I lifted my shoulders. “I don’t know. Dirty little things. Things I bet a big bad wolf like you could teach a good little girl like me. Things you could show me.” I whispered in his ear. “I’ll be a good student.”
He paused, and a low rumble sounded deep in his throat. “You’re tempting me, Red.”
“Good.”
His lips found mine. “Can I stay tonight?”
I smiled. “Did you bring your handcuffs?”
“I think I can find them.”
“Then I think I’ll be upstairs.” I moved for the kitchen door and locked it with a flourish. “See what a good girl I am now, locking the door before I go up and take a shower with my vibrator?” I strolled out of the kitchen with a smile on my face, peeling my sweatshirt from my body…
#
It was just like my fantasies. I was alone in the shower, candles glowing, when I saw the shadow on the curtain.
He cuffed me to the towel bar, threatened to eat me alive, and followed through.
He used the Naughty Rabbit on me in places that made me tremble and beg, murmuring all the ways he wanted to tear me apart.
He wore a condom even when I said it was OK, I was on the Pill, and fucked me senseless against the white tile wall, hot water streaming down our bodies, my hands fisted in his hair, his fingers gripping the backs of my thighs, our mouths close but not touching, our eyes locked.
It was a good thing I couldn’t speak.
God only knows what I’d have said.
#
The following morning he invited me to have lunch with him and his grandfather on Sunday. “Really?” My heart swelled happily. We were still in bed, Charlie on his back, me tucked against his side.
“Yes. I’d like you to meet him, and he wants to meet you.”
“You told him about me?” Picking my head up, I blinked at him, surprised.
“Yes. He said he wants to see the girl who got me to go to a ballet. I told him when he sees you, he’ll understand.”
Grinning, I hopped up and straddled him. “I’m excited.”
“I can tell. Remind me to invite you to lunch more often.”
“Stop it.” I slapped at his stomach, then pitched forward to lay on his chest, burying my face into his neck. “It’s not the lunch I’m excited about, silly.”
“What is it?”
I grinned happily. “I don’t know. Everything.”
He kissed the top of my head, wrapping his arms around me. “I know exactly what you mean.”
#
The next day, I went to the mall with Mia to do some Christmas shopping. “Are you getting a gift for Charlie?” she asked, searching for a parking spot in the structure.
“I already got him a bottle of Irish whiskey and some old-fashioned glasses, but I also want to pick up some towels for him.”
“Towels?”
“Yeah, he likes these fluffy white Turkish cotton ones at my house. I got them at Restoration Hardware, so I can grab some today.”
She eyed me sideways. “He likes the towels at your house? Does this mean he’s showering there?”
I opened the car door. “It might,” I said coyly.
“Erin Marie Upton! What’s the scoop?” She jumped out and slammed the door. “Did you guys have the talk? Or are you showering but not dating?”
I laughed when she grabbed my arm and shook me. “Yes, we talked. Yes, we’re dating. And showering.”
“Eek! And?”
“And it’s good,” I said as we walked toward the entrance to Macy’s. “He’s still a little hesitant and I’m still a little paranoid, but we’re doing OK. He’s introducing me to his grandfather on Sunday. I was thinking of asking him to Christmas Eve at my mom’s house, too.”
“How sweet!” She pulled open the heavy glass door and I took it from her.
“Hey, don’t open that. It’s heavy. You need to be careful.” I held it open so she could go through first, but she rolled her eyes.
“Please. Between my mother’s visit and Lucas fawning all over me every second, I’ve barely lifted a finger to brush my own teeth this week.”
“We worry about you. How are you feeling?” I walked beside her into the warm, noisy late-December bustle of the mall.
“Pretty good. This morning, anyway. So let’s get moving before I have to barf again.”
I made a face. “Yuck. Remind me not to have kids.”
She laughed. “I’ll do no such thing. You and Charlie would have adorable babies.”
“Mia!” I elbowed her. “Don’t even.”
But for the first time—ever—my fantasy that night didn’t involve a vibrator, handcuffs, or even an orgasm. Just a real tree, Charlie and me, and four little hands tearing into their presents, blue eyes shining. I told myself to be careful. I told myself to wait. I told myself not to count on anything.
But I fell asleep smiling.
#
My mother had been pestering me to come over all week. I’d been avoiding her because I had a feeling she wanted to grill me about Charlie. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell her about us, but I felt strangely protective of what we had. I knew she was hoping one of her kids would get married soon and give her some grandchildren. My brother was twenty-five and buried in his final year of law school at Michigan, so he was out. It was too much pressure for me. But on Friday afternoon, I finally gave in and went to her house for a quick cup of coffee before work.