Chapter 12

Part Two: Journey to the Pearl

"I can't believe the asshole took it with him."

Miranda Fox stabbed a piece of sweet and sour shrimp with a vicious jab of her fork and popped it into her mouth.

Her friend, Leslie Keller, looked at her across the table in the Chinese restaurant in amazement. "I don't know why not. It's exactly the kind of thing Raoul would do."

"Raoul." Miranda said it as if it was a nasty word. "The name's as phony as he is. Why am I always fooled by a big dick and a clever pair of hands?"

Leslie sipped from the tiny cup of hot tea. "You aren't alone in that, kiddo. I think we all lay claim to that failing."

"You know," Miranda went on, "that pearl was supposed to be his gift to me. That perfect pearl on a fine gold chain. Except he pulled that old trick of forgetting his wallet and oh, Miranda, honey, I'll pay you back later. I just have to buy this for you. Yeah, right." She pushed her plate away in disgust. "And the damned thing cost a fortune."

Leslie burst out laughing. "I can't figure out which pisses you off more-having Raoul take a powder or copping that expensive piece of jewelry."

"My own stupidity is what's really the problem." She refilled her own teacup. "You'd think someone with as much money as I have would have a brain that works better."

"Listen to me." Leslie leaned forward and placed her hand over her friend's. "You spent the last ten years building your software company into a force of nature and then sold it to one of the biggies for an obscene amount of money. I'd say that's using your brain."

"Okay. Let's amend that. I need a brain where men are concerned."

"Maybe your quest for the perfect lover is getting a little out of hand," Leslie commented.

"Ya think?" Miranda shook her head, her thick sable-colored hair cascading around her shoulders. Her sapphire eyes were filled with anger and her sensuous mouth had compressed to a thin line.

"Your problem, my dear friend, is that now you have too much money to spend and too much time on your hands. After all those years of working nonstop now you're part of the idle rich and maybe you're too idle."

"God, you make me sound like a nympho with too much money. Maybe I should find another hobby."

"Maybe you should find out a little more about your boy toys before you take them home with you." Leslie suggested.

Miranda sighed. "I do seem to keep finding the ones with smooth looks, big cocks and not much else. Well, I'm getting my favorite private detective after this one first thing in the morning. That pearl is unique enough that it shouldn't be too hard to trace." She shook her head in disgust. "I ought to have B.J. start investigating the men I meet before I date them instead of after they make off with the family silver."

"At least you keep him entertained," Leslie smiled.

B.J. McNamara had been recommended to her when she suspected someone was pirating a new piece of software just before she sold the company. He'd found the culprit in a very short period of time and she'd used him ever since then whenever she needed an investigator. He was smart, savvy and had all the right connections. And gorgeous to boot. Too bad he had a firm rule about playing house with clients. She'd park his shoes under her bed in a hot minute.

"I'm sure B.J. thinks I'm a dimwit," Miranda sighed. "I won't be doing anything to dispel that thought when I call him about my latest fiasco. I suppose this was a damn stupid idea to begin with."

"There's nothing wrong with looking for the perfect lover. God knows we'd all like to find him. But..."

"I know, I know. Go about it a little differently."

They sat quietly while the waiter efficiently cleared their dishes. When the table was empty, he discreetly placed a small plastic tray containing their bill and two fortune cookies between them. Miranda opened hers first. Her eyes widened as she read the message, then she burst into full-throated laughter.

"What?" Leslie reached for the slip of paper.

Miranda dangled it just out of reach. "You won't believe it. Oh, this is just too rich. Leslie, did you bribe someone to give this to me?"

"If you don't tell me what it says this minute I will reach across the table and smack you."

Miranda held up the fortune in her small, slim hand with a flourish. "It says, 'Find the perfect pearl and you will find the perfect lover.' Can you believe it?"

Leslie grabbed the slip and read it for herself. "So I guess this means the search is still on?"

"How could it not be after this?"

"But first a visit to B.J. to find the damned pearl Raoul swiped. It's supposed to be perfect. Maybe whoever has it now will be the answer to my search and fulfill all my sexual fantasies."

"Just keep your wallet locked up this time," Leslie warned.

Miranda tossed her keys into the porcelain bowl on the cherrywood table in her condo foyer. In her bedroom she stripped off her clothes, tossed them into the hamper in the closet, then stood in front of her full-length mirror, analyzing her body.

Not too bad, she thought, being as objective as possible. A little on the short side, the thighs a tiny bit fleshy but her bottom was well rounded and her breasts were still firm and full. Her stomach was still flat, thanks to a steady regime of exercise but with a slight roundness that men seemed to love. She'd vacillated between shaving her pubic mound completely and waxing it bikini-style. Now she kept it trimmed so there was just a fine line of curls on the labia with a tiny nest at the top of her slit.

She wasn't looking for a relationships. She liked her individuality. Her freedom. But now she had the opportunity to indulge all of her sexual fantasies without worrying about another person. Was that selfish of her? Maybe but she was ready for a little selfishness in her life.

What was wrong with her, though, that men seemed to keep losing interest in her? Did she push too hard? Was she too willing? Not willing enough? Or did she focus so much on the sex she forgot there were other facets to a man she needed to take into consideration?

Or maybe it was just they realized she'd gotten as bored with them as they were with her. When she sold her company she suddenly had no place to go and nothing to do. But the vast world of pleasure that she'd allowed to pass her by while she focused on her business opened up to her like a huge candy store. At the moment, however, her drawer full of toys excited her more than any man she'd been with.

Just thinking of them now she felt moisture gather in her cunt and trickle to the inside of one thigh. She opened the outer lips of her pussy and spread her legs wide. Her breath caught as she saw the glistening pink flesh. She might not have found the perfect lover but she could give herself a great orgasm.

Pulling open the drawer in her nightstand, she took out two lengths of silken cord, a long, narrow butt plug, her lubricant and the purple dildo that she loved because it had extensions to grab her clit. Slathering the plug, she knelt on the bed and reached behind her, inserting it slowly in her rectum until it was fully seated. Next she looped one length of cord over her left ankle and tied it to one of the bedposts. The other she looped around her left wrist and fastened it to the headboard.

She spread her legs, enjoying the feeling of being restrained, the simulation of helplessness. The dildo slid easily into her already dripping cunt and she placed the little extensions on her clit, drawing in her breath at the touch of it on her already hot nub. Then, closing her eyes, she pressed the button at the bottom of the dildo and sank into the vibrations running through her.

The buzzing on the tip of her clitoris nearly drove her mad, as it always did and already she could feel the walls of her pussy quiver. The sensations penetrated the thin membrane separating her cunt from her asshole and the butt plug began to shimmy in that hot, dark tunnel. Her orgasm began to build in her body, rising on a steady wave of sensation. As she was about to push herself over the edge, she pressed the switch to off and held herself panting just at but not over the crest.

She'd learned through experimentation that if she did this two or three times, when she finally came, the force of her climax would be ten times greater. If only she could find a man who realized that.

Twice more she set the dildo to vibrating, feeling her pussy muscles clench and the muscles of her rectum grasp the plug filling it. When she finally gave herself the release she sought, it was like a storm crashing down on her. Her hips jerked, her cunt pulsed, her clit burned and liquid gushed from her, soaking the hand holding the dildo.

She lay panting for a long time afterwards, letting the aftershocks ripple over her. Even though she kept her eyes closed, she found it strange that she couldn't call to mind the face of any man she'd been with.