Beneath the Vine

by Lillian Bryant

  I wasn’t wrong. Gio was exactly what I’d been looking for. I could read people; it was something I’d always been able to do. She was naturally submissive. Her manner, it was obedient, yet, she had that edge, that fire. She’d blossom under our touch; I just knew it.

  “She’s right for us, Bennett. But you do what you need to. I’m in town for a while.” Maybe this was good. This could give me the time I needed to get shit done, make sure it all worked out. “Don’t take too long, or I might have to just take her on myself.”

  Bennett laughed. “You’re so impatient.”

  “I’ll be in touch.” I hit end on my phone and chuckled. Motherfucker really never did change.

  There were times when I was so alone I couldn’t stand the silence of it, but, lately, I was so full of sound, of heat, that I couldn’t deal with the burn of it, and all I wanted was to be submersed in the glorious quiet again. I hated that I wanted Bennett to call. I wanted to see him even though I knew I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t feel sad that I probably wouldn’t see that guy Gage again either. The pleasant solitude I’d grown accustomed to was rapidly being filled with thoughts of men that I shouldn’t crave.

  “For fuck’s sake, I can’t even deal with this right now. Gio, get your ass out here! Why are you sulking?” Renee flipped on my overhead light and scowled at me from my bedroom door. The faint music played from my record player. Yo Yo Ma had a way of grounding me.

  “Please turn the light off.” I narrowed my eyes, the light was too bright.

  She pulled her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder, not once taking her green eyes off of mine. “Get your ass out of bed. Your phone… it vibrated. Do you think it’s him? I know you’re avoiding—”

  Her words… I didn’t hear them. Was it him? It was silly, childish, but his call was what I needed to rationalize my slut-like behavior. I was in between how I felt about what I’d allowed to happen. Part of me was disgusted and part of me was proud. I’d felt like a real woman for the first time, and I wasn’t going to feel bad about it. I jumped out of my bed and pushed past Renee.

  “Jesus, Gio,” she scoffed, but there was a smile in her voice.

  I didn’t bother to respond. I grabbed my phone off the kitchen counter and finally exhaled. It felt like an eternity had passed since I had taken my last breath. Bennett. I tried to pretend like he didn’t affect me, that I could go about my daily life — planned, perfect, and peaceful in its simplistic form — but I was a liar, and a poor one at that.

  Bennett: Dinner?

  My lips spread into a wide smile.

  Me: When? Tonight?

  “Well? Is it him?” Renee plopped down onto the dark gray sofa, her eyes wide.

  I nodded. “He wants to have dinner.”

  She squealed. “Tonight?”

  “I’m not sure.” Just as I said it, my phone vibrated in my hand.

  Bennett: Yes. Is that possible?

  I should say no, make him think I have plans, play the game, make him chase me, but I had a feeling Bennett didn’t chase, he just took.

  Me: I’ll make it possible. What time?

  I pictured him smiling as he read my message. I’d make anything possible to spend time with him. I wanted to know him, know him more than just sex. That prospect scared me, but it was exciting, and even though I thought I didn’t need or want that excitement, I couldn’t deny it any longer. It was like he knew… he knew if he made me wait, I’d come running. He was right.

  Bennett: One hour. 89 Reade St. My Place.

  His place? My heart pounded in my chest.

  Me: See you then.

  Bennett: Looking forward to seeing you.

  My smile was bordering on giddy, and Renee exhaled with a harsh burst.

  “You’re so impatient.” I placed my phone back on the counter with a smirk.

  “Always have been, always will be. Well?” she asked with a slightly irritated tone.

  “Well, I have an hour to get ready and meet him at the address he gave me.” His place. The butterflies were flapping at full speed.

  “I want the address, just in case.” She gave me a serious look.

  “Of course… I’m so nervous. I mean, we’re actually going to have to talk. What if he thinks I’m—”

  “Shut your face. I ain’t trying to hear that.”

  “You do realize at some point you’re going to have to grow up and stop talking like a teenager.” I shook my head with a grin.

