The next morning as Gage was getting ready for work, he couldn’t help but think of his meeting yesterday with Marilyn and Amber. He liked to take a proactive approach to his life. If something needed worked on, work on it. Get it done. Do not procrastinate. If something bothered him, take the one-up approach - identify it and solve the problem. He hadn't been that way his entire life. It was when he joined the Army that he adopted that behavior. His Drill Sergeant held him to the highest standards and soon enough, Gage realized it was easier to do things first than to wait idly by for something to happen.
In this case, it wasn't a what but a whom.
Amber Prescott.
He hadn't known her name, that night nor through all these years. Amber. He supposed that suited her. Now, here she was in the same town as he. What were the statistics on that happening, he wondered. He had met her at the Silver Slippers Saloon. Met wasn't really the correct term. Can you technically meet someone if there aren't any introductions? It was more like he fucked her brains out one night, all night, a long time ago. Case closed. He never thought he would see her again. That was the whole idea of going to a private club – no strings attached.
Sure, he thought about her. There were times he was with other women and one of them would do something and it would bring back a hazy memory of something she – now that he knew her name - Amber, did that night.
It wasn't often that she came to his mind. But when she did, she invaded his senses. He could remember the scent she was wearing down to the flower that was infused into her perfume. He could remember the feel of her hands roaming all over his body once he had untied her, like a newborn baby remembers their mother.
God, she was beautiful then, but she was stunning now.
He didn't like it.
That was one unpredictable thing he did in his life a long time ago. And that unpredictability was here, in his town? He was going to have to do something about it. He hadn't quite thought of a plan. Yet. But he would soon. It felt like a loose end that needed tying up. As CEO of the credit union, there was no way he could have her roaming town spilling her guts about how she met him inside a sex club. No. That shit wouldn't fly. He could already hear the hushed whispers, the quick glances from members as they did their business at the credit union.
He couldn’t make her move out of town, unfortunately. He feared he would have to set up a meeting with her and discuss his expectations. That would have to do, he supposed. At the moment, that seemed like a plausible solution. Unless he could think of something else, soon, then he would have to make that work.
Unable to control his urge to get the matter at hand taken care of, he finished buttoning his dress shirt and decided today was as good as time as any to meet with one Amber Prescott.
~
Amber loved teaching dance. She loved watching the little kiddos learning how to keep their balance, loved how their eyes lit up when they finally got the hang of something. They would practice over and over until they could get the move right. She had them lined up in formation this morning, getting ready to practice simple ballet moves. This class was toddlers aged 2-4. They came once a week in the mornings for forty-five minutes. They were a lot different from the other classes she taught for the older groups. With the older ones she was able to teach them dance steps by showing them which position to start in, how to follow through with the move and finish it out.
With her little ones, she had to sneak in the moves while 'playing' games with them. Then, once she felt they were comfortable enough doing certain routines, she would break it down into steps. The four-year-olds were able to grasp the dance steps a lot easier than the two- year-olds. But she had no problem teaching them either. She would crank up her iPod and play some hip-hop music and the kiddos loved dancing time - which is what many of them called it.
Once class was over, she had nowhere to be for a few more hours until her older girls came in. She cranked up her iPod, and Lady Gaga's Do What U Want blasted through her speakers. She took to the wooden studio floors and began dancing. She loved dancing. It freed her mind, her body. It was like meditating for her. Any time something bothered her, she always felt better after she was able to dance. Even when there wasn't anything bothering her, she loved doing it.
She swayed her hips to the sound of Lady Gaga's voice, lip-syncing along with her. She wore her gray yoga pants with a skintight tank top and felt way too constricted as she moved along the dance floor.
Gage pulled up to the dance studio where his friend Blake told him he could find Amber. Blake was dating Amber’s best friend, Marilyn. After Marilyn helped Blake out of a sticky situation with her ex-boyfriend, they had been inseparable since. Needless to say, Marilyn’s ex was serving a little time in prison on theft charges.
The dance studio was situated at the corner of a strip mall - a long one-story complex that held a variety of businesses. The sign was flipped to closed but Gage wasn't going to give up that easily. He got out of his Range Rover and locked the doors. He really didn't want to see Amber but he knew this is what he needed to do for damage control. Walking up to the door, he could hear music blasting out from the inside. What type of music did she make her students listen to, he thought. He tried the door. Unlocked. In he went.
The only light inside the studio was coming from the sunlight outside. She had the lights shut off - apparently better to dance in, he thought. Because there she was in the middle of the dance floor swaying her hips from left to right. Her knees were slightly bent, her arms were straight up in the air and her butt was grinding in tempo with the music.
