Glimpses 17: One

Hmm, I’m not giving you much on this – you need to read it to get it, I think.  I don’t have a beta, so forgive the mistakes I know are buried in here.

This is part of a 3 chapter story and they are all short.  I could have posted them as one, but then I wouldn’t get to leave you with a cliffy (I mean cliffies) and what’s the fun in that?  Muaahahah…

The other two chapters are written and I’m editing.  I think I need two days between them since I’ve got some Girl Scout stuff happening (It’s cookie time!) and Valentine’s day as well.  The cliffy isn’t too bad.

Oh – and WordPress was doing that weird line spacing thing (happened to me before) – so I think it will look weird when I publish but I can’t figure out how to fix it.

Enjoy,

Mags

Glimpses 17: ONE

As Eric scanned the other tables in the bar, the aroma of coffee mingled with faint traces of whiskey and caramel wafted from the mug of Irish coffee warming his hands. There were only three other tables with people in the bar, all couples or small parties; nobody of interest. Occasionally, the door would open to the smoking patio and a breeze would move through the room, flickering the candles on each table. He enjoyed the solitude, as he was often surrounding by many people. As he sat, he focused on the sound of other’s quiet conversations, the clinking of glasses from the bartender as he made drinks for the attached restaurant, and soft jazz playing in the background. It was a moment in time to cherish.

The breeze picked up again as both the patio and main doors opened almost simultaneously. The scents of his coffee and liquor were replaced by something sweet with an undertone of a pleasant earthiness. He looked up in search of the source and saw a woman was entering a bar. She was burdened by a large briefcase, like his own, and a look that said she needed a brief escape as well. She selected a table and wiggled to remove her jacket. While her wavy blond hair and scent had caught his attention initially, her body made his mouth water. He scanned the rest of her body. Slowly. The red dress she wore served as a frame for her ample bosom. The neckline dipped to offer enough cleavage to be enticing and decent at the same time. Her waist was nipped in and accented by the wrap tie. As he glanced further he paused and moved back to her breasts. They were captivating; like two beacons calling to him. He glanced up from his gaze and got a better look at her eyes, as they were focused on him and telling him without offering a spoken word that he’d been caught ogling her.

He took the smile she sported as an invitation.

Standing and showing off his over six foot and broad-shouldered frame, he moved quickly to her table. “May I join you?”

She giggled, “I haven’t taken a seat yet.”

He shrugged, “I couldn’t wait another moment to say Hi.”

One of her eyebrows raised in question as she asked, “Is that so?” He pulled out her chair to help her sit as she answered him. “Well, I can’t make you wait any longer.” With a wave of her hand, she invited him to, “Join me, please.” The waiter appeared immediately, and Eric ordered a fresh Irish coffee and nodded for Sookie to place her order. She went with something bolder, “An old fashioned please.”

“Bad day?”

“I think the whiskey will warm me up.” She rubbed her hands together, “It’s chilly outside tonight.”

“Not uncommon though for Washington, DC in November.” She nodded in agreement. Not wanting to wait one more moment to touch her, he stretched out his arm to offer his hand, “Eric.”

She grasped his hand and offered, “I’m Sookie. Guess you’ve been inside for a while, your hand is warm.”

“Ah, well holding my coffee and whiskey gets the credit.”

“Smart.” She pulled back her hand and leaned away from the table as the waiter placed their drinks down. When they were alone again, she offered her drink in a toast. “To sharing a moment of calm in a crazy life.”

“I like that.” He clinked his glass to hers to share her sentiment.

“Since you’re complaining about the cold, and I detect a slight southern accent, I’m thinking you aren’t from DC?”

“I’m from Louisiana.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? I’m from Louisiana as well. A suburb of Shreveport.”

“And where is your accent?”

“Ah, well, I currently live in Louisiana, I’ve moved many times.”

They paused conversation when the door opened, and a loud group walked by their table. After they passed, Sookie eyed them for a moment until they selected a seat. Luckily it was far enough away that they could still enjoy a quiet conversation. “Glad they moved to the back of the bar. I hate yelling to have a conversation.”

“Agreed. I chose this bar because of the soft lighting and quiet music. I hope we aren’t interrupted again by some boisterous drinkers.” He paused while she took a sip of her drink, then asked, “What brings you to DC? What do you do?”

“I’m a political consultant. I’m in DC about every other month.” She saw him smirk, “So yes, you’d think I’d be used to the weather by now but I’m not.” She turned the questions to him. “What do you do, why DC?”

“I’m thinking of expanding my business into the area. I’ve been moving into other states for a few years.”

“What’s your business?”

“I own several businesses, but I’m here to look at locations for my adult novelty shops.” She seemed to freeze at his words; her drink stuck in the air part way to her mouth. When she didn’t react, he clarified in case she wasn’t sure what he meant. “You know, condoms, dildos, restraining devices…”

Instead of making it to her mouth, she put the drink down, so she could put both hands up to stop him. “I got it. I’m not sure it’s polite conversation for a first meeting.”

