Nothing had ever felt as good as Stefan’s cock inside her. He pushed down on her knees, pressing her legs back. In that position, she saw him moving in and out of her, which only pushed her closer to the edge. Her clit throbbed and she wanted to beg him to touch her. Coherent words refused to leave her mouth. She managed only moans and cries of pleasure.
Her orgasm hit without warning, a sudden wave of ecstasy so strong she lost her breath for a moment. Her entire body tingled, and she bucked against Stefan, shouting something she hoped was his name. She couldn’t hear herself over the roaring in her ears. The pleasure crashed through her, leaving her limp and languid in its wake. Her arms dropped to her sides, and she stared up at Stefan’s smug grin.
After a second, she gasped and remembered how to draw oxygen into her lungs. Breathing heavily, she smiled. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, that’s what we’re doing.” Stefan moved more slowly now. “Did you like that?”
“Dumb question.” She laughed. “Oh, God, did I like it. Stefan, we’re going to do this a lot more, you know. You won’t be able to get rid of me after making me come like that.”
She stopped herself before she managed to say anything more stalkerish. The intensity of her climax had apparently left her without any brain power.
He thrust into her harder. “I certainly hope that’s true.”
He picked up his pace again and wiped out all curiosity in her mind about what he had meant by that comment. More sensitive now from coming, her pussy tightened around him. He moaned and grasped her hips to pull her hard against him on each thrust.
Still panting, she stared up at him, watching his face contort into a grimace that told her he was close to orgasm. He breathed heavily and closed his eyes. Lightly, she ran her hands over his knees and thighs. “Yes,” he hissed. “Oh, God, I’m coming, Erin. Yes!”
Two more hard thrusts, and then he cried out her name as he spasmed inside her. His breath caught for a moment, then he exhaled a long groan and shoved into her as he filled the condom. Sweat sheened his bare chest as aftershocks rocked him, thrusting his cock inside her each time. That friction brought her close to another orgasm of her own, and she reached between them to rub her clit.
That contact, coupled with the bucks of his hips, brought a smaller explosion, one which shook her and made him shout as she contracted around his cock. “Yes!” he yelled. “Oh, God, Erin, please stop.”
Confused, she tried to lie still, though shivers from the orgasm ran through her. He smiled down at her and kissed her knee, then slowly withdrew, wincing as he completely left her. “I haven’t come that hard in a while,” he said. “Left me kind of sensitive.”
“Oh.” She grinned. “So I did good, then.”
“Hell yeah.” He took a couple of shuddering breaths and slid off the bed. “Be right back.”
He left the room. Erin rolled onto her side and lay limp and drained, fighting to keep her eyes from drifting shut. She definitely didn’t want to fall asleep here.
To give her eyes something else to do, she studied the items on top of his tall oak bureau and nightstand. Typical guy stuff: deodorant, a bottle of cologne, a stray sock. Her breathing slowed and so did the frequency of the tiny shocks which rippled through her. The relaxation that had overcome her deepened, and she didn’t want to even try to move.
Stefan returned, still nude and without the condom. “I washed up,” he explained. He lay beside her and pulled her to lie against him. She rested her head on his chest, and he enfolded her in his arms. The protected, content feeling that enveloped her caught her by surprise. She’d never felt like that with anyone else.
He kissed the top of her head. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Very all right.”
“Do you want…” He trailed off and took a deep breath. “Do you want to stay? For the night, I mean? There’s room.” He gestured at the expanse of the queen-sized bed. “I wouldn’t mind.”
For a moment, she considered his offer. Then her mind raced to thoughts of waking beside him, of the awkwardness of morning breath and showering and the fact that she had no clean clothes there. She wasn’t ready for that with him.
“I think I’d better go.” Abruptly, she pulled away from him and searched the room for her clothes. Without a word, he got up and found the panties he’d shot across the room, which he held out to her. “Thank you.”
Face hot, she quickly pulled her clothes back on. Stefan sat on the edge of the bed, not bothering to dress, and watched her with so much sadness in his eyes that Erin couldn’t bear to look at him. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. Surely he knew that. She just needed to go home.
When she was fully dressed, she hesitated. She didn’t want to leave like this. “Hug goodbye?” she asked tentatively.
He gave her a pained smile and stood to embrace her. “Just tell me one thing. Did I do something wrong?”
“No!” The vehemence of her answer startled her, and she leaned back in his arms to look him in the eyes. “You did everything right, and I’m so, so glad you finally spoke up and asked me out. Even more glad that you asked me to your place tonight.” She kissed his lips. “I’m sorry, Stefan, that you thought you’d messed up somehow. You haven’t, not at all.”
He nodded. “Too weird, sleeping in a strange place?”
“Yeah.” She bit her lip. Emotions she’d never anticipated having toward Stefan flooded her. Happiness. Warmth. Love, and she damn sure didn’t want to tell him that yet. They’d only just agreed to friendship, apparently with benefits. Love didn’t even factor in right then. When she thought she had herself under control, she said, “We’re going to keep seeing each other, right? Outside class, I mean?”
