Bonded by Accident

“To be unjustly imprisoned is fucking hard but I’ve known plenty of males who deserve it too,” Slade growled. “But I take it this Earl is no longer part of your life?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “He got sent up for a good long time and then he got into some fights in prison and killed somebody. So now he’s got a life-sentence tacked onto his time.” Her face went hard. “I promised myself that I’d never get involved with that kind of guy again. Not just for my sake but for Emmie’s too.”

Slade thought uncomfortably that her ex-mate’s situation sounded not unlike his own past. He wondered what Brandi would think if she knew that—he should probably reveal it at once to be perfectly honest. But he was afraid it would end their “date” and they were getting along so well now. Reluctantly, he decided to wait until later to inform her of his own past incarceration.

“Are you still enjoying your ‘sushi’?” he asked, eyeing her plate where over half of the colorful black and white and orange and green pieces were gone.

“It’s wonderful. Want a piece?” She picked up a small black and white piece with a green and pink-white center in the two long, thin sticks and offered it to him across the table. “This is California roll—it’s about as mild as sushi gets,” she added. “I mean, if you don’t like trying new things.”

“I like new things,” Slade told her. Opening his mouth, he allowed her to put the piece of food between his lips. He chewed and was surprised at how flavorful it was. The texture was soft and chewy and the taste was salty and a tiny bit sweet—many flavors, actually, working together to create something that was almost indescribable but very good. The only thing it lacked was a little spice, in Slade’s estimation.

Brandi was watching him with interest as he chewed and swallowed.

“So? What do you think?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Very good,” Slade admitted. “I like the way the textures and flavors meld together. It doesn’t have much heat though.”

“Well, I told you it was mild as sushi goes,” she pointed out. “If you like spice, I can always give you a piece with wasabi on it.” She indicated the little mound of pale green putty-looking material which was mostly untouched on the side of her plate.

“Is wazzabee hot?” Slade asked. “If so, I’ll be happy to try it. I like spice.”

“You could say that.” She chose a new piece and put just a dab of the green paste on it.

“More than that.” Slade made a “come on” gesture with one hand. “I can handle it.”

“Okay—you asked for it.” Shrugging, Brandi slathered the new piece of sushi liberally with the green paste and then fed it to him using the long thin sticks again.

The moment it hit his tongue, Slade felt his eyes begin to water and his taste buds started to sing.

“Mmm!” He chewed appreciatively as the strong spice filled his mouth and opened his sinuses. “Delicious!”

Brandi looked at him uncertainly.

“You liked that? That’s enough wasabi to use on like, twenty pieces of sushi. Isn’t it burning your mouth?”

“Yes, but in a good way,” Slade told her, grinning. “This green stuff—this wazzabee—how hard is it to get? Does it cost a lot?”

“No, not really, why?”

“I thought it must be expensive because it’s served in such small quantities,” he said. “But I’m glad to hear it’s not too expensive or hard to get—I want to get some and take it back to the Mother Ship with me.”

“And put it on what?” She looked mystified.

“On everything.” He gestured at her plate. “Do you mind if I try a little more of it on my chando-chando?”

“Is that what your rainbow-plate is called?” She smiled and shrugged. “Sure—I’m certainly not going to eat it. Here.”

Delicately, she moved the rest of the small green mound of the spicy condiment to the side of his own dish and then wiped the ends of her long thin sticks on a napkin.

Slade mixed the green paste into the dragon throat tubes and took a bite. Just as he had suspected, the added spice made what was already very good food into something truly special.

“Mmm!” He ate more, delighted with the new taste while Brandi watched with apparent amusement.

“I’ve never seen anyone take to wasabi quite that way before,” she remarked. “It’s usually an acquired taste.”

“I know what I like when I taste it,” Slade told her.

“Oh…I see.” Brandi’s voice sounded a bit tight and when he looked up, he saw she was blushing. Reaching through their link, he could hear that she was thinking about how he’d wanted to taste her pussy during their encounter at the Puppet House and how she’d put him off because she was embarrassed and uncertain of her own flavor because her ex-mate had said…