Pole Dance (14 page)

Fiona's eyes follow Jake's caress on my arm.

"Lisa said there was a 45 minute wait and the bar was full up, standing room only. Don't mind us sharing a table, do you, Jake?" Hank asked with a wide grin.

I caught myself smiling at Hank in return.

With an answering grin, Jake shook his head but said, "We were almost finished, though."

"Dessert, Darlin'?" he asked softly turning to me as he pulled me tighter against his side.

"Sure," I whispered back, caught as ever, in his golden gaze.

"A flan and two coffees," Jake told our waitress when she cleared our plates. "And I think these two want to order."

I glanced over the table and caught Fiona's glare as she watched our exchange. I had no idea what was going on in her head but she sure seemed to have a stick up her ass if her curled lip was any indication.

"So how'd you two meet?" Fiona inquired a bit loudly after she and Hank gave their order. "I mean, honestly, Jake. Are you trolling high schools now for fresh meat?"

"Babe," Hank said softly but in a warning tone, placing a hand on her arm.

"Fiona," Jake warned in a sharp tone. "Don't start."

"Don't start, what, darling? I was just asking how the two of you met, is all. She just seems a bit, well, too young for someone as experienced as yourself. What are you, Cathy, seventeen, eighteen…" Fiona let her voice trail off as her eyes raked over my cream colored, waffle-knit Henley top that I had paired with a leather and turquoise choker and turquoise studded hoops. I had taken the extra time to use the flat iron on my hair and even had added a little mascara and blush. I thought I had looked pretty when Jake had presented himself at my door. Now, though, under Fiona's harsh perusal, I wasn't so sure.

"Does your momma even know you're out or did you climb out your bedroom window to meet Jake on the sly?" she continued cattily.

My eyes blinked slowly as I tried to calm my inner bitch and stop myself from slapping her aged-self silly.

"My mother's dead, Fiona, and I'm old enough not to have to sneak anywhere, but thanks for your concern." My voice was a little on the brittle side since I felt like I was being attacked, but I wasn't sure why she felt the need to talk to me that way. If she thought I was just going to take her shit though, she had another think coming.

I heard Hank sigh and shot my glance to his. His eyes were apologetic as they met mine.

"Her name is Caitlin, Fiona," Jake rumbled softly yet firmly. "And your game stops now."

"What game, darling?" Fiona hooded her eyes and did something with her mouth that made me think she was trying to look sexy, but it really wasn't attractive at all." After all, we have a history together, Jake. I'm just looking out for your welfare. Wouldn't want to have you brought up on statutory rape charges, now would we?" she purred as she flipped her hair causing her overexposed cleavage to shimmy like jelly.

Weren't there rules about how low a v-neck should be?

'Ewww
…
ick'
,
my mind finally caught on to Fiona's words. He's tapped that? I got an image of her and Jake together and it was not a pretty one.

My gorgeous Jake and this ho'? Oh, hell to the no.

"It was a very long time ago, Fiona, and was only for a short time."

"But it was really good while it lasted, wasn't it, Jake?" she pressed with a triumphant glance towards me.

"No, it wasn't." Jake said firmly. "Sorry, Hank."

I glanced up in time to see Jake's eyes meet Hank's before the blonde giant shrugged.

Jake even gave me a glance before he sighed. I didn't understand what was working behind his eyes, but I was sure that it, whatever '
it
' was, was not going to be something he wanted to say, or wanted me to know.

"You were crap in bed when we started and got worse when you found out I wasn't gonna be led around by my dick to buy you all the things you thought you deserved just by spreadin' for me. And, truthfully? Meant little to me when we started and nothin' to me by the end of that week. So stop this shit, now. Only real history we have is of me signin' your paychecks."

My heart was racing as I watched Jake's words hit. Fiona's sneer was gone and she had pulled her lips into a small unattractive line as she listened.

The waitress delivered our coffees and flan to a completely silent table.

Jake looked to Hank and they seemed to share a moment of unspoken conversation. Hank handed over our jackets and my purse as Fiona appeared to find fascination in the booth's patterned tabletop.

"Think we're gonna call it a night," Jake growled as we stood and he helped me on with my coat. He did a chin-lift to Hank before using his hand on my lower back, guiding me out of the restaurant never even sparing Fiona a glance as we left.

I felt it was better if I just left silently.

Left with Jake by
my
side, holding
my
hand.

"This really is a great space," Jake rumbled later as I hung our coats on the small rack on the wall next to my door.

"Space? I think you're stretching the truth a bit if you call this a 'space'."

