked. One time about three months after the divorce, she came over with some domination paraphernalia and we messed around, but she thought that was going to get me back. When it didn’t, she stopped pretending to be interested again.”
Emma wondered how long ago that had been, but hesitated to ask. She knew that the marriage had not been over all that long, and so that last hurrah can’t have been too many months in the past. She could feel a little for the ex-wife, knowing that men didn’t always express what they were feeling, even if they felt it.
“So what’s changed? Why is she back all of a sudden?” Emma crossed her arms, feeling somewhat defensive. She knew there was more to this than what Daniel was telling her, but he was reticent to tell her more.
He blushed again. “It’s complicated.”
Emma gave him a small smile. “I’m a smart woman. I can figure it out.”
“She’s mad.”
Emma, who had been reading Jane Eyre until Daniel’s visit, thought for a moment that he was meaning she was insane, but she realized better as she looked at him. “Why is she so angry all of a sudden?”
“At first, she thought that I left her because I was into BDSM. She didn’t like it, but she made it sound like I couldn’t be happy in a ‘normal’ relationship. She passed it off to herself as much as to others that I had a problem and that only by leaving the marriage and getting this itch scratched would I be happy.”
Emma couldn’t really see where this was going. She followed along, wondering what would happen next.
“She was fine when I was single. As long as I was unattached and pursuing BDSM, she was fine. My life fit her storyline. It was only when things changed that suddenly she had to face the fact that I’d left her because of her – not because of any kink or desire to pursue that.”
“What changed?” Emma asked. “What set her off?”
“You,” Daniel said, so softly that she barely heard him. “You did.”
“Me? I’ve never even met her. Did she see me at the patio bar that night?” Emma was confused, trying to think of if she had seen the tall, blonde woman before. Emma couldn’t place her, but she might have seen her at any number of parties or events.
“No, she hasn’t met you, and I don’t think that will happen. She’s just furious about you.”
Emma was thoroughly confused at this point. “Why?”
“Because you’re everything that she’s not, and I could see us dating a long time.” Daniel continued to speak very softly as if talking in a normal voice.
Emma’s breath caught and she sat there for a moment, not saying anything. Granted that she’d nearly had to force it out of him, but at the same time, Daniel had expressed an interest in long-term dating. She felt emotions well up inside of her, and she looked around for something to pat on her dampening eyes.
“No comments?” Daniel asked finally. He looked perturbed, sitting there waiting for a response.
“I could start with what took you so long?” Emma gave him a grin as she spoke.
“I didn’t want you to feel obligated, like you had to date me to show this woman that I left because of her and not me.”
Emma wiped an eye on her shirt, not caring that she probably looked a fright now. She was feeling too happy to care. “That would be icing on the cake,” she said.
“So I didn’t scare you off with all these confessions of how I feel?” Daniel still looked a bit confused between the smiles and the tears and the words.
“No, silly. I’ve been waiting to hear what’s been going on for a while now. I didn’t understand the situation with your ex- and I didn’t understand why you weren’t more open about it. I’m glad to finally have a clue as to what’s going on. I’m the type who would always prefer to know the worst rather than let my mind wander through all the possibilities. Trust me, the truth is rarely as bad as what I come up with if I’m left to my own devices.”
“And what did you come up with for us?” Daniel’s eyes didn’t leave her face as they were talking. Emma wondered what exactly he was thinking at this moment. She knew she had his full attention, but what was going on in his mind?
“That you were using me for your fun times and that your split with her was only temporary.” Emma shrugged, knowing how silly it sounded in the light of day. However, when she’d thought of the possibilities, it felt like the most likely option.
“Wow.” Daniel didn’t follow that up with any explanation. Emma wondered what he was wowing: her thoughts or the realization that he needed to be more open?
“Wow?”
“We weren’t on the same page at all. I’m sorry. I guess it’s my fault. I wish I’d been more open sooner, but I was worried that you’d just see all the baggage and be scared off.”
“Everyone over the age of 25 has baggage of some sort. It’s practically a given these days. You should just own it, not try to hide it.”
