Strangers with Benefits (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So is he any good?” Sidonie laughed, Mimi had no idea.

  And she wasn’t going to give her one, either. “Better than that.”

  “Lucky bitch.”

  “Yeah. That I am.” He’d turned her life upside down in the best way.

  “So jealous.”

  “Your time will come, girl.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  “Shoot, lemme call you back. I’m about to pick up the kids.”

  “All right.”

  Unlike the prior weeks, this one flew by.

  But that was really due to the fact that Den texted her every day.

  She would wake up to a good morning. Then she would get a message in the middle of the day. Before she went to bed, he would send her another.

  He didn’t even mention their schedules that week at first, and Sidonie wondered if they weren’t going to scratch their mutual fantasy lists anymore.

  But on Thursday:

  Are you free for lunch today?

  Of course. How long?

  No need to take extra time. Just lunch

  And it was just lunch. She wondered what was next on the bucket list, but when she arrived, he sat at the table and they ate their food and conversed about topics that they hadn’t before. He was in his full uniform, and he looked good enough to spread on the table and eat instead of whatever they offered in the tiny out of the way patisserie.

  But he didn’t even approach her with lust. Didn’t kiss her.

  Just talked to her.

  With her.

  It was odd.

  But she liked it.

  During their conversation, she found out he was Independent for his political affiliation.

  He chuckled when she asked, out of sheer curiosity. “I like having all possible choices, not what a party offers me.” Sidonie was a Democrat, but that was more so because her parents were.

  He learned her favorite color was green and he told her his was purple. That was because he had a grape colored stuffed octopus as a kid he wouldn’t let go of.

  When they finished eating and he walked her to her car she wondered if he was going to even touch her.

  But when he didn’t, she asked him. “Hug me?”

  His eyes softened and he opened his arms to her. The embrace was stiff from Kevlar and thick man, but she never felt more protected. Cherished, even.

  Sidonie got in her car, buckled the belt, and blew him the kiss he didn’t give her.

  He grinned crookedly and caught it before he tucked it in the same breast pocket that held the twenty dollars from weeks before.

  God, life felt so good.

  That night, Den called her, which was odd. They rarely talked on the phone. Mainly they sent messages when either of them had the time.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.”

  Sidonie found herself in an almost giddy state, one where she had to suppress childish giggles and urge to doodle their names. That was a weird place to be for someone of her age. It wasn’t like this was her first time in the rodeo, but somehow it was.

  Everything about their relationship, could she even call it that? Lord, help her, yes, she wanted to… Was different.

  “Why are you so quiet?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” Sidonie sighed.

  He chuckled. “Miss me already?”

  “Yeah, I kinda do.”

  “How long can you get away tomorrow?” Yes! Yesyesyes!

  She thought about it.

  “Well, the kids have a half day and get off at noon. Their dad is coming to get them and will bring them back Monday since that’s a teacher’s workday.”

  “So, you have all weekend until Monday morning?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Spend it with me.”

  “O–okay.” Sidonie had to admit, she couldn’t wait.

  “I have to work on Sunday morning, but I’m off on Friday night until then.”

  “So I would go home on Sunday?”

  “No, Monday, you can go to work from my place. Just drive on over when you get off tomorrow.”

  “All right.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  That conversation did nothing for the butterflies in her belly and the imaginary doodles in her brain.

  Nothing what so ever.

  Chapter Eight:

  Noise Complaint

  Den felt his excitement grow as Friday morning turned into the afternoon. He’d swapped schedules with another officer so he could have the night off, and he was exhausted from his shifts being so close together.

  But he had too much to do to take a nap and Sidonie would be at his place soon enough. He was in unfamiliar territory, as he hadn’t planned out their entire weekend together, but he would find something for them to occupy the time.

  On his break, he’d purchased a large box of condoms, and wondered if there would be enough. He had another errand to run, but he would wait until he was off duty as he didn’t want to walk into a sex shop with his uniform on. He didn’t even get to have lunch, as he was called to the scene of a car accident when he placed his order.

  When he got off work at four, he changed in the locker room. There was a change of clothes he kept in case of emergency, but they were pitifully wrinkled. As he had no other choice if he wanted to be home when Sidonie arrived, he drove to a local adult store and browsed for a minute.

  The young girl there didn’t even appear to be eighteen, but he knew she had to be at least that old. She liked him, he could tell based on her body language although he had no interest in the waiflike girl.

  He wanted someone darker, more lushly built.

  Den went home and set up the kit the girl had showed him.

  The box contained a number of things, from tasty chocolate sauce to feathers, but the main part he had to set up in advance.

  Once he was finished, it was nearly five fifteen. Sidonie would be at his place in just a little while. As he hadn’t gone grocery shopping, it was one of the items on his agenda for that afternoon.

  The doorbell rang and he smoothed the blankets one last time before he shoved the couple’s treasure chest under his bed.

  “Honey, I’m home!”

  Den popped his head around the corner and whistled. Sidonie wore a scrap of dress that was modest, but oddly seductive.