  She huffed and stood from the sofa. “Pfft, adulting is overrated, and you, my friend, have no room to judge. I do believe it was you, not just five minutes ago, who was sulking in her room, like a toddler. All because her one-night stand, times two, didn’t call.” She gave me a coy grin and grabbed her purse off the coffee table. “I, my friend, have a date of my own.”

  “The producer?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She giggled.

  I frowned. “He’s so old.”

  “Forty-five is not old, and he’s hung like a horse, so…”

  She laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh with her. “You’re out of your mind, but I love you.”

  “So says the girl who fucks strangers in bathrooms and cellars.” She turned and winked at me before she opened the front door.

  “Stranger!” I yelled before the door shut.

  One. Just one, thank you very much.

  Once she left, reality sunk in. Shit, I needed to get ready. I rushed through my shower, shaving every surface of my body. As soon as I was out, I hurriedly slathered my body with my favorite lotion, a subtle scent of musk and magnolias, and then blew out my hair. It took too long to straighten so I opted for a messy bun. I slipped on my dark maroon sweater dress, thigh highs, and Renee’s brown boots that came to my knees. After a quick dab of powder, mascara, and gloss, I was suitable.

  My heels clicked loudly on the hardwood surface of my apartment floor in the stark quiet as I moved to the living room. My place was filled with everything that was Renee and me. We were both addicted to books, and our floor to ceiling bookshelves were stocked well. My vinyl record collection was too large for my room, and my “overflow” was stored in white crates along the brick wall of our living room. My cello and music stand sat in the corner. The place had character with mixed and matched purchases from Ikea and Goodwill. The gray sofa and white coffee table sat in stark contrast with my mother’s old dark walnut buffet table that Renee’s large flat screen television sat on. I grabbed my bag from the couch and my phone from the kitchen counter.

  I texted Renee the address, and she texted back wishing me luck and not to wait up for her. I had about twenty minutes to get to his place. I’d probably be late, but it’s good to make him wait a little. The door shut and I locked it behind me as I stepped out of the apartment. My nerves were balled tight in my gut. Bennett… knowing him… he was too much of mystery. As I waited for the elevator, I closed my eyes. I tried not to think about how we’d met. I tried not to remember how good he’d made me feel. I wanted to draw this out, make tonight count, and make him more than just a dirty tryst in the dark. I wasn’t sure what to expect with him, and instead of feeling out of control, I decided I’d hand the control over to him.

  His building was one of those older renovated numbers. Rich, loft style apartments, only four to a floor. Standing here, on the sidewalk in the cool fall night air, I felt a surge of energy. This gorgeous, powerful man wanted me. It was finally sinking in as I looked at my reflection in the front doors. Instead of being insecure, I watched myself walk forward in the glass — my curves, my pink cheeks, and a few strands of my hair were loose and sexy. I could see for once the woman I had become. I swallowed down my nerves and decided that starting right now, this moment, I’d start letting myself live. I may have left Gio behind in Brooklyn, but I still had her flare, her fire, and I needed this. I needed him. I was tired of my carefully constructed box. I could be anything I wanted. I didn’t have to push back my desires, I could still be, exist as I needed, become the compos
er, the teacher. I didn’t have to live in that void to have the things I’d worked so hard for, and I hoped tonight would prove I could have both.

  I pressed the call button and the door buzzed, letting me in. He’d texted me on the way over that his apartment was on the top floor, unit D. I took the elevator to the eighth floor. My heartbeat was in sync with each step as I walked down the hall. My stomach felt tight and my chest felt as if it was filled with air. My shaky fingers pressed the door bell, and I thought I could hear him walking to the door. When the door opened in a swift gush, his scent hit me like a bulldozer. His smile pulled to the side and my nerves subsided. That heat he provided, the warmth of being under his gaze, made any second guessing I’d done for the past few days seem infantile.

  “Hi.” My eyes dropped down to the floor, his intense gaze making it hard to breathe.

