I'll Show You Mine

by Lauren Gallagher

  She was just about to lose her mind—there was only so much she could occupy herself with social media and CNN—when Tina swept in through the front door.

  Thank God…

  “Sorry I’m late.” Tina dropped into the chair opposite Alyssa. “Could not get off the phone with a pissed-off customer.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  As they always did, they immediately fell into conversation and kept talking right through their meal—jobs, kids, the lack of decent movies playing right now—until the waiter came and cleared away their plates, leaving them with coffee, the bill, and no hurry at all to leave.

  Tina sipped her coffee, then set it down and clasped her hands beneath her chin. “So, I almost forgot. What happened at Hannah’s wedding?” Leaning in close, a conspiratorial grin on her lips, she added, “Or should I ask, what happened after the wedding?”

  Heat rushed into Alyssa’s cheeks. “I don’t think I need to tell you what happened afterward.”

  “You dirty girl.” Tina laughed and gave her a wink. “Was he hot?”

  “So hot.”

  Her friend grinned. “Awesome. Glad you had a good time.”

  “I did. And I plan to have a good time with him again.”

  “Oh, do you?”

  Alyssa nodded. “We’ve agreed to keep the past in the past and just enjoy living in the moment. Then maybe by the time he and I have gotten things out of our system, everyone will have forgotten about everything else I’ve done.” Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Not that I expect anyone to forget any time soon.”

  “Fuckers.” Tina clicked her tongue. “As if they’re all saints.”

  “Yeah, well.” Alyssa drained her coffee cup. “Their sins haven’t been made public, so they’re not public property.” She waved a hand. “Anyway. Whatever. I’m just glad I get to spend a little time with someone who doesn’t know, and who enjoys the same things I do.”

  “You know what?” Tina flattened her palms on the table and looked Alyssa in the eye. “I say good for you. You need it, and besides, guys get away with casual, no-strings shit all the time.”

  Alyssa laughed dryly. “I don’t want to ‘get away’ with anything. I just…” She sighed, her shoulders sinking along with her heart. “You know what I mean, right?”

  “Yes, I do.” Tina touched her arm. “Honey, listen to me. The people who won’t let that shit go are the ones who should be ashamed. You made a mistake. You’ve made amends as much as you can and moved on. What else can anyone expect you to do, short of inventing a time machine?”

  “I think in their minds, that’s my problem.” Alyssa shook her head. “And I think some of them could let it go if that didn’t mean potentially letting me hook up with someone they knew.”

  Tina rolled her eyes. “Fuck ’em. Seriously. You’re an adult, and as long as you’re honest with whoever you’re hooking up with, then…” She half shrugged.

  Alyssa chewed her lip and reached for her coffee. “Well, that’s kind of a problem too.”

  Tina sighed. “Yeah, I guess it would be. I mean, when do you bring something like that up?”

  “Not on the first date, that’s for sure,” Alyssa muttered into her coffee cup.

  “I can imagine.”

  Alyssa took a sip and put the cup down. “Well, the plan for now is just to have fun, get each other out of our systems, and not discuss the past. Apparently he has a history too, and…I just don’t want to know.”

  Tina pursed her lips. “You know that getting someone out of your system by way of sex doesn’t usually work, right?”

  Alyssa kept her gaze down.

  “Let me rephrase,” Tina said. “What happens if you don’t get things out of your system? I mean, you’re planning on banging the bejeezus out of this dude. What happens if you two, you know, decide you like each other as more than fuck buddies?”

  “I don’t know. I really don’t. To be honest, I don’t want to think about that right now. I just…” She sighed, pushing her cup away. “I just want to enjoy things with him. If the truth comes out later and he runs, then, well, I’m back to square one. But he doesn’t need to know right now.”

  “Fair enough. And hey, it’s about time you had a regular fuck buddy besides Grant.”

  Alyssa glared at her. “And once Shane finds out about Nate, I’ll probably be back to desperate once-in-a-while sex with Grant.”

  “Well, enjoy it while it lasts, then.”

  “Thanks for trying to reassure me I’m just being pessimistic.”

  She offered a sympathetic shrug. “Come on, Lyss, you can’t change the past, and nothing I say will change it either. And, much as I’d like to, neither of us can change the fact that a lot of guys can’t deal with that kind of thing.”

  Alyssa groaned. “God, don’t I know it.” Shaking her head, she absently played with the corner of her napkin. “I don’t know, I’m probably getting ahead of myself with this anyway. I don’t know a thing about the guy, and I don’t want to know anything about him. I just really, really want to…” Her cheeks burned, and she stared intently into her coffee.

  “You want to fuck him.”

  “Well, I already did that. I want to do it again. And I do not want to wait until Friday.”

  “You could always call him and see if he’s—”

  “Only if I want to get fired.” Alyssa laughed. “I don’t think I’d get any sleep.”

  “Ooh, our boy has stamina, does he?”

  “He has stamina to burn.”

  Tina beamed. “You found a good one—that’s my girl.”

  Alyssa laughed. “Enabler.”

  “Hey, I haven’t had sex in months. I’m fucking vicariously through you, baby doll.”

