Shiver : 13 Sexy Tales of Humor and Horror

Chapter One

“So Brooke, I have an idea,” Nathan says as he pulls a coffee mug out of the cupboard.

One thing I adore about my boyfriend is that he’s an animator and comic artist with a wild imagination so he always has interesting ideas. I figure this one really must be a doozy if he’s avoiding looking me in the eye.

“Uh oh, an idea?” I tease. “Is this one I need to gird my loins for?”

“Nah. No girding required. It’s an awesome idea…I bet you’re going to love it!”

Still no eye contact…I’m not hedging my bets. “Okay. Hit me with it.”

He finally turns toward me and grins. “I thought we could throw a Halloween party this year!” His voice is unnaturally high and his cheeks color as he waits for my reaction. When I don’t respond he pushes his glasses further up his nose and clears his throat. “Nothing extravagant…just a few of our friends.”

Nothing extravagant? Who’s he kidding? Nathan never does things half way. I know a big party would be a major undertaking and I can’t imagine how we’d fit it into our insane schedule.

“What are you thinking? What about your deadlines? You’re working seven days a week right now as it is.”

He plops down on the chair across from me and bobs his head. “I know, but I have an idea. I’m going to job out the inking and coloring for the B-Girl issue due first week in November.”

Whoa…he must really want to do this party if he’s finally agreeing to job out his precious comic book work. I immediately recognize the potential this provides for future weekend getaways. “…and you know I hate Halloween, handsome.”

“But I thought you liked the decorations and giving out candy to the kids.”

“I do but I always pay a price for the fun. You know my history with those huge Costco bags of mini candy bars when I hand out the treats: one for little Cinderella, one for me, one each for the two pirates, two for me.”

Apparently I have a problem.

He nods. “See that’s another good reason why we should have a party. We’ll be too busy to hand out candy. I’ll pay the neighbor kid to do it for us. He’s too old to trick or treat.”

“You’ve thought of everything.” My smile gives him a false sense of encouragement and he pulls a sketchbook out of the drawer.

“I have! Let me show you.” He flips several pages in and points to an elaborate drawing. “We can convert the garage into the Batcave.”

I lift the drawing up to examine it more closely. It’s got every detail I’d expect from Nathan including a glass case holding a full Batman costume to a simulated mission control desk, and Batphone. “And why a Batcave?”

His eyes grow wide with an expression you’d expect from a six year old. “Because it’d be so cool.”

“Indeed.” Overcome with curiosity I turn the page of the book and the next illustration has the Metropolis tower complete with a globe, rising out of the center of our roof. “Good lord. How are you going to do that?”

“I’ve already talked to Nick’s cousin about it. He does carpentry stuff and can build anything.”

Wow. He’s not joking around. I point to a drawing of what I assume was once our guest bathroom. There are spider webs everywhere. “Is this Spiderman’s bathroom?”

He nods, tapping his fingers on the tabletop as he watches me study the pages.

“I’m seeing a theme here.”

“Yeah. It’s a Superhero party!” His tapping speeds up until he finally stops and grips the edge of the table.

My stomach falls. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

“Everyone has to come dressed as a Superhero!” He says it like it’s the most epic idea ever.

“Even me?” I ask with an arched brow. “Is this some elaborate theme to get me back in that Wonder Woman outfit?”

His eyes narrow and his jaw clenches, giving him that incredibly irresistible sexy look. He gazes longingly at me like he wishes I was wearing that outfit right now. It’s been a while since I’ve worn it and the last time I had it on it didn’t stay on long. We were making Superhero love in record time. I smile at the memory but then snap back to reality. With all the stress eating lately I’m doubtful I’d even fit into that tiny costume now.

I fold my arms across my chest and shake my head. “I think I’ve developed an allergy to spandex.”

I know my man when he gets his mind set on something so I’m not surprised that he immediately disputes my claim. “No you haven’t! You practically live in those yoga pants and I know they have spandex in them.” He grins with a lascivious look. “That’s why they fit so perfectly.”

Busted. I try another tact. “You really want all your animation-comic friends to see me in that outfit? Do you remember how low cut that bustier is?”

He purses his lips together and scratches his head. “Good point.”

“I don’t really think I can take a whole evening of Andy ogling me.”

Nathan’s eyes light up. “But he has a big crush on another girl now. So she’ll be dressed up too for him to ogle! Everyone will be dressed up.”

I frown. That gives me zero comfort. Just imagining all the lumpy body shapes without the camouflaging comfort of clothes makes me want to reinstate my gym membership and share it with the others.

“Please, Brooke, please….will you do it for me?”

He asks me for so little and gives me so much. How can I not do this one thing that means so much to him? Certainly one of my friends can give me a Xanax or something to get me through the party.

“Okay,” I whisper just loud enough for him to hear. But then I wink at him to seal the deal.

He leaps out of his chair and rushes over, pulling me out of my seat. Next thing I know he’s holding me tightly as his hands wander the last places I would expect them to be early on a workday morning. I lean into him enjoying every touch.

“As for that revealing costume…I have to warn you, I’m a little curvier these days.” I slide his hand over my hip and then up to cup my breast, hoping he thinks the idea of that isn’t all bad.

“Are you kidding me? You know how much I love your curves. You’re going to be the sexiest Wonder Woman ever,” he says with a happy sigh. There’s a sincerity in his tone that makes me love him even more.

I lean my cheek against his chest and listen to his heart pound. I love that after all this time I can still get him worked up so easily.

When his hand slides down to my ass and he squeezes it lovingly, I cringe that he has so much to grab onto.

There’s no way around it… Zumba class, here I come.

Several weeks later I’m returning from my Saturday afternoon errands and grocery run when I notice a collection of neighbors in front of our house. I stop my car and lean my head out the window hoping to see what several of them are pointing at. When my gaze settles on the addition to our roofline I let out a long sigh. Metropolis. I forgot it was being installed today.

I park the car and get out, planning how I’m going to do damage control. Is there some kind of big-brother community policy against adding weird stuff to our house that we didn’t know about? It’s not like we painted the house hot pink or something. I stop and study the addition more thoughtfully. It’s handsome, rather art deco and design-y. Maybe we’ll just leave it up after the party. That’ll show ‘em.

Mr. UCLA guy with his poodle on a leash is scowling. This from the man who hangs school banners all over his house when there’s a big game. I pull back my shoulders and prepare for battle.

When I step up to the group, our next door neighbor Brian grins. “Is someone visiting from Planet Krypton?”

“How’d you guess?” I tease back.

“Planet what?” asks Mrs. Rogerson, the sweet old lady from across the street who now looks a little alarmed.

I give her a warm smile. “He’s joking, Mrs. Rogerson. It’s a reference to Superman.”

“Dearie, is that why there’s a doll hanging off of it?” she asks.

I cup my hand over my brow to shield the sun and look up at the structure. “What doll?”

She hands me her binoculars and points to the right. “The one dangling off the thing in the back.”

