Esther dropped her gaze as Graham shouldered the bag and headed for the door. At some point, she and Toby were going to have to sit down and talk properly about the future and how this was going to work. But not yet, she thought. They had a whole week to sort things out. Today, the weather was hot and sultry, and Toby was coming over to take her out and then hopefully they’d have some really raunchy sex. She wasn’t going to think about the future today.
She kissed Charlie goodbye, and he went with his grandparents happily enough with the promise of an ice cream and a paddle in the sea. When they’d left, she closed the door and wandered through the house to her room. Rusty was teaching at the high school and Faith had left early to go to the nearest big town, Whangarei, for a meeting with the editors of the magazine she wrote for, so Esther had the house to herself.
In the bedroom, she opened the sliding doors to allow the breeze from the garden to blow into the room and closed her eyes when the humid warmth flowed over her. It was the end of February and in Christchurch the leaves would already be turning, but here autumn seemed a long way away. In fact her whole world seemed a long way away. This was like a time out of time, as if she’d suspended reality for seven days. She’d seen the news on the TV, watched the rescue teams working to find the missing people in the crumbling city, and she’d been relieved not to be in the heart of it all.
And now she had a date. Her heart lifting, she turned and opened the wardrobe to reveal her meagre rack of clothing. The insurance company would pay out once they’d assessed the damage done to her apartment, but for the moment she was limited to what she’d allowed herself to buy with Toby’s credit card in Christchurch and the couple of items she’d purchased since she got access to her bank account again.
She lifted out a thin sundress. It was just a cheap cotton slip really, with a halter neck, the hem reaching to a few inches above the knee, but the light green colour matched her eyes, and it would be cool and easy to wear on this late-summer day. She took off her jeans and T-shirt and pulled the dress on, not bothering with a bra, then smoothed it down her body. Soon Toby’s hands would be doing the same thing. Her heart pounded at the thought.
She’d dreamed about him the night before and had woken breathless and aching with need. It had been a long morning. Walking back into the living room, she checked her watch. How long before he arrived? He’d said he’d come around for her at midday, and it was eleven forty-five.
She paced the room for ten minutes, applied lipgloss, thought about changing, decided not to, wiped off the lipgloss, put another shade on, and frankly by the time the knock came at the door at five past twelve, it made her jump out of her skin.
She opened the door, heart pounding when she saw it was him. “Hey.”
“Hiya.” He leaned against the doorpost. “Wow, you look good.”
“Thank you. So do you.” It was the truth—he wore a pair of cream chinos and a short-sleeved checked shirt, and he looked all scrubbed and clean. She backed away and let him in, staring in surprise as he produced a small bunch of flowers from behind his back.
“I’m sorry I’m a little late,” he said. “I stopped to get these. I wasn’t sure whether to. I walked in and out of the shop about five times.”
She smiled and took them from him. “They’re lovely, thank you.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know this isn’t a date as such. I just wanted to get you something, to say…” He thought about it. “I dunno. Thanks, I guess.”
Her smile spread. He was so sweet. And he looked so gorgeous she wanted to eat him up.
Giving the flowers one last sniff, she placed them on the breakfast bar. Then, leaning against the bar, she pulled him toward her. “Hey, you.”
His lips curved, and he took his hands out of his pockets and slid them around her waist. “Hey.”
She moved her hands up his shirt and leaned closer to nuzzle his neck. “You smell amazing.”
He shivered but joked, “I can honestly say that’s the first time any girl’s ever said that to me before.”
“I can’t believe that.” She touched her tongue to where his pulse beat beneath his warm skin. “You smell of aftershave and summer and hot man.”
“Yeuch.”
“It’s not yeuch, as you pointed out to me recently. It’s heavenly.” There was something wrong with her. Someone must have slipped her a lust potion, because all she could think about was kissing him, tasting him, having him inside her.
His hands began to wander over her body, and she kissed down his jaw to his mouth, capturing his lips with her own. He groaned and pressed her up against the worktop, and to her pleasure she felt him hard against the flat of her stomach.
“I’ve been in the door two minutes,” he protested as she started to unbutton his shirt.
“Is that a complaint?” She reached the last button and pushed his shirt aside to reveal his tanned chest.
“It might be. Are you using me for sex?”
“Yes.” She slipped her hands around him and scored her nails lightly down his back.
He shuddered. “Fair enough.” Without warning, he lifted her up onto the bar, and she squealed. Pushing her legs apart, he moved between them. He pulled her tight against him and crushed her lips to his, cradling the back of her head with a hand as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Her senses spun and she returned the kiss passionately, sighing as he cupped her breast with his other hand. “God, you’re so soft,” he mumbled as he ran his hands over her body. “You’re so feminine, Esther. Every inch a woman.”
It was possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. She bit her lip for a moment as emotion overwhelmed her. Damn the man. Why did he have this effect on her?
