Licorice Whips (25 page)

As much as Nikla wanted to object to that, she kind of liked having some decisions made for her. She just had to be herself for the rest of the day. Reconciling the idea that being herself meant she would become a submissive didn’t hit her as hard as she thought it would.

“Run a bath.” Sweet stood off to the side and let her go by him to her bathroom.

As instructed, Nikla ran a hot bath. She submerged herself inside and waited for him. Instead Sweet sat on the rim of the tub.

“What do you normally eat for breakfast?” he asked.

“I have a twenty-ounce spinach smoothie.” Nikla ran a soapy washcloth over her body.

“Change it to an egg-white omelet mixed with peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Same calorie count, more substantial.”

“It’s faster if I just–”

“What about lunch?”

Nikla sighed. “If I don’t go out, it’s usually a spinach salad and a hard-boiled egg for protein.”

“Do a grilled chicken breast, grilled veggies, and some fruit for dessert.”

Nikla blinked. “You’ll let me have dessert?”

“I’m generous that way.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “If you happen to go out to lunch, do the salad bar but stay away from the dried cranberries, corn, and croutons.”

Nikla smiled. “That’s exactly what I do now. What do I do for dinner?”

“I’d like to take care of that for tonight.”

Nikla’s smile dripped down. “Are we going to a restaurant or am I actually going to see where you live?”

Sweet remained quiet for a while. “Meet me at Decadent Treats after nine tonight.”

Nikla rolled her eyes. She guessed it would be another meal in the store and more sex in the office and the kitchen. “No, I’ll just go home.”

“I wasn’t asking. Meet me at the store after nine.” Sweet stood and walked into the bedroom. When he returned he carried Nikla’s cell phone. “I’m putting your meal plan on your phone as well as my cell phone number and a reminder of our date tonight.” He dialed a number and Nikla heard a phone ringing. “Now I have your number, too. If you’re late, I will be spanking that firm ass of yours. Do you understand?”

Nikla moved closer to him in the tub, splashing water on him. “Understood.”

He kissed her forehead. “Now, take your bath. I’ll get your breakfast going.”

Nikla slipped down into the balmy water. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered then smiled.

Nikla liked Sweet’s take-charge attitude. Considering someone would lose out on the downtown suite deal, she should have been satisfied to only have him for a short while. He managed to open up a side of her that she didn’t know existed. She didn’t want it to stop.

Did Sweet? Did he look forward to ending their little tryst?

****

At lunchtime, Deana showed up as expected. In her jeans and leather jacket, she kind of reminded Nikla of Sweet.

“Done with your classes?” Deana asked.

Before Nikla could answer, Karen trotted into the workout room. Nikla cursed in her head. She didn’t need to see her work distraction and irritant right now.

“Hey, Nikki! How’s it going?” Karen trotted over to Nikla.

“It’s Nikla. Not Nikki. Not Nik. Nikla.”

Karen’s smile melted as she split her attention between Nikla and Deana.

“I’m about to go out to lunch. Did you need something?” Nikla hung her workout bag on her shoulder.

“Yeah, can you pick up my spinning class tonight? It starts at eight-thirty and I–”

“No.” Nikla headed to the door.

“But I have a date. And you always say yes.” Karen pouted.

“And now I have a date.” Nikla looked at her friend. “Ready to go to lunch?”

“Uh, yeah.” Deana walked out of the center with Nikla. “That was pretty bad ass back there. I’ve never heard you say no to anyone.”

Nikla smiled. “It was long overdue. And I really do have a date.”

“Really? Hold that thought. I want to hear all the juicy details when we get to lunch.”

Nikla went to their favorite restaurant with Deana following behind her. Once in the restaurant, they got seated by the window. After they got served drinks, Deana wasted no time in grilling her.

“So spill it. Who’s the guy?” Deana asked.

Nikla tried to hide her smile but she couldn’t. “Sweet Hawkes.”

Deana dropped her drink and spilled some of the contents on the table. “Are you shitting me?”

Nikla shook her head as she helped her friend clean the mess on the table. “No. After our meeting with the leasing agent for that unit downtown, we kind of hit it off. He came to one of my yoga classes.”

“Really?”

