ONE.
Darkness surrounded me.
I preferred it that way at this time of night, between the point when sleeplessness had stolen the final chances of a good night’s slumber, and when the sun would come up, bathing the house in light.
The sheets had lost the coolness that initially welcomed me to bed, contributing to my restless state. I flipped them back, kicking them away from my legs, and lay there for a few moments longer, considering my plight.
According to the time, I had four hours before I would need to get up and start preparing for the day ahead. I could take something to help me sleep, which may or may not work, but would definitely leave me lethargic afterward. There was also the option to not bother with sleep, and waste the next four hours on whatever was on TV at this time of night. But that would lead to the zombie feeling as well.
So… what was a girl to do?
I brought my hands up from my sides, slipping them underneath my soft cotton gown to cup my bare breasts. My nipples were already beaded into hard peaks. My fingers found them and squeezed until it hurt, sending a jolt of arousal through me that centered between my legs, making me clench my thighs together, tight. I pulled my lip into my mouth, gently scraping over it with my teeth as I made the decision to climb out of bed.
Carefully, I picked my way to the other side of my home in almost complete darkness, using two years of memories to avoid any obstacles. As I turned down the hall to my office, I willed myself not to get excited. There was always the chance of disappointment, the chance of a need left unresolved. And that would really, really be too bad.
The office was black. I closed the door behind me even though I was alone, and the only lights were the tiny dots on the computer tower, indicating that the power was connected, and the blinking from the router and modem. I sat down at my desk and jealously woke the computer from slumber. A few seconds later, it powered on, and the room was bathed in the grey-blue light from the screen.
First, I typed my password in, and waited for it to load. Once it was done, I pulled the expensive, high-definition webcam from the drawer in my desk, and plugged it in. I spent a few moments making sure it was focused well, and carefully positioned so that there was a full view of my body, but not my face. And then I turned it off.
I opened up a web browser and navigated to the website I needed. I logged in with an email I’d set up specifically for this purpose, and then made sure my status was set to “offline” before I double-clicked to open an ongoing chat between me and… him.
SleeplessInSanDiego: you up?
I held my breath after I hit send on the message, waiting for those three little bouncing dots to appear, letting me know my message had garnered a response. Willed those dots to appear, because I needed them to.
Because I needed him.
A relieved gasp escaped my throat when his tiny round profile icon appeared under my message, letting me know he’d seen it. I swallowed hard, watching the screen, and then my shoulders sagged in relief as he began to type.
NoRestForTheWicked: be a miracle if I wasn’t. surprised to see you on a tuesday.
I scoffed, letting out a dry chuckle as I scrubbed a hand over my face.
SleeplessInSanDiego: it was a tough day.
Some – lying ass – “customers” were claiming that Vivid Vixen – my cosmetic company – was releasing products that were a health hazard, which I knew was patently false. I employed my own team of chemists, used my own production facilities, was careful about the quality of my products. Still, at the unsubstantiated word of a few less than professional beauty “gurus”, there was suddenly a social media backlash against my company, and it was gaining traction, despite my efforts to quell it.
NoRestForTheWicked: I’m sorry. This “adulting” shit is for the birds sometimes.
SleeplessInSanDiego: Agreed. And of course I can’t sleep. But that’s not new.
NoRestForTheWicked: No, but still fucked up.
SleeplessInSanDiego: yeah.
NoRestForTheWicked: so…
NoRestForTheWicked: You need…?
SleeplessInSanDiego: PLEASE.
A few minutes passed with no response, and then my computer chimed to let me know a video call was coming in. My hands were shaking with anticipation as I pulled on my wireless headphones, and then accepted the call.
Just like me, he had a high-definition camera, giving me a crisp, clear view of his body. His face was cut off, just outside of the frame, but enough of him was visible that when he moved, I caught glimpses of neatly groomed facial hair layered over his jaw and chin.
He was shirtless tonight, filling my screen with beautifully defined abs, coated in deep chocolate skin. Nice biceps, nice pecs, dotted with flat dark nipples that I desperately wanted to lick.
