“How mad can you be at a man who loves you and buys you presents? What did he get you?”
“How do you know he loves me?” My heart jumped into my throat. It was bad enough that he said it to my mom, who else had Luca been talking to?
“I can tell by the way he looks at you. The man is completely besotted.”
“Who the hell says besotted?” If Rachel were with me, I would have totally thrown a piece of lettuce at her over that one.
“Whatever. He is and you know it,” Rachel dismissed my criticism.
“I wish people would stop saying that,” I grumbled.
“Who else said it?” Rachel asked.
“He did.”
Rachel gasped appropriately. She was a good enough friend to know how much Luca saying the big L word would freak me out.
“Wow,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, wow. To my mom, no less.” My glass of wine disappeared at an alarming rate. I refilled it.
“Wait, he told your mom he loves her?” Sometimes Rachel was a little ditsy.
“No, freak. He told my mom that he loves me,” I clarified.
“Before he told you?”
“She asked him if he loved me. He said yes.”
Very much
. The absolute certainty in Luca's voice stuck with me more than anything. He said it like a man with conviction, without doubt. How was that possible when all I felt was uncertainty? He knew exactly how he felt and what he wanted and had no fear about saying it. I was terrified that everything would slip through my hands if I so much as exhaled wrong. Things were too good between us. I didn't want it to change even a little bit.
Saying
I love you
was a big damn change.
“Wow.” Rachel lacked creativity when stunned.
“Can we change the subject?”
“Tell me about the gifts.” Rachel shifted topics like a good friend does.
“Can we talk about something besides Luca?” I hadn't been able to turn off the constant loop of him in my brain, but maybe Rachel would be able to distract me. At least I was willing to try.
“I have a date this Saturday.” Rachel sounded reluctant to share, like she wanted to talk about it but was afraid of my reaction. Strange, considering she had lots of dates and my reaction was usually the same. I thought she spent too much time and energy on men who weren't worth her time.
“And?” I worked on my salad. Rachel knew me well enough that she could listen to me chew lettuce while we talked. “You have dates all the time.”
“With a woman.” Rachel said the words really fast and there was a delay between her speaking and me understanding.
“Well, that's new.”
“Last weekend made me think. I realized I was being too. . .rigid. I don't want to limit my options.”
I totally enjoyed myself with Rachel and Luca, but I wasn't ready to switch teams. I wondered what was different for her. Maybe if I were single I’d react like she was. “I don't know what to say.” She'd rendered me speechless. I obviously didn't care if she was a lesbian, but I definitely hadn't expected it. Historically, nobody loved cock as much as her.
“You don't have to say anything, really. I just wanted to tell you.”
“Do I know her?” I went for the same question I would ask if she told me about a date with a guy.
“Yes, sort of. Remember Emily?”
“Emily Torrent?” From Torrent, Torrent, and Morris. We'd catered a luncheon for them on Tuesday.
“That's the one.” Rachel sounded overly optimistic. She was probably hoping I'd overlook the fact that Emily was a client and clients, by mutual agreement, were off limits.
“Rachel. . .”
“I know, I know.” Rachel went back to talking fast. “I'm sorry.”
I drank my wine slowly. She'd distracted me from Luca long enough to make me worry about something else.
“You have a date with a client?” Lesbian revelations aside, I did not approve.
“A really hot client.”
I thought of Emily Torrent. I'd met her briefly as her business partner, Brian Morris, contracted our services originally. She
was
hot.
“I don't like it.”
“I'm really sorry, Mari, but I was so flustered when she called. I couldn't think.” Rachel spoke too fast.
So far we'd only booked the one luncheon with the Torrent firm and, as much as I hated that Rachel forgot the basic rule we'd set when we opened our catering business, I decided to let it go. I didn’t want to crush her explorations.
“We'll have to tell them no if they ask us to cater future events.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
I finished my salad and rinsed the plate and added it to the dishwasher. “Where is she taking you?” I refilled my glass, tucked my phone under my chin, and gathered my gifts from Luca. It was time to move to the living room. Even if I didn't want to think about Luca, that didn't mean I didn't want his gifts. I managed to set my glass and the packages on the coffee table without spilling my wine on the carpet. Major victory.
