His to Taste

by Winlock, Jacqueline

  As much as I loved Grandma, I knew our arguments were getting stressful for the both of us. Now that I had been spending more and more time away, it was a lot easier for me to finally speak my mind a bit more. I guess I felt a weird cowardly sort of confidence since I knew that I could just run back to Mr. Cochran’s place when our discussions became too heated for me to stand.

  It was always the same disapproval with her and I really shouldn’t have expected anything different from her usual refrain. The only difference this time was that I had come fresh from my earth-shattering experience in Mr. Cochran’s bed. Her comments made me feel cheap and I didn’t want to reconcile the old familiar feelings of shame with the exhilarating joy that I had felt last night when I had finally allowed myself the freedom to explore my sexual yearnings.

  Quickly finishing up the dishes, I hurried into my room to change out of my boring work clothes. I tried on a few outfits and was surprised by the new fit on my clothes. My knee-length dark wash jean skirt felt a little looser on my thighs and gently hugged the curves of my butt. I pulled on a rich purple v-neck blouse to accentuate, but not flaunt, my deep cleavage. My favorite black corduroy jacket and a pair of cute black wedges completed my outfit. I dabbed on some mascara, blush, and lipstick, and pulled my thick hair out of its constricting bun so that the dark waves fell around my face and shoulders. Giving myself a final once-over in the mirror, I noticed a sparkle in my eyes and a soft flush on my cheeks that had nothing to do with cosmetics. No wonder Grandma was so suspicious when she saw me today.

  I sent Julia a quick text to let her know that I was on the way and headed out the door. When I pulled up into the parking lot for Dos Compadres, I noticed her smart little BMW, and knew she was already inside. I grinned when I saw her sitting at our usual table by the bar, and swooped down for a quick, fierce hug.

  “Perfect timing!” she said. “Our first pitcher should be here any second and I’ve already ordered some nachos.” As usual, Julia’s frosty blond curls were pulled back in a sophisticated chignon, and her lithe figure looked lovely in her tailored dark navy business suit and jacket.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’m starving!” I tossed my purse onto the table, settling down across from her. “How’s work? Is that sour witch still driving you crazy?” I gave her a sympathetic smile when she groaned, rolling her eyes.

  “Ugh,” she said. “She just got dumped by her boyfriend so she’s been on a total emotional rampage. I can hardly talk to her without her jumping down my throat for some imaginary infraction. I’m ready to scream, but I can’t really say or do anything without making things worse.” The waitress arrived with our nachos and sangria, and we thanked her in unison before diving into the giant platter of crispy, gooey, cheesy goodness.

  “What about you,” she grinned, after gulping down a healthy swig of sangria. “How are things in your old guy’s kitchen? Did you have a hectic day of cooking up Jell-O and cream of chicken soup?”

  I snorted, and almost spit out my own mouthful of sangria. It burned when I hastily swallowed, and laughed, “Whatever, smart ass!” Clearing my throat, I said hesitantly, “So about my boss…um, I haven’t actually been totally honest about the whole thing.”

  “Ooh, intriguing,” she teased. “What—is he, like, a weird reclusive hoarder, or something?”

  I traced my finger nervously around the rim of my glass, and said, “That would make things easier, actually. The truth is that although he’s older, he’s not old.” I paused to take a tiny fortifying sip. “In fact, he’s only in his early thirties, and he’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met. He’s ridiculously hot…like, drop-dead-oh-my-freaking-god hot.”

  “Are you serious?!”

  “Yeah,” I smiled sheepishly. “I’m a total mess around him. It’s been so hard trying to maintain some semblance of professionalism when I’m with him basically 24/7.”

  “Oh, Lynn,” said Julia. “I can’t imagine what your grandma must think!” She grimaced, and continued, “On second thought, I know exactly what she thinks. You poor thing…did she start on you again with her gloom and doom?”

  “Well,” I began. “The thing is, I’ve let her think that he’s elderly. I feel so guilty lying to her, but you know how important this job is for us. I mean, just this trial period alone will cover our finances until I can find another job if this doesn’t work out, you know? It would be stupid to walk away from this just because she doesn’t approve. Still, I had to rush home today because she threatened to come by his place.”

