What Emma Craves (7 page)

Emma kept the box on her lap, wanting to savor the unveiling of what was inside for a few minutes longer. “I’d just turned twenty-two when Pete asked me to marry him. We were only engaged for two months before we tied the knot. My entire family and friends were all in Kansas. They were too far away, and we wanted to get married in Chicago. It had become our real home very quickly. We were married in a simple ceremony at the courthouse with one of Pete’s friends and his girlfriend as our witnesses. I’ve never regretted a single day since.” She glanced down at the gift, running her fingers along the top of the box. “But it’s so nice of you guys to do this now. If Pete and I had just met, you three would totally be my bridesmaids.”

“That would be so fun!” Caroline said. “You would be mine, too. I had ten. Yes, ten. It was a circus. I would do it much differently now. Me and Jace, you three, some kind of sunset backdrop. It would be elegant and simple.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I never had a shower either,” Gillian told them. “Brad and I dated for about six months, and then we eloped to Vegas.”

“And you were married by an Elvis impersonator, right?” Piper said.

“Of course we were,” Gillian replied, reclining on the chair, settling a leg over the armrest. Gillian had arresting features. Her hair was black, cut long over her blue eyes, short in the back. With her tattoos, she fit the glam biker chick to a T. “Did you think for a second someone else would’ve married us?”

“Nope,” Piper said. “Gillian, I seriously adore you. Now, while Emma opens her gifts, you’re going to have to spill some details about your recent adventures. And before you tell us you can’t, we’re all willing to swear an oath right now that we won’t breathe a word to anyone. It would break the sacred STD trust if we did.” Piper placed a hand over her heart, her face striving for earnest.

Emma added, “Please, Gillian. Gifts and juicy gossip would make this the best shower ever. I’m with Piper. It won’t go further than this room. I won’t even tell Pete. You have my word.”

“Yes!” Caroline nodded her agreement. “Gillian, I’ve never taken you for someone who would shy away from details about your sex life. If this mystery guy, or girl, or people, of yours opted into the lifestyle, they should be well aware that there will be talk in certain circles. If you don’t share, we’re all going to assume they have some hold over you.”

“No one has anything over me,” Gillian replied casually. “When I’m asked to be discreet, I am. I’d do the same for any of you.” She swept her arm out in front of her. “If you didn’t want me to talk about something, my mouth would be a steel trap.”

“Yes, but we’re your girlfriends,” Piper urged. “Rules get bent for us. That’s just the way it is. And, honestly, who would we tell?” Piper glanced around the group. “We’re the only ones we talk to about this lifestyle. Plus, whoever you met up with was at the orgy—people have to know who they are if they’re members. Michael and I have been twice now, and we’ve met quite a few folks who love to gossip. I’d rather hear it from the horse’s mouth—you being said horse—instead of the rumor mill.”

“Okay, fine,” Gillian answered coyly. “This horse will confirm that he’s a member of the Underground, but he’s what they call an ‘anonymous member,’ so your threat of the rumor mill has no cred. Most people don’t know about him at all.”

“He! It’s a he!” Piper exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. “Now we’re getting somewhere. More, please.”

“Well, it’s actually a
they
,” she corrected. “He always has a submissive with him. He’s the dominant force, though. He has his own suite upstairs in the warehouse. Only the elite members get those, and they cost a fortune.”

“He must be filthy rich then,” Caroline breathed. “Piper told us the annual dues are outrageous.”

“They are,” Piper agreed, nodding. “It’s like remortgaging-the-house expensive to join. But there are different levels. If you want to host parties, like we do, it costs a lot more. We still haven’t officially joined yet. We get a few more ‘experimental’ passes, so we’re taking them before we decide how much we want to spend.”

“What I want to know,” Emma said, “is how in the world did they find you and Brad out of all those people? Piper said you and Brad were there one minute, gone the next.”