They weren’t the only things of his I wanted to lick.
“You gonna let me see you tonight or not Sandy?” he asked, his voice a warm rumble through my headphones. “Sandy” wasn’t my name – not even close. It was something he’d taken to calling me as a play on my username, and damn if the sound of it didn’t send a shiver up my spine that landed right between my legs.
“Patience. Aren’t I worth that to you?”
He chuckled. “That and a helluva lot more.”
Warmth settled over me. And a feeling akin to… relief. I pulled open the drawer again, withdrawing a bottle of Creed cologne that I spritzed in the air, filling the room with the sensual, masculine scent. I inhaled a deep breath, and then let out a deep sigh.
“I wish I never told you what I cologne I wore, woman.”
I could hear the smile in his voice, and smiled back. “Why is that? And how did you know?”
“Because you always make that same sexy little sound when you spray it. I’m jealous of your ability to set the mood. I only got a small bottle of your Tom Ford, and haven’t replaced it yet.”
I laughed, then bit my lip, buoyed by the visual of his dick getting harder. I’d done that to him… just my laugh. It had made him twitch, and now he was rising, and growing, right before my eyes.
“Sounds like a personal problem to me, Wick. Shouldn’t be so damned cheap.”
“Or maybe… your tastes shouldn’t be so damned expensive.”
This time, I rolled my eyes a little as I laughed. I didn’t know very much at all about the man I referred to as “Wick”, but one thing I knew was that money was no problem for him. Even though he would talk in slang, and drop a few ‘g’s’ here and there, his grammar and diction spoke to being well-educated. High-quality camera, the expensive watch he was wearing on the days he was still dressed from work, and the gorgeous park view that came in little peeks from behind him… whatever woman he had in his life – in his real life – was undoubtedly well taken care of.
My hand curved around my wireless mouse, and a few clicks later, I was live on screen. My nipples beaded all over again, responding to Wick’s groan of approval.
“Perfect,” he murmured, but the thickness of voice, and the way his hand moved down to grope his dick said much, much more. He’d never explicitly asked, but his reactions over time told me that he liked me in white, and that’s what I was wearing. A simple cotton nightie that molded around my breasts, so thin that the deep chocolate of my nipples against my honey-toned skin showed through.
“You were already undressed,” I whispered, cupping my breasts in my hands. “What were you doing?”
“Working, since I couldn’t sleep. Let me see it.”
My legs spread like they had a mind of their own, and the hem of my gown inched up my thighs. I lifted it up to my waist, scooting to the edge of my seat to give him a better view.
“Open for me.”
My hands went between my legs. I was already wet, so my fingers slipped and slid as I parted my lips for him, so he could see all of me, like he always wanted.
“Get some of that sweetness on your fingers so you can play with it for me.”
A little grunt of satisfaction escaped my lips, just at the instruction. Fatigue laid heavily on my body and mind, but I did as he said, dipping my middle finger into my opening for wetness, and then pressing it to my clit. A little jolt ran through me as soon as I touched myself, and Wick’s hand closed tighter around his dick. I started moving my hand. Slow circles, heavy pressure, and I didn’t hold back a single sound.
Every hiss, every moan, every contented sigh, he wanted to hear it, so I gave it to him. I smiled at his sharp intake of breath as I started rolling my hips to meet the pressure of my hand. I shifted, massaging my clit between my forefinger and thumb. I whimpered at the change in sensation, and Wick sat up a little straighter.
“Does that feel good for you?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Show me those pretty nipples again. Give them some attention.”
“Mmmhmm.”
With my free hand, I pushed the straps of my gown off my shoulders, and tugged the soft cups away from my breasts. I cupped one in my hand and squeezed, letting my thumb and forefinger follow the natural course of slipping over my areola and moving down to curve around my nipple.
“Do it harder.”
