Charm School After Dark: Lesson 1 (12 page)

“You know what? I totally get where you’re coming from, and if you need to see it to seal the deal then who am I to stop you.”

What
? All humor was gone. Goldie had called her bluff, the despicable man! Her cheeks started to blush a deep red. “I-I, uh, made a mistake. Let’s just forget the whole thing. I was just joking. I didn’t think you would be crazy enough to…”

Dare stood, walked over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to her feet in one swoop. “Come on.” Pure determination and some really lascivious thoughts must have been jumping around that brain because he looked absolutely gleeful.

“Come on? Come on where? What the hell are you doing?”

He started to pull her toward the back of the club. What a caveman, always dragging her around by the hand. She should be thankful he didn’t have a handful of her hair.

He had to take the fun out of everything, always taking control. So why was she breathless in anticipation? Was he really going to show it to her? And shouldn’t she be really mortified by the thought? “Where are you taking me?”

They found themselves in the back of the bar, right in front of the men’s room. It was completely empty which was something she’d never understood. Didn’t men need to pee? And—
Ew!
Is there a grosser sight in the world than urinals?

“Dare, okay. Stop. Really. I had a little fun. I was just joking. Now you’re taking things too far. You can’t really be planning on showing me, um…”

“Mighty Man?”

“Seriously, that is a giant buzz kill. If you ever want me to get excited about meeting him, I mean
it
, never say that name again. Now get out of my way.” She gave him a half-hearted shove. “I’m getting out of here.”

“No way in hell I’m going to let you back out of this. You need to see…” He paused, and she waited to see if he would use the most ridiculous name she’d ever heard for a penis. “…my cock? Then you see it now.”

He pushed open the door to a stall toward the back of the small room while she spluttered, “But… but, I mean—”

She took a quick peek inside the stall and thank God it was cleaner than she would’ve thought. But there was hardly an inch between them in the cramped space. He stood in front of the toilet, facing away from the porcelain throne, and her back was to the green, plastic-laminate door.

Her heart took a hard gallop in her chest, beating a pattern against her breastbone. She whispered, “This is so gross.”

“We’ll be out of here in a few seconds. It’s not like we’re going to do anything. This is just a sneak peek.”

Before she could protest, beg for sanity, take out her hand sanitizer, he dropped trou. And the boxer briefs were quick to follow.

It was… He was… Caelen took a deep breath, realizing she was gazing upon the singularly most beautiful penis she had ever seen,
ever,
in her entire life. She hadn’t even thought they could be cute, let alone beautiful.

Lightly tanned, long and full—her eyes followed the veiny trails down his long shaft. His mushroom head jutted forward with a teardrop of milky liquid sitting atop his crown. Just as she gulped down the drool pooling in her mouth, she realized it was at full attention. “You’re hard.” The words slipped out on a whisper.

“No shit.”

“Do bathrooms turn you on?”

“No,
you
turn me on. Just the idea of your eyes on me makes me hard as hell.”

“It does?” Caelen finally registered his clenched jaw and intense stare. His body was so close to hers that she had to crane her neck to see his face. He felt so warm and large, even though they weren’t touching.

“So? Tell me.”

“What?” She was too fascinated with his dick to chitchat.

“Is it okay?”

Yes
. She peeked up again and he didn’t look insecure, but his whole body was still, as if anticipating her next words, ready to jump into action.
“Oh.”
Her gaze lowered slowly. “It’s…” She almost lost it and told him everything.
Almost.
But the little devil that sat on her shoulder couldn’t quite capitulate so easily. Feigning a yawn, she said, “I don’t know,
yet.”

He groaned long and low, gazing up at the ceiling. “Why? What more do you need?”

His dick jumped forward. She felt mesmerized by the bronzed length that looked to be straining toward her, begging for her attention. “I might have to touch it first to really determine if it passes the test. Remember, I said it was all about the look
and
the feel?”

His motionless body shot into action. He crowded her further against the stall door, leaning with his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. “Yes. Okay, yes. Feel,
now.”

