Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  “What’s it called?” I yawned.

  “No sleeping just yet, my dear.” He grinned. “Le Diner De Cons.”

  “Oh, I have no idea what that means.”

  “The dinner of fools.”

  “Oh?” I yawned again and snuggled into his chest. “It sounds interesting,” I lied and he laughed.

  “Trust me, it’s hilarious. They did a remake of it called Dinner For Schmucks with Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell, but it sucked.”

  “Oh, I saw that movie,” I groaned. “It was so bad.”

  “This one is a lot better.”

  “Hmmm, I believe you.” I closed my eyes as he turned on his TV.

  “You’re not going to watch it, are you?” he whispered down at me as he rubbed my shoulders.

  “I am too,” I mumbled with a smile on my face.

  “Uh huh.” Zane’s voice sounded amused.

  “I’m watching,” I mumbled, as I drifted asleep, listening to the French instrumental music that played along with the opening credits of the movie.

  “Sweet dreams, Lucky,” Zane whispered into my ear, and I fell asleep with a huge smile on my face. For the first time in a long while, I felt at peace and content. I knew that I was going to have a very happy sleep.

  Chapter 11

  “Today, I am going to show you the Los Angeles that I love.” Zane leaned over to kiss me as soon as my eyes opened. I stretched out and ran my fingers down his chest.

  “So last night was real then?” I grinned, satiated and content.

  “It can be real again in about a minute.” He reached down and squeezed my nipple.

  “As much as I’d like that, I would like to get out of the house today.” I wrinkled my nose at him as he jumped off of the bed and pulled the covers off of me.

  “Hey,” I shrieked and rolled over.

  “Let’s have a shower.” He reached down and picked me up.

  “Together?”

  “Of course, is there any other way?” he growled and carried me into the bathroom. “I’ll wash you and you can wash me.”

  “I scrub hard, you know.”

  “You can scrub me as hard as you want.” He pulled me towards him and kissed me softly. “Your lips taste like candy again.”

  “I’m sure they don’t.” I laughed.

  “You smell like a dewy garden on a spring morning.” He buried his head in my neck and breathed in. “You’re intoxicating me with your smell.”

  “That’s not all I can intoxicate you with.” I pushed him back against the wall and grabbed his manhood. He was already aroused, and he grew even harder in my hands as I squeezed him.

  “I thought you were holding back this morning?” His voice was husky and he pushed himself into my hand so I was rubbing his whole shaft.

  “Well, I think I can spare fifteen minutes. It has been a while,” I squealed as he picked me up and pushed me against the wall. I wrapped my legs around him and brought his head down to mine. I kissed him harder, and when I felt him enter me, I held onto him for dear life.

  “Oh, Zane!” I screamed out as he slid in and out of me, every movement was tantalizing me and my orgasm was building up quickly.

  “Oh, Lucky, you feel so tight and slick. You are always ready for me,” he groaned and collapsed against me as we came together a few minutes later. I slid down from his waist and we stood there panting and holding each other.

  “I need to start working out if we’re going to keep this up,” I exclaimed, trying to catch my breath.

  “Maybe you should go morning, noon, and night,” he whispered in my ear. “Because that is how much I want you.”

  “We can’t have sex three times a day,” I gasped. “We have work to do.”

  “We can squeeze it in.” Zane turned on the shower and we stepped in, letting the hot water cascade down on us. I grabbed a bar of soap and ran it over his body, taking my time to feel and appreciate every inch of him. This man was perfect, from his muscular arms, to his toned stomach, and tight butt. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, and I giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” He cocked his head to the side and licked his lips.

  “I was just thinking to myself that last week I was wondering what you looked like naked, and now here we are.”

  “Do I fit the bill?”

  “I don’t think you could fit it any better.” I laughed, caressing his ass.

  “You have perfect breasts.” He grinned and held them in his soapy hands. “They’re the perfect size for me.”

