The Education of Sebastian & the Education of Caroline

by Jane Harvey-Berrick

  Jeez, had he always been this moody?

  “Do what?”

  “Keep going on about your age. You’re older than me—I get it. And guess what? I don’t give a shit. I never did. I just wish you weren’t so hung up about it. It’s kind of annoying.”

  I was annoying him? In what universe? Oh, this one, probably.

  I realized my mouth was still hanging open in a most unattractive way.

  “Feel free to say what you really mean, Hunter.”

  He grinned at me. “Okay.”

  I shook my head, half-amused, half-irritated.

  “So, we can go tomorrow? Start our road trip?” he said, his eyes glowing like a kid at Christmas.

  “Well, I suppose so. But I don’t know how we’ll get my case on the back of your motorcycle.”

  “Don’t worry about that. We’ll just take what you need, and leave your case at my place till we get back.” He paused, his expression turning challenging. “So, can I stay the night, or are you going to kick me out into the cold, dark world, all alone in a strange city, where foreign women might try and have their evil way with me?”

  “That’s a sob story, if ever I heard one, Chief Hunter, although I strongly suspect it’s a highly edited one.”

  “Is that a yes?” he said, hopefully.

  “It’s a yes, providing sleep is what you had in mind.”

  “Mostly. Good enough?”

  I shook my head: he really was incorrigible.

  “Fine. You want to use the bathroom first?”

  “No, go ahead.”

  As I brushed my teeth hard enough to remove several layers of enamel, I wondered how I’d got railroaded again. I really didn’t seem to have the ability to say ‘no’ when it came to Sebastian. Had it always been like that between us? I thought back to some of the outrageous risks we’d taken ten years ago. Yes, I had to admit—it had always been like that.

  When I’d finished, Sebastian took his turn in the bathroom, and I climbed wearily into bed. I’d forgotten what a workout it was, having sex with him. My thirty-year-old self had trouble keeping up; there seemed even less chance I’d be able to keep up now. I reminded myself that according to the consensus of opinion, a forty-year-old woman was in her sexual prime, while a man’s was at the age of 19. Which meant Sebastian was already past his prime: although there was no evidence that anyone had told him that. Even so, it cheered me up slightly.

  I enjoyed the floor show as he strolled out of the bathroom, unembarrassed by his nudity, wearing just his dog tags and a big smile. He was either very comfortable with me, or he was just used to wandering around naked—did they have open showers in the Marines? Hmm, maybe some research was in order—strictly on the grounds of professional integrity, of course.

  Instead of walking around the bed, he deliberately sat on my side, then climbed over me.

  “Sebastian, what are you doing?”

  “Taking a shortcut,” he said, as his body hovered over mine, and he dipped down to kiss me.

  He tasted of mint.

  I reached up and pulled him deeper into the kiss before pushing lightly on his chest.

  “Sleep! Now!”

  “Sure I can’t change your mind?” he said, eyeing yet another erection, which was growing at an alarming rate.

  “Oh, put it away! I’m tired.”

  He grinned at me and gave in, sliding under the duvet on the other side of the bed.

  I stretched to turn off the bedside light and the room was plunged into darkness. I felt Sebastian’s hand drift over my waist, and he kissed the back of my neck.

  “Night, baby.”

  He fell asleep quickly, his arms wrapped around me, warming me and weighing me down. I listened to the sound of his quiet, even breaths, wondering if our differences would bring us together or push us apart.

  It was barely light when Sebastian shook me awake from a confused and disturbing dream.

  “Caro, are you okay?”

  I rubbed my face as his worried eyes gazed at me.

  “Oh, sorry, did I wake you up? I was dreaming.”

  “It sounded more like a nightmare.”

  “Sorry. Yes, I’m okay.”

  In truth, I’d been dreaming about Iraq again. It wasn’t something that happened often, but it was always frightening when it did. The recurring images stemmed from the time I’d visited Victory Base near Baghdad’s airport: the medical team had just heard that three ‘Category Alpha’ injuries were on their way. In my dream, it was the distinctive thrum of the medivac helicopters that filled me with fear.

