Tease Me, page 14
“Jane, it’s John. I’m so sorry, but I’m going to be late. Can you cover for me?”
My already despondent mood dropped even lower. “How much later?”
“I’m not sure, at least three hours, but it could be as late as eleven o’clock. I’m at the hospital with Mom, and they need to run some tests.”
I sighed. “Sure, okay.”
“You’re a lifesaver. I owe you.”
Yes, you do. About a million times over. “Ring me if you’ll be later than that.”
“I will. I’m sorry.” He hung up, and I put the handset down and slumped into the chair.
Great. I checked the clock. It was 6:15 a.m. What was I going to do for the next five hours? I’d already shuffled things around in the stationery cupboard, and I’d cleaned the fridge out last week. Checkout wasn’t until midday on a Sunday, so I didn’t even have that little distraction to look forward to.
I tugged open the top drawer and pulled out the bundle of pens. Half an hour later, I’d tossed out the twenty or so pens that didn’t work and then color-coded the rest into groups that I secured with rubber bands. The job I’d once thought was interesting had become boring as bat-shit.
I laughed, and the sound echoed about the marble expanse. That was the saying Henry had used the day I’d met him. Thinking of Henry reminded me that my job wasn’t boring—not all the time, anyway. It was imperative that I focused on the positive, or I’d begin to hate my job.
At eight-fifteen, two incredible positives strolled into the building. I sat up, touched my hair, and wished like hell I’d used some of the boring time at the desk to apply more lippy. I swallowed back my thumping heart as two firemen approached my counter.
“Hello, ma’am. Is John available?”
“Oh, um, no, he isn’t. He’s been delayed.” There is a heaven, and I live in it! “I’m Jane Nichols, the night manager. Can I help you?” Remove your clothes or something similar?
The taller one ran his hand through his short, dark hair. “We’re here to do a routine check on your sprinkler system water tank.”
“Oh. It’s on the roof, right? I can show you the way.” I put the ‘back in five minutes’ sign on the counter.
“You here alone, Jane?”
Was that a pick-up line? It sounded like a line. “Yes, always.”
“Roger, how about you stay here and watch the counter for Jane while we go up to the roof?”
“Yep, no probs.”
Roger put his hat on the counter, and the tall fireman turned to me. “Lead the way.”
My heels clicked across the marble tiles in time to my beating heart. I pressed the button and sucked on my bottom lip in an attempt not to drool.
He held his hand toward me. “I’m Nathan Carmichael, by the way.”
When our palms touched, the earth moved. Actually, it was more like a full-blown earthquake.
The doors opened, and we stepped in, turned, and stood side by side, facing the mirrors. He wasn’t even touching me, yet just being in this tiny space with him made the heat of his body feel like a blanket was smothering me with burning desire. The insatiable urge started deep within me and raced through every nerve in my body. Memphis was needy, and I was just about bursting from a lack of control.
Nathan was eight inches taller than me and built like I’d expect a fireman to be built, with broad shoulders and bulging pecs that featured beneath his high-visibility, tight-fitting shirt. His nipples were hard lumps pointing at me like a couple of lethal weapons. The thick red braces holding up his florescent yellow pants brushed right alongside his nipples, and it took all my willpower not to reach over and snap those braces against his chest.
“Have you had a good night?” His voice was deep, throaty. Manly.
Not until now. “It was okay.”
“Do you always work the night shift?”
“Uh-huh.”
His eyes were light brown, like molten honey, and I wondered if he’d like to dribble honey all over me. I smacked that naughty thought aside. Remember, you are Jane. Memphis was clawing to get out, and I was grateful when the doors opened on the ninth floor.
I led the way along the corridor to the emergency exit at the end and opened the door. The glowing exit sign lit up the stairwell, and the closed-in space amplified Nathan’s breathing. The emergency stairs went both up and down from this point, and as I climbed each stair to the rooftop, my heart accelerated. Though, not from exertion.
Using my master access card, I opened the door, and as I squinted against the glare, I stepped out onto the rooftop. I stood aside and watched Nathan stride toward the water tower. His awkward gait was probably the result of his heavy-looking boots. He bent over at the water tower, and I once again thanked the stars for making Needledick late.
I sighed with contentment, but then, realizing how weird it would look with me standing behind him, I strolled to his side. “So, what exactly are you looking for?”
“Just checking that the valves are working. These older units need to be examined every year. Shouldn’t take too long.”
“Take all the time you want.”
He smiled up at me, and my heart skipped a beat. With him down on one knee like that, it was as if he were proposing, and my giddy little brain was screaming hell yes. His long fingers worked quickly, flicking one valve after another, and I wondered what it would be like to have those lovely digits on me. In me.
Damn it, Memphis.
I needed to settle down. He was just doing his job. Like I was just doing my job.
After ten minutes or so, Nathan stood, towering over me again. “Okay, all done.”
Pity. I could’ve stayed here and watched him work all day.
“Lead the way.” He indicated for me to step in front, and I retraced our steps back to the ninth floor and pressed the button for the elevator.
