by Shona Husk
“Pretty much. I heard about webcam girls and did some research and…well here we are.” She gave her tiramisu a poke with the fork. “Would you have asked me out if you hadn’t recognized my voice?”
“I can’t answer that honestly. I certainly would’ve noticed you. You’re very beautiful without all the makeup and the wig. But I probably would’ve talked myself out of it for all the reasons we’ve discussed.”
“You haven’t dated because you were afraid of what the woman would say?”
He nodded. He’d let his ex’s reaction color the rest of his life, making her and her attitude part of his life. Would she be pleased with the damaged she’d caused? He hoped not, but he doubted she’d be sorry either. “And you haven’t dated because you couldn’t easily explain your second job right?”
“Yeah. I’d planned to tell you it was online counseling if you’d pushed.”
He laughed. She had no idea how close to true that was. Watching her had been a kind of therapy, knowing that he wasn’t alone even though he never spoke to the other men had been a strange kind of reassurance. “I’m glad it’s in the open.”
She gave him a funny look. “You aren’t going to tell me to stop if we keep seeing each other?”
“No. It’s your business and you obviously have goals. I like a woman with get up and go.”
Her cheeks colored and this time when she scooped up her dessert it wasn’t with a stab. It was a slow, almost teasing scoop that she licked off the spoon.
“Did you want a taste?” The wicked curve was back on her lips.
He knew she was only offering from the spoon, nothing more but maybe this was the peace offering to say she would be willing to see him again.
“I’d like that very much.”
Saskia offered him the fork so he could take a bite. It was rich and creamy with just enough coffee and alcohol.
“That is good.” He offered her some of his un-tasted chocolate tart. She leaned forward and ate if off his spoon.
“You should really eat that. It’s too good to waste.” She ran her tongue over her lower lip in a way that had him mesmerized. “It’s not every time, right?”
It took a moment for him to work out what she was asking. “I don’t need food to get off it that’s what you mean.”
She glanced away again, but only for a second. “It was.”
He kept his words light as if he was teasing, but he was hoping she’d accept. “Want me to prove it?”
“What are you suggesting?” Her leg brushed against his under the table.
“Do you want to come back to my place?”
“Where is your place?” She took another slow taste of her dessert, and he was damn sure she knew exactly what she was doing…and the effect it was having.
“About ten minutes by car.” And about ten minutes too far away.
She nodded, beckoned the waiter over and asked for the bill. He was guessing that was a yes.
Chapter Nine
They’d caught a taxi to his place. Her car was still in the multistory car park and he’d left his at home—just in case he’d needed to have a few drinks by himself after revealing the truth. Which she found endearing. He’d been really worried about telling and she’d been just as worried about telling him.
And while she’d never dated a man who watched her website, she wanted Ian.
She’d texted Bianca that she was going to his place and that if she didn’t text again within twelve hours to send a search party. Bianca had replied with, if she was done in twelve hours there was something wrong with her given how long it had been.
Now she waited for Ian to unlock the door. It was a nice apartment block with the usual assortment of shops and cafés on ground level. Given the location it couldn’t have been cheap. Did he own it or rent it?
Too soon to ask.
The door opened up in to a lounge room that looked well put together, and yet still personal. His bike was to one side on rollers turning it into a stationary bike, along with a small pile of bits and pieces. Large screen TV and recliners.
“Guided tour?” He asked as he dropped his jacket onto one of the recliners.
“Sure.” She followed as he walked her through the two bedroom apartment that ended with his room. How planned had that been?
At that moment she didn’t really care. Her skin was hot and she wanted to feel his touch. They stood in the doorway as if they were unwilling to cross that line just yet. He moved closer and kissed her. His lips hard against hers. When his tongue brushed her lip she opened her mouth, needing more. Her hands slid up his chest, he hadn’t been lying about working out, and she loosened his tie.
They were probably rushing, but right now she didn’t care as it had been far too long between lovers. Judging from the way he was pressed against her he felt the same way. She dropped his tie on the floor and flicked open a couple of buttons. The excitement and first time nerves spiraled in her blood. She nipped at his lip and he returned in kind.
His hands slid over her hips and pulled her closer so she could feel every inch of his erection. And while she couldn’t be completely sure, she didn’t think she was going to be disappointed when they finally got naked.
She glanced into his dark bedroom. Did he not want her to see it? Was there a pile of dirty laundry and an unmade bed? That’s what was waiting at her place. “Is it a mess in there?”
“No, but I was waiting for you to take that step so it didn’t feel like I was rushing things.” He ran his fingernail down the zipper of her dress. He hadn’t undone it. If he had she’d be able to slide right out and be left in nothing but one of her nice—unseen on webcam—sets of lingerie complete with stay up stockings. It might have been a while since she’d been on a date or even gotten close to a man’s bedroom but she still knew how to dress.
She grabbed the front of his shirt and took a step backward into his room.
While light spilled in from the corridor it was only enough for her to make out the shape of the bed. Did she draw him toward the bed or was that too much? She didn’t want to come off as aggressive. But she didn’t want to stall either.
