by Mika Lane
“You’ll see. Almost there.” She steered them to the right.
Mouth-watering anticipation quickened Dakini’s steps as they closed in on her favorite restaurant, considered one of the most chic in San Francisco. The large wooden doors of the Relais Hotel and Restaurant opened to a lobby decorated in whimsical, oversized furniture. Hotel guests shot selfies on seven-foot-tall chairs resembling something out of Alice in Wonderland, marveling at glass fixtures sculpted in the shapes of octopus, sea urchin, and blowfish.
Dakini and Jake were instantly swathed in the Relais’ cocoon of style. Bellmen wearing all black floated through the lobby, toting luggage and breaking their silence only when asked for directions. The Relais’ restaurant was a bit over the top too, and Dakini had always wondered if she was actually cool enough to hang out there. But with Jake at her side, she didn’t give a damn. Who wouldn’t feel on top of the world with such a freaking hot dude by her side?
“Check this place out,” Jake said as they crossed the lobby and walked into the restaurant, pausing to let their eyes adjust to the dim, sexy lighting.
The room’s ceilings soared twenty feet, with walls covered in the hotel’s original redwood, and the light behind the bar turned the bartenders into floating shadows. While there were a few scattered tables with chairs, the main attraction were the private booths encircled by plushy velvet curtains.
Dakini felt tingles run up her spine as the hostess led them to the last one available. They slid into their intimate bubble of privacy and closed out the rest of the world.
“This place is insane,” Jake said, checking out the room through the slit of an opening in the booth’s curtains.
Dakini laughed. “You look like a Peeping Tom.”
“Ha. I feel like one, too. This is kind of fun.” He turned his attention back inside the booth and leaned over to plant a juicy kiss on her mouth.
This could get dangerous. But maybe that’s the idea.
“Right? It’s like another world. And it just so happens, the food is great,” Dakini said, reaching for a menu artfully clipped onto a little leather portfolio.
This place never misses a chance to show off.
Dakini eyed a list of elaborate—and expensive—cocktails cleverly named after San Francisco streets. But when she realized Jake was watching her look over the drink menu, she passed it to him.
“I was just looking,” she said with a cheerful smile. “I’m sticking with water today. But you go ahead.” Time to turn over a new leaf. Still, it would be nice…
“You’re not having anything to drink?”
Another test? Or was she just being paranoid? “Sparkling water.”
“Then I’ll have sparkling water, too.” Jake flipped his leather portfolio to assess the food picks.
“You don’t have to abstain for me. Really.” Her composure was deliberate as she raised her chin for courage. Did this guy think she was a total loser?
No, he wouldn’t be here if that were the case…
“I know I don’t have to.” He didn’t look up from his examination of the menu as if their little negotiation was no big deal.
An impossibly tall waitress in a black, cheongsam dress slit to her thigh appeared out of nowhere, parting the curtain, causing Dakini to jump.
So this is how they keep the guests behaving. Can’t do anything naughty when a hot waitress might barge in at any second.
“What can I get for you?” the waitress asked.
“A large bottle of Perrier for two.” Jake leaned back into the booth and placed his arm around Dakini’s shoulders. “And a dozen oysters, please.”
The waitress disappeared as fast as she’d shown up.
“My, aren’t you confident,” Dakini said, looking at him with a tilt of her head.
“Am I?” His eyes widened into a question.
Was he also wearing the slightest smirk?
“I’d say you are, ordering for me. How do you know I didn’t want something else? Most people hate oysters.” Trying to look like a badass, Dakini was determined to come down hard on Jake for ordering without consulting her. But the truth was, his decisiveness was a turn on. A big turn on.
“But you don’t hate them. I can tell you’re the type. The oyster type.” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear with his free hand.
She reached forward and ran her fingers through his mop, making it even messier than it already was. Was he a smug jerk, or just a confident alpha male who knew how to tickle a girl’s fancy? Because Dakini’s was tickled…no doubt about it.
