Читать книгу The Nick Of Time - San Culberson - Страница 9

Maple syrup man was still there. There was a younger looking man with him who was about to take the last chafing dish out of the room. He stopped wiping the table when he noticed that I was back. His smile was warm and polite.

“Did you forget something?” I looked around the room, then pretended to concentrate on the floor.

“As a matter of fact, I did. Did you notice where the heel of my sandal landed? I was holding both sandals in my hand. I lifted them for him to see. “I was thinking I could probably have it repaired.” His look was apologetic as he walked toward the large trash bin in one corner of the room. He reached in and pulled out the silver heel. The wood floor felt cool under my bare feet as I made my way over to him.

“I’m sorry. The way your friend hustled you out of here I thought you were long gone.” He held on to the heel a minute longer and pretended to dust it off before handing it to me.”

“I’m out. Do you need anything else?” The younger man stuck his head through the door to ask the question.

“No, I’ll get the rest.” The man nodded his head at me and left the room again. We turned our full attention back to each other. I was smiling at him, he was smiling at me; things were going just like I thought they would when I had decided in the cab to take my mother’s advice and get some “real dick”.

Yes, that is my plan: real dick real quick! And I will not be judged! I hadn’t been involved with anyone—not even a kiss or conversation over a sandwich—since I was first separated. I was ready! And maple syrup man looked as if he was interested.

“That was some party you had. A divorce is the last thing that most women I’ve encountered would like to celebrate.”

“I’m not like most women that you’ve encountered.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know because I’m totally unique. There is no other woman like me.”

“I like that.” His looked me up and down, and his tongue moved across his lips. “I like that a lot.”

“Anyway…” The tension was building a little too fast. My plan was only half formed. I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to broach the subject of a one-night stand. “How do you know what I was celebrating? The party was supposed to be strictly women only.”

“Well…” He held up the wet towel that he was still holding. “I’m here because I’m part of the cleanup crew. I couldn’t help but overhear some of the conversations going on around the room.” He finished wiping the table. “By the way, you’re much too beautiful to be divorced.” I sat at one of the now-empty tables while he completed his work.

“So you think I’m beautiful, do you?” I crossed my legs high, and my dress slid up exposing most of my thighs. Hey, I am working under time constraints. His job is almost done! It is now or never!

“Yes, I do.” His eyes lingered on my thighs as I had intended.

“I think you’re beautiful, too,” I said. He laughed at that.

“Thank you…I think. I don’t believe anyone has ever called me beautiful.”

“I’m surprised, because you certainly are beautiful…in a handsome, very manly way of course.”

He looked at me doubtfully; then I watched his eyes scan the room as if he was looking for something. He nodded his head slightly, obviously satisfied with his work. He grabbed a box filled with linens from the buffet, then looked back at me.

“I’m done here. Can I walk you to your car?”

“My car is not here. I’m going to have to call a cab.” I sighed as if that was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Well then, can I give you a lift somewhere? I promise I won’t hurt you.” His look was a challenge. I stood up slowly and smoothed my dress over my hips. I think I brushed my tongue across my lips before answering him honestly.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He made small talk during the fifteen-minute drive to my condo. He was divorced from his wife, had two kids, and had lived in Durham all of his life…blah blah blah blah. I didn’t talk too much about myself; I didn’t see the point. I had never had a one-night stand, but from everything that I had heard or read about them, I was sure that his conversation was way outside the boundaries of one-night stand etiquette.

What was the point of revealing so much about yourself to someone you would never see again? I made up for his gaucheness by ignoring virtually everything he said and concentrating instead on the movement of his full, sexy lips.

A dimple showed in his right cheek when he smiled at a joke that he made. I didn’t hear what he said, but I laughed politely and took the opportunity to place my hand on the thigh closest to me. He took his eye off the road for a minute to look at my deliberately placed hand.

“Be careful, you wouldn’t want me to get the wrong idea.”

“Are you sure about that?” I moved my hand up a little higher on his thigh. He ignored my question and turned his attention back to the road.

