The Job Offer (9 page)

"What?"

"They are called 'shows of
affection', my dear.  We have to have them to make this all believable.  We
have to act like a newly engaged couple, and that means that I get to touch you
openly and I expect you to touch me as well.  It also means that there will be
times when I will kiss you and you will kiss me.  What's more, I am not talking
about a little peck like from earlier today.  I’m talking about a real kiss.  In
fact, we should practice now to make sure we have the right chemistry."  She
suddenly gave a soft chuckle and looked at him with humor in her eyes.

"This is the being 'mostly good'
part of the walk to the water, isn't it?"  He flashed a charming smile at
her reference to their earlier discussion.  The answering smile on her face
drew him in, and he felt the catch in his gut again.

"I guess it is."  The humor
left him only to be replaced by the desire to finally taste her mouth and touch
her skin.  The intensity of his desire surprised him.  He had made his fortune
by following his gut, and right now his gut was telling him to kiss her.  Turning
to face her, he put one arm around her back and the other up to her face then
leaned in until his lips covered hers.  He soon found himself lost in the sensation
and the flavor of Anne.

Anne nearly threw herself into his arms when
he started talking about kissing her on a regular basis.  Ever since they
parted that afternoon, she wondered if she would see him again other than in
passing.  Then when he maneuvered himself into having dinner with her, she was
both nervous and thrilled to have him there.  All evening long, she felt the
desire to kiss him, to taste him, to touch him, grow as it did all that last
summer when she turned seventeen and that morning after his too brief peck on
her lips.

It did not surprise her that she
sincerely enjoyed spending time with him.  She and Ben always found it easy to
talk to each other.  What did surprise her was just how much they still had in
common.  Then when he looked at her with those brown eyes warm with desire, she
felt like she would melt from the heat.  Once he started talking about taking
her for a walk down to the water after dinner, she practically jumped at the
chance to find out what a real kiss from him would be like.  She knew that he
was angling her toward one or two in the moonlight when he talked about
bringing her down here.  Chelsea showing up had only added a new twist to the
already eventful day.  Anne never planned on initiating the engagement story. 
It just came out.  Thankfully, Ben went with it.

For the last ten minutes, she waited
calmly, watching his anger rise then disappear altogether, bringing him back to
his usual friendly self.  She remembered that about his personality.  If it was
something that he was really passionate about, his emotions were closer to the
surface.  The exchange with Chelsea clearly upset him.  He may have followed
along with Anne’s story, but when they were finally alone, he let her see that
he was angered by the exchange.  But, just as quickly as his temper rose, it
went away leaving him once again looking at her with that intense gaze that set
her insides quivering in anticipation, her desire returning to match his own.

When she felt his arm slide around her
and his other hand touch her face, she closed her eyes and leaned in for his
kiss.  The first brush of his lips was soft against hers as if he was testing
the texture of her lips.  She liked it.  His lips were firm and soft at the
same time.  Then his tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips, and she
opened her mouth to allow in his tongue.  The pressure of his lips increased
and she moaned softly at the pleasure, wanting to feel and taste more of him.  She
wrapped her arms around to his back to hold him closer and felt his body heat
warm her front.  His kiss was wonderful.  Then he sucked gently on her lower
lip, and she felt a strong stirring straight down to her core.

He responded to her moan of pleasure by
pulling her in closer to his chest until her breasts pressed flat against him
and she was leaning backward from his weight.  His hand that touched her face
moved down to stroke her neck then slid to her shoulder when she pulled him in
closer to her body.  His tongue once again invaded her mouth, and she rubbed
her tongue against his seductively.  He tasted like the coffee he drank just
before they left the dining room and the strawberry cheesecake she shared with
him for dessert.  Then he pulled his tongue back slightly and sucked on her
lower lip again sending the wave of pleasure to her core until she felt the
first sign of wetness.

She moaned again softly with the
pleasure and raised her arms until they circled his neck.  Then his hand moved
down over her front brushing against her breast before moving to her waist.  Her
breast continued to tingle where his hand brushed and she wanted it back on
her.  She groaned in protest and nipped his lip causing an answering groan from
him.

Then he broke the kiss and pulled back
so that he could look at her face.  He was breathing heavy, and she could feel
his arousal pressed between them hard against her belly.  She was practically
laying under him from his leaning over her.

"We definitely have
chemistry," he said huskily before his mouth found hers again.

This was what she wanted.  She gave
herself over to the pleasure of Ben’s mouth and his hand that rested on her hip
while his thumb brushed over her low belly.

She had never had such a primal reaction
to a kiss before.  She wanted to be closer to Ben in ways that she had never
wanted with anyone else.  She wanted desperately to feel his hand back on her
breast and his lips on her body.  It was as if her body had taken over and she
was no longer capable of rational thought.  He understood what she wanted
because he suddenly lifted her until she straddled his lap.  Her senses were immediately
assaulted with the feeling of his arousal now at her juncture and his hand that
rose again to her breast.  He found her hard nipple and teased it with his
fingers through the thin material of her sundress making her whimper with
desire.

Then his mouth moved from hers to the
sensitive side of her neck and down to her collarbone.  She tilted her head to
give him better access as she drowned in the sensation of his mouth finally on
her skin and his tongue lightly brushing her collarbone and the indentation at
the base of her throat.  The teasing fingers at her breast and the feel of him pressed
against her caused her core to begin pulsing and flood with moisture.  She gasped
in breath and pressed herself closer to his erection, eliciting another groan
from him.  She felt powerful in her ability to excite him.  His hand stopped
its gentle teasing to slide the spaghetti strap from her shoulder and push her
bodice down enough to free the breast he had been teasing the second before.  Then
she felt his hand cover her and test the weight of her full breast.  She almost
climaxed from that alone, but she wanted his mouth to cover it.  She wanted him
to suckle her, and she tried to change her position so that he could reach her
with his mouth.