  “Does that make me Lucy?” He fanned his face with one hand and Sidonie giggled.

  “If you want to be,” she quipped back.

  “Let me take your bag.” He grabbed her small overnight bag, though it weighed barely nothing.

  When he placed the bag in his closet, she walked up behind him and rubbed his back with her soft hands.

  “Want to go to the grocery store?”

  “Sure. Do you have a list?”

  “Uhh, no?” He’d never written a list before, just took mental note of what he needed and added a few things for good measure.

  “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and they trotted back to the kitchen.

  Sidonie took inventory of the space, opened every cabinet and door, as she muttered and clicked her tongue. She whipped out her new phone and started writing with the small stylus.

  “What’s your budget?”

  He’d never thought about that, either. There was enough money for him not to worry about it. He wasn’t rich or anything, but the farm made decent money and he had his salary to go along with it.

  He tossed a figure into the air. “Maybe two hundred bucks?”

  “All right, we can get you stocked decently with that.”

  When she finished writing, she grabbed her keys. “We can take my car.”

  “Why?”

  “The groceries won’t last a mile in the back of your truck.”

  Wasn’t that the truth as the cab didn’t have a cover on it and he wasn’t used to having any one ride shotgun on shopping excursions.

  They arrived at a small farmers mar
ket first and Sidonie touched everything. Was that what women did when they bought groceries? Fondled fruits and vegetables?

  When they finished, she had a few things he’d never cooked before, like artichokes and Swiss chard.

  Then they went to the actual grocery store and he pushed a cart with her purse in the front. She grabbed up a bit of this and a bit of that, scratching across her phone the entire time. When they made it to the canned goods aisle, she tossed in can after can and the cart became harder to push.

  When they walked into the dairy aisle, she grabbed up some coffee creamer that was almost empty at his house, and she grabbed a case of soy milk.

  “I don’t drink that.”

  “Have you ever tried it?”

  “Um, can’t say that I have.”

  “Have it with your cereal in the morning, you won’t even know the difference.” She pursed her lips. “Actually, it tastes better to me.”

  “Okay.” If he hated it, picking up milk later on wouldn’t kill him.

  She tossed in a tub of gelato and he hadn’t tried that, either. As a matter of fact, half of what she tossed in was new to him. The only thing he picked up was a rack of ribs that he could grill for dinner the following night. A hundred and forty-eight dollars later, he felt halfway stockpiled to the zombie apocalypse.

  It was fun, though. He hadn’t been grocery shopping with a woman before, so it was a new experience for him. She would point out oddities as they rolled past and laugh about the use of it.

  There was a set of cereal bowls that had straws embedded in the side.

  A disposable cat litter tray that was made out of recycled paper.

  And when all was said and done, he lugged the groceries in, several bags at a time. Sidonie noticed his trash can at the street and she dragged it, heels and all, into the backyard.

  “Do you want to order in?” he asked as the hour was getting late and he didn’t want to slave over a stove.

  “Nah, I’m going to make us shrimp Alfredo.”

  He didn’t see a jar for it and shrugged.

  “Just watch.”

  She pulled out a hunk of Parmesan, some heavy cream, and a block of Neufchatel cheese. He helped, mainly stirring or chopping on demand, as she stirred and salted the sauce. The shrimp were tossed onto the small grill he used to make chicken breasts and he boiled water for pasta.

  An hour later, they sat in his living room floor and broke bread. Sidonie ate her pasta delicately, with a twirl of her fork into the base of a spoon and moaned.

  “I outdid myself.” She laughed and took a sip of wine.

  “Yes, you did.” He rubbed his belly and stretched. “This is some damn good pasta, lady.”

  “Why thank you, good sir, glad you liked it.”

  Before he knew it, they had cleared the impromptu picnic and Sidonie yawned.

  “I’m going to change, ’kay?”

  “It’ll be a waste. There’s a robe on the back of the bathroom door. Put it on and I’ll take care of the dishes.” She squeaked and bit her lip with a nod in agreement.

  He rinsed everything off and put it into the dishwasher. Sidonie did as he asked and when he stepped into his bedroom, her fingers played over the tie at her waist as she half reclined on the bed. The robe didn’t swallow her. In fact, she was exposed from collarbone to waist, her thick nipples barely hidden by the lapels.

  “Wait here and I’ll run us a bath.” She nodded.

  He turned on the water and waited for it to fill halfway. He added some of the bath pellets from the treasure chest and a healthy dose of body wash.

  It wasn’t the most feminine smelling stuff, but the air was fragrant and humid, hopefully that would be enough.

  “Sidonie, come here.” He leaned over and swirled his hands through the water.

  She padded quickly into the bathroom and he cocked at brow at the sight of her, explicitly exposed by the too small robe.

  “As good as you look in that, take it off.” Sidonie untied the robe and allowed it to fall to the floor in a rush of fabric.

  He stripped as well and by the time they settled in, the water was near the top of the tub and sloshed dangerously. She leaned forward and let some of the bath out then stopped it again.