I take the binoculars and hold them up, wondering the entire time what else Mrs. Rogerson watches through these things. I have to scan and focus before I see what she’s referring to. A Superman doll the size of a Ken doll is extended from a wire off the main structure. Wow. Nathan isn’t holding back with the decorations…not even a little bit.

“That’s Superman. He’s flying around Metropolis,” I say as I hand the binoculars back.

“I told you!” Brian says, smirking at Mr. UCLA.

“Cool,” says Derek, our teenage neighbor who’s going to pass out the candy at our house Halloween night if he can part from his video games long enough.

I turn to the group. “This is part of our Halloween decorations. We’re having a Superhero party and you’re all invited.” I assume none of them will come but a little goodwill goes a long way.

“How cute,” Mrs. Rogerson says.

“I hope you don’t mind that Nathan got the decorations up a little early.”

“Not at all,” says Brian.

Mr. UCLA walks away with a resigned mutter.

The crowd breaks up. I let out a sigh. Crisis averted. Now let me go find my man.

“Nathan,” I call out after setting the grocery bags on the kitchen counters.

I hear his muffled voice from the garage. “In here.”

I find him sponging paint on crumpled oversized pieces of paper.

“Do I dare ask what you’re doing?”

He pushes his glasses up his nose carefully so he doesn’t get paint on his face. “I’m creating the stone texture so the cave looks more realistic.”

I give him a puzzled look. “The cave? Oh, you mean the Batcave?”

He gives me a bewildered look back.

“Of course the Batcave, Brooke. What other cave would it be?”

“Sorry. I guess I was distracted by the pow-wow of neighbors I found in front of our house when I got home.”

“What were they doing?”

“Looking at the addition to our house.”

He grins widely. “Did they love it?”

My heart melts for the young boy in my grown man who assumes everyone would love having Metropolis on top of their house.

“They were very impressed.”

“I bet! Just wait until they see the Batcave!”

A thought suddenly occurs to me. “Hey you know that package that arrived from that expensive collector doll company? What character was that you bought?”

He turns back and starts sponging the section of construction paper in front of him and mumbles something under his breath.

I put my hands on my hips. “What was that?”

“Superman,” he says quietly.

“And is that Superman now dangling off our roof?”

He huffs and looks up at me with a determined expression. “He’s not dangling! He’s flying!”

I roll my eyes. “How silly of me. Of course he’s flying. We have a two-hundred dollar collectible Superman flying around our roof. Why couldn’t you have used a twenty dollar one? Remember the Superman dolls we saw at Target not long ago?”

He gives me a horrified look like I slapped him in the face. “Are you serious? Brooke, that was the Henry Cavill Superman in that bogus grey blue uniform. I could never have him with our perfectly adapted Metropolis! It had to be an authentic Silver Age Superman and that was the best one I could find.”

“Oh geez, Nathan.”

“What?”

“I guess this is what I get for falling in love with a purist.”

He steps up to me and takes my hand. “But sweetheart, would you really want it any other way?”

I smile at him. “No. I guess not.”

“Okay then. Now that we’ve got that settled let me show you the best part.” He grabs a remote control off the garage counter and pulls me outside to the street just past our yard.

He’s clutching the remote tightly as he waits for me to look up. “Ready?”

“I sure am.”

“It’s going to be hard to tell the effect during the day but I assure you it will be amazing at night. Here we go!” He clicks a button and I notice that the world globe on top of the structure has taken on a glow and slowly turns. Meanwhile the wire holding Superman starts to move the opposite direction. “Look Brooke!”

I gasp and turn toward Nathan. “He’s flying! I seriously can’t believe you!”

“How clever I am?” he asks with a sheepish grin.

“Yes, how clever and how awesomely amazing!”

He pulls me into his arms and we watch Superman circle Metropolis a number of times before finally shutting him off. “I better get back to my painting.”

As we walk back into the house I ask about lunch. “What kind of sandwich would you like?”

He shrugs. “Whatever you’re having. By the way, how are the food and drink plans coming for the party?”

“Did you know that Billie used to be a bartender? She’s agreed to come up with the themed drinks for us. And I had another cute idea for food.”

“Better than the Catwoman catnip salad? Or the Clark Kent Oreo cookies where you take the top cookie off and the frosting inside has the Superman shield?”

“Well, I was thinking of pizza ideas, and you know that Batman villain Two-Face?”

“Sure.”

“We’re going to have Two-Face pizzas…one half of the pizza is perfectly smooth with cheese and the other is a mess of ingredients.”

“Just like Two-Face! Brilliant!” Nathan beams.

“I’m working on dip ideas next.”

He nods and lets out a satisfied sigh. “This is going to be the best Halloween party ever.”

Chapter Two

It seems like there are endless details for this party, and not all of them are fun ones. Nathan arches his brow when I dump a collection of shopping bags on the couch. “What’s all that?”

“It’s part of my costume for the party. The most important part really.”

He tips his head to the side. “But you already have the costume.”

I scowl and plop down on the sofa next to the bags.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well you know all those Zumba classes I missed because of all my production and merchandising meetings? And failed diet attempts the last few weeks?” I look down at the floor and shake my head.

“But Brooke, you’ve been so busy…”

I throw my hands up in exasperation. “I know! But that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t fit into my costume.”

His expression falls and he rubs his chin with his hand. “Oh I see. So is it another costume in those bags?”

“No. It’s reinforcement. It’s the latest state-of-the-art undergarments designed to tighten up everything so I look sleek as a seal.”

Nathan’s face scrunches up. “That sounds uncomfortable.”

I nod. “You have no idea.”

“I’ve always wondered, when everything gets tightened up…exactly where does it go?”

Leave it to my creative boyfriend to wonder such things. “I don’t know handsome, it goes inward I guess.”

“That can’t be. I mean what about your internal organs. It has to go somewhere else.”

I reach into the bag and pull out the package and point to the illustration on the front. “See with this one it sucks in everything below my waist and my thighs.”

“But what if when you put it on the stuff squeezes out and gives you massive calves?”

Is he serious? I give him a bug-eyed look. “Well then I can go to the party dressed as the Hulk. Or I can resort to the most extreme.”

His wide eyes actually look full of fear. “And that would be?”

I fish around in the bag and pull out the largest package. “The full body suit.”

“Head to toe?” he asks with a gasp.

“Yes. Even my toes will look thinner.”

“Surely this isn’t necessary,” he insists as he steps away from the package. “Are you sure your costume doesn’t fit?”

“Abundantly. But at least I’ll look presentable for your party…our party.” I quickly correct myself.

He reaches out for me with an empathetic look. “Oh baby, don’t do this to yourself. We’ll figure something else out.”

I’m so disappointed in myself and I throw my hands over my eyes and start to cry. He pushes the packages on the floor and sits down and pulls me into his arms.

“Don’t cry, Brooke. Please don’t cry.”

I sniffle into his shoulder.

“If it makes you feel any better I’m having costume issues too.”

I lift my head up and face him. “You are? You don’t like your Superman costume? It was the nicest one I could find.”

He shakes his head. “No it’s not that.”

