by MK Schiller
* * * *
“Jeez, Lanie, did you buy out the whole city?” Kyle asked, bringing in the last of the bags from the car. It had taken three trips and both of them to carry in all the items. At least it kept him from gawking at her.
He still felt as awkward as when Rachael and Lanie had returned from their ten-hour excursion. Rachael had come in, exclaiming what a great day they’d had, but Kyle hadn’t been paying attention to her chatter. He was playing Legos with the boys, holding his piece in midair, in the middle of the living room floor. All he could do was stare at Lanie. She was wearing a black turtleneck that showed off her hourglass shape with a big black belt and tight jeans. Not the waist-high grandma jeans she’d been wearing when he picked her up. No, sir, these were low-waisted, hip-hugging, curve-revealing jeans.
Her hips, he thought, her hips are her best feature.
Her long auburn hair hung in delicate curls, framing her face. She was more than pretty or beautiful or sexy. Lanie Carmichael was breathtaking.
“Uncle Kyle, you broke our Lego building,” Joe had shouted angrily when Kyle managed to knock over their impressive tower.
Now, bringing her home, he could see she’d had a busy day. Rachael had pulled him aside and told him Lanie was a keeper, whatever that meant. Lanie wasn’t his to keep in the first place. No, he was just a substitute, and wasn’t that what he wanted?
He watched her put away her purchases. “Not the whole city. There are still a few items left for the other girls,” Lanie said cynically.
“Any lingerie…like something from this century?” Kyle asked her.
“Maybe,” she replied.
Kyle scanned the various bags on her bed. “I think it would be this bag,” he said, grabbing the small bag in two-tone pink stripes.
“Hey, give me that. That’s not for you,” she said, trying to grab it from his hand. He held her off and turned his back to reach into the bag.
“Oh no?” he said, holding up a silky, pale-pink bustier.
“No, you want me naked, remember? So you don’t get to see this.” She took the bag from him.
“I wouldn’t mind this.”
“You wouldn’t?” she asked, clutching the frilly garment to her chest.
“No, baby. Wear it for me…please?”
She smiled at him and gave him a deep kiss, bringing her hands around his neck. “I’ll think about it,” she whispered. He placed his hands around her waist, deepening the kiss, feeling his cock stirring as his mouth explored hers. “So are you going to ever explain my key chain? You got me a key chain that says ‘player’? Do you think I need to advertise that fact?” he asked when they parted.
She laughed against his neck. “No, but it was to make up for the other thing I put on your chain.”
“I assume it’s the key to your apartment, and I thought we talked about this.” If any other girl had done this, he would have probably ripped the key off the ring with his teeth and chucked it out the window before running for the hills. With Lanie, he doubted it meant what he thought it did.
“Don’t freak out, Kyle. Seriously, it’s just for show.”
“So, it’s a fake key?”
“No, the key’s real and it works, but I didn’t give it to you as a pretense for anything. It’s just that Brad has a key, and Cassie asked me why I hadn’t given you a key if we’re so serious.”
“Ah, I see, so this is a prop in our fake relationship?”
“Not exactly. You’re my friend and we’re going to have sex, but trust me, I don’t want any more than that. I wouldn’t mind if you used it, but that’s why I got you the key chain too. So you’d know that there’s no agenda or anything. Am I making sense?”
“Yes, the conflicting evidence somehow supports your case,” Kyle replied, holding up the key in question and the ridiculous key chain.
She crossed her arms. “Good, then no further testimony is needed.”
Kyle cupped her ass in his hands and pulled her against his chest, kissing her neck, inhaling that indescribable, delicious scent that was uniquely Lanie. He sucked on her lower lip, feeling the soft outline of its curve between his lips as he manipulated it, tasting the sugary sweetness of her cherry lip gloss. She moaned, threading her hands through his hair. The perfect, soft angles of her body melted into his harder ones.
“I can’t believe you went shopping.” Cassie’s high-pitched voice pierced through the sound of Kyle’s beating heart, making him groan audibly. She was standing in the doorway with Brad behind her.
