Bottom's Up
Bottoms Up
By Eliza Gayle
Resplendence Publishing, LLC
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
Resplendence Publishing, LLC
2665 S Atlantic Avenue, #349
Daytona Beach, FL 32176
Bottoms Up
Copyright © 2010, Eliza Gayle
Edited by Michele Paulin
Cover art by Les Byerley, www.les3photo8.com
Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-208-2
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Electronic release: November 2010
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
Jenn smacked her freshly glossed lips together one last time and sifted through her hair in a lame attempt to freshen her look. On a deep breath, she knocked on the door of Riley’s condo and waited. After all their years of friendship, it made no sense for her to be this nervous, but she couldn’t stop the racing of her heartbeat or the fluttering in her stomach if her life depended on it.
Even though they’d kept in contact through frequent emails and text messages, she hadn’t actually laid eyes on him in over seven years. After college, he’d settled here in North Carolina with a big ad agency and she’d moved on to a job in New York City.
“Hang on. I’m coming.”
Riley’s muffled response quickened her breath as anticipation and fear coursed through her. She needed to pull herself together. This was Riley, not a first date. That she secretly harbored feelings for him shouldn’t matter. They were just two best friends getting together for the weekend to catch up and spend some time reminiscing.
The lock clicked, and the door opened.
“Jenn, wow, you’re here, and don’t you look great.”
Before she could utter a word, he gathered her into his arms and hugged her fiercely. The scent of spice and man filled her senses, and she hugged him back. Her cheek pressed to the warm skin of his neck and his breath tickled the shell of her ear.
“It’s been too long,” she responded.
He pulled her into his place and shut the door behind them. “You have no idea how excited I’ve been about your visit. I wish I could have been here on Wednesday when you arrived.”
Riley wore a white business shirt open a few buttons at the collar and gray slacks that molded to him perfectly without being too tight or too loose. Forcing herself to glance away, she dragged her gaze to his face before he caught her staring at his crotch. He looked really good, which came as no surprise. He always did. Even when he rolled out of bed, he looked yummy enough to eat.
No, don’t go there
.
“It’s probably for the best. The last two days have been a constant whirlwind from breakfast to dinner. I would have been too exhausted to muster up much energy for anything.”
“Oh yeah, the job interview. How’d that go? I can’t tell you how stunned I was when you said you wanted to leave New York and you had an interview in my town.” His voice was low and incredibly sexy.
She relaxed into the offered chair and tried to focus on the conversation. “You and me both. I never thought I would say this, but life in New York is harder than I thought.”
And lonely.
“As for the interview, I think it went great and I’m cautiously hopeful that I’ll receive an offer this weekend.”
Riley took the seat next to her, close enough for her to smell his sexy as sin scent that always drove her wild. Her nipples peaked against her bra and she thanked God she’d opted to keep her suit jacket on when she’d arrived.
“Well, damn, how awesome is that? You and I in the same city once again, wreaking havoc and breaking hearts.”
She laughed. “I don’t know about that. I’ve haven’t done much else but work ever since leaving college.”
“Don’t you know that all work and no play makes Jenn a dull girl?” He smiled. “Sounds like we need to break you out of your work shell this weekend and cut loose.” He patted her arm and moved from his chair. “First things first, though. I only got home from my flight about ten minutes before you got here, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to grab a shower. Then we can discuss plans for the weekend.”
“Oh, of course! You should have said something, I could have come later.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ve been anxious to see you. How about you make yourself comfortable, grab some wine if you’d like and give me a few minutes to make myself presentable?”
“Yes, no problem.”
He dropped a friendly kiss on her nose and walked away. “If you need anything at all, Jenn, just let me know.”
She blew out a relieved breath and watched him disappear down the hall. Grateful for the time to pull herself back together, Jenn removed her jacket and laid it across the back of the chair. Clearly, seeing Riley again did little to diminish the cravings she suffered from. Walking away from him at graduation had been the hardest thing she’d ever done, but for her sanity, she’d decided she needed to get away from him. She’d thought, once she got settled into her New York apartment, the pain of unrequited feelings would diminish and she’d move on with her life.
But living without Riley had proven harder than she’d imagined. She missed having him around and the little things that came along with it. The gourmet meals he’d cooked for her and the hours they’d spent curled together on the couch watching movies they both loved. She’d relied on him for so many things, and as it turned out, living on her own hadn’t left her with the sense of independence she’d thought it would.
Her job, on the other hand, was perfect. As the assistant director at the nature museum, she’d thrived and found the perfect haven for her restless spirit. Over the years, there had been a few dates here and there, but they’d all seemed so… She didn’t know the right word to describe what had been missing.
Jenn wandered around the condo and wondered what Riley’s life had been like. She knew he loved his job, but she’d been reluctant to ask about his personal life. So far, he hadn’t mentioned a significant other, so when the job option here in North Carolina had come open, she’d decided to hop a plane and kill two birds with one stone. She would summon the courage to find out if Riley had any romantic feelings toward her. If so, and she got lucky, she might have a new job and a new life.
Jenn shook her head. Quite a gamble for a woman like her, but what the hell.
Wandering into what looked like a media room, complete with big screen television, she caught site of a collection of DVDs, CDs and books across the room. Curious to see if they still loved the same movies, she walked over and perused his vast collection.
Sure enough he had all of their favorites from college as well as all the latest and greatest blockbusters she’d already seen. Smiling to herself, she glanced through the CDs and books.
On the bottom shelf, her hand froze.
It couldn’t be.
She pulled the book out with trembling hands and turned it to stare at the cover.
The Caring Dominant
. She’d seen this book once before. In a bookstore coffee shop, she’d overheard two women discussing it, and when they’d left the store and deserted the book on their table, she’d been curious beyond belief and unable to resist checking it out.
She’d read through some of it, but the fear gripping her insides had forced her to put it down and leave the bookstore as quickly as she could. Maybe her inexperience made her naïve, but when her sex had squeezed excitedly over many of the words, she’d thought something was wrong with her.
Her finger rubbed the edge of the pages and, after a quick glance over her shoulder, she opened the book. The table of contents laid out all the intriguing chapters, but a red paper stuck in the middle of the book caught her eye. She flipped quickly to the place it marked and found a chapter titled,
Levels of Submission
.
The first few pages detailed the fact that, according to the author, BSDM had many levels of both dominance and submission. She scanned the first paragraph and tried to imagine Riley reading this book. Was he a dominant? Her sex squeezed sharply, the edge of her arousal sharpening at the thought.
How would she feel if Riley did as the book instructed? Commanded her to do things…
Her dreams of Riley had always been intense with him in control of their encounters. Is this what that meant? If he ordered her to strip and get down on her knees, what would she do?
She smiled. Anything he wanted.
Inexperienced didn’t mean repressed. If her dreams and taste in reading material were anything to judge by, there was a wild woman inside her dying to get out. She just didn’t know how to let her loose.
The red paper slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the ground print side up. Jenn bent to retrieve it and noticed the bold word
Purgatory
emblazoned across the top of the flyer.
It was an advertisement for a local BDSM club and a recent charity event. The list of activities included spanking, flogging and so much more. Need pulsed in her body from her straining nipples to her pulsing clit. Oh God, she needed Riley. She wanted to know more, learn from him what this was all about.
“I’d say your curiosity just saved us about an hour’s worth of awkward conversation.”
She dropped the book and whirled around, the paper still grasped between her fingers. “I-I uh—”
“Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed, Jenn. I’d planned to find a way to tell you tonight. To explain my life to you.”