by Golland, KM
CHAPTER TEN
Derek pierced me with wanting eyes, a renewed sense of challenge sparkling from them. I tilted my chin up and invited his kiss with the slight opening of my mouth. Before he lowered his lips to mine, he smiled ever so slightly, that gesture enough to weaken my knees.
I slumped into him, grabbed the collar of his shirt with both my hands and wrenched him forward, confidence growing within me as we explored each other’s mouths with our tongues. Fuck, he tastes good, even minus the mint sauce.
His ability to make just a simple kiss an exquisite experience both excited and worried me. I could indulge in his kiss and get lost for days.
Suddenly distracted by Sasha’s barking and continuous scratching of the glass door, I broke free from Derek and glared at her. Sasha, you little pussy blocker.
‘She needs training,’ he said with a nod toward my insolent puppy.
‘I know,’ I groaned. ‘I’ve been lazy and just never arranged it. I should really look into it though.’
He turned back to face me with a knowing smile. ‘Yeah, that might be a good idea. I know someone, if it helps.’
I shrugged my shoulders; ‘Sure.’ Although I didn’t want to owe him any favours.
Wanting to change the subject, I wriggled out of his arms and walked to the kitchen bench where my purse sat. ‘So where are you taking me?’
‘Dinner and movies,’ he said with a waggle of his eyebrows. Then he led me from the room.
***
When Derek advised that we were going to ‘dinner and movies’, I half expected a ritzy Michelin-starred restaurant and a gold class cinema experience. What I didn’t expect, though, was TGI Friday’s and the local movie theatre.
‘Have you ever had the Jack Daniels steak?’ he asked excitedly while rubbing his hands together after we were seated.
I smiled at his cuteness. ‘No.’
‘Don’t tell me you are one of those salad and water type girls,’ he added, a hint of aloofness in his tone.
Picking up my menu, I began to scan the choices. ‘There’s a salad and water type of girl?’ I questioned, pretending to be curious. I knew what he was insinuating.
He nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘And you have a problem with that “type” of girl,’ I asked, emphasising the type bit and raising my eyebrows accusingly.
He held up his hands in surrender. ‘Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for watching what you eat and looking after yourself, but avoiding one of life’s pleasures and not tasting great food for fear of gaining a little weight, to me, is lame.’
‘Hmm ...’ I mumbled still reading my menu, not giving away my thoughts on the topic. I wanted to make him fret.
‘What does hmm mean?’
‘Um ... I think it’s contemplation,’ I answered, keeping my eyes on the menu and desperately trying not to laugh.
When the only thing that ensued was silence, I couldn’t help myself and looked up, finding sex-on-a-stick harbouring a stubborn scowl. ‘It means I completely agree with you ... to an extent,’ I laughed.
‘To an extent —’ he asked with a puzzled expression.
‘Are you ready to order?’ a waitress asked, interrupting with a smile that didn’t quite hide her desire to go home.
Derek looked to me as if to ask if I was, in fact, ready. I smiled and indicated that he go first. ‘Gentlemen before ladies,’ I said under my breath.
He coughed and then looked toward the waitress. ‘Sure, I’ll have the Jack Daniels steak, medium rare, and a pot of VB, thanks.’
The waitress jotted it down on her pad then turned to me.
‘And I’ll have the Jack Daniels burger and a Corona, thanks,’ I replied, snapping my menu shut and handing it to her.
‘You sure you can eat all that?’ Derek asked, his tone lacking confidence.
I can eat a fucking cow mounted on a horse and covered in mint sauce. And even then I’d want dessert. ‘On second thoughts,’ I said to the waitress, but keeping my eyes fixed solely on Derek, ‘I’ll have the Ultimate Jack Daniels burger, thanks.’
‘Not a problem,’ the waitress sniggered, then walked away.
‘If you’re trying to impress me, Carly, I’m flattered. But you don’t need to. I’m already extremely impressed,’ he advised, his eyes raking over the parts of my body he could see.
‘You are such a cocky fucker. I’m not trying to impress you one bit. I’ve told you this before and I’ll say it again, this is me. Take me or leave me. End of.’
