Going All In

by Cassandra Carr

  “Late…early, same difference.” And then he swallowed, as if he’d realized something was wrong. Really wrong. “I have to go if I’m going to.”

  She nodded, and felt…weird about it. This was nice, but she wasn’t going to…no. “I think you should,” she said. “Not that…”

  “Your number,” he replied. “Or some way of getting into contact with you.”

  She grinned at him, and tapped his nose. “You’re smart,” she replied. “You’ll figure it out.” Then, she turned and walked away.

  Chapter Five

  Chris had slept in. Of course he had. He’d gotten to bed at an hour he sometimes woke up at, so the sleeping in wasn’t a surprise. But he was surprised to arrive at Popovers after a mad crosstown dash, breathless and hair frozen from the fact he’d stepped outside with it wet, to discover his perpetually late for brunch sister, standing in front of the restaurant and smiling up at him.

  “You’re late,” Kay said, her blue eyes wide. “For the first time ever.”

  He looked at his boots, embarrassed, not sure how to explain to the one person who…

  “Oh stop it, Chris. Really.” Kay rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around him. “Be a good big brother, buck it up and take me to brunch.”

  And the smart guy he was, he helped her inside and followed the hostess to their usual table.

  “So what’s going on,” he asked once they’d settled down.

  “Practice, conductor’s an idiot, life is busy, I’m exhausted, blah, blah, blah.” And then she focused on him. He hated how his little sister could see right through him. “But you were late this morning. And there were festivities last night.”

  He gave her points for being careful. They were known quantities at this place, but, well, there were tabloids everywhere. “Yes,” he confirmed. “There were festivities last night. But how do you know I’m not just hung over.”

  Once again his sister rolled her eyes. “Because I’m your little sister. I know when you’re hung over. And this isn’t hung over brother. This is ‘I had an adventure last night’ brother, and so you’re going to spill.”

  And so, once their coffee had been poured, and their meals had been ordered, he told her.

  *****

  Sunday brunch was usually fun. Mel and her sister would go to some crazy place, look inside the window, view the menu, and then head to their favorite little diner in the middle of midtown. Except this morning would be an inquisition.

  “You tapped him on the nose? And then let him leave without your information?”

  Melanie sighed. Her sister didn’t even wait until their regular waiter had refilled their coffee. “Yeah. I know. But…”

  “No buts. That was dumb. After that spark, that tension, that awesomeness last night, you seriously need to be shot.”

  Instead of replying, she looked deeper into her menu. Ignoring Emily would work for a little…maybe.

  “How do you finish a night like that with a tap on the nose? I mean really.” Emily paused, and Mel recognized the look in her eyes. “Unless this was an aborted one night stand, at which point the tap on the nose was even dumber.”

  “I was being playful,” she replied. “I mean I just…well…”

  “You lost your nerve,” Emily replied, staring right at her. “He was right there, totally into you, totally there. Did I mention totally into you, and you acted…”

  She took a swallow of the coffee in her mug, then tried not to spit out the unsweetened/un-milked taste of it. “I mean,” she managed. “I don’t know. I wanted to be playful, you know…keep…”

  “Tapping someone on the nose is not playful. It’s immature, dumb and well, stupid.”

  “So what would you have done?” Melanie asked. “I mean…to have kept the mystery. To be a little fun and playful.”

  “Not tapped him on the nose,” Emily replied. “Now let’s order. I’m hungry.”

  Which was a clear sign the discussion was over, leaving Mel to wonder about what she was going to do next.

  *****

  Kayleigh hadn’t responded after Chris had finished telling her what had happened to make him so exhausted…and late. In fact, his sister seemed perfectly happy to discuss everything else but his adventure with Melanie. Their parents, their brother, her new instructor and the way the conductor treated the rest of the orchestra.

  She even asked him about how practice was going, and how things had been otherwise. Not one word about Melanie. Until they walked outside the restaurant and into the bitter cold. “She’s insane, but then again, brother dear, so are you.”

  He shrugged as he walked beside her. “Yeah, well. I try not to be insane most of the time.”

  “This time doesn’t make sense, though.” She paused, standing close enough to the edge of the sidewalk where she wouldn’t be in anybody’s way. “I’m not sure how to read her. She’s very…well…”

  She sighed, then turned away from him. The fact that his sister proceeded to look everywhere else but at him was not the best of signs. In fact, it made him feel something awful deep in the pit of his stomach. And there wasn’t anything worse than the look in her eyes when she finally met his again.

  “She’s…weird,” Kay said, shaking her head. “All that chemistry and she tapped your nose and then headed out?? I just don’t know about these things.”

  He nodded, upset that she wasn’t able to give him any advice or insight. But being the good big brother he was, he let her guide him down the street towards the subway she needed.

  “But,” she continued as she reached up to rub his cheek, “I can see from your expression that she’s something. Just don’t let yourself fall for her too easily. She might not deal so well. She might not be there with you.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. Really.” He appreciated her advice, despite it not helping him understand the situation.

  “Of course,” she said into the silence, “you know that still means I wish you luck with her.”