We had shared a great dinner that had been surprisingly fun and really enjoyable, outside of the run-in with Fiona. Our drive back to my place found us laughing and teasing each other. I hadn't realize that Jake had such a dry sense of humor, much less, a serious bend toward puns and I had completely unwound under his warm gaze and subtle, though razor-sharp, wit. We discovered our differences and sameness by arguing over the satellite stations in his car's stereo. He was thoroughly enamored with anything 70's or 80's and I was partial to hip-hop and new jazz. We teased each other mercilessly over our choices as we scanned through the different stations.

At one point, he threw his head back and roared when we were at a stoplight and I reminded him that the Muzak in elevators played some of the music he especially liked. Just like at the restaurant, I was enthralled by Jake laughing.

Now we were back in my apartment at, to my disappointment, the close of the evening.

"I'd offer you a drink but all I've got is tap water," I admitted softly hanging my coat on the cheap wooden rack before running my hands over it to smooth it, caress it. Any extra money I got now were now going to go towards the repair of 'Beast' and for any emergencies with my tenants.

"No worries, Darlin'," Jake whispered. There were a couple of beats of silence where I could feel his eyes on me before I heard him rumble, "Cait, come here.

I turned his direction and caught the shimmer of his golden eyes. He took a step towards me, which with his long stride and my tiny floor space, had me in his arms in less than a blink.

"Need to taste you," he murmured before lowering his head as his arms stole around me. I kept my hands on his chest between us to prevent him from feeling my heart's reaction to his soft words but raised my mouth to offer him my lips.

This was what I had been waiting for, wanting and yearning to have and, as his mouth met mine, found to be so much better than I had imagined, lying lonely in my bed. Soft and moist, yet commanding, his lips moved over mine before his tongue tickled the seam of my mouth in a silent request for me to open.

My lips parted and Jake's tongue slipped inside.

Undulating softly, his head slanted to gain further access. While I tried to stop it, my moan escaped in time to the spasm that zinged upward from between my legs. I felt a reacting throb in the ever growing bulge that was pressing against my hipbone and realized I wasn't the only one affected by our mouth activity.

Bold in the sure knowledge that Jake desired me as much as I did him, I slid my hands up to encircle his broad shoulders, one hand gliding farther upward to plunge into his long, thick hair and hold his face to mine.

His hands were moving as well.

Reaching down, he captured my jean-clad butt cheeks and brought my body into direct contact with the hardness in his jeans. Bending his knees slightly, he moved his hips to stroke himself against me.

All things pink went into red-alert at his grab-and-rub maneuver.

He drew my tongue in his mouth and began sucking on it, mimicking the rhythm of his hips. After a few moments, he left my tongue to suck on my lower lip, flicking against it with the tip of his tongue.

I was melting.

His mouth, as it twirled, licked and sucked, became my whole focus.

I wanted him.

I wanted that mouth on me.

On all of me.

His mouth began to go slower and I felt him start to pull away.

But I wasn't done.

Not by a long shot.

I slanted my head and began to use his moves, the ones he had just taught me, used on me, on him.

I touched the tip of my tongue to wiggle against the seam of his closed lips, invading his mouth to entangle my fleshy, wet tongue with his. I sipped at the tip and, as I drew more of it into my mouth, I sucked a little bit harder using my lips to capture and stroke it. I was sucking first his top lip then his bottom lip remembering to flick and stroke each of them, when I realized that the sounds I was hearing weren't just from Jake.

Jake's kisses made me hot.

But me using my mouth on him, made me hotter.

We both pulled back a bit and the kisses became shorter, softer before our mouths disengaged.

Jake pressed his forehead to mine and in the silence I found he was panting just as hard as me.

"Wow," I whispered when I finally had enough breath to speak and enough brain cells to articulate a word.

"Fucking hell, Darlin'."

"So?" I didn't know how to initiate what I wanted to happen next.

All I knew is that I wanted it.

Wanted it bad.

"I'm gonna take off just as soon as I can get my feet to work," Jake rumbled pulling my head to his chest and using his other hand to stroke my back.

"You are?" I raised my head and looked up at him. Did I sound as disappointed as I felt? I hoped not.

But, didn't he want me, too?

"Want to take this slow. Savor it, yeah?" he rumbled softly into my hair.

Huh?

Screw, slow!

Or how 'bout we savor a slow screw? Oh, God. Please don't let me blurt out what I'm thinking this time.

"You sure?" God, I had wanted to hide the disappointment that was growing within me when I spoke. But even I could hear the tone of my voice that said so much more than the words out of my mouth.

"I'm sure, gorgeous." Jake planted a kiss on my nose before giving me a final squeeze as his arms dropped.