Nikla thought about the effort Sweet put into the class. “Yeah. He did pretty good, actually.”

“And did he return the favor?”

Nikla nodded. “Yeah. He taught me how to make caramel.”

“And?”

Nikla waited a moment before revealing everything.

“You did it, didn’t you?”

Nikla’s smile must have answered her friend’s question.

“Oh, my God! Girl, when you rebound, you do it right. Was he as good as I imagined?”

Nikla felt her face get hot. “I’m not going to kiss and tell. I will say that he was very good in the kitchen and his office and the bathroom.”

Deana blinked. “Wow. Good to see this whole competing for the suites thing hasn’t turned you two off each other.”

“Not yet. A final decision will be made in a couple of weeks. We’ll see what happens then. I think if he loses the unit, he won’t want to see me again. If I lose the unit to him,” she shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Which means that you like this guy. Are you cool with him getting the suite?”

“I would be hurt and disappointed. I worked so hard to get something I know I deserve.”

Deana cocked her head. “Are you talking about the rental space or Sweet?”

Nikla remained quiet.

“So, that whole BDSM thing. Has that come up yet? Are you cool with that?”

Before Nikla had a chance to answer, the waitress came to their table to get their order. As soon as Nikla could, she got up and made herself her salad, being sure to skip the items Sweet had told her to skip.

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. While at the salad bar, Nikla retrieved her phone and looked at the screen for the text message.

Can’t wait to have you tonight. Enjoy your lunch
, read the message from Sweet, or rather Master Sweet as he had labeled himself in her phone.

By the time she got back to the table, Deana had moved on to a new topic. Now Nikla couldn’t wait until that night.

Chapter Eighteen

Sweet waited at the front door of Decadent Treats for Nikla. At nine, he saw her pulling into the parking lot. A tickle rippled over his stomach as he pointed to the side, signaling her to go around to the back of the building to park.

Sweet secured the store then walked outside.

Nikla got out of her car wearing black slacks and a pink cashmere sweater. She resembled a fluffy stick of cotton candy. He could devour her in seconds.

She walked up to him. “I probably wore the wrong outfit if we’re going to be cooking again.”

“No cooking.” Sweet held her hand and led her to a set of steps on the side of the building.

“Where are we going? What’s up here?” Nikla asked.

“My place.” Sweet noticed Nikla remained quiet until he opened the door. “Welcome to my home.”

“You live above the store?”

Sweet couldn’t tell if she liked the idea or thought it made him look pathetic. Either way, he no longer wanted to hide the truth from her. “Yes. I wanted to stay close to the action.”

“Close to the action? I think it’s more of your control issues.” She smiled as she strolled around the place. “Why didn’t you take me up here the first night we were together?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I have issues with letting a lot of people into my world.” Just admitting it out loud chipped away at the wall that he’d erected around him. It’d taken him years to build it up, and longer to fix it once Melinda betrayed him. In a few days, Nikla managed to get him to take down a portion, brick by brick.

“I noticed. So how did I get so privileged?”

Sweet regarded her for a moment before answering. “You haven’t judged me yet for anything I’ve said or done.”

“I’ve had enough of that in my lifetime. I wouldn’t do it to anyone else.”

Sweet scanned her body. He hated to see her in so many layers, in clothes in general. As expected, Nikla removed her shoes.

Nikla looked around the place. “So do I get a tour?”

“Only after you give me my standard greeting.”

Nikla placed her purse on the back of the couch. “I almost forgot.” She kissed his cheeks, then his lips. This time he let her drop down to her knees and lower her head for him.

Perfect.

“Very good, Sugar Baby.” He held his hand out to her. “Now you get the tour even though you could probably see every bit of my place from where you are.”

He showed her the bathroom first before showing off his loft bedroom, the small living room, the dining room that consisted of a small round table and two chairs before finally bringing her to the kitchen.

“This is my favorite room here. I love this spot.” Sweet braced his hands against the counter.

“It looks like a chef’s dream.” Nikla beamed as she came around the counter to him.

“That’s how I had it made.” When Nikla stood by Sweet, he imagined taking her on the counter, driving deep into her tight core.

