by Judy Jarvie
“Slow it down, angel. Let’s just kiss like teenagers for a while.”
***
Ailsa let out a long sigh and lent her head on his shoulder. Nick’s face was inches from hers.
“Ailsa,” Nick said quickly, hoarsely. “I’ll have to go.”
His voice was smoky. “Otherwise we’re right back again on that old sex conundrum.”
“Don’t go,” Ailsa whispered. “Please.”
“Do you know how hard it is being a Manager at twenty three and having a lovely nineteen year old hand deliver you coffee and choc fingers knowing all she wants is you and all you have to do is ask?”
The pause hung heavy. Ailsa even gulped on super slow and watched as she gathered her thoughts.
“I think I need to do the right thing again tonight and go.” Nick rose and shouldered his coat then he sighed, rubbed the back of his neck. “Look. I’ll call a cab. I’ll call you okay. No pressure. We’ll work together this week and get things into perspective.”
Then she reached out. Lightly copper tinted nails kept him captive
She sat on the bed, pulled him by the arm.
“Don’t go,” she urged.
Ailsa saw Nick look at her fluffy slippers strewn by the bed. Giant mice. They both laughed.
“Told you I’m not really a vamp. In case you hadn’t worked that out yet.”
“I don’t know; I could make room in my personal fantasy list for a naked Ailsa in giant mice slippers.”
He took her face between strong hands. Nick kissed her like she wanted him to. A Herculean kiss that took no prisoners and promised no lies. All hot fire and deep urgent longing. And bonfires on top of mountain tops burned and roared.
His hands were in her hair, pulling her clothes out of his way. Grasping, teasing and she was revelling in the touch, since the longing had caused such an ache. An ache that existed in her hollow void of need since they’d met.
“I want you so much.”
“Me too,” she whispered, “so much.”
Ailsa knew that she’d been sunk when Nick kissed her under the New Year’s fireworks. He’d spoiled her for any other man when he’d smiled in that soul-bending way she’d known she had to have him.
And finally that moment was now.
***
They lay on the bed skin to skin. Kissing every few seconds; it really wasn’t a dream.
It was two in the morning. He lay beside her in his shirt and trousers she wore her t-shirt and jeans. So different from their prior passion play. They were like teenagers with desire dancing in their eyes.
“This might not be how we first planned it but I want you to be sure,” Nick told her.
“You aren’t going home. Even if that means us sleeping side by side.”
“I don’t think either of us really believes that’s going to happen.”
As they lay there they both froze with the promise of the moment; aware of the electric spark that fizzed. Deadly, full of charge. Scary too.
Nick kissed her; lips meeting on slow freefall. Arms encircled, willing bodies met. Mouths joined and the desire belittled the need for further banter. Twenty whole minutes of divine kissing that made her school techniques pale followed.
Nick’s eyes kept hers captive. “When we kiss it’s fantastic.” Nick played his fingers up her spine. “Ailsa…” he said it through a mouth half occupied with kissing her. “I’ll be your sister’s list guinea pig. But this isn’t a race. I want to seduce you the old fashioned way. I want us to be about more than a quick good time.”
Ailsa said, taken by surprise. “Won’t working and sleeping together be unwise?”
“We can act professional at work. In the bedroom, we concentrate on your instructions and us.”
Ailsa was concentrating on the excited buzz of her body, the thrum of her own heart as his hands caressed her curves and he kissed her expertly.
And he kissed her again. She felt the smile in his voice as he kissed her. “Maybe I have to convince you to take a chance and let me try to instruct you. Maybe I need to show you I’m best candidate for your instructor vacancy?”
“What do you suggest? A test?”
She felt his fingers skim her waist. She wanted him to touch her somewhere hotter but he refrained. It was restrained yet thoroughly exciting all at once.
He made her feel more womanly and powerful than ever. And this was without the trappings of seductive outfits or tantalising lingerie or overt flirtation. It so excited her she kissed him back deeply, her tongue darting, plunging and savouring the explicitness of his kiss.