Settle down.
Be in the moment.
He unzipped her dress. She shivered as he drew it off.
He kissed her neck and then her shoulder. “Tell me if I’m moving too fast.”
“What if you’re going too slow?” She sounded completely desperate, but she didn’t care.
Ian laughed. “I don’t want to rush just because it’s been a while.”
His hands didn’t stop moving, caressing the bare skin of her back, the bumps of her spine and tracing along her bra strap. She’d never considered that her back could be sexy, but right now it was. Her dress slipped down further exposing the lacy bra. She pulled her arms free and it slithered down her legs to pool like ink on the floor.
He drew in a breath as if it was too much.
“You’ve seen me in my underwear plenty of times.” She undid the rest of his buttons, eager to level the playing field and see what was under his clothes.
“That’s not the same as having you here.” He shrugged out of his shirt. This time his touch was almost reverent. Light and teasing as if he couldn’t believe she was actually in his room. He’d seen her in her underwear lots of times because he watched her website…which meant he’d fantasized about her lots of times.
The thought gave her a rush and swept aside any nerves she had about getting naked with him. He already liked her…he’d known what was under her clothes the moment he’d first suspected.
She stepped out of her heels carefully so not to tangle her feet in her dress. In two more steps her calves hit the bed.
“Pants off,” she whispered.
He hesitated for a moment then unbuckled his belt and popped the button on his fly. Before he dropped his pants, he bent down and undid his laces. He slowly took off shoes and then socks drawing it out…because he was anxious about stripping off, or because he was deliberately tormenting
her. She was standing there watching and feeling just a little odd. She wasn’t used to being the one watching and yet she couldn’t look away. There was something very alluring about watching him undress for her.
As he stood he pushed down his pants. She let her gaze drift up from his feet, slowly. Nice calves…he hadn’t been kidding about shaving his legs. His thighs were well muscled. He was wearing dark colored fitted boxers and there was no mistaking the ridge of his erection pushing against the fabric.
She swallowed unable to look up and meet his gaze. “All of it.”
Would he?
He hooked his thumbs into his briefs and tugged them down, before stepping out of his clothes. His hard shaft bobbed with the movement. Then she realized that she was spending far too long checking out his thick dick and snapped her gaze up.
He was watching her. “Your turn.” But instead of asking her to take something off he stepped closer. “I hope I can remember how to unhook a bra.”
A couple of seconds later it was undone and he was sliding it down her arms. Her skin popped up in gooseflesh even though it wasn’t cold.
Her nipples peaked before he’d even had a chance to touch her. As his fingers traced up her arms, and circled her breast she had to resist the urge to arch her back and thrust her chest toward him. Finally his thumb brushed over her nipple, the contact sent a spike of longing to her belly.
She put her hand on the back of his neck and kissed him. Her other hand barely had to move before her fingers touched his hard flesh. His cock jumped at the touch. She closed her eyes so she could absorb the sensation of being touched and of touching. His breath on her skin, his hands on her. The way his muscles moved beneath her hands and the noise he made when she stroked his length.
His fingers toyed with the edge of her lacy panties, as if he couldn’t decide to take them off or not. Just take them off. They were damp already. Once touch and she’d probably come.
He kissed her collarbone, the tops of her breasts, her stomach, and then he was kneeling in front of her. Her breath caught as she watched. His hands ran up her leg to the top of her stocking, then he slowly rolled it down until she could step out of it. Then he repeated the process with her other leg, except this time he kissed her inner thigh. Her toes curled against the carpet, as he moved closer to her panties…but not close enough.
His hands cupped her butt and for a moment she thought he was going to pull her closer to his mouth. Then his lips brushed her belly and his teeth tugged at the top of her panties before releasing them.
He glanced up at her. “Want them off?”
What kind of question as that? “Uh-huh.”
If he didn’t have any condoms, she was going to kill him because this was killing her.
Somehow his fingers slid beneath her panties to caress her slick labia. She couldn’t help the way her hips moved. His knuckle pressed a little deeper and she sucked in a breath. He tugged her panties down a little, then a little more. If he didn’t pull them off now, she was going to do it.
Then he touched her clit. Her legs were not going to hold her up for much longer. She bit her lip as his thumb circled and his fingers dipped into her.
Oh god.
His lips pressed against the crease of her thigh. Her hands had ended up on his shoulders, her fingers were pressing into the muscle and she was barely breathing.
If he stopped now, he was dead. Who cared if her panties were on or off?
Her thighs trembled and her stomach tightened, then her climax rolled through her. That had been embarrassingly easy. Just because she hadn’t been with a guy in nearly a year didn’t mean she’d ignored her needs. But it was so nice to have someone else taking care of them. She fell back onto the bed and Ian pulled her panties off.
As she caught her breath he opened the bedside drawer and pulled the plastic off a new box of condoms. Her lips curved. Aware that she was watching he rolled it slowly up his length and then gave himself a stroke. Caught in between the light from the corridor and the shadows of the bedroom, he was a beautiful sight.
