If You Dare (18 page)

Maybe he could.

“I have an idea, but if you don’t like it, I won’t do it.”

That certainly got her interest. “What’s that.”

“I just noticed you’re looking a little uncomfortable, and I thought I might be able to help.”

With that he shifted her chair even closer and pulled her to the edge. Slipping his knee between her legs, he moved forward until his jeans came in contact with her wet panties. And when he heard her gasp he couldn’t help but press a little more.

“So that’ll work, hm?”

She nodded and bit her lip and he wondered if she’d come just like this, against his knee with both of them practically fully dressed. God, he hoped so.

“I believe it’s your turn to talk, so my topic. Let’s see.” He stopped and flexed his foot, pressing against her as he did and she gasped again, but she didn’t complain.

“How about fantasy?”

She nodded and took a deep breath, and he figured she was trying to concentrate more on her words and less on the fact that his knee was pressing right, he flexed again, there.

He was going to do his damndest to make sure she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. With that goal in mind he started a sensual friction of denim against the silk that covered her.
 

“Okay, fantasy. I always thought my fantasy was to be someone different, but I’m deciding that’s not it at all. I liked that thing you did with the blindfold, and the hot tub. And the strawberry thing a minute ago was pretty incredible.”

She stopped and he couldn’t resist the perfect opportunity. This time when he moved his knee, he felt her pressing back, saw the way her eyes fluttered shut, the way her mouth opened just barely.
 

She opened her eyes again and looked into his. “You’ve pretty much surpassed my fantasies, Joe. I can’t even think…”

She closed her eyes and pressed against him again, and this time when he heard her soft cry, he broke the rhythm, changed the rules. “You can Cordelia. Tell me what you want.”

She shook her head and cried out again as he pushed against her with his knee.
 

“Tell me. Whatever you tell me, I’ll do.”

He watched as she shook her head again, too far gone to talk, to do anything except move in perfect time to the beat he’d established, and when she came, he felt her shudders wash over him as if he’d found the release.

Taking a deep breath he watched as she slipped back to the present. He’d never felt so completely powerful in his life. And in that moment, he knew slow might not be easy, but it definitely paid off.

“You did that on purpose.” Cordelia looked at Joe and could not believe it. How could he possibly have so much power over her?
 

“Well, of course I did darlin’.” He sat back against his chair looking proud of himself. “I told you we could talk and still have a hell of a time.”

“But sex was supposed to be later.”

He laughed. “Now, Cordelia, I’m thinking you might need to replay the last few minutes. Because I don’t recall sex at all. Not yet. In fact, we were just having ourselves a conversation.”

“You might not have had sex, but I definitely did.”

He shook his head again. “Ah. I see what you’re doing. Trying to speed the night up. Trying to get me to show you the difference. Well, darlin’, I promise when we get around to making love tonight, I’ll be sure to remind you of this, and we can discuss the difference then.”

She could imagine him doing just that.

“Okay. We’ve had our dessert and our conversation. Let’s move on.”

He shook his head again. “There you go trying to speed this up again. Did you like what just happened?”

Cordelia had to think about her answer and that worried her. How could she not immediately say yes? “I guess so.”

He seemed almost amused by her answer. “You guess so huh? Well now, I’m going to take that as a personal challenge. It’ll be my sole purpose tonight to get you to come as often as I possibly can without us having sex. And when you finally know you like it, I’ll know you’re ready to move on. How’s that sound?”

 
“As many times as you can?”

“Yep. And that could take a while.”

 
“A while, hm?”

He just sat there nodding, looking as sexy as he ever had, and as sure of himself too.

“And I guess this time will be spent talking.”

He nodded again. “You know me. I’ve got this thing about talking.”

Thank goodness for talking. Cordelia just hoped she didn’t go up in flames before the night was over.

“Well, then. I guess we better get busy talking.”