“I damn sure hope so.” He smiled, and now it reached his eyes. “I really like you, Erin. I want to see where this goes with us. Besides, we have a routine to practice. I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow sounds good.” She hugged him tightly. Maybe they hadn’t practiced their routine, but they’d certainly danced. “Thank you. I promise, some night I will stay. Tonight is just too soon.”
“All right.” His lips tenderly touched hers. “Talk to you soon.”
“All right.”
He stayed in the bedroom, which she didn’t mind. If he’d walked her out, she might have blurted out the feelings she really didn’t want to share.
As she got into her car, she saw him peeking out the curtain of his bedroom window, and she stifled the urge to wave before driving away.
You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
Chapter Five
Wednesday morning, Erin woke achy and tired. She’d gone to bed as soon as she’d arrived home from Stefan’s. Thoughts of him had kept her from sleeping. Thoughts of the pain in his eyes when she’d refused to stay. She’d gone to bed with him knowing that despite their decision to be friends, the sex wouldn’t be even close to casual. She wanted to keep seeing him, definitely as more than friends, and wasn’t surprised that he felt the same. However, the intensity of his reaction to her refusal caught her off-guard. She hadn’t expected such a strong response from a man after their first time sleeping together.
It struck her as the reaction of a man in love.
With effort, she’d managed to shove that thought from her mind. Deal with the present. Don’t even think about the future.
The present involved moving from being just colleagues to being friends and lovers, and making that shift would be enough of an effort without wondering how Stefan really felt about her. Not to mention how complicated instructing with him and partnering with him for the competition would become if emotions got in the way. That was one of the reasons she and Scott had never tried to move beyond friendship.
Eventually, she had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, her alarm woke her too early, and she dragged herself out of bed, noting the ache in her legs from the position Stefan had held her in while they fucked. Despite her flexibility, her leg muscles became s
ore after being held in any position for too long. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom, hoping that a hot shower would ease the soreness in her legs.
In the shower, she closed her eyes and let her mind go blank. The warm water flowed over her, calming her thoughts and relaxing the tightened muscles. The soreness between her legs, she couldn’t do much about and didn’t want to. She enjoyed the reminder of Stefan inside her. Confused emotions or not, the sex had been incredible.
She spent the day at work, selling books, clothing, and supplies to dancers and would-be dancers. The job suited her even though she didn’t really enjoy retail work. Once in a while she encountered someone who truly loved dance the way she always had, and while nearly all of the store’s customers did ballet or contemporary, she still shared common ground with them. That kept her working there instead of seeking a job involving less standing and less contact with the general public.
After work, she went home to find Merit on the couch watching a DVR recording of a dance competition TV show, the one for which Stefan had auditioned. She plopped down beside him.
“This season’s group is pretty good,” he said. “One of the girls from my ballet troupe auditioned and didn’t make it. I thought they were idiots when she said they turned her down. Now I see why. These dancers are amazing. Where were you last night?”
Erin took a moment to follow the abrupt change of subject. “Here in bed,” she replied finally.
“Not when I came home from rehearsal.” He paused the recording. “Should I assume my little Rin has a new beau?”
She smiled at his nickname for her and his phrasing. “Stefan asked me out for coffee.” Her face went warm. “We went back to his place afterward.”
“Good for you!” Merit patted her hand. “It’s about time you let yourself have some fun. This is the Stefan you teach dance with, right?”
“Yeah.” A goofy smile twisted her lips. “The one I’ve been crushing on.”
“Then I’m glad you’re finally doing something about said crush. No wonder you stayed out late last night.” He smiled. “You look happy, kiddo. Good to see. I thought we’d lost that in you for a while there.”
“We did.” She sobered. “He asked me last night to partner with him in a competition next weekend.”
“Nothing like leaving things to the last minute,” he said. “What did you tell him?”
“I’ve decided to try.” She leaned back and crossed her legs. “It isn’t a big deal. He helps organize a charity thing every year, and that’s what he needs a partner for. He does it to honor his sister, and I think that’s a good reason and I want to help him. He and I are used to dancing together for class, anyway.” She paused. “Besides, a few people have asked me lately why I don’t compete anymore. Maybe that means it’s time I try again.”
“I hoped you’d decide that at some point.” He gave her a gentle smile. “You miss Scott and you think you can’t partner with anyone else. That’s okay, but you need to give yourself a chance.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes grew moist, and she impatiently brushed a hand over them. “We lost him almost a year ago.”
“I know. Do you think you’re ready to compete again?”
Tears trickled down her cheeks despite her efforts to stop them, and she decided she didn’t care. “I love dancing, and I’ll never give it up completely. Not after you pushed so hard for me to go back to it.”
“Just being a friend.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, a good friend. I’m glad I started dancing again, and I want to try this competition. I’m just not sure about partnering with someone other than Scott. He and I—when I danced with him, we weren’t two people dancing together, you know? We were one being.” She shook her head. “Okay, that sounded totally dorky.”