Being the man that he was, Gage had to admit, she still had a pretty awesome behind. It was small and tight. Watching it as she swayed from side to side, it would tempt any man, he reasoned.
Not just him.
The singer was asking someone, telling them, to do what they wanted to her body and not to stop.
Hmm, Gage couldn't help but think of that night.
In his one-time experience with Amber, that's what he did to her. He did what he wanted. She knew what she wanted also. She wanted to be tied up and blindfolded hoping the right man would choose her. She also wanted to be tied up while she watched him pleasure another woman. And so that is what he had done. When he finally untied her, because he couldn't take not having his hands all over her body a moment longer, he did what he wanted. He touched her and teased her, giving her orgasm after orgasm until she begged him to stop.
Oh, she made him orgasm too. He remembered that just as clearly. She was a hungry kitten then. Eating up everything he did to her, everything they threw at her. And she, like a child trying to please a parent, did everything she could to please Gage and their other female friend.
He wondered what she would be like now. Would she still be a sex-craved kitten? Taking and giving all she could? Or had she become more docile as she'd gotten older?
It irritated the hell out of him that he was even questioning her sexual antics. He came here for one purpose and it wasn't so he could relive that night that happened such a long time ago. Unfortunately that didn't stop him from watching her move her lithe body across the studio.
~
The song was coming to an end and Amber turned toward her setup to turn the volume down and got the shock of her life. There, inside the studio, stood Gage Alexander, CEO. After having the daylights shocked out of her, she was able to slightly compose herself. What was he doing here? He held himself together, just like she remembered him. Or maybe that was what she imagined him to be like. She had thought of him fairly often after their rendezvous. He stood silently, not at all uncomfortable being in a room decorated with butterflies and dragonflies. His hands were folded in front of him, his legs spread slightly apart. He didn't say anything. How long had he been standing there, watching her? A tremor of excitement raced up her spine. Neither of them spoke, standing on opposite sides of the room. She turned the volume down and watched him. He looked manly, tough, just like she remembered him. He was dressed in a long-sleeved business type shirt with black slacks. She could see his muscular legs outlining his pants. Could she actually see his muscular legs or was that from her memory? Her mind was playing tricks on her. She couldn't actually be sure which was which.
Finally he spoke, "I came to talk."
No “Hi how are you, it's been a long time.” Nothing. He was all business. Her heart deflated.
"About what?" she asked.
"About the Silver Slippers Saloon."
Wow, he was a man of few words.
"Ah, so you do remember me?" Both times she had run into him, she knew he recognized her, but she wasn't going to let him get away that easily.
He looked annoyed, "Of course I do."
This small talk was starting to piss her off. Since he clearly wasn’t here for a date, he needed to get to the point. His attitude suggested he was already irritated with her. That instantly put her on edge. Wanting to push his buttons, she responded, "Wasn't sure how often you did that kind of thing...if you remembered who I was. I'm glad you remember. But what do you want?" Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail but wispy strands kept getting in her way. She blew a breath of air up her face, jostling the wispy hair away.
Gage didn't like her assumption that he met up with countless women and repeated his mistake over and over. Is that the kind of man she thought he was? Neither did he like how she pursed her lips together and blew a strand of hair away from her face. Her bottom lip jutted out making her features soft and youthful, carefree.
"First of all, I've done that-sort-of-thing one time. It was a mistake. I would never repeat it. Second of all, I came here to do damage control."
"Damage control about what?"
"That night. I don't want you speaking about it to anyone."
Oh boy, did he know how to push her buttons. As hunky as this virtual stranger was, he was pissing her off. A mistake? This whole eight years he thought of that single night with her a mistake? She just kept feeling better and better around him. Aside from that, what's this damage control shit? Ah, he was worried about his reputation being Gage Alexander, CEO of the credit union here. It stung a little that he assumed she blabbed to people about their escapade...err, sexcapade?
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are? Are you always so demanding?"
He watched her take a step toward him. He tracked her every move, watched the pulse in her neck beat like a hummingbird, watched as her hands clenched into fists. He hated how her royal blue tank top brought out the sky blue of her eyes. He didn't enjoy noticing little things about her like that. Especially how he had noticed her tank top wasn't very long and when she came toward him, it shimmied up, teasing him with glimpses of her abdomen just as it had done when she was sashaying around the dance floor.
"I'm always demanding. If I want something done, I have to be demanding. You should know."
Why did he have to bring up details about that night? It was one thing to remember what happened between them. It was a whole other thing to be standing alone with him in a room while he watched her like she was his prey, discussing it.
