InstructionbySeduction Page 10

  Pulling the folds of cloth away from Leah’s body, Hale ran his tongue down her torso, between her breasts all the way down to her very heated folds. Leah shivered at the sensation, how the moist line turned from warm to cool as he moved down her body. As Hale settled in between her legs, Leah propped herself up on her elbows. “I want to watch.”

  Hale gave her a royal smirk, heat burning in his eyes like nothing she’d ever seen. Think of what I would have missed if I hadn’t learned to ask for what I want, she mused, returning Hale’s smirk.

  Hale kissed lazily down her leg from her knee, then back up. Every touch from him sent her further toward desperation. Every soft kiss was a tease. Each gentle exhale on her soft inner thighs was a cruel taunt. Leah tossed her head back and nudged her pelvis upward. She rolled her head, wanting it, needing it. Finally she could take no more.

  “God damn it, Hale. Now.”

  Hale’s laugh lasted only a moment then he gave Leah what she wanted. She shuddered at the first swipe of his tongue across her needy flesh. The heat of his mouth and the heat of her cleft met in a fiery fury, leaving Leah breathless but for the few moans she could manage.

  Leah tried to watch but spent most of the time with her head thrown back, her back arched, reveling in the incredible sensations that Hale was extracting from her body. She shook and whimpered, then Hale’s tongue hit the point of no return and she screamed.

  The orgasm racked Leah’s body savagely. She couldn’t stop screaming as it rocketed through her, then in the aftermath she could barely catch her breath.

  “Breathe, Leah.” Hale’s voice came softly. “Inhale, exhale.”

  Leah trembled as she laughed, trying to inhale. “My God, you’re good at that.”

  “Almost as good as you.”

  Leah blushed. “There’s no way. You don’t scream and come like the world just exploded.”

  “It’s more important that you do. Guys can come any time, anywhere for any reason. But when a woman comes it’s a thing of beauty. An event worthy of…repeating.”

  Leah sat up and looked at Hale. She took in the perfection of everything about him, from his perfectly styled hair to his perfectly symmetrical face, to the infuriating smirk on his mouth that made her want to do nothing but fuck him all night long. Leah shrugged off her robe, which still hung on to her body by her shoulders, then looked back at Hale. Their eyes locked, green staring into green, in a connection that confused and enthralled Leah.

  “Fuck me, Hale. Hard and furious. I want to feel it tomorrow.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, the desire crackling in his voice like an inferno. He raised himself on all fours, leaned into Leah and kissed her. She opened to him, finding the taste of herself on his lips and tongue both intriguing and embarrassing. What a bad girl I am, she thought, then let her body slide back down to the floor. Hale followed her down and she could feel his erection pressing against her slick opening.

  “Hard and furious,” Hale said. “Are you sure?”

  “I am very sure. Want me to say it again?”

  “I did rather like hearing you say it.”

  Leah smiled. “Fuck me, Hale. Like you mean it.”

  Hale pushed into her suddenly, a smooth but abrupt trespass. Leah cried out beneath him, his entrance expected and yet a surprise at the same time. He slid his hands up under Leah’s shoulders and gripped them, holding her firmly beneath him.

  “Like I mean it,” he said, and began thrusting forcefully. Leah moaned and writhed beneath him, taking in all of him and reveling in the pleasure raining down on her.

  “Faster,” Leah breathed.

  Hale doubled his speed, sending Leah into oblivion. When she closed her eyes, every nerve ending in her body moaned and sighed with her. When she opened her eyes she saw Hale staring down at her, looking like he was enjoying every second of her pleasurable torment.

  “Hale,” Leah whispered, then let the sweep of pleasure ride through her. With Hale still pumping as hard as he could, Leah’s orgasm opened within her slowly then burst through her body. She couldn’t even scream. She couldn’t even breathe. She could only tremble beneath him as she let the wash move through her.

  “Are you forgetting to breathe again?” Hale asked.

