Three Hard Lessons

by Nikki Sloane

I’ve been thinking about it all damn day. This was bad. The warning alarms sounding in my head quieted to nothing when he tugged me into the awaiting elevator and crushed his lips to mine.

  “Where are we going?” I asked when we boarded the train. He’d hurried me through the streets back to the station we’d come from yesterday.

  “There’s a restaurant near the Shibuya crossing.”

  We had to stand since the car was already full. Dominic reached up and grabbed one of the hanging straps from the ceiling, and put a firm arm around my waist. My breath caught in my throat. Once again, I shouldn’t, but I liked this. He’d done it for safety so I wouldn’t lose my balance if the train jerked, but I couldn’t help but like the display. As if I were his. I softened and my arms naturally encircled him.

  Shibuya. The name was familiar. “I think that’s on my list.”

  “What list?” His voice was hushed and uneven. Maybe in reaction to what I’d done.

  “All the stuff I’m going to see. I brought it along because I wanted to get your opinion.”

  We looked like a couple. The other people gave us absolutely zero percent of their attention. Like in Chicago, the train was a cross-section of the different subcultures of the city. A white-collar salaryman in a finely tailored suit rode beside a younger man in a brightly patterned hoodie whose hair was spiked and slanted to the side in a wild style. And behind them, two teenage girls in school uniforms. We were the only Westerners on the train. The only Gaijin.

  I watched the urban landscape whiz past the window at a crazy velocity.

  “It’s so quiet,” I whispered. Not just the car, but the train itself. I was used to the rumble and clank of the L and its screeching brakes. Not this train. Only a faint hum was noticeable.

  A smile warmed his eyes. “They know how to do public transit here. One morning I’ll make you ride the train during rush hour. That’s an experience.”

  My first traditional meal in Tokyo was amazing. Like shopping in the konbini, I enjoyed every minute. Taking off my shoes at the door and walking across the tan, woven tatami mats. Sitting on the floor at the low table surrounded by paper sliding doors. The green tea. The food.

  And of course, the man across from me who ate with chopsticks like he’d used them his whole damn life. He didn’t judge me for not having the faintest clue how to use them. He helped. Maybe it was nice for him to not feel like the biggest foreigner in the room for once, but I think he got a kick out of watching my pleasant reaction to everything. I kind of loved all of this.

  For the first time since my sophomore year of college, conversation with the opposite sex wasn’t so hard. I don’t know if it was Dominic, or the sake, or a combination of both. We chatted about our day after he’d ordered for us. Japanese coming out of his mouth was still bizarre, but interesting.

  We went over my list, and he made comments about a few, like “crowded, but worth it,” or “tourist trap.” There were some he hadn’t done yet, and seemed thrilled when I asked if he wanted to go together. I decided I was done worrying about him getting attached. I’d deal with it later if it happened.

  “I expected you to balk,” he announced, a grin teasing his lips. “That was pretty far out of the comfort range of American cuisine.”

  I gave a soft laugh as I surveyed the mostly empty bowls before me. It had been fish with the head on, rice, and something that looked like seaweed, and it had all been delicious. I gave a sly and seductive smile. “You haven’t figured out yet that I’m the adventurous type?”

  His eyes hazed with lust. “No, your list the night we met made that clear.” He downed the last of his sake like it would give him courage. “About that, I was wondering . . .”

  My pulse ticked up a notch. “Was there something on there that interests you?”

  Just below his cheekbones, the skin flushed a subtle pink. “Yeah. First column, uh, third one down.”

  “Sorry, I don’t remember which one that was.” Total lie. I knew exactly what it was, but he was way too cute when he was like this.

  “Let’s just say it rhymes with schmay-nal.”

  I choked on my sake. “God, Dominic,” I laughed, “if you can’t say it, you don’t get to do it.”

  He just blinked and looked like he didn’t know what to do. His broad shoulders lifted in a hesitant breath. “I haven’t before.”

  chapter

  FOURTEEN

  Holy shit, after fifty-some women he’d never had anal sex. “Really?”

