Naughty (25 page)

Before turning onto her stomach, she reached down into her bag and took out several condoms. “Pick one, big boy.”

He chose the ribbed Magnum for extra stimulation, slid it on his erect sex, and said in a demanding tone, “Now spread that ass.”

Jacob rode her like a prized thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby, and did things in the next few hours that were probably illegal in most states. He fucked her in the ass, changed condoms, and fucked her in the pussy. They sixty-nined each other, with his mouth sucking her clit while her mouth feasted on his cock. He made her get on the floor like a dog, and rammed her from behind, pimp-style. Then he flipped her over and came all over her face. Once he came, Jacob made her lick his joystick until it was hard again, and again he fucked her silly. He was a man on a mission. Since they only had three hours together, he wanted to make sure that he got his money’s worth, and fucked up until the last second.

Lying there totally satiated after she left, he felt like a new man and slept like a baby until it was time to check out.

Guilt started to creep into his soul the moment the plane
touched down in New York. The last thing he needed was to get caught with his pants down with a call girl. He had too much to lose over an indiscretion of that sort. Jacob had taken infidelity to an entirely new level. He had never hired a professional for sex before, and was starting to feel out of control.
Maybe I need to talk to a therapist,
he thought. He was from the old school of thought, and that was if you paid the cost, you could be the boss. And since he was the sole breadwinner, he felt entitled to screw around on the side, but now he was beginning to have second thoughts. He truly loved his wife, and maybe a psychotherapist could help him rekindle the feelings he once had for Naomi.

On the way home, he stopped by the florist and bought Naomi a dozen white roses, her favorite. She was probably still sulking over his impromptu trip, and flowers were just the thing to bring a smile to her face. When he drove up to the house, it was dark.

“I’m home!” Jacob yelled, walking into the foyer and clicking on the light. But no one answered back.
She’s probably asleep,
he thought.

He tiptoed upstairs and eased open their bedroom door to surprise Naomi with the bouquet, but got a surprise himself. He expected to see her curled up under the covers with a book, but she wasn’t there. Jacob went down the hall to ask Tyler if she knew where Naomi was, but her room was also empty, as was Noah’s. Standing in the middle of the hallway, with the flowers dangling at his side, he scratched his head and wondered,
Where is everyone?

“
EARTH TO
Naomi, earth to Naomi,” chanted Rio Stanis, the flamboyant curator of the Museum of Urban Art. Naomi was at her volunteer job. Initially, it had just been something to get her out of the house and around adults, but it turned into a perpetual course in Art History. She could now distinguish the difference between a Renoir and a Degas, and could also interpret the surrealism of a convoluted Dali. This knowledge would come in handy once she started her interior design business.

“Sorry, Rio, what were you saying?” Naomi asked, coming out of her self-induced trance.

“I was
saying
that whatever has you preoccupied must be really important, because usually you’re a chatterbox, but you’ve barely said three words to me since this morning.”

Rio was right on the money. Normally she would’ve come right into the office giving him a bimonthly update on her life, detail by detail. She was indeed preoccupied. Her mind was inundated with thoughts of Tyler and the dinner they shared the night before.

Naomi had decided to call a truce with Tyler. Being busted had softened her resolve, and made her take a long look at herself. Here she was judging Tyler for her sexual preference, while at the same time Naomi was seriously contemplating fucking another man. Tyler may have been gay, but at least she wasn’t an adulterer. As soon as her sister-in-law came through the door, Naomi invited her out to dinner. At first, Tyler had tried to decline. She was still pissed about being dissed on the front steps of the Black Door, but Naomi wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Jacob wasn’t due back from London until later that night, and Noah was at a friend’s house for a sleepover. She told Tyler that she didn’t want to eat alone. Being the kindhearted person that she was, Tyler relented and they went to the local Italian restaurant.

Once their drinks came, Naomi started right in, before she changed her mind. “First of all, Tyler, I want to apologize to you for being so rude to you over the past few weeks.”

Tyler couldn’t believe her ears. She never thought that she would hear Naomi utter those words. She was speechless.

