Page 19 of Practice Makes Perfect

The decision to ask Billie out on the date was easy. If I’m going to convince her to be with me permanently and not just as my dating tutor, we need to spend more time together outside of the apartment, though after the way she straddled my lap and kissed me the other night, having more privacy is also incredibly tempting. Her lips were so smooth and supple, but they moved with such force that it was the very definition of killing me softly. With each pass of her lips, each swipe of her tongue, I fell a little more under her spell. It was a heady feeling that nearly had me floating away if not for the fact that her hands were all over my body, grounding me to Earth with the need to feel every sensation her touch provided. Trembling, shivering, melting and just about any other adjective I could think of to describe what I was feeling were all words that ran through my mind later that night as I thought back on our practice session on the couch. During, my mind was completely blank of anything other than how good it felt to be with her. And how natural.

Being with Billie is as easy as breathing most of the time when I can get out of my head long enough to feel the truth in what she tells me. That I’m a great guy that is worth knowing or that I’m sexy. But in the bright light of day when I’m alone with just my thoughts, it’s hard not to pick at what I think are flaws. I can get lost in my work, my sister and nephew are a bigger priority than some women might like, and I lack confidence in myself when it comes to romance. Case in point, I had no idea what to do for a date, and after spending way too much time online searching for “romantic date ideas,” I’m still not sure that the fancy restaurant idea I came up with will end up being what I hope it is, a way to slowly convince Billie to stay with me, be with me the way I want to be with her. With a hope that things go well, I step into the bathroom to start getting ready.

The shop closes at 5:00, but I knocked off an hour early to come upstairs. Billie assured me that she had everything in hand and since I would literally be one story above her if she needed anything, I felt comfortable leaving her in charge. She might have had a hard time in the beginning, but after stumbling out of the gate, Billie picked everything up in no time and runs the shop a lot better than I do and is even giving Maya a run for her money. She greets each and every customer from town by name and treats tourists to the area like they are a new friend she just hadn’t met yet, showing them around the store and explaining everything in so much detail that I’m constantly blown away by her dedication to a job that is only temporary. I’m really proud of her, though thinking about her situation possibly being short-lived has my stomach sinking.

After a quick shower and changing into the “date night” outfit Billie picked out for me, I’m standing in front of the mirror and trying to remember how I was supposed to put this whole look together. Was I supposed to leave the shirt tucked in or not? And what about the buttons? When Billie had me try this on at the store, I should have been taking notes on how to do it myself instead of floating down the chocolate rivers of her eyes or relishing the feel of her hands on my body as she checked the fit. With a huff, I throw my hands up. Even JJ can put an outfit together, so I’m slightly exasperated with myself for not being able to do something as easy as getting dressed for what could possibly be the most important date of my life.

Moments later, Billie appears in the doorway, a sad smile on her face. “What’s the matter?” Her expression shows concern at my distress, but right now the only thing I’m concerned about is not creating a very obvious tent in my slacks. Billie is dressed in a little black dress that shows off shapely legs and toned thighs. As my eyes move higher, they widen at the deep v of the dress that goes almost down to her navel. It doesn’t show much, just enough skin and cleavage to get your attention, and boy does it have mine. Trying not to stare like a creep, I look up at her face and see a satisfied look on her face. Clearly, she knows the effect she has on me and doesn’t seem at all bothered by it. As she steps towards me, she slowly peruses my body and shakes her head slowly. “I knew I should have left you notes. Clearly you can’t be trusted with fine clothes.”

Despite her words, I can see the interest in her eyes. The fact that it’s there at all has my chest puffing out a bit, pleased that she too likes what she sees. A small laugh escapes my chest as my hands gesture all over my half buttoned dress shirt. “It’s not my fault that these buttons are impossible.” Billie rolls her eyes at me and I can’t help but smile at her. “You’re going to have to help me, otherwise I’m going out looking like this and that is as much a reflection of you as it is me.”

Billie shakes her head again and comes in front of me, a wry smile on her face. “Low blow going after my ego like that,” she says. She shoves the front of my shirt into my pants, which does little to help with my arousal situation, but she’s so focused that I’m sure she doesn’t notice. “You do a French tuck, so a little in front and none in the back.” She opens the top two buttons of my shirt. “And these are open so you look more relaxed.” I nod, and when she looks up at my face, she snorts and covers her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. It’s just that your hair took me a little by surprise.”

Wandering back over to the bathroom, I chuckle when I see my reflection. After using the same goop she did the other day and attempting a style, it turns out I’ve basically created a look that is very similar to a certain lightning-fast, blue hedgehog. When Billie appears next to me, I smile down at her. “I know I said I would let you do it, but I thought I would give it a go. Clearly, I’m still in need of some tutelage.”