‘Oh, I’ll take you all right,’ he said, leaning forward across the table. ‘And when I do, your body won’t function for days afterward. Every sensation you feel from then on in will remind you of what I did, how I did it and how much you fucking loved it.’
I forced myself to swallow and felt my nipples tingle in response to his promise. My Carly-cave also clenched and burned with need. Extinguish. Extinguish my fiery hole, goddamn it.
‘Well, senior firefighter King, you have just set the bar very high. Don’t let me down.’
He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, an expression of pure satisfaction rolling from him. ‘I won’t.’
‘Here you go,’ the waitress said as she placed our drinks down. ‘Your meals won’t be much longer.’
We both nodded our thanks.
‘So, what movie do you want to see?’ Derek asked as he swigged his beer.
Shit! I don’t know. I don’t do scary movies where things jump out at you. I can’t handle that crap. ‘Um ... I’m really not fussed. You pick,’ I smiled, hoping for a miracle that he loved romantic comedy.
***
Why the fuck did I tell him he could choose the movie? I mean seriously, how stupid could I be? After both thoroughly enjoying our TGI Friday’s dinner, and after proving that I was not a ‘salad and water’ type of girl, we headed to the movies. Derek had chosen Species of the Night and so far I had witnessed crazy motherfuckers hiding in the back seat of unsuspecting victims’ cars, along with them springing up out of nowhere on deserted roads in the middle of the night. Oh, and don’t get me started on the fucking cats that would jump out from behind doors, behind sofas and within the confines of a closet.
My stomach was beyond knotted ... it was twisting and churning, and I was on the verge of either vomiting or passing out.
‘You all right?’ he asked curiously while offering me some popcorn.
I shook my head at his offering then bit my lip. ‘Uh huh.’
‘You don’t look it,’ he mumbled through a mouthful.
‘I’m fine,’ I choked out. So not fine. So. Not. Fine.
‘Carly, you’re as white as a ghost.’
Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply through my nose and let out my confession. ‘I don’t like scary movies. I don’t do creepy shit. It terrifies me.’
‘Jesus!’ he whispered. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’
Derek put the popcorn down and turned toward me.
I shut my eyes, finally blocking out the giant screen in front of me. It helped. ‘Because I wanted you to see the movie that you wanted to see.’
‘You’re so fucking adorable, you know that?’ he said, his breath caressing my cheek. His sudden closeness startled me, prompting me to open my eyes. ‘Keep them closed, baby. I know something that will help distract you.’
The fact he called me baby — which I was beginning to like — together with what he planned on doing to distract me, made me gasp. My chest began to rise and fall rapidly and, as I waited for him to do something, I pressed my lips together quite hard with anticipation.
Suddenly, I felt Derek’s hand gently caress the skin of my leg just above my knee. His touch on that spot made me flinch.
‘Sh ...’ he whispered, ‘just keep them closed.’
‘What, my eyes or my legs?’ I breathed out, opening my eyes and closing my legs. I turned my head from side to side in order to see if anyone was watching. They weren’t and, thankfully, we had n
o other people sharing the same row of seats, nor was there anyone directly behind or in front of us. In the scheme of things, our position was somewhat private.
‘Baby, close your eyes and open your legs,’ Derek instructed, this time with a firmer tone.
I turned to face him and noticed him adjust the prominent hard-on within his jeans. The sight had me biting my lower lip.
He darted forward and sucked my lip into his mouth while forcing my legs apart with his hand. ‘Open your legs and close your eyes,’ he repeated with a slight mumble before releasing my lip and kissing my eyelids, the action forcing them closed.
Oh, shit!
Hesitantly, I complied and relaxed my legs while tightly squeezing my eyes shut.
Derek’s hand began to move up my thigh in a tortuously slow motion. ‘Relax,’ he murmured. Relax? You fucking relax. ‘Are you wearing underwear?’ he murmured again.
‘Of course I am,’ I chided quietly. ‘Who the fuck doesn’t wear underwear to the movies?’
He chuckled. ‘Me.’
‘What? Are you serious?’
His hot breath filtered into my ear. ‘I’m always serious.’ Fuck me, he’s commando! Commando Caramello Koala.