Naomi took one look at Tyler’s face and knew that she had taken her by surprise, so she went on. “Tyler, I don’t tell many people this, only because I’m ashamed. But when I was younger, my favorite cousin moved in with us, and at first we did everything together, and then she kicked me to the curb for the girl next door. I had no idea that she was gay, and truly didn’t understand at the time exactly what it meant. All I knew was that my best friend was spending time with someone else. In my mind I equated gay with negative feelings of abandonment, instead of seeing it as two people enjoying each other’s company. I guess I’ve been harboring resentment all of these years. I took my bitterness out on you, and for that I’m sorry.”

“Naomi, I really appreciate your candor. It takes a big person to admit when they’re wrong.”

“You’re welcome. I just hope that you can forgive me.”

“Of course I can, we’re family after all.” Tyler smiled, but
then switched gears. “So, Naomi, you never answered my question.”

Naomi took a sip of water and cleared her throat. “And what question is that?” she asked, feigning ignorance. Naomi had hoped that her apology would make Tyler forget about the incident the other night.

“What were you doing at the Black Door? You aren’t a member, are you?” she asked skeptically.

“The Black Door? What’s the Black Door?”

Tyler cocked her head to one side, and gave Naomi a “come on, don’t give me that” look. “It’s a club for women,” she said, slowly and determinately, so that Naomi could get the drift of what a club for women actually meant.

“Oh, like a spa?” Naomi asked, raising her voice a decibel, so that she sounded like a ditsy Valley Girl.

Tyler shook her head. “No, it’s not a spa. It’s an erotica club.” She put her elbows on the table and leaned in closer to Naomi. “You know, a place where women go to have
sex,
” she said, putting emphasis on the word
sex
.

Naomi put her hand to her mouth, as if shocked. “What? You’re kidding?”

“No, I’m not kidding. So, you’re saying that you had no idea where you were?” she asked, cocking her head again in disbelief.

“God no!” she exclaimed. “Kennedy and I were uptown to visit a friend of ours. Obviously we got the addresses mixed up. You know how all those brownstones look alike,” she said with a straight face, thankful that they had taken off their wigs before leaving the club, otherwise she’d have more explaining to do.

“Ump,” Tyler grunted, as if she didn’t believe Naomi’s lame story, but since she hadn’t actually seen them inside of the club, she had no proof as to whether they were members or not. “Okay, that explains why you guys were on the front steps of the club, but it doesn’t explain why you ran away the moment you saw me,” Tyler said, refusing to let Naomi off the hook so easily.

“We didn’t mean to leave so suddenly, but we had tickets to a Broadway show, and you know that once the curtain goes up, the ushers won’t seat you right away,” Naomi lied, and then turned the tables on Tyler before she had a chance to ask any more questions. “Now that I think about it, what were
you
doing there? Are you a member?” Naomi pinned Tyler with a penetrating stare.

“No, I’m not a member. I work there,” she said with indignation, as if being a member of a sex club was beneath her.

“What do you do there?” Trey mentioned that Tyler worked for him, but he never mentioned what she did.

Tyler hesitated a moment. She had promised Trey that she would keep her assignment a secret, but now that she had halfway let the cat out of the bag, she was stuck. She didn’t want Naomi thinking that she actually worked inside of the club, so she had no choice but to tell her the truth. “This has to remain just between the two of us, and you can’t tell Kennedy,” she said, giving Naomi a serious look.

“I promise, I won’t say a word.”

“The owner, Trey, hired me on a freelance basis to design masks for some of the members.”

“Oh.” It was definitely confirmed. There was no way on God’s good earth that she could join now. Since Tyler was designing masks for members, she would eventually see Naomi’s name on the roster, and she could never let that happen. Now Naomi’s only alternative for constant sex was her husband. He was her first choice, but obviously she wasn’t Jacob’s. With him constantly denying her sexual pleasures, Naomi was beginning to think that he was having an affair. His early-morning meetings, late nights, and constant business trips were a little too suspicious.
Once Jacob gets back from London, we’re going to have a serious talk,
she thought.

