Page 55 of Tops
“Fuck, I didn’t think you were this tight still,” Tanner breathed out, and a sense of pride swelled within me.
He moved his fingers with expert skill, slowly relaxing my body while tending to my inner fire. He slowly stroked at the flames, making the small dark space of the backseat heat with our heavy breathing. Sex or not, we were fogging up the windows while he played my body like it was his to control.
My fingers curled on his shoulders; the expensive material of his suit jacket held strong as my nails dug in. I was right on the edge of an orgasm, and I could feel sweat beading at my hairline while my whole body locked up. Unable to move or grind, I was powerless to find the path to my own release, yet situated too close to the edge to breathe. The air around us had turned thick and humid, and it felt like drowning whenever I tried to drag in a desperate grab for oxygen.
Without warning, Tanner slipped his finger free, stopping all stimulation. It felt like a bucket of cold water poured over my head, and I slumped against his chest. I could hear his heart hammering in his chest as fast as mine, and that was the only noise I focused on while I waited for my extremities to be able to move again.
I hadn’t orgasmed, but it felt like I had just finished a triathlon without training. Low heat and a balloon of pressure settled in between my thighs. She wasn’t a happy and content kitty; she was feral and pissed. As soon as I could move, I was going to give Tanner a piece of my mind for leaving me like this.
His hand returned to the exposed skin of my back as he slipped through the dewy sweat that clung to my skin. The air in the cabin cooled quickly when Tanner hit the button to open the window half an inch.
My sense of decency seemed to return, along with my ability to move. I pushed off Tanner’s chest, not getting off his lap but also needing some distance while I sorted out my feelings. Part of me knew that despite how frustrated I felt being left unsatisfied, this was all part of the storm that was Tanner. I couldn’t have come at that moment unless he commanded it because when he touched me, I became little more than his puppet to control.
“I want you to stay like this for the evening, Nessa.” Tanner’s voice broke through the silence of our reflection period, fanning the flames inside me like he hadn’t just poured a bucket of water on them a few minutes ago. They seemed to listen to him more than they listened to me. “I want you so ready for me that the thought of my hands on you again makes your cheeks flush while you drink and dance with Colten.”
My body reacted to his words, imagining the night ahead of me. Publicly on the arm of Colten, allowed to touch each other freely. We would drink and dance together, projecting the image of budding love while his business partners had been inside me all day.
I didn’t get off Tanner’s lap until he patted my butt gently, and we turned on a long, winding country road. Carefully, so I didn’t flash Tanner another shot under my dress, I maneuvered off his lap and back into my own seat. He slid to the side once I was settled, putting as much space between us as he could. The barrier dividing Mike and us retracted, giving me a better view outside the car.
According to the time on the dash, it was nearing eleven. There were stars in the night sky without the light from the city to block them out. There still weren’t as many as back home, but at least it was quiet and peaceful here. Mike turned the car off the road and onto a long, winding, skinny path. Breaking through a crop of trees emerged a towering mansion. Lights were on in every room, and I started to feel nervous.
I found the clutch purse from the dress store, opening it to find a compact of clear powder and the tube of lipstick that matched my nipples. On the other side of the compact was a small mirror and brush. When I looked at my reflection, I was surprised to see I looked perfectly in place. I dotted a little powder on my forehead, where some of my skin shined lightly. Checking on my lipstick, I found it entirely free of smudges, and when I pressed my lips together and moved them around, I noticed the pigment stayed in place. The color did not move or transfer, even when I touched my finger against them.
Mike didn’t pull the car to the front door, opting instead to drive the car around the side of the property, where other cars were already parked in neat rows. The car stopped, and Mike turned off the engine, but kept his head straight and mouth shut. Maybe Mike wasn’t so bad now that he knew I wasn’t a threat. It still irritated the fuck out of me that he would consider me a threat in the first place.