  “You look beautiful, Selene.” His deep voice hung in the air and caused my skin to tingle with expectation. “Come in.” He reached his hand out and laced his fingers with mine, his touch a relief.

  He was wearing a dark gray suit, a crisp white shirt, and a royal blue tie. His hair was perfectly disheveled, and the five o’clock shadow he was sporting only made him sexier.

  “I hope you’re okay with take-out? I had my assistant pick us up some Chinese.” His smile was small.

  “Your assistant?” I laughed.

  “Yes. I just got home about five minutes ago… it’s been a really long day.” He furrowed his brow in confusion.

  “You couldn’t get your own dinner?” I asked, my right eyebrow pulled into a question mark. Looking around the apartment — the high ceilings, exposed brick, slate counter tops, art on the walls, the earth tone palate, and the fine furnishings — I surmised he wasn’t used to having to do much for himself.

  He chuckled. “Would you have preferred that?” I nodded, and I felt myself blush as he pulled me closer, his hand no longer linked with mine, but resting against my cheek. “Next time I’ll make us dinner.” His eyes searched my face before falling on my mouth. He leaned down and kissed me with quick soft lips.

  Next time. I liked that.

  “Wine?” he asked as he pulled away, leaving me dazed.

  “Yes, please.”

  He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle off the large wine rack. The entire place was open, and even though it had a very modern design, it felt welcoming and soft. Nothing like the bachelor pad I had expected. It felt like a home. The place was spectacular and looked as if he’d had the place done-up by an interior designer.

  Bennett’s mystery unraveled a thread at a time, and I wanted to pick at the seam of him, see what he was made of on the inside. I paced the living room as he poured the wine, watching him, quiet, in his own element. My mind drifting to that dark bathroom where he took me for the second time. The feel of his rough hands on my skin, his mouth against my mouth, flesh against flesh, it’s all I could think about.

  Bennett’s eyes captured me and I stood still. He took a sip of his wine, the dark brooding brown of his irises observed me over the rim of the glass.

  I had to close my eyes, the image of him was too powerful. The rise and fall of my chest was slow motion as I struggled to breathe. Like flashes of a camera, I remembered.

  How he stripped me bare, how my hands skimmed the surface of his skin as I removed his starched button-up, each scene bringing me back to that day, and I wanted more. I wanted to trace my fingers over the ink on his chest, the beautiful art that was hidden beneath the surface of this serious man.

  “You’re all I’ve thought about.” My voice was small as the naked truth fell from my lips. His broad frame moved around the counter, each step bringing him closer to me, making my legs feel weak. I knew what he was capable of.

  His smile was soft as he placed a rogue strand of my dark hair behind my ear. He hadn’t spoken much when we were together, and his silence now sent a delicious shiver down my spine.

  He brought his mouth to my ear. “What did you think about?” he asked before his full lips tasted me at my pulse point, just below my ear, and I couldn’t lie.

  “I thought about you tasting me like this, filling me up like you did. How I want your lips on every single inch of my body, ending with me naked, my back arched in pleasure, and you taking what you want.” The words were a whispered rush, and I couldn’t believe that I’d even spoken them.

  “You’d let me have all that I want?” He locked his eyes on my mouth, and I licked my lips. “Selene, I’d need more than just one night.”

  “You can have as much time as you need. I can’t think of anything I’d want more... than time... alone... with you.”

  Our mouths met and the release I felt with just this small connection, it was harboring on too much. She eagerly pulled at my lips, and I needed to taste her, that unique sweet spice that was just Selene; it had been driving me mad for days. My mouth moved with rough strokes, my need and my control slipping as the scent of her saturated the air. I tilted her head back, my hands cradling the back of her head as I deepened the kiss and swallowed down her moans. Dinner officially forgotten.

  She pulled away breathless and we both searched the other’s expression. Her cheeks were filled with a delicate pink, her lips swollen, and a smile tugged at the corners.