  His blush deepened another shade as he nodded and his voice dropped low. “Do you like it?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I grinned.

  “Real?”

  “Real. I’m definitely up for it.” I was excited to give him a lesson in that kind of pleasure. But then reality crashed down on me and I skewed my face.

  “What is it?” He looked alarmed.

  “I’m going to need some help because you’re so big.”

  I think he stopped breathing. He was so tense, the compliment barely registered. “What kind of help?”

  “Like, help you can buy at an adult store,” I said, softly. “Surely there’s one around here—”

  He rubbed a hand behind his neck, working out the tension. “Trust me, there are plenty. And don’t call me Shirley.” He bit down on his lip, and his eyes glinted with desire. “In fact, I think there are several in Shibuya. Let’s go.” He threw down a wad of yen, and started to get up from the table.

  His eagerness made me chuckle.

  Shibuya Center Town was a massive intersection in the heart of a shopping district, and every square inch of flat surface was either covered in signage or jumbotron displays of moving images. The advertisement was in your face, soaking into every pore, seeping in until I was overwhelmed. It made Times Square seem like it was nothing.

  Dominic and I stood at the window of the Starbucks on the second floor of a nearby building and watched as the light changed, and an enormous wave of people took off, power walking across the dotted white bands on the pavement, signifying the crosswalk. It was a sight to behold.

  I lived in downtown Chicago and crossed busy streets every day, but somehow this was new and different and exciting. “I want to do it.”

  “Cross?” he asked, amused. “We will.”

  We watched the crowds for at least twenty minutes as they moved through the intersections, the overhead neon lights of billboards flashing different images and splashing rainbows of color on them. That seemed to be as long as Dominic could stand it. Clearly he had other things on his mind.

  Such a male.

  We queued up with the other people at the edge of the road, and when the light changed, off we went. The throng of people moved at a fast clip, and Dominic’s hand curled around mine, urging me to keep up, stay with him, and stop gawking. The city . . . it felt alive.

  The sex shop wasn’t hard to find, given the enormous cartoon penis in the window with an English speech bubble that said “Best Fucking Shop in All of Japan!” We wound down a spiral staircase into a basement. Once inside, it wasn’t any different than the sex shops in Amsterdam. Dildos and vibrators and costumes, and all the other stuff you expect to find.

  His warm hand squeezed mine.

  “Can I be honest?” he asked. When I nodded, he continued, “Pretty much whatever you want in here, I’ll buy it. Seriously. I’ll buy you two of everything.” His eyes darted to the costume of a sexy school girl.

  “Okay, I want that.” I pointed to the three foot long dildo behind a glass case. The one that had something that looked suspiciously like teeth at the end. I did my best to look serious, but he laughed.

  “Okay, freak, but it’ll make me feel inadequate, and if you want me to bite you, all you have to do is ask.”

  A vision of Dominic’s head between my legs, teasing me with his teeth, flashed through my mind and filled me with desire.

  We giggled like teenagers at some of the more ridiculous stuff like the plastic vaginas or blatant copyright in
fringement.

  “Christmas is coming up,” Dominic said, holding up a vibrator that looked like Mickey Mouse. “You could get this for Evie and let it take her to the happiest place on earth.”

  “Evelyn,” I corrected, even though I knew it was a lost cause. He just smirked.

  I grabbed a bottle of lube and a toy and made my way to the counter, but he ensnared my waist with his hands, pulling me so my back was against his firm chest and his lips by my ear. “What else? That’s not all you want, is it?”

  “You know, you have me at a disadvantage. You’ve seen my willing list, but I haven’t seen yours.”

  The rough voice was soft, yet rumbled like thunder. “I’m up for whatever. Whatever makes you come apart. Whatever makes you scream with pleasure. It doesn’t always have to be my mouth or my cock that gets you there.”

  A delicious shudder swept through my body, which he had to feel since he had me flattened against him. My brain went blank with lust. Shaky but determined hands snatched more things up, most of it not registering. Vibrator. Blindfold. Handcuffs, I think.