“Fair enough.” He wanted to laugh but refrained. “Tell me more about your work?”

Eager to move off the topic of his sex shops, Sookie quickly launched into her day. “I’d be glad to.”

Eric enjoyed listening to Sookie speak of her latest meetings. She obviously loved her job and perked up about her accomplishments, though having worked a long day. He feared she’d choose to end her evening early after hearing how early she’d started. The gentleman in him thought he should offer to buy her dinner and encourage her to rest; the gentleman was losing. Once she finished her drink, he was going to make a play to take their conversation to his suite. He could be patient though. With all her talking, she was taking frequent sips to stay hydrated. The drink would be done in about ten minutes at most.

After going on in detail about her day, she suddenly stopped and covered her mouth. Embarrassed, she realized she’d babbling for several minutes; she could feel her cheeks fill with blood. In her head, she questioned if she’d even taken a breath?! “I’m so sorry! You just let me go on and on…”

“I like hearing you talk.” He took a chance and grasped her free hand; she didn’t resist. “Tell me something else if you don’t want to talk about your job anymore.” While she tried to will the blush from her face, she shifted in her chair and her dress bunched over her chest. The hint of black lace he could see through the gap stole his attention until she cleared her throat. “My apologies. You. Are. Stunning, I can’t keep my eyes off you.”

“You can’t keep your eyes off me or my bra?”

“All you.”

She pulled her hand back to adjust her dress and he panicked at the loss of her touch, but his reaction was premature. Once her bosom was covered again, she took his hand back. “What would you like to know?”

“Favorite color?”

One of her hands swept down her front, “Red. I’ve been complimented often in reds and wines. So, I like and can wear it.”

“Red’s my favorite too.” He added with a smirk, “Though black… black lace rather…”

Knowing he was referring to her bra, she smacked his arm lightly and scolded him, “Naughty.”

His free hand went up in surrender. “What about your favorite book?”

“Are you asking all the questions now, is that how this is going?”

He waggled her finger at him. “You were too busy telling me I’m naughty. I’m trying to get us back on track.” He enjoyed the bright smile on her face. “I’ll tell you my favorite book first.”

“That’s a grand idea. Fair even.” She took another sip of the drink and he enjoyed seeing the level go down when she returned it to the table. Her pretty pink tongue came out to lick her top lip as she’d needed to tip the glass back to take her drink and the ice fell, dotting her upper lipp with droplets of water. While he got lost in other ideas for where that tongue could be used, he missed Sookie calling him a few times. “Eric? Your favorite book?”

She could see he was surprised that he’d zoned out. His eyes seemed need a moment to focus before he responded. “The Fairy’s Tale. I know the author. I’ve read it several times.”

“I love re-reading a favorite like that!”

“And that favorite book?”

She giggled, “I guess I have kept that a secret for a few minutes. It’s Anna Karenina.” Her face morphed and it appeared that she was looking far away for a moment. “It reminds me of my first date.”

“So, you didn’t know Tolstoy?”

She gasped with fake indignation and put her hands on her hips. “Are you calling me old?” She squinted and moved closer to him, inspecting his face. “I’ll admit, I think I have a few years on you but I’m not old.”

Taking advantage of her closeness, he breathed in the sweet and earthy scent that called to him before he’d even seen her face and he whispered in her ear. “Would you be willing to take this conversation to my suite?” He punctuated his request with a small kiss behind her ear. Given the shiver she gave in response, he thought his chances were pretty good. Of course, she could shock him by making him stay in the bar longer.

She sputtered out a response while blushing furiously. “I’m not… I’ve never done anything like that. Going off with a man I’d only just met.”

“I figured something like that when you froze over hearing I own a chain of adult stores.” He leaned back and took her hands in his. “The thing is, I’m pretty sure I’d regret not spending an evening, a night, with you. I can’t promise anything beyond tonight. My life… it doesn’t fit into anything like normal. Since we live in the same state, perhaps we can see each other if we’re both available. That’s the most I can offer.”

She looked down at his hands, then back to his face. He was being honest, she had to give him credit for that. Did she want to go with him now? Duh, yes. The man was sex on a stick; she was sure she’d enjoy every minute. Unable to refuse, she answered him with a simple, “Yes.” Taking a final swig of her drink, she started to stand. “Let’s go.”

He surprised her by pulling her back down. “There’s something we need to discuss. Something about me that I need you to know before we go upstairs.”

“You’re going to tell me you’re married, or live with your mother…”

“No. Nothing like that.” He paused, unsure how this information would go over. “I’m someone who likes to control everything about my sexual encounters.”

She narrowed her eyes and asked, “What does that mean?”

