You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This (3 page)

His bedroom lay at the other end of the short hallway. The place was as spotless as the kitchen, with a neatly made bed covered in a dark green comforter. Erin had no time to notice anything else before Stefan lifted her off her feet and tossed her onto the bed.

Laughing, she held up her arms to him. “I shouldn’t be the only one here.”

“No, definitely not.”

Quickly, he stripped off his shirt and slacks, leaving only a pair of boxer briefs with a large, very attractive bulge in the front. Tan skin with just a hint of hair outlined the dancer’s muscles in his legs. Erin itched to run her hand over his hairless chest. She licked her lips, smiling in anticipation.

He put his hand over his cock. “It would appear you’ve already made me hard.”

“Then it would appear you’d better bring yourself the hell over here and let me do something about it,” she ordered.

“You have too many clothes on,” he pointed out.

She knelt on the bed and yanked her shirt off over her head, then folded it carefully and set it on his nightstand. He tapped his foot impatiently, and she grinned. If teasing him was this easy, they might avoid the typical first-time awkwardness.

She certainly didn’t feel awkward as she continued undressing. She removed her bra, then sat to take off her panty hose. She didn’t have a perfect body, but she had no problem with her looks and had never minded showing off to her lovers. Taking her clothes off in front of Stefan didn’t bother her in the slightest. He hadn’t seen her body before, but he’d certainly felt it against him enough times as they danced. He knew what to expect, and she wanted him to have the full impact.

Balancing carefully, she stood on the bed to remove the skirt she’d worn to class. He applauded as she lifted one foot, then the other, to take off the garment. Arms outstretched, she smiled down at him, a rush going through her at the lust gleaming in his eyes. “Am I naked enough for you now?”

“You still have your panties on,” he pointed out.

“I thought maybe you’d want to help with those.”

“I certainly should be able to manage that.” Suddenly, he lifted her and flipped her over his shoulder into a fireman’s hold. With one hand, he tugged at the panties but had little luck removing them with Erin in that position. Although his efforts made her laugh, her body found them more arousing than humorous. The pulse between her legs beat harder, and she cried out when Stefan’s hand brushed her ass.

“This isn’t working.” He deposited her back on the bed and pulled the panties off. In a slingshot move, he shot them across the room. “That’s better.”

“Hey, I’m going to have to find those afterward!” she protested.

“I’ll help you.” He pushed her onto her back and lay on top of her, propping himself up with his arms. “Afterward.”

She reached up to put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a deep, hungry kiss, lifting her hips against his to show him exactly what she wanted. Even through his boxer briefs, the touch of his cock on her pussy pushed her so close to climax that she had to swallow the scream which rose in her throat.

She pushed her tongue between his lips, and his mouth curved into a smile. He rolled them onto their sides and slipped a hand between them to toy with her hard nipples. Sparks shot through her straight to her core, and she tried to pull him back on top of her. He laughed as she proved completely unsuccessful at moving him.

 She broke the kiss. “You think this is funny?”

“I think this is fucking hot.” He ran his hand up her side, and she shivered. “Very hot. I wanted to do all this incredible foreplay on you and make you scream. I’m not sure I have that much patience right now, Erin.”

Her name came out in a low growl that sent desire through her in waves. She cupped his cock with her hand and squeezed gently. “You don’t need patience. I want you so bad right now I don’t care what you do to me.”

He clamped his lips over one of her nipples, and she bucked. He smiled in satisfaction. “I thought all women like foreplay.”

“We do, unless we’re horny as hell and just want to be fucked.” She squeezed his cock again. “Fuck me, Stefan. Talk later. Foreplay later. Just fuck me.”

Raising himself onto his toes and one hand, Stefan pushed his briefs down with the other hand and shimmied out of them. His cock stood hard at a slight angle from his body, a nearly perfect angle to enter her. A small droplet shimmered at the slit.

On impulse, Erin touched her finger to the bit of moisture, then stuck it in her mouth and sucked softly. Stefan watched, his eyes kindling with twin flames of lust. “Does that taste good?” he asked huskily.