  Sebastian definitely didn’t need to know what my nightmare had been about.

  I shivered and sat up, the duvet slipping down to my waist. Sebastian’s expression changed, and I realized his eyes were hungrily fixed on my breasts.

  “Your eyes are going to fall out, Hunter,” I muttered.

  He grinned guiltily, acknowledging that he’d been caught staring.

  “Just looking, boss,” he said.

  I didn’t bother to reply. Instead, stretching stiffly, I shuffled off to the bathroom with the bathrobe pulled tightly around me.

  I contemplated the bags under my eyes and frazzled hair, searching for any gray ones that I could ruthlessly root out. And then I realized the truth: this was as good as it got. I was never going to get younger, or more toned, or less wrinkly. And maybe there would be a day, sooner rather than later, when Sebastian would want younger flesh under his expert hands. And if that happened, there was less than fuck all I could do about it. But right now, he wanted me. It was my body that made his eyes pop out of his head, and my body that had so aroused him last night. He’d said again that he didn’t care about the age difference, so what was my problem? Maybe I should just sit back and enjoy the ride, so to speak.

  Perhaps I was having a breakthrough: he didn’t care, so why should I?

  I prodded my puffy eyes again. Nope, still luggage-laden. Then I remembered something: something Sebastian had said to me ten years ago; something we’d never done.

  Hmm. That had interesting possibilities. I wondered if he’d let me … one way to find out.

  It would certainly take my mind off my inadequacies and, well, hopefully it would take Sebastian’s mind off of everything.

  Sebastian was lying back on his pillows with his hands behind his head.

  “Hi,” he said, his eyes glowing.

  “Hi yourself.”

  “You seem better.”

  “Why, Chief Hunter, what masterful skills of observation you have.”

  He grinned at me. “Yeah, much better.”

  “Well, now you mention it, I am in a much better mood, although I’m rather hungry.”

  “Do you want to go down for breakfast or shall I call room service?”

  “Let me think about that for a minute.”

  Slowly, I untied the belt to my robe and pulled it out of the loops, winding it through my fingers.

  I dropped the robe to the floor, and watched Sebastian’s eyes as he followed its descent.

  “I was thinking about eating you, Chief, but as you’re such a stubborn, annoying man, who makes me pissed with every other sentence he utters from between his beautiful, badly-behaved lips, I thought I’d better tie you up first. What do you say?”

  Sebastian’s mouth dropped open.

  “I’d say, where is Carolina Venzi and what have you done with her?”

  I smirked at him. “I’m just taking your advice, Chief.”

  “I don’t know what advice I gave you, but it must have been damn good.”

  “Let’s find out, shall we? Put your hands on the headboard.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He wrapped his hands through the metal framework, and I crawled up the bed and across his body. Kneeling over his chest, I threaded the belt through the headboard and tied both his wrists tightly.

  “Have you done this before?” he breathed out, his gaze heated.

  “Only in my dreams, Hun
ter. Now, be quiet, or I might have to gag you, too.”

  “Fuck!” he whispered.

  “Maybe later.”

  I whipped the duvet off him in the same way that I ripped off wax strips from my legs. I wasn’t surprised to see he was beautifully erect.

  “Now that’s a sight for sore eyes, Sebastian. Maybe I should just leave you here: the hotel maids might appreciate that. Or, better still, maybe I’ll take a photograph of you on my phone. Don’t worry, I won’t post it on the internet, it’ll just be my screensaver.”

  “Caro!” he said, a serious warning in his voice.

  “Spoilsport,” I said, pouting at him. “No sense of adventure.”

  He grinned back, but his expression was slightly wary. He flexed his arms, testing the knots. I was delighted to see he couldn’t move them. I placed a gentle kiss on each of his biceps before sliding back down his body.

  Oh, I was going to enjoy being the one giving the orders. Maybe I’d teach him how to be a good soldier and take them.

  I knelt down on the bed, and ran my tongue from his balls to his tip; he groaned loudly. Nope, that wasn’t going to work.