I watch the blush move across his cheeks. “It’s just too…revealing.”

I blush too knowing how well-endowed Nathan is. “Oh…that.”

He nods somberly. “I’m pretty sure I’d never hear the end of it from the guys.”

“But doesn’t that make you look even more like a Superhero?” I grin widely.

He kisses the top of my head and sighs. “To you it does.”

I pull away from him and gently nudge him forward. “I want to see. Can you try it on for me?”

“Oh God. Now?” he asks with a horrified look.

“Yes, I insist.”

He lifts off the couch slowly like he’s still trying to figure out how to get out of it. I push him on the ass. “Go on now. I’m waiting.”

I’ve scrolled through my entire Facebook feed before I realize how long this is taking. “Nathan?” I call out.

“Coming.” His voice is very tentative.

When he steps into the living room I frown. “No fair!”

He shrugs. “It’s authentic.” He looks down and unbuttons his white dress shirt one more notch and pulls it open further to expose the Superman S shield on his chest.

I fold my arms over my chest. “You’re not wearing a Clark Kent suit over your uniform, Nathan!”

He gives me a guilty look. “I know — it’s cheating.”

“Is that fair to your guests? If Andy is brave enough to wear spandex tights among his peers you have to be brave too.”

“But I’m pretty sure Andy doesn’t have a package like I do.”

“I’d rather not think about that.” I wave him over. “Here, I want to see.”

With resignation he steps forward and holds his arms up, letting out a sigh. “If you must.”

I start by pushing the jacket off his shoulders and pulling it off. The shirt comes next. But when I trace my fingers along his waistband and start to unzip the fly, I look up at him and see fire in his eyes. I slowly pull his slacks down.

“Oh my,” I whisper before biting my lip. I look up at him with desire in my eyes too.

“The way you’re looking at me is only going to make this worse,” he says gesturing at a situation that is going to test the very spandex stretch limits of his costume.

I look up at him with a guilty smile. “Sorry about that.”

He looks over at my purchases. “Hey, what if I wore one of those things under my costume. Do you have one that’s just the panty area?”

My mouth gapes open. “I do — I got every kind, but won’t that hurt to have your manly parts pushed inward?”

He shrugs. “If you’re willing to suffer for our party I will too. I’m the one that got us into this mess.”

I search through the package and then pull out what he’s looking for. “Okay…here you go. I can’t wait to see this.”

He looks pale and a little scared when he takes the package, but still turns and heads toward the bedroom.

Several minutes pass and there’s no sign of him. Maybe he needs my help. I knock softly on the bedroom door. “You okay in there?”

“I don’t know. This is disturbing.” His voice sounds tight.

“Can I see? I promise to be good.”

“No laughing?”

“I promise.” When he doesn’t respond I slowly push the door open. He’s standing in the corner on the far side of the room.

He slowly lifts his arms up. “I don’t know about this, Brooke.”

“You’re too far away — I can’t see. Come here, handsome.”

I have to press my mouth shut tight as he walks toward me. He’s moving like he has a stick up his ass. I’ve never seen him move so awkwardly.

When he gets close I can’t help clapping my hand over my mouth and gasping. My free hand gestures to his crotch.

“What?” he asks with an alarmed expression.

“Where did it go? How tight was that girdle?”

He brushes the sheen of sweat off his forehead. “It’s not just that. I did that tucking thing that I heard drag queens do. That’s not easy to do. Nathan junior is wedged between my legs and let me tell you, he isn’t happy about it.”

“I bet.” I can’t take my eyes away from the miracle of spandex and tucking.

“What?”

I hold back a giggle. “You look like a eunuch.”

“Gee, thanks. But do you think this will work?”

I shake my head fiercely. “No way. It’s false advertising of the most unflattering kind. Besides you wouldn’t make it through an hour, let alone a whole night.” I sit down on the edge of the bed and reach out to him. “Come here. Let’s set the beast free.”

He waddles over to me and takes a deep breath as I push the blue fabric over his broad shoulders and start peeling downward.

He looks at me with gratitude brimming in his big green eyes. “Oh, thank God.”

When the Superman costume is pushed down past his thighs I run my fingertips over the flesh colored fabric where his cock used to be. “This is so wrong.”

I hear him whimper and look up to see his eyes wedged shut. “Don’t touch me Brooke. You’re getting me all worked up…and it hurts so bad!” He’s taking quick short breath like a pregnant woman in her Lamaze class.

“Okay!” I say as I quickly peel away the tight garment. I have to shove all the fabric down to his ankles before he can part his thighs enough for me to slide my fingers up between his legs.

He starts to moan loudly when I gently take hold of his cock and start to pull it forward to where it’s meant to be. I feel him swell inside my grasp. I tenderly slide my other hand under his balls to set them free as well.

I look up at Nathan and smile. “Better?”

He runs his hand through my hair and lets out a sigh. “So much better.”

“I bet. That was just so wrong in every way.” I keep fondling him, admiring his sheer perfection now that’s he’s rock hard.

The relief in Nathan’s eyes turns into a scorching expression as I continue to stroke him.

I feel inspired to make him feel better after all his suffering. “God, I love doing this.” I kiss the tip of his swollen head.

“I’m so glad you do.” His gazed is fixed on me as I run my tongue along his length. “Oh Brooke,” he whispers when he realizes I’m not going to stop.

I smile inwardly. I’d be smiling outwardly too but it’s pretty much impossible when a cock this size is in your mouth. I slowly circle the head with my tongue while I moan.

He cups his hands over my jaws, his thumbs stroking my cheeks as I suck down his length. He swallows hard. “I love it when you do that…so much.”

I graze my teeth lightly back up his shaft and then work my way back down. I know exactly how to drive him crazy. It doesn’t take much with Nathan, every long lick and trail of kisses, until he’s in my mouth again, unravels him that much more.

He’s glorious with his heated expression and gently rocking hips. He watches my every move and the way his gaze skims over my body suggests that as soon as I’m done he’s going to worship me back. I may have been his first partner to experience mind-blowing sex with but I’m going to make sure I’m also his last.

I show him with every swirl of the tongue and sexy moan how much I love pleasuring him. When I take him in deep he throws his head back and passionately surrenders with a Superhero worthy climax.

After he floats back down to earth, he struggles to catch his breath. As he pulls me into his arms, I give him a warning. “Never again hide yourself from me.”

He gives me a lazy, satiated smile, and shakes his head slowly. “Never.”

Chapter Three

Morgan eyes me skeptically as she holds up the bodysuit. “Are you sure about this?”

I chew on my thumbnail as I examine the garment. Now that it’s out of the package it looks even smaller than I imagined. “I think I’m sure.”

She waves the spandex suit at me. “This looks like supermodel sized…not…”

I wag my finger at her. “Don’t call me chubby or there will be consequences.”

“Nah, I was going to say real-woman-sized, Brooke. I swear.”

“Thank you for that. But there’s got to be a way to get this on, right? I mean they wouldn’t be selling so many otherwise.”