  “So no pressure, right?”

  “Oh, lots of pressure.” Tina eyed her with a completely serious expression. “I expect you to get it good, and bring me details.”

  Alyssa saluted playfully. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good.”

  Well, there might be some details, but definitely not all of them. Tina didn’t need to know about Shane’s kinky side. Hell, she didn’t need to know about Alyssa’s kinky side—there were some things that just didn’t need to be discussed outside the bedroom. The two of them had known each other since forever and never hesitated to share intimate details about the things they did when the lights went down, but she kept that little dark side up her sleeve. Mostly because she didn’t want to get into how—or more to the point, with whom—she’d discovered her love of kink.

  “So when are you going to see him again?”

  “He wants to meet up Friday night for dinner.” Is it Friday yet? “And he said to wear something hot.”

  “Sounds like it’s time to break out the little black dress.”

  Alyssa scowled. “I, uh…got rid of the only one I had.”

  “You got rid of an LBD? Oh, honey. Those never go out of style.”

  Alyssa raised an eyebrow. “They do when it’s what you were wearing when your husband caught you.”

  “Oh.” Tina grimaced. “Point taken.” At least she didn’t chastise her about the affair and all its fallout. She seemed to be the only person on the planet who didn’t take every possible opportunity to harangue Alyssa about that mistake she couldn’t go back and change no matter how much she wished she could.

  “Anyway.” Alyssa wrung her hands. “Dress aside, I’m a little worried about meeting him for dinner.”

  Tina’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  “Well, I told him I don’t want to get into our pasts, and I don’t even really want to get to know each other.”

  “You just want to fuck him without having to talk about difficult subjects.”

  “Basically.” She thumbed the edge of her placemat. “But dinner in public means conversation, and co
nversation…” Alyssa shook her head. “If it starts getting personal, it’s not like I can change the subject with a blowjob, you know?”

  Tina threw her head back and laughed. “I’d pay to see you try.”

  Alyssa giggled. “Well, it would be worth it to see the look on his face, that’s for sure.”

  “You dirty girl.” Tina winked. Then she clasped her fingers together on the table. “Seriously, though, if you’re worried about things getting too personal, then I’d suggest taking the conversation by the balls and making sure he doesn’t even want to talk about the past.” Inclining her head, she whispered, “Don’t let him think about anything except the very, very immediate future.”

  Alyssa couldn’t help grinning. “I like the way you think.”

  “Of course you do. And so will he, and you’re welcome for the results.”

  Alyssa laughed.

  Tina folded her arms. “So when is your big date with him again?”

  “Friday night.” Could it be any further away?

  “And Nate’s with his dad this week, right?”

  Alyssa nodded.

  “Perfect.” Tina picked up her purse. “Let’s go find you a new dress.”

  Chapter Eight

  Shane had every intention of being a gentleman when Alyssa showed up. Pull out her chair, buy her a drink, make some sort of conversation that didn’t involve telling her how badly he wanted to fuck her. He may have been rough around the edges and more than a little direct, but he wasn’t an asshole.

  All those good intentions went out the window when she came in through that door. Staring at her, watching her cross the restaurant, he just couldn’t fucking move. She’d looked good at the wedding, not to mention naked on the hotel bed, but Alyssa was born to wear a little black dress.

  Her hair was no longer tied up, instead tumbling over her shoulders the way it had when he’d arrived at the hotel, and his fingers tingled at the thought of tangling in those curls again. The dress covered more of her chest than her bridesmaid’s dress had, but he liked that look. Only the faintest hint of cleavage, with the wide straps drawing his attention to her collarbones.

  It was her legs that got him, though. Shane loved every part of a woman, but he was a shameless leg man, and Alyssa’s had him coming unglued. And black nylons. Fuck. Had someone tipped her off about how to push all his buttons? Nothing tantalized like a sheer layer of black under a skirt that short on legs that long.

  His tie was suddenly much too tight. He could barely breathe and resisted the urge to loosen the damned thing.

  Their eyes met as she strode across the room on those suicidal heels.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” she said when she was within earshot.

  Oh, you’re well worth the wait.

  “Not long at all.” He stood and put a hand on her waist, and as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, he murmured, “That said, it’s just as well there’s decency laws in this city.”

  She raised a pencil-thin eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

  He grinned. “Because then I have a reason not to bend you over this table and fuck you.”

  The tiniest catch of her breath made his pulse jump, and when she returned the grin, he decided now was a good time to take their seats before those decency laws became an issue.

  As he pulled her chair out, she whispered, “Is that a not so gentlemanly way of saying this dinner is just foreplay?”

  This time it was his breath that caught. She gave him a triumphant smirk, and made a slow, demure gesture of easing into the chair he’d pulled out.

  He gathered her long hair and laid it over her shoulder as he leaned down to whisper, “I recommend going easy on the wine tonight.” He kissed between the thin black strap and the base of her neck. “I want you sober so you remember everything.”

  Another faint catch.

  “Every little detail,” he added. Another soft kiss on her skin, and then he went back around to the other side of the table. He sat across from her and took a deep swallow of ice water. Which didn’t help at all. Not when he met her eyes, and saw a gleam in them that dared him to blow off dinner altogether and get the hell out of here. Or the way her face and neck were ever so slightly flushed.