Daniel took a deep breath, obviously relieved that this was out in the open. “I just thought you’d feel differently if you knew.”
“I felt differently not knowing. I just assumed that if you didn’t want me to know. I felt like you were pushing me away – that I was less important than your past life.”
Daniel shook his head vigorously. “Just the opposite. I wanted to keep you from getting involved in all of those things. That’s the past. I want you in my present and future.”
“Next time, no secrets?” Emma smiled and leaned forward to touch his hands.
“Okay. I was just worried that you might think that you were the cause of my marriage falling apart or something like that. I’d never want you to feel like that – ever.”
Emma smiled and stood up. “Trust me. I don’t. I think I have a bottle of champagne in the fridge. I think now is a good time to split the bottle, yes?”
Daniel smiled at her. “Definitely.”
Emma went to the kitchen for the bottle and two glasses. She nearly dropped the champagne when she turned to see Daniel in the doorway.
“Thought I’d help,” he said. “If we’re going to be together for a while, I just thought you shouldn’t always treat me like a guest.”
Emma laughed. “How about some warning next time? Walk loudly or something to let me know that you’re on the way. Otherwise, you’ll be a guest who is helping me pick up bottle shards from the floor.”
Daniel took the bottle firmly in his hands and unwrapped the foil. Emma watched his hands, thinking of their last encounter and the things that Daniel had done with them then. She didn’t chide her timing this time. Hell, he’d just said that he likes her and wants to date. What better time to think of sex?
They finished the bottle of champagne and talked more. The mood was much lighter than it had been since the first week of their relationship. Emma could actually call it that now.
Emma moved Daniel’s jacket so that she could sit closer to him. A deck of cards fell out of the pocket of the jacket. Daniel scrambled to pick it up before Emma could have a good look at it. She wondered what the problem was.
“Thinking we should play some board games tonight?” Emma said, teasingly. “A little strip poker?” The champagne had definitely gone to her head, making her feel flirty.
“They’re not that type of cards,” Daniel said, not meeting her eyes.
“Aww, come on,” Emma replied, “you can’t say that and just stop. What’s up with the cards? Why are you being shy about them?”
“It’s a deck of cards for submissives. You can play a card game to decide what types of things would happen during an – encounter.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “You mean I pick a card or some cards and you do those things to me in bed? Sounds intriguing.”
Daniel eyed her suspiciously, raising a brow to question her sincerity. “Really? You’d like to try this some time?”
“Why not now?” Emma countered. “Could be fun.”
Daniel nodded. “Let’s take this into the bedroom. Some of the cards get things started fairly quickly.”
“Are they all submission items or are there some other things?”
“Most of them are submissive acts, but some are just vanilla sex acts. I left the jokers in the deck as a wild card, your choice if you will.” Daniel grinned at her suggestively.
“That’s a bad move on your part. You don’t want to know what goes on in my mind sometimes.”
Daniel moved closer, holding her hand with his free hand and bringing her into a kiss. Their lips met gently. Emma’s were parted slightly and fit perfectly between his own lips. Daniel’s tongue flitted out into her mouth and then retreated, giving her a reminder of the way he’d held off her orgasm last time. This was just a taste of what she’d have to work for. “So what would you ask for if you were in charge?”
Emma smiled and slid the fingers of her free hand under the waistband of his pants. She could feel the elastic waist of his boxer briefs and when she moved her hand, she felt the head of his dick already hard and dripping. She teased the head mercilessly for a moment, feeling his juices ooze from him, until she thought he might come now. The games hadn’t begun yet, so she felt free in touching him and stroking him at her will. “You’ll just have to wait and see, though you might want to hope that luck is on your side instead. No telling what I might come up with.”
Daniel tried to laugh, but it came out more of a moan as she continued to touch him at will. She wanted him to be rooting for the wild cards, maybe even cheat to give her a chance to win.
“So how do we start the game?”
“Pick a card, any card.” Daniel splayed the deck out so that she could pick any of the cards. It didn’t look like a full deck of cards, so maybe the odds were more in her favor.