Slow and easy. Joe figured he’d met his goal and then some by the time he finally followed Cordelia to the bedroom. They’d talked for hours, and he knew he’d pay big time at work, but he wasn’t about to let this end. Not without making love for real.

She was incredible. He’d told her all about home, his grandmother’s interference in his plans when he was just a kid. How she’d tried to pay him to stay in town and take over his grandfather’s oil business. How he’d skipped both proms. How he’d been more interested in racing cars than playing football and how that didn’t set well with many daddies in Dayton.

And she’d told him about growing up rich. About the expectations that always seemed to hang around her neck. About how much she loved teaching.

Slow and easy definitely ruled this day. He’d brought her to orgasm again and again. Other than that one thigh high and his shirt, they were both still dressed. And now she was leading him into the bedroom, and he couldn’t wait to sink into her. To look into her eyes as he did.

She’d changed the sheets again. Now white cotton sheets, so old they’d turned soft with age, covered the bed and when he laid her against those sheets, he thought she’d never looked so beautiful.

With infinite patience he didn’t feel at all, he lifted her nightgown and pulled it over her head.

Her bare breasts were soft and white and he brushed his hand over them, feeling the nipples harden again under his fingers.

Sitting back, he looked at her, just looked at her. God, she was perfect.

Made for making love with him.

He traced a hand down her stomach and over the silky panties that still covered her. With a flick, he pushed aside the thin scrap of material. She was swollen, wet, wanting. The times he’d brought her to the brink, the times he’d let her come, had only readied her for this perfect moment.

He moved one finger over her, barely even touching, and she arched against his hand. Slowly, he parted her folds and in seconds she was back on the edge, not caring about anything other than the way his finger felt pressed against her. Slow and easy.

He pushed the material from her panties further to the side and lowered his mouth until he was directly above her, until he felt her still in anticipation. And then he covered her, licking the soft bare skin that she’d waxed, finding her clitoris in seconds and bringing her closer and closer until finally, finally, he felt her shatter one more time.

And after that he was finished with slow and easy.

In seconds, he had her panties across the room and his own clothes who knew where.

He didn’t wait for her help, just slipped the condom over his penis and covered her with his body.

The second he entered her he felt her come again. Heard it when she screamed his name. Slowly he pushed into her, feeling her hands on his back, tasting her very essence on his tongue, smelling her all around him. Feeling her muscles clinch around him.
 

She was perfection. He’d never felt anything like this completeness. He wanted to sink into her again and again. To feel her heat, to taste her breathy cries as he pushed higher, to meet her thrust for thrust.

Finally he could withstand no more. With a loud cry he pressed one last time and felt his own tremors start.

And when they’d both come back, when he’d settled her head on his bare chest he couldn’t resist one last comment. “Now that was making love.”

Joe’d been gone for two hours and Cordelia had never felt so absolutely fantastic in her life. She was more tired than she’d ever been, but it was for a good cause.
 

At least she figured her education was a good cause, and boy, had he educated her last night.

She felt sorry for him now though, having to go to work after only a couple hours sleep. Of course he had no one to blame but himself over that one.

She rolled over in the bed to look at the clock and winced at the exquisite aches in her body. She had to get up. Taylor’d be there any minute. A promise was a promise, and Taylor expected a shopping trip. Besides she couldn’t very well say sorry, I’m staying in bed all day so I can run a play by play review of your brother’s incredible technique.

Man what a technique.

Last night now ranked as her number one memory ever. She tingled all over just remembering.

She really had to get up.

But she couldn’t, not yet. Instead she reached over and grabbed the pillow Joe slept on for those two hours and held it to her chest, inhaling deeply, memorizing his scent, wondering if he was sitting in his office thinking about the entire night.
 

The food, the conversation. The sex.

Oh man.

She flung the pillow back to its side of the bed and forced herself to move. She had to get up. Had to! Taylor would be ready to go any minute.

 
Thirty minutes later she was ready to go when Taylor knocked on the door. And judging by the way Taylor looked she’d been ready for quite a while.

