Secretary Number Five

by Bridy McAvoy

“Of course.”

  Dayna slipped him a ten and two twenties. The ten went in the till but Frank pocketed the twenties without batting as much as an eyelid, a moment later disappearing down the other end of the bar.

  Mia raised an eyebrow. “Drinks are expensive here.”

  Dayna shook her head and laughed. “No, silly. That money means he’ll look after both our drinks tonight. Any time we leave the bar to dance, he’ll lift the drinks out of sight and return them when we come back. That way nobody gets the opportunity to slip us a roofie.”

  Mia shuddered. Things had changed rather drastically since she’d been on the dating circuit. There again, she’d not had that much experience of bars and clubs when she met Simon for the first time, and the rest had been history. When she looked up she could see Dayna watching her. Her friend was gently shaking her head.

  “You have to put him out of you mind. Remember, he’s the reason you’re here. Right?”

  Mia nodded.

  “Now relax, kick back, and have fun, and for Christ’s sake, cross your legs. Sweetie, if you don’t, you are going to spend the entire evening watching and not participating.”

  “Oh, it’s a signal, then?”

  “Doh!” Dayna shook her head again. “That’s what I told you, right? Now, there’s a couple of nice guys watching us from one of the booths. I know one of them—he’s nice, and he’s also pretty good in the sack.”

  “Dayna!”

  “True. I don’t know his friend though. But they’re not going to come over because he knows I don’t do threesomes that often and you’re not saying you might be available.”

  “Just by crossing my legs?”

  “Yep, cross your legs and within five minutes you’ll be hit on. Guaranteed. Hell, if you were still wearing the skirt Simon thinks you’re wearing it’d be more like thirty seconds.”

  “Hang on, you said ‘often’ about threesomes? Does that mean you do have them?”

  Dayna chuckled. “A lady never tells.”

  Mia took a deep breath. Dayna was an old hat at this game, and this was why she’d come here tonight. Even so, she was not used to putting this much flesh on display. Gritting her teeth, she crossed her legs and tried hard not to look in the direction Dayna had been talking about. Her skirt wasn’t as short as her friend’s—that was just about obscene—but crossing her legs forced the skirt to ride up, and she tugged it down as far as she could.

  Dayna chuckled. “Well, if that didn’t just advertise that you’re fresh meat, I don’t know what would.”

  “It’s all right for you. I feel naked.”

  “Well, I could nip out to your car and fetch the other skirt for you if you want.”

  “Don’t!”

  “Relax, and smile. Especially now, because our two potential dates for the evening are making their move.”

  “Already?”

  Mia felt a flush rise to her face, and hurriedly picked up her drink, turning partly away to look over the bar as the two men approached, using the mirror to watch them, thus avoiding direct eye contact.

  “Dayn, how lovely to see you here.” The taller of the two leaned in and kissed Dayna on the cheek. “Haven’t seen you here in a while, and who’s your beautiful friend?”

  “Hello, Wayne, and nice to see you too. You look like you’ve lost a bit of weight?”

  He shrugged but Mia could tell he was pleased she’d noticed, although she wondered if Dayna had, or was just making small talk. She decided on the latter.

  “Three or four pounds.”

  “Looking good on it, fella. My gorgeous friend here is Mia.”

  “Very pleased to meet you, Mia, and I have to say I’m hoping to get to know you better, a whole lot better.”

  The deliberate phrasing left her in no doubt what he meant, but before she could stutter a reply he carried on.

  “My dark and mysterious friend here is actually shy rather than mysterious, but you can call him Jason—everyone else does.”

  “Hi, ladies. Just ignore him. He tries to prove he’s clever but in actual fact he’s just jealous because I can dance better than he can.”

  Dayna was eyeing up Jason as the two men moved in closer to stand next to the ladies’ stools. Wayne raised his hand and signaled to Frank who came straight away—the club still wasn’t busy.

  “Two JD’s and coke please, and whatever the ladies are having.”

  “I’m fine, thanks, only just got this one.” Mia found her voice and blurted the words out before she registered the warning glance from Dayna.