  “Let’s hope so. I think I’m going to need it.” And then, after a quick hug, Kayleigh headed down into the subway, leaving him to wonder how he was going to find Melanie again. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no idea how. But there had to be a way.

  Determined, he turned around and walking back to the brownstone. One thing he knew for sure was that he wasn’t going to ask her sister. That was lame. His goal was to make her realize he was serious about them—that he wasn’t just going to let their spark go. He had until Tuesday morning to see her one more time before he went on the road, and by god he was going to do it.

  When he reached the brownstone, he took his keys out of his pocket and opened the door. “Hello?” he yelled as he walked inside. No response, which meant his roommate was gone, and he was on his own.

  He took off his jacket, trying to figure out a way to find her without doing something that would be too public, like twitter, or too weird, like showing up on her doorstep with flowers. What was a non-intrusive way to get in touch with her?

  Suddenly, he knew what he was looking for. Of course! He made a beeline for the kitchen and the huge boxes of books that were waiting for the library shelves to be delivered. He got down on his hands and knees in front of the closest box and started searching. He knew his roommate had most of his collection stored on his phone’s reading app, but he had to have one of the books in paper in one of the boxes.

  Finally, after turning the kitchen into a tornado of books, he found one. He didn’t even pause, just paged through the title in search of the information he wanted. And once he found one, he grinned and headed off to send the all-important email.

  *****

  To: Melanie@MelanieGould.com

  From: cemerson@empiremail.com

  Dear Madam,

  I have recently come into my title, but I have garnered myself a scandalous reputation which makes it impossible for me to find a wife. I enjoy wearing cravats and drinking ale, as well as taking part in contests of speed and skill. I wonder
if you might be of some assistance.

  Yours,

  The Dangerous Duke

  Melanie couldn’t stop laughing. Actually, more importantly, she didn’t want to stop laughing. The email she’d received while revising the draft of the book due in two weeks made her want to fall over despite her deadline.

  “What the hell?”

  Emily’s voice, then her footsteps broke through her brain enough to make her think to a degree. But Mel couldn’t stop laughing her ass off.

  Footsteps turned to incessant pounding on the door. “Mel?”

  Emily was relentless, but Mel still couldn’t stop laughing. She’d stop for a few moments, then stare back at the email and start laughing all over again. Oh dear god, she was hopeless. Scratch that. Beyond hopeless.

  The door swung open, and Emily stepped into her room. “Come on, girlfriend. Spill!”

  “He…” she couldn’t speak, even as her sister stood in front of her, arms folded, eyes intent, “he…”

  Yes, Emily’s expression was incredulous, but Mel still couldn’t bring herself to not laugh for more than five seconds at a time. The words wanted to come out, but she was so happy, so unexpectedly giddy that they were blocked.

  “Oh fucking hell.”

  Mel heard Emily’s cursing, and then, after deciding it was probably the easiest way things were going to get done, moved out of the way to allow her sister a clear view of the screen. “Here you go.”

  Her sister immediately sat down on the recently vacated desk chair and stared intently at the screen before bursting out into laughter herself, making Mel feel slightly vindicated. “Oh my god,” Emily said after she’d calmed down slightly. “Holy crapwad.”

  When she turned around, Mel saw the expression on her sister’s face, judging it as not to be played with. “You have no excuse,” she said as she stood up from the chair and gestured towards the empty seat. “I’m going to be gone tomorrow night. The apartment is yours. Now tell him.”

  And so she did, holding her breath until he replied. Thankfully, he said he’d come over. Now, she had to plan.

  Chapter Six

  Chris’s day had been…interesting. Practice, then home, then…here. Downstairs, in the carpeted lobby, waiting for Melanie. He smiled, sat down on one of the large, comfortable chairs and tried to take a deep breath. She said she’d be waiting and unfortunately he was early. He turned towards the paintings that had been hung up around the entryway, trying to focus on something.

  “So,” her voice rang in his ear. “Here to finish what we started?”

  He laughed, turned back around toward where she stood and looked into her eyes. He liked what he saw there much better than the paintings. “Heeey there,” he said, standing up to embrace her, enjoying the way she relaxed in his arms.

  “You know,” she murmured, “if we stay like this we’re not going to get upstairs.”

  He grinned. “You’re right.” He took her hand with the one that wasn’t around her shoulders, and nodded at her. “Lead on,” he said, letting her lead him to the elevator.

  “So,” he asked her once the elevator doors closed. “What do you want to do?”

  “You like stew?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” And she looked so cute, so nervous, with a dark stain on her shirt, he wouldn’t have refused her even if he didn’t. “Awesome on a night like this.”

  “It is.” She smiled back, sheepishly. “Good. I’m glad. It’s the one thing I can cook. So I did.”

  He thought better of asking her more about her cooking and instead, let her lead him into the apartment.

  *****

  Mel decided that inviting Chris over for dinner had been the worst idea ever. What had she been thinking? She’d cooked for fuck’s sake. And right now, if she was honest with herself, she’d admit to being terrified. She wanted to drink, and lose herself in the alcohol and…well…

  He squeezed her hand, halting her thoughts and reminding her he was there. “It’s all right,” he said, his voice covering her like a caress. “It’s just us. Nothing else. I’m not going to bite…not unless…well anyway.” He shook his head, and he was so cute in that moment, she wanted to jump him. “We’re just here. It’s fine, yah?”

