Salt started by stroking the cooling gel over the outer lips of my pussy but then I moaned and wiggled, pressing my mound into his hand.
“Inside,” I whispered, looking back at him, over my shoulder. “Please, Papa—touch me inside. That’s where it really hurts.”
He made a low, indistinct sound in his throat and then I felt his long fingers stroking gently over my wet inner folds.
“Where does it hurt, mishka?” he murmured hoarsely. “Here?”
“Mmm…yes, Papa,” I moaned deliriously. It felt so good—so right and I never wanted him to stop.
“And here?” he asked, the pad of one finger circling gently around the swollen bud of my clit.
“Yes!” I nearly cried with pleasure as he finally touched me exactly where I needed to be touched. And he was doing it just right too—stroking all around the sensitive bundle of nerves without rubbing too hard or too directly. It was like he was trying to be careful, still treating me like I was a delicate, beautiful work of art that he might damage if he stroked me too hard. In other circumstances I would have protested that I could take rougher treatment but in this case, Salt’s touch was perfect—exactly what I needed.
“So beautiful, my little miskha,” he murmured as he continued his gentle, intimate caress. “So soft and hot and so very wet.”
“Am I?” I moaned softly, looking down at myself. “I…I guess I can’t help it.”
“I do not want you to help it. Is beautiful how much honey your pussy makes,” he assured me. “I love the silky feel of you in my hand…riding my fingers.”
As he spoke, I became aware that I was, in fact, moving to a rhythm all my own. I was pressing up against his big hand, rolling my hips, trying to get more of the addictive sensation of pleasure. Part of me—the part that was a tough-as-nails cop who took no shit off anyone—couldn’t believe I was doing this. Couldn’t believe it was actually me putting on his wanton, sexual display. And yet, I couldn’t seem to stop—I couldn’t even make myself want to stop. It felt too good, too right to have Salt touching me this way.
“Oh,” I moaned softly. “Oh Papa, I’m close…so close.”
“That’s a good girl,” Salt murmured, his eyes half-lidded with lust. He started rubbing a little harder, a little faster. “That’s a very good girl, mishka.”
“Please,” I begged him. “Oh, God…” I was so damn close but I needed something else…something more.
Salt seemed to understand my need. For a moment, he stopped rubbing my clit and then I felt two long, strong fingers enter me. As they kissed the end of my channel, his thumb was back, tracing slow, magical patterns around my aching clit again.
I gasped at the added sensation and bucked against his hand as he fucked into me with his fingers. Oh God, I couldn’t stand this much more…
“Mishka,” Salt growled, catching my eyes and holding them with his own. “Come for me now—come while I touch you.” Then he thrust in hard and I felt his thumb press against the throbbing bud of my clit.
“Oh…Oh!” I gasped, unable to help myself—not wanting to help myself. I felt the orgasm rush through me—as sweet and strong as wine that goes straight to your head. My toes curled, my back arched and my nipples turned into hard little points. I clamped my thighs around Salt’s big hand as I moaned and cried my pleasure.
Through it all, Salt watched me with half-lidded eyes. I could see how turned on he was—how incredibly aroused watching me come made him. Yet he made no attempt to do anything but give me pleasure, even though he probably had the worst case of blue balls in history.
At last it was over and I fell back, panting, trying to catch my breath. My body was still tingling all over and normally by now my mind would have been in overdrive. And indeed, I did hear an inner voice asking me what the hell I thought I was doing and how I expected to be able to look my partner in the eye in the future after letting him get me off this way.
But mostly, I was still on an emotional high. Still stuck in the Little headspace I’d once scoffed at and thought was a joke or an excuse to duck responsibilities. So while the adult, responsible Andi was somewhere screaming that I was screwing up my entire career and the best relationship I’d ever had, the Little me was content to sigh and snuggle up to Salt’s broad chest and murmur, “Thank you, Papa.”
Salt seemed happy to just hold me.
“Mishka,” he murmured, gathering me close. I pressed my face to his throat and breathed him in—the scents of the ocean and his warm skin comforted me and helped shut up the shrill voice of reason that was trying to assert itself. Tomorrow…I would deal with the consequences of my actions tomorrow. That was soon enough.
I’d had a very stressful day and now that I was finally relaxed, I just wanted to sleep where I was safe—in my Papa’s arms.
So thinking, I let myself drift off and fell asleep wrapped in his strong embrace.
Chapter Ten
“Wake up—we will be late. Unless you want me to bring you breakfast in bed again?” Salt’s deep voice and the sunlight streaming through the cracks in the bedroom shades woke me. I took a deep, lazy stretch wondering why I felt so good. My body seemed to be humming with contentment and I felt looser and more relaxed than I could remember feeling for a long time.
“Time to get up,” my partner said again.
“In a minute,” I murmured. I rolled over, keeping my eyes closed, relishing the feel of the silky sheets against my bare skin…wait a minute. My bare skin?