“Ahh,” I cried softly as I rolled my nipple between my fingers, pinching and squeezing as pleasure spiked between my legs. I closed my eyes as my hand and hips moved in furious circles, faster and faster as pressure built in my core. Layer on layer, higher and higher, until it overflowed, and I came, with a high-pitched whimper of delight.
“There you go,” Wick murmured in my headphones.
When I peeled my eyes open, I was rewarded with a sight I’d been craving since I sat down. He’d finally lowered his boxer briefs, and his dick was beautiful. Not massive, but long and mouthwateringly thick. The same gorgeous chocolate tone as the rest of him, nicely veined, and surrounded by a thick patch of neatly trimmed dark hair. He had his big left hand cupped around it – no ring, not even a tan line – and it was glistening in the glow of his screen as he stroked himself.
If I had a dick like that, I’d jack it off for strangers on the internet too.
My lips parted, and I moved closer to my screen, my fingers playing in the fresh wetness between my legs as I watched him move his hand over his dick.
“Hold on,” I whispered.
Wick chuckled. He knew what I was about to do. I reached into my drawer, pulling out a relatively new purchase – a dildo I imagined was the same size and girth as him. I rubbed coconut oil over it – he was using coconut oil as his lubricant too.
“Open your legs wide. I want to see this.”
I giggled a little. “I bet you do.”
My stomach muscles contracted as I pressed the dildo to my vagina and pushed it in. I moaned as it sank into me, stretching me, filling me up.
“Goddamn that looks good.”
I grinned at the screen. Wick was right. The deep, dark brown against the pink of my pussy was an extremely erotic visual. I stared at the feed from my camera as I moved the dildo in and out, matching a sight with an incredible feeling. My body clenched and complained, trying to keep it in as I pulled it out, then stretched and welcomed, hugging it tight as I pushed it back in.
“Feels so gooood,” I moaned, closing my eyes and leaning my head back as I pushed the dildo deeper, angling it toward the front of my vagina in search of a particularly sensitive spot. “I need to do it harder.”
“Do it.”
His permission had barely left his lips before I took advantage, fucking myself harder, and faster.
I opened my eyes so I could see him. He was keeping pace with me, his grunts and growls in my headphones making it feel like he was with me in the room. He had his hand gripped tight around his dick, pumping hard as he watched me. Every breath he let out, every groan, spurred my enthusiasm. Pressure started building in me again, but not like before.
This time, it started as a tingling all the way down in my toes, spreading over me. I couldn’t even keep my mouth shut, stuck in a steady loop of “Ahh, ahh, ahhhh, hell yes, ah, ah, yes” as pleasure coiled around me, laying heavy on my skin.
“Switch to one hand, so you can play with your clit. I want to see you come. And I want to hear it.”
I did it. I stroked myself as deep as I could with one hand, and pressed my fingers to my clit with the other, shaking it back and forth. My toes tightened and curled, thighs clenched, eyes crossed, eyelids fluttered as the orgasm hit me, snatching away my breath.
In my dark, empty, office I screamed, vocalizing my pleasure as my pussy clasped and throbbed, trying in vain to milk the dildo. Wick was in my ears, his breathing hitched as he jacked himself off. I was still coming down from my own orgasms, still flinching as residual waves hit me, but I forced my eyes to stay open. I watched, enthralled, as Wick nearly raised up from his chair, grunting and groaning in my ear as he came.
I licked my lips as thick, translucent semen oozed from his closed hand over the tip of his dick. Neither of us moved for a few moments, just sat there trading contented sighs as our breathing leveled out. After a while, I watched through heavy-lidded eyes as Wick pulled a towel from his own drawer, and cleaned his hand and dick.
“You feel better?” he asked, his voice a little rougher now, but still sexy, raw from the sounds we’d made.
“Yeah,” I whispered, hissing a little as I pulled the dildo out of me, wrapping it in a towel to take to the bathroom for cleaning. “Barely keeping my eyes open now.”
“Good. I’m actually feeling it a little bit too. Sweet dreams, Sandy.”
I smiled. “Yeah… you too. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I blinked, and he wasn’t on my screen or in my ears anymore.
