Lanie's Lessons (30 page)

He eased out and they both grimaced at the sticky state of their intimate parts. As Lanie sat up, she brushed crumbled bacon off Ethan’s forearm. “You’re a mess, honey.”

“Wait until you see yourself.” She followed his hand as he pulled off a paper napkin that had become glued to her shoulder, switching her gaze to his face as he started finger combing her hair.

“Is it that bad?”

He grinned. “Do strawberries stain?”

She glanced down at her robe. Several mashed berries had left red stains. “Yeah, it’s probably ruined.” The robe was fairly new, and expensive. But she didn’t care in the least. It had been worth it.

He held up a squashed strawberry where she could see. “I was talking about your hair. How do you feel about being a strawberry blonde?”

Both her hands flew to her head and she pulled out several more smashed berries, staring at the juice tinting her fingers. “What a coincidence. I was actually considering a change.”

“I prefer you blonde. Let’s go wash it out.” Ethan’s hands clasped her waist and lifted her down. He took her by the hand and led a contented Lanie up to the shower, the stress of the upcoming trial, however briefly, was forgotten.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Rehearsing her opening statement aloud, Lanie strode back and forth in her small office. When she bumped her knee on the console table for the third time she began to regret not working at home. She usually practiced in their cozy study where she’d pace the length of the large Persian rug in front of the stone hearth. She’d tried the bedroom, but more often than not wound up with her back on the soft rug, Ethan’s mouth between her legs or riding him astride in front of the new mirror she’d had installed in the seating area. Although enjoyable activities, neither were productive for her client unless you count how it cleared her head and helped her concentrate better afterward.

Ethan was her sounding board, her cheerleader and sometimes played devil’s advocate or critic, and she could always count on him for honest feedback. But tonight he was gone and she hadn’t wanted to go home, to face that big empty house all alone. Before he’d left, she’d run through her opening statement while Ethan offered his suggestions, sometimes interrupting to clarify a point, but mostly nodding his approval.

The knock on her door was a welcome interruption. When she looked up, Beth was poking her head in.

“Want to grab something to eat, Lanie?”

“No thanks. I had a late lunch and I’m not hungry.”

“You mean that half eaten salad in the fridge? Honey, that rabbit food is hardly what I’d call brain power. Ethan will have a cow.”

“He won’t be back until tomorrow. I’ll eat then. I hate when he goes out of town. I like routine. This is not routine.”

“Are you okay? You seem wired.”

“I’m on edge. I’ve been rehearsing my opening and it’s not right.”

“It’s perfect. I’ve heard it three times and you’re gonna kick ass tomorrow.”

She shook her head, frowning at her friend. “Something’s missing, but don’t worry, hon. I’ll get it by tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’m gonna head out. Don’t stay too late. We all need you well rested and on your game tomorrow.”

She stood to leave when Lanie called a reminder. “Make sure you reset the system when you go.”

Beth nodded her head as she paused in the doorway. “After Ethan chatted with Steven, I’m not likely to forget.”

“Really? Why am I only hearing about this now? What did Steven say, or worse, what did he do?”

“Let’s just say that afterward I discovered the benefits of the high workstation in the back office. No chair required.”

“That’s my fault. I kind of threw you under the bus on that one. It was unintentional, I swear.”

“It’s fine, Lanie. I shouldn’t have left you here without arming the system. Besides, if I didn’t catch it for that, it would have been something else. I’ve been a little crazy over this case too, and my tongue seems to have a mind of its own. Steven’s spanking arm has been busy. He was complaining that the muscle in his arms are lopsided and that he’s going to have to start using his left for spankings, or start lifting weights.” After curling her arm and flexing, she made an exaggerated swatting motion. She squeezed her bicep, she murmured sarcastically, “Yeah, I can see how that could be a hardship on the poor man. Never mind my sore, overworked butt.”

“You misbehave on purpose, so stop complaining. Wasn’t it you who told me that you accidentally on purpose spilled coffee on Steven’s lecture notes before his big presentation last week? You were hoping he’d use some new paddle he’d bought.”