She nodded and made a show of licking her finger clean. Then she slid down the bed to take his cock in her mouth. Seeing how aroused he’d become and tasting his salty fluid, she craved the texture of his shaft against her tongue. His cock twitched, and she suspected he was close to coming. If she sucked him off before they fucked, he would last longer inside her.

That was her selfish reason for wanting to suck him. That and the rush of bringing him to climax, of having him under her control. She also wanted him to feel good, to let him know how much she wanted him.

Her lips brushed the head of his cock. Abruptly, he pushed her onto her back again and pinned her arms above her head on the mattress. “I’d love to feel your mouth on me.” He moved onto her and rubbed his cock over her wet pussy. “Later. Right now I want to be inside you.”

His dick bumped her swollen clit and she cried out. Encouraged, he repeated the move, and an explosion built inside her. Okay, he has a point. Fuck now, foreplay later. Her pussy ached to have him inside, and she clutched him and moved her hips, trying to maneuver him into her. At the last second, she mustered barely enough presence of mind to gasp, “Condom.”

“Shit.” He rolled off her and rummaged through the top drawer of his nightstand. After several seconds, he triumphantly held up a small foil packet. “Condom.”

“Good.” She licked her lips and reached for his cock. “Now hurry up and get it on.”

He grinned. “Getting it on is what will happen after I put on the condom.”

She swatted his arm. “Quit making bad jokes.’

He ripped open the packet and unrolled the thin latex onto his cock. As Erin watched, her pussy clenched. Mine.

For tonight, at least.

Stefan knelt between her legs and bent her knees back against her chest. Staring down at her, he ran his finger over her clit. She shook with arousal and reached for his arm. He pulled back “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “God, I wish I’d asked you for coffee sooner.”

“Because then you would have had me in bed sooner?” she teased.

He shook his head with a serious look. “Because then I wouldn’t have wasted so much time pretending I didn’t have feelings for you.”

He positioned his cock at her pussy and with one sudden thrust entered her. She gasped and closed her eyes, savoring the sensation of being filled. She hadn’t been to bed with anyone in months. Her pussy grasped eagerly at his cock, and she clutched his arms for leverage as she thrust back against his fast, hard movements.

An ache grew in her core. Not pain, just the desperate desire to climax, to feel the waves crashing over her as she came. That desire spread through her entire body. Everything within her focused on the place where she and Stefan joined.

Nothing had ever felt as good as Stefan’s cock inside her. He pushed down on her knees, pressing her legs back. In that position, she saw him moving in and out of her, which only pushed her closer to the edge. Her clit throbbed and she wanted to beg him to touch her. Coherent words refused to leave her mouth. She managed only moans and cries of pleasure.

Her orgasm hit without warning, a sudden wave of ecstasy so strong she lost her breath for a moment. Her entire body tingled, and she bucked against Stefan, shouting something she hoped was his name. She couldn’t hear herself over the roaring in her ears. The pleasure crashed through her, leaving her limp and languid in its wake. Her arms dropped to her sides, and she stared up at Stefan’s smug grin.

After a second, she gasped and remembered how to draw oxygen into her lungs. Breathing heavily, she smiled. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re doing.” Stefan moved more slowly now. “Did you like that?”

“Dumb question.” She laughed. “Oh, God, did I like it. Stefan, we’re going to do this a lot more, you know. You won’t be able to get rid of me after making me come like that.”

She stopped herself before she managed to say anything more stalkerish. The intensity of her climax had apparently left her without any brain power.

He thrust into her harder. “I certainly hope that’s true.”

He picked up his pace again and wiped out all curiosity in her mind about what he had meant by that comment. More sensitive now from coming, her pussy tightened around him. He moaned and grasped her hips to pull her hard against him on each thrust.

Still panting, she stared up at him, watching his face contort into a grimace that told her he was close to orgasm. He breathed heavily and closed his eyes. Lightly, she ran her hands over his knees and thighs. “Yes,” he hissed. “Oh, God, I’m coming, Erin. Yes!”

