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Dominic
Dom pulled up outside Lula’s little house at exactly seven. He would have been there early but he forced himself to drive around the block a few times so he didn’t seem as desperate to see her as he felt.
He was officially ridiculous, but he didn’t care.
He had donned his game-day date clothes: finely-tailored charcoal grey pants, a crisp white shirt, and a tie. They were his go-to, his panty-droppers, his deal-sealers.
He hoped tonight would be no different. He was prepared for every scenario, prepared to be mildly to highly aroused all through dinner, prepared to make her gag for it by the end of the night, prepared to go home alone if that was the way it worked out.
What he was abso-fucking-lutley NOT prepared for was that. Fucking. Dress.
His jaw literally fell open when she answered the door in a skin-tight red dress that barely held up the most succulent breasts he had ever seen. Those poor straps, they were not going to last long under that kind of pressure.
And her hair, Jesus, she had silky dark locks flowing everywhere. Images of it spread out on a white pillow, his fists buried within made him hard instantly. Suddenly he couldn’t even form words.
Finally he choked out, “Jesus, Lula. Are you trying to kill me?”
She grinned cutely and pulled the door closed. “I had hoped to.”
He put his hands up. “Done. I’m dead. Will you call my mother? She’ll want to know.”
She laughed and that dimple appeared. It made his stomach pull. Locking the door, she turned back to him appreciatively. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Adams.”
He stepped closer to her and touched her face. “But I’m the only one enduring cardiac arrest. I mean it, Tallulah Stanley, you are drop-dead gorgeous.”
“I’d better be.” She tucked her tiny black clutch under her arm. “It took two hours and extra help.”
He laughed and held out his arm. “It was well worth it. My Lady, our reservation awaits.”
She took his arm with the biggest smile he had ever seen and it tugged somewhere on his heart. He had to make tonight absolutely perfect if he even wanted a chance to go home with her. He was focused. He was desperate.
Luckily his mother had raised him to be a gentleman so he knew all the right moves. It also helped that he very much wanted to treat her right. He opened her car door for her, made sure she was buckled in, and played Ella on the way to the restaurant.
He asked about Nan’s health and they laughed about John Wayne. It was altogether enjoyable. Unlike every other date he had been on, it didn’t seem like he had to try to make conversation. It came easy with Lula, everything did. He felt like himself, comfortable, and she made him laugh like no other woman he had ever met.
“No way ...” she breathed, eyes wide, when he pulled up to the valet at Sullivan’s. “I’ve never been here. I’ve always wanted to though.”
He smiled, ridiculously pleased to have been the first to take her. “I’m glad I get to be your first time,” he said playfully.
She flushed beautifully and gave him a bright smile. “Me too.” She leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the cheek. “Thank you, this is wonderful.”
He wanted to take her face in his hands and kiss her until she couldn’t think straight, instead, he gently ran his thumb across her cheek and told her, “It’s my pleasure.” He opened his car door a crack. “Now you stay put, I’ll be right there.”
He jogged around the car as she watched him, clearly amused, and when he opened her car door and her stunning legs unfolded gracefully from the car, he gaped. They were long and lean and topped off with strappy heels that screamed “fuck me” at full volume. Christ almighty, how was he going to make it through dinner without doing exactly what they asked?
“Why, Mr. Adams,” Lula breathed, wrapping her arm through his and pulling him close, “were you just staring at my legs?”
He swallowed and gave a helpless shrug. “You have killer legs, Lu; you bet I was staring.”
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she leaned in and whispered, “Imagine how they’ll feel around your waist.” Her voice came out husky and dark and went straight to his cock.
“Or my neck,” he growled, pulling her even closer as they walked into the building.
She sucked in a breath and licked her lips. “That works too.”
Fuck. He stopped their forward progress and looked around. How did he get her out of here now?
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said playfully, “I’m not missing my chance to eat here.”
Grumbling playfully, he led her inside and had to stuff his hands in his pocket to keep from molesting her in the elevator. Had there not been two other couples there too, he would have had his hands all over her. As it was, he had to keep from punching the clearly bored husband that kept looking down Lula’s dress.
Keep it together, Dom, he kept telling himself. Don’t ruin the night with a jealous right hook to a jaw.
He took a steadying breath and reminded himself that it would be worth the wait to finally be buried to the hilt in Lula, his name on her lips, his hands in her hair.
He changed his mind when she slid her delicate fingers possessively around his arm and smiled up at him.
She was worth the wait.
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Lula
Lula gasped when they entered the top-floor restaurant. Everywhere she looked, the city of Chicago glinted at her. Soft jazz music played through the speakers and the décor was modern and warm at the same time. Incredible.
Sullivan’s was a place she had never dreamt she would have the opportunity to go. It was for the elite, the moneyed. Not a literature teacher with a small house and ten-year-old car.
And she was there with Dominic Adams on her arm, no less. And fuck if he didn’t look sinfully delicious in those pants and masterfully tailored white shirt. She had a hard time keeping her hands to herself and her mind out of the gutter.