“Hey, I made sure he had copies,” Beth said with a wink. “It was worth every swat, up until the point where I confessed to setting him up. Then… ouch!” She rubbed her behind as she frowned. “Stay clear of Lexan. It stings like a son of a bitch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lanie laughed. Her phone alarmed with a text message.

“That’s probably Ethan. Tell him to have a safe trip back, hon. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Lanie waved goodbye as she picked up her phone.

Where are you?

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was past eight. He wouldn’t like her answer.

Still at the office.

After a moment, her phone buzzed.

Login to Skype

In seconds, his handsome face appeared on her screen.

“Hi, honey,” she said. “I miss you.”

“Miss you too, baby. What are you doing at the office so late?”

“Practicing my opening statement.”

“You had it down, last night. What’s the real reason?”

“I’ve tweaked it a little since you heard it. And the real reason is I didn’t want to go home if you’re not there. Beth just left so even though we were both working, I had company.”

“Did you eat?”

“I had salad.” That wasn’t a lie; he hadn’t asked when. She still felt a pang of unease over the half-truth and added, “It was a while ago, though.”

“Why don’t you head on home. Pick up one of those Ruebens you love so much from Gordon’s Deli. A glass of wine and a long hot soak in the tub will help you relax and let you get a good night’s sleep. You’ll be ready to kick ass tomorrow.”

“Mm… that sounds nice, but there’s one important thing missing.”

He knew, of course, where she was headed with that. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”

Ethan’s handsome face and his gentle voice were right there in front of her. If only he was there for real, holding her, kissing her, loving her. But he wasn’t, so she preferred to deal with her stress over tomorrow’s trial with more preparation, not wine.

“Will you listen to the changes I made and see how they sound?”

“How many times have you gone over it?”

“Not many.”

Silently, he gazed back at her from the screen—waiting. Eventually, she squirmed, always one to want to fill silence with words. He knew it and had used this trick on her often in the past. Then, as now, it worked.

“Three or four, I guess.”

“Lanie.”

“Okay, three or four in the past hour.”

“You’re obsessing. Let’s put this in perspective. This is not a capital case, where a murderer or rapist is going to get off based on something you do or don’t do in court. This is a civil case—simple as that, right?”

“Yeah, but I owe it to my clients.”

“I’m not suggesting you do a half assed job for your clients, Lanie. But think about it. They wanted the firm exposed, especially Simons. Who, by the way, in no small part because of you and your team, already has a felony conviction. The firm is damaged by that alone, as well as the scandal about the harassment that’s been going on there for years. That’s what your client’s wanted. Any award is gravy.”

“One more time and I’ll head on home. I value your opinion, honey.”

“Did you hear a word I said?”

“Of course I heard you, Ethan.”

“Yeah, but were listening?” Once again he stared at her, long and intently. Then he shook his head with a little smile as if resigning himself to going over it one more time.

“Okay, I’ll hear your summation again. But first, look in your purse. I left you a little present.”

“You did? When?”

“I snuck it in there before I left.”

She pulled out her bottom drawer and grabbed her purse. With the big leather bag in her lap, she started digging through it.

“I was going to say I was surprised you hadn’t found it before tonight, but I forgot. That isn’t a purse, it’s a bottomless pit. It weighs a ton too and can’t be good for your back.”

“So you’ve said before, Ethan. This is the perfect size bag for me. Everything I need fits right in here.” She glanced up at the screen, saw his teasing smile and decided to reply in kind. “A girl has needs, honey.”

“Yeah, baby. That’s what I’m counting on.”

“What?”

“Have you found it yet? It’s in a blue velvet pouch.”

As a diversionary tactic, distraction worked. She was much too curious about the mysterious blue bag to wonder about his cryptic answer. Diving elbow deep into her huge purse she dug around for it. After a few minutes passed, Lanie was beginning to believe Ethan was right about the bottomless pit remark.

“Here it is. It settled to the bottom.” She started to untie the drawstring.

“Wait. Put it on the desk. I want you to unbutton your blouse first.”

