Just like that, p.3
Just Like That, page 3
“You can use them appropriately in a sentence?” she quipped, though her voice was still hoarse.
“I can even demonstrate them. All at once.”
She stared up at him and he saw the desire in her eyes. “You’re offering to help me?”
“It would be my pleasure,” he said leaning in. “And yours.”
She sighed and he felt the warmth of her breath against his lips. He wanted to kiss her. Intended to kiss her. But not yet. The anticipation was a lot of the fun.
“Where do we start?” she asked.
Oh, the possibilities were endless. He gave her a grin and said, “How about with an introduction?”
She visibly hesitated for a moment. “First names only,” she finally said. “And no other personal information.”
That didn’t change his plans much but he was curious. “Why is that?”
“I don’t want to get to know you.”
Danika shouldn’t have been encouraging this conversation.
But she did have the sudden urge to dump sugar packets out all over him.
Just making eye contact with this guy when he’d stopped her had made her feel like she was free-falling from an airplane. Her stomach flipped, her breath caught in her lungs, her head spun. Now that he was against her, and talking dirty, she felt like one big exposed nerve ending. She wanted to fidget. Or maybe she wanted to rub against him.
Yeah, it was definitely more the latter.
It was probably a good thing that this one had been the one facing away from her during the conversation with her sisters. The guy he’d been sitting with was good-looking and would have been tempting to flirt with…maybe even more. But this guy was I’ll-do-whatever-you-say-as-long-as-we’re-both-naked magnificent.
His hair was long enough on top to have that messed-up look, as if a woman had just run her fingers through it. His eyes were a greenish-blue and were now looking at her as if imagining her covered in chocolate sauce and served as dessert. He was well over six feet, making her tip her head to look him in the eye, and he either went to the gym regularly or did manual labor for a living because he was clearly solid muscle.
As if all of that wasn’t enough to make an impression, his confidence and sexual energy were thick enough she felt it wrapping around her and pulling her toward him. Strangely, that was what usually made her avoid men like him. She hated feeling overwhelmed or distracted or…seduced. But with this guy, being close—as close as possible, in fact—was practically all she could think of.
This was exactly the fudge-brownie effect she’d been worried about.
Besides that, he knew the effect he was having on her and rather than seem surprised by it, he seemed to be taking it for granted.
The guys she dated weren’t losers with women. They didn’t do it for her, because she wouldn’t let them do it for her. This guy seemed to think he wouldn’t have any trouble. It was cute. And a little hot. She’d never had tingles like this. Not to say she’d never had tingles at all. She just stayed carefully in control of where they led.
Being distracted by wanting to lick sugar off of someone could make it difficult to stay aloof. She’d have to be careful with this guy. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to say no to him. A red flag in and of itself.
“I can live with only knowing your first name as long as I get to know what makes you moan and pant,” he said.
The husky voice nearly did her in then and there. Red flag or not, she was already addicted to the shot-of-whiskey flare of heat he created in her stomach.
Then it traveled lower. She took a deep breath.
“Danika,” she said. “And—” she licked her lips, “—I’m not sure what all will make me moan and pant.” Just standing near this guy seemed to be enough.
“Sam. And I intend to find out.”
Sounded good to her. Which was shocking. She should be panicking right now. Or at least nervous. Instead, what she felt was pure anticipation. She smiled at him. “What’s next, Sam?”
“We’re going shopping.”
Shopping. Not what she’d expected. Dancing maybe. Having a drink together. Maybe even making out in the back hallway. But leaving… “I already have condoms.”
That made him pause. Then grin. “Good. That’s not what I meant. But good.”
“Oh.”
He took her hand and turned to head in the general direction of their tables.
“I thought you didn’t think I needed a costume.”
“No costumes,” he agreed.
They stopped in the space between the table where her sisters and his friend sat.
“Ladies,” he greeted.
Carmen and Abi looked up. Carmen’s eyes went from his to Danika’s to their joined hands. “Um, hi, Sam.”
Danika felt a jolt of surprise. Then her eyes narrowed. Her sisters wouldn’t look at her. But they were both grinning. At Sam. About Sam. Terrific. They knew Sam. And they approved of her leaving with him. Just terrific.
“I’m going to be helping your sister with a few things tonight so she’s going to be accompanying me on some errands right now. You don’t need to call her, text her or go over to her apartment tonight. And you’re definitely not welcome at my place.”
His place.
“Um…” Danika was momentarily distracted from being irked at her siblings.
Sam turned his stomach-flipping grin on her again. “If this is going to work, you’re going to have to trust me, Danika.”
Oh, she was pretty sure that Sam could make it work just fine. Which meant that trusting him was the last thing she was going to let herself do.
2
He was probably the dumbest man to walk the planet, but somewhere between the tiny hallway by the bathrooms and the table where her sisters sat, Sam had decided that he would not sleep with Danika tonight.
