“Should I go back to the retreat and change clothes?” I asked, trying to exude the same confidence that I had to get through the crowd.
“Yes,” Sam said, taking both of my hands in his. “The driver will bring you to the venue and make sure that you get in safely. I’ll meet you inside.”
I nodded and turned to the door of the listening booth, walking out and back toward the door where the bodyguard was stationed. I couldn’t hear the screaming on the other side anymore and I looked at him questioningly.
“Police,” he said.
I nodded.
“Thank you for the elaboration.”
I felt a hint of disappointment when I stepped out of the building and the crowd was gone. There was a thrill to being linked to someone who created such a fervor in so many people and I found myself looking forward to being seen with Sam at the show. It was a drastically different experience than the complete solitude of my date with Lee, and I was curious about what discoveries there were to be made with him there to show me his corner of the world.
As soon as I got back to the cottage, I rushed into my room and opened the box again. I pulled out the second outfit and felt a touch of nerves return to my belly. This was something that I would never wear, even when I first starting dating my ex. It was completely out of my comfort zone and I questioned whether me wearing it would have the intended effect. The door to my room opened and Noah stepped inside carrying a glass of wine. His eyes settled onto the dress I was holding.
“Is that for your date?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to a concert. The man is a musician.”
Noah nodded as I took the glass from him.
“You’ll look incredible in that,” he said while walking toward the door. “He’s a lucky man.”
Chapter Thirteen
Snow
An hour later I walked down the stairs of an elaborate concert venue that had been crafted out of an abandoned vintage theater dressed in a short black dress, spike heels that buckled around my ankles, and a heavy application of makeup. My hair was curled and teased, creating a look that was a far more over-the-top than I was accustomed to, but after Noah’s comment I had made the decision that I wanted each of my date experiences with these men to be completely different than the others, and I was committed.
I spotted Sam across the room talking to a group of guys that looked like the quintessential image of roadies. As if he could feel me looking at him, he glanced up and caught sight of me. His eyes stopped, his expression changing, and his attention completely taken from the conversation. I appreciated the slightly startled look in his eyes, but then the confident, smoldering look returned and I felt nervousness roll through me. Sam was more intense than Lee, his personality almost volatile in its energy, and I couldn’t fathom what he might be thinking. I kept looking at him as I started down the stairs again.
By the time I reached the bottom step, Sam had left the men he was talking to and was waiting for me. He reached out to wrap one hand around my wrist and pulled me close so that I pressed against his chest and he could place his mouth close to my ear.
"Either dance with me or let me bring you to my VIP lounge right now. Your choice."
My breath caught in my throat and I could feel him smile. I reminded myself of the purpose of this retreat and some of my confidence returned. I didn’t want to give Sam the satisfaction of feeling like he was totally in control and I pulled back slightly so that I could look into his face.
"I guess that means that we’re going to dance."
He released my wrist and turned his hand to take mine so he could lead me toward the dancefloor where people had filtered from the tables surrounding it and started dancing to the music of the warmup band. Sam stopped in the middle but continued to lead me so that I walked around him as if he was showing me off to the people who had gathered around us. Suddenly he pulled me into his arms, crushing my body against his, and caught my eyes. There was a look of unfettered desire and unashamed intention there. It was less playful than Lee, but no less entrancing. I felt like I was at the beginning of a game of chess, jockeying for position and power while also aware of simmering desire that was building in my belly and making me eager to find out what was his next move.
Sam seemed to feel the same simmer as he placed his hands lightly on my waist and began to dance. He moved slowly and subtly, rolling his hips against mine as if guiding me again until I began to respond with movements of my own. I watched as the tip of his tongue slipped out to slick across his bottom lip and he tightened his grip on my waist. He leaned his head forward to tuck it close to my ear again.
"You don't look as inexperienced as Fawn told me that you are."
I tilted my head to look up at him. I was stung by the unrestrained honesty of the statement and the confirmation of what I had thought when we were in his practice space, but I quickly recovered, reminding myself that that was exactly what she was supposed to do – find the men who would be right to help me overcome my limitations and discover myself.
"I don’t?" I asked coyly, the music, heat of the bodies around them, and lust in Sam's voice making my arousal start to creep higher.
"No. You look like pure sex and if all of these people weren't here right now I would make sure that you understood exactly what I mean by that.”
"If all of these people weren't here, I wouldn’t be either, and I definitely wouldn’t be wearing this."
"Exactly. That dress would be on the floor and I would be showing you that this body was made for much more than what you’ve been using it for."
"Oh really?" I asked, made almost breathless by his powerful, dominant stance.
He made an affirming sound and I felt him slide his hands up my body. His hands slipped over the curve of my waist and the sides of my breasts to lift my arms up and drape them around his neck.
"What is it that you would show me?" I asked in a heated whisper, still wanting to maintain the soft coyness in my voice but feeling more wanton with each word.
I felt a suggestive twitch against my hip and his dancing seemed to become more intense.
"I would teach you like I know that Fawn had you teach yourself in the cottage.”
My mouth fell open slightly. I knew that Noah had been in the cottage, but I didn’t know that anyone else was going to know about what happened there. For a moment I felt embarrassed, but then I realized that I was holding the power in my hand again.
“There something else for me to learn?”
Sam slipped his leg between mine and pulled me further up so that I rode his thigh. The dress of the skirt was short enough that it bunched nearly to my hips, causing me to straddle his thigh with nothing but my panties between me and his leg. The friction created by his pants against the lace of my panties built a strong pressure deep in my belly and I relaxed into the flow of the music.
"There is so much more,” Sam told me. “I would teach you to touch me. I would wrap your little hand around my cock and show you how to stroke me."
I whimpered at the thought and Sam nudged my forehead with his so that I arched backwards. He touched his lips to the swell of my cleavage above the neckline of my dress and moved up, trailing kisses to the soft dip at the base of my neck before guiding me back up to standing.
"Then when I had taught you how to get me good and hard, I would tuck it right into your pretty mouth and teach you to suck me."
He leaned down again to lick the side of my neck, the feeling of his tongue across my skin making me shiver. I knew that by now he would have to be able to feel the wet heat on his thigh where I danced and I could feel a strong erection straining against his pants. I rocked against his thigh, wanting him to feel more of it.
"Then I would lick you until you couldn't take any more, until I had you right on the edge of your control.”