Acting Lessons

by Adele Buck

  “Likewise,” she said, looking at his lips. Her breath had a hitch to it, and she had slid a little way off the barstool, her skirt riding up on her thighs. He let his hand drop softly to her leg, and she looked down, seeing the exposed length of toned thigh. “Shit,” she said, tugging her skirt down and sitting back more firmly. Her face had gone from pink to bright red and her eyes darted around the bar.

  “Relax, you didn’t give the entire place a show. Just a few inches of leg.” James took another sip of beer and was rewarded with yet another glare. “What? What did I do?”

  Freddie sighed and finished her drink, clinking the remaining ice around in the glass. “Nothing. I’m just a little on edge today.”

  James took in the skirt, the V-neck top that showed the barest hint of cleavage, and wondered if they were just clothes or a message. His jaw tightening, he decided to risk it. “Any chance I could relax you? I’m in a hotel for the next few weeks. It’s not far away.”

  Those big brown eyes flew back up to his face. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter 2

  James tossed a twenty onto the bar and reached for Freddie’s hand. She gave it to him, amazed at how natural being with him again felt. Conscious of keeping her skirt in place, she got down carefully from the stool and was practically yanked along behind him as he walked out of the bar.

  “Dude,” she protested, her legs pinwheeling to try to keep up with his long stride. “Slow down, Daddy Long Legs.”

  “Sorry,” he said, moderating his pace to match hers.

  Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she wondered how long it had been for him since he’d last dated. She had been out a few times about four months ago with an NYU librarian—a fun, smart woman with an appealing, dry wit. Unfortunately, their opposing schedules had made finding time to spend together a challenge and they had drifted apart.

  Since then, nothing. Just work and more work.

  Well, and her vibrator. But it wasn’t like she could take it out for drinks or to a movie. Also, it was a shitty conversationalist. She snorted as she imagined the blasé reaction she would get from most New Yorkers if she indulged in that particular eccentricity.

  “What’s so funny?” James asked as they waited on a corner for the light to change.

  “Nothing.” Freddie tried to keep a straight face but the image of a vibrator in a fancy restaurant sitting on a booster seat popped into her head and a burst of laughter escaped her.

  His head rocked back at an angle. “Right. That nothing is pretty hilarious.”

  “Oh, just…” She shook her head and decided to come clean. Like I said, it’s been a while. I had a sudden image of dating my vibrator.”

  James gave her a blank look for a moment then threw his head back, laughing. “Never change, Fred. Never change,” he said, wiping at his eyes with his free hand.

  For what felt like the fifteenth time that evening, Freddie felt her face flush. “I don’t try to be ridiculous.”

  “You’re not ridiculous. You’re funny.” The light changed and James moved forward, tugging her along with him.

  “Someday you may have to explain the difference to me.”

  “If you were ridiculous, I would be laughing at you. I was laughing with you. And don’t say you weren’t laughing, because your laugh was what gave you away.” Nodding his thanks to the doorman, he led her into a trendy boutique hotel. The lobby was dark and moody, loud music pounding in her ears.

  “Well, this is ridiculous,” she said, indicating the rave scene and going on her toes to try to get closer to his ear to be heard over the din.

  “The hotel is the show’s choice. Not mine. But my room is quiet,” he said, also raising his voice. The elevator doors slid shut, blocking out most of the noise, and Freddie took a deep breath, trying to ease her tense shoulders.

  “Hey.” James moved behind her, settling his large hands on her neck and circling his thumbs to dig gently into the tight muscles.

  “Oof. That’s good. Thank you.”

  “I did promise to help you relax.”

  “There better be more to it than this.”

  Smoothing his hand up the back of Freddie’s neck, James swept her hair aside and bent to press a kiss to the exposed skin. “Oh, I’m barely getting started.” His eyes narrowed with satisfaction as he saw the shiver that ran through her at his caress. Sliding an arm around her waist, he pulled her against him and nibbled at the nape of her neck.

