Chapter Three
Tempi
I hop off the lap I’m sitting on and rush over to Lyric. She’s never looked this way before, all flushed and breathless. It’s not a bad look for her. It makes me wonder what went down in that bedroom.
“Are we finished? Did he say he would help you?” When she doesn’t answer me, I give her a little shake so that she refocuses back on me. “Focus Lyric! Did he say he would help you or not?”
“Not exactly.”
Her voice is small and I can tell she’s trying to hide something. “So…what did he say if he said he wasn’t going to help exactly?”
“Jesus, Tempi, tell me you have the safety on!”
I’m not sure if she’s trying to redirect me from the secret she’s trying to keep hidden or I'm really that terrible with this thing. I shrug for her mostly and go with the truth. “I don’t know. How the hell am I supposed to tell when I don’t have a clue how to work the damned thing?”
“Well, can you please just put it away? I doubt your…captive is going to force you to use it.”
I shrug again as both of us look at the big bull of a man sitting handcuffed and in the chair. I put the gun down on the island in the middle of the room. It’s far enough away that I can reach it if I need to but not close enough that someone else can get to it before me. Hopefully.
“For God’s sake, Lyric, tell me what he said if he said he wouldn’t exactly help?”
“He…he said he would do it if he…if I…he wants me to…” she uses her hands to show me by smooshing the two palms together and entwining her fingers and looking down at what I suspect is her, um…area. Realization dawns on me.
“Well don’t do it until he signs something. He’s a politician. They lie for a living. Actors would give you more truth than a politician, for crying out loud.”
Her eyes widen, “Tempi! I can’t! I’m a virgin!”
"Yeah, so am I but if that big unit in there was to ask me to, I would be riding him for all it's worth. Besides, you said you thought he was sexy." The truth of those words hit me hard.
It’s not like I’m keeping my cherry for religious reasons or because I want to wait for a special time necessarily. I just…haven’t ever been attracted to anyone enough to want to do that with them. It’s never really come up before, so I just didn’t think about it. I was always too busy with my art to worry about men. They seem to bring too much drama with them.
But this big bastard might just change my mind.
“Look, you can do this one thing, free your dad and walk away knowing you did what you had to do. Or you can wait around until Tony takes it. Either way, you got a decision to make that’s not an easy one but you know I’m here no matter what. Here for you.”
She shudders at the mention of the sheriff of our town. He is a real slime bag. I can see why he would want the sweet, innocent Lyric. She makes everyone happy and is so pure. I have no idea why she’s my best friend but I sure am glad she chose me. And I will be forever loyal to her because of it.
She grabs onto me and both of us hold on tight to one another for a little while before she goes back upstairs to deal with her last line of defense. Leaving me with my own mountain to scale - so to speak. I turn back to find the grayest eyes I have ever seen latched onto me. He really does make me feel…different than anyone else ever has.
I push some of my hair back out of my face. It really is the bane of my existence. I have forever been cursed with bright red hair. I look like that freakin’ comedian that was popular years ago. And I have forever been likened to Pipi-freakin’-Longstocking. I would go home daily and cry my eyes out about it. I thought about dying it…dark, like Lyrics. Her hair is so beautiful and…manageable. Mine - not so much!
“So…tell me about your friend. He’s not going to be a flaming douchebag to Lyric, is he? I mean he’ll listen to her, right?”
“Well, we were just about to bargain for me to be a champion for you and your friend. So maybe you should come up here and persuade me to speak to Cyrus for you. Especially if you’re not sure she’s going to be able to give Cyrus what he asked for.”
“Did you hear what he asked for?” He nods. Do I think she can do it? Does it matter? What part of this whole thing could we not stand to have someone on our side when things go bad? “Okay, but you only asked for a kiss.”
He shrugs his shoulders like he doesn’t even care if I kiss him or not. His indifference makes my brows knit together and I start to nibble on my lips. I want him to care! I want him to be torn up for just one kiss from me! I want to be the pretty girl - just once damn it!
I pull myself back in his lap by using his shoulders to balance like before. This time I find it easier to find a spot to sit but still my palms grow damp and my heart thumps in my temples. “Alright. Tell me what I need to do.”
“Bring those lips over here and put them on mine.” He seems so sure of all of this. I bet he gets laid all the time. I bet women throw themselves at him or hang off those broad shoulders and bulging muscles. The thought just eats me up inside. I hate it. Jealousy feels a lot like heartburn.
I put all that out of my mind and lean forward. I realize my mistake as soon as our lips touch. His tongue pushes at the seam of my mouth demanding entrance and I give it to him. It never occurs to me not to. Once inside, I’m no longer in control of anything. All I have to do is sit here and think about how soft his lips are and how ironically sweet his mouth is. I would have thought his mouth would have been…I don’t know, smokey, taste like alcohol or if I was truly unlucky, some other woman’s lipstick. But he tastes of none of those.
Instead, he tastes of…secrets and dark nights. Of…well, something yummy that I could eat all night. Which is terrifying but I will think about all of that later. Tomorrow. Tonight, I want to stay in his kiss and lose myself to this man’s mouth. Tonight I want to be a big girl, a sexy James Bond villainess. Tonight might be the only night I have to kiss a man if none of this works out and me and Lyric are arrested.
After who knows how long I finally pull back. Everything is warm and toasty and my body feels like it’s buzzing. Is kissing supposed to make you feel like this? Is this breathlessness normal? I sit back and stare down at my captive for confirmation.
“Was, um, that any good?”
“Oh yeah, baby doll. That was…alright for a beginner.”
My smile drops and I find myself backing off his lap before I can stop myself. “Alright? Alright? What do you mean alright?”