“But accurate. That’s what dancing’s like with the right partner.” He stroked her cheek with a fingertip, taking away some of the moisture. “You might find that again, honey. You’ve told me about dancing with Stefan. When you talk about him, you sound like you feel the same way as you did with Scott.” He paused. “I’m proud of you for giving this event a try. I think you should do more with dance than just teach.”
She snuggled against him. “At least teaching introduced me to Stefan.”
He smiled. “I’m glad last night went well for you. Want to watch the show with me?”
“Yeah.” Watching other people dance might take her mind away from the memories of Scott, the memories that had just brought her crashing down from the high of her time with Stefan.
They ordered pizza and ate while they watched the show Merit had taped the night before. Then he decided they should watch the previous week’s show, even though he’d already seen it. By the time Merit finally shut off the TV, Erin’s eyes had begun to droop, and her mind had filled with images of other people’s dancing instead of her own. Which had doubtlessly been Merit’s intent.
~***~
That night, she slept much better. She woke the next morning looking forward to that night’s class, where she and Stefan would see each other again. Slight disappointment in not hearing from him the day before niggled at her as she went through her normal workday routine. She ignored it. He said that he’d call her, but maybe something had come up.
It was Thursday. She would see him. That knowledge kept a silly grin on her face most of the day.
When she arrived at the studio that night, Stefan’s car already sat in the lot, and when Erin entered the building music filtered down the stairs from their instruction room. The song they’d danced to in Stefan’s living room.
Smiling broadly, she hurried up the stairs. She found Stefan in the middle of the room, moving through the steps of the dance alone. When she entered, he grinned and held out his hands to her. Without hesitation, she joined him, immediately finding the beat and following his lead perfectly.
He twirled her and then himself. Moved them through the basic West Coast Swing steps, and then into variations she hadn’t done since her last competition. Recognizing the challenge, she sent her mind into the space that allowed her to forget everything except the music and her partner.
The song ended, but they continued the dance, moving now to unheard music, neither of them missing a step. Stefan threw in even more advanced moves, and still Erin kept up, not faltering in the partnership. He led her, and she followed. Their bodies moved together as if guided by one mind instead of two.
Just like dancing with Scott had been.
She pushed Stefan away and strode to the nearest window, arms crossed over her chest. Reflected behind her, Stefan slowly approached her. “I haven’t danced like that in a while,” he said softly. “I’m sorry if I screwed something up.”
“You didn’t.” She refused to look at him, knowing she would see the same pain in his eyes that he’d shown the other night after she’d chosen to go home. “I—you’re a beautiful dancer, Stefan. That was amazing.”
“I had an amazing partner.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you. Look at me, please?”
She turned with a watery half-smile. “You’re an amazing partner too. I really enjoyed dancing with you like that.”
“Then we’ll have to do it more often.” Softly, he kissed her forehead, and then wrapped his arms around her. “Whatever’s wrong, talk to me,” he urged. “I can listen, Erin.”
“I’ll be fine.” She pressed her face against his chest, breathing in the scent of mingled perspiration and cologne. The scent of him, which soothed her more than words would have done. “I’m sorry I interrupted our dance.”
“The music had ended anyway.” He stroked her hair. “You’ll dance with me again. We still have to practice for the competition, and we can always dance after class.” He paused. “Well, maybe not then. I wouldn’t want to make all the other guys there jealous by dancing with the most beautiful woman.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think anyone would be jealous. And most beautiful? Please have your eyes checked
.” She grinned. “Of course I’ll dance with you again. Tonight just reminded me of how I used to dance with Scott, and I became a little sad. I’m okay now.”
“I’m glad you’re not sad anymore.” He released her, then took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Thank you for the dance.”
“You already thanked me.” She curtsied. “Thank you.”
He bowed. “Formal, huh? I like it.” He went over to the laptop. “Hey, I found a couple new songs I want to use for class. Listen to them and tell me what you think, okay?”
She joined him beside the laptop, and just that quickly they moved from dance partners and lovers back to co-instructors. Instructor and assistant, she amended, reminding herself of what she’d been hired to do. Stefan instructed; she just helped demonstrate the steps. She preferred it that way.
She approved the songs he’d chosen, and they went through them a couple of times, dancing together now they way they would to demonstrate the steps to their students. Stefan’s smile contained more than just an appreciation of her dancing, and in his eyes she saw a deep emotion she chose not to name.
They spoke only about the class and the steps they would work on that night, which Erin appreciated. Dancing with him had been wonderful. Too wonderful, and now she needed the routine of the class to settle herself.
Soon the students began trickling in. Stefan made small talk with some of them, while a couple of others who’d been attending for several months took Erin aside. “Have you heard about the competition Stefan helps organize?” the woman asked.
“Yes, I have.” Butterflies fluttered through Erin’s abdomen. She had to be crazy to think she’d be able to partner with Stefan in that competition, especially given how weepy she’d become just dancing with him before class. “He told me it’s a charity thing for cancer research.”
“I told you, Gerry,” the woman said to her husband. “It’s a charity event, not a big competition like the one you were talking about.”
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