“I almost forgot to do one thing for you.” She started unbuttoning her sweater. “You wanted me completely nude at all times, right?”

A knock sounded at the door.

“Oh, God. Please don’t tell me you ordered out.” Nikla stopped at the second button.

“No. Of course not.” Sweet went to the door and opened it.

On the other side stood his friend and a guest who had arrived right on time. 

“We’re going to have entertainment first before dinner.” When Nikla stood beside him, Sweet put his hand at the small of her back. “I hope you stretched.”

Sweet had known Master Wasabi since working for him back in Sweet’s teenage years, before he knew the man dabbled in the darker sensual arts. Sweet used to deliver food for Wasabi’s Japanese restaurant. When he visited the restaurant after hours one night and caught his boss with a young woman strung up in an elaborate rope web, Sweet couldn’t help but admire the work.

Now his former boss and Sweet ran in the same circles. He had to ask him for a favor for tonight. Sweet wanted to push Nikla just a bit more. Either this would send her running away from him or into his arms. He hoped the latter would be true.

After a slight bow, Sweet ushered his friend and his friend’s guest into his home. “Master Wasabi, this is–” Sweet paused before he finished his introduction. How should he address this woman? “My submissive, Sugar Baby.”

Nikla glanced at him before putting out her hand. Sweet captured her extended hand in his and lowered it.

“He doesn’t shake hands. Bow your head,” Sweet instructed.

Nikla bowed her head to him.

“Who’s your friend?” Sweet nodded toward the woman behind him.

“I call her Nori.” Wasabi said something to the incredibly tall, thin woman in Japanese.

She smiled, bowed her head, and brought her attention back to Wasabi. Besides her height, her striking platinum blonde hair on the Asian woman grabbed his attention.

“I didn’t know you had invited guests.” Nikla wrapped her arms around her body.

“They’re not here for dinner. They’re going to help with the entertainment.”

Nikla chewed on her lower lip. She pulled Sweet back away from the duo. “I’m not a bisexual.”

Sweet furrowed his eyebrows at her statement.

“I don’t want to be with another woman. I don’t swing.” She shook her head.

“There are different types of swinging. You’re going to do one of them.” Sweet put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her toward the corner of his apartment where the 1970’s chair swing hung. “The first thing I need for you to do, Sugar Baby, is take off your clothes.”

****

Nikla couldn’t believe her neck didn’t snap from how fast she turned her head when Sweet had made his request. “Excuse me?”

“For what I want you to do, you need to be naked.” He walked around her and removed the chair from the hook in the ceiling and set it on the side. When he returned his attention to Nikla, his expression turned to a scowl. “Sugar Baby, get undressed and don’t make me tell you again.”

Nikla studied him for a moment. She balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath.

“Remember what I taught you.” Sweet approached her and started undoing buttons on her sweater.

“You would never hurt me.” Nikla lowered her arms to her sides. “If I feel uncomfortable, I can use my safe words.”

Sweet nodded as he slipped her sweater down her arms. Nikla looked over at Wasabi and Nori, and didn’t feel as hungry as she thought she would. She noticed the older man placed a black bag on the floor. When he opened it, ropes of all kinds spilled out from the opening.

“Red! Red!” Nikla backed away from Sweet.

What did this stranger want to do? Hang her?

Sweet pursued Nikla and captured her hands. “Shibari.”

“What?” Nikla kept her stare on this mysterious duo.

“Shibari is the art of Japanese rope bondage.” Sweet grabbed Nikla’s pants and started undoing them. “Master Wasabi is a true expert at this. I really, really want to see you trussed up and hung from my ceiling.”

Nikla looked at the hook in the ceiling, then back at the duo who hadn’t stopped removing rope after rope after rope from their bag.

“And you won’t leave me with them alone?” Nikla stared into Sweet’s eyes.

“Of course not.” He unzipped her pants and dropped them to the floor. Sweet looked down at her body. “No panties.” He released a long, low whistle. “Didn’t see that coming.”

Nikla hadn’t expected to leave the house without underwear. She felt a little brazen enough to do it. Maybe she needed that bit of bravery to trust him in this venture.

“I will be over there in the kitchen making our dinner.” Sweet turned to Wasabi.