Emma paused for a moment, anxious as to what fate was putting in front of her. She didn’t know what would happen next and the anticipation was both exciting and scary.
She pulled a card and handed it to Daniel sight unseen. He flipped it over so that only he could read it and then with a grin showed it to her. “While on your hands and knees in front of the dominator, Strip naked and lie on the bed,” the card read.
Not too bad for a beginning, Emma thought. She got down on the carpet on all fours and began stripping. She could feel Daniel’s eyes on her as she undressed. She went slowly, allowing him to enjoy the scenario. She began with her pants, which were difficult to pull off in this position. She then removed her blouse, leaving her in just her panties and bra. From there, she took off her bra, leaving Daniel waiting for the rest. Finally she managed her way out of her panties. Now completely nude, she climbed onto the bed and resumed the same position there. She faced Daniel who held out the deck of cards again.
“Ready for some more?” he asked as he splayed the cards out again. “Feeling lucky?”
Emma picked another card and again handed it to Daniel without looking at it first. That so far was the hardest part of the activity, as she was naturally curious about her next situation. The possibilities seemed even more real as she faced him on all fours and naked. Anything could happen.
Daniel smiled and showed her the card. “Do you have any Saran Wrap?”
Emma nodded and said, “Bottom drawer by the fridge. Can’t miss it.”
Daniel padded out of the room in his stocking feet, his shoes the only item of clothing he’d removed thus far. He returned with the Saran Wrap. “We’ll have to be careful so that you don’t overheat in this. We’ll keep the play shorter, so that doesn’t happen.”
Emma nodded and watched as he placed her hands behind her and then began wrapping her in the plastic wrap. It went around her chest and stomach four times before she ran out. Thank goodness she didn’t buy that at the local warehouse store. She’d be head to toe in the stuff by now. Emma did notice that he hadn’t covered her below the waist.
“Since I can’t pick another card, how do we do this?” Emma asked, already feeling toasty inside the plastic.
“Point to it with your nose. I’ll pull it and we can go from there.” Daniel gave her a wicked grin as she bent forward from the waist and placed her nose on a card. Tonight was very different from last week, when her senses were limited. She could see Daniel and watch the glee with which he played this game. She liked his sense of humor and lust mixed together in this way.
Daniel held up the card for her. “Penetrate her with the object of your choice.” Daniel looked around, pretending to decide what to use for this next card. Emma bet that he already knew what he wanted to use, but he was just playing it up for her benefit.
Finally Daniel looked down at his hands. He held up two fingers and studied them for a minute. Then without speaking, he grabbed the bottle of lube, slathered his fingers, and split her open. She tried not to speak, knowing that she would have to take additional cards and consequences if she did. She’d rarely been entered this way, on her knees. Daniel was thrusting upwards and she could feel the warmth of his skin inside of her. He made no attempts to play with her clit, as the card had just said to penetrate her, not make her climax.
She closed her eyes and let her body talk to her. She felt each thrust and thought about moving her hips in motion with it, but she remembered that Daniel had ended up holding her down. She just let the motion fill her. He added a third finger and the feeling intensified. She was now sweating under the plastic wrap. She wanted to climax, but knew that Daniel wouldn’t like that. She wanted to just let herself go, but she held back. The warmth of the feelings and the heat of the plastic wrap made the sweat on her forehead run down, burning her eyes as she tried to watch Daniel.
She bit her lip as the third finger found her clit. Her breath caught and then released. Daniel smiled to himself, seemingly unaware that she was watching him. Despite being in charge, he was really focused on pleasuring her. She liked that thought, making it seem friendlier than thinking the power was all with him to do as he pleased. The game felt more mutual to think that deep down it was about pleasure for her as much as him.
Lost in these thoughts, she was able to ignore the more insistent desire to climax for a while. Eventually Daniel stopped and removed his fingers. She felt exposed and lost for a second, realizing that she’d enjoyed his attention to her. She began to wonder what other cards were in the deck that would please her this much.
Daniel held out the deck of cards again, wanting her to make another selection. She bent over and pointing to a particular card in the deck. Daniel removed it, read it without telling her what it said and then showed it to her. “Orally please your dominator.”