  “Oh, shit!” Julia clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her horrified giggles. “You must have been hauling ass to get there in time! Seriously, though, you have to remember that you’re a grown woman who happens to live with your grandmother. It’s not like you still have to live under her thumb.”

  Grinning mischievously, I said, “Yeah, about that…I know it’s not the greatest idea because of work boundaries, but I…we…” I broke off, suddenly at a loss for words to describe something so indescribably wonderful.

  Julia gasped, almost knocking over her glass as she reached for my hands. “Are you kidding? That’s awesome! Give me the dirty details!”

  Blushing, I lowered my voice, and said, “The more I got to know him, the more comfortable I was to just spend time with him. He treats me well and we talk about his work, and I don’t feel like an awkward dork around him.”

  I beamed at her, and said, “For the first time in my life, he makes me feel beautiful. I told myself that it was stupid to waste an opportunity to do all the things I should have done as a horny teenager with the first man who drove me wild enough to ignore all of the stuff Grandma kept drilling into my head. He made me forget everything. And it was all so amazing!”

  “Wow,” she said. “I’m so excited for you!” A look of concern flashed over her lovely face. “Just to be clear, though, did he coerce you, or anything, because of your job?”

  With a firm shake of my head, I said, “Absolutely not! He’s been a gentleman, I swear. We actually haven’t…I mean, I’m still technically a virgin. He’s letting me take the lead, and he’s reiterated that nothing we do intimately would ever interfere with my employment.”

  My lips twisted into a wry smile. “I get what you mean, though. I told him today that I wasn’t ready to do anything else that would jeopardize my position, and we agreed to start things fresh—as if nothing had ever happened between us.” I toyed with my fork, sighing heavily.

  Julia was silent for a moment, and finally said, “In all honesty, if I could go back in time to junior year and not lose my virginity to Steve, that pimply-faced douchebag, I totally would. As long as you both know what your intentions are, what’s the harm in messing around with someone that you’re physically attracted to and actually like? I mean, it’s not like you’re going to get swept away and fantasize about wedding bells, right? Why not sow your wild oats a little so you can be prepared when you eventually meet someone for a serious relationship? Other than your grandma, no one can fault you that bit of fun.”

  After letting her words sink in, I said, “How do you always know what to say? I think I just needed to hear that validation from you because that was exactly my reasoning, too!” I paused, and then sighed, “I guess the only thing that’s holding me back is that I still hear Grandma’s nagging in my head afterward. I wish there was a switch in my brain to turn off all that deep-rooted shame.” I picked at a lone soggy chip on my plate, and smirked, “Speaking of deep-rooted…can I just say that I now totally understand what you and those erotica stories mean when you rhapsodize about well-blessed men? I felt like I was grabbing onto a rolling pin!”

  We both cracked up, and Julia said, “Sweetie, you make sure that he preheats your oven before he puts that thing anywhere near you then!”

  Beep.

  “Sorry, I should check in case that’s Grandma.” I dug into my purse to grab my phone and saw that it was a text from Mr. Cochran.

  I saw your proposa
l. I’m surprised, and I’m definitely on board with your suggestions, but are you sure that you want to move forward with this?

  I quickly sent my response.

  I’m fine with it if you are, sir. Do you have any concerns? I can come back tonight to address them if you’d like.

  His reply came back almost instantaneously.

  You know I’m always happy to see you.

  A tiny flutter of excitement flared in my stomach and I glanced up to see Julia’s amused expression. “Is that your stud?” she teased. “Are you two sexting already?”

  “Oh, my god!” I squealed. “Shut up! It’s about work, I swear!” Giggling, I tossed my napkin at her and filled our glasses with the last of the pitcher. It felt so refreshing to finally be able to gossip and bond with her over my naughty exploits.

  “I’m technically off, but I guess I should go back and talk with him in person.” I settled my portion of the check and leaned back. “Thanks again for understanding. I was so damn tired of reading about these things, instead of actually doing something about it. Still, I suppose the best thing to do is to take everything day by day.”

  “You’ll be fine, smiled Julia. “Go ahead and check in with your sexy boss. I’m going to wait for a few of the other girls to come join me later.”