He glanced down at me with his molten eyes, and I was certain our breathing rose and fell in time. His hard nipples bulged through his red shirt and nudged against his braces. The angel and devil in my brain struck up a rampant debate over whether or not I should reach out and pinch them.
The doors opened, we stepped in, and once again, we turned to stand side by side, facing the mirror. He turned to me and looked down. His honey eyes oozed over me with more sexual desire than I’d ever seen.
Calm down, you horny bitch. You are Jane, not Memphis.
Next second, I had my back against the wall, his mouth crushed to mine, and within a heartbeat, he had my pencil skirt up around my waist and his hand in my underpants.
Our breaths mingled together, our tongues lashed each other, and with each bend of my knees, his finger plunged deeper inside me. Together, our moans tumbled from our throats and echoed about the mirrored cube. For the second time that day, I was grateful for the slow elevator.
Our raging passion, however, was anything but slow.
As I groped his chest, feeling every exquisitely carved muscle in his torso, he tore my panties from my body. The sharp ripping sound ricocheted through my lust-fueled body.
Clutching his shoulders, I raised my knee and hooked it up over his thigh. Two of his fingers plunged into me, rubbing over my clit and ramming me with ferocious intent. I gripped his high-visibility braces and cried out as an orgasm tore through me.
It was fast. It was incredible.
It blew my fucking mind.
He must have ESP or something because he suddenly released me, and the ping of the elevator announced the doors were about to open. He smiled, and, oh my God, it was the most glorious smile ever. I blinked, trying to comprehend what just happened.
“You might want to pick those up.” He lowered his gaze to the floor.
I followed his eyes to my torn, lacy panties. “Shit!” As fast as lightning, I tugged my skirt down and picked up my underwear.
The elevator opened, and he saluted me. “Thank you, ma’am.”
He strode casually across the lobby, his mate joined him, and they walked out the sliding glass doors. My jaw dropped when the two firemen high-fived each other and carried on walking as if everything was normal.
Thank God the lobby was empty because I could barely breathe, let alone walk to the reception desk. I straightened my ponytail, and as I concealed my underwear in my hand and wondered what the fuck just happened, I somehow crossed the marble expanse to my desk and flopped into my chair.
How the hell did Plain Jane get an orgasm in the elevator from a mysterious fireman? That shit just didn’t happen.
So much could have gone wrong. I crumbled into a mess.
That was so stupid. I could have been caught.
I have officially lost my fucking mind.
Chapter Eighteen
The minutes ticked along with me in a daze, and by the time Needledick arrived, I could barely think. As I did the handover with him, I tried not to focus on the fact that I wasn’t wearing underpants. It was more than a little distressing.
As I made my way to my room, my mind was like the giant pirate ship that swung back and forward at the showground, smashing through one emotion after another.
Somehow, I made it to my room, and before my brain shattered like a smashed mirror, I dialed Lolita.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?”
I blurted it out, everything from the intense unspoken sexual tension to the mind-blowing orgasm with the fireman.
“Jesus Christ, Jane!”
I knew it. I’d crossed that imaginary boundary that put me in the fucking stupid category. A tidal wave of heat rose up, and I started to hyperventilate. Tears stung my eyes, and I was about to vomit.
“I’m so jealous.”
My brain snapped back to reality. “What?”
“That’s another thing you’ve done that I haven’t.”
“What?” I gasped.
“What, what?”
I scrunched up my face as I tried to understand what she was saying.
“Oh God,” she huffed. “Don’t tell me you’re second-guessing what happened?”
“Ummm . . .”
“Jesus. So, let me guess what’s going through your brain. You had a mind-blowing orgasm with a fireman in a fucking elevator, for God’s sake, and you think that’s bad.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Are you kidding me? You just did the top three things most women only dream of, all in one go. A fireman. Holy shit. In the elevator. Mind-blowing orgasm in twenty seconds flat. And he tore your undies off. Jesus, I’m going to come in my pants just thinking about it.”
“Lolly,” I said, half-laughing, half-shocked by her honesty.
“Shit, Jane, I’ve gotta go find Cal and fuck his brains out. Bye.”
The phone clicked, and I stared at the screen, hardly able to believe my best friend had just hung up on me.
I dragged my ass to the bathroom and showered. Afterward, I cooked a bacon and egg sandwich and drizzled barbeque sauce all over it. Holding that on a plate in one hand and a green tea in my other, I walked out to my balcony to see what was happening in the real world.
A couple of bites into my delicious breakfast, I spied a pod of dolphins diving through the waves near the shore. Every once in a while, one of them jumped from the water in a graceful display of agility and strength. That glorious sight reminded me of just how lucky I was.
The phone rang, and I dashed inside to grab it off my nightstand.
I swiped to answer. “Hey, Lolly.”
“Okay, I’m back,” she said the second I answered. “Cal says thanks.”
“Ummm, what for?”
“For making me horny, of course.”
I groaned. “Great,” I said sarcastically.
“Anyway, let me give my little speech before you go off on some harebrained idea to give up your challenge. What happened today is at the top of every woman’s bucket list. You got damn lucky, girlfriend. Half the women in the world would be cheering for you.”