Her eyes flew to the screen. “Here? In the office?” They’d had sexy video chats before when one of them traveled. After the first embarrassing and awkward minutes, Lanie had loosened up and enjoyed it every time. The only difference tonight was location having only done it bedroom-to-bedroom before.

“I’ll give you a minute to close the door and the blinds. Hurry back.”

As she moved around the room, ensuring their privacy, she heard his stern voice from the speakers and turned back to the screen.

“I don’t have to ask about the main door being locked and the system being armed, do I?”

“No, you don’t.” She held up her iPhone. Ethan had made an upgrade after the last incident. If Beth forgot to set it, she now had an app that would remotely alarm and deactivate the security system via her phone. She swiped the screen a few times, and then angled it toward him. “See, all secure.”

“Good girl.” His eyes twinkled as she took her seat. “If we’re all set…” He paused, continuing when she nodded. “Your blouse, I want it open.”

Her fingers shook with excitement as she quickly undid the half-dozen buttons and pulled the sides apart.

“Is that a front hook bra?”

“No.” She started to shrug off her shirt.

“Lanie, stop. For the next little bit I want you to do only what I tell you to. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Leave the blouse as it is and pull down the cups.”

Lowering the padded cups turned the champagne satin into a pushup bra, which molded to her breasts and plumped them up and pushed them together. Without looking, she knew his eyes were fixed on her chest and her nipples hardened.

“Beautiful. Stand up, raise your skirt to your waist and pull down your panties.”

Following his instructions without question, she felt the cool air hit moist skin as she hiked up her tight pencil skirt and eased down the lace boy shorts.

“Very nice, baby. You can open the pouch now.”

With eager fingers, Lanie untied the draw string and dumped the contents out on the desk in full view of the webcam. Three clamps, a narrow chain, and a vibrator came spilling out.

“Three clamps, two for your nipples and the other is for your clit. Put them on, Lanie.”

He was as turned on as she was. It was clear in his voice, which had grown husky and deep. Wishing he was there to do it himself, she pinched and rolled her nipple until it stood up enough to apply the rubber tipped spring clamp. It was pink, naturally—pink was Ethan’s favorite color—and had some kind of oblong weight on the end. As she released the clamp, there was a light pinch and she was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t hurt.

“Give the screw another half-turn. I don’t want them falling off.”

Her reprieve didn’t last, but a half-turn was still okay.

“Another, Lanie.”

This time the rubber tipped ends bit sharply and she hissed as she willed her body to adjust.

“That’s it. Clamp the other and tighten it the same amount.”

After clamping the other, she looked at the third. She waited for him to direct her, a little tweaked. They’d never played with a clit clamp before.

“It goes on your clit the same way as your nipples, except the tips should face down. Open it enough to clamp around the hood and the little pearl inside.”

As she began, he stopped her again because he couldn’t see below the edge of the desk. Sliding the chair back didn’t satisfy him. Instead, he had her scoot her hips forward while draping her legs over the arms of her chair.

“Perfect,” he announced. “Carry on.”

Spread wide for the webcam, she tried to control the flames from racing up her neck and into her already flushed cheeks as she clamped her own clit. It pinched uncomfortably at first and she had to release the tension some.

“They look very pretty. How do they feel?”

“Tight, but not painfully so.”

“Excellent, now for the surprise.”

“You mean a clit clamp wasn’t it?” I’ve been surprised since I signed on, it seems.”

“No, baby. These are special clamps. At the end of each one you’ll find a button. Push it.”

When she did, her right breast came to life with vibrations.

“What do you think? Too much? Talk to me.”

“No,” she managed to choke out. “Not too much. It feels nice.”

“Hmm, nice isn’t what I was going for. Push the button twice more—that should be maximum.”

Sure enough, two pushes later it was buzzing rapidly on her nipple. “That feels really good, Ethan.”

“I knew they would, baby. Turn the others on high and lay back so I can watch.”

She did and after a few minutes of triple-threat stimulation, she was wriggling in her seat.