“Will that be a problem?” he asks in a mild tone that, nevertheless, carries a ring of authority.
It’s a little quick, but since that day at the church, I've known I was headed toward this moment. I shake my head.
“It’s settled then.” He pins me with his soul-searching stare. "Of course, we won’t be sharing a bedroom or sleeping together, as long as he’s here. Unless—" He leans in until his mouth is over mine and his nose bumps mine. Until I’m surrounded by him. Those silver sparks in his blue eyes draw me in, and my head begins to spin.
"Unless?" I whisper.
"You come to me and ask me to fuck you. And even then"—he tucks an errant strand of hair behind my ear—"I might decide to sleep in a different bed and deny you your orgasms."
My heart sinks. But my pussy? My pussy feels so turned on, it’s as if he’s dancing the tango with it, and my stomach writhes in anticipation. How can I be so turned on by the prospect of his denial? How can I look forward to him manipulating my orgasms any way he sees fit? Why does this make me feel even more desired? And because I have to, at least, pretend to protest, I stutter, “B-but you promised me a zillion of them.”
“And you’ll get them, too.” His lips curl. He bends his knees and peers into my eyes. “I guarantee, with the edging I plan to do, when you finally come, it will be with an intensity that’s going to blow your mind and leave your cunt begging for more. It'll be the kind of pain you’ve never felt before, and the kind of pleasure that’ll leave you flushed with endorphins for days.”
21
Vivian
"It’s you, your ex, and your ex’s father in the same house?" From across the floor of the wedding dress shop, I see Zoey’s eyes widen.
"Pretty much," I respond while glancing around the shop.
Karma West Sovrano opened a boutique on Primrose Hill’s High Street, and when Quentin informed me that he’d made me an appointment for a fitting, I was so excited.
I’m not sure if he realizes I was wearing a second-hand creation of hers when he first met me. No way was I going to turn down the opportunity to wear one of her dresses tailormade for me. Of course, I’m aware this is another way Quentin is showing off his connections. The way he's able to pick up the phone and make a call, and the next moment, I'm walking into this boutique…
No doubt, he also did it to make clear, nothing's stopping us from getting married in less than a month.
“Felix moved in this morning,” I mutter.
“Oh no, that must be so awkward,” Zoey cries.
I sigh. “As Q promised, he’s in another wing of the house, so I haven’t run into him. I've also managed to steer clear of him at work, thank God!”
“Girl, that’s tough,” she says sympathetically.
“Of course, our colleagues know what happened. It doesn’t help that neither of us invited them to the wedding.” I roll my eyes. “The atmosphere's so frigid, the pies could freeze coming out of the wood-fired oven.”
Zoey chuckles.
At least being measured for the dress is helping me take my mind off the disaster of the day.
My phone vibrates. I glance toward the bag I left on the couch earlier. “Zoey, could you get my phone, please?”
She walks over, grabs my bag and brings it over. I take the phone and glance at the message. It’s a video message from an unknown number. When I touch it, it begins to play.
A woman’s face appears on screen. She has dark hair and flashing eyes. There are circles under her eyes, but she’s smiling.
I gasp, “Oh my god, it’s Karma.”
She doesn’t look like the normal, polished woman I’ve come to expect from her social media videos and in photos from her fashion shows. Perhaps her illness is more severe than Summer let on?
“What do you mean?” Zoey leans over my shoulder.
“Hi Vivian, sorry for sliding into your messages unannounced, but when Summer told me you were marrying Q, I wanted to reach out to you, so I got your number from her.” She coughs, then smiles again. “I’d have loved to have been there in person today, but since I couldn’t, I wanted to reach out to you. I’m so happy you’ll be wearing one of my creations for your wedding."
"Q is very dear to me, as Summer must have told you. He was a source of great comfort to me and Summer when I was rushed to the hospital earlier this year. If he hadn’t been there that day, I’m not sure how I'd have made it through.”
She wipes a tear, then fans herself with her hand. “Sorry about that, it’s these post-natal hormones; they make me cry at the drop of a hat. But I wanted to congratulate you and tell you how happy I am that you’re marrying Q. We haven’t met personally, but I've heard so much about you from Summer, and I know you’re going to be good for him. Q can come across as all tough and stern, but he has a heart of gold. You might have to wait a little for him to share more of his true nature with you, but I hope you won’t give up on him. Just give him a chance, okay?” She coughs again. “I hope you don’t mind my sending you this message. I didn’t mean to unduly influence you but I have such regard for Q and I was so excited to find out he was getting married that I had to call you.” A baby begins to cry in the background. “Oh, the baby’s up, I have to go feed her.” She smiles, then coughs again, before bringing it under control. “Big hug and I hope to see you soon.” Then she disconnects.