by S. K. Lessly
“I’ll say yes if you let me have dessert before dinner.”
She leaned into me, bringing her lips only a breath away from mine. The sides of my lips curled, my dick hardening with anticipation.
“Baby, you can have whatever you want.”
She gripped my dick in her hands, lifted up just enough to slowly sink down on top of me. I slid inside her warm slick heat with ease.
I groaned and closed my eyes at the feel of her tightening around me. I grabbed her ass and squeezed as she started to move. I opened my eyes reached up and pinched her nipples.
“Yesss, Grace. You can have whatever you want.”
4
Misty
I arrived at Shane's around six the next night nervous as hell. When he mentioned dinner the night before I was still feeling the glow of our love making to think anything of it. It was just dinner with the guy I’m…uh… seeing? Fucking? Whatever.
Yet, now that I was here, nerves have attacked my body. Be cool, King. This is just dinner. That’s what I kept telling myself over and over again like a mantra. However, for some reason it felt like more. It felt as if this was the end and the beginning; the end of something old and the start of something unchartered. Sounds strange, I know but that was the only way I could explain my trepidation.
I breathed out a sigh, pulled down my visor and looked at my reflection.
“Okay, King,” I coached myself softly. “I need you to grow some balls. Either you take what’s yours tonight or you give him up. Tell him everything. Lay your secrets at his feet or end it. You can do this.” I inhaled and breathed out slowly. “You can do this.”
Oh who am I kidding. I can’t do shit.
I grabbed my flask sitting on the passenger seat and took a huge gulp of Courvoisier. A strangled gasped came from the harsh taste and I took another swig before tightening the lid and placing it inside my bag on the floor.
It’s now or never King.
Feeling the liquid courage working its magic, I climbed out of my car, walked around to the passenger side and pulled my bag from the floor of the front seat. I was feeling pretty good. The warmth from the alcohol soothed my erratic nerves, sending me into a state of calm. I fixed myself using the reflection from my car and pulled down the skirt of my dress. I placed the strap over my shoulder and made my way to the front of the building, clicking the lock on my fob as went. My confidence was back. I felt it running through my veins. I just needed to keep my shit together and everything would be fine.
I still had the keys that Shane had given me a couple of days ago, and I used them to gain entrance to the lobby. Once inside I quickly made my way to the bank of elevators and pressed the up button.
I smiled at my reflection once again approving my wardrobe. I wore a simple sleeveless, aqua color satin dress that fell against my body. The dress was very flattering to all of my womanly curves. The girls were pushed up and on full display, the heart-shaped cut of the top of the dress accentuated my boobs nicely. The dress came to mid-thigh, showing a lot of legs and I won’t mention how great my ass looked. I turned slightly to see said ass and grinned even more.
I looked hot tonight. I hoped Shane would appreciate all the hard work I put into looking good for him.
To bring my look home, I wore gold strappy sandals and gold accessories to accent my dress. Light makeup covered my eyelids, cheeks, and gloss painted my lips a neutral color. I wanted to show off my face and dress, so I put my mess of curly hair up into a haphazard bun. I was ready for this date, with the help of a few shots of Courvoisier of course.
The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside. I pushed his floor number and as the seconds ticked by, I became more and more relaxed. This would be a breeze. We’d have dinner, light conversation, a little dessert, maybe a few drinks and then get ready for bed. In between all of that, I’ll drop my secrets. Simple. Easy breezy, right?
I knocked on his door, closed my eyes, and breathed in deeply. Don’t ask me why I didn’t use the key he’d given me. I had used it to get inside the building, but for some reason, I felt weird using it to enter his apartment. As I waited for him to answer the door, the urge to grab the flask out of the duffle bag and take a huge gulp of liquid courage began to take hold but I did my best to ignore. I was about to knock again when I heard the locks disengage.
The door opened and I smiled and opened my eyes or I opened my eyes and smiled. Whichever. Once my eyes fell on my host, my brain suddenly turned to mush. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I was breathing. The man was just… god he was the sexist man I had ever laid eyes on. And the look he was giving me almost had me melting right where I stood.
“Hey,” I managed to say past the boulder stuck in my throat.
Shane didn’t greet me back. Instead, his eyes roamed my body from my eyes to my toes. I bit back a smile as he eye-fucked me, patting myself on the back for getting the reaction I wanted from him. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan on his reaction taking this long. Geesh. I was just about to ask him if everything was okay when the look of pure desire suddenly took over his stunning deep sea-colored eyes.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he mumbled and I blushed like a school girl.
“Shane,” I whispered back and felt my heart take stutter-step. His eyes burned with such desire and need, my legs felt as if they would give out any second.
We exchanged predatory glances that started to scorch the air around us. The only reason why I didn’t jump in his arms and stick my tongue down his throat was the sound of footsteps heading in our direction.
I turned to find a middle-aged man, dressed in a white shirt and black slacks, coming down the hall toward us.
I looked back at my host and asked softly, “Shane, are you going to let me in?”
His answer was pulling me close and kissing me gently on the lips.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he uttered softly.
“Hey,” I answered giddy as hell.
