“Yes,” she whispered. “I want it there.”
“Want his what there?” Jace asked.
“His tongue.”
A second later, Jace’s wet fingers made contact with her core as he murmured, “He’s lapping you, Care. He can’t get enough. Just like me. You’re too fucking hot.” His fingers thrummed against her clit, faster and faster.
She broke apart, allowing herself to give in to the vision, her orgasm shattering her, coming in wave after wave. She cried out, grinding herself onto her husband’s cock, bucking backward. She heard him yell his release, but it was muted by the rushing sound in her ears.
All she could focus on was the last image that had seared itself into her mind.
She had just climaxed to a vision of a stranger’s mouth on her, lapping her with his tongue.
And she’d never been more turned on in her entire life.
8
__________________________
____________
Caroline’s phone rang. It was in her purse, which was on the passenger seat beside her. She’d been thinking of other things while she drove home, so the sound had surprised her. She knew it was Jace without even looking at it. He didn’t have his own special ring tone because so very few people called her cell. But she had no doubt it was him.
She eased the car over, parking along a curb on a residential street half a mile from their house. She never used her cell phone in the car unless it was an emergency, but she didn’t want to wait until she got home to speak to him.
She shut off the engine and plucked out her phone, dialing her husband back.
“It’s all set,” he said without any preamble. She heard the excitement in his voice.
“For when?” she asked, suddenly nervous. Her palms pricked with sweat¸ and she turned and peered over her shoulder to make sure no one outside was watching her.
“Friday night at Bella, eight o’clock.”
Caroline exhaled, internally chastising herself for being such a scaredy cat. Even if someone had been peering at her inside her car, they wouldn’t know her husband had just set up a meeting with another couple—a couple who routinely had sex with other people. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing, Jace? Maybe we just need to wait and talk about this some more? I don’t think—”
“Care, it’s only dinner. Nothing more, nothing less. And we’ve talked about nothing else for two solid weeks. We’re just going to get to know them. If it feels wrong, we’ll know. There’s no need to worry. Nothing’s going to happen at dinner. It will just be casual small talk.”
“I know you haven’t forgotten, but Worry is my middle name. That and Shame. I can’t believe we’re actually going through with this!” She’d begun to perspire everywhere. “My mother would disown me if she knew.” Out of habit, she covered the mouthpiece with one hand so no casual observer could read her lips.
“Your mother has nothing to do with our sex life. Thank God. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Jace”—Caroline nibbled the edge of a fingernail—“this really scares me. I feel like we’re jumping into the deep end of a really dark, murky pool. What if we don’t recover? This could be very bad.”
“Let me remind you again, it’s just dinner. But I get it, sweetheart. I know you have issues with it, but at the same time it also exhilarates you, which is why we agreed to give them a call and set something up. I promise you we’ll take this slow. There’s no need to extrapolate about what’s going to happen in the future. We’ll meet them, get to know who they are, and then figure out the next step—if there even is one. We might think they’re awful, or get a bad vibe, or whatever. Then we’ll move on. No harm, no foul. But at least we tried it.”
“You’re so calm about this, it’s kind of irritating.” She bit the edge of another nail.
Jace chuckled. “If both of us were freaking out, it wouldn’t do us any good. How about this? We’ll keep talking about it for the next two days. It’s Wednesday. If by Friday we feel like bailing, I’ll call and cancel. Sound okay?”
“Yes.”
“See you in a few hours. I won’t be late tonight. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
They hung up, but before Caroline could start the car, a text came through from Piper.
MICHAEL TOLD ME HE GAVE JACE PETE’S NUMBER! WHAT’S GOING ON WITH U? HAVE TO KNOW.
Caroline contemplated lying, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t like Piper and Michael wouldn’t find out. Caroline had seen Piper only one time since their sushi lunch a few weeks ago, but sex hadn’t come up—and Caroline had been relieved. Now it was time to face the frying pan.
WE’RE MEETING THEM FOR DINNER ON FRI. JUST DINNER!
Caroline hit send and leaned back against the headrest.
Three dots popped up, indicating Piper was typing.
DINNER IS GREAT! HAPPY FOR BOTH OF U. MUST MEET ON SAT. TO DISCUSS/DECOMPRESS! NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER.
Caroline made a snap decision.
HOW ABOUT YOU COME OVER AROUND 7 ON FRI? I MAY NEED A LITTLE COUNSELING B4 THE MEET.
Piper texted back.
I’LL BE THERE. WILL BRING VODKA.
Caroline answered.
MAKE IT TEQUILA.
Piper wasted no time replying.
THE LIMES AND SALT ARE ALREADY PACKED. SEE U THEN!
Caroline tossed her phone back into her purse and gripped the wheel hard. What in the world had happened to her life in such a short amount of time? A few weeks ago it had been totally normal—a little on the boring side—but healthy and happy. Now? A deep, dark ocean of panic roiled inside her chest, threatening to pull her under. Was she really willing to throw all that normal and happy away for one night of hot sex to fulfill a fantasy she’d never known she craved?
Doubt began to fill her, to the point of overwhelming her. Her head spun, and she got lightheaded. She let go of the wheel and took quick short breaths to calm herself down. “You can always back out,” she murmured to herself. “It hasn’t happened yet. You can just say no.”
Yes, that was it.
She could just say no.
Ducking her head, she peered out the passenger window to see if any of her neighbors were strolling by. This street was a popular way to get to the lake. Even though it was silly, she felt dirty knowing she and Jace were going to have dinner with known swingers. “You are so incredibly Southern,” she said to herself out loud.
Even if people saw her parked here, they wouldn’t care. Most Midwesterners would assume you had a good reason for pulling over, like talking on the phone or addressing an envelope on the way to the post office. They wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that something nefarious was going on, like cheating on your husband.
But it wasn’t really cheating, if he was there.
Or was it?
“Argh!” She shook the wheel in vain, her body moving instead. “Good Lord, this is making me a crazy person who talks to herself in the car!”
She started the engine and edged away from the curb. She wasn’t going to solve anything sitting here. It was time to go home.
Where she could obsess in peace.
* * *
“You look bangin’,” Piper told her. “And I mean that in a totally innocent…okay, not-so-innocent kind of way. Honestly, you look amazing. The black sheath at the knee is perfect. It says classy and sophisticated, yet also adventurous. They’re going to love you guys. You need to relax. Here, take another shot.” Piper held a shot glass out to Caroline. “You look like you could use it.”
This was the fourth outfit Caroline had tried on for Piper.
Jace was done getting ready and patiently waiting for her to finish downstairs. He knew she needed this time with her best friend. She took the proffered shot glass from her and walked over to the vanity, where a saltshaker and a wedge of lime were laid out. “This is the last one, Piper. If I have another, I won’t be able to form a coherent sentence once I get there.”