  I clambered off the bed again.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, rather nervously.

  “Back in a minute,” I called, as I wandered into the bathroom. I rooted through my toiletry bag trying to find a hair-tie.

  “Caro!” he yelled. “What the fuck?”

  “Are you getting impatient, Sebastian?”

  He swore again and I heard him tug on the headboard, making it creak ominously.

  I strolled back into the bedroom, pulling my hair into a ponytail. “Couldn’t see what I was doing,” I explained.

  “There’s going to be payback for this, Venzi,” he said, his eyes dark and amused.

  “Bring it on, Chief.”

  I knelt back on the bed and ran my hands over his fabulous chest, enjoying the smooth tautness of his pecs, every ripple of his abs, and washboard stomach. I took his dog tags in my mouth and sucked hard.

  He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply.

  I smiled to myself. I was enjoying having him at my mercy—I suspected he was, too. Well, it was more than a suspicion: I had the evidence to prove it. Yes, about that evidence…

  I kissed, nipped, bit, licked and sucked my way downwards. I must have found a ticklish spot, because his hips bucked uncontrollably and he swore again.

  “Sebastian, your language!”

  I ran my tongue down his full length, and gently held his balls in my teeth. His body was rigid, and I think he stopped breathing. I released him carefully, and heard the breath rush out of his lungs. I felt the urge to laugh, but thought better of it. I held his erection at right angles to his body, and leaned down. I planted a soft kiss on the tip, feeling his body quiver, and then I took him in my mouth, all of him, all the way up and all the way down. I used my tongue, teeth and lips to give him sensation in as many different ways as possible.

  His skin was soft and silky to the touch, his erection hot, hard and delicious. I massaged his thighs and balls as I rode up and down him with my mouth.

  He flexed his hips upwards, and moaned softly. That was my cue to increase the pressure and ramp up the speed.

  I felt so turned on having him in my complete power. I’d never done anything like this before in my life, and I’d lied to Sebastian when I’d told him I’d dreamed about doing it. But there was something about his honesty and openness that made me feel strong and almost fearless. It was me giving him pleasure and making him writhe underneath me, not some nubile twenty-year old. Forty, and with fewer inhibitions: it wasn’t a bad place to be.

  With a feeling akin to triumph, I felt him come in my mouth as he cried out my name. I swallowed quickly, aware of the warm, salty fluid in the back of my throat. Really don’t want that going down the wrong way.

  I sat up, feeling a little stiffness in my neck and shoulders. Oh, well, it was worth it.

  His eyes were still closed and his breathing was rapid. I watched him for a moment, then leaned over to the bedside table and drank some of the water that he’d left there last night.

  I glanced at my phone to see the time, wondering if he’d regain the power of speech anytime soon.

  I lay back on the bed and cuddled up on his chest, pulling the duvet over us.

  “Jeez, Caro! That was … that was … wow!” He paused. “Are you going to untie me now?”

  I shook my head sleepily. “Don’t think so. I like having you as my beck-and-call boy.”

  He chuckled lightly, then rattled the headboard again. “Seriously, I want to hold you.”

  Grumbling quietly, I untied his arms and he flexed his hands. He worked the fingers a little, which made me wonder if I hadn’t tied him a little too tightly. Oh well, live and learn.

  “Where did you teach yourself to do that?” he said, teasingly, once I’d settled back on his chest.

  “Night school,” I said, with a yawn.

  He laughed and kissed my shoulder. “Is it my turn now?”

  “I thought you wanted to take me on a road trip.”

  “Yeah,” he said, a salacious gleam in his eye. “But I could be quick…”

  Hmm, fast, hard sex … with Sebastian.

  No, my muscles were still feeling the sting of last night’s activities.

  “I’ll take a rain check, Chief.”

  His expression was rueful.

  “Okay. In that case, I guess we should get going.”

  But his hands weren’t obeying the words his mouth was speaking.

  “What are you doing?” I said, suspiciously, my eyes still closed.

  “Nothing,” he said softly, as his fingers skated a little lower.