  The trip back to his apartment was a hazy fog of lust and anticipation. The train was less crowded now and we sat on the red seats, my hand between his legs, although he kept pushing it down.

  “C’mon,” I whispered into the side of his neck. The sex shop had turned me on like a mad woman. “Don’t you want to reenact that scene from Risky Business? This train’s way cleaner than the L.”

  “Yeah, no shit, risky business. I’ll have my train privileges revoked and fuck up my job if we get caught.” He gave me a look of pure desire. “We’ll be home in ten minutes, you exhibitionist.”

  “And then you’re going to fuck this ass?”

  He exhaled sharply. “C’mon, don’t make me walk back to my place with a raging hard-on.”

  Dominic fumbled with his apartment lock, and then the door burst open. He hurled off his shoes, keeping one hand on the generic brown sack from our shopping excursion.

  “Take off your shoes,” he ordered.

  I stepped out of them and was whisked into his room. He’d made the bed this morning, but his suit was thrown on it. He ignored it. The bag thudded to the mattress as he used both hands to pull at my clothes, stretching my sweater over my head, and worked to undo my jeans. I undid the top few buttons of his shirt and reached behind his back to tug it off.

  “Okay,” he said, pushing the jeans down over my hips and I stepped out of them one bunched leg at a time. “Do I need to do anything differently when—?”

  I put a finger on his lips, silencing him. “This is going to seem ironic coming from me, but slow down. You’re definitely going to enjoy it, but I need to be in charge to make sure I do, too. Okay?”

  He gently pulled my finger away from his lips and nodded. “It’s the Payton effect. I lose my shit around you.” He leaned in painstakingly slow, and kissed me. Was he aware I lost my shit whenever he did that? My fingertips curled in the hair at the base of his skull, fisting a handful. I gasped against this kiss. Every layer of it and I fell deeper and deeper under the spell of him.

  I tugged his belt open and shoved his pants down, anxious to have him in my hands. A low, guttural moan dragged from his lips.

  “First,” I said, stroking the smooth, hard length of him, “you’re going to go down on me. And when I get close, you're going to take out that starter toy and fuck me with it until it’s wet, and then push it in my ass. Slowly. All the way to the ring at the base.”

  “Oh, Jesus, I think I just came a little.”

  He was impossibly hard in my hands. I marveled at the velvet-like feel of his flesh against my fingertips.

  “Second, you’re going to fuck me with this cock until I’m begging you to take it out and fuck me in the ass.” His hot, wet lips latched onto my earlobe, biting softly and creating an electric shock that surged straight through me. “Then, you can decide when to give me what I want.”

  His breath washed over my shoulder as he sighed and lifted his head to stare down at me. The color of his irises was a deep blue tonight, almost a shade of cobalt. Hands closed on my shoulders and pushed me backward onto the bed.

  “So I’m supposed to start here?”

  Dominic didn’t waste any time. He ran a hand through my legs and over my panties, moments before fingers curled around the waistband and yanked them down. My legs were pushed apart as his knees thudded to the carpet and his mouth descended on me.

  “Fuck,” I cried.

  It wasn’t going to take me long at this rate. I threaded both hands through his hair, gripping him to me. Shudders built inside my core, vibrating out with every caress of his tongue.

  “Dominic.”

  My brain threatened to go offline, but I heard rustling of the bag, followed by plastic, and thankfully before I had to say anything, he disappeared into the bathroom. The faucet ran for a minute, and he returned, a towel drying the French pink jelly toy that was long and egg shaped, tapered at one end and had a large base at the other.

  He cast the towel aside. Eyes swept over my naked flesh and I did the same to him. That tan, ridged skin with a dusting of chest hair, and below . . . the helmet of his thick cock standing out, reaching for me. Soon. He knelt back down beside the bed and followed the plan I’d laid out for him.

  I sighed when his lips sucked on my clit, and gasped when the toy intruded into my pussy. I was dripping wet and it went in easily.

  “Oh god,” I moaned. “I want that to be your cock.”

  “Do you want to come like this?”