She wanted an orgasm. But Carmen was right about what she needed most—the knowledge of what turned her on, what she wanted from a lover, and the confidence to ask for it.
That was going to take more than one night. And he was very, very okay with that.
Her sisters said that it was supposed to be a one-night stand, that she couldn’t fall for him. That simply meant he couldn’t sleep with her more than once or romance her. They didn’t need to worry. He had no intention of dating her.
He was simply going to mentor her. In sex.
But if they slept together right away and she had the long-awaited orgasm all it would teach her would be how much she’d been missing all this time. Not necessarily how to get it again.
It was Sam’s new purpose to be sure she knew exactly how to get it again and again.
Sam put Danika in the passenger seat of his car, then jogged around to the driver’s side.
Neither of them said anything until he’d pulled out onto the main road.
“Shopping?” she finally asked.
“Shopping.”
“How do you know that I don’t already have what we’re going to buy?”
“Well, you can never have too many of these things.”
He let her wonder about that for the few minutes it took to get to the shop he had in mind. He pulled into a parking spot and looked over at her in time to see her eyes widen as she looked at the front of the store Tease.
Sam got out and came around to her side of the car. He opened the door for her and held out his hand to help her up. Danika didn’t take her eyes from the storefront for even a second as she took Sam’s hand and got out of the car.
They were two of only eight people in the store besides the salesgirl. She drifted around inconspicuously from person to person. The others all seemed to be in couples. Two couples were looking through the racks of—sure enough—costumes including a school girl, a serving wench and a cheerleader. Another couple was at the back looking at sex toys including vibrators of all sizes and colors while the other two were in front of the displays of erotic videos.
“Being able to let go physically enough to have an orgasm is about being physically turned on, but you have to be turned on mentally and in the moment too,” Sam told her.
“And this stuff will help with that?”
“It’s setting the mood, turning your mind onto sex,” he said with a nod. “We should start with what you’ll wear.”
As he put his hand on the small of her back and steered her toward the racks of clothes, he realized he’d never bought lingerie for a woman. But he’d enjoyed what he’d seen. The truth was it wasn’t the lingerie itself, but how the woman wore it. It could be hot pink, glow in the dark, barely there, or conceal-all but if she wore it with confidence and because it made her feel good, then it definitely worked for him.
“Pick something,” he urged when Dani hesitated in front of a rack.
“No, you pick it. You’re the expert.”
“That won’t work,” he told her. “It isn’t about what’s sexy to look at. It’s about what you’ll feel sexy wearing.”
“I don’t even know where to start.” She glanced at the other couples.
Sam decided that he needed to get her distracted from the fact that there were other people around. This was about her. He moved in to block her view of everyone else.
“I was right when I said you don’t need a costume. You’ll be absolutely perfect just as you are.”
Her lips parted.
“So let’s talk about how to highlight your assets.” He put his hands on her waist, giving her just a moment to adjust to him touching her, then slipped them around to cup her butt. “For instance, this is very nice,” he murmured.
She put her hand on his chest and her pupils dilated as she looked up at him and Sam knew he was getting her mind where he wanted it to be.
He pulled her forward as he dipped his knees to fit the erection that had been nearly constant since he’d first spoken to her in the bar against her. He reached up between them and cupped one of her breasts. It was a perfect fit in his palm. “These you definitely want to show off.”
Her eyelids drifted shut and she arched her back slightly as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over the nipple that hardened instantly. He took a huge step forward, moving her back until they were completely behind a tall rack of clothes. He deftly slipped the top two buttons from their buttonholes and slid his hand inside the top of her dress, taking her breast in hand with only soft satin between them. He desperately wanted to swirl his tongue around the stiff point, but settled for tugging on it gently as she gripped the front of his shirt in both fists.
“Sam,” she breathed.
“Are you feeling sexy, Danika?” he asked gruffly against her ear. “Are you feeling how hard and hot I am for you?” He pressed the proof against her again.
She opened her eyes and stared up at him. Sam knew that his face showed every bit of his desire for her and he did nothing to hide it. The plain truth was that this little woman, who had been settling for nice guys who couldn’t take her all the way, had made him harder than he could remember being, quite possibly ever.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I am about this close to begging, Danika. At this moment, if you told me I could have you, I would give you anything to make that happen.” She opened her mouth but he quickly put a finger over her lips. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded.
“How does it feel to know that I want you more than anything? That I’m not thinking of anything else? That you are everything to me at this moment?”
She smiled then. A slow, sexy, timeless smile that made Sam groan. “Like seeing just how far I can push you before you do beg.”
He wanted to hike up her skirt and make her beg against the nearest wall. But, somehow, he let go of her and watched as she re-buttoned her dress.
“Hang onto to that feeling. Go pick something out that will make you feel exactly like you do right this minute.”
She smiled again and moved to the racks of bra and panty sets. She flipped through several before pulling two out. She held them up and then turned to him, holding one up against the front of her.