  “We’ll both have the usual, thanks, Frank. Keep them on the tab ’til we’re ready.”

  “Will do.”

  While Frank fulfilled the drinks order for the men, then disappeared down the other end of the bar, Mia could feel Wayne studying her. His attitude with her was in striking contrast to his attitude with Dayna. Looking at Dayna, he’d taken in every detail of Dayna’s provocative dress and the length of leg on display, but there was a possessive quality that seemed to say I’ve seen you naked, I’ve had you, and I can have you again. The look he gave Mia was far more appraising. His gaze seemed to focus on her lips and then drift down, taking in her neck, her shoulders which were, of course, bare, and then on down over her bust to her lap and down to her legs. Jason was doing the same, but his slow survey was of each woman in turn. Mia felt very much like a side of beef in a butcher’s as they silently carried out their survey and she felt herself getting angry, but Dayna gave her a little shake of the head to stop her reacting.

  “Listen, you want to stay at the bar? We’ve got a booth.”

  Mia looked at Dayna, who nodded. She knew she was making it obvious she wanted her friend to take the lead. “That would be lovely, thank you. These stools are not the most comfortable.”

  Wayne chuckled. “Or the most modest.”

  Both he and Jason took one of Mia’s hands each to help her down from the stool and, uncrossing her legs, she slowly dismounted, grateful for the help. When they let go, she smoothed her skirt down and turned as they moved to help Dayna. As she’d expected, her friend made a huge production of climbing down from the stool and a quick glance around the room confirmed there were a half dozen pairs of eyes watching Dayna as she did so, indeed had probably been watching her too. After all, the hook-up with Wayne and Jason might not happen, so there were guys still hopeful out there. Mia felt more and more out of her depth as the two men escorted them around the edge of the rather deserted dance floor to their booth.

  Although the club had a gentile veneer, Mia felt it was even more of a cattle market than she’d expected, and the experience wasn’t enjoyable. At the same time it was clear her friend was in her element.

  When they reached the u-shaped booth, the two men stood back, allowing the two women to slide into the booth first, and Mia could feel their eyes on her legs as she wormed her way along the plush bench seating. She could feel her skirt riding up, and tried not to be too self-conscious about it, then turned just as Dayna started to slide in beside her. Dayna’s performance was an even greater work of art than climbing off the stool. Mia was sure her friend was displaying more leg, and for that matter butt cheek, than she had when she’d leaned across the bar to lip sync with the bartender. When she straightened up beside Mia she only made a token gesture of pushing her skirt down, and appeared quite flushed.

  “Enjoying yourself, you hussy?”

  Dayna winked in reply to her whispered comment, but the men joined them before they could say anything else. Mia had expected Wayne to sit next to her, although he wasn’t really her type—the experienced club regular going for the new meat rather than the woman he’d had before—but he didn’t. She guessed some kind of signal had been passed, unnoticed, between Dayna and him, telling him to let his friend try his luck with Mia first. She was pretty sure that if Jason struck out, the two guys would swap off. Every passing second made her feel more and more uncomfortable in an environment that was becoming increasingly alien
to her.

  Chapter 6

  “Would you care to dance?”

  Mia smiled at Jason. It had been half an hour since they’d sat down and the conversation around the table had put her more at ease, as the guys were friendly. Just friendly, nothing more. Jason hadn’t immediately got touchy-feely with her, which had been a good thing. An occasional glance had confirmed the presence of Wayne’s hand on Dayna’s thigh. The club had filled up a little and there were about a couple of dozen couples dancing to the mostly slow songs. The dance floor wasn’t big—she wouldn’t feel too exposed—so she nodded, and Jason eased out of the booth and held out his hand. She glanced at Dayna who nodded to her and then went back to her conversation with Wayne. She was pretty sure the two would be getting a lot closer without the other two in the booth, but that wasn’t her business, and she hadn’t wanted to cramp her friend’s style anyway.

  Jason, of course, watched her as she slid out of the booth to join him, his eyes lingering on her legs, before guiding her out into the dance floor. He led her right to the middle, concealed for the most part from all of the non-dancers, which was considerate of him. She smiled a thank you as he put his arms around her waist.

