'M' is For: [Ch10] Of Wolves and Sheep - Part 1

By the time October came around, I could recognize almost everyone who came to Missy's parties. Sharon was right about it being a small circle. I hadn't seen her since the first party, and I missed her refreshing directness. Still, I'd found others in Missy's crowd who were always receptive to trying something new with me, especially after my performance at the last one. We only knew each other within the context of Missy's parties, and so there was no risk of confusing outside-world feelings with the simple dynamics of the party scene. There was also Edward...a handsome and smooth-talking man who I had very little romantic attraction to, but a lot of sexual desire. I wouldn't have considered myself an anglophile, but the English accent was a very nice touch, I had to admit.

Tonight's book club was Halloween-themed (safeword: Shelley). I had never been one to dress up as a sexy nurse, and so I opted instead for an all-black outfit that was completed by the addition of a broad-brimmed witch hat. Drawing inspiration from what Kiara had done the last time, I attempted false lashes and a smoky eye. I didn't quite have her deft touch with eyeshadow, but I felt my attempt was more than passable and better than what the semi-darkness of Missy's apartment required. I wore a sheer black top that hung long and loose, baring my freckled shoulders, and underneath which I was wearing a new black lace bra. I looked and felt better than I ever had before.

"I like the look," Edward said appreciatively as I approached him. He himself was dressed as a pirate with a red bandana and a hoop earring. He was talking to another girl on one of the loveseats, but he scooted over to make room for me. I sat down beside him and he casually draped an arm around me. "You look incredibly hot."

"Thanks, darling," I drawled. He leaned in and we exchanged a quick kiss on the cheek.

Edward introduced me to the girl he was talking to, Sophie. We chatted a little bit about work and New York, but the small talk didn't last long. Soon Sophie was helping Edward out of his shirt and I was helping with his belt.

Dragging Edward's tight jeans down to his knees, I rose up to meet Edward with a kiss of my own. He had to bend a little to make up the difference in our heights. Even in the heels I had put on just for the party, he was much taller than me. There was something hot, I thought, about forcing a man to bend down to meet you. Beside me, Sophie took his cock in her mouth and began to suck.

I'd kissed Edward a couple times by now, and his kiss always surprised me. It demanded all of my attention. His hands, resting on my hips, pulled me as close as Sophie's proximity would allow. His half-lidded gaze as we locked eyes smoldered with heat as his tongue sought mine. In personality, he was much more dominant than a lot of the people here, who seemed happy to do whatever was asked of them. Edward liked the dominance games, the pressure to match wills and see who won. I must have been growing into my role because I found I liked bossing him around. I liked winning.

A slight hitch in Edward's breath told me that whatever Sophie was doing down there, it was working. I pulled away enough to gaze down at her mouth around his engorged cock. Edward was generously endowed, even when flaccid, and in his current state of arousal, she could barely get her lips past the halfway point on his length.

"You're going to have to deep-throat it if you want to take it all the way," I purred. "Do you know how to do that?"

"Yeah?" Sophie slid her mouth off of Edward's cock, trailing a thread of saliva. She wiped her lips with the heel of her hand. "Why don't you show me?"

I smiled. I might be relatively new to all this, but giving head was something that I rather thought I was good at. I lowered myself to my knees and Sophie slid aside to give me full access to Edward's body. Placing my hands on the bones of his hips, I took the head of his cock in my mouth. I could taste Sophie on his soft skin. Bracing for the sensation, I eased myself onto his cock, feeling its engorged length push against my tongue and into the back of my throat. I suppressed the fleeting temptation to gag and instead began to work up a rhythm, using my hands on his hips as leverage to drive my motion. I tightened my mouth, increasing the tension as I moved along his skin.

Edward made a deep, guttural nose of approval in the back of his own throat. I could feel his cock strain in my mouth and taste the salt of his precum as it mixed in my mouth and hit the back of my throat.

When I gauged the timing right, I pulled all the way back, slipping my mouth off Edward's cock. His erection rose tall and proud from his groin. Grinning wickedly upwards at him, I flicked it lightly with my thumb and forefinger, and he gasped.

"Now your turn," I told Sophie. "Show him what you've got."

Sophie was game for the challenge. Eagerly, she slid forward to take my spot on the floor. I pushed myself up onto the couch and sat there, a hand braced on Edward's lower back as Sophie went to work.

Just then, I heard my name. I blinked, surprised by the interruption. Turning my head, I saw Missy a little ways away. She beckoned to me.

"Mal."

I hesitated, wondering what she could possibly want with me now.

"Mal, come here for a second," Missy said again. "I've got something to ask you."

"Sorry, the Mistress of Ceremonies beckons," I said to Sophie and Edward with a wry grin. Inwardly, I sighed at the timing.

Rising up to my feet, I went to join her. Missy was seated on an armchair, receiving some very devoted attention between the legs from one of her admirers. I recognized Jacob, an investment banker at JP Morgan, who'd been brought in by one of Missy's friends at the last club. Thomas sat not too far away on the floor, accompanied by a couple of women who looked ready to fill in for Missy as his lover.

"Can you do me a favor pretty please and grab me a Manhattan?" Missy asked me. "I've been sitting here for ages and could use a drink."

"Only because I love you," I said, rolling my eyes.

Missy clasped her hands together. I love you, she mouthed as I walked away.

With the party in full swing, Paul the phone guy—wearing a cowboy hat and chaps for the evening—was now also the resident bartender. I waited behind the bar for the queue ahead of me to clear, then stepped forward and gave Missy's order. Paul took a few more orders from the people behind me and then turned back around to prepare the drinks. I stepped back to wait.