I quickly logged out of the computer, and put everything away except what I needed to clean. I wiped down the chair, and closed the door to the office behind me before I made my way back through the dark to my bedroom.
There, I cleaned up, and then climbed into bed, relishing the feeling of cool sheets. I closed my eyes and turned onto my side, snuggling into my pillow.
Finally, I went to sleep.
The lack of sleep was getting to me.
I blinked hard, then rubbed my eyes before I leaned toward my computer screen, reading the same paragraph of email text for what had to be the third time. When the words started swimming together yet again, I gave up.
I clicked the button in my browser that would start my text-to-speech program. Reclining backward in my office chair, I closed my eyes, and let the program read the email to me. Apparently, my “Wicked Widow” collection was on thin ice after the “scandal” yesterday. Those posts claiming my products were ruining people’s nails had more than gone viral. They were fucking pandemic by this point.
We specialized in beautiful hands. What had started as me mixing nail polishes together to create custom colors for my friends had turned into a real business. Hundreds of polish colors and formulations, hand creams, manicure tools. One of my favorite things to do was to walk into Target and see my brand, built from the ground up, on their shelves.
This shit felt like an attack on my dreams.
Vivid Vixen was a relatively small cosmetic company – big enough for our own production facility, investors, etc., but not enough that a few – supposedly – dissatisfied customers should be able to make this huge splash on social media. But people were acting like it was supposedly the beginning of the end. My PR team was already on the job, trying to turn this back into the non-issue it should have been for the public, but that didn’t make it less of a headache on my end.
“Monica?”
I flinched at the sound of my name coming from the intercom on my desk phone. Opening my eyes, I sat forward, pressing down on the button to reply. “Yes Kim?”
“Your husband is here.”
Those words sucked the air out of my lungs, and immediately my nostrils flared. The tension from the headache I was already battling multiplied and spread out, weighing me down with pressure.
As if I weren’t already tired enough.
“You can send him in,” I said dryly, and then pulled my body from the comfort of my office chair. I smoothed a hand over my hips, easing any wrinkles in the deep orange dress I wore as I stood. I tugged at the hem and sleeves of my tribal print blazer, making sure everything was perfectly in place before I walked to the front of my desk and crossed my arms, waiting for the snake I’d married to step into my office.
Years ago, I’d loved the hell out of Kellen Stuart. We met in college, and he pursued me hard, bending over backward for a chance with me. He was charming, fine, smart… it was easy to give him that chance, but I still made him work for it. And he did. By the time we were graduating, and Kellen put a ring on my finger, I knew unequivocally that he loved me.
And now I knew, unequivocally, that he did not.
Kellen walked into my office smelling like his whore, and I wondered how long ago he’d left her bed. He approached me with a smirk etched onto his handsome face, arms outstretched like he was about to pull me into a hug.
I took a step backward, not bothering to keep the disdain off of my face. “If you touch me, I swear to God I will dig your eyes out. What do you want?”
“A man can’t come and check on his wife? I just wanted to see how you were doing. I saw you get slaughtered on social media… yet no tweetstorm from the Vivid Vixen herself. I know it has to be bothering you.”
“Mmm.” I made that little sound in my throat, nodding as my gaze skipped over Kellen’s face. To the casual observer, it probably looked as if he were being a good husband, concerned for my wellbeing. But I knew him a little better than that. I was fully aware of the amused glint in his eyes.
Once upon a time, my husband could make me melt with a single glance. He was tall, broad-shouldered, handsome… oozed the kind of sex appeal that you could feel just standing in the same room with him. Today though? I just wanted to smack that stupid smirk off his face.
“How’d you sleep last night?”
My eyebrow twitched. I forced my features to remain in the cold expression I’d worn when he entered. “Not as well as you and Crystal in the condo I pay for, I’m sure.”
His mouth spread into a grin, and so did mine, but neither of us had anything for the other except clear contempt. And I don’t even know what the fuck he was so mad for. It’s not like I was the one living off of him.