He took his arm off her shoulder and leaned back for a better view. “So. Level with me.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Damn. Here it comes.
“What’s up with the drinking? Or should I say not drinking?”
Her body went rigid on the velvety banquet. “Um, I don’t know. I mean, I just don’t feel like drinking right now.” She forced a pleasant little smile. But beneath the table her hands grasped the edge of her seat so hard it might break. This conversation had been bound to happen.
“Hmmm. You don’t feel like it? It seems like there’s more of a story here than you’re letting on.”
She was backed into a corner. “Maybe I just don’t feel like talking about it.” She inched away from him on the bench seat. So much for a fun lunch.
“Dakini, c’mon. I’m a professional bartender. I serve alcohol every day. I’ve seen everything. And I see right here before me a couple pieces of a story with the rest missing. I’d rather hear it from you than fill in the blanks with my imagination.”
Bleakness seeped into Dakini’s mood, and as much as she tried to shake it off, it buzzed around her like a pesky fly. Swallowing the bubbly water the waitress had delivered, she stared at her empty glass. Maybe she should have filled it with alcohol after all.
“Dakini,” Jake continued. “I think you’re pretty cool. I want to know you better. But I know what alcohol can do. Tell me what happened the other night when Noelle couldn’t find you.”
Wanting to crawl away in shame, she instead bucked up and faced him. May as well figure out now rather than later if he’s a judgmental asshole or if he can deal with an imperfect girl. She swallowed in an attempt to fight the growing dryness in her mouth.
“After I got off work at Devi’s, a friend picked me up and we went to Avenue. You know that bar near the Golden Gate Bridge?”
“Sure. One of my friends tends bar there.”
Oh, now that’s just great, isn’t it?
“A girlfriend who I didn’t know very well and I were having a beer, and these guys started chatting us up, buying us shots. They seemed nice. They were from Sausalito and were into sailing.”
The memory of that night was still full of holes. But she’d pieced together enough to know it had gone wrong.
“One of them kept buying me drinks and bugging me to go see his sailboat. Then my girlfriend took off with his buddy. I was kind of annoyed she left me, but, whatever. The guy who stayed behind was getting kind of feely, but there were plenty of other people around, and it seemed like the bartender was watching out for me. So I kept drinking. I knew I should stop but I guess I was hoping it would help.”
She took a deep breath. Jake was the only person she’d shared the story with so far. She hadn’t even told Noelle yet, who had heard plenty of Dakini’s stories.
With a deep breath, she trudged on. “I don’t remember everything, but once the guy realized I wasn’t going anywhere with him and that he wasn’t going to get laid, he just turned on me. Called me a fucking tease and said he’d wait for me in the parking lot. That I’d better be looking over my shoulder. I was terrified.” Her shaking hand flew to her mouth, and she turned her reddening face away from Jake.
Avoiding his eyes, she said, “I’d had a lot to drink but I wasn’t so far gone that I’d leave with an asshole like that. But still, to get into such a situation to begin with…and then he left without paying the bill.” Dakini’s eyes grew
wet and her voice wobbled with embarrassment.
Jake leaned toward her and dabbed her tears with his napkin. His show of compassion annihilated her composure and a runaway sob escaped her lips. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
She tried to steady her breath but the words came in spurts. “The bartender—maybe he was your friend—saw the whole thing. He told me not to worry, that he’d seen the guy in there before, and that he’d get him to pay next time he was in.
“I was so ashamed and embarrassed, I began to cry. The bartender must have felt bad for me, because he called an Uber and walked me out to make sure I got in it safely.” She hid her face in her hands but was relieved at the same time. If he couldn’t deal with it, then he could just go to hell.
“I was so scared. And next thing I know, I’m waking up the next day with worried friends pounding my door down—you included. I missed work, lost my phone, and blew off my poor grandma. And you saw me half-naked.” She blew her nose and let out a small laugh.
The waitress came with the oysters and seeing Dakini in distress, dropped them on the table without a word, pulling the curtains closed behind her.
