For our next lesson, Roman wants to take me to a bar across town. It's right next to one of the big studios, so he says they sometimes get actors popping in after filming. Television actors, for the most part, not any major A-listers - but he claims he wants me to get more comfortable talking to famous men, and this seems like the easiest way to do it.This is the point where I know I should probably tell him about the incident with Rafe, to tell him that I somehow managed to be flirtatious and interesting when it really mattered. That I managed to control my awkward, nervous impulses and capture the interest of one of the Fontaines. But there's no way to mention the progress I've made without also confessing that Rafe and I almost hooked up in the bathroom, or that even now there's a video of the incident making its way around the internet. If I'd managed to score an interview, that would have been one thing. But all I have to show for that night is the hickey I'm still hiding beneat
A short while later, we're driving through one of the swankiest parts of Beverly Hills. I try not to gape at the elaborate gates and mansions on either side of the road. I should have seen this coming - I mean, the guy's a billionaire - but that doesn't keep me from freaking out a little. I can't believe I get to see where Roman Everet lives. That silly fantasy about being his girlfriend and experiencing all of the corresponding luxuries is getting easier and easier to imagine.Calm down, Felicia, I remind myself. You know what he wants, and it isn't to introduce you to his parents or anything.I bite down on my lip as he finally pulls into a driveway. There's a huge metal gate in front of us with a giant "E" etched on the front. He hits a button in the car, and the gate swings slowly open.As he pulls down the driveway, there's just enough light from the setting sun to cast the grounds in a dark bronze hue. But my eyes go straight to the house - which is a huge, modern stucco with
My heart leaps into my throat. "We're doing it here? At your house?"He gives a dark chuckle. "You've already kicked off your shoes. Besides, there are certain lessons that are better to do in private, where there's no one to disturb us."I take a long sip of my wine. He wants us to be alone. To do this lesson in private. Was this his plan all along, to get me to come back to his house? No, I tell myself. He knows what he does to me. He knows that all he had to do was ask. That call back in the car was legitimate - why is he suddenly changing our plans for the evening? But "why" isn't the most important question - that distinction belongs to the what."What are we going to do?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from revealing how much my body is already responding to the suggestion.Roman is sitting on the lounge chair with his knees facing me. I'm looking out across the pool, but out of the corner of my eye I see him smile."Not we," he says, amusement in his voice. "You."Oh. I'm
My stomach flip-flops. "This is silly." This is already awkward enough without pretending Roman is Luca Fontaine."Try," Roman says, as if he were urging me to eat my vegetables or something equally mundane.But as strange as the request might be, as nervous as it makes me, I find myself wanting to rise to the challenge. To prove to myself - and to him - that I can take the initiative, that I can lead the course of a seduction."I look at his drink," I say. "And then I order the same thing.""That could be dangerous," Roman says. "If you do that, he might want to start a conversation with you about his drink of choice. He'll notice if you don't know what you're talking about. You'll lose his trust right from the start.""I'll order my own drink, then," I say. "A Long Island." Historically, Long Island Iced Teas aren't exactly my friend, but in this imaginary lounge, I'm willing to take the chance."Good choice," he says. I'm not sure whether that's coming from Roman or "Luca," so
I jerk, nearly spilling my wine again. "That's a very personal question.""I think it's important in your situation.""My situation? I don't think - ""But maybe I'm asking the wrong question. Tell me, when was the last time you had an orgasm?"I let out a little gasp."That's none of your business!" I say. I'm going to need a lot more wine before we have this conversation. A LOT more wine."I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable," he says. "But there is a difference in the way people conduct themselves when they're sexually fulfilled, especially around those they find attractive. You'd be amazed how many issues could be cured with the proper... satisfaction."I can't look at him, not when he speaks like that. Not when he's gazing at me that way. I reach for the bottle of wine and top off my glass."I think," he says slowly, "a little release would do you wonders, Felicia. Ask any man you know if he takes the edge off before a date. You'll find all of this a little more enjoy
At first, my movements are slow and careful. I let my palms slide up over my sides and across my belly as I try to come to terms with what I'm about to do. But I'm feeling brazen, and though I'm nervous, I'm not afraid. I can already hear my breath coming faster. I can hear Roman's breath, too, slow and steady in the chair beside mine.My hands dance across my belly for a moment before moving lower. I'm glad I decided to wear a dress tonight. It makes things easier. Slowly, my fingers tug up the fabric of the skirt, exposing my bare thighs to the night. The summer air is balmy against my skin, and it makes it that much easier to let my legs fall apart. When the fabric is up past my hips, I release it and let my fingers come to rest just above the lacy panties that I know do little to cover the carefully-trimmed patch of hair beneath.I take a deep breath. Two. My knees bend, my thighs fall a little farther apart. I'm surprised at how ready I am. I can smell my own arousal, and I susp
When I wake up, I feel like a different person.I roll over in bed, rubbing my eyes and wondering why I feel so rested, so... calm. Like every worry, every bit of stress, is gone from my body. It's not until I reach for my cell on the nightstand that I realize that the nightstand is all wrong. There's a lamp where there shouldn't be.And then I remember.I jerk upright. I'm not in my bedroom. I'm in Roman's. I spent the night here.The bed next to me is empty. And - a quick touch tells me - cold. As my fingers skim over the rumpled sheets, last night comes rushing back.He made me come twice more next to the pool. Once again with his tongue, and then with his fingers. My body aches at the memory of it, and I wonder how I could have gone my whole life without experiencing pleasure like that. The few partners I've had in the past never gave me anything close. I'm not sure I could even replicate the experience with my own fingers - it's like Roman knew how to wake sensations in me th
I stare at him. "You're taking me on a date?"Roman laughs. "You say that like you're surprised.""I just... I didn't know how..." I gesture between the two of us, unsure of how to voice it without sounding insecure. "I didn't know where we stood."His hazel eyes search mine, and there's a tenderness there that he hasn't let me see before. He reaches out and touches my cheek."From our very first meeting, you intrigued me," he says. "You were clearly out of your depth, but you fought quite passionately for your job. And when you claimed that you'd seduce Luca Fontaine, I saw a drive, a fire, that I couldn't let slip through my fingers." His thumb sweeps along my jaw. "As I said, for all your determination, you seemed a little lost. And I wanted to be the one who found you."His words are quickly undoing the last of my meager defenses, and his soft caresses aren't helping."I... I thought you just found me entertaining," I said.He smiles. "I did. I do." He leans closer, and his