  Leah laughed and shook her head side to side as she lay on the floor in recovery. Hale pulled out of her, dripping with his own juices, and she said, “I missed it again, didn’t I? Why does that always happen?”

  “You’re just too powerful for me.”

  “That’s not it,” Leah said. “Tell me why.”

  “I’m here for you,” he said slowly. “Only.”

  “What are you?”

  Hale smiled. “You know. You just need to remember. I can’t tell you. Only you can tell you.”

  “I don’t like that answer.”

  “I know. I wouldn’t either.”

  * * * * *

  The next day Leah sprinted down to Fit4Life, having cleaned out her savings account. She was ready to hand over her bike and the cash and finally have something with more than two wheels. Lance still couldn’t believe she had been riding her bike all winter.

  “You’ve got to have killer quads,” he said. “But it’s not good for you, all that cold air.”

  “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” Leah shrugged.

  “Doesn’t your boyfriend have a car?”

  Leah paused. The easy answer was no but did she really have a boyfriend? A boyfriend takes you out to dinner and buys you flowers. You go to the movies together and to Thanksgiving dinner. You don’t just wait for him to appear out of nowhere and magically knock on the door so he can fuck your brains out.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I don’t,” Leah said with a laugh.

  “Okay, maybe you don’t now. But you will soon. You look like a million bucks. Plus with your smile I can’t believe they haven’t been lining up.”

  “They line up at my register.” Leah grinned but in reality her soul was singing at Lance’s comment. You look like a million bucks. When had anyone ever said that to her before?

  “Yeah, yeah,” Lance said. “Hey, you can take two months to come up with the rest of the cash if you need it. I’m really not in a big hurry.”

  “Thank you,” Leah said gratefully. She had been a little concerned about where she was going to come up with that cash. “I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.”

  “No problem at all. And if you’re interested in doing some weight training ask Regina about the class times. I teach a few of them.” Lance smiled at Leah, almost a shy grin, then turned and walked back into the gym, leaving Leah with a set of keys and a Honda with 180,000 miles on it. Leah stared. That guy, she thought, was looking at me…like that?

  Leah slid into the driver’s seat and adjusted down the rear-view mirror.

  “You look like a million bucks.” She smiled. There was something different there, she decided. A glow. A bit of sass. A fair amount of confidence.

  Leah thought of the box.

  Moments later Leah parked in the parking lot behind the FoodSmart. She turned around three times on way in to look back at the Honda. Exotic? Nah. Slick? Heck no. Hers? Oh yeah!

  The office computer helped Leah locate a management training class taking place in a few weeks. Perfect. It was a three-day intensive course and she’d only have to miss one day of her college classes. She presented it to Bob, who readily agreed and was singing the praises of the company that was sponsoring the class when the phone rang and interrupted.

  Leah found her way back out to the floor, feeling stronger in her new role. She was also down five pounds, which made her feel like a superstar. She smiled genuine smiles at customers and reveled in the warmth she felt within her when they returned it. Real smiles were a treasure to be engaged in as often as possible.

  The next afternoon—her day off—Leah made her way down to Mayfaire’s. She tried to be invisible
, praying she would see no one that she knew. It would be a little embarrassing to be a manager at one grocery store and shopping in another. It would be even more embarrassing if anyone knew why.

  Leah moved through the aisles with her little green plastic basket, picking up random things. Garlic salt. After all, who doesn’t need garlic salt? And a can of green beans. For crying out loud, whose pantry doesn’t have canned green beans in it?

  While Leah rationalized all of her purchases, she scoured every square inch of the store looking for Scott. What she was going to do with him once she found him she had no idea. All she knew is that she was dying to lay eyes on him.

  As Leah was getting ready to round a corner and move up another aisle, she heard two of the store employees chatting. She stopped in her tracks. One of them had said Scott’s name.

  “When is he coming back?”

  “It’s going to be like three weeks. I guess we have to get our stuff together.”

