A Different Kind of Cosplay Read online

  A Different Kind of Cosplay

  Lucy Felthouse

  Zachary has a dilemma. His girlfriend, Reese, has a special birthday coming up soon and he has absolutely no clue what to get for her. It doesn’t help that Zach does not share or really understand Reese’s biggest hobby—comic books, superheroes and everything that goes with them. Zach raids Reese’s DVD collection for inspiration and what he finds there gives him an idea…possibly the best one he’s ever had.

  Sure, Reese has fantasized about her favorite superheroes. All those muscles and rakish smiles are to die for. She didn’t think Zach would ever really understand, though. But he proves her wrong in the best way possible.

  A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  A Different Kind of Cosplay

  Lucy Felthouse

  Chapter One

  Zachary sighed at the calendar entry in his phone, which was reminding him for the third time about Reese’s upcoming birthday. And it wasn’t just any birthday—she was going to be thirty.

  There were perks to dating a doctor—the uniform was pretty hot, for example—but when that doctor had no particular fondness for jewelry, flowers or chocolates, buying her presents was nigh-on impossible. And because of her work schedule, a surprise weekend away was out of the question. He’d long since learned to always keep the receipts.

  Most people get their partners something to do with their hobbies or interests. However, Reese was even awkward in that regard. Her main hobby was so complex that Zach didn’t have the first idea what to get her to do with it—Reese was an uber-geek. Films, graphic novels, collectibles, all that jazz.

  Obviously he could just ask what she wanted, then go out and get it, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise. And it was too easy—he wanted her to know he’d really made the effort.

  Snoozing the calendar reminder once more, Zach threw the phone onto the sofa, then walked over and started rooting through their combined film collection for something to watch after dinner, which was almost ready. Reese was on-shift at the hospital until silly o’clock, so he had the house to himself and could watch whatever he liked. An action movie it was, then.

  Running his fingers along the spines of the DVDs and Blu-rays, he suddenly paused. Avengers Assemble leaped out at him, for some reason. He’d seen snippets of it before, as Reese watched it pretty frequently. The parts he’d seen hadn’t looked too bad, actually. It was essentially an action film, he decided, but with superheroes in it.

  He pulled the case off the shelf, an idea beginning to form. Maybe if he watched it beginning to end, he’d seen what drew Reese into that world so much, why she was so fascinated by the films, the graphic novels and so on. Even if he didn’t get it, though, maybe it would still give him some inspiration for a gift. He had nothing better to do that evening, in any case, so it was certainly worth a try.

  After putting the disc in the player, he headed into the kitchen to see how his dinner was coming along. A meal in front of the television was the order of the day, it seemed.

  A few minutes later, he settled onto the sofa with his lasagna and garlic bread, a bottle of beer on the table next to him. Time for some Avengers action.

  Within half an hour, he’d ascertained that the film wasn’t just for geeks. In fact it was easy to see why it had such a wide appeal—the cast was supremely attractive, whatever gender you were into, the plot was interesting and the dialogue seriously witty. He’d already developed quite the crush on the Black Widow, and Nick Fury’s right-hand woman had a lovely pert backside.

  Trying to put himself in Reese’s shoes, Zach looked at the male characters. Okay, when it came to this film, straight women clearly had more eye candy than they knew what to do with. He vaguely remembered a bunch of crazy stuff going around on the internet about Loki—even the villain of the piece had sex appeal, for heaven’s sake! So much so that it had spilled over into even Zach’s limited social media presence. He barely used Facebook, and he’d never gotten the hang of Twitter. And yet he knew about the rabid fangirls. That was another score for Avengers Assemble, then—truly mass-market appeal. If only there were mass-market gift-buying options.

  Sighing, he tried to empty his mind and concentrate on the film. The more he tried to force an idea to present itself, the less likely it would be to happen. He’d just enjoy the entertainment and keep his fingers crossed that his subconscious provided something useful.

  Once he’d made the decision, it wasn’t difficult to get sucked back into the narrative. It was engaging, easy-going and fun. Zach surprised himself by thoroughly enjoying the entire thing. Reese would be pleased when the next film came out at the cinema and he offered to go along with her.

  He’d keep his newfound admiration quiet for now, though. He didn’t want to arouse her suspicions, although she was bound to know he was planning something for her milestone birthday.

  The question remained—what the hell could he do or buy to blow her away?

  A few days later, Reese herself provided him with inspiration. They were at the kitchen table, sharing a rare breakfast together. It was Reese’s day off, but Zach was due in to work soon, to sell houses to wealthy Londoners.

  “What are your plans for today then, babe?” he asked between mouthfuls of cereal.

  Chewing and swallowing her own mouthful, she said, without any kind of malice, “Oh, nothing you’d be interested in.”

  “No?” he prompted.

  “I doubt it.” She smirked. “I’m off to Forbidden Planet to stock up on some graphic novels. I know I could buy them cheaper online, but I like that shop. The atmosphere is great—even though as a lone woman, I get some odd stares—and I just like to go every now and again to check out the latest stuff.” She spooned more cereal into her mouth, consumed it, then continued, “Actually, Mum asked me to let her know what I wanted for my birthday, so it’s a good excuse to go and get some inspiration. I can make a list, if you like. Then you can pick something off it.”