The thought of his cock pressing hard against the denim of his jeans made me groan ever so slightly. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to feel the silky skin of his shaft glide along the palm of my hand as I pumped him. I wanted to see the head of his cock glisten with desire. I wanted HIM.
‘Your nipples are hard,’ he stated quietly before pressing his mouth against my blouse. The material of my bra was only thin, which meant I could feel the warmth and moisture from his tongue as he sucked at my breast.
‘Oh, god!’ I moaned, arching into him.
He bit me gently then pulled away, which was when I noticed that his hand had found the seam of my underwear. Slowly, he slid his finger underneath and gently stroked the sensitive skin around my clit. My jaw fell open.
‘Jesus fucking Christ, you shave,’ he groaned against my neck.
‘Yes,’ I panted, ‘I don’t like vajungles.’
Derek let out a loud laugh which prompted me to open my eyes. ‘What?’
He shook his head with amusement and then kissed me passionately. As his tongue fondled my own, his finger twitched fervently. The quick flick against my clit had me closing my eyes and dropping my head back on the seat once again.
‘Your pussy feels amazing, Carly. I can’t wait to have it on my face and surrounding my cock,’ he whispered as he slid two fingers inside me.
Words, sounds, anything coherent escaped me in that moment. I was completely overcome with the sensation he was gifting me. And it was a gift. What we were doing in the cinema was by far one of the most rewarding sexual experiences I’d had. And I was certainly no prude.
Slowly, he slid his fingers out, then back in. Out, then back in. I couldn’t help myself and rocked against his hand.
‘Fuck,’ he ground out. ‘Come on me, baby.’
‘No,’ I protested with as much enthusiasm as a wet sponge.
He nipped at the skin of my neck then said with a harsh rasp, ‘You’re not going to get a choice.’
His sliding motion increased in pace while his thumb rubbed against my clit. The pressure he applied was perfect. Not hard and not pansy-soft either.
As he rubbed and probed insistently, my head flushed with heat and the muscles in my lower abdomen and inner thighs contracted. The sensational tingling intensified, and I had to raise my hips from the seat and dig my nails into the armrests as my orgasm washed over me.
Opening my mouth, I breathed in and out ardently, trying to regain my composure. Derek’s mouth gently grazed my collarbone before he dragged his lips higher and whispered in my ear. ‘You fucking rock.’
I let out a laugh of relief and opened my eyes, blinking to regain my vision. As I began to decipher my surroundings once again, Derek dragged his finger from within my pussy and placed it in his mouth.
I smiled. ‘No. You fucking rock.’
***
We never watched the end of the film, instead kissing in the darkness of the movie theatre as if we were a couple of horny teenagers. It was strangely sweet.
Soon after, Derek drove me home where we continued to taste one another’s mouths on my front doorstep.
‘So,’ I purred coyly, but with a hint of sexy innuendo, ‘do you want to come in?’
‘I want to come in you,’ he mumbled as his lips teased my neck and ear lobe.
The state of bliss that he cast upon me was both good and bad, bad being the words that had a tendency to uncontrollably tumble out of my mouth. ‘I want you to douse my fiery hol—’ I heard myself begin to say when the front door was wrenched opened behind us.
‘I’ve been trying to ring you for the past twenty minutes,’ Libby said desperately.
‘Oh, sorry,’ I responded, a little stunned. ‘My phone must still be on silent from when we were in the cinema.’
Taking in her distraught face, my stomach began to butterfly. ‘Why, what’s wrong?’
‘It’s Sasha. Something’s not right,’ she replied, a little panicked.
‘What?’ I pulled myself free of Derek and pushed past Libby. ‘Where? Where is she?’
‘She’s in the lounge room,’ Lib called out, following behind me, Derek close behind her.
As I turned the corner, my heart constricted when I spotted Sasha lying on her stomach on the floor. She stood up when she saw me, and straightaway I noticed her twitching.
‘Sashy, what’s wrong, sweetie?’ I said as I dropped to my knees and patted her head. She was frothing at the mouth and clearly distressed.