Two more hard thrusts, and then he cried out her name as he spasmed inside her. His breath caught for a moment, then he exhaled a long groan and shoved into her as he filled the condom. Sweat sheened his bare chest as aftershocks rocked him, thrusting his cock inside her each time. That friction brought her close to another orgasm of her own, and she reached between them to rub her clit.

That contact, coupled with the bucks of his hips, brought a smaller explosion, one which shook her and made him shout as she contracted around his cock. “Yes!” he yelled. “Oh, God, Erin, please stop.”

Confused, she tried to lie still, though shivers from the orgasm ran through her. He smiled down at her and kissed her knee, then slowly withdrew, wincing as he completely left her. “I haven’t come that hard in a while,” he said. “Left me kind of sensitive.”

“Oh.” She grinned. “So I did good, then.”

“Hell yeah.” He took a couple of shuddering breaths and slid off the bed. “Be right back.”

He left the room. Erin rolled onto her side and lay limp and drained, fighting to keep her eyes from drifting shut. She definitely didn’t want to fall asleep here.

To give her eyes something else to do, she studied the items on top of his tall oak bureau and nightstand. Typical guy stuff: deodorant, a bottle of cologne, a stray sock. Her breathing slowed and so did the frequency of the tiny shocks which rippled through her. The relaxation that had overcome her deepened, and she didn’t want to even try to move.

Stefan returned, still nude and without the condom. “I washed up,” he explained. He lay beside her and pulled her to lie against him. She rested her head on his chest, and he enfolded her in his arms. The protected, content feeling that enveloped her caught her by surprise. She’d never felt like that with anyone else.

He kissed the top of her head. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Very all right.”

“Do you want…” He trailed off and took a deep breath. “Do you want to stay? For the night, I mean? There’s room.” He gestured at the expanse of the queen-sized bed. “I wouldn’t mind.”

For a moment, she considered his offer. Then her mind raced to thoughts of waking beside him, of the awkwardness of morning breath and showering and the fact that she had no clean clothes there. She wasn’t ready for that with him.

“I think I’d better go.” Abruptly, she pulled away from him and searched the room for her clothes. Without a word, he got up and found the panties he’d shot across the room, which he held out to her. “Thank you.”

Face hot, she quickly pulled her clothes back on. Stefan sat on the edge of the bed, not bothering to dress, and watched her with so much sadness in his eyes that Erin couldn’t bear to look at him. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. Surely he knew that. She just needed to go home.

When she was fully dressed, she hesitated. She didn’t want to leave like this. “Hug goodbye?” she asked tentatively.

He gave her a pained smile and stood to embrace her. “Just tell me one thing. Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” The vehemence of her answer startled her, and she leaned back in his arms to look him in the eyes. “You did everything right, and I’m so, so glad you finally spoke up and asked me out. Even more glad that you asked me to your place tonight.” She kissed his lips. “I’m sorry, Stefan, that you thought you’d messed up somehow. You haven’t, not at all.”

He nodded. “Too weird, sleeping in a strange place?”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. Emotions she’d never anticipated having toward Stefan flooded her. Happiness. Warmth. Love, and she damn sure didn’t want to tell him that yet. They’d only just agreed to friendship, apparently with benefits. Love didn’t even factor in right then. When she thought she had herself under control, she said, “We’re going to keep seeing each other, right? Outside class, I mean?”

“I damn sure hope so.” He smiled, and now it reached his eyes. “I really like you, Erin. I want to see where this goes with us. Besides, we have a routine to practice. I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow sounds good.” She hugged him tightly. Maybe they hadn’t practiced their routine, but they’d certainly danced. “Thank you. I promise, some night I will stay. Tonight is just too soon.”

“All right.” His lips tenderly touched hers. “Talk to you soon.”

“All right.”

He stayed in the bedroom, which she didn’t mind. If he’d walked her out, she might have blurted out the feelings she really didn’t want to share.

As she got into her car, she saw him peeking out the curtain of his bedroom window, and she stifled the urge to wave before driving away.