  “Oh,” Freddie moaned gently as her head dropped toward her shoulder and his mouth moved up the side of her neck. He pulled her closer to him, delighting in the way his arm fit into the dip of her waist, her hips and breasts flaring below and above. Her body felt warm and delicious against his, a once-familiar territory to be re-explored.

  The elevator chimed, doors sliding silently open, and James straightened up, taking her hand again to lead her down the hall to his room. When he dropped her hand to fish his keycard out of his wallet, she moved behind him, tugging his shirt free of his jeans and wrapping her arms around his waist to run hands over his abs.

  “You’ve slacked off in the gym, I see.” Her voice behind him sounded amused and aroused and he had to slide the key card in a second time after she distracted him by reaching up to tweak one nipple, making his breath catch and hiss between his teeth.

  Twisting the doorknob and opening the door, he turned to her, catching the challenging gleam in her big eyes. “Temptress. Come in here.”

  When did Freddie get so bold? Flicking the light switch on, he backed into the room, not touching her now, letting her pursue him into the tiny foyer of the hotel room. He stopped moving when the door closed behind her with a heavy thud, his breath coming a little quickly, gazing over her face and body. She was looking directly back at him, the new assurance in her expression making his heart race a little faster.

  “So,” she said, her usually husky tones even rougher than usual. “You gonna kiss me, or what?”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.” James closed the short distance between them, sliding one hand to cup the back of her head as she tilted her face up. The other hand slipped down to the curve of her butt, pressing her body against his erection. For a moment, he just looked at her face, cheeks flushed and eyes already heavy-lidded with arousal. With the same unhurried deliberation, he brought his mouth to hers, nipping at her lips with his own, teasing.

  “Hey,” she said, winding her hands behind his neck and tugging him down. This time, her hands skimmed up the back of his neck and over his scalp. She hummed with evident pleasure, stroking his skin as their lips parted and tongues slid against each other. Her lips were soft and full against his own and he pulled her more tightly to him as he grew harder.

  “Bed now?” he asked, pulling back a bit.

  “Bed now.”

  Freddie stroked the back of James’ scalp and kissed him deeply, her muscles relaxing as if she was sinking into a hot, deep bath. She had forgotten how much the sheer feel of him made her melt. Pushing him backward, she started to undo the buttons of his shirt as they moved toward the bed. When the backs of his knees hit the edge of the bed, he sat heavily, the mattress bouncing underneath him, his eyes mirthful slits as he watched her.

  Slipping her fingers under the edges of his open shirt, Freddie pushed the fabric away, letting her hands linger on the hard curves of his shoulders. She bit her lower lip as her eyes and hands roamed over the planes of his chest, the ridges of his abdomen. His skin was the same luminous brown that she remembered and so smooth to the touch.

  “Yeah, it’s a damn shame you stopped working out.” Trying for sarcasm, her voice landed somewhere closer to choked disbelief.

  “Right. Just like it’s a damn shame you decided to wear a flirty little skirt instead of your usual jeans.” James was definitely suppressing a smile.

  “Maybe I’ve become a skirt-wearing type. Maybe I wear them every day now.”

  “Maybe.” His fingers teased up the outside of
her leg, starting with just the fingertips, then stroking her skin more boldly with his full hand. He lofted an eyebrow as he reached her hip. “You definitely weren’t a thong-wearing girl two years ago, so…”

  One corner of Freddie’s mouth tugged up. “Well, seeing an old friend. You know. Special occasion.”

  “Hmmm.” His other hand was under her skirt now as well, exploring the curve of her ass. “So you almost gave that bar full of people a bigger show than I thought when your skirt rode up.”

  “Guess so. Don’t care so much now.” Bending to kiss him, she felt his hands move away then heard and felt the zipper of her skirt being lowered. The garment dropped to the floor and the warmth of his hands returned.

  “This very, very fine ass has not changed, I see,” he murmured against her lips, his hands stroking the curve of her butt and tracing the lacy line of her thong.

  Pushing at his chest, Freddie kneeled on the bed, straddling him and letting her hips settle to his. She rocked against him, feeling a rush of heat and pressure and pleasure.

  Hello, old friend.