By the time they got back from dinner, Jacob was home from
his trip, but Naomi didn’t have a chance to confront him because he was snoring louder than a drunken truck driver.

“
SO TELL ME
, Ms. Thang”—Rio perched himself on the edge of her desk—“what’s got you so preoccupied?” he asked, ready for an earful.

Even though they were buds, Naomi wasn’t about to tell him about her visit to the Black Door. Knowing Rio, he would want to know more about the club, and if gay men were allowed to join, and she wasn’t up to an inquisition. “Nothing serious, just thinking about life in general,” she lied.

“Whatever you say, Ms. Thang.” He smirked and rolled his eyes. “But if you want to talk, I’ll be in my office,” he said, pinning her with a knowing look.

Rio was such a queen and his facial expression—mouth twisted to one side and bulging eyes—was more than comical. “If I feel a confession coming on, I’ll be sure to knock on your door, Dr. Phil.” Naomi chuckled.

“I’m glad you find my concern funny.” He snapped his fingers, jumped up, and strutted off in a dramatic huff.

Once he was gone, she got back to cataloging the artwork for the Jacob Lawrence exhibit next month and was up to her eyeballs in slides when Rio came bolting out of his office a few hours later.

“You gonna spend the night here, or are you going home?” he asked sarcastically, with his manicured hand resting comfortably on his slender hip.

Naomi looked at her watch and realized that it was after five o’clock. “I’m almost finished with these”—she held up a slide—“then I’m outta here. These pieces are amazing. I didn’t realize what a dynamic force Jacob Lawrence was in the art community.”

“This exhibit is going to be a major coup, especially once I
secure a few rare pieces from a private collector.” Rio leaned over and air-kissed her on both cheeks. “Ciao. See you in two weeks,” he said, making a swift exit.

“Ciao.”
He probably has a hot date tonight
, she thought as she watched him switch away.

Forty minutes later, Naomi was in her car speeding along the LIE on her way home. When she pulled into the driveway, she was shocked to see Jacob’s car. Naomi could count on one hand the number of times in the past year when he had arrived home before eight o’clock. As much as she wanted to know the truth, a confession of adultery wasn’t what she wanted to hear from her husband, but since he was home at a decent hour, this would be the perfect time for their much-needed heart-to-heart. Naomi exhaled nervously and unlocked the door.

Soft music greeted her the moment she stepped into the foyer.
That’s unusual,
she thought. Whenever Jacob was home either he was locked away in his study or upstairs under the covers. The music seemed to be floating from the dining room, so she walked in that direction. Naomi’s jaw dropped the second she reached the entryway. The table was formally set, almost identical to the way she set it, the only difference being a beautiful bouquet of white roses—her favorite—in a leaded crystal vase as the centerpiece instead of the antique candelabrum. Jacob wasn’t much of a cook, so she was surprised to see steam wafting through glass-topped Pyrex serving dishes.

“Hey, beautiful,” Jacob whispered into her ear from behind, “welcome home.” Before Naomi could say a word, he began kissing the back of her neck and nibbling on her earlobes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. “I’ve missed you, Naomi, and I promise I’m going to cut back on my work hours and spend more time at home with you and Noah.”

Naomi inched away. “Jacob, I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be spending more time at home, but—” she hesitated.
Naomi didn’t want to pour water on the evening, especially since Jacob was being so sweet, but his behavior was that of a guilty person, which made her really want to pose the question of him cheating. “We need to talk. I don’t know how to say it, so I’m just going to come right out and—”

Before she could ask if he was having an affair, Jacob swung her around and began kissing her passionately. He fed Naomi his tongue with an erotic urgency that she hadn’t felt from him since their hedonistic London trips. Her body automatically responded with an urgency of its own, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his hungry kisses. She had also planned to talk to Jacob about the seed money for her business, but he had totally distracted her. At the moment she wasn’t thinking about adulterous affairs, or business plans, just making love to her husband.

Jacob swept her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, all the while never taking his lips off of hers. The feel of his soft lips was making her hot, and she wanted more.