He kissed me once more then stepped back and opened his door wide for me to enter his apartment.
I gave him a smile as I walked by him doing my best to get myself together. It was intense for a minute there. I thought he was going to strip me naked right in the hallway. As I walked past him, entering the foyer of his apartment, Shane reached over and took my bag from me.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He walked past me into his bedroom and I took that time to fully appreciate my host.
Shane, as always, looked good enough to eat. He was dressed in a pair of tan slacks and a white button-down shirt. The first few buttons were undone, showing me just the right amount of skin to make my mouth water. His facial hair was trimmed along his jaw, the length just enough to tickle my thighs. His otherwise tamed hair had been perfectly finger-combed, making his already sexy ass look hot as fuck.
I gave him a smile as he stepped out of the bedroom and signaled for me to precede him down the hall to his living room.
I heard an “Oh fuck,” whispered behind me and I couldn’t help but grin. I thought any second he would attack me, except he didn’t. I even added a bit of swish to my hips to entice him, but surprisingly, it didn’t happen. No, instead, my senses were immediately attacked the moment I stepped into his living space.
“My goodness, Shane, this is beautiful.” I looked back at him, letting him see the impressed expression on my face before I turned around and took in the fully decorated table in front of me.
Shane had moved his dining room table from the small space behind the couch to the space in front of the wall of windows in his sunroom. There were candles lit all over the sunroom, giving the room a romantic feel. And the table… whew! The table was covered with a cream, floor-length, tablecloth. Two place settings sat opposite each other and in the center of the table were two tall cream candles held in crystal candleholders and a beautiful crystal vase filled with bright red roses. The setting took my breath away proving that this was more than just dinner for Shane as we
ll.
Oh, and don’t get me started on the smell of food wafting throughout the apartment. Good Lord, I thought I was going to experience an orgasm from just the sheer smell of good food. To add the icing to the cake, he had soft music playing in the background, allowing me to get lost in the ambiance he created.
I was stunned and blown away at how gorgeous the setting before me was. I swore it looked better than a table from any foo-foo restaurant.
“Here, baby,” came a soft voice from my right. I jumped slightly and met Shane's amused eyes. “Thought you might want this.”
I looked at his outstretched hand and found he had a glass of wine for me.
I carefully accepted it.
“Thank you,” I replied softly. He kissed my cheek and inhaled me without shame.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered close to my ear before he kissed my neck and stepped back. “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Why don’t you have a seat at the table?”
Instead of sitting at the table, I took in my surroundings again. I couldn’t believe he’d done all this for me. God, I was crushing on this man something fierce. I brought my glass to my lips and took a sip, or three, of wine. Hmmm, this wasn’t half bad and exactly what I needed to calm my growing nerves.
“What are we having for dinner?” I asked, moving closer to the island so I could fully see him in the kitchen. He pulled a bowl of salad from the fridge to place on his counter before he gave me his eyes.
“Well, to start, we’re having Greek salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette. For dinner, we’re having chicken parmigiana over spaghetti pasta made from fresh squash. And for dessert, I’ll serve you some of my homemade chocolate swirl cheesecake.”
I couldn’t breathe.
I just stared at him dumbfounded. Was this real? Was he freaking real? I never had a man offer to cook for me. That was number one. But two, I had never had a man who’d taken the time to impress me the way Shane had just done.
Admittedly, I hadn’t known what to expect coming here. I’d thought he would make something simple and maybe this was a simple meal to make, but add his menu to the atmosphere and the wine… Fuck, if I hadn’t given up the goods already, I would have definitely fucked him right where he stood.
“Grace, you good?” he asked and I shivered with thoughts of all the ways he made me feel good running through my head.
I blinked and concentrated on his handsome face.
“Oh…uh…yeah, I’m good. That uh… sounds great. I can’t wait.” I gave him a quick smile before I turned and found my seat. I damn near took the rest of the wine down before I placed the glass on the table.
Lord, give me strength to get through this meal before I rip his clothes off and have him for dinner.
Shane came out of the kitchen with the bowl of salad in his hands. He served me first before himself. I just stared at his flexing forearms before traveling my eyes up his arms to his face.
“Malibu Barbie was stupid,” I mumbled softly, more to myself than to Shane. Unfortunately, it wasn’t soft enough.
“What?” He paused and stared down at me grinning.
I blinked, realizing he’d heard me and tried to play it off.
“Uh what? I didn’t say anything.”
Yeah, King, real smooth…
He chuckled. “Give me a second to grab the rest of the food and the bottle of wine and then we can eat. Sounds good?”
I nodded. “Yes, sounds like a plan.”
The rest of the night was spectacular. The conversation flowed between us. We got to know each other more, talking about our dreams as a kid, where we thought our lives would be and if we stayed true to our dreams. Ironically, we both did. We both ended up becoming what we wanted to be as a kid. How many people could say that?
The food was fantastic too. So good. At first, I wasn’t sure about the pasta made from squash, but it was surprisingly good. I didn’t taste too much of a difference between the squash noodles and authentic pasta. The food was delicious, especially the cheesecake. Oh my goodness, the man was a wizard in the kitchen.