“Okay, prove it. Touch me, if you want to?” she invited in a whisper.
Nick’s fingers slowly undid her jeans buttons in deft movements.
“I’m very good at touching, so that’s okay.”
She breathed in short sharp ragged bursts as he slid her t-shirt up and off. He hadn’t even touched her skin and it made her entire body tremble with the need that burned there. Then he lowered a mouth to kiss a line of fire from her throat then slid off her bra. She felt sensation spiral, heat swell as his head lowered. She caressed him with her hands, at his neck, in his hair.
“Top marks. Let’s make love,” she smiled.
“Not so fast. I’ve need to prove I’m able.”
Standing up he pulled his cotton shirt off. Briefly he unbuttoned the trousers and she revelled in the view. Then he appreciated her, eyes aglow, it made her shiver from head to toe.
Nick kissed her languorously. She tempted and teased and enjoyed the journey. She simultaneously felt herself lose the frantic, angsty need. Instead steady enjoyment overwhelmed her; took her breath away, flooded her. She was amused by his love-play. Entranced by his abilities.
Ailsa saw how her own enjoyment took him with her. Then he travelled lower. Kissing her skin, tasting her. All he’d done was kiss and taste her and she was shaking like a new born lamb.
“You think you have this in the bag, don’t you?” she whispered. “You’re better than the fantasy version.”
“So are you. But am I hired?”
She let her hands explore the manly contours of his shoulders and chest and let her head fall back as he kissed her mouth again. Eagerly she kicked aside her jeans and panties and his able fingers found her core and he touched her to make her pant and writhe. With heat steadily burning a hypnotic path to her destruction, again he flicked with care and deliberation. It made her buck and writhe and he groaned against her kiss. Eventually as he kissed her neck and continued his ministrations she felt the waves of ecstasy build inside her to a crescendo that rocked her with vibrating delight.
She cried out panting in the aftermath and smiled at him. He was looking rather pleased with what he’d just achieved as she stared at him startled.
“So that’s what she meant.”
“Oh but there’s more. Much more. You’ve only started learning,” he told her.
“You’ve got the job if you want it,” she said on a gasped breath.
Ailsa realised she’d been doing this wrong.
Nick was the perfect answer to Kirsty’s list, he was clearly skilled and could teach her everything. Make her wildest fantasies reality.
His every touch sent her higher.
“Then it’s time for your first lesson.”
His mouth claimed her breast as he pushed her back against the smooth sheets.
Nick went for broke and produced a square foil packet. She grinned as she pulled him closer.
“Hey, angel. All in good time.”
Wrapping her legs around him, she wanted him to take her to paradise. A New Year’s revelation.
With a laugh he smiled and urged her to slow but her kissed entreaties for speed soon meant wild delight took free reign.
She had a Seduction Instructor who rocked her world. Nick was expertly qualified for the job.
Chapter Seven
Loincloths and jungle dreams were nothing on the reality of last night. He’d more than surpasse
d the hum-drum of waiting for a night with Nick Palmer. He’d been unforgettable.
And even better he’d seemed pretty impressed with the evening’s antics himself.
She’d done it. Really done it. Fulfilled her resolution for casual walk-away sex. Bagged promotion at work, and got herself a new sexy transformation.
Ailsa smiled; a smile that became a grin, even teeth appeared. Contentment laced with excited wonder.
He was here. Right here, right now and for the moment he wasn’t going anywhere. Memories of his flesh searing hers, their limbs entwining, bodies scorching, enflamed her fatigued mind.
He had a sportsman’s attitude to sex. And he put her needs before his own. Jackpot hit or what?
Nick was lying in bed beside her. His olive, smooth chest rising and falling and causing her heart to feel giddy with need again. His skin smelled so addictively of his familiar scent.
When Ailsa Murray did it, she really did it. With bells on and a brass band accompanying the event.