  Melting all over him would probably be a bad idea, but really, who actually cared? He was in her apartment and probably didn’t notice she was wearing mismatched socks and had gotten stew on her shirt….which hadn’t exactly been her plan.

  She nodded. “All right. I’ll go change…make yourself comfortable…”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever’s easier for you is fine with me. As far as I’m concerned, you look beautiful just the way you are.”

  A line if she’d ever heard one. “What? Where…”

  “I have a younger sister,” he replied, grinning in a way that made her feel even more mushy inside. “I watched, paid attention and learned.”

  “You,” she said, grinning at him, relaxed in a way she hadn’t been until then, “are dangerous.”

  He laughed. It was a gorgeous, husky laugh. Dear god, she was in trouble.

  *****

  A few hours later, she’d fallen asleep in his arms. Sated, happy and comfortable, cuddled up in a blanket on the floor. The stew had been wonderful, they’d watched a few movies on the TV. He looked down at her, so peaceful, so…

  “Hey,” she murmured, looking up at him, focusing. “What happened…”

  “You let your guard down,” he replied grinning back at her, before reaching up to tap her on the nose.

  She giggled. “Is that so?”

  “’Fraid so. Only one thing we can do to fix that.”

  She raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t pull away. A good sign. “And what’s that?”

  Focusing on her, on the way she looked, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers and just let go. Let her feel him, open up to him, respond, her hands through his hair, his hands moving down her back, cupping her ass as she sat up, as if she wanted more. He felt her hands reaching for his shirt, then the cool air that caressed his back.

  “Mmmm,” she murmured against his jaw, “this feels so good…”

  And it did, the way her hands found all the right spots on his back, then his ass.

  “I think we’re wearing too much clothing,” he whispered, as he pulled on her shirt.

  “You know,” she replied before she kissed him, “I think we are.”

  “Think we should fix that.”

  In a tangle of limbs, a blaze of heat, jeans and shirts hit the floor. Mismatched socks were lovingly caressed off her feet. He looked at her as she stood practically naked in front of him, not being able to resist her. “Do you want to take this slow?” he asked.

  “No,” she replied, staring at him. “I want you. Badly.” A slight smirk, a sudden redness to her cheeks. “Now.”

  He leaned in to kiss her again, his hands gravitating to her bra, fingers finding purchase on the little hook and eye, taking it apart, freeing the beautiful mounds of flesh that he’d been fantasizing about since he’d seen her on Vegas night. He couldn’t help himself. Once the bra had joined the rest of the clothing, he reached out for those breasts, kneading and caressing them, seeing her expression as it changed from slight desire to pleasure.

  “Two can play at that game.” As if making her actions match her words, she kneeled in front of him, unceremoniously lowered his boxers, exposing his cock. And without another word, he felt her tongue, her mouth, licking, persistent, sucking. He breathed in, trying not to cum all over her, as she showed him exactly what he’d wanted since he saw her sucking on that lemon back at ‘The Elk.’ “Oh god.” He groaned.

  Like a hurricane, the intense pleasure and pressure was about to do his head in. And yet he rode through the orgasm. “Fuck….”

  She swallowed him down, then looked up at him. He smiled and she pulled him to the floor, letting him collapse on her shoulder for a little while. “Mmmm.”

  “I take it you liked that,
hmm?”

  “Liked?” he replied, half asleep, as she ran her fingers through his hair. “Don’t think there are enough words in my head right now to describe how what I thought of that.”

  “Now,” she said, sometime later, whether it was a few minutes or a few hours he wasn’t sure, “to be rather unoriginal and quote a famous movie, Take me to bed, or lose me forever.”

  He laughed, recognizing the quote, then decided that it was a pretty agreeable proposition. So he bent down and lifted her into his arms.

  *****

  The fact Chris had to ask her where her bedroom was didn’t cool his ardor, and the fact she half-wondered if she’d remembered to clean up after her attempts to change didn’t cool hers. Nor did the last minute thought that she had, in fact, put the box of condoms Emily had reminded her to buy this morning on the bedside table. He carried her over the threshold and grinned, and she felt something wonderful at the pit of her stomach at being the object of his grey eyes’ intense focus.

  His hands felt so good on her ass and, as he slowly let her down on the bed, she wondered why he didn’t follow her onto the mattress. The sudden dip at the end of the mattress was her answer.

  A brief glance down at him and she saw his eyes were focused, heated.

  “Payback,” he growled.

  And before she could consider what that meant, she felt his hands on her thighs, felt him open her legs, his breath between them. And then his tongue penetrated her cunt and began to move inside her. She felt the way his lips moved expertly on the lips of her cunt, all the while his tongue danced through her innermost parts. Movement, massage, his tongue and lips expertly wielded. Constant, motion, not letting up, the sucking and the motion inside. She didn’t want it to end and then…sudden tightness. She held on and she fought, but ….oooh. The orgasm overwhelmed her, and the words she was so wonderful at using left her completely.