“Hey Vegas, you look a heck of a lot better than my big brother looked.”

Cordelia grabbed her purse and pulled the door shut behind her. “Thanks, I think.”

Cordelia wondered why Taylor wanted this shopping spree makeover anyway. She looked young and fun in her spaghetti strap shirt and low-slung jeans.

Taylor punched the button on the elevator. “Oh, it was definitely a compliment. I don’t think Joe planned on seeing me this morning, but I had to get up early to talk to Keith.”

Interesting. “You talked to Keith?”

They stepped in the elevator and Cordelia saw Taylor’s thousand watt smile in the mirror. “Oh yeah. I was in the middle of a particularly intense IM when Joe came in and grabbed his brief case.”

Cyber love. Cordelia couldn’t even imagine.
 

“Did you tell your brother who you were talking to?”

Taylor shrugged as the elevator opened. “He didn’t ask, and I think I’ll keep him on a need to know basis where Keith is concerned anyway.”

Cordelia followed Taylor to her car and climbed in the passenger seat. “Need to know?”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you know. He doesn’t need to know anything about this right now, so please don’t tell him.”

Secrets. She was pretty good at secrets as far as Joe went. “I’m sure he won’t ask me about your love life.”

“Well good. Because it’s a lack of love life right now, but I’m working on it.”

Cordelia listened to the younger woman talk and shook her head. Maybe she was all wrong about this. Maybe Taylor wasn’t anything like her after all.

“So who e-mailed who first?”

Taylor laughed. “Well, he called me last night and said he had to be at school early this morning to view tape. Some ungodly hour like five or something. And then he was going to work in his classroom. Do some advance lesson plans. Sounds sexy huh?”

Not at all. Cordelia shook her head. “So you IM’d him at school.”

“Oh yeah. And let me tell you, he didn’t get any lesson plans done.”

She could only imagine.

“But we made some plans of our own. I figure my big brother will be with you again tonight, so I’m going out for my first big date on the town.”

“And you’re not going to tell Joe.” Cordelia didn’t ask because she already knew the answer.

“Shoot no. I’ve been coming out here for the last four years and he’s never introduced me to his buddies. You know how he is.”

Boy did she ever. “Don’t you think that might be because of J.D.?”

Taylor rubbed her left ring finger with her thumb and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter.”

She pulled the car into a parking lot in front of a strip of stores. “And right now I’m on a mission. I’m remaking my image. Are you ready?”

Cordelia fought the unease she felt at the still unfinished conversation. But Taylor wasn’t one of her students. She was a grown woman with a mind of her own. Joe had to understand that.

Forcing herself to quit worrying about Taylor’s decision to hide her date she opened the door. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

An hour later Cordelia wondered how much of a makeover Taylor was truly attempting. It seemed like the clothes she chose were perfect for who she was. Fun, youthful, sexy. But not overly provocative.

The clothes she’d pick for herself.

She held up a pair of black and white tailored capri pants with a white half shirt. “How about this, Taylor?”

Joe’s sister turned and looked and smiled. “I know it’s a little conservative, Vegas, but that would look so awesome on you. Why don’t you try it on?”

She wished she could. “I don’t know.”

Taylor picked up a pair of matching slide sandals. “Come on. Try it with these. I bet you’ll love it.”

The shoes did it. Cordelia had to have this outfit.

She went into the dressing room and a few minutes later came out to see Taylor in a black mini skirt and white off the shoulder tee.
 

Taylor took one look at her and whistled. “Wow! You really need to get that.”

Cordelia looked in the mirror and agreed. Yep, there she was. The real Cordelia Lewis. Only she’d changed. Her smile was brighter. And her body was great. And she wanted people to notice her.

And Taylor was right. This outfit was her. No way was she changing back into the Irene short shorts and tee shirt.
 

They both left the store in their new purchases with a few hundred dollars worth more in bags they settled in Taylor’s trunk.

And then they moved on to the next store. And the next. And the next.