  He set his glass down. “So I’m guessing you aren’t interested in catching a movie after dinner?”

  “Not unless it’s a pay-per-view porno in a hotel room.”

  He almost choked.

  Alyssa grinned. She reached for her own water glass and narrowed her eyes slightly, as if to say two can play at this game, my friend.

  He took another drink to cool himself down. “So you said you like it kinky.” He leaned forward, folding his arms on the table. “Besides playing with my belt, how kinky are we talking?”

  “Well, I tend to think sex isn’t worth having if the sheets survive intact.”

  Shane gulped.

  Alyssa smiled, batting her eyes. “I seem to have your attention, don’t I?”

  “Oh yes. You definitely do.”

  “Good.” She licked her lips. “Well, let’s put it this way.” She leaned forward, her gaze drilling right into him and making his body temperature soar. “Sometimes I like a guy to play the Dom. And sometimes, I like to put him on his knees and make him beg to do whatever I want him to.”

  Shane gulped again. “Is that…is that right?”

  She nodded slowly, the faintest hint of a grin tugging her lips. “What about you?”

  Say the word, and I’ll be on my knees right here in this—

  He cleared his throat, wondering when his tie had gotten even tighter. “I, well.” He coughed again. “A little vanilla sex is fun sometimes, but I really like it crazier than that.”

  “Oh, we’re definitely going to get along.”

  “So what’s your favorite thing? In the bedroom, I mean?”

  She pursed her lips for a moment. “I like being fucked.” She inclined her head slightly, fixing her intent gaze right on him. “I like being fucked every way. And sometimes, I even like to return the favor.” Her eyes narrowed just slightly. “If a guy can take it, that is.”

  Shane gulped. “That…would be something I’ve never experienced.”

  Her eyebrow arched, silently asking if he’d be game.

  He shifted in his chair. “But I’m more than happy to fuck you any way you want it.”

  “Good.”

  “So you said you enjoy pain.” Just broaching the subject made his heart race, even though she’d made it clear she liked pain. In part because he was nervous—some women bolted at this point—and in part because the mere thought of making Alyssa cry out was enough to raise his body temperature.

  The grin that spread across her lips almost turned him inside out. Then she lowered her voice and said, “Are you asking about giving or receiving?”

  Oh God. Oh my fucking God.

  “Don’t know. Which do you prefer?”

  “Depends.” She half shrugged, the subtle motion letting her black satin bra strap peek out for a split second. “Does the man I’m with know how to dish it out, and can he take it in return?”

  “Yes, and hell yes.”

  This time she was the one to shiver, and when she bit her lip, Shane’s whole body tingled.

  The toe of her shoe ran up the inside of his leg. He gasped, and his heart raced as her foot inched higher. Dangerously close to his erection, she rubbed her toe against his thigh. “Is something wrong, Mr. McNeill?” The most devious grin he’d ever seen spread across her lips. “You seem…flustered.”

  “Nothing at all.” He slid his hand over her foot and traced the stocking-covered shape of her ankle, then her firm calf. “Just trying to decide if your mouth is that smart when I have a handful of your hair.”

  Her face didn’t change, but the muscle beneath his finge
rtips gave her away, tensing just slightly before goose bumps pressed against her stockings.

  She picked up her water glass, the ice clinking quietly and betraying that hint of unsteadiness in her hand. “Well, speaking of mouths, I hope you’re planning on putting your money where yours is.” Raising the glass to her lips, she narrowed her eyes and added, “Because I’d be very disappointed if you didn’t.”

  He slid his other hand over the top of her foot. “I wouldn’t dream of disappointing you.”

  “Good.” She winked.

  With his free hand, he went for his water again. “You should know I don’t do this with most women.”

  “What?” She grinned, pressing her toe into his thigh just enough to make his breath catch. “Feel them up under the table at a nice restaurant?”

  Shane laughed, running a fingertip along the back of her calf. “Oh, I’ve been known to do things like that. But in this case, I meant”—he started back down again, just letting the edge of his nail press in through her nylons—“meeting up for this kind of sex at every opportunity.”

  “Well, there’s—” Her breath caught as his nail teased above the strap on her ankle. “There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

  “Mmhmm.” He curved his hand over the front of her shin and slowly ran it upward. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you won’t hear me complaining.”

  “L-likewise.” She closed her eyes. “God…”

  “If touching your leg is turning you on this much, what’s going to happen when—” He gasped when the toe of her shoe gently traced the edge of his hard-on. Without even thinking about it, he pushed against her foot, the pressure against his dick blurring his vision.

  “Looks like it goes both ways, doesn’t it?” She was as out of breath as he was. Shit.

  He glanced around, scanning the groups and couples at other tables and the servers wandering in between, but nobody seemed aware that he and Alyssa were even there, never mind what they were doing to each other. The tablecloth hid his hand on her leg and her foot against his cock, and not a single soul in the restaurant could’ve known how hard he was as he traced her slim calf, or how hot her skin was beneath his fingertips.