My eyes flew open and I realized I was sleeping naked. Not only that, Salt was standing over me fully clothed in another one of his dark, immaculate suits. He was watching me as I writhed around on the bed like some kind of porn star.
“Salt?” I gasped, sitting up and pulling the silky gray sheets up to my chin.
“You do not have to do that,” he remarked, sitting on the bed beside me. “You do not have to be shy with me now.”
Suddenly everything came back to me. The way I’d let my partner see me naked. The way he’d bathed me…shaved me…and… Oh my God, had I actually let him touch me?
Not just let him—you begged him, whispered a nasty little voice in my brain. Begged him to touch you until you came all over his hand. God only knows what he thinks of you now after the display you put on last night.
“Crap,” I groaned, putting my face in my hands. I couldn’t even look at my partner. “Salt,” I said, my voice muffled. “About last night…”
“Last night, we did only what was necessary,” he said firmly.
“I don’t know what came over me,” I said, still not looking at him. “It was so…so weird. I just—”
“Andi…” He lifted my chin gently but firmly until I reluctantly met his eyes. “There is no shame,” he said softly. “We are playing roles here, yes? Only pretending.”
“Yes…yes, of course,” I muttered, looking away. What would he think of me if he knew that everything I’d done the night before had been real—at least to me? I hadn’t been playacting when I begged him to touch me and called him “Papa.” I hadn’t been pretending when I clung to him and snuggled close to his chest, feeling safe and warm and protected for the first time in years.
Somehow I had honestly fallen into “Little-space” and had gone to a place inside myself I hadn’t even known was there. In that place, a hungry little girl lived—a girl who was starved for love and affection from a strong, loving man. A man she could depend on to never leave her, a protector and defender. A man who would kill or die to keep her safe. Someone who could be a father…a partner…a lover�
�a friend.
A man she could trust.
You can trust Salt, whispered a little voice in my head.
Sure I could—to be my partner. But he’d just said we were only pretending. He was just playing his part—the part of my “Papa”—and he thought I was doing the same. He didn’t know that the little girl—that mishka—was real and was really a part of me. Even now I could see her, sitting on the curb in her pretty new party dress, the one her Daddy had bought her for the Valentine’s Day dance. Her thin shoulders slumped, her eyes red and hopeless as she looked down the street, waiting for a man who would never arrive. Waiting for a father who was never coming back.
He had failed me so badly—my biological father. He’d abandoned me when I needed him the most and that pain was still inside me. The little girl crying on the curb was still there too, holding onto it. Pain…distrust…fear…anger…she held them in her arms like a bouquet of toxic flowers. They poisoned her—poisoned me—but what could I do? How could I ever let go of them? Let go of the hurt and doubt I felt when I remembered that first, most important betrayal?
“Andi?” Salt said, pulling me out of my morbid thoughts. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” I sat up straighter and tried to smile. “Just fine.”
“Are you certain?” He put his hand to my face and his fingers came away wet. “You are crying,” he murmured. “Tell me if this becomes too much to bear. I know it is…difficult.”
“For you too,” I pointed out, swiping at my eyes. “I mean, it can’t be easy having to pretend to be my ‘Papa’ and taking care of me like I’m some idiotic little girl who can’t fend for herself all the damn time.”
“I never said I minded taking care of you,” he said softly.
“Well, you certainly did a good job of it last night,” I remarked acerbically. “I mean, your acting skills are amazing, Salt—or should I say Papa? You should get an Oscar—bravo.”
Salt got a pained look on his face.
“Andi—” he began but I was already jumping out of bed. Keeping the sheet wrapped firmly around me, I went to dig around in my suitcase. “I have another dress for you hanging in the closet,” Salt remarked, watching me.
“What? Another little girl party dress?” I shook my head. “I don’t think so. It’s time to change the game, Salt. Time to escalate. And I can’t do that dressed like I’m going to an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party.”
I pulled out the naughty schoolgirl outfit—the see-through white blouse, the tiny red and black plaid skirt, the white knee socks and Mary Jane shoes—it was all just as I remembered it.
“What are you doing?” Salt’s face had darkened. “I do not want you wearing that.”
“Well that’s just too bad, isn’t it?” I flared at him. “But you’re not my ‘Papa’—you’re my partner. So I’m going to wear what I Goddamn please.”
“Andi—” he began but I held up a hand to stop him.
“No. No more of those stupid little girl dresses. You’re going to have to face the facts, Salt—if we’re going to crack this case your sweet little mishka is going to have to grow up and play with the big girls.”
“I do not like this,” he said frowning. “I do not think it is safe for you to act and dress in this way, Andi. Bad things will come of it.”
“The only thing that’s going to come of it is that we’re finally going to make progress on the case and get the hell out of here,” I snapped.
Then I went into the bathroom, slammed the door behind me, and tried not to cry.