  James swallowed a curse and clutched at Freddie’s hips as she undulated on him. Christ, yes. Eyes closed, he gripped tightly, stilling the motion that was about to send him over the edge before they even began. In the darkness, he felt the warmth of her breath on his face, then the silky drape of her blouse on his chest and belly as she bent to kiss him.

  A small part of his brain reflected on the absurdity of her almost naked from the waist down, him naked from the waist up and he chuckled as her lips and teeth traced the edge of his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

  Skimming his hands up her body to her face, he opened his eyes to see her looking down at him.

  “Everything okay here?” she asked, rolling her hips in a teasing echo of the driving pace she had previously set.

  “Just about,” he said, fingertips teasing at the hem of her blouse, drawing it upwards. Freddie flashed him a wicked smile and raised her arms, letting him pull the fabric over her head. Tossing it aside, he took a moment to appreciate the sight of Freddie in a lacy bra and thong, resting on his dick and looking at him with a flushed, heavy-lidded gaze.

  “God, I missed you, Fred.”

  Her face showed genuine surprise, and her hand on his face stilled its restless exploration. “Really?”

  Grabbing her wrist, he planted a kiss on her palm. “Yes. Did you miss me?”

  “Yeah. I did.” She bent to kiss him again and he skimmed his fingers up her back to unhook her bra, easing it over her shoulders until she sat up again to fling it across the room, her shifting weight a delicious torture.

  James took advantage of Freddie bending over again to cup a breast in his hand, pulling it to his lips, sucking the tightly puckered nipple into his mouth, her soft, hitching gasp a reward. Swirling his tongue, he slid his hands down over her ass, cupping its generous, muscular curve and tracing the enticing line of her thong with one finger. Releasing her nipple with a soft pop, he lifted his face to kiss her mouth, his fingers continuing to follow the line of the thong to where she pressed against his erection.

  “Oh, I…oh.” Freddie’s gasp exhaled into his mouth and he breathed it in. Capturing her lips again with his, he threaded his fingers under the waistband of her underwear, tugging it down over her hips. Freddie shimmied a bit, encouraging his fingers to slide the lacy fabric down, then lifted up off of him to get rid of it entirely.

  The sudden loss of her weight against him made his dick throb with need. Instead of settling back on top of him, though, her hands went to the button of his jeans, gently popping it open and sliding the zipper down with devastating slowness.

  Sitting back on her heels, Freddie took a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering rush. She smoothed her hands over James’ broad, bare chest, down his taut belly and toward the tip of his erection, just poking out of the top of his boxer briefs. Hooking her fingers under the waistband of his underwear, she tugged downward as he lifted his hips, pausing to let him tug out his wallet and toss it on the bedside table. Crawling off the bed, she tugged jeans and boxers off him, dropping them to the floor.

  James rose to his elbows, watching her as she stripped him and he sat up completely as she moved back to the bed. “How do you want this to go?” he asked, sliding his hands around to cup her butt again.

  Two years ago, this question would have made her demur, shyness threatening to swamp her desire.

  She reached out a hand to trace the full curve of his lips. “I’ve missed your mouth,” she said softly.

  The mouth in question curved upward, and James took her index finger between his lips, sucking gently and swirling his tongue around the tip. A pulse of heat shot through Freddie and her knees wobbled. James released her finger and pulled her toward him, his hands on her hips. Tracing the underside of one breast with his tongue, he brought his mouth up to pull the nipple into his mouth, sucking almost to the point of pain as he weighed her other breast in his hand, running his thumb across the pointed peak. Freddie gasped, closing her eyes and swaying her hips toward him.

  “Where do you want my mouth, Fred?” James mumbled into her skin.

  “I want it on my clit,” she said, eyes still squeezed tight.

  “Look at me when you tell me that.”

  Her eyes blinked open slowly and she looked at James. His eyes were dark and serious with desire. “I want your mouth on my clit. I want your tongue on my pussy. I want to come on your face.”