Morgan shrugs. “I guess so. How should we start?”

“I’m thinking the first part should be easy, like putting on a pair of tights.”

“Okaaaay,” Morgan says as she tries to pull the opening at the top of the garment open wider. Right now it’s the size of doughnut. I could use a doughnut about now, but that’s what got me into this mess in the first place.

I start to untie my robe and Morgan holds up her hand. “Wait a minute, tell me you’re wearing underwear because I’m pretty sure my job description as your assistant doesn’t involve me touching you when you’re naked. The goods need to be covered.”

“You’re so uptight.”

“Says the woman wearing a body stocking to conceal her real curves.”

I smile at her. You can’t out-tease Morgan. Ever.

“Actually I thought ahead about this. So to answer your question, no, I’m not wearing underwear. I’m pretty sure that my body, or at the very least my girly parts would suffocate if I did, and no stinking Halloween party is worth that risk. But I’m happy to report that I thought ahead about this issue.”

I ceremoniously untie and pull off my robe while Morgan covers her eyes squealing. “I’m wearing a string bikini.”

She parts her fingers and lets out a long sigh before dropping her hands.

I wiggle the strings at my hips. “See when we pull the thing up past my girly parts I can untie this and pull it off.”

“That works for me.” She glances at the clock on the nightstand. “We better get started.”

I sit on the edge of the bed, take the first leg of the thing and grab my way down to the foot part before wedging my foot inside. I hold my leg up and rotate my ankle in victory. “Yay!”

Morgan scratches her head. “Why do you need skinny feet?”

I shake my head. “I think they do this to keep it from riding up your legs. Thus the tagline…sleek from head to toe.”

“Okay then, as long as we’re on a roll let’s move on to foot two.”

The second foot goes on easily as well. “Maybe this won’t be so hard after all.”

Morgan rolls her eyes before dropping to her knees to help me yank the thing up my calves. When we get all the way up to my knees I feel a surge of optimism until I realize that the crotch for the bodysuit is at my knees as well. This would be great if I were three feet tall with stumpy legs, but that’s not the case.

To add to my frustration, my thighs are pressed so tightly together from the spandex binding that I’m losing feeling in my hoo-hah.

Thank God Morgan has a determined spirit because she goes at it like a champ, pinching bits of the slick fabric and yanking upwards. I don’t even cry out when she pinches some of my skin as well since I don’t want her to lose her focus.

I look down at her as we work together. Her face is red and her brow damp with perspiration. We’re getting close to our goal of a crotch-to-crotch connection when after a particularly tough yank she tumbles backward on the floor.

“Holy hell, this is worse than Chinese foot-binding. It’s full-body binding!”

I nod in agreement. “Obviously a man who hated women designed this.”

“Or a really skinny girl who never has to wear it.”

“To hell with them all,” I pronounce as I wiggle my toes, hoping to regain feeling in them. I look over at Morgan still sprawled on the floor. She appears to be breathing normally now. I study her red costume that shows off her figure in a very flattering way.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask. Who are you dressed as?”

“Electra. Girl, you need to study up on your Superheroes!”

I sigh. “I know. So many Superheroes, so little time. That’s one sexy outfit. You look awesome.”

“Thanks. And lucky for you Electra is a ninja…cause it’s going to take ninja skills to finish this job.”

We get back to work and after a tugging session equivalent to a full upper body, gym workout we get the thing over the edge of where my ass starts. I take a moment to untie the bikini and yank it out giving myself the equivalent of a pussy burn. I wince in pain. Morgan suddenly goes pale. “What?” I ask.

“How will you go to the bathroom once this thing is fully on?”

“There’s a hole built into the crotch. Didn’t you notice it?”

“I’ve been trying not to notice the crotch. Remember? Well at least that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about — a pee hole. Wow! They really thought of everything, didn’t they?”

She moves to my right hip while I work on my left but after several minutes we’ve succeeded in only getting the damn thing up another inch. She looks down at me and giggles.

“What?”

She pokes at the overspill. “This gives new meaning to muffin top.”

“That’s lovely, thank you.”

Morgan pokes me again. “Well, you’ve got to admit…”

“Can we move on?”

We tug some more before she stops and throws her hands up in the air. “Are you sure you got the right size here?”

“I swear!” I say, my humiliation reaching new heights.

“It’s your hips,” she says shaking her head. “We’re going to need reinforcement.”

I drop my head and moan. “Billie. Go find Billie. She’s the strongest woman I know.”

“Is she here yet?”

“Yeah, she should be in the kitchen. Last time I looked she was hot-gluing plastic spiders to the radioactive punch glasses.”

When Morgan slips out of the bedroom I fall back on the bed and pull the robe over my body that now resembles a sausage whose casing has come undone. I tip my head up and look down at my legs. They’re unrecognizable. I tap my finger over my thighs and marvel. They’ve never felt so firm.

I hear a soft knock on the door and Nathan sticks his head inside. I pull my robe all the way up until it’s tucked under my chin. He frowns and his eyes cloud over with a look of concern. “Why are you in bed, sweetheart? Is something wrong?”

I feel my cheeks get hot. “No, nothing’s wrong. Just a bit of a costume challenge. Morgan’s getting Billie to help. Did you finish the Iron Man thing?”

He ignores my question. “Costume challenge?”

Suddenly Billie and Morgan burst into the room. Morgan’s eyes light up. “Oh good, Nathan can help too!”

I shake my head wildly at her.

“Help with what?”

“Getting her bodysuit on,” Morgan says.

I make a face at her.

Nathan’s expression shifts to one of horror as he walks to the edge of the bed and peers down at me. “It takes three people to get on your body suit?”

“Four if you count Brooke,” Morgan adds.

Thank you so much, Morgan.

I give Nathan the sweetest smile I can muster under the circumstances. “No handsome, we’re fine. You go on and do your Superhero thing.”

He looks relieved as he nods and walks to the door. “Good luck, girls.”

When the door closes Billie, who looks fierce in her Harley Quinn bodysuit, pushes her hands down over her hips. “So what’s this nonsense about you buying a bodysuit three sizes too small?”

I glare at Morgan. “I told you — I bought the right size!”

“Sure you did,” she says with just a bit of sarcasm.

Billie waves her hands in the air to motion me off the bed. “Whatever. Let’s get this shit done. I haven’t even started on the Kryptonite margarita mix yet.”

I waddle myself off the bed like a beached sea lion. When I’m finally upright Billie shakes her head as she bites her lip. “Well, that’s attractive.”

“Gives new meaning to muffin top, right?” Morgan says to her.

“Would you friggin’ cut it with the muffin top stuff! If we can just get this thing up higher it won’t be an issue.”

“Calm down Princess,” Billie says. “We’ve got this.”

She instructs Morgan to get on one side and she gets on the other before addressing me. “Okay, I’m going to count to three and then you suck it in as hard as you can, and Morgan you yank up with everything you’ve got.”

I nod, and Morgan spreads her legs planting her feet like a weightlifter about to lift oversized barbells.