Well, that would be easy. She’d done that at her first party. While the timing was off, Emma thought about when she would host her next event. Summer was growing to a close and she wanted an all-out bash before the end of summer.
Emma waited for Daniel to remove his pants or at least unzip, but instead he moved close to her as he was on his knees and kissed her. “I like to make you keep guessing. The cards are vague enough to be used in a number of ways.”
She didn’t speak, which was good, since Daniel’s mouth was on hers. The softness from earlier was gone. Daniel nearly crashed his teeth against hers as their mouths pressed together. His tongue found hers and they wrestled in her mouth. The kiss told her of his passion and desire. From just that action, she could feel how much he cared about her and how much he wanted her. The plastic wrap had warmed her significantly at this point. She could feel drops of sweat inside the wrap as she responded. Daniel moaned as he pressed even harder against her mouth. His tongue was flitting across the top of her mouth, speaking of the things she knew he wanted her to do to him. She shuddered with desire for him, wanting him just as much as he wanted her.
Finally, he broke the kiss and said in a husky voice that almost didn’t sound like him, “We need to pick another card.” Emma was glad the blindfold was off; she wouldn’t have recognized this voice filled with lust.
Emma picked another card with her nose. Daniel looked at it and raised an eyebrow. “Wild card,” he said, slipping the card back in the deck. “What would you like to do to me?”
Emma smiled, thinking of all the things she’d like to do to him. However, it was tough to decide on one thing that would bring them both pleasure. She’d originally thought of doing something to humiliate him, thinking that the submission was about the power to make someone do anything. She’d heard about pegging, inserting things into the man and she’d been intrigued by the idea, especially since men were fine sticking it in any hole a woman had. However, as she’d watched him concentrate on pleasing her during the penetration, she’d changed her mind. She wanted it to be as pleasurable for him as it was for her. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t freak him out a little on the way.
Daniel helped her out of the plastic wrap, thankfully, and she found a light robe to put on as her skin was getting goosebumps from where her skin had cooled already. That in itself was worth the wild card, but she wanted to do more.
“Strip and on all fours,” Emma said with more authority than she felt. She sat on the bed and watched Daniel as he put on his own little strip show for her. Emma wished she could be that bold about her body. He threw his shirt on the floor. Emma watched the taut muscles on his chest as he took off his pants. She could see his erection and the growing wet spot on the front of his boxer briefs. This should be easy, she thought.
Daniel pushed down the briefs and stood in front of her, naked and aroused. Emma could feel her own desire as he walked towards her and got on the bed on all fours.
Shucking off her robe, she positioned herself behind him. She rested a hand on the left cheek of his butt and casually let a finger run between his cheeks. She felt him tense up as he seemed to realize what her actions were implying. Emma found the lube and squirted a dollop into her palm. She thought she heard a little whimper from Daniel as she did. She let a few drops of lube fall between his cheeks, and she moved her finger across the fallen lube. Daniel shivered underneath her. Honestly, she had to admit that this was exciting. No wonder he liked domination.
Her fingers went between his cheeks and pressed against his hole. Emma heard that whimper again and wished she could hear what he was thinking at this moment. Was he afraid, nervous, excited? She smiled, realizing that she would have time to learn this about them now that they were dating.
Her hand traveled underneath him, her fingers still tracing along his skin until they arrived at his dick. The palm full of lube circled his cock and she began a slow slide up and down his member. She could feel him tighten as she sped up the motion somewhat. She’d seen a few previous boyfriends do this for themselves, but she’d never jacked anyone off by herself. She had always wanted to know what it was like and thanks for the wild card, she planned to find out.
The movement sped up. She didn’t want to wait or make him suffer through a delay of orgasm. She wanted this fast and now, a rush to climax that would leave him spent. The motion brought a moan from him, but nothing more. She squeezed as she brought her hand up and then relaxed her grip as she came back down the shaft. On one slide down the shaft, she felt his balls which were tight and close to his body. She knew that despite his silence, he was getting close to orgasm. That only served to make her go faster. She added a twist of the thumb over the tip of his member as she went up the shaft. The slit was oozing with desire, and the liquid easily blended with the lube to make it slicker as she moved.