  “He did help a lot while he was here.”

  “Well, Scott’s an area manager. He’s done this before. I’m just glad that dipshit didn’t take the store down with him when he made off with all that cash.”

  “Shhh,” the other employee chastised. “We’re not supposed to talk about it.”

  “Who’s listening?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Someone could hear and turn you in.”

  “Like who, you?”

  “Well no, but damn. Whenever they find Jerry, his ass is going to be locked up and that’s it. There’s nothing left to say.”

  Leah backed up and moved up the aisle she’d just left. She’d learned some interesting things. Apparently the prior store manager was an embezzler, but more importantly Scott wouldn’t be back for three weeks. She could quit haunting Mayfaire’s for a few weeks. I can quit wearing this ridiculous disguise, Leah thought with a laugh. But she knew that in three weeks she would become a permanent fixture at the store.

  “Grocery stores are my life,” Leah said under her breath and she headed for the checkout line.

  * * * * *

  Moving through the next few weeks, Leah felt like she was a woman on a mission. She read a nutrition book and started making healthier food choices. She kept after her kickboxing and felt better and better at the end of each class. She opened the box at least once every three days, eager to have Hale arrive and do whatever she told him to. He took her on the sofa and on the kitchen floor. He bent her over the bed and took her standing up in the shower. He licked her pussy, fucked her pussy, fucked her ass and did everything in between. Whatever she said, he did, and he never grew tired.

  * * * * *

  Leah arrived for her management class shortly before registration was scheduled to end. She’d taken the early kickboxing class and spent too long talking to Regina about the weight training class she was actually considering. She’d run home and gotten ready without a moment to spare.

  Because Leah was the last one to class, the only seats left were up at the very front of the room. Well, at least I won’t have trouble hearing, she sighed to herself. She took an empty chair next to a young man who looked like he was a little nervous. She turned and smiled at him. He smiled back, looking instantly more at ease. The power of a smile, Leah thought.

  She was about to try some small talk with the guy when the woman in the front of the room clapped her hands and said, “Welcome, everyone! Let’s get started. I’m Nancy Maines and I’ll be your facilitator for the next three days. Let me tell you how excited I am to be here today…”

  Leah watched the young woman, trying not to go slack-jawed. Nancy was professional, poised, well-dressed and appeared to absolutely love what she was doing. Who the hell could have fun doing public speaking?

  Furiously taking notes and hanging on to the woman’s every word, Leah absorbed the class like water into dry sand. She noted what a manager does—planning, leading, organizing and controlling. She tried to apply those areas to her role at FoodSmart. She discussed with her classmates what it means to be a leader. Someone used the word visionary.

  Visionary, Leah thought. Could someone ever use that word to describe me?

  By the end of the third day, Leah was brain-fried with information overload but she was on fire. She was going to go back and take control of that department. She was going to make her people work as a team. They would respect and obey her, whether they liked her or not.

  Chapter Nine

  Leah arrived for her early Saturday shift ready to go. She skipped into FoodSmart and waved at Kelly.

  “Hey, girl! You got ants in your pants? Or something else?” Kelly winked at her and started to turn back to what she was doing, then returned her sights to Leah.

  “Have you been losing weight?”

  Leah beamed. “Yes. I’m down almost ten pounds.”

  “That’s awesome! That kickboxing class is doing wonders.”

  Kelly looked around and lowered her voice.

  “Or is it all that sex?” she whispered.

  Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded. Kelly laughed out loud. “Well, I’m totally jealous. When are you going to bring this love machine out in public and show him off?”

  Never.

  “I don’t know. Coming to work for a date isn’t my idea of a good time.”

  “A date, huh? By your description dating would be a polite term for what you’re doing.”

  Leah shrugged and smiled, knowing her face was red. They had to cut off the embarrassing conversation, though, as the rest of the employees were gathering in the storeroom for shift meeting.

