Page 32 of A Fine Line

Carolina giggles again, nodding in agreement, and then they go back to whispering to each other. Frankly, I’m a little sick of being in the fucking dark, so I say, “Tell me what you need me to do. I already agreed to help, but you have to tell me what you need.”

Nettie smiles at me, and Carolina does the same. That stupid fucking warmth is back in my chest, and I have to suppress my urge to scream.

Carolina covers her cheeks with her hands and giggles almost uncomfortably. I narrow my eyes at Nettie and ask, “Are you sure she even wants to do this?”

Nettie goes to respond, but Carolina interrupts, “It’s not that I don’t want to. I’m just a little nervous.”

Carolina’s eyes meet mine, and I recognize the skittish animal in them, making my chest tighten. “Fuck this,” I spit out as I rise from my chair and close the short distance between us, indicating for Nettie to move out of my way so I can kneel in front of her.

“Do you want Nettie to touch you?” She nods. “Do you want me to touch you?” She nods again. “And Darius? Do you want his touch as well?” She hesitates, and I see the indecision in her eyes, so I continue, “Regardless of how I feel about another man’s hands on you, I would never prevent you from getting what you need. And I wouldn’t punish you for it after the fact, either. This isn’t about me or my wants or needs; this is about what you need.”

Her eyes flit to Dare behind me, and then she turns her head slightly to look at Nettie, who is now seated beside her on the sofa. Nettie smiles at her and says, “Whatever you want, Car. You’re in charge here.”

Carolina and Nettie continue to stare at each other for a few moments, and then Nettie’s lips twitch. “What is it? What are you two scheming?”

Nettie gives me an innocent look and then looks behind me and waggles her brows mischievously and Dare chuckles knowingly. “Oh, you naughty little minx. You wouldn’t?”

She smiles broadly, raising a flirty shoulder as she says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Carolina’s giggles turn into a cackle, and I sit back on my haunches, looking back at Dare and asking, “Have we been duped here?”

“I wouldn’t say we’ve been duped, but we’ve definitely been played.”

Carolina and Nettie are both giggling now, and while I’m relieved the tension has been broken, I’m slightly concerned about where this is going.

Finally, Carolina manages to sober long enough to sputter, “Do you think–” She stops as another giggle slips out. “Do you think you two would be willing to make out?”

I give her a bland look and Dare sighs loudly from behind me. I scowl at him. I don’t question my own sexuality, and I’m not squeamish about touching other men, but I’m surprised this is coming up now. And also, greatly suspicious. So, I turn to Dare and ask, “This doesn’t surprise you?”

“Not at all,” he says with humor glinting in his eyes as he watches Nettie. “It seems our girls may be taking advantage of a situation here to get what they want.”

I look at Nettie, who now has a suspiciously innocent look on her face, and then at Carolina, who has a matching innocent look. I look between the two of them for several moments before turning back to Darius. “So, we are getting played here?”

“Not entirely,” he says with a raised brow. “But my guess is a little minx put the idea into Carolina’s head. Not in a malicious way, but still, naughty.”

“And this would help you?” I ask Carolina, assessing her face as I continue, “Dare and I swapping some saliva?”

The smile on her face dims, and she lowers her eyes shyly as she thinks over her response for a moment. Then her shoulders lift a bit as she answers, “I’m not sure. But I do like the idea of having two men being in the moment instead of being at odds and treating the entire scene as a punishment.”

Nettie has a self-satisfied smirk on her face, and I roll my eyes in response, saying, “Don’t you fucking start.”

“Yes, Antoinette,” Darius purrs from behind me. “Don’t think you’re gonna get out of your punishment because I still owe you.”

“Well, I do like to be punished,” she quips, not even a glimmer of remorse on her features.

Dare rises from his chair and slowly walks around me, stopping in front of Nettie, where she’s kneeling beside Carolina on the sofa. He delves his fingers through the hair on the back of her skull, pulling her head back and using his other hand to grip her cheeks between his fingers and thumb. He leans down and whispers into your ear, earning a soft gasp from her in response, and then he licks a line over her cheek to her lips.

She attempts to move closer, but his hand is still in her hair, and the one on her face tightens, and he gives her a little jerk, keeping her in place as he growls against her lips, “Don’t fucking move. Put your hands behind your back, and don’t fucking move, or I’ll stop.”

She immediately puts her hands behind, and he releases his grip on her face, his hand moving down to dip into her shirt, squeezing her breast. Then his lips claim hers hungrily, and she responds in kind, a low moan vibrating between them.

Carolina fidgets in front of me, drawing my attention back to her, and then I watch her watching them, the desire on her face evident beneath her slight air of uneasiness.

“Do you enjoy watching them?” I ask her as her tongue peeks out, wetting her lips. Her soft brown eyes meet mine, burning with equal parts hunger and wariness, and she nods.

“Do you want to be watched?” I whisper, the shrug of her shoulders matching the uncertainty on her face. “Do you know what you enjoy?” She shakes her head. “Do you want to find out?” She hesitates for the briefest of moments and then nods. “Say it, sweetheart. I need you to use your words.”

The breath she takes in is shuddering, and she exhales it slowly before finally saying, “Yes. I want to find out.”

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