She knew she should pull away from him and tell him they should wait until later, but he slipped his hand between her thighs and started to arouse her through her panties, and all her willpower fled. She hitched up her dress and wriggled out of her underwear while he unbuttoned his pants and freed his erection, then pulled him back to her, and within seconds he’d parted her folds and pushed into her.
“Jesus,” he mumbled. He kissed her hard and she wrapped her legs around him, welcoming him deeper in. It was heavenly, with the warm breeze blowing in through the sliding doors, him hot and hard inside her, his strong arms around her. He moved his hands over her body, clearly enjoying the lack of a bra underneath the soft cotton dress, and she leaned back on her elbows as he settled into a regular rhythm. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, and he covered her nipple with his mouth through the cloth.
“Oh God…” She wasn’t going to last much longer. How embarrassing. But she couldn’t help it. It was just too wonderful.
She came in a rush of tight muscles and blissful pulses, exclaiming out loud as he continued to thrust hard. When his climax began, she opened her eyes and watched him, thinking how beautiful he was, and that she wished she could capture a picture of him like this, brow furrowed and eyes hot with desire, to keep for when she returned home.
Chapter Twenty-Two
He rested his forehead against hers while their breathing calmed down. Then they started to laugh.
“Fucking hell,” he said.
“Sorry.” The temperature in the room must have been in the high eighties, but she still managed to blush.
“Jeez, don’t apologise.” He kissed her and then withdrew with a groan. “I did not expect that. What a nice way to start the afternoon.”
She reached for a piece of kitchen towel while he zipped himself up, then let him help her down from the worktop. “I’ll second that.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Thank you, Esther Tyler, for making my day.”
“And we haven’t even done the Naughty Nights game yet,” she said lightly.
“No.” He laughed and kissed her on the nose. “It’s in the car. You want me to go and get it?”
“Sure.” He kissed her again and then sighed and walked over to th
e front door, disappearing outside.
She slipped on her panties, went over to the sofa on shaky legs and sank onto the soft leather. Was she mad? They were supposed to be exploring the Naughty Nights slowly, leisurely, not tearing each other’s clothes off in a mad display of wanton desire. Still, she couldn’t feel too regretful. It wasn’t exactly as if he’d turned her down. He’d only taken seconds longer than she had to come.
Still… She groaned and covered her face with a cushion as she thought of how forward she’d been. What ever happened to self-control? Honestly. What must he think of her?
The door shut again and then his footsteps came across the floor to the sofa. Keeping her face covered, she waited for him to sit beside her before removing the cushion.
He was grinning. “Feeling better now?”
“Sorry,” she said again.
“I said, don’t apologise. Do you hear me complaining? There are far worse things to do on a summer’s afternoon than have sex with a horny girl.”
“Toby!” Her cheeks burned.
He laughed and pulled her toward him for a kiss. “What? Nothing wrong with being horny. It’s my default setting. It’s great to meet someone else who occasionally feels the same.”
She huffed a sigh but didn’t bother to hide her smile.
He put the Naughty Nights box on his lap. “You want to pick the next one?”
“It’s your turn. You have to choose from the black ones—they’re for guys.”
“I’ll do it randomly. Then you’ll know I haven’t cheated.” He winked at her and made a pretence of looking the other way while he picked a card.
He pulled one out, turned it over and read it. His eyes flicked up at her and then back at the card. He read it again.
She tapped her foot. “What does it say?”
He turned the card over and inserted it back into the box. His eyes were alight with mischief. “Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
She stared at him with alarm. “I don’t like surprises.”
“Tough.”
“What’s it about?”
He gave her an impatient look as he put the lid back on the box. “I told you—it’s a secret.”
“Give me a clue.”
Laughing, he kissed her forehead and then got up. “No. Now come on. I’m taking you out to lunch.”
She pestered him for a while, but the only thing he’d tell her was that she was going to have to wait until the evening. When he clearly wasn’t going to reveal any more details, she sighed and stopped asking, but remained in a perpetual state of apprehension about what was on the card. Over the next few hours, while they had lunch and then afterward when they went for a walk down by the inlet, every time he looked at her with desire in his eyes she knew he was thinking about the Naughty Nights, and her heart beat a little faster.
Around three o’clock, he asked if she’d liked to go to the cinema. She accepted with enthusiasm. It had been ages since she’d seen a movie on the big screen—since before Charlie was born, in fact. It turned out Kerikeri had its own three-screen cinema, and when she saw the latest Bourne thriller was on, her excitement doubled.
“I thought you would have wanted to see a chick flick,” he commented with amusement as he paid for their tickets and popcorn.
“Give me an action movie any time. Although I do like period dramas.”
“So do I.” He raised an eyebrow at her look of astonishment. “What? Ladies in corsets and duels and soirees. What’s not to like?”
“You constantly surprise me, Toby Wilkinson.” She smiled and linked her fingers with his while they walked to the cinema. This wasn’t a real date. But it had been ages since she’d walked hand-in-hand with a guy. It was nice to pretend for a while.
The movie had been out for a few weeks and so was showing on one of the smaller screens. When they entered the theatre, she saw there were only a few other people there and the movie was about to start.
