TWENTY-ONE
Charlotte
I set a hand on my hip by the white apron sash, posing for Noah so he could take it all in.
His gaze started at my black high heels and worked its way up over the thigh high stockings and the skirt that was so short, it barely covered my ass. The fluffy white petticoat underneath the black skirt wasn’t comfortable, but that was to be expected.
I bought the cheapest, sluttiest French maid Halloween costume I could find online.
The top of the dress was cut low and decorated with white frills, and I’d pulled my hair up into bun, so a few loose tendrils fell around my face. It called his focus to the thick band of black fabric wrapped around my throat. I’d had to buy the choker necklace and the feather duster I held separately, but it had been worth it.
The accessories made the outfit.
“I was inspired by your idea,” I said, “of buying a dress to clean in. What do you think?” I shifted my weight to the other foot, swaying my hips and making the skirt ruffle. “Do you like it?”
My question was entirely rhetorical because the expression on his face told me exactly how much he liked it. Heat filled his eyes, and he stared at me like I was the most tempting thing he’d ever seen.
Yet he lingered in the doorway, unsure what to do. His fists balled at his side, and his face changed until he looked almost angry. Like I’d turned him on when he hadn’t wanted me to.
I’d prepared for this, though.
Because I’d spent enough time with him to know he wasn’t great when he’d been caught off-guard. He’d just needed another minute to process, and then we’d be fine.
Then we could get down to business.
When I bought the costume two days ago, I’d decided that since I was his maid, I might as well lean into it.
His gaze was glued to me as I sauntered over to his bed, set the feather duster on his nightstand, and gestured to the messy bedding. “While you’re in here, I thought I’d ask. Do you want me to wash these sheets?” I leaned over suggestively, smoothing a hand across them, knowing my ass cheeks were peeking out beneath my skirt. “Are they,” I glanced at him over my shoulder and emphasized the word in a smoky voice, “ dirty ?”
My sultry question spurred him into action, and he took a few steps deeper into the room. His expression morphed into one that dripped with desire. If this was a game, he was now ready to play.
I straightened and turned to face him, setting a hand on the top of my thigh so my fingers could play with the lace band of my stocking. “I bet they are.” My voice clouded with more smoke. “I bet you’ve done things on these sheets that were fucking filthy .”
The gleam in Noah’s eyes was so hot, my legs threatened to go boneless. He took another step toward me, halving the distance between us.
“I have,” he said. “Does that turn you on?”
This question was also rhetorical. I had no doubt he knew it did.
His gaze wandered seductively over me, packaged in the costume that was barely more than lingerie. “Did you wear this for me?”
I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and shook my head slowly, feigning innocence. “I wore it for the video I was making.”
He didn’t believe a word of it. “Uh huh.”
“Really,” I lied. “How was I supposed to know you were going to come home early?”
He reached out to put his hands on my waist and pulled me up against him so forcefully I stumbled on my heels and crashed into his chest. His arms trapped me like he thought I’d run, when that was the last thing I wanted to do.
“I’m not early,” he said. “If anything, I’m late.”
“Oh, are you? I must have lost track of time.”
Again, this was a lie. I’d spent a lot longer deep cleaning his kitchen than normal, hoping to have him catch me once I’d moved on to cleaning his bedroom. The plan had worked perfectly, down to the way his hand gripped my ass and urged me up into his kiss.
It was hot and dirty.
His tongue pushed past my lips and slicked against mine, basically fucking my mouth. It was urgent, and aggressive, and exactly how I wanted it.
A tiny sound of surprise punched from my lungs when he picked me up and sat me on the edge of his bed. I wrapped my legs around his waist and gripped his face, holding him into our feverish kiss.
Or maybe I was holding on to him because of the onslaught of emotions rushing through me.
I may have been the first girl he’d brought home into this bed—but I certainly wasn’t the last. How many other women had been in here? I was too afraid to ask. Not because I was turned off by that or jealous...
But because I didn’t get to watch.
God, was there something wrong with me? Seeing him with someone else was supposed to be wrong. Taboo. But Noah never made me feel that way.
I tore my mouth from his and blurted it out before I lost my nerve. “I want to watch next time you fuck Shannon.”
He glanced away and groaned like the idea was so sexy it was overwhelming, and he couldn’t bear to hear it and look at me at the same time. Then he drew in a heavy breath and fixed his gaze back on me. “I floated the idea to her and Patrick already.”