  James’s eyebrows went up and his hand descended from her breast to trail over her belly and into the soft nest of curls between her thighs. Brushing her clit, he said, “Here.” She nodded. His fingers continued into the slickness between her legs. “Here,” he repeated. She nodded more slowly. “Lie back.”

  Freddie crawled onto the bed and lay against the banked pillows. James’s hands skimmed up from her ankles, lifting her legs to hook over his shoulders, sliding up until she could feel his breath hot against her damp flesh. He started with a long, languorous lick up her folds, the tip of his tongue coming to rest at her clit and pausing, teasing. Freddie’s eyes fluttered closed as she fought to remain relaxed, to wait. His tongue circled once, twice, unhurried. Her breath was coming more quickly now, and she heard James chuckle softly.

  “Sadist,” she muttered.

  “Mmm.” A full, open-mouthed kiss that ended in gentle suction and Freddie felt like the top of her head was going to fly off. His tongue began moving faster now, and one finger slid inside, curling and pulsing in time with his tongue. Freddie looked down at his head between her legs, the light shining softly off his shaved skin and then let her head fall back and her eyes close as a second finger joined the first and he began alternating suction with the flicking of his tongue.

  Delicious tension wracked Freddie’s body, winding tighter and tighter until she thought she couldn’t bear it a moment longer. He held her there for a few more breaths, a few stuttering heartbeats and it snapped. Freddie wailed, closing her eyes and throwing back her head as ripples of pleasure rolled through her while he continued to kiss and suck until the tremors quieted.

  James chuckled, a low, satisfied sound. “Relaxed yet?”

  “Fucking hell, I’m boneless,” Freddie muttered.

  Feeling smug, James pressed kisses to the insides of her thighs, then kissed up her body, pausing only when he reached her face. “I’m not boneless,” he murmured in her ear.

  “No, you most certainly are not.” Freddie lifted her hips up to meet his, grinding on him, and James hissed as pleasure and desire shot through him.

  “Fuck, Freddie.”

  “Yes.” Her eyes narrowed to humorous slits. “Fuck Freddie. Now.”

  “Like I said. You don’t have to tell me twice.” James reached for his wallet, drawing out a condom. Dang. Shy, unfolding Freddie of two years ago, just learning to ask for what she wanted had been hot.

  Confident Freddie who knew and demanded what she wanted?

>   Scorching.

  James rolled onto his back, ripping open the condom and rolling it on. Levering a hand under her butt, he encouraged her to move toward him.

  “Your turn, Fred.”

  She laughed as she rolled over, swinging one leg over his hips and grasping his length. His breath nearly stopped as she squeezed gently and positioned the head between her legs. Dipping her head to kiss him, she murmured, “You taste like me.”

  He gripped her hips and thrust slowly upward, rewarded by the surprise and heat in her face. She was tight, swollen from his mouth. Slick and hot. James groaned as she sank lower, rocking her hips, surrounding and squeezing him.

  Lifting one hand to wrap around the back of her neck, he lifted his head and urged her mouth back down to his. She kissed him long and hard, nipping and sucking at his bottom lip and sinking her hips down on him, her knees sliding wider. James kissed up her neck as his ass clenched, pushing as deep inside her as he could get.

  “What are you feeling, Fred?” he murmured in her ear, teeth catching at her lobe, tugging.

  “Ungh. Full. Fucked. Good.” Freddie groaned, bending to tease at one of his nipples with her lips and tongue. James’s breath hissed as an electric current shot from his chest to his groin. Her hair was feathering across his skin, teasing, and the combination of sensations threatened to pull him over the edge. Gripping her hips, he slowed her rocking to a slow roll.

  “Easy…” James smiled as Freddie rose up over him again, her hands braced against his shoulders. Her expression had gone inward, concentrating as she moved. Her breasts were mesmerizing, undulating with the motion of her hips. Lifting his hand, he captured a nipple between his finger and thumb, pinching hard, rewarded by the hiss of her breath and the press of her hips. He continued to tease that nipple as he stroked and pulled at her other breast with his hand, his breath catching with hers as she bucked against him and shuddered, pulsing around him and sending him over the edge with her.