She could feel Daniel getting near, and Emma took two fingers and slid them inside of herself. She wanted to rule both of their orgasms at once. Daniel came first. Blasts of thick ropy liquid shot from him and landed in puddles on her comforter. She watched and then her own climax was upon her. The feeling was not a blinding white as it had been last week, but an all over warmth that made her feel like a fire had been started inside of her. She felt its heat as she released Daniel’s dick. It ran through her like lava and she gave into it. She rested an arm on Daniel’s back as the pleasure welled up inside of her. He didn’t move, knowing that she was feeling pleasure as well.
Finally, Emma took a deep breath and collapsed on the comforter, though not in the remnants of Daniel’s orgasm. She took several deep breaths and looked up at Daniel who was still in the same position.
“I have a confession,” he said as he moved himself over on all fours. He now straddled her, still looking down on her as he spoke.
“What’s that?”
He leaned down, licked her ear and whispered, “That wasn’t a wild card.”
Emma leaned up and looked at him. “What? You cheated?”
Daniel smiled and nodded. “My cards, my rules.”
“What would you have done if I had decided to go with fucking you with my fingers?” Emma asked, curious as to why he’d done this.
“I would have played along. Who knows? I might have liked it,” Daniel confessed.
Emma smiled. “There’s always next time.”
She looked up and noticed that he was growing hard again. “Next time is going to be right now,” Daniel said. He dropped to his elbows and eased himself of top of her. This time, there were no games. Daniel entered her, still moist and ready from her last climax and they made love again.
Emma’s thoughts on the party during their time together didn’t dissipate with the afterglow. She began planning it the next day. Daniel had said that work would be busy this week, and the nice thing was that now she believed him. She didn’t think about his ex-wife or any possible assignations. She was happy and content.
She’d decided on a Bahamian theme for her party and began to come up with the appropriate drinks and appetizers to go along with her plans. The days flew by as she began getting ready for the event.
She and Daniel had dinner twice that week, though they hadn’t engaged in any more BDSM activities since the card game. They kept it at light foreplay, knowing that they were both overworked. It suited Emma fine. Multiple orgasms were not a daily requirement with her, far from it. She was still feeling sated a couple of days after their last encounter.
The party was supposed to start at 7pm, even though Emma knew that most of them started much later when the drinking really began.
Daniel showed up at 6pm, wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt and a pair of board shorts that showed off his dark, hairy legs. Emma knew what lay underneath the shorts and for a minute, she thought about having sex with him before the party. Still, she opted to be good for the sake of the guests and went back to cutting onions for the dip.
She chatted at Daniel about the party and the people he would meet as she prepared. She grew conscious of Daniel watching her and she stopped. “You look like you want to say something?”
“Do I?”
“Very much so. I thought we were past that point?” Emma said, squinting at him and wondering what was on his mind now. Had he really been busy at work or had that been just a convenient excuse?
“I bought you something,” he said simply.
Emma panicked for a second. Much as she enjoyed their relationship, it was far too early for rings and talk of marriage. She took a deep breath and turned to face him fully. “What is it?” she asked.
Daniel cleared his throat. “Well, many times when DS couples are involved, the dominant member buys a collar for the submissive to wear in public.”
Emma’s eyes widened. She certainly he wasn’t wanting her to wear a dog collar or worse in front of her friends? What was he thinking?
“Before you freak out, it’s not that. I know that other couples wear cuffs to remind the submissive of who is in charge, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate leather either.”
“Diamonds and gold for this girl,” Emma said, realizing too late that she’d just hinted for a ring. She could have smacked herself, but instead she just went quiet so that Daniel could get this story out.
“Well, it’s not gold, but it’s silver.” He held up a bracelet made of interlocking circles. Up close it looked to be like a chain, perhaps one worn during sex. However, to the untrained eye, it just appeared to be a plain silver bracelet that she could wear with most of her outfits.
