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Chapter twenty: Eating out
Why did I have to go and make such a big deal out of it?
"You're serious, aren't you?" She'd looked so incredulous that I couldn't help but continue down that path.
"Yes Cath, I am. No sex on the first date." I sounded so convincing I almost believed it myself.
"Well, how many dates are we talking here?" She asked me and I had a hard time not to smirk.
"I like the three-date-rule." I told her as casually as I could.
"Three dates?"
"Uh-huh." I nodded at the road.
"So, I'm not getting lucky tonight?" Oh god. I should have stopped the charade there. It was hard enough driving with her sitting next to me. But having her talking to me in that sensual low voice was enough to make me crash the damned car.
"Uhm…" I had to clear my throat. "No." God, why did I have to be so damned stubborn?
"You sure?" Ah, the teasing voice, so sexy, but slightly easier to cope with while manoeuvring heavy machinery.
"I'm not that kinda girl."
"Three dates huh?"
"Yupp."
"We'll se." Oh shit, I was in trouble.
That had been more than an understatement. I'd realized this as soon as we got to the cosy little Italian place. But as we started eating I knew I was being played like a violin.
She was driving me to the brink of insanity.
The way her eyes moved over my body, hungry and lustfully as if she could devour me whole with a mere look. Flashing me those small but oh so sexy smirks that had me biting my lip not to moan.
She didn't bite her lip though. In fact, she was moaning quite a bit. Apparently her food was much better than mine. But then, I had hardly tasted mine. That first bite of her lasagne had been a show of its own. Her eyes had closed, her head tilted back ever so slightly as a soft moan made its way from her throat. She topped it off by slowly opening her eyes to fix them on me, dark and vibrant as she licked her lips. I think she spoke, I know her lips moved because I couldn't see anything else but those soft pink lips. But my mind was too hazed to register any kind of actual language.
God I was an idiot!
I couldn't go back on it now, not after I made such a big deal about it. Oh, she'd be insufferable for weeks if I did!
This wasn't something I was used to. To have to use every ounce of self-control not to leap at someone because I wanted them so badly, wanted too feel them, touch them, make them feel so damned good they'd moan my name.
Yet here I was, making sure I kept myself seated in my chair so I wouldn't leap over the table and take her right here and now.
Bet the restaurant owners would love that.
No! I was not going to surrender.
Why the hell not? Look at her!
Great, that lovely inner voice of mine was back. And no, I was not surrendering! I am a woman of my convictions.
Screw your convictions! Common, look at her!
No!
You've wanted her for so long…
Then what's two more dates?
Two more dates is you at home with a vibrator thinking about how her skin would feel. The skin you could just lean over and touch right now if you wanted to…
But…
But what? The only reason you're acting this way is because you're so damned stubborn!
No! It's because this means more to me than just sex. She means more.
Don't you think she knows that?
She will…
I was about to embark on my usual inner monologue about how these inner fights of mine would be a field trip to remember for any psychiatrist, when I heard the waiter ask Catherine if we wanted any desert.
"Two cups of chocolate pudding to go, please." Her voice was casual, but her eyes never left me. Her gaze was pinning me to my seat. Or it could have been the fact that her lustful eyes made my legs unable to move while my brain happily processed what exactly she had in mind for that chocolate pudding. Oh my god… The image of Catherine lying in my bed, wearing only a few smears of chocolate pudding was suddenly making it very hard for me to breathe.
"Are you okay Sara?" Oh, that smirk. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.
"Oh, I'm fine. Chocolate craving?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as I possibly could. I think I pulled it off quite well too.
"Something like that." No, that's not fair! She can't use that husky voice, bite her lip and look me over like that when she says that. Oh god, there went a tingle right through my body.
I didn't know how long I could keep this up. She seemed to be completely determined to make it impossible for me to resist.
But I needed her to know, I needed to be sure she knew that this wasn't just about sex, about sexual attraction. Yes, I knew I'd told her how I felt. But somehow I felt I owed it to her to prove it. Especially after all we'd been through in the past few weeks.
A smirking teenage waiter came up with our pudding and I managed to get Catherine to allow me to pay for dinner after a small disagreement.
We where both sober as we drove home. Me, I didn't drink anymore and Catherine had refused the bottle of red wine the waiter had offered with her lasagne. I'd told her it was okay for her to drink, but she'd just looked at me mischievously and told me she wanted to be sober and keep her wits about her.
I couldn't help wondering what wits she was referring to and how she was planning on using them. Besides driving me mad of course.
The drive home was a quiet one. I wondered if she, like me, had other things on her mind. Or well, other images of us in mind.
I was using all my concentration to keep the car moving properly. This was quite a task since I was completely aware of the looks she was giving me.
We drove back to my place; my self-tormenting side had offered her to come by for a cup of coffee before she went home.
I wished they'd waited a while to fix the elevators. Several minutes in a small closed space with Catherine was not good for my self control.
But we made it up and I made my way straight to the coffee pot. That would keep my hands busy for a moment.
I should have known Catherine had other plans for my hands.
"You're making coffee?" She sounded so surprised I turned to look at her.
"Inviting someone over for coffee usually involves brewing said coffee." I replied and watched her shake her head at me.
"And here I thought it was just a way to get me to your apartment." She smiled as her hands rested on my hips.
"Cath…" I whispered, not sure what I wanted anymore. Her close proximity had a hormonal effect on my entire being.
"Sara, if you want me to go, I will." Her head bowed down, she waited for my answer.
"No." I didn't have to think twice. I couldn't let her think that's what I wanted.
Lifting my hand to her face, I placed my fingers under her chin, forcing her to meet my eye.
"I just don't want to move to fast, mess things up." I explained. As I saw her smile slightly I released the breath I'd apparently been holding.