For the short-term future Nick would be linked to her work environment. Her plan for an improved ‘New Self’ may already have backfired on her true persona but she figured he was worth the risk.
“Ailsa,” she heard Nick whisper against her ear and gently kiss her neck. “You okay? Silly question, you’re far more than okay. I know this already for myself. You realise it took us three nights to pull it off. Do we need our heads examining?”
“Definitely. And there are plenty of other places too.”
And seizing the moment, and her new persona in spite of the risks, Ailsa obliged without objection.
***
Nick was in the shower when a text arrived on his phone on the bedside cabinet.
Ailsa wasn’t the prying type: it was the phone coming to life that made her look. And she immediately saw the young grinning boy beaming out of the handset’s photo screen – Jake.
It caused a gasp to lodge in her throat. Even as she heard Nick singing in the shower and the water swishing against the tiles in the next room. She gingerly picked up the handset to closer inspect the child. No wonder Nick was so proud of him with his smattering of freckles and smile told of good natured mischief.
But it was a stark reminder to Ailsa. She should not be dragging Nick too deep. He had a child with important claims on him, who needed him back at the helm of their lives. And her sexual education, at which he was proving himself adept and eager to participate for the time being, was just a diversion that would have to conclude.
She swiftly laid the phone down when she heard the water jets switch off. And busied herself folding clothes at the other side of the room.
“You know what?” Nick asked pursing sexy lips, wiggling a dark brow as he watched her from the doorway.
“What?” Ailsa asked.
“You should leave the Sofa City job if you want to. Life’s too short for obligation that doesn’t count. It’s been my motto and it’s stood me in good stead. Okay my life’s taken irregular turns but trust me and you have to do what you want in life. If you want your drama club venture, I’ll back you. The offer’s there now and it’s not a line. I think you’re a good bet worth backing.”
Nick took her breath away.
She’d been thinking along the same lines herself about Sofa City.
But was she ready to take charity and backing from Nick, when he’d have to go back to reality soon?
“Maybe,” she said. She felt his fingers skim her shoulders with a touch that could make her submit to anything. He pulled away her robe and she let out a shaky sigh.
“Come here,” Nick kissed her shoulder bone in a manner that told it was something he did better than most. “You’re tense. I think I may need to try out my massage techniques …”
And when he kissed her in that way, in spite of the whirring doubts that were starting to cloud her mind, how could a girl resist him?
***
Ailsa closed her eyes as very, very hard as she possibly could.
She chanted lightly, “Kirsty, can’t you give me a sign?”
A long pause. Nothing. No harp music, no breathy sighs. No feathers fluttering in the gentle breeze.
“I need your guidance. I like Nick but I think he’s serious. How do I keep my heart out of reach? Was this what you wanted or should I be letting him go?”
Still all she could hear was the twitter of the budgerigar cages from the aviary in the garden of the man next door. No swish of celestial wings. Not a peep.
“Do you want me to go and find other guys? Am I doing this right? Do you need me to start seeing more men? Or is Nick sufficient? Your letter wasn’t detailed enough.”
A silence hung over Ailsa’s intent probings for answers.
“Kirsty. Where are you?”
The big telephone in the sky remained well and truly off the hook. Ailsa opened her eyes.
“Told you,” she whispered. “You’re going loopy. Now let it go.”
As much as it moved her she resolved to keep this flirtation light. Okay Nick was her Seduction Instructor. But it was just short-term, a fling. She needed more research. That’s what Kirsty meant, wasn’t it?
She needed to keep this light. To survive the impact on her heart.
***
“Hell’s pyjamas. I don’t believe it,” said Lisa when Ailsa walked into ‘Ultimo Coffee Bar’ at three for their pre-arranged coffee stop next day. Ailsa’s sexy new image was unveiled; the smile on her face couldn’t be budged.
“What d’you reckon? Irresistible?”