  “Do you know how sexy you are?” My voice was a low rumble and the smile on her lips broke through; it was so bright I felt it in my chest, and it made it hard to think. She wanted to feel my lips on her body; she wanted to give herself over to the pleasure — to me. I laced my fingers with hers and headed toward the bedroom.

  “Bennett?”

  I paused and took a moment to breathe her in. “I’m taking what I want, Selene.” I grinned as her gaze fell, her lids hooded with lust, and her breathing became rapid. The anticipation was potent as I led her to my bedroom. We were quiet, just the sound of her heels on the hardwood floor echoed through the apartment. Having Selene here, where I could take my time, feel every inch of her… it was too tempting and I couldn’t wait. The times we had been together had been too rushed, too fast, too sloppy. She had no idea what I could give her.

  We stepped over the threshold of my room, and I released her hand, watching as she walked ahead of me, taking it all in. My bedroom was the biggest room in the apartment. The crème color carpet absorbed the sound of her shoes as she walked forward. My king sized bed sat against the middle of the far wall of exposed brick.

  She paused, just in front of the bed, and stared at it, as if she was making a choice, as if she had one.

  “Stay as you are.”

  “Like this?” she asked, her gaze still on the bed, still forward, just as I asked.

  “Yes.” I whispered the word along the curve of her neck, and she shuddered. My fingertips trailed down her arms, then to her hips, inching the fabric of her dress higher until the tops of her thigh highs were exposed. I felt actual pain as my cock strained against the fabric of my slacks. I gripped her hips tightly, pressing her ass firmly against me to relieve some of the pressure. She gasped, and the sound of it echoed in the still room.

  My lips dusted across her neck again, craving that shiver I gave her. The skin raised with goosebumps just as I’d hoped. I lifted the dress up further, and she brought her arms above her head letting me undress her. Her bra and panties were nude in color, the lace hugging the curve of her ass. Seeing her like this, standing in just those fucking high heeled boots, thigh highs, and matching lingerie, it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. “We’re leaving the boots on.”

  She nodded and crossed her arms covering her chest. I wasn’t sure if she was cold, or self-conscious because she was still facing forward. “Don’t be embarrassed.” I turned her body, my hands burning her waist. She wouldn’t look at me; her arms wrapped tightly around her. She was anxious. “Selene, drop your arms. Let me see you, let me look at how lucky I am.”

  Her eyes met mine under bashful lashes; her shyness only served me more of what I wante
d. I’d been with a lot of women, and none of them gave me this perfect submission, this unyielding timidity. Fuck, Gage was right; she was exactly what we had been looking for. She didn’t speak as she lowered her arms, or as I eased each strap of her bra off her shoulder, or when I asked her to sit on the bed, or when I peeled her panties down so slowly it became painful to watch as her legs trembled.

  She was laid back, propped on her elbows, spread out before me like a sacrifice, like an offering; she was going to let me have all that I wanted.

  I should go slower, but I could almost taste her and I couldn’t deny myself any longer. I knelt down, still fully dressed, and moved her legs further apart. She was so ready, her bare pussy was drenched, and I groaned as I took just one taste. She whimpered as I lapped at her clit, sucking on it; her body begging to move in a rhythm I wouldn’t allow as I pinned down her hips with a strong grip. The closer to climax she came, the more I denied it, bringing her back and forth. It was what I did. It was how I would get her ready.

  I wanted to tell her what was coming, that I had every intention of fucking her so hard it would be difficult for her to breathe. I wanted to tell her that she was mine and that I planned on filling her up, taking her to the edge and then tearing her down. I planned on making her body fall apart with my touch. Words, each and every one of them, bottling up inside me, urging my pace. She liked my silence. It drove her, made her flesh needy... sweeter. That quiet command, she felt it, and it made her compliant.

  Her skin was hot beneath my fingertips as I released my grip on her hip. My palm twitched as it caressed the curve of her ass. My lips against her, her body quivering just for me. My tongue, my mouth, tasting her, licking up all that anticipation and every last bit of that desire. I’d never taste anything thing this good ever again.