When he didn’t immediately continue, my impatience got the best of me. “And?”
“They’re definitely open to it, but they want to have dinner with us first to get to know you.” He cupped my cheek, and his gaze wandered over my face, studying my reaction. “Plus, they want to discuss boundaries.”
“Boundaries,” I repeated.
“Yeah,” he said. “I told them that we’re not interested in full swap, but they’re wondering if you’re going to participate in any way, or just watch.”
He’d said it casually, but I wasn’t fooled. He wanted to know this too.
“Participate with Patrick?” My pulse skipped. “Or with Shannon?” Because I’d never done anything with another girl and wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it. I couldn’t tell if it turned me on, or if it was the whole idea of playing with others that was doing that.
His expression didn’t change; it was perfectly schooled. “It’s whatever you’d be comfortable with.”
I set my hands behind me on the mattress and leaned back as I considered it. “I only saw him the one time, and it’s been a while, so I don’t remember if he’s hot.” I made a face, realizing how that sounded. “Sorry. Is it shallow to say that?”
He laughed lightly, and God, he looked so handsome. “Nope. Chemistry is important, and that’s a big part of why they want to meet you.”
His earlier kiss had been blistering, but when he leaned over to deliver his next one, it was slow and sweet.
Had he sensed the uncertainty in me? His voice was hushed and genuine. “Don’t feel any pressure. You don’t have to have an answer. And if you do... everyone knows nothing is set in stone. You can change your mind at any time, for any reason.”
His soft kiss drifted across my cheekbone and down the side of my neck, hovering just above the choker I wore. His warm breath tickled the loose hairs from my bun and caused my shoulders to shake in a delicious shiver.
“Do you want that?” I murmured. “Would you be okay sharing me with another person?”
He drew back just enough to give me a view of his dazzling, incredulous smile. “Are you kidding, Charlotte? That would be so fucking hot.”
I couldn’t get my brain around it. I flashed back to the night after Thanksgiving when I’d been out at the bars, and Zach had caught some guy flirting with me. Because I was head over heels in love with my boyfriend, I hadn’t reciprocated in the least, but it didn’t matter.
Zach had been so pissed, he’d given me the silent treatment the rest of the weekend.
There must have been a dubious look on my face because Noah tilted his head, pondering. “Let me ask you something. Why do you want to watch me with Shannon?”
My face flushed hot, but not with shame. It was mostly the memory that caused it. “It’s hard to explain.”
There was zero judgment from him. “Try me.”
I sucked in a breath as I tried to organize my thoughts. “When I’m not participating... when I get to stand back and be outside of it, then I get to see you experience pleasure without any distraction. I’m not worried about what I look like, or thinking about how it feels, or what I should do next.”
Shit, I was doing a terrible job of explaining it. I lifted a hand and pushed away the tendril of hair that was making the side of my neck itch, but it was mostly a stall tactic. Noah knew I hadn’t said what I wanted to, and he waited patiently for me to continue.
I lifted my chin and stared into his deep eyes. “I like how I don’t have to do anything but focus on you.” The corner of my mouth tugged up into a half-smile. “Plus, I get to see you in your element, get to see what you’re good at.” My voice faltered just the tiniest bit. “And Shannon can give you something I’m not quite ready for.”
He scrubbed a hand over his mouth as he considered what I’d said, and then that hand fell away. “We’re a lot alike. You know that?” I didn’t, and it was clear I needed convincing. “The reasons you just gave... those are the same for me.”
“What?”
He trailed a teasing fingertip at my neckline, playing with the white ruffle trim. “I want to watch you experience pleasure too. Getting to see someone else play with you? Fuck me. I want to sit back and watch every twitch of your body, listen to every little moan you make. I want to see your face when you come and focus only on that.” He reached between our bodies and adjusted himself through his pants. “Shit, I’m getting hard right now just thinking about it.”
Oh, God, I wasn’t immune either. A muscle deep in my core clenched in response.
The pad of his wicked fingertip continued to skate at the edge of my dress, sliding over my cleavage. “I think that’s the biggest benefit of us holding off on sex.” His eyes brimmed with desire and power. “Right now, I get to focus completely, entirely on you.”