“I say, you do.” Though it was only about an inch or so, he could see her pull back from, so he moved to whisper into her ear. “Don’t panic. Hear me out.” She nodded, and the movement released another dose of her scent. He needed to focus, so he fought to ignore the urge to breathe her in. “You seem like a very independent and hard-working woman.” Another nod and another batch of the scent. “I’m offering you a chance to let go. To be in the moment for your pleasure only. No thinking; just doing and enjoying.” When she leaned into the lips he had next to her ear, he knew it was safe to go on. “I’ll tell you to strip, and you’ll do it without hesitation. I’ll ask you to open yourself to me and you’ll hurry to the bed, so you can comply. I’ll order you over my knees, so I can spank that beautiful behind for going off with a strange man and you’ll moan before you get into position.”

His tongue peaked out and licked her softly behind the ear. Her blush had bloomed with each of his statements and he couldn’t resist a taste of her firey hot skin. “I’ll also make you come so many times you’ll forget that you were worried to join me in my room. I’ll order food and feed you while you’re naked in my bed until I’m certain you’ve been sated. I’ll bathe you when we take a break to soothe your tender body. Then we’ll return to the bed and I’ll touch you in places that will make you scream my name. You won’t leave with any regrets Sookie.”

She was frozen from his words, unable to move, unable to speak, but she got a stiff nod out. Eric moved quickly, afraid she would change her mind. He threw a hundred-dollar bill on the table, knowing it more than covered the tab, grabbed her briefcase and coat, then helped her to her feet. The walk to the elevator and up to his suite was a blur and before she knew it, Sookie was standing in his suite. While normally, she’d be taking in her surroundings, she ignored the spacious and elegantly decorated room to focus on Eric. When he helped her into the room, he’d placed her about two feet from the edge of the bed and he moved to sit in front of her. He gave his first command.

“Strip.”

Her mind reeled. He was going to do everything he’d said. It wasn’t a chat, he wasn’t providing some examples, he was making a promise. Knowing he also promised to give her pleasure, she gave herself over to his man; this beautiful and confident man. There had to be other available and willing women more beautiful, thinner, younger; but he’d chosen her. Exactly as he’d promised, she moved to pull open her wrap dress without hesitation.

His eyes were drawn to her sex as he saw she was wearing a matching bra and garter set, but no panties. “Sookie! You were walking around without panties?” She nodded. “Since when?”

Rather than respond, she found a spot on the floor fascinating. He needed to remind her of their deal. “Sookie, I say, you do. Tell me how long you’ve been without panties?”

“Since before I entered the bar. I… I ah saw you before I came in, from the outside doors so I ran off.” She sighed, “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. Anyway, I ran off and removed my panties. I can’t explain it, it felt like something I needed to do.”

Smug was the only way to describe the look on his face at her words. “I’m flattered. I inspired panty removal without words.”

“I’ll remind you that I hadn’t finished taking my coat off before you were next to me.”

“Fair enough.” He reached out and hooked his finger under the center of her bra. “Keep the garters on but the bra goes.” She turned to remove it and teased him while she let the straps fall slowly down her arms and finally off before she turned. Taking a nipple between his fingers he told her, “Beautiful.”

Sookie couldn’t believe how his simple tweak of her nipple had her wanting more. A single touch and she was ready for everything he had promised. He broke her out of her thoughts and gave his next command. “I want to see you. On the bed, legs spread.”

She hurried to the bed, as he’d predicted. “You’re doing everything you said, aren’t you?”

“Oh yes. That spanking I mentioned? You’re in for it now. You were panty-less in a bar full of men.”

He moved over her, still fully clothed, and Sookie felt her nudity in front of him was naughty, dangerous, and erotic. As he leaned to kiss her, his phone rang causing him to groan. Sookie sat bolt upright at the noise and grew concerned immediately. “Eric?”

“What is it Pam?” He answered in a no nonsense voice.

“Eric, one of the trips is gone; Jarl’s been missing for about 2 hours. Playtime is over; you and Sookie need to come home.”

 

Yep – it’s Eric and Sookie from Beauty and the Vampire Beast.

I’ll move the position of this post over the weekend so it’s inline with the rest of the story.  I didn’t want to give away that little twist…  Did I give you hints?  Just two:

• His favorite book is the Fairy’s Tale.  Now I never came out and said that Sookie’s book was called that – but you could have guessed.
• The other was her favorite book – Anna Karenina since she was dressed in her gown like the movie version for their first date.  Did anyone guess?

If you need to, you might want to revisit at least the Glimpses chapters to remember the players. Oh and – Time jump: November 2024, Frannie 35, Hunter 25, Moyra 19, triplets 18, Adrianna 12 (she was a newborn in the last chapter), and Desmond, 5 (he was born after the last chapter, and before this one).