  The scene had too many possibilities and all of them ended with sex. But not here as he didn’t bring a single condom to the bath, he had too much planned and all of it took place just fifteen feet away in his bed.

  He lathered her up and down, before she treated him to the same.

  Den was impatient. He almost wanted to send his plans to hell and take her right then and there. But he didn’t. He swatted her on the thigh.

  “Get up, sexy.”

  She stood up and the water sluiced from her skin and Den’s erection jerked, slapping the water.

  He let her pick up the robe with a delightful bend of waist that only made him want to drag her by the hair just like the Neanderthal she proclaimed him to be a week ago.

  When he shrugged on his robe and followed her back to the bed room, she had dropped the robe to the floor and pulled on the comforter.

  “Impatient?”

  She looked over and licked her lips. “Yeah, a little.”

  From her expression, it was more than a little. It seemed like a lot.

  “Well, go on.” He nodded at the blanket. “Pull it back and see what we have in store for the weekend.”

  She did, and when she exposed the under the bed restraints at each corner, Sidonie’s shiver spoke volumes.

  “Lay down and get comfortable.”

  He wrapped the straps over her wrists first, and then over her ankles. There was a buckle that would let him add length to give her more motion, or to take it away, but he elected to have her spread eagle for the moment.

  If he felt like it, he may give her enough slack to actually writhe later.

  He slipped the box from under the bed and when Den opened it he removed a blindfold. It came with the kit and he thought that it might be even better than what she expected. Although, she was so innately sensual, he could likely do anything to her and she would love it.

  She bent her neck so he could fasten the covering over her eyes and when he finished, she lowered her head back to the pillow.

  He rubbed his hands over her at first, just as a tease and to awaken her flesh. When he reached her feet, he rubbed a knuckle over the arch, and then teased the padded areas under each toe.

  Sidonie hissed and he smiled. That’s what I’m talking about.

  He massaged on the base of her feet, as he hadn’t spent much time with that particular region before and he needed time to get acquainted with it. Then, he would know what would take her from zero to sixty.

  He found that spot when he ran a finger in between her toes.

  She lurched and keened his name. “Shit! Den, baby!”

  “Uh-huh,” he muttered, distracted by her body’s movements.

  He repeated the caress on her other foot and thought he might get an even better reaction if he used lotion. He was tempted to do something he never had imagined doing before and he didn’t want to ingest the unguent if he decided to go through with his novel idea.

  It was the very best idea he’d ever had in his short life thus far. In all honesty, Den had never seen a woman go so crazy in so short a period of time. When his teeth scraped the arch of her foot, she keened desperately into the air. Her body thrashed in all directions and she tried to run away from him.

  “Whatyoudotome!” She screamed and lurched upward.

  “You asked for it,” he replied.

  “Stop! Please! I can’t—”

  “You already are. Relax.”

  “Let me go and I’ll show you relaxed.” She was threatening him and that was the cue to take it even farther.

  She pleaded for him to stop even as she came screaming with a lick of his tongue between her toes. He couldn’t help it, he was fascinated by her reaction and despite the fact that he had little liking for fee
t, Den had an entirely new appreciation for them after that moment.

  Sidonie lurched and bucked wildly and he couldn’t wait until he finished, so he could fuck her into next week.

  And little did she realize that for once, they had the time.

  If she wasn’t strapped down to the bed, she would have wrestled him to the ground like an Amazon and raped him. That was just how violent the passionate response to his touch was.

  Fuck… he was a goner.

  He loosened the straps at her ankles and allowed just enough play for her to bend her knees.

  Den slid between her thighs, used his shoulders as a wedge that splayed her cunt wide open for his thorough review. He dropped his face into the fragrant, steamy folds between her thighs and licked the lips of her cunt with a flattened tongue.

  “Ooh! Please!” she cried out and clenched her knees tightly around him.

  “Please what?”

  “More, baby, more.”

  He planted his lips back around her clit and sucked the erect nub the way he would her nipples. He almost wished for another set of mouths he could drive her crazy with.

  This time when she came, the hot gush of fluid ran so fast, he wasn’t able to keep up with the flow and wasted most of it on the bed.

  Den wiped his mouth on her thigh as he nuzzled his nose on the soft expanse and bit the skin under his mouth.

  “Oh… fuckfuckfuck!” she wailed in a rush. “Stop!” She groaned, but in the same breath? It was, “Oh god, don’t stop!”

  “Breathe,” he reminded her as it seemed like she’d forgotten how to.

  Den looked over the scene before him. Sidonie was a picture of rapture, as if he had stolen her very being with his touch. Her head was cast back, exposing her neck, and he could see every ripple of her throat as she huffed to catch her breath.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  “Who’s that?” Sidonie asked as she turned her sightless face in all directions.

  “Hold on.” It took him a long minute to realize the thudding wasn’t his heart. It was the front door and the knock was a recognizable one, as it was trained into every potential officer at the academy.

  He unsnapped the restraints at the wrists, before Den climbed off of Sidonie and shrugged on the huge bathrobe that he’d used earlier.