She looked like she’d stepped out of a Personal Shopper Paradise and she knew it. She held more than a dozen glossy store bags in both hands. Carrie Bradshaw only better.
“Now I know you’ve lost your marbles.” Lisa said just staring. “You look like a different woman. A loose different woman. A woman with fun on her mind and action in her bedroom.”
Lisa’s response did not shatter how pleased Ailsa was with her expensive new look. She’d seized the day, lived the Resolution. And man did it feel fabulous or what?
“Spontaneity in action,” Ailsa fluffed and pouted. “I do feel kind of sexy now you mention. I’ve spent the morning in the spa. Do you know how liberating it is spending money and not looking at the price tags but only concentrating on how good the reflection makes you feel?”
“Overdrawn, most likely!” Lisa answered but laughed heartily into her mug.
Ailsa regarded her reflection in the coffee house mirror. She wished she’d taken the plunge and done this years before. Of course her credit card had taken a hit and her savings would have to take a dent for the privilege.
Already she was turning heads. Particularly male heads, the waiters being her first victims.
“What can I get you, miss?” asked a waiter in an over-fresh manner. Pity he was fresh from Kindergarten.
“Green tea,” answered Ailsa.
“Something hot and tasty too?”
She shook her head and ignored the come on eyeball tricks. Then she and Lisa giggled and kicked legs below the table.
“You’re glowing from something, I thought this New Year thing was a whim. Now I see it’s a life mission.”
Maybe the glow was ‘the great instruction’. She was still on another planet since Nick’s live-affirming induction. A planet in a far, far away galaxy alive with promise and sensational potential. One where super speed extra thrill launchers were the only way to travel.
Her New Year New Leaf actions were surging apace.
“I’ve done some planning,” said Ailsa as their drinks order arrived. “My official Instruction List,” she pushed her pad to Lisa. “Check it out.”
Lying in bed that morning after he’d left she’d formulated her List. It made impressive reading.
Lisa scanned. “Is there a web cam in here catching my shocked expression?”
Kirsty’s Instructions Achieved
Proposition a stranger √
Make Demands – Work & Play √
Chat up a guy in a bar and dance until dawn
Have a man at your mercy
Kitchen table. Bathroom Bubbles.
Spend weekend in bed
Break Hearts
Indulge In A Date For Lust
Prepare A Seduction Dinner Supreme.
“You can’t go making lists like that?” Lisa said emphatically and her mouth making a circle of pure shock. “You’re sensible Ailsa, remember? It’s contrived. It’s positively un-you.” She paused and contemplated. “But I dig this new assertive you. You’re inspiring.”
Ailsa merely ticked number three with her pen. “Makeover successful. Look at what I bought. Masses of gorgeous things to wear, my credit card’s gasping for imported oxygen. Why have I wasted my time being so careful?”
Littered at her feet were exciting, expensive looking bags. Designer labels were heavily represented along with a very exclusive lingerie boutique where Lisa knew it cost half a month’s pay cheque for some sheer but sexy nothings.
What Lisa didn’t yet know was that there was an expensive body fitting black suit. A scarlet thigh skimming shirt dress. Skirts that showed legs, lashings of lingerie. There was a divine ‘couldn’t pass it’ funky suede coat with perfect brown stiletto boots that even she knew made her look like a rock diva. A trendy hat; a gorgeous necklace and a powder puff that put glitter in places she’d never dreamed of putting glitter before.
“Great work,” Lisa breathed. “Wow. And all inspired by Nick the Aussie Sex God?”
Ailsa breathed deep. “Nick’s quite a guy.”
“Don’t tell me, you’ll make me jealous.” Lisa narrowed her eyes Kojak style. “I hope your accountant’s got no heart problems. That new leaf thing, it’s proving expensive. Can I have some of what you’re on?” Lisa sipped her latte and stirred the froth rapidly into nothingness. “My New Year stinks, in stark comparison to yours. No man. No shopping, no boyfriend now. Ironic huh?”