Stupid, I told myself over and over as I pulled on the clothes. Stupid to think Salt was into it last night the way you were. He’s your partner—your friend. Not anything else. And he won’t even be that if you don’t pull yourself together and stop acting like a hurt little girl that skinned her knee and is crying on the sidewalk. Get hold of yourself, Andi!
The pep-talk helped—at least some. By the time I had the naughty school girl outfit on, I was dry-eyed and I had my head back in the game. No more falling into the role I was playing, I lectured myself. No more calling Salt “Papa” when we were alone together. From now on I was going to be all business all the time.
But what kind of business?
Looking at myself in the big bathroom mirror, I knew what kind of business anyone who saw me dressed like this would think I was in. They would think I was hooking or stripping or making a porno—there was no other conclusion anyone could draw, seeing me like this.
The blouse seemed more see-through than I remembered but maybe that was because, after some deliberation, I had left my bra off. My breasts were bare beneath it, my nipples tight with tension as they pressed in two stiff pink points against the translucent silky white material.
The skirt seemed shorter than I remembered too but at least there was a pair of panties with it, which I hadn’t noticed before. Not that they covered much. They were tiny white lace things with an innocent white bow at the top. The bow concealed a small zipper which pulled down to split the crotch wide open, revealing my freshly shaved pussy. I resolved to keep the panties zipped up. I might be playing the naughty school girl, but there were limits. The white knee socks and Mary Janes completed the look.
I stared at myself in the sexy get-up feeling incredibly exposed. And yet, as vulnerable as I felt, I was still glad I was wearing this and not another little girl dress. I couldn’t take playing that age anymore. It was driving me crazy—putting me into a frame of mind that was much too easy to slip into and incredibly hard to get out of.
And what age were you playing last night? whispered a little voice in my head. What age were you when Salt was shaving you and making you come with his big fingers buried in your tight little pussy?
Well, not the age of the little girl dresses, that was for sure. But neither had I been thinking of myself as the rebellious teenager I was now dressed as.
Honestly, I was beginning to think that the apparent “age” I was playing didn’t matter as much as the mindset I got into when Salt and I “played” in the first place. When I called him “Papa” and let myself feel open and trusting with him, I went to a different place—a place of ultimate vulnerability and weakness. The place where the hungry little girl lived—the one who missed her father’s love and approval so desperately.
I couldn’t let myself go there anymore. Couldn’t allow myself to be that vulnerable for any man—not even Salt. I made stupid decisions when I was in that place—like letting myself trust…letting myself feel and remember all the painful memories of my biological father I’d buried so long ago.
No more, I promised myself. From now on I’m going to be tough and no-nonsense. I’m only here to do my job and once it’s done, Salt and I are out of here and back to our former relationship.
Thinking of my partner made me wonder what he would think when he saw me in the naughty school girl outfit. Imagining those pale blue eyes raking over my nearly bare body sent a shiver down my spine. He probably wouldn’t like it at all but that was just too damn bad. I was in charge of my own destiny here and I refused to back down for anyone—even Salt.
Lifting my chin, I stepped out of the bathroom…and found my partner gone.
Chapter Eleven
Salt was already seated down in the dining room, eating bacon and eggs and making conversation with Berkley and the other Daddies and their Babygirls. I walked in slowly and heard the conversation falter as the others sitting at the table noticed my new outfit. My breasts might not be as big as Mandy’s, but they were still full and perky and my
nipples were little pink points, clearly visible through the thin material of my blouse. The skirt I was wearing nearly showed my panties—in fact, it would show my panties if I bent over, even a little.
The cool breeze from the air conditioner swept over me, sending a shiver down my spine and making my nipples so tight they ached but I lifted my chin and walked up to the table anyway. I felt my stomach flutter with apprehension as I approached Salt’s chair. He’d seen me in this before—hell, he’d seen me naked. But that had been in private. We were in public now—how would he react to the new mishka?
“Well, well, well.” Berkley’s gray eyes swept over me appreciatively. “It looks like your Babygirl is all grown up today, Mr. Saltanov.”
“Hmm?” Salt spared a glance over his shoulder at me but his expression of mild boredom didn’t change. “Oh yes, she is wishing to try new clothes today.” He shrugged as if to say it was no big deal.
I felt a surge of irritation. How dare he act like he was bored when he saw me dressed like this? It was hard going out in this get-up, damn it! The least he could do was say I was pretty.
“Hello, Papa,” I murmured, going up to him. Leaning over so that my breasts were pressed against his arm, I stole a piece of bacon from his plate and took a tiny nibble. “It’s nice to see you this morning,” I told him in a high, breathy voice.
“Is nice to see you too, mishka. Now have a seat and eat your breakfast.” Salt still sounded faintly bored, almost like a real father who had to deal with a tiresome teenager.
Irritated, I started to sit on the chair beside him but someone had forgotten to put the stupid booster seat I needed to reach the table on it. Having a sudden inspiration, I ducked under Salt’s arm and insinuated myself into his lap.