They dig their fingers under the fabric and curl their fingers tightly around it. I’m pretty sure I’ll have bruises tomorrow in those exact spots. I take short quick breaths to work through the pain.

“One, two…three!” Billie booms.

I suck in my tummy so hard I’m pretty sure my belly button makes contact with my spine. The girls both grunt and snap their arms up like champs. We all stumble back from the effort.

I look down to study the miracle. The muffin top is gone, replaced by a sleek slope of spandex creating flat planes in places that previously had rolling hills. The effect of such body misplacement is that my breasts are now up under my chin. That’s okay. I can work with overly perky breasts. That’s expected in female Superheroes anyway.

“Whoa,” says Morgan, apparently admiring her handiwork’s effect.

Billie purses her lips. “You look like an android. I like you better curvy.”

I step over to the mirror and barely recognize my body. I have a moment where I’m inclined to agree with Billie but then I remember my mission. “Well, at least I’ll fit into my costume now.”

Billie heads back to the kitchen while Morgan helps me get the actual costume on. That part is easy with the only challenge getting my tits to stay in Wonder Woman’s bustier. They seem determined to be set free, but it’s nothing a little double-sided foam tape can’t take care of.

When we head out to the hallway Nathan’s waiting for me. A smile breaks out on his face like he’s just seen the sun after a storm. He steps up to me and puts his hands on my now narrow waist. “Oh Brooke. You did it! You’re my Wonder Woman.”

“A smaller version of her,” I say with a grin.

His hands slide down to my hips. “Well, honestly, I miss your hips. But you do look dreamy.”

Morgan punches him in the arm. “Good thing you like it, Nathan. Cause you’ll be the one taking it off later.” She gives him a wicked grin before moving on.

As Nathan and I walk to the front of the house I lean in close to him. “And how’s your costume situation working out?”

He looks down and adjusts the waist of his red panties. “So far so good. Obviously not using the tucking technique makes a huge difference, but just going up one size with the spandex thing helps too. Now I’m just dealing with compression, not elimination.”

He puts his hand on his hip and the other he waves towards his crotch. “What do you think?”

I nod. “That works. Your true Superhero skills are our secret. And if you don’t mind me saying so, you make a super hot Superman.”

He grins and pulls me forward. “Thanks Wonder Woman…and now it’s time to party.”

Chapter Four

The DJ Nathan hired is set-up on the edge of the Batcave. To create the cave Nathan spent many of his free hours over the past six weeks sponge-painting and crumpling rolls of granite textured paper then stapling them to every surface in the garage. Tonight it’s up-lit with purple and blue lights. The glass case with Batman’s uniform and mission control board light up too. I’ve got to hand it to Nathan… this Batcave is really cool.

When we get to the kitchen, Curtis, who’s dressed as the Joker, is harassing Billie at the bar.

“Don’t wimp out on the punch, Harley! It needs a lot more vodka if it’s really going to be radioactive.”

She smirks at him and tips the bottle so that it guzzles into the mysterious lime green concoction.

Meanwhile Nick slams his camping lantern with the green bulb down on the counter and turns to Nathan. “Hey, why does Curtis get to be a cool villain in a sharp suit while the rest of us look like idiots in our spandex tights? I thought we had to dress as Superheroes.”

Dani sidles up to him, “But baby I think you’re hot in your tights and your Green Lantern costume shows off your amazing body.”

Thank you, I mouth to Dani while Nathan responds. “Sorry Nick. He said it was the only way he’d come.”

“Damn straight,” Curtis agrees. “Hey Dani, who are you supposed to be?”

“The Invisible Woman, and no jokes please about how you can still see me. I’ve heard it a few too many times already.”

“Well, then why’d you pick her?” Billie asks.

Dani shrugs. “Cause I loved her outfit. Teal is my best color.”

Billie narrows her eyes and turns back to the bar. “Amateur,” she huffs.

Joel and Laura join us in the kitchen looking sharp as Captain America and Supergirl. They immediately head over to the punch bowl.

“Ack! Laura squeals. “There’s a spider on my glass!”

Billie rolls her eyes dramatically while holding up an empty glass and flicking the spider with her finger. “They’re glued on super girly.”

“Why would you glue a spider to a glass?”

“It’s a Spiderman reference, sweetheart,” Joel explains patiently. “The whole party is themed with Superhero stuff, not just our costumes.”

Her cheeks turn pink and Joel gives us a warning look not to make fun of her. We sometimes forget she works in a dental office and is not from our world.

“Speaking of which, thanks for the cupcakes Laura! I’ve already had one and they’re yummy.”

She smiles warmly at me. “You’re welcome.”

“You. Ate. A. Cupcake?” Billie asks me as she folds her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, do you have a problem with that?” I challenge her.

“Oh, I don’t know. I just can’t imagine where you put it with that spandex bondage situation you had me helping with…”

I cut her off as she starts gesturing toward my bodysuit. “Is the punch really ready?”

“Spandex bondage?” Curtis asks wagging his tongue.

“Keep your shorts on, Joker. It’s not the kind of bondage you like.”

Curtis huffs. “Well then never mind.”

I quickly exit the kitchen before any more is said about my situation. As the house fills I stop paying attention to the shape of people’s bodies in spandex and instead focus on the creativity of their costumes. Andy is the Hulk, or at least a short, soft version of the massive Marvel character. He got Dani to do his green makeup and it’s quite impressive.

“I made him wax his torso first,” she assures me.

“Ouch! I can’t believe he agreed to do that.”

“How else was I going to paint on those fake abs? It’s bad enough he has a big, soft belly, but hair too? I don’t think so. I’m not a Rembrandt with body paint.”

I’m happy to see that the food is a hit. People plow through my Mojo Jojo monkey munch and my lightning bolt-shaped Flash fries. The Professor’s Lab with wide mouth beakers labeled Chemical X, Y and Z of avocado dip, onion dip and salsa is a popular hang-out place. Nathan looks so proud as people compliment us on our efforts.

Once the party is in full swing we insist that everyone model, and explain their costume for our costume contest. Some people have worn pre-made costumes, most the higher-end kinds from serious fan websites but there are people that went all out to create something unique.

Kevin is initially a standout as The Thing with his cracked rock texture over his entire body. He explains to us that he cut up Styrofoam into pieces, glued each surface with a dirt and sand combination, and then adhered it in pieces to his bodysuit.

The effect is impressive, especially considering the amount of time he put into the costume, but as the party goes on I start finding pieces of him all over the house. I’m pretty sure I’ll be vacuuming up dirt and sand for weeks.

Nathan’s inker, Hugh, is equally impressive as Wolverine but those finger blades make me nervous. I end up following him around to make sure he doesn’t scratch up the furniture. He makes a big show of offering to cut the pizza up with his claws but then mutilates one of the Two-Face pizzas into a big mess. He’s banned from the kitchen after that.

But there’s no question when first prize goes to Andy’s buddy, Vladimir, who spent weeks constructing an impressive costume for Napoleon, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The turtle shell strapped to his back is sculpted out of dense prop foam and intricately painted to achieve the most realism. He also applied a weird green coating to all his exposed skin to complete the turtle effect. These comic book guys don’t mess around.

