Charm School After Dark: Lesson 1 (9 page)

One of her exes, well
the
ex, as far as she was concerned, had been rough with her. Her first love was mostly verbally abusive until senior year, right before graduation. There’d only been a few weeks left of school when the incident had happened, but apparently that was all anyone remembered her by. Even today, ten years later.

Caelen realized with a start that Dare had never,
ever
called her that horrible nickname, and she was starting to soften toward him. Until she remembered just how brutal their sparring could be.

Not for one second could she let down her guard. Too much water under the bridge. Dare wanted her, but that was all it could ever be. Relationships, and the trust and time it took to put into a relationship, were skills Victor had bled from her. Instinctively, she knew if she let him, Dare would take over her little experiment and dictate the rules to her.

Damn controlling man.

The one thing he had going for him was that he was the total masculine package, and just looking at him made her toes curl. Another point in his favor? He’d stuck up for her. She liked that. So much. Too much. But it was time to stop pretend flirting with Frank, and get down to business.

She had a problem, and Dare was her solution. “Okay. I’m talking to you now.”

Instead of giving her a hard time, he kicked up one side of his lip in an Elvis grin and said. “Took you long enough. Let’s talk.”

“Right now?” Suddenly, it all felt too real.

“No time like the present. Let’s go.”

“My sister…”

“She’s fine. Probably calmly explaining to Frank what an asshole he is.”

“I know, right?”

“Yeah.” He almost rubbed his hands together in glee. “I’m sorry I brought him. He’s not usually that stupid.” He glanced over and saw Brynn speaking intently while Frank looked at his shoes and listened. “They’re fine. Let’s go.”

“No! I want to stay here. You’re so bossy.”

“Bossy, huh? You don’t want to go somewhere private? Fine. I’m good with talking here.” His grin grew in alarming proportion to what he was saying. “Let me tell you a little tale about a mouse who lives upstairs in Ms. Belle’s storage room.”

Caelen laughed, thoroughly confused. “What are you talking about?”

“The little mouse especially loved his storage room because no matter who was home, or where they were in the house, he could hear
everything
that was going on.”

Caelen leaned in toward him. “That little mouse didn’t happen to be in the storage room this morning, did he? During my meeting with Mr. Brown?”

“Nope.”

“What then?” She gasped. “Was he in the storage room when we were meeting with Ms. Hattie?” Her voice rose with each word.

“Nope.” But he still looked like the cat who ate the canary.
Or the mouse.

She placed her quivering hand against her chest.
Oh, thank God.
If Dare had heard even half of what that woman had been talking about…

“He would’ve been there, but I kicked him out so
I
could hear what was going on. Have to say, I was shocked at some of the things you proper young ladies were discussing. Things like nipple clamps.”

Caelen jumped off her stool and slapped a hand against his mouth. Warm breath tickled her palm as he laughed softly. “Don’t you say one more word.”

She felt his mouth open, his teeth gently scraping her sensitive skin as he mumbled, “Fellatio.”

She pressed harder, her body coming in close, making her very aware her breasts were softly brushing his wide, rock-hard chest, with each breath in and out. “Stop.”

“Only one way I’m gonna stop. I want in.” He leaned closer and her breasts rested firmly against him. They both gasped. “Use me, Caelen. Let me be your Guinea pig.”

Her eyes dilated. Those words. The
intensity.
The decision was made. Now she just had to find a way to explain to her body that it was nothing personal, it was all for the sake of research, and it wouldn’t benefit her in the least, because she wouldn’t be on the receiving end of any of his raw passion.

Chapter 10

‡

D
ARE ORDERED A
beer and a whiskey, asked the bartender to put the drinks in plastic cups, grabbed her hand and started leading her toward the back of the bar.

“Where are we going?”

“Have a little faith, Betty. If we can’t talk at the bar, I’m gonna find us a cozy, little spot where no one can hear us.” The crowds thinned as they moved through a small hallway. Dare leaned back against the emergency bar, and in two second, they were out in the California night.