As they walked through the restaurant, she could feel people watching them. It gave her a thrill of pleasure, which made her grip Dom’s arm a little harder. Yeah, he’s here with me, she wanted to shout. Little, boring Lula Stanley. Bet you didn’t see that coming.
“Everybody is looking at you, Lu,” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered from the sensation and shook her head. He was clearly unaware that everyone was looking at him. No one ever looked at her.
“Your table,” the waiter said, presenting their seats with a practiced flourish of his hand before pulling Lula’s seat out for her.
She gasped. Holy shit. Dom had reserved a table at the corner with nearly 360-degree views of Chicago. There was a bouquet of deep red roses in the center. “Dom,” she breathed as she settled into her chair, “this is too much. This is ...”
He grinned as he sat down. “Lula, you deserve the best, all the time. Don’t forget that.”
She blushed and fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth. She didn’t know what to look at first. The city? The roses? The handsome man that was somehow here with her? Her heart was skittering noisily in her chest.
“Thank you,” she said, embarrassed that she was a little overcome, “it’s so beautiful.”
He smiled as he unfolded his napkin. “It’s all right, I guess,” he said, looking around as if he wasn’t all that impressed. “But the real beauty here is you.”
Her skittering heart stuttered to a stop and her stomach tugged. It was a feeling she knew well. She knew she was falling. Falling fast for Mr. Dominic Adams. “It’s like you always know what to say to make me blush.”
“Well I am a writer,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“Never date a writer,” she said. “I’ve heard that a thousand times. They’re too dangerous, too skilled at removing panties with their words. Sound about right?” she challenged.
He laughed and then lowered his voice. “I also use my teeth.”
She squeezed her knees together and flushed. She was already wet for him and they had been at the restaurant for less than ten minutes. There was no way her poor panties were surviving the evening.
She was rescued from responding by the waiter and she tried to calm her body as Dom picked out a bottle of wine she had never heard of.
“It’s delicious, I promise,” he assured her.
As if she knew anything about wines over twenty bucks. Ten, really. “I’m excited to try it.”
They fell into an easy conversation about school and War and Peace over wine. During dinner he told her about his brothers and she told him stories about her mother.
It was a beautiful experience with a beautiful man, and she wished she could just freeze time for a while. She tried to soak it all in, the tastes, the smells, his smiles ... so she could remember them after she woke up from this incredible dream.
After dinner they shared a sinful piece of cheesecake, giggling as their forks tangled, both full of wine and steak and an undeniable erotic tension. She shivered in anticipation whenever she thought of him sliding into her, and she could swear he was reading every thought she had.
“You wanna ditch this place?” he asked, a grin playing at his lips.
“Depends”—she leaned in—“what do you have in mind, Adams?”
“Oh, Lu, I can’t tell you that.” He leaned in as well; his eyes and voice were heavy with desire. “I’m just going to have to show you.”
She swallowed and her voice came out in a squeak. “Then by all means, let’s ditch this place.”
His heated grin made it hard to breathe. “That’s my girl.”
“My place?” she asked breathlessly and then bit her lower lip. It occurred to her that he could say no and she wasn’t prepared for that kind of rejection. She also wasn’t sure she was ready to go to his place. At least at hers, she knew her surroundings and ...
He cut her off with, “My darling Lu, I will take you anywhere you want to go.”
A delicious shiver threaded up her spine and she took the hand that he offered her as he stood. “Shall we?” he asked.
“We shall,” she answered and they hurried out of the restaurant. It was torture standing so close to him in the crowded elevator but he eased it a little by sliding his large hand surreptitiously down the small of her back, drawing a whimper she had to cover with a cough.
The valet seemed to take forever and by the time they were finally in his car, she was out of breath and dizzy with desire. She didn’t know what to say as he sped off like a teenager. It was as if their intense need overpowered their ability to speak like normal humans.
To quell the awkwardness, he took her hand and pressed his lips to it. She smiled at him and thought that after all the times she had seen him, he never looked more handsome than he did right now, while he was trying to make her feel comfortable, as if she mattered.
Before they got to her house, he looked at her with a surprisingly vulnerable expression. It was not one this man wore very often. “Lula,” he said seriously, “I just want you to know that if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. Say the word and I’ll drop you off without—”
“Dominic,” she cut him off. She was touched that he was concerned, really she was, but there was no way she was going another night without this happening. All of it. “I want to do this. I want you to come in.”
He watched her carefully as if he were trying to detect a lie.
“I mean, a lot,” she added so there would be no confusion.
He laughed and let out a breath. “Me too, Lu, you have no idea.”
“I think I have a very good idea,” she assured him. “Now, if you could just stop driving like Nan and get us there, I would appreciate it.”
His eyebrows rose. “Oh is that how it is?”
“That’s how it is,” she answered.
“Well, speaking of your grandmother, I don’t think she’d like me driving so fast with her precious granddaughter. I should probably slow down.” He pressed the brake.
She growled. Actually growled. “Drive.”
“Ah, there’s my bobcat.” He grinned and sped off.