“Make a left here.” I leaned into him and pointed with my free hand. He turned onto the beautifully landscaped street and I watched the strong cords flex in his hands as he did so. “I’m the last unit on the right.” My heart was starting to beat faster; I didn’t know if I actually had the courage to proposition him straight out. The buzz from the champagne was wearing off and reality was beginning to set in.

I was sitting in some sort of catering van in front of my house planning to seduce—okay, to screw—a man I had never met before. The only thing that kept me from jumping out of the van and running full speed into my house was the fact that the muscles in his thigh felt so damn good under my hand and that I hadn’t been that close to a real dick in over a year.

He pulled close to the curb but left the engine on. “Would you like to come in?” I massaged the muscles in his thigh lightly, encouraging him to say yes. He didn’t take me up on my offer immediately.

“The lady back at the club said that you were drunk…are you?”

“Would it matter if I was?” He looked me up and down. His eyes lingered on my thighs, then briefly on my breasts.

“You don’t seem drunk to me.” We both laughed. I stopped laughing long enough to move my hand up a little higher on his thigh.

“I know exactly what I’m doing.” He put the van in Park and turned off the ignition.

“Then lead the way.” We both got out, and he followed my swaying hips into the condo. I normally entered through the garage, but I took my key from my bag and let us in the front door. I turned on the light and threw the key and bag on the table in the entrance. The key landed on the floor, but I didn’t bother to pick it up. I turned around to face him so quickly that he almost bumped into me. As it was, I could feel the heat from his body.

“What would you like to drink?”

“That depends on how long I can stay.” I leaned in close enough to make his lips part in anticipation.

“Double vodka straight up okay with you?” I whispered. A “you got me” smile spread across his face.

“I’ll take scotch on the rocks if you have it.”

“I have it. Sit down while I get your drink.” I pointed to the chocolate suede sofa in the center of the room. I dropped the broken sandal that I had been holding to the floor and walked to the liquor cabinet. My hips had a little extra sway in them just in case he was watching.

“I like your place.”

“Thank you.” I had spent more than I probably should have on furniture to make a home that was a reflection of me and only me. What I ended up with was a collection of modern and classic furniture in deep earth tones and creamy neutrals.

“Is this Heywood-Wakefield?” I was startled; first, because he recognized my vintage buffet turned liquor cabinet, and second, because instead of sitting on the sofa as I had directed, he had moved silently behind me. His lips were practically touching the back of my head.

“Yeah, it is. The dining room is also.” I turned and handed him his drink. He took it and used his free hand to caress the smooth surface of the mellow wood.

“It’s beautiful. You a collector?” I smiled at him and nodded my head.

“I have a few pieces.” I shrugged my shoulders to let him know it was no big deal, though it was. Normally, I would have gone into more detail. I loved my furniture, but I didn’t want to make small talk. We stared at each other for a long while, one waiting for the other to make a move or to say something.

He looked me up and down, and when his eyes met mine I didn’t turn away.

Apparently, he was tired of skirting the issue directly in front of him—me—because his next words were very much to the point. “I don’t really want this drink, what I want is for you to take me to your bedroom.” No more small talk from maple syrup man.

I felt a thumping at the center of my body; actually, the thumping was down a little farther. It was time to separate the woman from the girl. I took the drink from his hand and placed it behind me without looking; I thought about getting a coaster but decided it would mess with the flow of the moment. “Kiss me first,” I demanded, and closed my eyes and lifted my face as he moved even closer to me.

He took my face in his hand, and instead of kissing my lips as I was anticipating, he brushed his tongue slowly across my forehead. The thumping became a shiver. I felt smooth lips on my eyelids and across my cheeks. His tongue moved lightly down the center of my nose before he pushed it firmly between my lips.

I heard myself moaning as his tongue moved alongside mine. He caught my hair in his hands and pulled me deeper into the kiss. I wanted to move my body closer, but there was no more room between us. The kiss was absolutely delicious. His hands massaged my scalp, intensifying the feelings that were building in me. I couldn’t touch him because my arms were frozen at my sides.