“It’s two p.m. on a school day,” he said. “Everyone’s at work or busy.”
“I’m not complaining.” She followed him up the steps. “I hate it when people talk through the movie.” He smiled and led her to the top. She raised an eyebrow at him. “The back row? You’re kidding me.”
He shrugged and grinned. “I haven’t sat in the back row for years. Might as well make the most of having a pretty girl with me.”
She nudged him but smiled shyly as she sat next to him. They’d just got comfortable when the theatre went dark and the adverts began.
She’d forgotten how magical it was at the cinema. To be engulfed by the story, with the surround sound making her feel as if she were really there… She sat with eyes wide as the action played out before her.
Toby seemed to be enjoying it as much as she was. He held her hand for the first half, and when he rested his hand on her knee, she didn’t object. He began drawing small circles on her skin, which she was quite happy with, and even when his hand moved higher and traced light patterns on her inner thighs, she didn’t complain.
Only when he got out of his seat and moved quickly between her legs did she jump and give a startled, “Toby!”
“Ssh.” He pushed her back in her seat and held her there for a moment while he kissed her, hard. Her heart pounded as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Could anyone see them?
When he eventually lifted his head, she demanded in a furious whisper, “What are you doing?”
He ignored her and kissed around to her ear, then down her throat, and finally closed his mouth over a nipple.
She gasped and scanned the others in the audience quickly to see if they were watching. The four other customers at the front had their attention fixed on the action occurring on the screen, however, and nobody paid any notice to what was going on in the back row.
Now she knew why he’d wanted to sit up the back. The instructions on his Naughty Nights card must have directed him to pleasure her in public. Her cheeks burned. The sneaky bastard. “You’ll have to wait until the evening” indeed. She couldn’t let him go through with it. What if the ticket girl came in to check on the audience? What if someone looked around? She’d die a thousand deaths.
She struggled against him, but he just chuckled. “Sit still,” he instructed.
“No!” She glanced hurriedly around the cinema, but at the moment she spoke a truck exploded in a fiery ball and the noise drowned out her exclamation.
He held her hands and kissed down to her stomach. In one smooth move, he pushed up her dress and, catching his finger in the elastic of her panties, pulled them to the side and lowered his mouth. She panicked and tried to push him away, but it was like trying to push a brick wall and she couldn’t stop his warm tongue sinking into her.
She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. He brushed all the way up her with one long lick, the sensation so beautifully blissful that she stopped moving and let him hold her tightly as he did it again. Her face must have been scarlet judging by the heat it radiated at the thought of someone seeing them. However, the seats in front of them hid him from the rest of the cinema, and someone would have to be looking pretty darned hard to see what he was doing.
He curved his arms around her thighs and rested his hands on them, pulling her legs farther apart so he could gain better access to the sensitive area at the top. She moaned and slid farther down in the seat while he teased the spot with flicks of his tongue. The wickedness of being so naughty in public only added to her excitement. She’d never considered herself an exhibitionist, but the thought that at any time someone could look over and catch them only turned her on more.
He moved his hands up to her breasts and stroked her nipples, and she sighed. The action on the big screen was being carried out at nighttime, and darkness shrouded the cinema. Nobody could see them, and the noisy action scene masked her soft murmurs of approval. They were in their own hot, sensual world, and as he continued to lick and suck and tweak, she finally relaxed enough to let him move one
hand down, open her legs even wider, and bury two fingers inside her. His other hand continued to play with her nipple, and she slid her fingers into his hair and clenched them as he aroused her relentlessly.
Before long, a warm feeling began deep in her abdomen, and she gasped at the thought of climaxing right there in the cinema. He murmured his approval, though, obviously sensing her pleasure, and she gave in and let everything tighten as she came around his fingers. Her muscles squeezed in exquisite, wonderful pulses, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out and alerting the other viewers.
When she’d finished, he withdrew his fingers and moved up to kiss her. She gave him a helpless, frustrated look, and he chuckled, pressing his lips to hers.
“Yuck,” she whispered. “I can smell myself.”
“Yum,” he replied and ran his tongue along her lips.
She pushed him away. “You are positively evil, Toby Wilkinson.”
“Mwahaha.” He moved back into his seat but put his arm around her so she could snuggle up against him. “Was that nice?”
“No.”
He chuckled quietly. “It looked as if you hated it.”
“I did. Every moment. I faked it to make you stop.”
“Yeah. I thought as much.”
She glanced up and met his warm gaze. “I can’t believe you just did that. I’m guessing that was the Naughty Night? What on earth made you choose the cinema?”
“Actually, I swear I wasn’t going to. I was going to wait until later—sneak you off into a public toilet or something. But it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
“We’ve missed half the film now,” she complained.
“Worth every minute.” He kissed her hair.
She couldn’t argue with him there.
Glancing down at his jeans, she decided he hadn’t been lying when he claimed to have enjoyed the experience. Naughtiness surged through her. It would be a shame to let him go unsatisfied.
Six Naughty Nights Page 14