“I'm not sure. She said something about dinner and maybe a show. What do lesbians
do
for entertainment?” Rachel asked.
“You're asking me?” At the time, I knew one sort-of lesbian and that was Rachel. And she had yet to decide if she was a full-fledged lesbian or simply checking out the scenery.
“Who else would I ask?”
I laughed. “I've been with exactly one woman. And my boyfriend was nailing me from behind at the time.” The memory made me grin.
“Yes, well, I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you,” Rachel teased, but her tone held the slightest amount of accusation to go with it.
“Wait. What?” I didn’t even like the idea of her dating a client, male or female. No way was I responsible for her agreeing to do it.
“I told you, this past weekend made me rethink some things. And that was all your idea. It's not like I said, ‘Hey, Mari, how about you and Luca let me join you for some kinky threesome?’ Nope, that was all you.”
“Hmm.” I sipped my wine, then set my glass on the table so I could pick up the package labeled
THURSDAY NIGHT
. I slipped my finger beneath the tape on top. He really did a beautiful job on the wrapping. It had smooth edges and a perfect, blood-red velvet bow on top. “You're welcome for that.”
I opened the first package and found a fleet enema inside. The back showed an illustration of a woman lying on her side to self-administer the enema. Interesting. But not at all sexy. Next.
“You're really okay with all this?” Rachel asked. It seemed that question had gone back and forth between us too many times in the past week.
“Why wouldn't I be?” I asked, distracted by unwrapping the package labeled
FRIDAY MORNING
. It held a brand new, still in the box, oversized butt plug and a small package of water-based lube. That was certainly more promising than the enema.
“It's just a lot. That's all.” Rachel sounded very serious suddenly, unlike her earlier joking tone.
I opened the folded paper labeled
FRIDAY NIGHT
. It showed a pencil drawing of a woman's ass, presumably mine, with a giant cock, presumably Luca's, poised to penetrate her anus. He was very confident in his rendition of his cock, both length and girth.
“Rachel, my boyfriend just sent me a romantic gift consisting of an enema, an enormous butt plug, and a picture of him fucking my ass. If you want to date a woman, who am I to judge?”
Rachel didn't respond immediately. Luca could be overwhelming, but I was so used to it that it no longer hit my filter the same way it might hit other people’s. Obviously not, since I'd just blurted that out to my girlfriend.
“And you’re supposed to do what with those things?” Rachel asked. She was back to being horrified instead of just too serious.
“They were labeled. The enema is for Thursday night, the plug for Friday morning, and the picture is labeled Friday night.” Luca directions were sparse, but graphically precise.
“Are you going to do it?”
I pulled the plug from the package and inspected it. It was a lot larger than anything we’d previously played with and I couldn’t imagine it would feel good to leave it in all day. “Sure, I suppose so.”
“You don’t sound very excited.”
“I’m not. But Luca is. And I’m not opposed to it, so. . .”
“You’re a good girlfriend.”
“No kidding.” I lined the enema, the plug, and the lube up on the coffee table and took a deep breath. The things I did for that man.
“He really wants you to move in, huh?”
That probably was his tactic. Distract me with kinky sex and orgasms until my brain liquefied and I said yes before I fully recovered. “Sneaky bastard,” I muttered.
“He's pretty wonderful.”
I sighed. “He is.”
“I really don't understand your resistance.”
“I don't either. I just know that my chest floods with panic any time I think about moving in with him. I think maybe it's just too soon.”
“Maybe.” Rachel paused for a second. “But he's the real deal. You know he is. You need to let go of whatever is holding you back.”
“I'm trying.” I really, really wanted to trust the way Luca made me feel, but it was so good, so perfect, and I couldn't help the knot of fear in my stomach that clenched just a little tighter at the thought of making a change, even one that was supposed to be good.
As always, though, Luca made me want to take the chance.
Chapter 6
I squirmed in my seat trying to find a comfortable position. I loved my office chair normally, but today nothing was working. Of course, normally I didn't have a giant hunk of silicone stuffed up my ass, either.