The door I was sitting next to opened, startling me. When I looked out, I saw Colten standing outside the car wearing a gray suit with a white button-up and a black tie. His hair was slicked back in his professional style while he extended his hand to me. I placed my palm against him lightly, feeling as if the world around me had faded, and I felt like a princess going to a ball.
I stepped out of the car, and my dress bustled in the light breeze. Colten hadn’t let go of me as his fingers curled around to get a better hold. His posture was full of confidence as he stood tall and exuded a silent claim over me. At least for the party.
Tanner slammed his car door, bringing the rest of the world back as I turned to look at him and let him know everything was ok. If it was up to me, I didn’t want to be seen publicly with any of them. Particularly since they were members of high society, and I was a plain girl from rural Maryland. Telling the world not to pay attention to me because I was just fucking three men for fun and would soon take off didn’t sound better than pretending to date one of them.
Mike got out of the car, and I heard the locks click. Tanner stormed off toward the mansion, and Mike quickly followed suit behind. Tanner didn’t even look back at me before he left, and I knew he would need extra attention after tonight. Maybe I should have had sex with him on the way here, just to vent some of his frustrations. I was here to be used as much as I planned on using them, and I had already managed to fail my first opportunity to be of help.
“Did you need anything else, Nessa?” Colten asked, drawing my gaze away from the retreating form of Tanner’s back. Mike had caught up with him and fallen in line beside him while they continued their trek. I thought about asking him to open the trunk so I could slip on my underwear quickly before heading in, but those were not the words my lips decided on.
“What do I need to know about the kind of party this is?”
I watched Colten blink a few times behind his glasses before his finger came up to push them back up his nose before his hand smoothed back his hair. A path his hands clearly took often with the smooth familiarity of his movements. Just like Tanner raked his fingers through his hair when he was frustrated.
“This is a private, invite-only party for entertainment and networking for some of the most influential families in the country. I really wish Tanner would have gone over the protocol with you on the way over,” Colten sighed, looking off into the distance, but Tanner was already gone. “There are a few very hard rules. Do not question them; they are for your safety. Do not leave my side all night; preferably, make sure you are touching me or my suit somehow. Do not speak to anyone until I give you permission to answer their question. Before you get all up in a bunch over this, Nessa, I know you are a strong independent woman, but you do not know these people like I do.”
I smiled at Colten, squeezing his hand in mine to reassure him that I understood the gravity of the situation I had somehow found myself in. When I was around them, it was easy to forget that someone was actively looking for me with possible plans to kill me. I knew nothing about the secret world of the elite or private hitmen the police were no match for. My sense of independence could sit the fuck down and just do what Colten said for the evening. Hell, it might even be a fun game to play and help me get through the party.
“Do not eat or drink anything given to you by anyone except me. That includes Tanner. You cannot be seen talking to him, touching him, eating the food he gives you. I know it sounds demeaning, but this is how I establish you as off the menu to all the other hungry, entitled assholes in there.”
I nodded, content on not speaking for the entire night and playing a fun game of slightly flirting with Colten. Then there would be no confusion in anyone’s mind over who I belonged to. I could be his docile, attending, loyal girlfriend for tonight. Then tomorrow, we were back to the harem.
I slipped my hand free from Colten’s grasp, wrapping my arm around his bicep, bringing us even closer and signaling that I was ready to go inside.
17
An Elite Party
Whilemydressbelongedin a place like this, I certainly did not.
Glistening, sparkling chandeliers hung from high ceilings while large marble pillars broke up the space into rectangular pockets. Groups of men banded together, wearing perfectly tailored suits and ornately knotted ties. I scanned the room looking for Tanner, half expecting to find him in the center of one of these groupings.
Colten led us to one of the back pockets near a wall. There was a small table seemingly suspended by air, with two tall chairs situated next to each other as if the center of the room was the show. Colten pulled one away from the four-foot-wide floating disk, and I struggled not to ask him how the fuck they could break the laws of science when you accumulated so much money.