  “Yeah, right.” I shook my head. “They’re too big.”

  “There is no such thing as breasts that are too big.” He leaned forward and sucked on my left nipple. “I want to touch and play with them all day.”

  “Well, you can’t do that,” I moaned, as he licked and sucked. “Zane, please.”

  “Yes, Lucky?”

  “I can’t do it again,” I groaned. “I’m too sore.”

  “Okay, we’ll wait until tonight.” He laughed and kissed back up to my face. “So what are we going to do today?” I asked curiously as we stepped out of the shower. Zane grabbed a thick cream towel and wrapped it around me and I smiled at him gratefully. It was nice having someone take care of me in this way.

  “It’s a surprise.” He grinned.

  “No fair.”

  “I want to show you the parts of Los Angeles that will make you go wow.”

  You make me go wow, I thought to myself. “Ooh, I’m excited.”

  “Good.” He rubbed the towel up and down my body. “Spread your legs and stretch your arms out so I can make sure every drop is dry.” I did as he commanded and stood there as he dried me off. This was the most intimate moment I had ever had in my life, and we stared at each other as he tenderly rubbed me down. His blue eyes were intense and focused, and my breath caught at the emotions I saw reflected in them.

  “We’re crazy, you know,” I finally spoke. “Well, maybe just me.”

  “Why are you crazy, Lucky?”

  “This moment is crazy. This wonderful, beautiful, special moment. I barely know you, yet, here I am, naked here in front of you and you’re drying me and I’m loving it and I’m just so overwhelmed.” I paused to take a breath. “You just used to be that cocky guy who sat in my booth, and now …” my voice trailed off.

  “And now what?” Zane stopped what he was doing and stared at me.

  “And now, you’re the guy I’m having sex with.”

  “Am I just the guy you’re having sex with?” He half-smiled and I was confused. Would I scare him away if I told him just how much he was starting to mean to me?

  “No, you’re the guy who makes me laugh and makes me tremble,” I said seriously.

  “Do you know that I’ve thought about this moment a million times?” Zane’s voice caught and he smoothed the hair on the top of my head back. “Don’t call me a horrible man, but every time I saw you at Lou’s, I wondered what you would look like in my bed. I wondered if you tasted as sweet as you looked.”

  “And?” I grinned and rubbed his jawline.

  “You’re sweeter than I ever imagined. Thank you for taking this chance on me.” His voice caught with emotion.

  “Thank you for taking this chance on me.” I ran my finger to his lips. “I’m so glad I came. Even though it’s only the second day.”

  “I’m glad you’re here. And you’re right. We’re crazy. But I’m glad we’re crazy. If we weren’t crazy, we wouldn’t have moments like this.”

  “And God knows school isn’t going anywhere.” I laughed.

  “Sometimes you just have to grab life by horns and ride it wherever it takes you. This is a good thing for us. School is important, and I would never say otherwise, but this is giving you real-world knowledge. You can go back to your history classes and tell everyone, ‘Hey, guys, this is what really happened.’”

  “Yeah, that will be awesome.” I smiled quickly, trying to ignore the stinging feeling in my heart at his words. I didn’
t want to go back and tell anyone about anything. I was caught up in this moment, in the here and now, and I didn’t want to be anywhere but here. I didn’t want to be with anyone but him.

  “That’s my Lucky.” He kissed my nose and grabbed another towel. “Now go and get dressed so we can leave.”

  “Yes, sir.” I ran out of the room, giggling and singing to myself as I got ready.

  ***

  “Okay, first stop.” Zane parked the car and jumped out. “Welcome to the Los Angeles Plaza and the statue of Felipe de Neve. He’s considered the first founder of Los Angeles.”

  “Wow.” I looked at the statue in admiration. “I’ve never heard of him before.”

  “Most people haven’t.” Zane grabbed my hand. “Felipe was a Spanish governor, and his tenure was from 1975 to 1982.”