“Why is Superman on your roof?” Genna asks me when she joins the party.

I look at her startled, and then realize she must be talking about the Superman doll circling the Daily Globe. “Oh, you must mean the flying doll?”

“Well, if that’s a doll it’s a life size one with impressive automaton abilities.”

My mouth drops open. “What the heck!” I rush out the front door and down the driveway before spinning around and looking up to the roof. My fear is confirmed.

“Nathan!”

He’s crouched by the Daily Planet globe and when he hears my cry he stands up and scans the yard until he sees me waving my arm. He misinterprets my gesture and waves back. “Hi Brooke!”

I step closer and half yell up at him, “Are you crazy? What are you doing up on the roof in the middle of our party?”

He holds up the Superman doll with a look of despair. “He was dangling by the edge of his cape. Thank goodness I got to him in time.”

“Before he flew away?” I ask with an arched brow.

“Brooke! This is serious. Who knows what would’ve happened to him.”

“What about what’s going to happen to you if you fall? It’s dark out here and this is dangerous!”

He doesn’t respond to me and instead turns back to the Daily Globe and starts fiddling with the wire contraption.

“We have a house full of people with no host. Get off the damn roof, Nathan!”

“Almost done, sweetheart!”

My blood’s boiling. “Do I need to come up and get you?”

He stands back up tall and turns toward me, just then a breeze blows and his cape flutters dramatically behind him. The full moon almost looks like it’s resting on his right shoulder. He puts his fists on his hips and nods. In this moment he really does look like Superman. It makes me wish I were Lois Lane. All she had to wear was a business suit.

“Done!” he says with a grin. He turns and slowly works his way back down the ladder. When he’s back on flat ground he pulls me under his arm. “You’re so sexy when you’re mad.”

“Nathan Evans!” I say with a mock fury. How can I stay mad at him when he’s so charming?

He gets a devilish look in his eyes. “Who is this Nathan of whom you speak, Wonder Woman? I’m Superman!”

When we walk back into the house Nick turns to Nathan. “Did you get him wired up again?”

Nathan nods, makes a fist and straightens his arm into the air. “Superman flies again!”

There’s applause and a few whoops and hollers, before he grins and gives me a big kiss on the cheek.

Several hours and punch bowls later we all end up in the Batcave with everyone just standing around in a drunken stupor while the DJ tries every kind of music to see if he can get people dancing. In the corner two of the Batmans are comparing their utility belts, and the girl from accounting that’s dressed like a Powerpuff Girl is taking selfies at the mission control desk.

Billie decides to take charge and after talking to the DJ she swaggers over to Laura aka Supergirl and grabs her. Next thing I know, Brickhouse is blasting on the speakers with a base beat so throbbing I can feel it all the way down to my spandex tightened toes. I glance over to Nathan, a little alarmed about what the neighbors might do but he shrugs so I focus back on Billie who is now doing a semi-erotic dance with our demure little Supergirl.

Dani steps up next to me and shakes her head. “Nothing Billie does surprises me, but I gotta say, give that Laura a few glasses of radioactive punch and she really gets going.”

“It’s always the ones with the conservative jobs that have a wild streak,” I say.

“Oh my God, did Billie just grab her boob?”

“Probably. If you give her a chance I bet she’ll grab yours too.”

We both watch the show with a lot of spandex-on-spandex grinding. Billie is very theatrical, wrapping herself up in Supergirl’s cape and then unwinding again.

Dani, never one to be side-lined, grabs me and drags me to the center of the cave where her pelvic thrusting renders her about as far from being invisible as one can be.

While we dance, I wink at Nathan and gesture for him to join us but he shakes his head and declines, looking perfectly happy to stand back and watch the show.

Dani is in her full dance mode and does this disco move where she criss-crosses her hands up and down my body and grazes my breasts on several passes. I arch my brow at her after one slip that seems especially intentional but she ignores me. When I look over at Nathan to make sure he’s not upset, he has a huge grin on his face. He’s such a guy.

Off to the side, shy Genna has joined in but she doesn’t seem shy tonight. The Powerpuff Girl is giving her twerking lessons and her butt’s working it so hard that some of the vines hot glued to her Poison Ivy costume have fallen off. Kevin is watching so intently he looks hypnotized.

Knowing that Nathan and others are watching us I keep my moves fairly smooth as I’m not ready to test the true adhesive power of this double-stick tape that’s keeping the girls from flying free. There’ll be no twerking for me.

As I sway my hips to the beat of the music I realize that the punch has hit me harder than I realized. Everything is slightly soft around the edges so when Billie steps up behind me and runs her hands over my hips and down my thighs I don’t even flinch. Instead I gyrate against her.

I look over and notice that Nathan’s eyes are now wide as saucers. He looks a little uncomfortable, but I’m pretty sure it’s that kind of uncomfortable that guys enjoy.

The more attention we get the more provocative our ringleader, Billie, gets. She pulls Morgan into the circle by the collar and kisses her. Morgan doesn’t even fight her off. My gaze jumps to Curtis who looks like he’s just won the lottery. I realize that there hasn’t been a single complaint by a boyfriend, there’s just a Batcave full of men standing to the side watching with bugged-out eyes and gaping mouths while holding their drinks in strategic positions.

When the long funk medley finally finishes and pretty much every guy has stored up enough fantasy material for many long shower sessions, there’s a quick exit by most of the couples. Nathan all but chases the few that linger out of the house. Even the DJ gets the hint and packs up in record time.

When the front door finally closes for the last time I find myself pinned up against it. Superman is apparently very worked up.

“What was that?” He whispers, his lips on my neck.

“What was what?” I ask, noting as he presses against me that the compression panty can’t really fight off Superman’s secret Superhero skills.

He looks down at me drunk with lust. “You girls all rubbing against each other, all the touching, I mean…geez. Did you see how Harley kissed Electra? There was tongue involved.”

I grab onto his yellow belt and pull him closer. “Yeah, I saw that.”

“It was so hot,” he says. “I mean they’re not even from the same comic universe but it was still really sexy.”

I smile. Nathan can be so literal at times.

“Brooke,” he whispers.

“Yes.”

He bites my earlobe before whispering in ear, “Did Dani really touch your breasts.”

“I believe she did.”

“Did you like it?”

“I liked that you liked it. I saw your reaction.”

“Is it weird that I think it was hot?”

“No, I think that’s what we were all going for. Getting you guys all worked up.”

He grinds against me. “Well, it worked. I need you, Wonder Woman. Right now.”

He lifts me into his arms and I wrap my legs around him. Never mind that I keep losing traction and slipping down with our slippery spandex-to-spandex connection. We still make it to the bedroom in record time.

He stumbles a bit when we step into our boudoir and I’m airborne for a second before landing on the bed. I purse my lips and look up at him. “How many glasses of punch did you drink anyway?”

He gives me a sheepish look. “I dunno. I lost count.”