When he ended the kiss and moved back slightly to look at me I didn’t say anything, but I was thinking, Oh my God! He smiled at me and moved his hands to my hips. “That was a good idea. Now take me to your bedroom.”

He followed me to my bedroom, and I didn’t care about the unmade bed or the discarded outfits on the floor. I stood in front of him unsure about what to do. I knew what we were going to do, but I was unsure about how to get the real stuff going; fortunately for both of us, he wasn’t.

He bent his head slightly and slid his hands through the slit in my dress and up to the narrow string on the side of my thong panties. He pulled the little bit of silk down my thighs with confidence. I helped him out by lifting my feet slightly and kicking the panties away from us.

He laughed and I looked down to see what at. “Great aim.” I followed his eyes to where my panties had landed on the bedpost. “I bet you throw a mean horseshoe.” I was amused myself, a little embarrassed, but amused. Well, to be totally honest, I wasn’t embarrassed or amused…I was incredibly horny.

“I haven’t done it in a while, but I’m sure I could if I had to.” I responded to his remark about the horseshoe.

“What do you mean by ‘it’?” He had started running his fingers lightly across my butt and thighs.

“I mean it’s been a long time since I’ve thrown a horseshoe.”

“Is ‘throwing a horseshoe’ a euphemism for sex?” The lighting was dim in the room, but I saw the teasing light in his eye.

“Not in my universe.” I put my hands on the side of his face and tried to move his lips back to mine, but he wouldn’t let me.

“How long has it been since you’ve made love?” The sound of his voice appealed to me, but I wanted all conversation to cease.

“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been…all that matters is that I’m ready right now.” I looked him in the eye, and this time he didn’t resist when I pulled his face into mine for another kiss. As we kissed I felt him backing me up toward the bed. When my calves bumped the side rail I broke the kiss and sat down. He stood over me and pulled the dress that was resting around my waist over my head. I reached behind me to unhook my bra, but he stopped me.

“Let me do that.” He moved my hands and uncovered my breast. The bra joined the panties on the bedpost. His eyes lingered on my body for a long time. My shoulders, the breast that he had just exposed, my stomach…

He parted my thighs to get a closer look at what was hidden between them before he looked back at me.

“You’re beautiful.” Okay, a little conversation wasn’t so bad.

“Thank you.” I took advantage of his position and started to unbutton his shirt. My fingers got tangled in the lush hairs that covered his pecks and tapered down toward his navel. His shoulders were so broad and so hard, I insisted on seeing the rest of him. “No fair, you still have all of your clothes on and I am completely exposed.” I pressed on his shoulders, urging him to stand up and join me in the buff. He stood up and took off his shirt.

I held my breath when he started to unbuckle his belt. Anticipaaaation. It had been a year for me, and I was hoping for something…special. When his pants dropped to the floor I sighed and my lips turned up into a smile. JACKPOT! He moved closer to me and I put my hand out to stroke the object of my admiration.

“Nice dick. I hope you know how to use it.” I also hoped that my words were a challenge to him. He laughed and pulled me from the bed so that our bodies melted together.

“I think I have the hang of it. I’m guessing I could probably make you cry.”

“You could try.” I turned my head to the side to let him nibble on my neck.

“I’m also guessing that I’m not going to have to work too hard.” One of his hands stroked the wetness between my legs. He probed with one finger and then two. A moan escaped me and I let my head fall on his chest. “Not too hard at all.”

I moved away from him, reluctantly, and took the silver box from my nightstand that held condoms and some other things that a single woman should have on hand. I thought it would be kinda sexy to open the condom and put it on him with my mouth like I had seen a woman do in a movie once, but I had never done that before and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

I tossed the condom on the bed and stood behind him, kissing his back and massaging his shoulders as he put it on. When he was done, he grabbed my arms and pulled me in front of him. He kissed me on the side of my face before taking my face in his hands. “If there’s anything in particular I need to do to please you, tell me. And when we get to the point where you become speechless…and you will…just guide me.” We laughed together as we fell back onto the bed and into each other.

He didn’t make me cry, but he did make my eyes water.