Derek squatted down beside me and placed his hands on either side of Sasha’s face. He then scooped her into his arms. ‘I’d say she’s ingested something. She needs a vet. Now! Carly, reach into my back pocket and take out my phone,’ he said as he stood up.
I did and then followed him. ‘Where are we going? What are you doing?’ I asked in a panic, tears welling in my eyes.
‘Activate the phone. We’re taking her to the vet. Elizabeth, what has she eaten?’ he asked Lib as we hurried down the hallway.
‘She didn’t eat her dinner after I took her for a walk,’ Libby explained. ‘So nothing.’
I swiped the screen on Derek’s phone. ‘What’s your password?’
‘Sixty-nine, sixty-nine.’
If I weren’t scared out of my mind, I would’ve rolled my eyes at him.
‘Go to contacts and find Layla,’ he instructed. ‘What about during the walk? Did she eat anything then?’ he continued to ask Lib.
Before I knew it, we were outside, standing next to his Ranger.
‘I ... I ... I don’t know,’ Libby stuttered. ‘She was fine. I’m sorry, Carly. I was just about to call the vet when —’
‘Not now, Lib. It’s fine,’ I said, my tone unintentionally clipped.
Although having difficulty seeing from the tears welling in my eyes, I scrolled down his list of contacts until I found Layla. ‘Okay, I’ve found her, Derek.’
‘Dial her number and press speaker,’ he instructed.
I did as I was told and climbed into the front seat of his car, holding the phone in the air for him to speak. He placed Sasha on my lap as the call connected.
‘Derek, long time no hear. To what do I owe the pleasure?’ a woman’s voice sounded from the speaker of his phone.
He took it from my hand. ‘Layla, I need a favour,’ he said loudly. ‘Can you open up the surgery for an emergency, please?’
‘Um ... yeah. What’s the problem?’ she asked.
‘I’m bringing in a ...’ he paused, ‘a friend’s golden retriever pup. I think she’s eaten poison. Quite possibly snail pellets or rodent poison.’ He leaned forward and wiped a tear from my cheek then closed the door.
Looking down at Sasha, I took note of her body violently twitching. Her breathing was frantic, and I could no longer hold myself tog
ether. ‘It’s okay, baby girl. What did you eat? This is all because I said no Schmackos, isn’t it?’
My trembling hand gently caressed her fur. She looked so ... so hyperactive yet scared.
Derek opened the driver’s side door and hoisted himself into the seat. ‘She’s meeting us there. The veterinary surgery is only twenty minutes away.’
I nodded and looked back down at Sasha, blocking out everything around me. It was just me and her.
***
We pulled up to the veterinary clinic. Derek quickly made his way around the front of the car, opened my door, and then lifted Sasha into his arms. I climbed out of the car and took his keys which were dangling from his finger, and then locked the car door before both of us raced up the ramp.
‘Press the button on the wall, Carly,’ he said, pointing to a red knob with his head.
I quickly slammed my hand into it which then inevitably sounded an alarm tone.
A petite mousey-brown brunette rushed toward the glass door. ‘Hey, what do we have here?’ she asked, looking from Sasha to Derek to me.
I stumbled on my words at first. ‘Um ... this is my eight-month-old golden retriever, Sasha. We came home and she was like this.’
Layla assessed Sasha from within Derek’s arms. ‘Did she eat snail pellets?’
‘I don’t know. My room-mate took her for a walk and said that not long after they returned home, she started twitching and drooling.’
‘Okay, let’s get some apomorphine into her to make her vomit. Follow me,’ she said with a smile.
Why do they always smile? It doesn’t bloody help. Clearly my dog is horribly ill. I’m not going to fucking smile.
Layla led Derek and I into a surgical room and then disappeared to get the apple morphine, or whatever the hell it was bloody called.
‘Did you eat snail pellets, Sashy?’ I asked, resting my head on hers.
Suddenly, I felt Derek’s hand rub my back soothingly. ‘She’ll be all right, Carly.’
I didn’t look up as tears formed in my eyes. ‘How can you be sure? You can’t.’
He stepped closer, put his arm around my shoulder, and pulled me into him, all the while patting Sasha. ‘No, but there’s nothing wrong with being positive.’