Wednesday morning, Erin woke achy and tired. She’d gone to bed as soon as she’d arrived home from Stefan’s. Thoughts of him had kept her from sleeping. Thoughts of the pain in his eyes when she’d refused to stay. She’d gone to bed with him knowing that despite their decision to be friends, the sex wouldn’t be even close to casual. She wanted to keep seeing him, definitely as more than friends, and wasn’t surprised that he felt the same. However, the intensity of his reaction to her refusal caught her off-guard. She hadn’t expected such a strong response from a man after their first time sleeping together.

It struck her as the reaction of a man in love.

With effort, she’d managed to shove that thought from her mind. Deal with the present. Don’t even think about the future.

The present involved moving from being just colleagues to being friends and lovers, and making that shift would be enough of an effort without wondering how Stefan really felt about her. Not to mention how complicated instructing with him and partnering with him for the competition would become if emotions got in the way. That was one of the reasons she and Scott had never tried to move beyond friendship.

Eventually, she had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, her alarm woke her too early, and she dragged herself out of bed, noting the ache in her legs from the position Stefan had held her in while they fucked. Despite her flexibility, her leg muscles became sore after being held in any position for too long. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom, hoping that a hot shower would ease the soreness in her legs.

In the shower, she closed her eyes and let her mind go blank. The warm water flowed over her, calming her thoughts and relaxing the tightened muscles. The soreness between her legs, she couldn’t do much about and didn’t want to. She enjoyed the reminder of Stefan inside her. Confused emotions or not, the sex had been incredible.

She spent the day at work, selling books, clothing, and supplies to dancers and would-be dancers. The job suited her even though she didn’t really enjoy retail work. Once in a while she encountered someone who truly loved dance the way she always had, and while nearly all of the store’s customers did ballet or contemporary, she still shared common ground with them. That kept her working there instead of seeking a job involving less standing and less contact with the general public.

After work, she went home to find Merit on the couch watching a DVR recording of a dance competition TV show, the one for which Stefan had auditioned. She plopped down beside him.

“This season’s group is pretty good,” he said. “One of the girls from my ballet troupe auditioned and didn’t make it. I thought they were idiots when she said they turned her down. Now I see why. These dancers are amazing. Where were you last night?”

Erin took a moment to follow the abrupt change of subject. “Here in bed,” she replied finally.

“Not when I came home from rehearsal.” He paused the recording. “Should I assume my little Rin has a new beau?”

She smiled at his nickname for her and his phrasing. “Stefan asked me out for coffee.” Her face went warm. “We went back to his place afterward.”

“Good for you!” Merit patted her hand. “It’s about time you let yourself have some fun. This is the Stefan you teach dance with, right?”

“Yeah.” A goofy smile twisted her lips. “The one I’ve been crushing on.”

“Then I’m glad you’re finally doing something about said crush. No wonder you stayed out late last night.” He smiled. “You look happy, kiddo. Good to see. I thought we’d lost that in you for a while there.”

“We did.” She sobered. “He asked me last night to partner with him in a competition next weekend.”

“Nothing like leaving things to the last minute,” he said. “What did you tell him?”

“I’ve decided to try.” She leaned back and crossed her legs. “It isn’t a big deal. He helps organize a charity thing every year, and that’s what he needs a partner for. He does it to honor his sister, and I think that’s a good reason and I want to help him. He and I are used to dancing together for class, anyway.” She paused. “Besides, a few people have asked me lately why I don’t compete anymore. Maybe that means it’s time I try again.”

“I hoped you’d decide that at some point.” He gave her a gentle smile. “You miss Scott and you think you can’t partner with anyone else. That’s okay, but you need to give yourself a chance.”

“Yeah.” Her eyes grew moist, and she impatiently brushed a hand over them. “We lost him almost a year ago.”

“I know. Do you think you’re ready to compete again?”

Tears trickled down her cheeks despite her efforts to stop them, and she decided she didn’t care. “I love dancing, and I’ll never give it up completely. Not after you pushed so hard for me to go back to it.”