"If you need time I'll wait." She wrapped her arms around my waist, our eyes still locked. "But I won't deny that I want you. Badly." Oh dear god in heaven! How on earth was I supposed to resist her?
Somehow my hands found their way to her ass, grabbing a firm hold and pulling her even closer into me. I watched her eyes widen and darken at my movements and I knew I couldn't stop touching her once I started.
"Are you sure?" I whispered, surprised that my voice had gotten so low so fast. "If you're not, please tell me now before I lose all self control." I pleaded.
I know for a fact that I gasped as she leaned in and took my earlobe between her teeth, nipping at it before huskily whispering in my ear: "Make love to me."
Something inside me burst. Nothing short of a volcano erupting would have torn me from her right now. Leaning in I captured her lips with a growl, feeling my stomach flip and trickle heat down my entire body as she melted into me, reacting to me, moulding her body to mine.
The whimper escaping from her lips as I slid my tongue in her mouth was intoxicating, addictive. There was no way I would ever stop kissing her now.
My hands started roaming her backside, making their way up her back. Thank god for backless dresses. I felt her hands gliding from around my waist up to tangle in my hair, pulling me deeper in. I was all too happy to oblige.
I don't think I've ever cared less about breathing, but my treacherous body decided it needed air. The second her lips where pulled from mine, I missed them. The contact of her lips to mine was more addictive than any substance in the world. Not to mention euphoric.
Panting raggedly I leaned my forehead against hers before her lips made their way to my neck. My head tilted to the side of its own accord and a low moan escaped my throat.
Damn she was good.
"Bed. Now." I growled as I pulled her head back enough to lock her gaze with my own.
The sight alone was enough to make me throb. Good god. Tussled blonde hair, swollen and slightly parted red-kissed lips, flushed skin, dark blue eyes. She'd never looked so incredibly sexy. Come to think of it I'd never seen anything as magnificent in my life.
A second later I had to eat my words as she smiled devilishly. Fuck, she's gorgeous. I could only follow as she took both my hands and walked backwards with me to the bedroom.
Did I mention how much I love zippers? It took me no more than a few moves before her dress was lying in a pool by her feet. Wanting to explore every inch of her newly exposed skin, I let tiny trails of kisses and gentle nips rain over her, from her jawbone to her collarbone, down into the luscious valley between her breasts. I needed to take my time, taste her, feel her, hear her, learn every part of her body. Every flick of my tongue received the most amazing of moans, every kiss and nip made her skin just the slightest bit redder.
I was almost annoyed by the interruption of my top being pulled over my head. But the look on her face as she looked at me was enough to make me discard the rest of my clothes in a hurry.
I needed her lips on mine. It wasn't a matter of want anymore; it was a matter of physical addiction. And as our lips crushed together I moaned in pure relief, as if I could finally breathe again.
With my left hand I unclasped her bra. I couldn't stand the barrier of fabric between us anymore. As I pulled the straps from her shoulder, I stepped back to look at her, the gorgeous creature from my fantasies. My mind had ever been able to perfect this image.
"You're perfect." I breathed as my mind took in the sight. Kneeling before her, I watched her eyes grow wide. "Perfect." I repeated as my hands made their way to her hips, softly and gently pulling her panties down her legs.
There was nothing subdued about the guttural growl coming from deep within me. I could feel her body shiver. God I wanted her. No, I needed her.
Gently pushing her onto the bed, I kissed my way up her legs, her thighs, her stomach, her chest. Her breathing was ragged, shallow, and her scent was so rich. It was a high on its own. A complete, intoxicating power trip. Seeing her like this, feeling her beneath me, hearing how her body reacted.
I wanted her to be on the very edge, knowing that she couldn't stand any more teasing. God, the things she was doing to me.
Her hands where grasping at me, touching me in ways I never knew would even make me react, and now it was driving me mad, making me want to devour every part of her. I couldn't seem to get enough.
"Please… God, Sara… please…" Her whimpering pleas almost sent me over the edge myself. She was begging for me. Catherine was begging me to release her. I don't think there could ever exist anything more arousing than this.
There was no way I'd deny her now. No way I wasn't giving in to her.
"Look at me baby." I whispered, desperately needing the contact of her gaze to tell me how she felt. I smiled as I realized I needed to repeat myself a few times for it to register with her.
When she finally looked up at me, as she forced her heavily lidded eyes open, I groaned.
The hazed expression of pure lust clouded the usually so piercing blue eyes.
Not until she screamed my name in release did she close those eyes. The intensity had me mesmerized. Watching her buckle and wither, her back arching, her head flung back so far she almost lifted off the mattress.
"Perfect." I whispered again as she collapsed shivering beside me.
Leaning over, I simply rested my lips against hers, just needing the contact.
"When he told me, I thought it was too late. That I'd lost the chance to tell you…" She whispered the words against my lips. My eyes opened as it took me a while to realise what she had just said.
He? My eyes searched for hers. They where no longer hazed and clouded, but tired and radiating with love and devotion. It struck my heart so hard I couldn't for the life of me understand why I'd fought this for so long.
She'd loved me when I'd tried to forget her. I'd dated someone else as not to let myself feel. God I was an idiot.
"It's never too late to tell someone you love them." I whispered back, wrapping my arms around her, holding her as tight as the boundaries of our bodies would allow.
"I love you Sara." She whispered and I smiled against her.
"I love you Catherine." I replied. Feeling her starting to move, I was reluctant to release my grip around her. But she broke free and moved to rest on top of me. I must have looked surprised because she had that incredibly sexy grin on her face again.
"My turn for desert." She husked in my ear, making my whole body shiver in anticipation.
Thank god it's never too late.
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