Kyle managed to curse Cassie fifty ways in his head before letting Lanie go.
“I went with Kyle’s sister,” Lanie replied breathlessly.
“Sorry for interrupting,” Brad said with sincerity. Kyle just shook his head, unable to accept the apology.
“You should have waited. You know Mom and I are going on Thursday. You could have come with us.”
Kyle felt Lanie’s cringe, and it was obvious to him that she was physically nauseated at the idea of shopping with Cassie. Who could blame her? Cassie took every opportunity to insult Lanie. In fact, Kyle had an inkling that Cassie actually held back when he or Brad were present. If this was Cassie holding back, what would she be like with Lanie alone? He wondered what their mom was like and if Cassie was less demeaning to Lanie in front of her.
“I needed some things for work and couldn’t wait,” Lanie replied.
“So what are you guys up to? Want to come to the movies with us?” Brad asked.
“Nope, we’re busy. See you later,” Kyle said, shutting the door on them.
Kyle couldn’t help his cocky grin when he heard Cassie shriek, “That was rude!”
“Why did you do that?” Lanie’s voice wasn’t hostile. She just sounded curious.
“We are busy, aren’t we?” Kyle approached her and quirked his eyebrow.
“Oh…you want to do that?”
Kyle shrugged. “Seems like a good time, since our usual opening act is leaving, don’t you think?”
Lanie bit her lip. “It’s been a long day, and I’m really tired.” Kyle had to agree she did look tired, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment just the same.
“You’re playing that card already? Next you’ll be faking a headache,” he groaned. She tensed although he was joking. He softened, smiling at her hopefully. “Maybe we’ll just literally sleep together tonight?”
“A slumber party? That would be nice.”
“Yeah, well, don’t expect we’ll do makeovers and play truth or dare or anything.”
“Oh, I don’t know, truth or dare sounds fun.”
Kyle cocked his eyebrow. “Dare?”
“Nope, I’m not a dare kind of person, but ask me a truth.”
“When do you want me to fuck you?”
Lanie turned the brightest shade of crimson Kyle had even seen. He wondered if she could breathe. “Sorry, Lanie, I’m just getting anxious. You’re turning me on in some pretty crazy ways.” He embraced her and kissed her forehead. “Do you know what blue balls are?”
“I can’t say I’m familiar with the terminology.”
“Well, maybe you should Google it. It’s a serious medical condition, and I believe you’re the only cure.”
She whispered close to his ear, “Come over on Thursday night.”
“Why, are the Bears playing?” he asked sarcastically, but this time she laughed.
“No, but Cassie’s probably going to end up spending the night at our mom’s house after shopping, and Brad’s going out of town for a deposition.”
“Ah, now you’re talking.” Kyle ran his hands down her back as he kissed her neck.
Kyle hadn’t planned to stay the whole night again, just until Lanie fell asleep, which was fairly soon after they lay down. He quietly slipped out of the bed, promising himself he’d send her a text, but he noticed her shaking. It wasn’t a typical nightmare with screaming or moaning or thrashing. She just shook and squirmed, tangling herself in the sheets. He rushed back
into the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He gently rocked her, whispering soothingly until she woke. “You’re okay. I’m here. You’re safe, sweetheart.” He said it over and over like a record on repeat.
She awoke, letting out a choked whimper. It didn’t sound like the cry of a grown woman, but rather that of a little girl who was very sad and disoriented. She stopped shaking but clasped his hand tightly. She was breathing heavily, and he held her until she fell asleep in his arms. Before she dozed off, she said so softly in a hushed whisper that Kyle almost missed it, “Thank you.”
He held her the whole night. She seemed to sleep more comfortably in his arms. For some odd reason, he did too. He felt a need to say more, to do more, to alleviate her pain, but his own ugly thoughts kept poking through. He wondered if Lanie knew it was Kyle holding her, or if she imagined it might be Brad. Either way, Kyle wasn’t letting go.