Awesome. Let’s hope that punch isn’t his kryptonite. I’m counting on some epic sex tonight.

He looks at me with his brows knit together. “Do you mind if we get me undressed first? This panty girdle thing is getting really, really uncomfortable.”

“By all means,” I say, gesturing across his torso. “But take it slow and sexy, I want to have time to admire every part of you in your Superhero glory.”

He grins widely. “Okay slow and sexy.” He carefully pulls the costume’s neck wide and starts to ease one side down his broad shoulders. When he’s finally pulled his hand and arm completely out of the garment he looks at me with a blank stare as if he’s not sure what to do next. “How do I undress sexy? That’s your department.”

I lift up on my elbows so I can see better. “Remember when I forced you to see Magic Mike with me?”

He looks a little scared as he nods.

“Give me some of that…Superman style!” The edges of my lips curl up as he hesitates. But then he spreads his legs hip-width apart and forces his fists onto where his hips would be if men had hips. It’s a little bit like the disco band, The Village People, in attitude but the effect flexes all his arm muscles. At least Nathan never stopped working out and his body is all the sexier for it.

He grins at me. “Like that? That’s how Superman poses.”

I lick my lips as he watches amused. “Yes! More!”

He peels the uniform off the other arm until it’s revealed, then shimmies the body suit half way down his chest. He turns around and lifts one arm into the flying pose and flexes the other. I see hard, defined muscles in his back that I didn’t even know were there.

I clap wildly and whoop and holler from the bed. “More!”

After an awkward moment of him fumbling with his yellow belt, he turns around and slowly drags the suit just below his ass. Whoa! He must’ve really had a lot of punch.

I prop a pillow behind my head and grin. “Sexy man!” I moan.

He shoves the costume further down and when he turns around his thumbs are looped under what I recognize to be the compression panties.

“Are you ready for the big reveal?” he asks. He’s blushing like a kid but seems to be pushing himself to keep it going.

“I want everything,” I groan.

As the spandex is pulled down, I get to see how excited Nathan really is. He looks down and then up at me anxiously.

An intense wave of desire crawls up my spine and I reach out for him. “Forget Magic Mike! Let’s get this show on the road!”

With a look of relief Nathan makes quick work of getting his boots and the rest of his outfit off. I’ve never seen him so happy to be naked. He crawls up on the bed next to me.

“Okay, Wonder Woman — your turn. Shall we start with the boots?”

Suddenly I’m not sure this bodysuit has enough give for me to curl all the way over and undo the boots myself. “Could you take them off for me?” I ask with doe eyes.

When the boots tumble to the floor he moves closer and tugs on the edge of the bustier. “This next. Your breasts have been making me crazy all night.”

I sit up and turn my back to him. “See the million hooks? They all need to be undone.”

“Wow! Okay.” He has nimble fingers so he seems undaunted by his task. “Hey I thought you said this was really tight? It’s feels kind of loose to me.”

“It wouldn’t hook up pre-bodysuit.”

“Oh,” he whispers as his eyebrows shoot up. Maybe he’s finally understanding the magnitude of my situation.

When the last hook is undone I attempt to wedge my fingers between the foam tape along the front cups and my breasts but there’s no give. That tape must be stronger than I thought.

“What?” he asks as he sees me trying to poke inside.

“This thing is taped on.” I scrunch my face up as he attempts to peek inside my cleavage.

“Why taped?”

“Because my tits kept trying to set themselves free.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you really think I’d glue myself in here for any other reason?”

“Good point. So what’s the plan?”

“There’s only one thing to do and it requires both of us to be brave.”

He goes pale.

“We’re going to have to rip it off. Or more likely, you’ll have to rip it off of me.”

“Oh God, I can’t do that Brooke.”

“You’re going to have to. Haven’t you ever ripped off a Band-aid?”

“Of course, but we’re talking about something infinitely more precious here than a skinned knee.”

“Well if you really don’t want to do it I can try soaking in a hot tub to see if the adhesive loosens. But I’ve got to warn you, it could take a while.” I give him the single arched brow look with a sexy pout.

Suddenly he looks really anxious. “Well, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try pulling the thing off first.”

“That-a-boy!” I steel myself by fisting the sheets on either side of me and nodding for him to grab the hem of the bustier.

There’s a distinct look of terror in his eyes.

“Go on now, Nathan.” I close my eyes so I don’t have to watch and clench my fists even tighter.

He pulls with a firm tug but all it does is jostle my boobs. I open my eyes and blink. “That isn’t going to work. You’ve got to pull much harder than that. Why don’t you just rip it off sideways?”

Nathan winces.

“Well maybe it’s time to ask…what would Superman do?”

He nods, fired up with new determination.

“He wouldn’t let a little bit of tape stop him. Would he?”

Nathan narrows his eye. “No he wouldn’t.”

Before I can even fist the sheets again, he grabs the upper edge of the bustier and rips with such force that the thing goes flying across the room. I’m so shocked by the surprise combined with the pain that I let out a blood curdling scream and wedge my eyes shut.

The next thing I know he’s on all fours crotched over me. “Brooke, baby…are you alright?”

“It hurts,” I whimper. I open one eye to see his stricken expression. “Maybe you could kiss it and make it all better.”

He nods and gets to work trailing kisses along the red line on my cleavage where the tape was. “Is that better?” he whispers.

I nod and point down to my breast. “I think you need to kiss it better here too.”

He smiles and gently kisses my nipple before swirling his tongue over it and taking it in his mouth. I quickly forget the tape pain.

Considering the fact that my body is still so tightly compressed in spandex, you’d think that I wouldn’t notice my insides clench as he moves to the other nipple, but I do. I notice so intently that I start pushing my star spangled panties off while he focuses on the task at hand…driving me wild.

As he continues I look down and notice the little Superman curl on his forehead I made with styling gel. His eyes are hooded and when I moan his smoldering gaze travels up to meet mine.

I start to squirm so I snap the spandex at the top of my body suit. He understands my direction. He rises up and wedges his fingers under the top band of the body suit and yanks hard.

Nothing. It’s like the damn thing is glued to my skin.

“Good God,” he gasps after another powerful yank. He lifts his hands in the air as if he’s cursing the spandex gods. “What more do we have to go through? I’m in pain here!” He gestures down to his erection.

He sounds pitiful. And in my desperation I spread my legs and run my hand over my crotch. “Look Nathan, there’s a hole in the bodysuit!”

It may be the low light in the room but I could swear his complexion goes green. “Your bodysuit has a hole for sex?”

“Well not so much for sex, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work. Come on and try! It’ll be kinky like those people that wear head-to-toe vinyl when they do it.”

He leans over to peer between my legs and he pulls on the spandex opening with his fingers. When he straightens up he shakes his head firmly. “There’s no way.”

I reach down and try to stretch the hole open wider but his mind seems made up.

He leaps off the bed. “I have another idea.” He storms down the hall and returns a minute later with something in his hand. I see the glint of metal. He gets back on the bed and lifts up my large pair of scissors and snaps them open and closed.