  She tried to maintain a little distance between their bodies as they danced, and for a minute she didn’t know what to do with her hands. It seemed so awkward to be just resting them on his shoulders. As they moved, she felt her elbows were sticking out and making her look even more awkward than she felt.

  There was only one solution, so she slowly slid her hands inward toward his neck, resisting the sudden and silly desire to put her hands around his neck in a choke hold, and twined her fingers together behind his neck. Jason smiled, and within seconds had pressed his body closer. As they turned, his thigh brushed against hers, his shirt touching the front of her blouse. He’d taken her move which was more comfortable, and look less awkward, as a come-on. She couldn’t blame him for that, not really. She tensed for a moment, then forced herself to relax.

  The music wasn’t loud, but it was enough to discourage conversation on the dance floor, and she glanced at the other couples as they swirled past. About half were dancing as she and Jason were, the other half were getting closer still, their bodies almost melting against each other. One or two of the couples were necking, one couple really going for it—her hands knotted in his hair, his hands cupping her butt cheeks and pulling her into him, both of them grinding at each other like there was no tomorrow.

  Concerned that Jason would try to kiss her—she wasn’t ready for that—she laid her head on his shoulder facing away from him, taking the opportunity away before he could act on it.

  His hand rose higher up her back and settled around her bra strap before pressing forward, pushing her against him. She felt her breasts compress against his chest, realizing she hadn’t danced with anyone this close other than her husband since they’d become an item. She almost sobbed out loud, but managed to stop herself. Jason’s other hand was drifting south as they danced and she had to force herself to relax and let it happen, rather than pull away and follow her natural urge to slap him.

  She could just imagine the scene.

  How dare you! I’m a married woman!

  He’d be reeling away, his face a mask of shock as everyone around them froze in reaction to the unfolding scene. She knew she didn’t have to be that extreme to stop him, but the mental image didn’t go away.

  They danced for another few minutes, but she made no move to increase the intimacy of the dance before the second—or was it third?—song stopped, and Jason was the one to let go. She stepped away from him a few inches and smiled at him.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  “Mind if I cut in?”

  She turned to find Wayne standing there grinning at her in his self-confident way, with Dayna in his arms. She hadn’t realized her friend was dancing too. By the way her friend looked flushed, they’d been dancing far more suggestively than she and Jason had.

  “Not at all.”

  The two men didn’t ask her. They had the conversation between themselves and Jason let go of her hand, reaching for Dayna’s without hesitating. Before she could say anything to her friend, Wayne had swept her into his arms and turned them through a half-circle, taking them out of her sight.

  “You need to relax, baby. Nothing will happen that you don’t want.”

  She swallowed hard. It was already clear Wayne was a different type of guy than Jason—far more confident and demanding—and she’d only been in his arms for a few seconds. As he’d swung her around, her arms had automatically gone behind his neck, as much for stability as for any other reason.

  His hold was close, pulling her in to him, but not crushing her, just making contact in several places. As she looked up into his face, she knew the trick of hiding her face on his shoulder wouldn’t work with him—he was far more of the alpha male model than his friend was. Wayne whirled her around a couple of times, her feet having to move quickly to keep up. When she glanced around she could see they’d moved to the edge of the dance floor, well away from where she’d been. There was no sign of Dayna and Jason, although she could see a flash of red dress that might or might not have been her friend. She looked back toward Wayne only to find his lips descending toward hers.

  “Oh.”

  The soft sigh belied the fire that had ignited in her core, and she tried not to respond as his lips covered hers. They were still dancing, but the movement quickly degenerated into a circular shuffle as his lips pressed against hers, always moving, always questing. His tongue flicked out, probing for an entrance between her lips, but she kept them firmly shut. Wayne stopped using his tongue but his lips continued to move against hers. Although demanding, his kiss remained soft and she could feel the effect it was having on her as her heart beat started to race.