  Then I gasped, and my eyes flew open. He was grinning at me, a devilish expression on his face.

  “Sebastian!” I moaned.

  “Shh, baby,” he whispered, then covered my mouth with his.

  It seemed it was my turn after all.

  I showered quickly, shooing him out of the bathroom when he tried to join me. I knew if he did, our road trip would begin and end with this bedroom, which didn’t sound so bad, but now, after all my arguments, I found I was looking forward to seeing Italy. With Sebastian.

  His shower was even briefer than mine, and he dressed quickly while I packed up my clothes, cell charger, laptop and notebooks. Carefully, I wedged my camera case in among my t-shirts to give it as much protection as possible.

  The camera was a Nikon D2Xs and it meant a lot to me: it had been one of the first things I’d bought myself, once I started making some money from writing. There were other, better digital cameras out there on the market, but this one had accompanied me all over the world, and it had never let me down.

  “Do you want to get breakfast here?” said Sebastian. “You didn’t eat anything after lunch yesterday.”

  His thoughtfulness was endearing. Yes, I remembered that: those brief moments when someone had put my needs before their own. Sebastian had been the first person to do that.

  “No, it’ll take too long. You must know some little café we could stop at? Maybe on the lake?”

  “Yeah, okay. But I need to swing by my place first and pick up a few things.”

  We headed down to the lobby, and while I settled my bill, pushing the receipt in my pocket, glad that my newspaper had been paying for this expensive hotel, Sebastian went to retrieve his bike. I still wasn’t sure how he was going to get my case onto his motorcycle, even for the short distance to his apartment.

  I realized I had no idea where he lived: it was going to be fascinating seeing his private world.

  I heard the bike’s engine before I saw it; the throaty roar surprisingly familiar already.

  God, he looked gorgeous in his leather jacket and denim stretched tightly over his toned thighs. I could daydream for hours about those. And the black helmet made him look dangerous.

  He lifted up the visor.

  “Give
me the case, Caro.”

  “Where are you going to put it?”

  I handed it to him, feeling puzzled, but he just wedged it in front of him between the handlebars, and jerked his head at me to get on behind him.

  Yes, sir!

  I’d definitely have to tie him up again: he liked being in charge too much. Or maybe I should stop encouraging him by calling him ‘Chief’.

  Certain that carrying luggage like this was highly illegal, we headed off into the city. I decided that if we got stopped, I’d try the innocent-and-clueless-tourist-abroad card.

  Luckily, we made it to Sebastian’s place without incident.

  His apartment, if you could call it that, was in an older part of the city where the architecture looked more Italian than Swiss. The cobblestone street was narrow and very quiet. I wondered where they’d got them from, so far from the sea. A river, perhaps?

  Sebastian’s apartment was in a tall, thin building, with peeling stucco and weathered window shutters. It wasn’t at all what I’d expected. I’d imagined some chic bachelor pad, all glass and chrome—somewhere to take his conquests.

  I pulled off my helmet, and clambered inelegantly from the mean machine. Sebastian swung his long leg over easily, smirking at me.

  “Nothing to laugh at, Hunter. Just because you’re about a foot taller than me.”

  “Shrimp,” was his generous comment.

  I tried to swat his backside, but he dodged out of the way.

  “You’re feisty this morning: I think I like it.”

  He pulled an old-fashioned key out of his pants’ pocket and grabbed my case with the other.

  The door creaked open and I peered into a gloomy passageway.

  “Sorry,” said Sebastian, “no lights.”

  He led the way up three flights of dark, narrow staircase, and slid the key into another lock when we reached the top.

  “This is it,” he said, shortly.

  As I stepped inside, a feeling of sadness welled up through me. The room was small and white, with a narrow single bed pushed against one wall. An ugly military-style blanket was neatly folded over the top, as if ready for inspection. A dozen, well-thumbed paperbacks lay on a plain, wooden bookshelf. The only color in the room was provided by his dress uniform, which had been arranged on a hanger inside a polythene drycleaner’s bag, and hung from a hook on the wall.