Knowing what she wanted, his mouth moved
to her breast at last and she felt his warm breath on her skin and the touch of
his tongue tease over the nipple.  The feel of his tongue sliding over her
sensitive nipple nearly drove her over the edge, and she gasped.  She felt his
free hand slide down to the hem of her dress then move under the fabric until
he was touching her naked thigh.  She gasped again when she felt him finally take
her breast into his mouth and suckle, each pull causing the pulsing in her core
to increase in intensity.  More moisture went to her core until she could feel
that her panties were wet.  She was losing herself in the pleasurable
sensations he caused and wanted him to touch her.  She wanted to touch him, too,
but all she could reach was his head to hold him to her breast.

Then his hand slide up her thigh, and
she moved to allow his fingers better access to her.  He soon reached her apex
and rubbed her over her panties.  She moaned and began panting, pushing against
his hand.  She gloried in triumph when he pushed aside the thin strip of cloth
that barely covered her and touched her swollen folds.  The thong she wore
offered no resistance to his searching fingers, and she cried out when his
fingers finally found her naked core.  That was what she wanted.

Moving his lips back to her mouth, he
began to kiss her again to drown out her cries as his fingers began to move
over her hypersensitive nub.  She bucked against him lost in sweet torture
trying to find her release.  Then he pushed his fingers inside of her and
stoked in and out as she pushed herself onto his fingers to take him in deeper.
 Her climax, when it came, overtook her fully and she powerfully gripped his
fingers squeezing him inside of her in a pulsating rhythm that went on and on until
her body finally was sated and became relaxed in a wonderful afterglow.

He released her mouth once she climaxed
and put his lips on her neck again where her pulse hammered away wildly.  Still
holding her to him with his fingers held deep inside of her, he breathed deeply
and struggled to get his own desire under control.  When she was finally able
to breathe normally again, she brushed her fingers through his hair liking the
thick silky texture.  He gently removed his hand from between her legs and
pulled it out from her dress before wrapping his arm around her to hold her
tenderly against him.  She could smell the musk of her arousal on his hand.

"I like your idea of 'mostly good',
Ben," she managed to say, her voice husky with spent passion.  "What
do you say we go back to your room and I will show you my version of 'mostly
bad'?"  He chuckled and kissed her neck where her pulse beat.

"As tempting as that is, Anne, I
can't let you.  I promised you that I would not ravish you tonight, remember.  It's
too soon."  He looked up at her and smiled at her frustrated look.   Then he
gave her a quick peck on the lips.  "I can't let you take advantage of my
virtue, young lady."

"Too soon?"  She kissed him in
a lingering kiss that caused him to moan and pull away in frustration.

"It's too soon for us.  It's not
the right time, and I don’t have what I need to take care of you right now.  If
you were another kind of woman, Anne, then maybe we would take it further.  But
you're not the kind to let a man even go this far this soon, are you?  So, Sweetheart,
I promise it will happen, but first I need to woo you a little bit first.  We
both have to be ready."  Ben gave one last kiss before standing up.  Seeing
her breast still exposed, he cupped her with his hand then regretfully moved
the bodice and shoulder strap back in place.

"Woo me," she said to herself.
"The man drives me wild until I climax in his arms, then he says he wants
to woo me.  What's next, Carlson?"  At his look, she gulped.  She had a
good idea of what came next, and she was surprised how much she wanted it.  Remembering
her sandals, she leaned against him for support so that she could slip them
back on her feet.  The little break allowed her to gain control of her
breathing.  Looking around, she saw that the sun had set while they were out
here.  He had her so wrapped up with what he was doing to her body that she did
not even notice.  Holding his hand now as he led her back along the shore, she
was lost in thought until they climbed the steps to the dock that was now lit
by overhead lights.

"There is something I need to tell
you, Ben, about myself."  She stopped to look at him and her face became
illuminated by the light bulb shining down on them.

"Is it bad?"

"No, it's not bad," she
answered with a small laugh.  "I wanted you to know that Anne is actually
my middle name and the name I go by here at the inn.  My mom and I have the
same name, but to avoid confusion I usually go by my middle name.  I just
wanted you to know in case we run into some of the locals who call me
Jane."

"Jane Anne.  Not a problem, Sweetheart. 
But I'll stick with Anne if it is all right with you."

"Ok, Ben."

"Ok, Anne."  He grinned at her
then reached out to brush away strands of hair that blew into her face from the
soft breeze that came in over the water.  Her hair was a riot of brown curls that
only emphasized her bright blue eyes.  Her lips were swollen from his kisses,
and she had a beard rash on her neck and chin because he had not bothered to
shave again that evening when getting ready for dinner.  She did not know any
of this.  She only knew that he was staring at her in a way that made her want
to drag him off down the shore again so that they could finish what they
started.

"Do I look all right to you?"
she finally asked him.  He had to stop looking at her like he was doing, or she
would drag him back.  The last thing she wanted was to have everyone know what
they had been doing together out here.

"You look great to me.  You look
just like a woman who had sex."

"I do not, do I?"  She looked
up at him in alarm.

"Relax, Anne.  You look fine.  Come
on.  We had better go explain the plan to our families."

Taking her hand, he walked beside her
back up to the main building entering the building this time through a back
entrance that would take them down a hall and into the lobby.  After all of
their talk of speaking to their families, it was rather anticlimactic when none
of their family members were around.  The only person they encountered was
Chelsea who sat in the lobby reading the newspaper.  She watched them enter the
lobby suspiciously but, otherwise, left them alone.