“Did anybody hurt you?” Jake asked, his brow wrinkling.
“No. It wasn’t like that. Thank god.”
Not like the other time…
“But I felt…like an idiot. I couldn’t stop drinking. I was out of control.” She looked down and shook her head in disbelief. “It was as if I could hide behind it, that the alcohol would make that creep somehow turn into a nice guy.”
“Is that the first time that’s happened?”
“Um, no, not really. I wish I could say it was, but no. And now I can’t ever go back there. What if I run into that jerk? Or if the bartender is there?”
“Hey, bartenders see all kinds of shit. Don’t you know part of what we get paid for is not to pass judgment?” Taking her chin, he turned her face toward him. “Haven’t you ever heard bartenders are like shrinks?”
Blowing her nose again, she laughed. “I have heard that. And you just proved it true. Thank you for asking. And thank you for listening.” Gratitude threatened to release her tears all over again but she managed to keep them at bay.
“Now for some oysters.” He offered her a shell containing the sweet, juicy delicacy.
She leaned closer, and he held it to her lips, pouring the sensual raw delight down her eager throat. It fell so easily. Just like she was afraid she might fall for him.
Chapter 5
The ghostly partition that was the waitress parted the curtains just long enough to claim the empty oyster shells and leave the bill Jake had requested. Before the little leather clipboard hit the table, Dakini’s hand was on it. She wanted the day to be her treat, to thank Jake for listening to her crap. But she wasn’t quite fast enough, and the check ended up in his faster hand.
“I’ve got this.” He reached for his wallet.
Dammit.
“C’mon. Let me,” she appealed. “I brought you here, made you drink sparkling water, and then cried on your shoulder. Basically, I’ve ruined your day.” She held her hand out for the check.
“What! You did not ruin my day. Lunch in this wild place with a gorgeous woman? It doesn’t get any better. And did I mention I think you’re hot, too?”
Blushing to the roots of her hair, another lump grew in her throat. But this time, she swallowed it hard. No more tears. At least not today. “Okay then. I owe you.”
“Hoo, I like the sound of that.”
“Hey, have you ever been up on the mezzanine here?”
He thought for a sec. “Um, I can’t remember.”
“Okay then. Let us take you on a little tour,” she said.
Jake signed the receipt and tucked his AmEx back in his wallet. Parting the curtains, he took Dakini’s hand as they slid from the privacy of their booth, walking past others shuttered in their own pods of secrecy. The heavy velvet hid the diners within, leaving only soft bits of disjointed dialogue to float through the restaurant.
Taking the lead, Dakini strode with purpose from the restaurant into the hotel lobby. Hooking a sharp right, she approached a wide stairway. Snapping her head around to make sure they weren’t seen, she bolted up the stairs, pulling Jake close behind.
Reaching the top, she turned to him. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you,” she whispered with a wink.
Being naughty could be so much fun.
They found themselves in a quiet atrium lined with ultra-modern, white leather sofas and pitted concrete coffee tables. The walls were covered alternately in mirrored tile and sunburst sculptures. It was all a bit disco, but it somehow worked. A Lucite railing gave way to a view of the guest lobby below.
“It’s so quiet,” Jake said.
“They have events and meetings up here. Parties, weddings, things like that. I attended an art show here last year. C’mon, let’s check it out.” She led the way.
Entering a medium-sized ballroom, Dakini ran to the dance floor and twirled and jumped. But she burst out laughing as she tripped over her own feet.
This is fun. And with no alcohol involved.
“Hey, come over here,” Jake called.
She reached his side. He’d poked his head into the men’s room, which was furnished like the rest of the mezzanine’s over-the-top décor. The walls were covered in gleaming white tile, gilt-framed vanity mirrors, and light fixtures that looked like something out of Star Wars. Jake disappeared inside.
Dakini glanced around the mezzanine. Confident no one would see her enter the men’s room, she slipped in behind him, closing the door. She found him leaning against a marble vanity, so casual and yet so demanding in the half-seated, half-standing posture that tightened his jeans, outlining a very nice looking package.