I hold my hands up. “Do you know how much this thing cost?” I ask horrified.

“I don’t care what it cost. You’re never wearing it again. Ever.”

I hold my breath as he perches over me and slowly works the bottom blade under the garment right under my breasts. Despite the discomfort of the fear, and the pressure on my skin…the startling sensation of the metal feels surprisingly erotic. When he completes the first snip of the blades the relief of the fabric parting and cool air on my skin is palatable. Nathan kisses the exposed skin as I hold him close.

“Ohhh,” I sigh as I watch.

Nathan gets back to work and his eyes narrow as he slides the blade closer to my belly button and carefully snips again. He sets the scissors down and uses his hands to separate the cut fabric further. His mouth is parted and his eyes full of lust as he skims his fingers across my skin. I can feel the weight of his erection against my thigh.

“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, do it again.”

He licks his lips. “This is turning you on, huh?”

I nod and trail my fingers over his wrist.

He gives me a crooked smile. “Weird, right? Cause it’s turning me on too.”

I notice how his breath is ragged as he pushes his hand under the spandex and over my soft flesh to protect me from the blade. I feel the metal slide across my belly and my back arches up in response. I can feel the sound of the fabric slicing reverberate between my legs. My thighs part as I wait for him.

“Super…man,” I moan.

Nathan gasps. I feel his hand cup my breast and his thumb slide over my nipple. A moment later the blade moves lower as he snips again.

I look up at him as I bite my lip. “Be careful. Okay?”

He nods and when I see his laser focus I relax as the blade slides a path further down. This snip causes the good kind of throbbing to ache between my legs.

I reach down and grab the edges of the fabric and pull it further apart. “Again,” I whisper.

The sound of the scissor’s blades meeting is music to my ears. My hips are suddenly unbound and I slide my fingers between my legs and back up my belly reveling in the feeling of being exposed for him.

There’s fire in his eyes as he watches me touch myself. His hand follows the path mine just traveled but settles between my legs as he strokes me slowly. My heart is pounding as his touch becomes tight circles just where I need it most. He has me so worked up I can barely see straight.

“Better?” he asks.

“So much,” I groan. I push my hands over the tops of my thighs. “Just here and we can do the rest.”

He nods, takes the scissors and carefully snips as if I’m the most precious package he’s ever had to unwrap. The thigh he’s just freed falls further open. He anxiously focuses on the other. “Last cut,” he whispers.

In our silence the sound of the fabric parting is amplified. I feel his lips against my skin right where the scissors had been. He scrambles to his feet and pulls hard on the fabric as it slides away from underneath my ass. By the time he gets to my knees it’s quick work until he’s yanked the entire suit off.

Our eyes meet in a frantic moment. Every bit of restraint has been pulled away from me and I feel reborn. I think I’d go through the spandex ordeal all over again just to repeat this feeling. Well, not really but it is pretty awesome.

Nathan strokes me, his fingers across my breasts and down my belly, over my hips and between my legs. “Your body is so beautiful, Brooke. You don’t need to wear that stuff, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper as I study the genuine look of admiration in his eyes. This man loves me so much, every curve and dimple. I reach out for him needing to feel his weight on me.

He pushes inside me slowly, panting with restraint. He looks like he wasn’t sure we’d ever get to this point and he wants to enjoy every moment of it. I think he burned off all the booze with his heroic effort to get me naked. His gaze is alert and steadfast as he completely fills me again and again.

My cries as he thrusts are no longer for pain, but pleasure at how amazing he makes me feel. He sweeps me up in his arms as he makes love to me, kissing me deeply and touching me in all the places he knows so well. I marvel at his skills to undo me as we soar to the moon and beyond.

Chapter Five

The next morning I bring him breakfast in bed and it takes two extra-large mugs of coffee before we’re ready to go face the rest of the house. Luckily in the light of day it’s not as bad as we feared. Most of the spilled booze is in the Batcave, which will only require a hose-down after the cave walls come down. Other than that and vacuuming up remnants of The Thing, it will be pretty quick to finish cleaning up.

“Do we really have to take the walls down?” He asks, forlorn as he runs his hands over the paper.

I arch a brow and don’t even answer.

“Please, Brooke.”

I shake my head firmly. “We have to access the storage cabinets. It’s got to go down. But I’ll tell you what. If you can figure out a way to take it down and roll it up, we can use it again next year.”

A huge grin spreads across his face. “Next year? Does this mean…?”

“Yes, I do believe a tradition has been established. We’re Superhero Halloween central, and with all the time to plan, I’ll be in prime spandex shape by next year.”

He grabs me and twirls me around in his arms. “You’re the best!”

When he sets me down he strokes my cheek as he gazes deep in my eyes. “It was pretty awesome wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, the party was great but the way the evening ended was especially epic. It was so erotic how you set me free last night — and it wasn’t just with the scissors, Nathan.”

He sets his hands on my sides and with a look of longing, slowly slides them down over my bondage-free, curvy hips. When he gets to my thighs he slips his hands under my skirt and slides them back up my bare skin, ending with his hands holding my ass. “Do you feel how perfect you are when I touch you? Do you know that when I see you all naked and gorgeous in our bed I only crave you more?”

“I think I’d forgotten, but believe me, I’ll remember now.”

“Do that, sweetheart. You made me feel incredible last night. I hope I did the same for you.”

“You sure did.”

He lets out a long sigh. “It was out of this world, wasn’t it? Damn, at one point it felt like we were flying.”

I gaze at him thinking about where we were long ago when he started showing up in my office at Sketch Republic with hand-drawn coffee cups — and where we are now. This man, with his gentle soul and fierce love, is my everything.

I take his hand. “You know you may have felt like Clark Kent when I first met you, Nathan, but you’re all Superman now.”

I grew up in a cartoon world with a father who was an animation director and my mother, a cartoon producer. That upbringing inspired me to write about animators and share with the world why I love them so much. I’m also a fine art publisher by day and obsessed writer late at night, all while being a mother to a snarky teenager who loves comics and cartoons too.

While visiting my blog www.RuthClampettWrites.com also check out Mr. 365, a love story about Sophia, a reality television producer, and Will, an irresistible man who goes a little overboard with Christmas decorating.

You’ll also find information about my upcoming release that I’m wildly excited about, book one of the trilogy, Work of Art.

I hope you’ve had as much fun reading Spandex is for Superheroes as I had writing it (which was a lot!). If you’re inspired now to learn more about Nathan and Brooke’s auspicious beginnings I encourage you to check out their story: Animate Me. You can find purchase links and an unbelievable cute (and short!) trailer on my blog: www.RuthClampettWrites.com

You can also connect with me at:

https://www.facebook.com/RuthClampettWrites

https://twitter.com/Ruthywrites

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4115217.Ruth_Clampett

instagram.com/Ruth_Clampett

I’d like to thank the terrific authors on the Shiver team who included me in this anthology…and you, the awesome readers who are doing something really good for St. Jude Children’s Hospital with your purchase of this book. Thank you.