“Crystal is my assistant, Monica.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh please cut the bullshit. Since when did personal assistant duties include emptying your boss’s balls with your mouth? And, pray tell, what the hell do you do that requires you to have an assistant? It’s not like you do meaningful work, that, I don’t know… pays a bill?”
Kellen’s jaw went tight, eyes flashing, nostrils flared. “I am so damned sick of you disrespecting me.”
Lifting an eyebrow, I drew my head back in disbelief. “Me, disrespecting you? Kellen… you have a lot of fucking nerve to say that to me when you know what you’ve done.”
Shaking my head, I started to walk back to my seat, but Kellen caught me by the arm, pulling me against him. “What happened to you? You used to be sexy, and fun. Now you just walk around looking sour.”
I snatched away from his grasp. “What happened? I went to work is what happened. At least one of us had to have a job to live, and it obviously wasn’t going to be you. It’s been four years, Kellen. Has your muse come up with anything?”
His eyes narrowed, and he advanced on me in a way that sent a tiny prickle of fear up my spine. Still, I crossed my arms and didn’t back down from his glare, because after everything else I’d given this motherfucker, the knowledge that he had the power to scare me was something he would never, ever get.
“You are such a miserable bitch,” he spat, with a derisive rake of his eyes. “It really bothers you that I actually have a passion for something that isn’t you, doesn’t it? To answer your question, yeah. My muse is back. Been back ever since I “hired” Crystal. She’s a wonderful motivator.”
I sneered. “How wonderful. Let's have our lawyers talk, so you can make her an honest woman.”
“Oh we’re just fine with life as it is,” he smiled. “So very, very happy. And that bothers you doesn’t it? To think of me, so happy, while you’re miserable.”
“It bothers me to think of your lazy, selfish ass at all. Crystal can have you. I have no use for a “man” who won’t work to earn his keep.”
“You don’t have too many more goddamned times to imply I’m less than a man.”
“Then you’d better see yourself out of my office, because I’m just getting started.”
I shoved him away from me, rolling my eyes as I stomped to the other side of my desk and sat down. His eyes were still on me, and I shook my head. Just being in the same room with his ass made me sick to my stomach.
I snatched up the phone from my desk, pressing the button to connect me to Kim. “Please send security to get this man out of my office. And make a note that he is not allowed in my office, or even on the premises, again.”
Kim agreed, and I shot an ugly look in Kellen’s direction as he chuckled. “You are a trip, you know that right?”
“And you aren’t worth the skin and brain matter it took to make you. You know that, right?”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself. You don’t have to do all of that with your security and shit. I’ll gladly leave. I just wanted to tell you the good news before you heard it elsewhere, that Crystal and I are expecting.”
I snorted. “Expecting what? A penicillin shot for the STDs you’re probably trading back and forth with each other?”
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” he said, as the smirk crept back onto his face. He crossed the office to the door, and put his hand on the knob. “A baby. We’re finally gonna have a baby, sweetheart. You might wanna get your PR team on it now.”
If the length of the room hadn’t been separating us, at that moment, there was a good chance I would have tried to kill him. He’d delivered those words with venom, and they had the desired effect, even though I didn’t let him see.
“Congratulations,” I managed to say, with an affect that I hoped sounded bored, and an expression I desperately willed to remain unbothered. His eyes narrowed at my lack of reaction, but security arrived to get his ass away from me, and their timing couldn’t have possibly been better. As soon as I was alone again in my office, I locked the door and then went back to my desk, where I fell into my chair.
I tried my best to think of something else. Fanned my face, thought “happy” thoughts, but nothing worked. I hated Kellen, with such a passion that it made me ache. Knowing that he was getting something that he – we – had so badly wanted, was more than I could handle.
Hot tears sprang from between my tightly closed eyelids, despite my efforts to hold them back. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves before I finally reached for my phone to connect to Kim.
“Reschedule anything else I have down for the day,” I told her, barely keeping my voice steady. “I’m going home.”