“And the other half?”
“Well, they’ll be bitchy with jealousy, of course.”
I laughed. Lolly had an interesting outlook on life.
“So, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. You’re a single woman having a bit of fun. That’s it.”
“Yes, but what I did was risky.”
“So? What’s the worst that could’ve happened?”
“Headline news telling the whole world about my slutty indiscretion?”
“Wow, you’ve actually thought about this.”
“Of course.”
“Good. So you know that’s not going to happen. It would probably only be third-page news in the Pics People magazine.”
I gasped, and she burst out laughing.
“I’m fucking with you, babe. Now stop this foolishness and be proud of what you’ve done. Okay?” She went silent. Lolita never did silent, and I let her stew as I mulled over my answer. It must have been torture for her, and I imagined her chewing on her knuckle to stop herself from speaking.
“Okay,” I finally said.
“Okay, what?” she replied.
“Okay, I’ll be proud of what I did.”
“That’s better. Cal and I are happy for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Anyway, I’ve gotta go. Time to get my nails done. Love ya.”
“Love you, too.”
I put the phone on the bedside table and flopped back onto the pillow.
Was she right?
Did half the women in the world have ‘sex with a fireman in an elevator’ at the top of their bucket list? I never did. Actually, I didn’t have a bucket list, but even if I did, I would never have thought to put that on it.
I reached for my diary and turned to the 18th of August.
First, I wrote about my failure in room fourteen and how much that rejection had affected me. What had actually hurt the most was how poorly I’d read his signs. The sexy winemaker had been making signals at me all night. At least, I’d thought they were signals.
But I’d read him so wrong. Even after more than thirty sexual experiences, I still didn’t understand men.
I shook my head at that thought and turned my focus to the fireman and my mind-blowing orgasm. For the second time in one day, I’d been grateful for that silly slow elevator, although it didn’t need to be that slow because that orgasm had hit me like a rocket. I’ve seen men get erections in ten seconds flat, but I had no idea my libido could be aroused at lightning speed, too.
What had made it so exciting? Was it the fireman? Well. . . he was smoking hot. Especially when he looked at me in an ‘I’m going to devour you’ kind of way.
Was it the confinement of the elevator? Maybe.
Was it the chance of getting caught?
Oh God, please don’t let it be that.
As I detailed how explosive that ride had been, I wrote, Top of the Bucket List, beneath my sexy fireman in the header of the page.
August sure was turning out to be an exciting month. Actually, every month this year has been exciting. And risky. I’d nearly been caught a few times now.
Was I dancing with fire? Probably.
Could I keep this challenge going?
If it made me feel like I did right now, then hell, yes, I could.
I closed my diary and stepped back out onto the balcony.
Seconds later, a dolphin launched from a distant wave.
Smiling, I clutched the railing, and for the hundredth time this year, I appreciated just how good life had become.
Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that my wonderful life was about to come crashing down.
Chapter Nineteen
Saturday slipped into existence without any fanfare, and as the small hours of the morning ticked by without any work to occupy my mind, my brain hit frenzy mode, skipping from one crazy thought to the next.
It had been six days since my raunchy sexcapade in the elevator with the fireman, and my emotions had been all over the place ever since. I just couldn’t get it out of my head how lucky I was that I hadn’t been caught. I’d never done anything like that. Until this year, that was.
Was Memphis corrupting me that much?
The answer was a resounding yes.
Did that upset me? That was where my dilemma came in.
Maybe Memphis had been in me my whole life, yet she’d been stifled.
Bloody hell! I’m referring to Memphis as if she’s another person.
I really should be admitted to the loony bin.
Needledick arrived twenty minutes late, and after the handover, I took the elevator to my room. I showered, dressed in my bathrobe, and made myself peanut butter on toast for breakfast, matched it with a strong coffee, and strode out to my balcony to eat.
A bunch of young kids were doing a surfing school at the edge of the breaking waves. Their surfboards were as big as they were, yet they handled them with ease. I guessed they were no older than ten. A group of adults hovering nearby faced the kids, and I assumed they were the parents. My thoughts drifted to Clayton and Telitha.
He’d said he sat back and watched while his daughter played with the dog on the beach. Maybe that was what parents did. The only other couple I knew with kids was Calvin and Lolita, and they weren’t the sit-back-and-watch kind of people. Not with anything.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was a golden ball high off the horizon, and there was barely a whisper of a breeze. It looked like thousands of people were already enjoying the fabulous last-of-winter weather. I finished my toast and held my warm mug in my hand as I reflected on the boring week I’d just had. Maybe my week was boring because I didn’t spend the entire week searching for my next passion partner.
Henry had kindly filled that role when he’d phoned me two weeks ago to invite me on a date today.
And that was when my next mental debate came barreling into my tumultuous thoughts. Henry had called it a date. What would he think if he found out about my other ‘dates’ on this year-long challenge?
I shook my head, trying to free my mind of the unanswerable question, but my brain just wouldn’t switch off. It was a wonder I was even functioning.
This double-identity thing was winding me up. I just hoped that when this year was over, I’d still recognize myself.