Emma took the bracelet, wrapped it around her wrist and fixed the clasp. “I like it. You get the dominant part out of it, and I get a nice piece of jewelry. I like the way that we give and take. It works for us.”
Daniel smiled, apparently relieved that his idea had been met with approval. Even if he was dominant, he still cared about her feelings enough to not embarrass her in front of others. Their private adventures were theirs and no one else’s.
Emma went back to cutting up things for the guests to eat as Daniel attempted to taste all the food. Every once in a while, she would stop and admire the bracelet. Daniel continued to be quiet as she prepared for the big event.
The guests started arriving shortly after 7:30pm. She’d invited several of her work friends as well as some college buddies. They arrived quickly after the first few showed. Emma was busy with introductions and serving.
All of her friends seemed quite impressed with Daniel though Jamie and Marie remembered her emotional state at the patio bar and raised an eyebrow to her when she made the introductions. Good friends don’t challenge you in front of others, but they always have your back, Emma thought as she made sure that everyone had drinks. She’d explain the situation to Jamie and Marie later, so they didn’t have the wrong idea.
Emma was never very concerned about her guest list. In most cases, friends brought friends and so on to make each one unique. So she wasn’t concerned that she didn’t recognize a few people in the growing crowd. However, she was concerned when she saw the lanky figure of Gage walk through her living room. She really didn’t want to introduce Daniel to a man who she’d flirted with one night and she didn’t want any time with Gage where she’d have to explain who Daniel was. She’d be upset if he repeated the doubts she’d had that night at the patio bar after seeing Daniel and his ex-wife together.
Emma found Jamie again in the crowd. “Did you invite Gage? I saw him earlier.”
Jamie made a face. “Yeah, I was talking about the party to some friends and he overheard us talking. He said that you two had hit it off at the patio bar and so I just invited him along. I wouldn’t have told him if I thought it was an issue.”
Emma quickly told the story of what had happened between them. She felt better for getting it off her chest. Even after the past few weeks of a rather non-traditional sex life, at heart, Emma was still a romantic who wanted the same life as all of the romance heroines. Talking about how she’d flirted shamelessly with someone made her feel awkward.
The evening progressed quickly and Emma didn’t spy any signs of Gage anywhere. She was glad of that. Jamie must have lived up to her word and kept him out of the way.
In the mass of bodies, Emma didn’t see much of Daniel either. Over the crowd, she would see him stand above a gaggle of women who had found one of the attractive men at the party. New men were always welcome, because they didn’t have a past in her group of friends. She decided to take things into her own hands. Stepping in next to Daniel, she addressed one of her work friends. “Jenna, I see you’ve met Daniel. We’re dating. He lives right down the street from me. You can see his house from here when you leave.” She smiled gracefully, but the unspoken hints were in place. No one would be laying a hand on Daniel tonight.
Daniel gave her arm a squeeze as she went to get more drinks, a subtle way of letting her know that he cared. She could still feel the touch as she wandered through the crowd refreshing drinks and offering snacks. These parties were fun, but they were a lot of work. Like weddings where the bride doesn’t get to eat, drink or dance, Emma felt like she was more servant than guest. Maybe that’s why the serving position came so easily to her in the BDSM roles.
She spotted Jamie in the corner, carrying on an intense conversation with Gage who seemed agitated. Great, just what she needed - some drama to make the party complete.
Marie came up behind her. “You can see that Jamie is trying her best to keep Gage away but he has that distinctly male attitude that he’s better for you than anyone else, even if you don’t want him. What exactly did you do to him at the patio bar?”
“Talked, listened. Nothing special. He must be a very lonely man.”
Emma looked up to see a tall, blonde woman enter the room. Despite the fact that she’d had nothing to eat, Emma grabbed a large cup of Bahama Mama and downed it in one slurp. She took another and did the same.
Marie looked at her. “Making up for lost time?”
“No, just a situation that I need to take care of.”
It took her nearly five minutes to find Daniel and another minute to get him away from the group of people he was talking to.
“What’s so urgent? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Daniel said, wrapping his hand behind her neck.
“Worse. Your ex-wife is here – in my house – at my party.”