Chapter Twelve
Thursday couldn’t come soon enough for Kyle. He was busy writing his article, holding off his editor, and researching, but his thoughts kept drifting to Lanie. He had never gone this long without sex, and in a way, sleeping with her was a novel experience for him too. On Wednesday, he couldn’t take it anymore. He texted her to see if she had dinner plans. She said she was working late with Brad. Fuck Brad, Kyle thought.
Then he thought, what if she was fucking Brad? His mind scurried to dark places, but he quickly waved it off. Brad had made mistakes, but he wasn’t a cheat. And Lanie wasn’t like that either. She was content in her little waiting game. Still Kyle didn’t like the idea of Lanie with Brad all alone in that big office of hers, with the huge mahogany desk and armless rolling chairs. It was a little too easy to have sex in an armless chair. Would Lanie try flirting with Brad? Kyle laughed at the prospect. Lanie’s idea of flirting was most people’s idea of talking. She was innocent and so damn sexy at the same time.
After work, instead of going home or to a bar, he stopped and got some Chinese takeout to bring to her office. He had to ask her some follow-up questions anyway for his article. Just general law questions. They were so simple, in fact, that he could probably have gleaned the answers from the research library at work. Maybe even a simple Google search could have satisfied these questions. Kyle didn’t want to ask Google though. He wanted to ask Lanie.
She was surprised to see him, as was Brad. “I brought you dinner,” Kyle announced, setting down the paper bags.
“Mmm, smells good,” Lanie said appreciatively, opening a container.
“It’s delicious,” Kyle replied, smirking at the blush that crept up Lanie’s cheeks.
“Thanks, Kyle,” Brad said, taking out another container.
Kyle grabbed it from him, replying impulsively, “I didn’t bring it for you.”
Brad actually looked hurt. “We have to work, you know.”
“Give the poor girl a break. She’s been working all week. Let her have an hour for dinner.”
Brad glanced at Lanie and back to Kyle. Lanie shrugged, smiling at him, but it wasn’t a flirty smile, just a normal Lanie smile. “I am hungry. I could use a break. Would you mind, Brad?”
“Tell you what, Brad. You can have the orange chicken if you go somewhere else to eat it. Deal?” Kyle said, shoving the container in Brad’s hands.
“Fine, I have to call Cassie anyway,” Brad answered, looking at Lanie for some sort of confirmation. Kyle wondered why he did that. Surely he couldn’t think Kyle would hurt her.
Lanie shuffled papers while Kyle set out the food. “Thanks for bringing me dinner. It’s really sweet.”
“I’m a sweet kind of guy. Besides, I had to ask you some research questions,” he said, handing her chopsticks.
The whole floor was dark and vacant except for her office. She walked over and closed her door. Kyle heard the distinct click of a lock, and he was glad Lanie couldn’t see the cocky grin on his face. He tried, without success, to peel his eyes from her shapely legs beautifully displayed in the knee-length gray pencil skirt she wore. She had on only one layer, and that layer was doing powerfully magical things to his lower half.
“Have a seat,” she offered, motioning to the rolling chair. Kyle sat down and almost fell off the chair when she sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck.
“I take it you didn’t look up blue balls,” he said a little breathlessly. Her intoxicating scent actually made Kyle’s mouth water. Maybe it was oranges and roses. Whatever it was, it was driving him crazy. Her soft hair brushed his cheek, and her breasts pressed against his jacket. “I looked it up,” she said nonchalantly.
“So then you’re just tormenting me? You’re a cruel woman, Lanie Carmichael.” He threaded his fingers through her hair.
She popped a piece of steak into his mouth, carrying it effortlessly with the chopstick. He wished she had used her fingers. “I was just doing some research of my own.” She shifted on his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Stop it, naughty girl. Do you have any fucking idea what you’re doing to me?” he asked in a strained whisper.
She laughed into his neck. “Sorry, I just keep thinking about it.”
“About what?”
“About your head between my thighs,” she whispered against his ear.
He tightened his hands around her waist and started nibbling on her earlobes. Her small moan told him she was enjoying it. “You’re getting off on this, aren’t you? Torturing me with your merciless teasing?”
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” she replied with bated breath.