Gillian sat up in her chair and grabbed a water bottle she’d set next to her. They’d all stopped drinking a while ago. It was a long drive back for everyone to the city. “Brad and I have a mutual friend in common with this guy. One who happened to be at the orgy. When the action started in the main room, she caught my attention and waved us over. She asked if we would be interested in going upstairs to meet the mystery man, and we said yes. That’s it.”

“That’s
so
not it!” Piper interjected. “You’re making it sound like you went out and had a casual dinner with them. When we saw you later that week at my house, you raved about it being one of the hottest thing you’ve ever done. So at least spill something about the sex if you won’t say who it is. We need to know
why
it was so hot. Dude, we’re dying on the vine here.”

“Emma, continue opening your gifts,” Caroline urged, swishing her wrist, “while Gillian keeps talking. We all need to hear this, but you deserve to keep opening.”

“Fine,” Gillian said, crossing her arms. “I’ll talk about some of the particulars, but not the people.”

“We will be mollified with that for now,” Piper said. “Please continue.”

Emma had her hands on Caroline’s gift box, but she didn’t want Gillian to stop talking, so she waited. It was obvious Gillian was uncomfortable divulging information she’d promised to keep secret, but she began, “Our mutual friend took us up a staircase at the very back of the warehouse. It was kind of cloak-and-dagger, which I’m not always a fan of, but this time I was curious. Mostly because my friend was almost jumping up and down because she was so excited for us to meet him. She told us she knew right away that this was going to be a great match.” Gillian stopped her story and gestured to Emma. “Aren’t you going to open that thing up? Come on, I want to see what Caroline got you.”

Emma nodded once, shaking herself out of the story. “Okay, but you’re using this as a stall tactic,” Emma told her as she finally lifted the lid. Setting it aside, she parted the white tissue paper. The first thing she saw was a beautiful teddy. It was creamy silk with a delicate lace pattern edging the top. She drew it carefully out of the box by the straps. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. “Caroline, is this real silk?”

“Yes,” Caroline answered excitedly. “I couldn’t help myself. I went with cream because it reminded me of your perfectly flawless skin. If you’d like it in another color, it’s no problem. They have greens and reds—”

“No, of course not,” Emma said, shaking her head. “I love it! It’s absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to wear it.” Very carefully she laid it over the arm of the sofa. Next were a few small bottles with red labels. She took one out. “Edible body oil?”

“And lube!” Caroline squealed, clapping. “I’m sure you’ve tried things like this many times, or maybe you even have some, but these are imported, and they actually taste good. I found them on a website with rave reviews, and I can vouch for them myself. Don’t hesitate to use them on Pete. They’ll make blowing him an extra welcome experience. I got you strawberry and passion fruit, which are my two faves. There’s one more thing in the box, and then Gillian can continue.” She glanced over at Gillian. “You’re not off the hook. We still need to hear what went down once you got upstairs.”

Piper gave Caroline a look of disbelief as she shook her head. “You are constantly surprising me. Imported edible lube? You are a total sex ninja.”

Caroline shrugged. “Hey, the Internet makes it easy. Jace constantly wants to try new things, and I happily oblige. It’s kind of fun, actually. I usually have lunch at my desk while reading about edible panties and the newest in battery-operated vibrators. Did you know they make them this tiny?” She spread her fingers about an inch apart.

Gillian laughed. “You are a sex ninja, and it’s so funny, because you look just the opposite. I love that about you.”

“Well, thank you,” Caroline said. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Emma lifted up the last of the tissue and picked up a red velvet cloth bag, cinched at the top with a red ribbon. She felt around the outside, giggling. “Do I really want to know what’s in here, Sex Ninja?” She untied the handles and emptied the object out onto the palm of her hand. It was a small plastic cord with three balls attached. Emma knew exactly what it was. “Anal beads!”

“Not just any kind of anal beads. They’re travel size!” Caroline exclaimed as everyone in the room rocked with laughter. “Hey, you can’t knock it until you try it. They’re usually on a much longer, bulkier cord. But I found those—”

“Let me guess,” Gillian interrupted, chortling, “on the Internet?”