I really needed to buy Mama Joe and Pops like anything they wanted for raising Shane the way they had. Hell, the world owed them for raising all the Cooper men well.
I felt alive, special, and cherished tonight, more than I had in the past. On the other hand, maybe it was the same, I couldn’t be sure. My head was in the clouds. The point was he took care of me, making sure I was happy and needed nothing.
After dinner, Shane cleared the table and returned with another bottle of wine. He topped me off, filled his own glass and sat across from me.
He lifted his glass and I did the same. “To a successful night with more to come.” He grinned that sly grin of his and I couldn’t help but smile. I shook my head and tapped my glass to his before taking a small sip.
I placed my glass down and leaned back against my chair. I studied him for a few seconds.
“What?” Shane asked, clearly seeing I had shit running through my mind.
I shrugged a shoulder and admitted, “Why didn’t you and Malibu Barbie work out? I mean, seriously. If you did half the things for her that you’ve done for me, I’m surprised she let you up to breathe. What gives?”
Shane gave me a small smile before he took another sip of wine. He placed his glass down and mirrored my posture. His eyes held mine for a moment before he looked out of the window next to us. He remained quiet for a spell before he returned his eyes to me.
“I don’t know. We just weren’t right for each other,” he told me and I didn’t buy it.
“Come on, Shane. I mean, you guys were together, off and on you say, for a while, right? You mean to tell me, during that time you didn’t realize she wasn’t right for you? Hell,” I began, sending a saccharine smile his way. “I could tell she wasn’t shit since the day I met her. What took you so long to realize it?”
I thought I would get at least a smile from him with my flippancy, but his face didn’t crack at all. He grew serious, which had my heart beating a mile a minute.
“It wasn’t that simple,” he admitted running his hand through his hair. He sat there quiet for a beat then pushed his chair back and stood, grabbing his glass.
“Let’s head over to the couch. We can finish our drinks there.”
I didn’t want to go. I wanted to sit right here with this table separating us. If we moved to the couch, nothing but air and opportunity would be between us and I wanted answers to my questions.
Reluctantly I stood, especially when he stretched his hand out to me. He helped me stand and waited until I pulled my dress down and grabbed my glass of wine. I followed him to the couch, rounded the right side as he took the left. We sat and I placed my back to the end of the couch and faced him, took off my shoes, bent my knees and folded my legs in front of me.
I studied the man before me, waiting to see if he would elaborate on his cryptic response or if I had to give him a little push. Fortunately, for us both, he turned to face me, resting his back against the arm of the couch as well. He bent one leg in front of him, gripped his ankle and began to speak.
“When I first met Casey, we hit it off. I thought she was beautiful, driven and well…” he shrugged. “…her body was nice.”
I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled and went on. “We met at some party. This guy I knew from basic training had got out and told me whenever I was home to look him up. On one of my trips home, I called him and he invited me to a party he was throwing. Anyway, she and I met and we hit it off. The day I left to go back to Iraq we exchanged information. In the beginning, things were good between us. We talked when I could, skyped and all that. She sent me care packages and letters and pictures.”
I felt a tinge of jealousy that I didn’t want to admit to as he spoke. Hearing about them getting to know each other was admittedly painful. Was this before or after we met? I wanted to ask him but thought better of it. Instead, I kept my jealousy in check and just liste
ned.
Shane, probably seeing that he was losing his audience, said, “I won’t bore you with the rest. I’m sure you can use your imagination.”
“Yes, thank you.”
He smirked at me. “Let me just say this, during the time we spoke to one another, I made it clear that I wasn’t looking for anything. I had a string of bad relationships and I didn’t want to enter into another one. I told her that I enjoyed getting to know her and wanted to do just that.”
“And she was okay with that?”
“That’s what she said.”
“What happened when you finally came home? Did you two get serious then?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I asked and wanted to beat my own ass for asking. I mean, did I really want to know? Fuck no! And yet, I was holding on with bated breath for him to answer.
Shane narrowed his eyes on me and asked, “Why do you want to know what happened between me and Casey?”
Good freaking question. I thought I would have to stall to come up with a plausible lie, instead of the truth, like why her and not me.
Conveniently, an answer popped into my head and I responded, “You explained that she needed closure the other night. To me that meant she was probably in love with you. Were you in love with her? If so, how could you walk away so easily?”
Shane stared at me for a long time and the longer he stared the more uneasy I became. I could see the tension grip his shoulders and jaw. His eyes darkened and his eyebrows pinched together. Shit… I wasn’t trying to piss him off. I was about to tell him never mind but he sighed and started to speak.
“Grace, Casey didn’t love me. She loved the idea of me. Someone she could latch onto that would give her the same life her father gave her mother. She wanted that officer’s wife title. I never led her to believe that I wanted the same. We had an open relationship, as I told you, but deep down, I knew she wasn’t the one I would spend the rest of my life with. Wait, hold on. Let me finish,” he said quickly when he noticed I was posed to question his last statement. I closed my mouth and gave him the nod to continue.