He turned to her, looking serious, as she was summoned with a beckoning finger. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day.”
Quivers ran through Dakini’s body, the most powerful accumulating like a thunderbolt—right in her increasingly sensitive sex.
The moment she was within reach, Jake’s hands gripped her waist and he spun her around to face away. His fingers roamed her body, caressing the curve of her belly against his hands, grinding her ass against his swelling cock. Leaning his head into the crook of her neck, he took a deep inhale of her scent and stroked her long black hair. Goose bumps speckled her otherwise smooth skin where he placed delicious, tiny kisses that made her gasp. Turning her head to feel more of him, their lips almost—but not quite—met.
Jake ran his hands down the sides of Dakini’s body as he lowered himself to squat right behind her ass. Passing his hands over the clingy fabric of her long dress, he squeezed and kneaded her curves. Dakini grappled with her composure.
“Mmmm,” he murmured, taking small bites of her fleshy butt.
“Ouch!”
The pain of his teeth was exhilarating, and she spread her feet just enough to allow her hand access to the warm juices soaking her panties. She trembled and shook as her fingers circled and played with her swollen clit.
Rising from his squat, Jake spun Dakini back around to face him. With his hands on her waist, he lifted her to sit on the edge of the bathroom vanity. He worked her dress up and reached under her ass until she was on top of his hands, his spread fingers curling into the cleft of her ass, working their way closer to her soaking pussy.
Jake pushed between her knees to spread them wide, and pressed his mouth roughly against hers. The scrape of his beard scruff mingled with the sweet bliss of his tongue exploring hers, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to draw him closer. As his mouth moved against hers, he eased her dress up and over her head.
Now wearing nothing but a bra and panties, Dakini shivered as Jake leaned her back against the cold vanity mirror. He dragged a finger against the thin, damp silk of her thong panty, brushing her throbbing clit. She arched and pushed herself toward him, wanting more than anything to feel the
rough pad of his thumb against her flesh. She sucked in a breath, and he yanked the fabric till it came apart at the seams.
She gasped as the cool air whispered over her naked pussy. He stuffed the tattered silk deep in his front pocket, and now that he had full access, let his fingers wander up and down her slick, puffy lips. One hand came to his mouth, slick with her juices, and he closed his eyes as he tasted her, his face registering devilish ecstasy. His other hand remained below, gently probing her excited sex.
Dakini couldn’t remember any man taking such pleasure in her essence, and she trembled with the unfamiliar sensation of being revered. Another gasp escaped her lips as he continued to work his magic on her body—and her heart.
Returning his hands to her open knees, he lowered himself and brought his lips to her inner thighs, alternating between kisses and tender nibbles along her soft skin. As he got closer to her pussy her legs, now trembling, spread wider still. Kicking off her booties, she propped her heels onto the edge of the vanity counter, gripping her ankles for balance. She ground her sex into his face, resting her head against the mirror to watch him. His tongue teased her most sensitive spot and ran up and down the inside of her lips, drinking her moisture and adding his own.
“Tastes so goddamn good,” he murmured. She spotted a large bulge pushing against the fly of his blue jeans and knew that his cock had come alive for her.
He buried his face in her juicy pussy, and as he began to consume her, she ground right back into him. His lips danced around, zeroing in on her hardening clit, then roaming the length of her slit and then back. As he drew on her screaming flesh, her hips bucked, and her breath came faster.
With her clit in his mouth, the suction caused her head to roll back and forth and thud lightly against the mirror behind her. His forefinger drove deeply into her begging pussy, and he pulled it with a beckoning motion toward her belly button, pulsating within her core and pushing her closer to her edge.
Next, Jake’s mouth was on hers to share her salty sweetness. Sliding a second finger inside, he pumped as he rubbed her clit with his thumb in small, circular motions. He fucked her with his hand, matching the rhythm of her undulating hips. She mumbled as she licked and sucked his mouth, savoring her own salty juices.