  His hands were moving too—one higher to press her chest against his, one lower to gently press against her butt, not exactly cupping her ass cheek, but pressing it. His leg moved slightly, so that hers naturally went either side of it, and as they shuffled around again she could feel him expertly worming his leg between her thighs, pressing ever closer to her groin.

  She could feel the heat of him through her blouse, and when he pulled her tighter against him she could feel the fact he already had an erection as it dug into her belly. Further down he brought his thigh into contact with her mound and he used his hand to move her against it, almost grinding her without her doing anything. Her eyes remained closed as he released her captive lips, her head leaning back as he transferred his attention to her cheek, along her jawline toward her earlobe. The fleeting kisses were like butterflies landing, and then taking off again. He moved from the sensitive spot just below her ear down to her throat, and she couldn’t entirely suppress the soft moan that rose in her throat. He chuckled, his lips vibrating against the hollow below her chin, and she shivered. She couldn’t believe how he’d worked her to this point without really saying anything at all—and she hadn’t resisted.

  She forced her head forward and opened her eyes. “It’s a bit public for that kind of thing on the dance floor, don’t you think?”

  He grinned down at her. “Of course. Shall we sit down?”

  Without waiting for a reply, he let go and grabbed her hand, leading her back to the booth they’d been sitting in and letting her slide in first, immediately sitting next to her. Her hands automatically dropped to smooth her skirt down but he grabbed her right hand with his left and stopped her.

  “You have wonderful legs. It’s a shame to cover them.”

  She looked up to see if Dayna and Jason were in sight, but they were somewhere in the middle of the dance floor and hidden from view. She felt vulnerable sitting there next to Wayne, as he let go of her hand and dropped his hand to her exposed thigh, still decently below the top of her stocking, but only just so. His other arm snaked around behind her.

  Mia’s thoughts were in confli
ct. She’d come out with the intention of enjoying herself and, if she felt like it, allow herself to be seduced by a man other than her husband as part of her revenge against him. The main part of her revenge had always been the going out, not so much the final act itself. Her body was reacting to Wayne in a way it hadn’t with Jason and she knew she was close to letting it all happen. She didn’t know what to think as his fingers started to trace circles on her thigh, conscious they were sliding up higher with every completed sweep. She turned her head to look at him, and found him smiling. He leaned in close but it wasn’t for a kiss as he bypassed her mouth, his lips going to her ear. He nipped the earlobe between his teeth, hard enough to make her gasp, then whispered.

  “We don’t have to do anything, a no is enough to back me away. Nor will a no mean you’re a tease—it will simply mean you’re not ready. Dayna told me this was your first time out without hubby for some time. That’s cool. So be cool, relax, enjoy, and if you want to, say no—although obviously I’d prefer a yes.”

  He moved his head away and chuckled, smiling at her as she tried to force herself to smile back. She knew his speech was just that—a speech—but she also knew he meant it. He was investing his evening in her with the intention of getting laid. If she knocked him back he’d go home without, which wasn’t necessarily fair.

  “I’m not ready…yet, okay? Leave it at that for now.”

  Before they could continue their conversation they were interrupted by Dayna and Jason returning to the table, and a moment later Frank appeared with the two drinks they’d paid for but left behind the bar. Without asking, he put them on the table and whisked the half empty ones away. Dayna smiled and thanked him as he left and Frank winked at her. She realized they’d left the drinks unattended for some time, and Frank was simply making sure there was nothing being added to them.

  Despite telling Wayne she wasn’t ready, he hadn’t removed his hand from her thigh, and his fingers were still dancing in circles on top of her stocking, although he’d moved to the lace band at the top, hiking her skirt up a bit further in the process. Dayna and Jason weren’t paying any attention to what she and Wayne were doing. The moment he’d slid into the other side of the booth opposite them, Dayna had put her arms around his neck and started kissing him with an all-out fervor that surprised Mia. Danya had both hands either side of his face, immobilizing his head as she kissed him. His hands were on Dayna’s naked back and, even as Mia watched, she saw one hand slide around to the side. Her friend shivered and she guessed he’d just found a better target for his hand—Dayna’s breast.