  “Alright,” I grinned, grabbing another hug. “Tell them hi for me, okay? Have fun!” I swept out of the restaurant, and began driving back towards Santa Barbara. Who knew that I’d be so eager to return to work on my off day? It wasn’t like I couldn’t resume the rest of my time off; it would just be a quick consultation and I could go back to…well, most likely fantasizing about the damn man anyway.

  As I sat in traffic, I mulled over Julia’s advice again. I knew there was nothing inherently wrong about being sexually inexperienced. There were plenty of well-adjusted people in the world who chose celibacy. I was tired of choosing to allow fear and shame to dictate my sexuality, or lack thereof.

  Like Julia said, what’s the worst that could really happen if I made the decision to experiment with him? My temp job and my paycheck weren’t in danger. We were both attracted to each other. My birth control was up to date and we both had clean sexual bills of health. Most importantly, however, he was sex on a stick and I was starving for a taste.

  I could only think of two drawbacks. First, Grandma would probably never forgive me if she ever found out about this arrangement. Still, the only way she’d ever find out was if I said anything and there was no way in hell that I’d ever blurt out anything like this. The other issue was the possibility of my emotions interfering; what if I developed feelings for him that eventually spiraled out of control, leaving me to clutch at the shattered fragments of my poor heart, like a C-list actress in a melodramatic Lifetime movie? The solution to that dilemma lay with the man himself. Whenever I needed a reality check, I could just pinch myself and remind my stupid heart of the fact that Jake freaking Cochran would never get serious with peasants like me. This was about sex…pure and simple.

  This was going to be the best lesson plan ever.

  CHAPTER SIX

  I could feel myself gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as I pulled up to his house. Although this lovely home had become so familiar to me, I felt a new kind of nervous, but excited, energy fluttering in my tummy. I was ready to carpe diem; no, I was going to carpe the hell out of that man’s diem if the opportunity arose.

  There really was no concrete plan, other than to march in there and discuss the menu plan while flirting outrageously. If he didn’t get the hint, then my objective was to make it damn well clear that I was more than ready. To prevent another scene, I left Grandma a voicemail explaining that I had to take care of some urgent matters at work and I would check in with her tomorrow. After silencing my phone, I smoothed a few errant curls and dabbed on some soft peach lip gloss. Sucking in a deep, calming breath, I headed to the door.

  I swept through the foyer and stopped in my tracks when I saw Mr. Cochran sitting at the kitchen table. He had my laptop open in front of him and he was biting into a crisp Fuji apple. I could see the cords working in of his strong neck as he swallowed, and I had to tear my greedy gaze away from his throat before I was able to squeak, “Hi…um…is everything ok?” Ugh, so much for marching in there and vamping it up like a sex goddess.

  He set aside his half-eaten apple on the table and gave me a slow grin as he took in my casually sexy outfit and softly tousled hair. “You tell me, sweetheart.” He gestured to my laptop, and said, “Are you sure that this is absolutely what you want?”

  “Well,” I began. “I’ve given it a lot of thought and I think this would be the best approach. I know how important this is to us both and I feel like I’m up for the challenge. In fact, why don’t we go over it now?”

  I could feel his intent gaze as I approached the table to pull up my menu proposal. Just as I reached out to grab my laptop, my left wedge collided with the table leg and I stumbled, slamming the laptop screen closed. The impact of my foot made his apple roll off the table, bounce against his chair leg like a pinball, and rolled to a stop underneath the table.

  Cursing under my breath, I quickly bent down and crawled under the table to retrieve the stupid apple. That whole flirting like a sex goddess thing was clearly never going to be listed under the special skills section of my resume. Just as I was about to grab it, I felt his warm hands caress my soft calves, and I froze.

  “Mr. Cochran…?” I gasped, my legs quivering at his touch. His hands slowly traced the back of my knees. Despite my clumsiness, he must have read my signals. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, but I held myself still, waiting for his next move.