“You know exactly what you’re doing.” He trailed kisses down her jawline, tasting her creamy skin.
She pushed against his chest. “Why did you come? You don’t think I have my own version of this blue balls shit?”
Kyle started laughing and pulled her back against his chest. “It’s not the same.”
“Um, I may be a virgin, but I know there’s something weird happening to my body, you idiot. It’s agony for me too.”
“There are remedies for that. You can…self-medicate,” Kyle said, pulling her close to him, brushing her lips with his.
“Why don’t you?”
Kyle swallowed. “I am, and despite upping my dosage, it’s not having the usual effect. I think you’re the only remedy for my ailment, Miss Lanie.”
“It’s not working for me either.”
Kyle pressed his hand into the small of her back, moving it slowly to the voluptuous swell of her behind. She fiddled with his tie with one hand while rubbing his chest through his shirt. “What did you do?”
“What?”
“What did you do to relieve yourself?”
“Oh…um, I used my fingers, but nothing happened. It was most unsatisfactory,” she replied as the blush crept back into her face.
“Did you use any…visuals?” Kyle asked, picturing Lanie pleasuring herself. His erection lengthened, and he wished his mind hadn’t gone there. She giggled into his neck. “Tell me.”
“About what?”
“About what turns you on.”
He could feel rather than see her shrug. “I watched Dirty Dancing.”
“Patrick Swayze? Really?” Kyle asked before sucking her earlobe.
“Uh-huh, but not really Patrick Swayze per se. More like Johnny Castle, his character,” she replied breathlessly.
“Crap. That’s what turns you on?” Kyle asked, stifling his chuckle.
“Yes, a guy that can dance wearing a tight black T-shirt and jeans. Oh, and a guy who wears gray suits and green ties that match his eyes.” Lanie yanked Kyle’s tie and punctuated each word with small kisses down his neck. For some reason, the fact he was turning her on made him instantly relax.
“Lanie, I believe you’re flirting with me, but I have to say I’m a little disturbed to be sharing space in your head with Johnny Castle.” Kyle pushed her hair back to suck on the soft skin of her neck, and she shivered against him.
“You were both very gentlemanly about it. You h
ad a dance-off for me.”
Kyle laughed heartily, imagining the ridiculousness of Lanie’s fantasies.
“What turns you on, Kyle?”
“Virgins,” he joked.
She laughed, smacking his chest. She always got his jokes. “Seriously.”
“Girls with soft, curly hair that feels like silk, pouty lips, skin so creamy you want to lick it, and a body that’s all curves.”
“Wow.” She backed away, searching his eyes. The moment was too serious and intense for Kyle. He had said too much.
“Yes, I’ve always had a crush on Julia Roberts.”
Lanie shook her head, laughing loudly. As usual, he’d used humor to deflect the situation, but he had to tell her the truth. “Honestly, it’s you.” Kyle realized as he said it how true it was.
“Really?” The dubious expression on her face let Kyle know she doubted him.
“Really…you…oh, and Julia Roberts,” he said.
He pressed his mouth to hers and swallowed the laugh before it escaped. They kissed then, and Kyle fought the urge to rip her blouse off. It was buttoned all the way to her neck and revealed nothing, and that somehow managed to turn him on even more. Instead, he pushed up her skirt, sliding his hand to her inner thigh.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to help you.” He pushed aside her panties and gently thrust his finger inside her. She moaned against his neck. He increased his pace, adding another finger. “Tell me to stop,” he urged.
“I can’t.”
“Good, because I don’t want to.” He put his thumb on her clit and thrust his fingers into her sex. He felt the hot air against his neck as her breaths quickened with each thrust. She was so tight he wondered for the hundredth time if he was going to hurt her when they actually had sex. “Come in my hand.” He felt her get wetter with the words, encouraging him. It didn’t take much longer for her to comply. She looked up at Kyle, flushed and wide-eyed. “Who’s in your head now?”
“You.”
“Keep it that way.” That’s what he wanted. He wanted to leave his mark on her, so she would be thinking about him while working late with Brad. Kyle didn’t like the idea of sharing space in her head with anyone else.