“Just being a friend.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, a good friend. I’m glad I started dancing again, and I want to try this competition. I’m just not sure about partnering with someone other than Scott. He and I—when I danced with him, we weren’t two people dancing together, you know? We were one being.” She shook her head. “Okay, that sounded totally dorky.”

“But accurate. That’s what dancing’s like with the right partner.” He stroked her cheek with a fingertip, taking away some of the moisture. “You might find that again, honey. You’ve told me about dancing with Stefan. When you talk about him, you sound like you feel the same way as you did with Scott.” He paused. “I’m proud of you for giving this event a try. I think you should do more with dance than just teach.”

She snuggled against him. “At least teaching introduced me to Stefan.”

He smiled. “I’m glad last night went well for you. Want to watch the show with me?”

“Yeah.” Watching other people dance might take her mind away from the memories of Scott, the memories that had just brought her crashing down from the high of her time with Stefan.

They ordered pizza and ate while they watched the show Merit had taped the night before. Then he decided they should watch the previous week’s show, even though he’d already seen it. By the time Merit finally shut off the TV, Erin’s eyes had begun to droop, and her mind had filled with images of other people’s dancing instead of her own. Which had doubtlessly been Merit’s intent.

~***~

 That night, she slept much better. She woke the next morning looking forward to that night’s class, where she and Stefan would see each other again. Slight disappointment in not hearing from him the day before niggled at her as she went through her normal workday routine. She ignored it. He said that he’d call her, but maybe something had come up.

It was Thursday. She would see him. That knowledge kept a silly grin on her face most of the day.

When she arrived at the studio that night, Stefan’s car already sat in the lot, and when Erin entered the building music filtered down the stairs from their instruction room. The song they’d danced to in Stefan’s living room.

Smiling broadly, she hurried up the stairs. She found Stefan in the middle of the room, moving through the steps of the dance alone. When she entered, he grinned and held out his hands to her. Without hesitation, she joined him, immediately finding the beat and following his lead perfectly.

He twirled her and then himself. Moved them through the basic West Coast Swing steps, and then into variations she hadn’t done since her last competition. Recognizing the challenge, she sent her mind into the space that allowed her to forget everything except the music and her partner.

The song ended, but they continued the dance, moving now to unheard music, neither of them missing a step. Stefan threw in even more advanced moves, and still Erin kept up, not faltering in the partnership. He led her, and she followed. Their bodies moved together as if guided by one mind instead of two.

Just like dancing with Scott had been.

She pushed Stefan away and strode to the nearest window, arms crossed over her chest. Reflected behind her, Stefan slowly approached her. “I haven’t danced like that in a while,” he said softly. “I’m sorry if I screwed something up.”

“You didn’t.” She refused to look at him, knowing she would see the same pain in his eyes that he’d shown the other night after she’d chosen to go home. “I—you’re a beautiful dancer, Stefan. That was amazing.”

“I had an amazing partner.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you. Look at me, please?”

She turned with a watery half-smile. “You’re an amazing partner too. I really enjoyed dancing with you like that.”

“Then we’ll have to do it more often.” Softly, he kissed her forehead, and then wrapped his arms around her. “Whatever’s wrong, talk to me,” he urged. “I can listen, Erin.”

“I’ll be fine.” She pressed her face against his chest, breathing in the scent of mingled perspiration and cologne. The scent of him, which soothed her more than words would have done. “I’m sorry I interrupted our dance.”

“The music had ended anyway.” He stroked her hair. “You’ll dance with me again. We still have to practice for the competition, and we can always dance after class.” He paused. “Well, maybe not then. I wouldn’t want to make all the other guys there jealous by dancing with the most beautiful woman.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think anyone would be jealous. And most beautiful? Please have your eyes checked.” She grinned. “Of course I’ll dance with you again. Tonight just reminded me of how I used to dance with Scott, and I became a little sad. I’m okay now.”

“I’m glad you’re not sad anymore.” He released her, then took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Thank you for the dance.”

“You already thanked me.” She curtsied. “Thank you.”