Staring into her eyes, he had her surrounded by his muscled frame and she couldn’t look away. Reaching out with her hand, she lightly grazed his balls with the tips of her fingers.

“Yes.”

She followed up along the underside of his shaft, weighing the feel and size of him. She traced the long ridge that ran along the back of his cock, the tip of her forefinger ringing the edge at the base of his mushroom head. Her thumb swiped out, gathering the drop of milky-white cum perched on his head, spreading the liquid around and around.

“More.”
His deep voice made her hand tremble. Not able to wait another minute, she wrapped her small palm around his silky girth, squeezing gently, slowly sliding from base to tip.

He spread his legs wider, pushing into her hand. The heated strength of his dick felt powerful. It really was the most amazing dick she’d ever seen. Hard, long muscle wrapped in satin splendor. So strong.

He reached out to grab her waist and she immediately let go. “Nuh-uh. No touching, remember?” He thought she was being a stickler for the rules, but she knew if he touched her she would be lost.

“Caelen.”
He blew out a frustrated breath, and pulled his hands back, eventually linking his hands and resting them behind his neck. His shoulders bunched and the position of his arms lifted the bottom of his shirt.

Just the edge of his washboard abs were exposed. The hard, tanned dips and valleys made her fingers itch to trace a path from his broad shoulders to his grooved waist.

Lovely.

Immediately, her hand returned to his throbbing dick in case
he
was the one who changed his mind. She just wanted to touch him a little longer. She loved the feel of him; having this powerful man in the palm of her hand hit her like double-fudge brownies straight to the bloodstream.

With her other hand, she traced a trail down the muscled rise of his stomach. The soft golden-brown hair tickling her digits gave her goose bumps on the back of her neck. Her cheeks were on fire and the warmth spread down her chest, transforming her nipples into hard peaks. It was so hard to take a breath; her chest rose and fell, gently scraping against his chest with each breath.

His low groan surrounded them. He was so close she could feel his warm breath against her cheek. Lost to the sensation, she squeezed her legs together against the slow pulse growing with each stroke against his cock.

“Caelen, say you agree. Admit, you want… this to happen.” He grunted the words between gritted teeth.

“Dare—”

A loud pounding rocked the door behind her. The motion had her flying forward, smashing into him, his pants tangling as he just missed smashing into the toilet.

“Get the hell out of there. There’s a time and a place, people.”

Dare pulled up his pants, wincing as he quickly jammed everything in place. He grabbed her forearms and crouched down so they were eye to eye. “Say it.”

She couldn’t resist. “I love it.”

He didn’t smile, still lost in the intensity of the moment. “We seal the deal with a kiss. To make it official. No backing out. Remember? Nonnegotiable.”

Her brain was slow to protest. “But we have to go.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about him. This is between you and me. Do we have a deal?”

Yes, official,
she thought in a daze, overpowered by his warm touch and intoxicating scent. Kissing, wasn’t that how all business deals were settled?
“Yes.”

He placed his hands on either side of her face. His fingers dug into her hair, gently but firmly, as she watched his mouth descend in slow motion. His full lips parted slightly and her eyes flitted shut. The sensation overload made her feel like she was drowning in silk.

His firm tongue touched her own, probing gently, deeply, intently. Her legs felt like jelly and her hands fluttered down onto his forearms to keep from melting to the floor like a puddle of mush.

The kiss went on and on and
on,
as if he knew he had to make it count. He—

Bang, bang, bang!

Two seconds later, his hands were gone, his lips had left her, the bolt was unlocked, and they were out of the stall. Caelen felt off balance and so turned-on she couldn’t see straight. Dare had her by the hand and was pulling her from the bathroom. Again. The cocky grin on his face acted like a bucket of ice water to her passion.

Jerkface.

Now she just had to figure out if she was talking to him or herself.

Caelen caught a quick glance of the bartender who’d served their drinks. He shouted out, “Let me guess. You’re scratching one off the bucket list, right?”