“Oh my God, just take the damn thing out already. You're driving me insane.”
“Bite my ass.” I shifted again and Rachel laughed.
“Pretty sure Luca has that covered.” She gathered her paperwork. “I'm going to work in the kitchen. You're too distracting.” She stuck her tongue out at me as she left.
My office phone rang moments later.
“Zapata and Carelli.”
“You never called.” Luca's voice held a hint of danger that made me squirm. The plug worked in a little deeper and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.
“Was I supposed to?” I tried to sound disinterested, but my voice totally hitched in the middle.
He hesitated. “I thought you would.”
Despite his pressure for us to move in together, Luca and I have some very clearly established and respected work-week boundaries. We generally don't call each other during the week. Text? Absolutely. And we do call occasionally, but it's rare. He had no real reason to expect a call.
“I followed your directions.” That I would comply, Luca had every right to expect. That was the basis of our relationship. We both had some pretty kinky tendencies and we worked hard to take care of each other in that regard.
“Did you?” Luca's voice sharpened, his interest piqued. “How do you feel?”
I thought about it. Luca liked details. He liked for me to be as explicit and dirty as possible. Probably because he knew it made my face flush and all the moisture in my body pool between my legs. It had proven to be a lot of fun in the past.
“I've never used an enema before. It was interesting.” It was flat out gross and not remotely sexy. I hoped he didn't expect me to elaborate about that. “But effective.”
“Go on.” Luca spoke in a hushed voice. He was getting turned on at work and he didn't have the luxury of owning the business. He had an office with a door, but someone could walk in at any moment.
“This morning I put the plug in. It took a while. And I used almost all the lube.” Generally, Luca was involved during the insertion process. If something went into my body, he was the one pushing it in. I had no idea how much effort it normally took. “I feel stretched and incredibly full.”
“Next time I'll make you use the ben-wa balls at the same time.”
I clenched at the sense memory of the balls inside me. They were a guaranteed orgasm. Insert balls. Wait five seconds. Come like a freight train. It was invariable and almost embarrassing how easily I came when Luca pushed them into me.
“Do you like it?” Luca kept his voice low, but mixed with the arousal I could hear his concern for my well being. He loved to push me, but never wanted to hurt me.
I shifted again, still unable to find a comfortable position that offered any relief. I'd tried standing earlier. That was no better. “It sucks.”
“Oh, Mari.” I could tell by the remorse in his voice that Luca was on the verge of telling me to take it out.
“It's okay. It'll be worth it later. Are you picking me up? Or should I come to your place after I'm done here?”
“I want to cook for you. Do you mind driving yourself?” Luca was old fashioned. He opened doors, always paid for our dates, and insisted on driving. For him to ask if I would drive was a break in our routine. I always offered. He always declined.
“Sure.”
Luca must not have liked the way I said
sure
because he retracted his request. “Never mind. I'll pick you up.”
“Luca, I don't mind driving.” It would be weird because that's just not the way we'd done things in the past, but that didn't make it wrong.
“If we lived together, this wouldn't be an issue.”
“No, but other things would.” I wouldn't be swayed with arguments based on an easier weekend commute.
“We'd work it out.”
“Maybe.” I didn't want to argue, but that was the biggest concession I could make. I was on the verge of admitting my love for Luca. It wouldn't be long before I would commit to more, but I just wasn't there yet.
“I'll see you tonight.” Luca had more to say, I could tell. But he was at work, and I was not easily swayed. He knew as well as I did that a disagreement would only prove my point and hurt his argument.
We disconnected and I went back to work. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't find a comfortable position that didn't remind me exactly what Luca had planned for us that night. Rachel laughed every time she saw me shift and grimace.
#
When I reached Luca's door, I wasn't sure if I should knock or just walk in. The only time I’d ever come to his house without him was the first time. Since then, he’d always been with me. I erred on the side of good manners and knocked. While I waited for Luca to answer, I adjusted my dress, a short summer type that liked to float on the breeze. It made for a beautiful display, but sometimes it got away from me.