  “No, no,” he said quickly, waving his spoon at her and sending a droplet of milk flying, which landed in the middle of the table, “I’ve got it all under control, thank you.” He smiled, the grin growing wider at Reese’s look of surprise. A second later, he wanted to kick himself. What the fuck did you say that for, you idiot? She practically handed you the perfect gift idea on a silver platter, and you turned it down. Moron!

  “You know,” he continued, still grinning, “that’s one of the things I love about you. Many women would go to Oxford Street and Regent Street on their day off, shoe and clothes shopping. But you’re heading off to wherever it is to go to a geeky shop. You’re a quirky individual, sweetheart, and I love that.”

  Reese raised a brow. “Wow. Where did all that come from?”

  “What?”

  “The compliments, the declarations of love. Or are you being sarcastic and massively mocking my geek status?”

  “No!” His spoon clanged into his bowl. “Fuck’s sake, no. I was being genuine—I meant every word. Just take it as it was intended, okay?”

  “Okay,” she replied, still sounding unsure. “Thank you, then. I love you too.”

  Grabbing his empty bowl, the spoon and his mug, Zach drained the rest of the tea and put the stuff in the dishwasher. Stepping over to Reese, he kissed her.

  “See you later, babe. Have a fun time at Forbidden Planet.”

  “I will, thanks. It’s in the West End, by the way. Shaftesbury Avenue.”

  “Huh?” he said, frowning, pretending he had no idea what she was talking about, and especially not that he’d said “wherever” in the hope she’d mention the store’s location.

  “The shop. It’s on Shaftesbury Avenue. The C
ovent Garden end. I can go to Candy Cakes too, if you like. Buy a couple of those gorgeous cupcakes. We can have them after dinner.”

  “That, my darling, is a fabulous idea. You know I’m a sucker for a cupcake. Especially from that place.”

  “I do. Have a good day. Love you.”

  “Love you.” Grabbing his bag and heading for the door, Zach finally had some sort of a plan taking shape. He just hoped it would come to something. Reese’s birthday was creeping steadily closer.

  Chapter Two

  Taking a deep breath, Zach headed into the shop, berating himself for being so nervous about it. It was a shop, not a private club, for heaven’s sake—he wasn’t about to get thrown out for not being a member. He didn’t have a sign hanging over his head, proclaiming that he wasn’t a geek and didn’t know what the hell half of this stuff was all about.

  Stepping farther into the shop, he quickly realized it wouldn’t matter if he did have that sign. The place was full of people, mostly men, who probably wouldn’t have noticed if he’d walked in totally naked. They were absorbed, it seemed, in what they were doing—looking at and buying geeky stuff.

  If Reese had been with him, he was sure he’d have got more attention. Or more accurately she would. She’d mentioned that she got a lot of looks in the shop, and it was entirely possible that this was because most of the clientele had never seen a real woman close-up. Much less a smoking-hot one like Reese.

  Okay, it was time to stop looking at everyone else and concentrate on why he was there. Reese was safely tucked away at work on the other side of town, and he wasn’t going to leave this geek-haven until he knew what he was getting her for her birthday.

  Straightening, he wound his way through the other browsers, looking for the Avengers. He passed glass cabinets containing incredibly expensive items, from busts of characters he didn’t recognize, to action figures and even replica wands from the Harry Potter films. In the regular aisles was the more reasonably priced stuff, and he soon found the section he was looking for. There were plush figures, stationery, notebooks, LEGO figures, masks and even Oyster Card and passport covers. All kinds of things emblazoned with the names and logos of the various characters and groups from the various universes. Zach wasn’t even going to try to understand it all—there was just too much going on. And besides, he didn’t need to “get” it, he just needed to find something Reese would like. That was all that was important—finding a gift she would treasure.

  He poked around, picking things up, examining and putting them down, uninspired. Damn, why couldn’t he just have booked her some time off work and whisked her away to Paris or something? It would have been much easier. So would taking her offer of picking something off a list she’d made herself.

  No, he reminded himself. He was here because it was a special birthday this time, and he really wanted to make the effort to surprise her, show her how much she meant to him.

  Turning the corner, he found yet more Marvel paraphernalia, including character pajamas, dress-up gear and various accessories—like Thor’s hammer and some giant green fists that he presumed were meant to belong to the Hulk.

  Seeing nothing that inspired him, he kept moving and eventually ended up downstairs, on a floor that housed books, comics, graphic novels, films and much more. He had no intention of getting her anything like that, as it was impossible to know which ones she owned already. But as he stood there flicking through a graphic novel, an idea hit him. Finally.

  This wasn’t about a gift, a physical possession. It was about a gesture. And since that gesture couldn’t involve international travel, more’s the pity, he could do something else memorable.

  Replacing the graphic novel, he headed back upstairs to the section he’d been perusing before, with the Hulk hands and Thor’s hammer. There they had a variety of bits and pieces, but not enough to carry out his idea. But he wasn’t too bothered—the place had helped him to have the idea in the first place, so he was thankful.