“How about this?”
The bra and thong were outlined in solid black satin, but the center pieces that covered the breasts and the crotch were a filmy gray material that was completely see-through. It reminded Sam of sheer black pantyhose. It would more than hint at what was behind the fabric. In fact, everything would be visible, just shaded. There was a hot pink rose at the center of the bra that would nestle between her breasts and a matching rose on each hip of the thong.
He found himself unable to be flippant or even flirtatious. He simply, honestly said, “Any guy who sees you in that won’t be able to think about anything but being inside of you.”
“Oh,” was her soft, surprised response.
It hit him that while he was having vivid dirty dreams about her, she would be wearing the bra and panties in reality—for someone else. But he shook that off as she asked, “Should I try it on?”
It would kill him to think about her having that on just on the other side of a thin piece of drywall. “No. I can tell it will fit.”
“You can?” She raised her eyebrows.
He held his palm up against the cup of the bra. “Yep.”
Now she blushed. He almost laughed. She hadn’t blushed when he’d touched her, but now, when he referred to knowing the size of her breast, she got pink.
“Are we ready to go then?”
Straight to bed for the next three or four days…absolutely. Instead, he turned her toward the back wall. “I’m thinking that you might need some additional help toward the orgasm thing.”
“Oh?” Any hint of trepidation had disappeared. “Like what?”
“Have you ever had an orgasm?” he asked.
“I thought you heard that part.”
“I mean…ever. Even by yourself?” He wasn’t sure why he was torturing himself this way, but he definitely needed to kill Ben. It had been his stupid-ass idea for Sam to give Danika pointers in the first place.
Danika abruptly stopped walking and Sam bumped into her. She turned. “By myself? You mean—”
“You don’t have to say it,” Sam cut in. In fact, he knew he would not survive hearing Danika talk about pleasuring herself. “Have you?”
“Um….”
He nudged her forward. “I think you need to. That will help you know what…works…for you.”
Oh man, this was not a good thing to talk about.
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. He’d taken on the challenge. He’d been attracted to her as soon as he’d seen her. What had he thought would happen? This was all his stupid fault. And Ben’s. And Carmen’s.
“You have to figure out what feels best for you. Every woman is different. Some like having their breasts touched.” He moved in closer and dropped his voice, for modesty’s sake, but also because his voice just got rougher when he was looking into those deep green eyes. “Some like oral sex, some like having their clit stroked, some like stroking inside.”
She was looking at him with an expression that he couldn’t decide how to describe. It was either stunned or fascinated.
“You need to find out for yourself what works best for you.”
“How do you suggest I do that?” she asked. “It all sounds pretty good.”
It sure did. Trying to not just say, I’ll do it for you, he simply stood watching her. It was good he did. Otherwise he would have missed the tiny curl at the one side of her mouth. And he couldn’t believe it.
She was teasing him.
He grabbed a huge, bright blue dildo from the shelf and thrust it at her. “With this.”
She rubbed her hand up and down the length of the toy. “Oh.”
Watching her stroke the fake penis was enough to break his carefully held control. “Dammit, Danika, I thought you wanted my help.”
“I do.”
“Then stop messing around.” He grabbed the blue plastic phallus and shoved it back onto the shelf. He moved down a few feet and pulled a small, clear plastic bottle of gel from a basket. He turned back in time to see her take the dildo back and tuck it under her arm with the bra and panties. He growled in frustration low in his throat and handed her the gel.
“What’s this?”
“To help you…get ready. It warms up with friction.”
“Where do I put it?”
The tone of voice was innocent, but he was watching her carefully now. He could tell she was messing with him by the mischievous glint in her eye.
He moved in close, pressing her back until her shoulder blades hit the shelf. “Do you want me to show you?”
She met his eyes directly. “Yes,” she said softly.
Sam swore under his breath. Then he cupped the back of her head and pulled her up onto her tiptoes for a searing kiss. It wasn’t gentle or romantic. It was full-on, wet and hot, I-want-you-underneath-me-now.
And Danika returned it stroke for stroke, groan for groan.
She wasn’t nearly as innocent as she was pretending to be.
He wanted her with a ferocity that shook him. He’d been with a lot of women. Women who weren’t shy about anything. He thought he was long past losing control.
It was now painfully clear that he’d been wrong.
“Let’s go.” He let only a millimeter of space between their lips.
“Okay,” she breathed.
He let go of her and took a moment to appreciate the hot desire on her face. Her skin was flushed, her hair mussed, her lips wet and swollen, her chest rising and falling rapidly. And this was just the beginning.
He took her hand and started for the front of the store, but Danika took only two steps before tugging him to a stop. “Wait, there’s something else.”
“There’s a lot else but we can’t do it in here.”
She smiled, but shook her head. “No, I mean there’s something else I need.”
“What?”
“They have videos.” She gestured at the wall to her left.
“Right.”