“Why, yes!” Caroline laughed. “Those Scandinavian countries really have a knack for toys, I’m telling you. They’re a much better quality than anything made here.”

“Maybe you should incorporate imported sex toys into your stationery business,” Piper suggested. “I bet you’d get ten times as many customers.”

“I’ve actually considered it. I’m not joking,” Caroline said. “Why not be a distributor for high-end toys you can’t find here? But right now I’m too swamped with the cards. But maybe I’ll do it someday. I like the idea of empowering women. Females take much longer to orgasm—and some can’t come during intercourse alone. This would open up a whole new world for them.”

“Wow,” Piper commented. “I’m so impressed by that.”

“Me, too,” Emma agreed. “Caroline, you’re so selfless. I love that about you, and I absolutely love all the gifts. They’re perfect and generous, just like you, and I can’t wait to use them.” Emma set everything back in the box, folding the beautiful teddy nicely and resting it on top.

“Have you tried anal beads before?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, but it was a long time ago,” Emma replied as she bent over and grabbed Piper’s gift, which was lightweight. It was decorative, with white pinstripes, and had “shower” printed in block letters on the side. Piper had used a magic marker to write the word “travel” above that and had drawn a cute little sun and a boat next to it. It was so Piper. “We were young and inexperienced, however. I’m sure this go-around will be much better.”

“The trick is to put them in a while before the action.” Caroline winked. “It gets you all jazzed up. Then put on the teddy, reach for the lube, and you’ll have a beautiful evening in paradise!”

“I’m sure I will.” Emma giggled. “You’ve thought of it all.”

“My gift will help facilitate your everyday experience,” Piper said. “I know the place you’re going is clothing optional, but I figured you can’t go wrong with these—and it gives the watcher something intriguing to look at.”

“Well, now
I’m
intrigued,” Emma said, setting the bag on the ground and moving the tissue paper aside.

“They’re all wrapped up individually,” Piper told her. “There are three small bundles.”

Emma grabbed the three bundles and set them on her lap. She unrolled the first one. “Oh, my!” She held up a tiny scrap of material.

It was the smallest bikini bottom she’d ever seen.

This one was pure white, with small silver buckles holding the almost nonexistent straps together on the sides. There was a tiny triangle of fabric in the front and only strings in the back.

“I only got you the bottoms,” Piper chuckled, “because you’re not going to need the tops. I picked out the sexiest ones I could find. I figured when you’re on the beach in front of the resort, having them on will only accentuate your beautiful body and make folks look at you, which is what we want. Lots of looking and pining and yearning.” She made a growling noise and pretended to stroke her imaginary penis. “We want all those potbellied rich guys to have stiffies for you.”

“Gross!” Emma squealed, laughing. But Piper was right. The plan was to make Pete jealous of the attention she received from others, so he would notice her more, and these bottoms would do the trick. “I love it. They are ridiculously sexy.” She set the first pair down and unrolled the next bundle.

“No, dude, it’s you who is sexy,” Piper said. “Don’t forget it. The bikini bottoms only accentuate that. Your body is ridiculous from all that dancing. You’re going to turn heads like your ass is on fire, and guys and girls alike will be lined up waiting to put the flames out.”

Emma held the next pair up, and Gillian whistled low.

This pair was jet black, with tiny rhinestones decorating the fabric in front. The thong in back was so small, it almost disappeared. “Wow!” Emma exclaimed. “I can’t wait to try these on. I’m usually conservative in my swim attire. This is a whole new world for me.”

“I think Piper’s right,” Caroline said. “These are definitely going to turn heads. When everyone else is naked, this gives them something to look at.”

“Seriously,” Gillian said. “They are totally hot. It makes me want to get a few pairs.”

Emma unrolled the last one. It was bright scarlet. The back contained a little more fabric than the other two had.

“When it’s on,” Piper told her, “it’s supposed to look like there’s a heart nestled right above your ass. In front, there’s barely enough material to call it a bathing suit.”

“It’s incredible,” Emma said. “I’m in awe. I can’t wait to wear them all. Truly. Thank you for your generosity.”