Dare laughed aloud, while Caelen shielded her face with her hands in mortification.

Chapter 14

‡

P
RETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY
dick.
For some reason the words repeated in her mind to the tune of the “Star Spangled Banner” during the short cab ride to Ms. Belle’s. Unfortunately, with each minute passing, the anticipation started to fade, and the exhaustion that’d been sitting on her shoulders all day felt as heavy as a bathtub. Was she moving in sand? Her body felt funny. She glanced around and giggled softly.

Somehow all the beer had made it seem perfectly natural to be riding home to give Dare a blowjob, because she was inheriting a charm school that had her teaching: Fellatio 101.

Yup. Totally natural.

Dare gave her a quick grin, anticipation tightening his features. She wanted this man with a mind-scrambling intensity, but now she worried about making it across the threshold.

Throw in the fact that her second, third and maybe
fifth
glass of beer had reignited the buzz from the night before, and she knew the combination of no sleep and booze was a recipe for disaster. Maybe she could talk him into cuddling with her in her beautiful, comfortable, and infinitely soft bed.

Sleepy drunk was not a good look for her.

What is wrong with you, girl? You have a hunky fireman at your sexual beck and call, and all you can think about is sleep?
If only they’d had a bed in the men’s room when he’d shown her his penis.
Holy Moly!
His
pretty dick, pretty…
Touched by the
gods.

The thought rallied her. Slightly.

“Shh! Come in.” She teetered toward Ms. Belle’s front door, and it only took her
two
tries to get the key in the lock.

“I thought you said no one was home.”

“They’re not,” she said with a flourish as the door flew open.
Don’t know my own strength. “
Your voice is just too loud, sometimes. So just shh.” That totally wasn’t true, and she couldn’t help the snort that escaped her lips. She did so love to insult him.

“Too loud?” he said in a booming tone. “My voice makes women melt.”

“Uh huh.”
It’s true, it’s true, it’s true.
“Whatever.” Caelen threw her purse on a side table and raised her hands in victory when the purse hit the target, rather than tumbling to the floor.

Somehow they made it to her room on the second floor. The scent of her perfume still lingered in the air from when she was getting ready earlier in the evening. She smoothed a hand over the comforter and
just
resisted the urge to dive in.

She’d brought over a few more things after their little meeting with Mr. Brown. No need to pretend, now that the girls knew she was homeless.

The comforter was from her apartment. So were the lamp, the throw pillows, the rug, and, of course, her piles and piles of shoes and clothes. It was an explosion of color, and she loved it. Teal, white, and blood orange as far as the eye could see. Well, not that far, just enough to spread out along the spacious bedroom. The place had enough room for a queen-sized bed and a small sitting area with a loveseat and one chair. She had to admit, it almost felt like home.

“Hey. Why is all your stuff here? Have you moved in permanently?”

She ran her hands along her braids, gave a quick tug and felt her scalp pop. She instantly relaxed. It felt so good. If she unbraided her hair, next time, would he pull it when she went down on him?

A girl could only hope.

“What?” Distracted again by her overactive imagination, she turned and faced Dare.

“Your stuff. This is a lot of stuff.” Dare was still in the doorway, but his gaze missed nothing.

He was so nosy. He didn’t need to know the particulars, like not being able to afford her apartment, because she’d been fired by her lying, married, ex. That was none of his business. She could imagine the judgment he’d heap on her. “This isn’t
all
my stuff,” she hedged.
Just most of it.
“I like to be comfortable, so I bring pretty things with me.”

He toed a pair of cream stilettos by the wall with his worn,
dirty
boots. “Like shoes? Shoes are pretty things?”

She gasped in horror at both his actions and his question. Of course, shoes were pretty things. Was there anything prettier? Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “If you ever put your grubby boots anywhere near my shoes again, you will be out on your ass so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

He remained fixated on the shoes. She mumbled “try it” as he reached down and picked up a pair of knee-high, black Jimmy Choo boots.