I shuddered from Noah’s words and his touch, and a smile ghosted his lips. He liked my reaction very much. His fingertips took an unhurried path across my skin, working upward until they traced the edge of the choker I wore.
“This reminds me of a collar,” he uttered in the silence of the tension-filled room, “and it looks so fucking good on you.”
Holy shit.
Goosebumps lifted on my skin, and my mouth went completely dry. I didn’t know much about BDSM, but this I understood. There had been at least two people at Club Eros wearing collars, and I knew what they represented.
Control.
Maybe even ownership.
“Do you like wearing it,” he hesitated, preparing for something, “baby girl?”
Fuck.
I sucked it in a sharp breath because the subtext to his question was so powerful, I couldn’t stay quiet. And I didn’t waste time to even consider it. The answer burst from me in a fiery rush. “Yes, Daddy.”
His kiss was brutal. It was so forceful, it pushed me down onto my back on the bed, and his hands went everywhere. They roved over my arms, my breasts, my stomach. He moved in a frenzy, like a man possessed.
As if my answer had overwhelmed him.
My breath went ragged when he slipped his hands under my fluffy skirt, and then his fingers were peeling my panties down my stocking-covered legs, and he hurled them to the floor.
“Oh!” I gasped and reached out, grabbing his forearm when he speared two thick fingers inside me. It was so sudden, and my body wasn’t quite ready for the intrusion, but the uncomfortable stretch of his fingers... it felt sinfully good.
As he pumped his fingers in and out, I clawed at the sheets beneath me. He was touching me deeply. Deeper than he’d ever done before. Blood roared loudly in my head, drowning out thought. He stood at the edge of the bed, leaning over me, and set his other hand low on my stomach.
It was as if he was holding me in place, pining me to the mattress.
Concentration etched his face as he increased his speed, moving his hand faster and faster. Oh, God. He was hitting my G spot, fucking me at furious tempo and my body was purring in response.
My vision blanked out and everything went white, so I slammed my eyelids shut. It allowed me to focus on the sensations and the intensity building in me that was unlike anything I’d felt before. I was a slingshot being stretched back in preparation for release.
The force of it was so powerful, it was almost scary.
“Open your eyes,” he ordered. “You look at me when you come.”
All I could do was obey, and when my eyes blinked open, the sight of him stole the last ounce of my breath. He looked so fucking amazing, all determined and focused while his fingers plunged inside me endlessly.
My whole body trembled, and he was moving so fast I wondered how it was even possible. He was a blur. Or maybe it just seemed that way because I was out of my mind with pleasure. I was no longer in control of anything, especially the urgent moans that poured from me.
Everything was building, and building, and . . .
I came so hard, I cried out through my locked teeth. Bliss erupted and flooded through my limbs, and there was a gush of warmth between my legs. It was shocking how much wetter I’d become because I could hear the slippery glide of his fingers.
It was impossible to think about.
All I could do was endure the ecstasy as it continued to roll through me. I flailed and thrashed on the bed, gasping for air as the orgasm tore me apart. It wasn’t until it began to recede that I had an inkling of what had just happened.
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
My face burned a million degrees. Had he just made me... squirt ?
The mattress beneath me was wet.
Oh, my God. I couldn’t catch my breath and scrambled backward on the bed.
Noah wore a victorious smile. “Oh, baby girl, look at the mess you made on my sheets.”
The heat on my face burned even hotter and I tore my gaze away from him, turning to look at the door because I didn’t want to die of embarrassment in his bed.
But Noah climbed onto the bed and hurried across his knees until I was in his arms, and he had my face cradled in one of his strong hands. There was nowhere else to look but into his brown eyes that were full of anxiety.
“No, please don’t be embarrassed,” he said in a rush. “There’s no reason because, goddamn it, that was so fucking hot.” His face was just as handsome even when it was full of regret. “I made you do that, and I should have asked if you’d be okay with it. I won’t do it again.”
I had to pull air in and out of my lungs in small, measured sips because I was still buzzing. “Are you kidding? I fucking loved it, it just,” I sucked in another breath, “surprised me.”
Relief flooded through his expression, but I didn’t get to see it for long because he delivered a kiss that turned up the volume on the buzzing in my body. “Okay, good. Because I wouldn’t mind doing that again sometime.” His gaze slid over my face and down my neck. “But right now, I want to take off your dress so I can see you in that choker... and nothing else.”
I was fully on board with this plan.