“Well, that was clearly the first kiss…for you. And you can’t really judge by the first kiss. I mean that’s really just a learning curve.”
“Oh.” That makes sense, I guess.
I come back to stand in front of him. “Do I…do I still get on your lap?”
He nods. So I crawl back on. Once I am in position again I square my shoulders. I am going to give this man a kiss like he’s never had before. When I’m done he’s going to be ruined from all his other devoted followers and floozies.
I press my mouth to his and use my tongue the way he showed me how. I am pushing into his mouth this time and exploring. This time our tongues duel, fighting for dominance and control. I bring my hands to his face so I can hold him while I move against him. I don’t understand why, but it feels good to brush against him.
I rise above him even as he gains the upper hand in the kiss war. This time he’s the one pulling back as I rise and fall against him. “Hmm, that’s it sweet girl. Get yourself off.”
His words cause my rhythm to falter as I realize what I am doing. I’m…dry-humping him. It shocks me into immobility. I don’t jump off his lap but I don’t keep going either. I just sit looking at him.
“You know, this would feel better if you took that top off.”
“What?”
“That top, it’s like a corset thing, right?” I nod for him. “Well, you can’t possibly feel as much in it. I mean it looks uncomfortable and can’t be the softest thing to rub against.”
I think about the top of my dress. It is in the corset style with ties to tighten and loosen it. His words have me wondering what it would be like if maybe I didn’t have it on.
“I was just thinking, for your next kiss it might be beneficial to take it off.”
“Next kiss?”
“Well, that last one was good but….how can I be sure it wasn’t just beginner's luck that made it that good. I’m going to need to be sure that I get what I pay for if I’m going to stick my neck out for you and your friend. It has to be really, really good for me to talk to Cyrus. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
“And taking down the top of my dress will help how?”
“Oh well, that part was just for you. I don’t care if you leave it on or not. I just thought maybe you would want to know what it's like. Without it.”
Shit. I do want to know. I slide off his lap and stand on shaky legs. I'm not sure how much more I can take of these kisses before I’m a fucking mess. I reach behind me and undo the knot keeping the dress together. I replaced the original tie with one made of silk so it slithers undone with just the slightest pull. Once the knot is loose I start working the back open until it sags and I have to use a hand up front to keep it in place.
If I do this it means losing a little part of who I am currently. I didn’t think it would be a big deal but now that I’m faced with it…it is. I look into the gray eyes that remain steady on mine. Instead of telling me it’s my choice like I think he’s going to he licks his lips and narrows those eyes. “Take it off, little one. Slowly. Show me what you’ve been keeping safe all these years.”
When he says it like that, it makes it seem like a secret that both of us will share. That I have something he wants to see, that he understands how special this is. I slowly let the edge of my dress slip lower and lower. The material catches on the tips of my breasts before falling away. By the time it’s around my waist and I’ve taken my arms out of the tiny little sash-like sleeves, I’m lightheaded because I’ve been holding my breath this entire time.
I want to cross my arms over my chest, but I also don’t want to seem…unsure. Like I don’t know what I’m doing - even if I don’t. Hiding just seems…too innocent. Too infantile. And the last thing I want this man to do is associate me with a child. I want him to see me as a grown-up woman who can do what he needs to satisfy him. I feel his eyes on me, on my breasts. His gaze almost burns as he glares at me with such intensity. Thank God, he’s contained. What would this man do to me if he didn’t have his hands bound?
“Now come here and crawl back in my lap.”
I hesitate this time. His voice is gruff and comes out thick almost like a growl instead of actual words. I move closer despite the inner voice in my head screaming at me not to. It’s like I can’t control myself around this him at all. Another scary thing to worry about. I stand very still right in front of him, not close enough for him to touch but close enough that I can feel the heat from him slide over my body, keeping the air from being too cold.
What can he do? I should be safe…right?
I find myself doing as he tells me once again. “Very good, little one. Now, bring your lips over here, and let me have them.”
“For someone incapacitated you sure are bossy.” He chuckles at that like he doesn’t have a care or concern in the world. Like I didn’t cuff him or tase him.
“Never worry that you’re not in control, little one. You are in total control.”
His words do something funny to my tummy. Even if he’s patronizing me, it’s still something nice to hear. Something nice to believe in. I brush my lips against his and gasp when my bare breasts rub against the material of his shirt. He swallows the gasp as he takes my lips with his. I lose myself to the kiss and find myself sinking into the feeling of my breasts being squashed against his big, broad chest.
I pull back when something hard and thick pokes me between my legs. Is that…? “Are you…?”
“Oh yeah! As a steel pole, baby doll.” He answers me before I even have to finish the question.
“Really?” I am shocked but also…surprised and a little flattered that I can make this man this turned on.
“Fuck yes! You have world-class breasts, little one. I’ve never seen a body as sweet as yours.”
“Sweet?” Sweet sounds a lot like cute and that is the last thing I want to be called.
“Hmm, tiny, sweet, perfect little thing.”
My cheeks flush but not with embarrassment, with anger, “Tiny? Tiny? I am not tiny! Tiny is not sexy!” To make it even worse, he chuckles about it. His big body moving under mine he’s laughing so hard. I move to back off his lap but he stops me with a look. He’s gone from being entertained to being drop-dead serious.
“Tiny is incredibly sexy, little one. It makes a man like me think about all the places we can put you to fuck you. All the different ways I can have your little body move for me so both of us end up getting exactly what we want.”
“Oh.” I think…his idea of tiny might be a good thing.
“In fact, I bet if you gave a man a lap dance you could get him to do just about any damned thing you wanted him to do with that body.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. If you give me a lap dance, I will totally talk to Cyrus for you and get him to do anything you ask me to.”