"You really don't know me at all. I don't appreciate you coming in here thinking I'm going to tell anyone about my sex life. Or that you think you have some right to tell me not to if I so choose."
"When it involves me, I have every right." She was so exasperating. Couldn't she just agree with him and he could be on his merry way? He had completely underestimated the difficulty of the situation. He had assumed she would agree. Case closed.
Now, he was seeing that was easier said than done.
~
She could feel the butterflies low in her stomach moving around, unsettled. She tilted her head to the side. For a split second, she caught the smoldering look in his eyes as he stared back and just as quickly it went away.
Was he attracted to her?
That didn't explain how he was treating her though. As if he wanted nothing to do with her.
Amber was really getting ticked off. Did he think because he was so good-looking he could waltz in here and tell her what to do? Or that because he ran a company as some high falutin' CEO she would just bow down to his demands? Oh no. That was not what she was going to do.
"Gage. Or do you prefer Mr. Alexander?" she asked.
He looked at her questioningly, "Gage is fine."
"Gage, I think you need to leave. Let me get the door for you."
She brushed passed him and he instinctively grabbed her arm. Her scent filled his nose, his senses. She looked up into his eyes, daring him. His body wanted to do something entirely different than his brain.
He let her go.
"This isn't over Amber."
"Yes, it is. Goodbye."
Amber couldn't believe the nerve of him! She was so mad she could spit! And she rarely got mad. She was as about as carefree and calm as a person could get. It made her furious that he thought he could tell her what to do. Had he come in here and just asked her nicely if they could keep their secret between them, she would have assured him that she would never talk about her romantic relations with anyone. Well...that didn’t include her best friends. Although, they would never tell anyone anything she told them in confidence. But aside from that, blabbing about who she was sleeping with or who she had slept with, really wasn't her thing.
And here she was actually swooning over his dark and dangerous attitude.
And he was being a jerk.
Was he always like that? When she had met him at the Saloon he had been demanding and in control but he had also been gentle, sweet, and attentive to her wants and needs. He definitely put her needs ahead of his own. What a contradiction that was to the man she was witnessing now. Today he had been a completely different man.
Either these years changed him or he was a gentle lover with a perplexing personality. As frustrating as he had been to her though, he still took her breath away. He was the only man she had ever met that she had to look up to because of his height. He was still bulky in his arms and legs. His hair was trimmed shorter than she remembered and now he had been blessed with nuances of grey sprinkled throughout his dark hair.
It made him sexier. More mature. His dark skin came from whatever ethnicity he was -Italian or Spanish. She wasn't sure which. Either way, it made him sexier.
His eyes were the color of chrome, brought out by his dark hair. He was the epitome of the strong and silent type. At least in these few minutes she had had him alone. He was clearly unhappy with her. Unhappy with the choice he made that night, long ago.
"Does this feel good? Exactly what you want?" Whispering so close to her ear she could feel his warm breath on her earlobe.
"Yes. You are doing it right. I've been waiting for this for an eternity."
He knelt behind her, so close his body heat made her feel as if she were on fire. He was an extraordinarily big man so it was easy for her to fit into his body. She was kneeling also, leaning back on her feet with her legs spread apart. Her back into his chest.
His calloused hands worked her middle. Teasing her with light strokes. Every so often his rough hands made their way up her sides, skimming her tummy up to the undersides of her breasts. He was such a gentle lover. For a man being so large in size, he was surprisingly gentle with her. She had been very nervous at first but he had done his best to comfort her and soothe her, making sure everything he did was what she wanted.
Both of his hands cupped her breasts as his mouth kissed the back of her neck. He spread kisses along her neck, up to her hairline, behind her ear. Her body was screaming for more. She had never been had this way. He was skilled in ways she had never experienced before. He knew what she needed the moment before she consciously thought of wanting it. He kneaded her breasts, taking the small buds into his fingertips. Tugging on them while biting into her neck. She arched back into his body needing to be closer, wanting to be a part of him. His hands quickly found her center again. This time he plunged his fingers inside, giving her what she needed. He kept a steady pace with his fingers, going deep inside her and grinding his palm into her clit.
"I'm going to make you come, aren't I, young lady?"
Her eyes were half closed as she registered the movement at the edge of the bed. Venus the Goddess was coming back to join them. The woman reached out for Amber’s breast and it was all Amber could do but to close her eyes as wave after wave of pure bliss shook her core. Her head falling back to lie on the man's shoulder.
"You are so sexy. So sexual," he whispered. "I've never met anyone like you."
How could that be the same man that had walked into the dance studio, making demands from her? Whatever had changed in his life, one thing was clear: he didn't want anything to do with Amber now.