  “1975?” I grinned. “I didn’t realize California was so new.”

  “I mean 1775 to 1782.” He laughed. “Felipe was granted permission from Charles III of Spain to found and establish Los Angeles.”

  “I’m impressed you know that.” I looked at him in admiration.

  “Okay, I can’t lie.” He sighed and pulled me closer to him. “I looked it up. I never heard of Felipe until this morning when I looked up historical places to show you in L.A.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.” I was touched that he had done research for me.

  “I wanted to take you to places that you love, and you love history.” He shrugged. “It seemed like a sure bet.”

  “You’re so much more amazing than I thought, do you know that?” I pulled him towards me and gave him a kiss.

  “If it means I get lots of kisses, then I hope so.” He kissed me back and then pulled me closer to the statue. “Let’s see what the inscription says.”

  Felipe de Neve (1728–84). Governor of California 1775–82. In 1781, on orders from King Carlos III of Spain, Felipe de Neve selected a site near the River Porciuncula and laid out the town of El Pueblo de La Reina de Los Angeles, one of two pueblos he founded in Alta California.

  I read the inscription aloud, impressed at how well he had remembered the basic facts. “It seems like you remembered it all correctly, smarty pants.”

  “Well, I’m not just all good looks.”

  “So where to next?”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes.” I laughed. “Are we going to get food? Please say yes.”

  “We’re going to get a hot dog from Pinky’s. I think it has to be the most famous hot dog stand in the world.”

  “I think I’ve seen them on the Food Network. Don’t they have a long wait or something?”

  “We won’t have to wait. You forget my dad runs this town.”

  “Oh, well, sorry.” I put on a posh accent.

  “I’m joking.” He grinned. “Well, somewhat. My dad is pretty influential, and we won’t have to wait.”

  “Will I get to meet your dad?” I asked hesitatingly.

  “I’m not sure.” He frowned. “He’s overseas right now.”

  “Oh.” My heart panged for him slightly and I suddenly realized why he felt like such a kindred spirit. For all intents and purposes, we were one and the same. We were both alone in the world.

  “But I can still introduce you to some movie stars, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “No.” I laughed and grabbed his hand tightly. “I don’t really care about actors and famous people.”

  “You’re definitely one of a kind.”

  “I like to think so.” I smiled up at him happily and we walked back to his car. “So now we go for hot dogs. Then what’s next?”

  “That’ll be a surprise.”

  “You and your surprises.” I shook my head and pretended to frown. I was delighted that he had gone out of his way to make this special for me. Maybe the Zane I was hoping to find was already coming to the surface. Maybe we would fall in love and this could be our happily ever after.

  “Let’s go get some dogs.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “So, Lucky, I want to know more about you. Tell me about what makes you tick.”

  “I love watching criminal TV shows. Law and Order, Criminal Minds, CSI, and Dexter—”

  “I love Dexter. The books are great as well. Jeff Lindsay is such a great writer. His sense of humor is awesome.”

  “Oh, I’ve never read the books. I’ll have to check them out.”

  “I have some at home. You can borrow them if you want.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Oh, by the way, the garage called me this morning, your car does have a head gasket problem.”

  “I told you.” I hit him in the arm. “I’m not just some dumb girl, you know.”

  “Ow, that hurt.” He grinned as he rubbed his arm. “I’m not sure I want to be your sub, I told you that already.”

  “You’re an idiot.” I hit him again.

  “Lucky, I do own handcuffs, you know. You don’t want to test me.” He grabbed my hand and held it tightly. “I’d quite enjoy handcuffing you and—”

  “Zane, I’m going to start to think you’re only after me for my body.” I was only half-joking, but I kept my tone light.

  “Lucky, your body is just one of the reasons I like being with you.” He let go of my hand and rubbed my leg. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever been able to just be with, with no expectations. You’re not expecting me to take you shopping on Rodeo Drive, you’re not—”

  “You mean I’m not going to be able to live my Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman moment today?” I pouted, and he laughed.