She moved, not caring that her feet were at the wrong end of the bed, opening her legs so that he could lie between them. He moved over her. The kiss was slow and deep as he lowered his hips to hers. She angled her hips, and luxuriated in the feel of his shaft gliding against the folds of her sex. Then he was pressing forward. She closed her eyes and moaned.
“Too much?” He stopped moving.
“Not enough.” But she liked the way he wasn’t rushing, that he was making sure she was okay with how fast things were progressing.
After a few more thrusts he sank into her fully. She looped her legs over his hips as he moved, every stroke brushed her already sensitive clit. His mouth touched hers with light hungry kisses.
The tension built again, her nails pressed against his buttocks urging him on. Her back arched as she came again. It really had been too long between lovers, but she was very glad she hadn’t forgotten how to do it with someone and that her body hadn’t gotten used to getting off alone.
He groaned and beneath her hands his muscles tensed. His thrusts became less urgent, and more like slowing down and not wanting to admit it was over.
For tonight it was. She didn’t sleep over on the second date…even if she did put out.
However she wasn’t ready to throw herself out the door yet. Ian moved off the bed. He crossed the bedroom and opened a door, he had an ensuite. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was definitely an expensive apartment.
As he walked back he snagged a pair of pajama pants from the chest of drawers and pulled them on. She needed to move. She couldn’t remain sprawled on his bed.
“Would you like a robe?”
She looked at him for a moment...he wasn’t kicking her out or encouraging her to get dressed. “Yes. That would be great.”
He turned back to the ensuite and pulled his robe off the back of the door. She sat up and slipped it on. It smelled like soap and his spicy cologne. For a moment she just wanted to burrow deeper and breathe it in.
“Coffee, night cap?”
If she had liquor, she wouldn’t be able to drive home and then work. “Better make it coffee.”
He nodded in understanding and left her in his room.
She sighed and smiled. Best date ever.
Then she got up and wandered out to the kitchen to enjoy a little more time with him before heading home. Somehow they had to make this work.
Chapter Ten
Four weeks later Saskia had finally worked up the courage to invite Ian over to her place. In that time they’d gone out for lunches and dinners, all of them early in the week and often ending up at his place. She’d finally finished repainting her bedroom. The one she used for filming was still cream. It was nice to be able to separate her space from a work space. Although today her worlds were going to collide.
She placed the lemon meringue pie on the spare bed to warm up a little while she got ready. Her stomach was tight as she got changed, slipped on a bikini and a robe, then did her make up. Last of all she put on the wig.
They’d talked about this a lot, and while he hadn’t mentioned food and sex in the same sentence unless she was talking about the job she knew he was thinking about it…and so was she. This was part of her life and it wasn’t right that he was on the other side of the screen for it.
While she wasn’t ready to play with someone, she was ready to let Ian have a private date with the Messy Maiden.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
This was crazy. She had no idea how he’d react. After explaining that she wasn’t the Messy Maiden, and that it was an act, she was now becoming her. Were they really that different though? Maybe she was braver and funnier online than she was in reality?
All she knew was that she couldn’t keep this part of her life separate if she was going to keep seeing him. That would be too weird. And she didn’t want him only seeing this through her website.
The front doorbel
l rang. He was here already. For a moment she wanted to tear off the wig and pretend that she’d bought the dessert for dinner not for the bedroom. The bell rang again. Too late now.
This was supposed to be a surprise. She hoped that he liked it and wasn’t freaked out. Maybe he liked the separation?
She took a deep breath and walked through the house. It took another deep breath before she could open the door. There was no hiding looking like this, he’d know instantly, so she swung the door open.
His eyes widened.
“Ta da!” She tried to act like she was one hundred percent cool with this idea.
“Wow.” His gaze travelled over her, from the top of the wig to her carefully painted red toenails, then back to her face. He was smiling while still managing to look uncertain. “Why?”
“Oh, just get inside.” He followed her in and she locked the door.
“I thought I was just coming around for dinner I wasn’t expecting you like this.”
She wilted. “I can get changed…” She’d kind of been hoping for a better reaction.
“No. No need to do that. I just thought you were keeping it all very separate.” And while there was a small frown, he couldn’t tear his gaze from her.
“I know I said that at the start, but I don’t want to shut you out of what I do…and besides. I’m a little curious.”
“About?” His frown deepened.
“About the attraction.” Her face was getting hot. Did she have to explain everything? “I bought a lemon meringue pie and the spare bedroom is set up for filming. If you’d like to get a behind the scenes special.” She held her breath and tried to gauge his reaction. That she could deal with, maybe another time it could just be them but one step at a time. For her getting messy was work not pleasure.
“Watch you film?”
She nodded. “Yeah…but afterward…well, that’s entirely up to you…” She gave a little shrug as if she wasn’t bothered. She was really bothered. This wasn’t going quite how she’d thought it would.
Was it a mistake to mix her business with his pleasure?