  My eyes fell closed and I bit down on my bottom lip. Yes, the sinful voice whispered back, but I knew it would be so much better if I waited. I shook my head. It took an enormous amount of self-restraint to back up on the bed, away from his tongue. I already felt like I was going to rattle apart and we’d barely started.

  I turned over and pushed up on my hands and knees, silently telling him what he should do now. Breath came and went rapidly for both of us.

  “You ready?” His voice was soft and unsure.

  “Oh my god, yes.”

  Fingertips grazed my left ass cheek, gently pulling it to the side, and then it was there, right at that forbidden entrance. It started to advance.

  “Yes,” I encouraged and it went deeper, stretching me.

  “You like that?” He didn’t ask it like he was curious, because lord knows I was giving him plenty of evidence that I did. He wanted to hear how much I liked it.

  “Mmm, hmm. It feels so dirty, but good. More.”

  He complied and it encroached further. The stretching was uncomfortable but I knew it would pass and pleasure lurked on the other side. I placed a hand between my legs and touched myself, distracting from the initial discomfort, and heat spiraled through me.

  “Oh, fuck,” he whispered when the base was up against me. “I’m hard as a rock right now. That’s so hot, getting you ready for my cock like this. Your ass in the air, waiting for me to fuck you.”

  I moaned and leaned forward, pressing my cheek flat against his bed and closed my eyes. Pleasure rippled through me. “Touch me.”

  “You want me to play with this pussy?”

  “Yes.” It fell from my lips broken and whisper-quiet when he did. Thick fingers explored and plunged inside, then drew back and teased. I rocked my hips against his hand, teetering dangerously close to orgasm.

  “Take over for a second,” he commanded. “I’ll be right back.”

  So he could go to the nightstand and get a coin-shaped packet. My fingers hunted over my slit, searching for bliss. Tension welled inside. Begged for release. Shit. I needed him now. Ached for him. I whimpered when he was sheathed and knelt behind me on the bed. The rough skin of his palms was set on my hips, steadying himself.

  “I’ve been thinking about this moment all day,” he rumbled, although it was quiet, “when I first push inside you.” The tip of his cock was against my entrance, gently pressing in. “All I could think about was thi
s. How good you feel.” He slipped inside, just the head. Oh, god. Behind closed eyelids, my eyes rolled backward. I couldn’t breathe. “How good you make me feel.”

  Further and further he descended into me, one inch at a time. My hands balled the sheet beneath them into fists. It was like he was closing the circuit between us, and electricity poured now through my body when the connection was complete.

  “Did you think about me today?” It was meant to sound casual, but he’d failed. There was too much curiosity and hope in his words to hide.

  “Yes.” I’d thought about him way more than I wanted to admit.

  “You did, huh?” The voice behind me was pleased, and it earned me that first thrust, injecting me with a wave of pleasure, making me moan. “What did you think about?”

  How could I answer? I was much too focused on what he was doing and the toy in my ass, which was starting to feel really fucking good.

  “C’mon,” he goaded. “Don’t I have you distracted enough to talk?”

  “I thought about how I’m going to suck you off in the shower tomorrow morning before you leave for work.” Maybe telling him ruined the spontaneity of it, but he’d asked. “You know, only if it won’t make you late.”

  “It won’t make me late. I last all of a minute when I’m inside that filthy mouth of yours.” It rang out like he was annoyed with himself.

  His cock pulled back and surged forward.

  This was my favorite position. Him behind me and in control, easily able to dominate with a hand in my hair or the sharp crack of his hand on my ass. And that angle . . . it made him feel even larger and long, and it rubbed right at that perfect spot to make me come both inside and out.

  Dominic established his pace, and fingertips trailed up along my spine, sliding over my skin and giving me shivers. Those fingers paused at the bra clasp and undid it, then continued their journey up to the nape of my neck, where they settled, cupping at the place my neck joined my shoulders.

  I exhaled loudly. There was no pressure or tension in his grasp, it just rested there like that was its home, but the gesture was incredibly dominating. I pushed back with my hips, trying to match his rhythm.