Evenings in Sierra Madre reminded her of seduction; gusty winds skated down the San Gabriel Mountains through the sleepy town. The breeze was warm velvet as she lifted her face toward the moon, allowing the soft breeze to caress her skin. Spring was now moving into summer, and this was one of the first nights she didn’t need a light jacket.

Dare led them across the street to a small playground tucked inside a sprawling neighborhood. Caelen laughed aloud, her beer sloshing against her hand as she made a bee line for the swings. The playground hadn’t been on her social calendar for years, which was a shame. She made a mental note to make her sisters come back with her. The idea of Athena on a swing made her laugh again.

Dare plopped down, his large frame cramming into the swing beside her. “You gotta give me props. Did I, or did I not, pick the perfect spot?”

Caelen glanced over, trying not to notice how handsome he was, her smile fading when she remembered the conversation she was supposed to be having. How did one breach the idea of four day, blowjob sessions? All in the name of research, of course. She raised a shaky hand and took a long pull from her beer.

“Isn’t it illegal to drink in public?”

“Yup.” Dare took another swig to make his point. “I have to say, Caelen, you’re slipping a bit. You don’t usually let people see how nervous you are. You look like you might bolt. And I’m not talking about the drinking. Scared, much?”

Scared? Hell yeah, but she’d be damned if she let
him
see it. She rolled her eyes and swayed softly in the swing, the metallic scent of rust tickling her nose. “Puh-lease. As if you could make me nervous. This is exhaustion, pure and simple.”

“What are you exhausted from? A rough day at the spa getting your nails done?”

Is that what he thought of her? Why was she surprised? It was the image she projected, cultivated, the side of herself she showed the men in her life. All they saw was the party girl who had no bigger worries than what color to paint her nails. She looked down at her sparkly fingers. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to afford to pay someone else to do her nails.

Should she bother to explain Brynn had taken pity on her and sprung for the treat because she’d bitten her nails ragged from stress? Burying the small kernel of hurt deep in her heart, she gave herself a mental slap. Let him think what he wanted. The hell if she’d explain anything to him. To anyone. “You know me. The stress and strain of having three opinionated sisters trying to run my life sent me straight to the spa.”

Dare’s broad shoulders didn’t fit between the metal links of the swing, so he turned his body awkwardly, trying to face her. “And you’re not opinionated?”

“Of course I am. The difference is,
my
opinions are right.”

He flashed his signature grin, the grin that Caelen remembered from when they were kids, and it had commanded her attention even then. He always looked so wickedly
wicked
when he smiled. And impulsive, and sexy and—

Earth to Caelen. Focus, girl. You’re going to have to be on point if you want to get through this night.

“Thought we could have a nice, little chat out here.”

Leave it to him to get straight to the point. Didn’t mean she had to play along. The whole idea of the little “chat” he wanted to have gave her a stomach ache. “Chat? About what? Let me guess. You want to talk about yourself? Your favorite topic.”

“Yes. It is, and yes, I do. But it’s your lucky day because I actually want to talk about something that affects both of us.” His grin slipped and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

“Could you, maybe, give me another ten minutes so the numbing agent in this beer takes effect?”

“Scared?”

Yes.
“Didn’t we go over that already?”

“Come on. It’s just like the time during Seven Minutes in Heaven.” He leaned forward. “You do remember that night, don’t you?”

A blow torch level of heat scalded Caelen’s cheeks. She’d never forget that night as long as she lived. Both thirteen, both mortal enemies since the first summer they’d met, yet both ended up being each other’s first kiss. In Ms. Belle’s attic. “Vaguely.”

He scowled and leaned back in the swing, almost falling out of the seat. Score one for Caelen; he hadn’t liked that. “Look, I’m here to help you. If you have someone else in mind for this project, by all means.”

By all means what? Was he bailing? Caelen hadn’t heard of
one-tenth
of the blowjobs Ms. Belle had listed in her class’s lesson plans. She groaned and rested her free hand against her forehead. If Dare didn’t help, that meant she’d have to go groveling back to Victor. Or find someone random and horrible, like Frank.