  Leah ran through the usual topics, noting a few employees that looked like they were about to nod off and tried to pick up her enthusiasm a bit. She took a deep breath and said, “I know everyone is here because they want to get paid…”

  A few laughs interrupted her. She smiled. “But we also go a long way in making life easier for other people. We give them what they need to feed their families, have social events, whatever. But one kind word to someone or one rude comment can make all the difference in whether or not their soul gets fed. A genuine smile can make someone’s day. So think about that as you see our customers today. I guarantee if you make someone else feel better, you’ll feel better.”

  As the crowd began to disperse off to their duties, Leah called out, “Don’t forget, if you have questions or need anything at all please come talk to me, okay!”

  There were some murmurs and head nods, then soon Leah found herself alone in the storeroom…except for Mike. Leah raised her head from her clipboard notes she was reviewing. “Hi, Mike. Something I can help you with?”

  “I just wanted to say, well…” Mike looked away, then at the floor, then back to Leah. Leah nodded, waiting.

  “I’m sorry,” Mike said. “For…you know…over at Rusty’s. And the jackass car comment I made. You’re okay. Sorry I was a dick.”

  Leah smiled. It wasn’t warm and fuzzy but it was a damn good start.

  “I’m not holding anything against you, Mike. And I mean that in every way possible.”

  Mike laughed and nodded, then turned and walked out of the storeroom. Leah breathed deeply. She recalled something from her management course about how clean, open relationships are key to successfully managing groups. That people know when there’s something funky between a manager and an employee. Leah was now sure that was the truth, as she felt lighter and more capable after having cleared the air with Mike. Now if she could only get somewhere with Rusty…

  The week after the class passed quickly. Leah was busy running her group at the store, trying to come up with a speech for her public speaking class and making as many kickboxing classes as she could manage. She thought back to her first class and how beaten she was afterward. It made it all that much better when she skipped out of one feeling sweaty and energized instead of halfway to the grave.

  Arriving home from another round of beating a punching bag senseless, Leah ran through the shower thinking about the box
. It had been too long—three days. She was ready for whatever Hale was going to throw at her…or whatever she was going to throw at him. Lately it had been a give and take, with Leah giving the orders then having Hale turn the tables on her and order her to her knees. It still made her warm and anxious inside thinking about him. Every time was different and damn if he didn’t always know what she really wanted.

  Leah pulled on some sweats and let her hair air-dry while she read a chapter for one of her classes. It was boring as hell and her eyes kept straying to the box. Finally she snapped her book shut and said aloud to herself, “You can’t repeat a single idea you just read, can you?”

  Deciding that her answer was no, Leah moved to her dresser and pulled down the box. It was alive in her hand. Its energy coursed out of it and into her palm. Whatever magic it held certainly did have power…maybe even the power to make your dreams come true. Leah lifted the lid.

  There was a sudden dizzying feeling then the familiarity feeling swept through her again so hard she had to turn around to see if Hale had suddenly appeared in the room with her. Seeing no one, she set the box back down on the dresser and waited.

  And waited. Leah paced in a small circle. What was he doing? He’d always been Johnny-on-the-spot when she opened the box. A sudden panic swept through her that Hale might not show up. Then she heard it.

  Bang, bang, bang!

  Leah’s shoulders sagged in relief, then she ran to the door. Flinging it open, she said, “You scared me…”

  Leah’s mouth hung open, her thought completely and utterly lost as she watched Hale enter her apartment with his customary nod and “hey” then was followed by another Hale. An identical Hale. A twin. The twin entered in the same fashion, nodding at her and saying, “Hey.”

  Leah pushed the door shut, then leaned back against it to hold her up. She stared in complete incredulousness at the two Hales.

  “You going to be okay?” one of them said.

  “You know I like you better conscious,” the other said.

  Leah nodded but wasn’t sure she was going to be okay at all. Two of them? What the hell did he have in mind now? She watched them head into the kitchen, open a beer and pass it back and forth, taking a few sips each.