  He grabbed a pair of Iron Man—his favorite character—slippers in his size and took them to the counter, mulling over his plan. It wasn’t conventional, it wasn’t ordinary. But then, neither was Reese. In other words, it was perfect. He just hoped she’d feel the same.

  Back home, he went straight online. In this instance, Google was his best friend, his savior. He threw himself upon its mercy.

  He’d picked up enough geek phrases in his time at Forbidden Planet to know what to search for, which made things much easier.

  “Okay,” he said to himself, “time to find out more about cosplay.”

  Typing in the relevant phrase, he hit Enter and waited to see what the search engine would throw up. It was a mixture of sites selling costumes, YouTube videos, images, articles and lots more. Apparently cosplay had quite the engaged community. This was a good thing, Zach decided, because where there was demand, there was supply.

  Sure enough, after configuring his search to specify actual outfits, he found a bunch of online and physical stores that would be able to sell him what he was looking for.

  Clicking on one of the links, he let out a whistle. Christ, this was going to cost him an arm and a leg. A week in Paris would be cheaper, never mind a weekend. But it didn’t matter—he worked hard, he had the money and he couldn’t think of a better way to spend it. It was a very unusual birthday surprise, one she would love, and, if he was honest, he was going to get something out of it too.

  After all, how many men got to have sex with a smoking-hot doctor while dressed as the male members of the Avengers? Not all at once, of course. No, he needed five separate outfits, and given the sexual nature of his idea, he’d have to buy them rather than rent them. Who knew what kinky fun they’d get up to when he was dressed as Hawkeye, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk? He wouldn’t want to be the one renting the outfits after he and Reese had finished with them, anyway.

  Continuing to search the web, he found a local store that would be able to order in what he wanted—it was better that way, rather than risking having stuff delivered here, which would be bound to happen when Reese was around. At least if the shop took care of the delivery, he could go and collect the stuff when she was at work and get it back home and hide it until the time was right.

  Checking out the outfits in question, Zach quickly dropped the idea of ordering the Hulk ensemble. If he was going to a fancy dress party, then yes, he’d dress as a topless green giant. But he wasn’t—he was going to seduce his girlfriend, and somehow he didn’t think the Hulk was very sexy. Bruce Banner, on the other hand…yeah he could see the attraction there. Geeky science dude—the look was easy, and one he could probably achieve with a quick dash around some charity shops. A pair of slightly high-waisted trousers and some doctor-like glasses, and his work was done. He already had plenty of shirts.

  Grabbing his phone, he input the number of the store, then pressed Call.

  Oh yes, he thought, grinning widely, this was going to be fun. A different kind of cosplay altogether, and one that would no doubt score him some serious Brownie points with Reese. And then he’d have ten whole years to worry about how to top it for her next milestone birthday.

  Chapter Three

  A few days later, by some miracle, Zach and Reese had a day off together. It didn’t happen often, so when Zach woke up and his brain kicked into gear, he rolled over and snuggled up behind Reese, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. She was wearing a cute little sleep set—a strappy top and tiny shorts—and he looked forward to removing it.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he murmured, pulling her hair to one side and nuzzling her neck, “you awake?”

  “Sort of,” she replied sleepily. “Why, what’s up?”

  “Nothing.” Zach spooned his girlfriend, making sure his stiffening cock pushed against her rounded bottom, knowing she’d be able to feel it, even through her shorts and his boxers. “Just thought it would be nice to make the most of the fact that neither of us has to be anywhere today. It’s been a
while.” Reaching around, he gently cupped her left breast, gratified to feel the nipple hardening against his palm.

  “Mmm,” Reese said, wriggling her backside, a move he knew was deliberate. She was teasing him. “It has, hasn’t it? So what do you have in mind?”

  “Oh, I dunno…” He continued to play with the soft mound of flesh, plucking at the stiff peak and enjoying the fact that, although she was trying hard not to make a sound, the rate of her breathing had increased. “I thought maybe we could play chess.”

  “Chess?” She giggled. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?” Twisting around in his embrace, she captured his lips with hers. “All right then,” she said, briefly pulling away, “well if your knight wants to capture my queen, then go for it.”

  Zach growled, then pushed Reese onto her back, quickly covering her with his body, his elbows to either side of her so as not to crush her. “Oh, my knight definitely wants to capture your queen,” he said, rocking his pelvis against hers, his now fully erect cock pressed against her pussy. He could feel the heat emanating from her, despite the layers between them. God, he really wished those layers weren’t there, that he could bury himself inside her, feel her wet warmth wrapped around his dick.

  “God,” he gasped, looking into her eyes, happy to find them as full of arousal as he felt, “you’re so beautiful. I love you.”

  “I love y—”

  Her reply was cut off as he leaned down and kissed her, showing her just how beautiful she was, how much he desired her. Opening his mouth, he deepened the kiss, nibbling gently at her plump lower lip before sucking it between his. He knew how much she liked it, and was gratified to hear her moan and feel her writhe beneath him.

  Releasing her lip, he delved his tongue inside, exploring her mouth. She admitted him eagerly, her tongue sweeping and thrusting against his, their movements growing steadily more enthusiastic as their arousal built.