Mental shudder
. No way in hell.

She peeked at him from between her fingers and cleared her throat. “I might remember a few details from our Seven Minutes.”

“In
Heaven.”
He sat forward, and his grin was firmly back in place. “I knew it! There was no way you could forget these lips.”

“See? How am I supposed to take you seriously when you make ridiculous statements like that? I didn’t say anything about your lips.”

“Didn’t have to. I know the power of the Lagos lips. Just the feel of them makes a woman’s toes curl.”

“Says who?”

He gave up on the swing. “People. I have a reputation, you know. Just ask around. Unlike you, I actually stuck around Sierra Madre.” Done fighting with the tight swing, he plopped himself on the sand in front of her, unconcerned with getting dirty.

For some reason, she liked that. She liked Dare
dirty.
Oh Lord. Now she sounded like a lecherous, old man. “I should ask ‘people,’ not just women, huh? Seems you have been a little more experimental than I imagined. Maybe I will ask around and find out all about your ‘reputation.’”

In an instant his grin was gone. Placing both hands in his lap, intertwining his fingers, he asked, “Would that be a deal breaker if I had?”

Oh my God. What? Who the hell was she to comment about who he’d been in a relationship with? She didn’t care. “What? I—No,
no.
Of course not! I’m sorry, I was just teasing. Of course not.”

He studied her for a few minutes more and the devilish grin was back in place. “Gotcha! You were always such a sucker.”

Caelen sucked in a breath.
Sucker?
Did he just call her…? When she wadded up the napkin she had placed around her plastic cup and threw it at him, he laughed harder. It was loud enough for the neighbors to hear, and the people milling outside the bar. Not that Dare would care. Caelen had forgotten that about him. He never cared about what others thought, even back when he was a pimply teenager.

Maybe she could get a little even. “Would that be a deal breaker for you?”

His laughter ended abruptly, her question taking him completely off guard. His eyes were wide as he said, “You being with a woman? Are you kidding me? Of course not. I might faint at the idea.”

“I don’t know why I bothered asking. Typical man.”

“Is it something I should continue to fantasize about? If so, I want names.”

“No.” She couldn’t help her own mischievous smile. “Not
yet,
anyway.”

“You’re bad.” He groaned, and their laughter floated into the quiet night.

The lull allowed her to look around, enjoying the giant pines and night flowers surrounding the playground, but she couldn’t focus. Her whole being was attuned to the man sitting in front of her. Time to talk turkey. If she wanted this business to work, and to be honest, if she wanted a peek at all the bulging wonderfulness stuffed below his belt, then it was time to negotiate.

It usually took her about a hundred years to make a decision, but once she did, it might as well be sealed in stone. She wanted to run Ms. Belle’s Charm School, and if she wanted the school, she needed to respect Ms. Belle’s stipulations and give it her all.

So that meant she needed Dare desperately, but very,
very
temporarily.

No more going into life with blinders on, letting men make decisions for you
, she all but screamed in her head. Anything to make herself take the leap; just one small step and all of her plans would be set in motion.

Come on, come on! You can do it!

“I want to make a deal.”

Chapter 11

‡

H
OLY SHIT.
D
ARE
groaned, slow and long and deep, but thank God, it was only in his mind. She’d done it again. Knocked him on his ass.
I want to make a deal
. Those were the exact words Caelen had said to him fifteen years ago, when the two of them had been shoved inside that closet, right before their first kiss. And damn, it’d made his blood boil then, and it was worse now.

’Cuz he remembered the taste of her lips, knew the sound of her sighs when his tongue had entered her mouth. He’d never forgotten.
Never.
Whether she knew it or not, they were going to make this happen. He would make sure of it.

But the only way to ensure success? Make her believe he had no emotional stake in what was about to happen. If he showed an ounce of the intensity of his feelings, she’d be out the door. So he, somehow, hadn’t let that groan pass his lips. Instead, he leaned back, his hands sinking in the sand. Let her come to him. “Do tell. I need specifics.”