He bowed. “Formal, huh? I like it.” He went over to the laptop. “Hey, I found a couple new songs I want to use for class. Listen to them and tell me what you think, okay?”

She joined him beside the laptop, and just that quickly they moved from dance partners and lovers back to co-instructors. Instructor and assistant, she amended, reminding herself of what she’d been hired to do. Stefan instructed; she just helped demonstrate the steps. She preferred it that way.

She approved the songs he’d chosen, and they went through them a couple of times, dancing together now they way they would to demonstrate the steps to their students. Stefan’s smile contained more than just an appreciation of her dancing, and in his eyes she saw a deep emotion she chose not to name.

They spoke only about the class and the steps they would work on that night, which Erin appreciated. Dancing with him had been wonderful. Too wonderful, and now she needed the routine of the class to settle herself.

Soon the students began trickling in. Stefan made small talk with some of them, while a couple of others who’d been attending for several months took Erin aside. “Have you heard about the competition Stefan helps organize?” the woman asked.

“Yes, I have.” Butterflies fluttered through Erin’s abdomen. She had to be crazy to think she’d be able to partner with Stefan in that competition, especially given how weepy she’d become just dancing with him before class. “He told me it’s a charity thing for cancer research.”

“I told you, Gerry,” the woman said to her husband. “It’s a charity event, not a big competition like the one you were talking about.”

Gerry sighed. “Yes, Molly, and I can see you were right. Erin, my wonderful wife here heard about Stefan’s competition and thought we should try it. I’ve been trying to explain to her that we’ve only been taking lessons here for a few months, and I’m not even sure I know the beginning stuff, never mind anything advanced enough to compete.”

“You’ve been here twice a week every week,” Erin teased. “You’ve learned something, I’m sure. Stefan said that the competition isn’t anything big. It’s more of a fun thing. If you’re thinking about going into competing in general, checking out this one might give you a feel for what competitions are like without having a lot of pressure. You should talk to Stefan.”

“Talk to me about what?” Stefan walked over. “I heard my name.”

“Gerry and Molly want more information about your competition,” Erin explained. “Excuse me, folks, I need to go talk to someone else.” She walked away as Stefan began explaining the event.

Several times during class, Erin caught Stefan watching her instead of the students. Now that she’d put aside her memories, she clearly felt the attraction to him that she’d experienced since becoming his assistant, and knowing he was attracted to her as well made it even more pleasant. She shook her head at him with a small, chiding smile to remind him to focus on the other dancers. Each time, he gave her a sheepish look and turned his attention back to the students. Each time, within minutes his eyes were on her again.

Class ended. The couple who’d asked about competing took Stefan aside to ask his opinion, and one of the other women said, “Competition is tough, isn’t it, Erin? Is that why you stopped?”

“I didn’t stop because it was hard.” She took a deep breath. “I lost my partner just about a year ago. Without him, I just didn’t have the heart to compete. I needed time to grieve, I guess.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said quietly.

Erin inclined her head. “Thank you.”

“So you might go back to competing someday?” a younger woman asked. She looked about the age Erin had been when she’d started attending these classes herself. “I saw you compete a couple years ago. One of my friends dragged me along. I thought I’d be bored stupid, but West Coast really caught my attention and that’s why I started taking classes.”

Erin pasted a smile on her face. “I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“I’m sorry about your partner. He was an amazing dancer.”

“Yeah.” Erin looked longingly across the room at the door. “Excuse me, please. It’s a little hot in here and I want some air.”

Puzzled, the young woman stepped aside. “Sure.”

She moved aside, and Erin hurried outdoors just as the tears started to fall. Hugging herself, she walked around to the back of the building and stared blindly at the pond. She and Scott had hung out here sometimes after classes, especially when she’d first begun.

The spot calmed her, and she began to think about the conversation she’d just had. The women’s questions had reminded her of Scott, of how wonderful a dancer he’d been. Right from the very first competition, she’d done well because she’d only had to follow his lead. Scott had danced well enough to make anyone look good.