  “Hush, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Relax, I’ve got you.” He stroked at the sensitive skin of my inner thighs underneath my jean skirt, making me moan softly at the sensations. I felt so vulnerable on my hands and knees, but it was so arousing to allow him to explore my body from that position. Now that I knew that my crawling under the kitchen table would drive him crazy with lust, the grocery bills were going to skyrocket from all of the baskets of bruised fruit rolling off the table.

  He thrust his hands further up my skirt, caressing my rounded ass, the heat of his palms scorching through the thin cotton barrier of my demure boyshorts. Squirming to get closer to him, I tried to resist grabbing at his teasing hands. I squealed when he abruptly grabbed my hips and quickly pulled me back out from under the table.

  I didn’t have time to gasp, much less think, when he swept me up into his arms and strode down the hallway, up the stairs, and directly into his bedroom. He walked over to his bed, but didn’t relinquish his hold on me. I melted against his broad chest when he dipped his head and devoured my soft lips. The combination of his apple flavored mouth and his spicy cologne was comforting yet utterly sexy.

  He was delicious and I couldn’t get enough of him and his decadent kisses. I gently nipped at his lower lip and he growled in answer, lowering me onto his bed. Little moans escaped my throat as he kissed and sucked at my sensitive neck. I blindly yanked at his shirt, desperate to feel more of his skin. He ripped it off and flung it onto the floor, and I did the same with my blouse. I couldn’t help blushing when he deftly unhooked my lacy bra and I crossed my arms reflexively over my bared breasts.

  “Let me look at you, sweetheart,” he said. “You’re so damn beautiful.” He drew my hand toward his lips and kissed my palm. My fingers curled reflexively as if I could save the sensation for safekeeping. I gasped when he started nipping and licking at my inner wrist, and I felt myself slowly falling back as he kissed his way up my arm and latched onto my taut nipples. I clutched his dark head against me, threading my fingers through his thick hair, reveling in the hot pleasure of his mouth on my breasts. He gently tugged at one rosy peak with his teeth and I softly whimpered from the slight abrasion. I stared down at him, fascinated, as he released it abruptly, making my heavy, swollen breast bounce and quiver from the tension. It w
as such a small movement, but it made me feel so wanton. He gave my other nipple the same attention, doubling his efforts, until I was writhing against him.

  Desperate to feel his naked flesh on mine, I pulled insistently on his broad shoulders and he chuckled at my impatience. He crushed me back into the mattress, and I moaned at the overwhelming contact of his heated skin. I rubbed my achingly sensitive breasts against his lightly furred chest, and I gasped when he growled and grabbed my searching hands, pinning them above my head.

  “Do you like feeling vulnerable, sweetheart?” he asked, staring intently into my eyes. “Do you want me to touch you?” With his free hand, he stroked my soft belly and made his way down to the buttons on the side of my tight jean skirt. He toyed with them, waiting patiently for me to respond.

  Swallowing thickly, I murmured, “Yes, please.” I arched up my bottom to help him quickly unbutton and yank off my restrictive skirt. Once I was laid bare to him, I realized that I was completely vulnerable except for my tiny pair of white cotton panties. I shivered in anticipation and a tiny frisson of fear of the unknown crept up my spine. I knew that he would stop if I said anything, yet it felt so dangerously sexy to be held down by him.

  “Is your sweet little pussy mine to touch?” He slid his hand up between my thighs and I reflexively clamped them tightly together. A tiny cry escaped from my throat when he traced his finger up and down the seam of my pouting pussy lips. I knew he could feel the wetness of my arousal through the thin fabric.

  “Yes, Mr. Cochran.”

  He released my hands and eased my panties off of my hips, tossing them onto the floor. It felt natural to leave my hands above my head and I eagerly licked my lips when he quickly stripped off his jeans and black boxer briefs.

  I could feel my cheeks blush as he spread my thighs and settled himself on top of me. It felt so surreal to see him lodged resolutely between my legs. There was no hiding from him in this position and all of my intimate secrets were laid bare to his intense gaze. As soon as his strong jaw brushed against my soft inner thighs, I whimpered at the feel of his rough stubble grazing my skin. With his thumbs, he gently pulled my tender folds apart and licked me hungrily with firm, long strokes. I moaned little mewling sounds deep in my throat, tightening my thighs around him, desperate to keep him there forever.