  “We can go to the lingerie shop if you want. There’s a La Perla in Beverly Hills that I can take you to.”

  “Ooh, you’re going to buy me pearls. What’s next, a diamond?” I joked but immediately wanted to slap myself for my gaffe.

  “La Perla is a high-end lingerie store.” Zane’s voice was amused. “And no, no diamonds will be coming from me, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ve only been to Victoria’s Secret before.” I kept the conversation away from the jewelry talk and tried to ignore the hurt I felt, once again, at his words. You know he’s not looking for forever, Lucky. Just deal with it.

  “Then let’s go get you a teddy. I’d quite like to see that.”

  “That’s okay.” I paused and bit my lip. I was starting to feel like all he wanted from me was sex. I hoped it was about more than that. I knew it was stupid to want more, but I couldn’t stop myself from hoping and wishing. Hopes are for fools, Lucky, the little devil inside my head whispered. Don’t be a fool. Enjoy the sex, have some fun, hope for him to change, but don’t get emotionally involved.

  I sighed and turned on the radio. I didn’t want to keep thinking about and analyzing the situation anymore. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I just had to make sure to keep my heart protected. I had chosen to walk away from my rules. If I got hurt, it would be my fault. “Maybe we can go another day.”

  “After hot dogs, I’m going to take you to Griffith Observatory.” He slapped his mouth. “Oh, shit, I let the cat out of the bag.”

  “What’s that? A place we can see stars?”

  “We’ll be up in the hills and will be able to see most of L.A. from above. And it’s an unusually clear day today, so we should have a great view.”

  “Sounds amazing.” I sat back and listened to the sounds of smooth jazz coming through the stereo system. It wasn’t the genre of music that I normally listened to, but it seemed to fit this moment.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Lucky,” Zane interrupted my reverie. “In case you couldn’t tell. I’m really glad you’re here.

  Chapter 12

  “I can’t believe we’re having the party tonight.” I grinned at Zane as he prepared me a sandwich for lunch.

  “I know,” he groaned. “I should cancel it. I want to have you all to myself tonight.”

  “You’ve had me all to yourself for two whole weeks.” I laughed happily. “I’m
surprised you haven’t gotten annoyed with me yet. We normally see each other for a few moments once a week, and now you see me 24/7.”

  “I couldn’t think of a better person to work and sleep with.”

  “You don’t let me sleep.” I stretched and Zane stared at my breasts through my top. “Looking at something?” I grinned.

  “Well, you can’t not wear a bra and expect me not to notice.” He stepped away from the counter and walked over to me. I hit his arm as he stood next to me and reached over to grab my breasts.

  “Zane.” I laughed. “I’m hungry and we still have an interview this afternoon before we have to get ready for the party.”

  “We still have time for a quickie.”

  “It’s never quick with you.” I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him and gave him a quick kiss. I ran my hands through his hair and pulled away as he ran his hands over my ass. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m going to go change, and then hopefully, my lunch will be ready.”

  “You tease,” he groaned and hit me on the ass as I ran out of the room giggling.

  As I ran up the stairs to get some clothes from my room, I marveled at just how great the last two weeks had been. I had been slightly worried that Zane was going to have next-day regrets after we had sex the first time, but he had been great. He had been sweet and caring, and we had been inseparable since we arrived in Los Angeles. It was almost surreal—I hadn’t expected us to get so close so quickly. It was even more wonderful than I could have imagined. I walked into my room and looked at the bed with a smile. I hadn’t slept in it one night, and while it looked comfortable, I wasn’t sad about that.

  “Lunch is ready,” Zane shouted up the stairs.

  “I just got to my room, Zane,” I shouted back as I went through my clothes. “I’m going to be a few minutes.”

  “Want me to come up and help?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I’m real good with getting clothes off.”