As I waited, I noticed a man named Roger had cornered a boy who looked like he might still have been in college. I'd come across Roger at a couple previous events, and for the most part, we'd never interacted directly. Still, I knew Roger as a guy who was down for anything and who occasionally liked to play rough. Not too many of Missy's guests were into that, but evidently he found just enough willing partners to keep him coming back.

"You ever done anal before?" I heard Roger ask the boy. Compared to Roger's short but muscular build, this kid was slim with huge nervous eyes. His face looked new to me, and I wondered if this was his first time out at one of Missy's book club parties.

The boy shook his head, murmuring something too soft for me to catch. Roger laughed at that. "What about fisting? DP?" He leaned in close and put an arm around the boy's shoulder. "We could try all that tonight, you know. Here, have a drink. It'll loosen you up."

The boy stared at the drink Roger was offering him.

"I'm...I'm not sure..."

"C'mon, it won't kill you," urged Roger. "You can't come to these sorts of things sober and a virgin, for Chrissakes. What's your name?"

Gingerly, the boy took the glass from Roger. "Liam," he muttered. I felt the hairs on the backs of my arms rise.

"What's going on here?" I asked. Roger's face darkened momentarily before he pasted on a bright, artificial smile that flashed too many teeth.

"Mallory, was it? You're looking gorgeous tonight. I like that makeup, and..." Insolently, he raked his eyes over me and licked his lips. "Not bad at all. You clean up good."

I could feel my pulse starting to rise. As a general rule, I hated confrontations. But something about the situation was raising all sorts of alarms, and I fought against my instinct to retreat. His knee-jerk response to knock me back into place reminded me all too much of my ex, who couldn't stand being challenged.

"What is in that drink?" I asked Roger through gritted teeth.

"Just a little G, nothing crazy," Roger said dismissively. His tone brought a flush of anger to my cheeks and I clenched my fists tightly.

"And were you going to tell him that?"

"Please, relax," Roger said with a short laugh in the exact tone that made me want to do anything but.

"You can't go around giving people drugs without telling them," I hissed. Becoming aware that the people around us waiting for drinks were starting to stare, I took a deep breath and turned toward Liam. "Are you okay?"

Liam opened his mouth, closed it, then looked down at his drink. "I...it was fine. He was just trying to be friendly. That's all." He refused to look at Roger.

Roger raised his arms emphatically. "There, you see? Making a big deal out of nothing."

I swallowed, torn as to what to do. My gut told me that Liam didn't want to be in this situation, but what if I were wrong? Was I interfering unnecessarily and making a total fool of myself?

"Manhattan," Paul called out, breaking the silence that had fallen around us.

I seized the opportunity. Dropping a tip into the glass jar, I grabbed the drink off the counter and turned around to face Liam.

"I'm off to bring this to Missy," I said as casually as I could manage, but I could hear the slight uneven shake in my voice. "Do you want to come with me?"

Liam hesitated, darting his eyes between me and Roger. After a moment, he said in a small voice, "I'll go with you. I haven't said hi to Missy yet."

Roger threw up his hands like he'd been the one wronged, but I tried to shove him out of my mind for the moment. Seriously, fuck that guy.

"Perfect, let's go," I said to Liam.

But I didn't take Liam to Missy right away. As we left earshot of the bar, I turned to Liam.

"Hey, you want a moment?"

"I...yeah, actually," Liam managed. I could barely hear his low words over the music playing, but I nodded to let him know I understood.

I led him out of the living room into the master bathroom. Remembering what had happened to Edward my first night here, I knocked on the door just to be sure it was empty before pulling Liam inside.

"Sorry about that. I'm really usually not one to make a scene," I said once the door was closed. Slowly, Liam sat down on the edge of the bath, looking a bit pale. "Is this your first time here?"

"Y-yeah," Liam said. "Uh, thank you. Sorry about that back there...when you asked me earlier if I was okay...I couldn't..."

"It's fine," I said. "Really."

Gauging by the way Liam was still unwilling to meet my eyes, he was still a little freaked out by what had just happened with Roger. Scraping my mind for some conversation starters, I asked him lightly, "So, how do you know Missy?"

"We work together at the magazine," Liam said. "I'm on a summer internship, just for a couple months." College student, I had thought. I was right.

"How are you liking it so far?"

"It's okay." Liam flashed me a shy smile. "It can be a little hard to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, but Missy's been nice as far as giving me pointers on who to reach out to."

"That's good," I said encouragingly. I asked him a few more questions about the magazine, recalling what I knew from Missy. Gradually, Liam relaxed. I watched closely as the tension left his shoulders and some of the color started to come back into his face. "You think you're ready to go back out there?" I asked him at last.

"Yeah," Liam said. He smiled at me shyly. "There were some cute guys out there."

"Yeah, everyone's gorgeous," I said wryly. I stood up from where I'd been seated beside him on the edge of the sunken bathtub. "Let's get out there and have some fun, okay?"

"Yeah." Liam stood up too. I opened the door and stepped outside, then paused when I realized he wasn't right behind me. "I just wanted to say, um..." He paused, and I thought he might have been waiting for me to supply my name.

"Mallory," I said with a friendly smile, extending a hand. "It's Mallory."

"Thanks, Mallory." Liam returned my smile and my handshake. He had a very sweet smile. "Really."

"No problem." I winked at him. "You'll have a good time, I promise."

I accompanied Liam back out to the living room and introduced him to some of the friends I'd made. I had the uncomfortable feeling that they'd either seen or heard about my confrontation with Roger, but they had the sense not to bring it up. I was gratified to see them warmly welcome Liam.

But I knew I couldn't leave the issue of Roger unresolved.