She returns my smile as her hands reach up to start fixing my hair. “As awesome as this is, maybe we should save the porcupine quill look for Halloween.” Her fingers brushing through my hair feels amazing, and every now and then her nails will graze my scalp and cause a shiver to trail down my spine.

As she continues to adjust my waves, I stare at her, cataloging every feature I can knowing that I’ll want to recall them later. Her bronzed skin is so smooth. I want to feel it under the rougher skin of my hands as I cup her face and bring her perfect rose tinted lips up to mine in a kiss. Her eyes are the exact color of my favorite espresso wood stain, a stain I know I’ll be using a lot more of from now on just because it will remind me of her. My body sways toward hers without my permission, the same way the wood on my workbench is drawn toward the blade of the saw. Without careful control, the wood will split and I have the feeling if I don’t control what I’m doing, I’ll be left in one piece, but my heart won’t be. Right now, that doesn’t seem to matter. “Billie,” I whisper.

She hums and looks up at me. The hunger in my gaze must be evident for she waits mere seconds before moving her hands to the back of my neck and pulling me down for another kiss. Our lips crash together like the waves on the shore, but instead of drifting out again, we keep them together, licking into each other’s mouths until we’re both groaning with pleasure. My hands move into her hair, the strands slipping through my fingers like satin. Billie presses her body to mine, and my back slams into the wall. “Are you okay?” she pants and leans away.

Nodding furiously, I pull her back into my chest and lean down to take her mouth once more. She tastes sweet and spicy, like chocolate and cayenne pepper as I move my tongue against hers, the smooth glide causing the rest of my body to respond fervently. A jolt of pleasure shoots up and down my spine, and my hands travel down to the curve of her ass, lightly squeezing the firm globes and pulling her against the erection that’s resulted from each and every one of her touches. Billie whimpers and I swallow it down with a smile. The fact that I can reduce this fantastic woman to whimpers has me feeling like king of the mountain, though I know it’s as much her as it is me.

When I squeeze her again, she breaks the kiss, both of our chests heaving with the effort to catch our breath. “What about the date?”

Fuck the date, my dick cries as it literally weeps in my slacks, but if this is going to be about more than just her helping me out, we need to do more than just paw at each other in the bathroom, even though right now that’s all I seem to want to do. “Right,” I breathe out. Leaning my head back against the wall, I take a few calming breaths and try to will my dick to go down, though it’s taking its sweet time. “We should get going.”

Billie nods as she catches her breath. “Totally.” Turning, she looks in the mirror, her jaw dropping at the sight in front of her. Her lipstick is smeared and her hair is mussed from my putting my hands through it. Her eyes flick to my reflection. “I might need a minute.”

Ripping off some toilet paper to wipe the lipstick from my mouth, I clear my throat and head to the door. “Take your time. I’ve got my own issues to deal with,” I tell her with a wink. Adjusting my pants, I exit the bathroom and make my way over to the door.

“Not cool, Carter,” she calls over. As she shuts the door, I smile, enjoying that I’m not the only one twisted up in knots after the kissing.

As I wait for her to get ready, a roll of thunder sounds outside and I walk over to the window just in time to see lightning crash in the near distance. Moments later the sky opens up and starts to pour rain down in sheets. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are common in the summer, but there were none in the forecast for this evening. “So much for a nice night out.” We can still go to the restaurant, but as the rain keeps coming down in buckets and I watch the sides of the street quickly flood with water, the idea of heading out in the inclement weather sounds less and less appealing.

Billie’s arm brushes up against mine as she stares out the window. “Oh, no,” she says with absolutely zero regret or remorse in her voice. “Looks like we have to cancel our date and stay in. However will we pass the time?”

When I look down at her, her eyes are hooded and she slowly licks her lips. As tempting as it is to go back to making out, I really want this to be more than that. “Just because we aren’t going out in that,” I tell her, tipping my head out the window. “Doesn’t mean our date is canceled.” Billie’s brow furrows with confusion, and I don’t bother resisting the need to smooth it out with my thumb. “No need to worry, Elskling. I’ve got an idea.”

Walking over to the kitchen, I smile at my second use of the Norwegian term for sweetheart. It’s something I heard my dad use often when he spoke to my mother, and even though I’m not fluent in his native language, I know a few key words and calling Billie my sweetheart just feels right. Billie follows, her heels clacking on the hardwood as I root around the refrigerator, smiling at the ingredients I see inside. Pulling out everything I need to make an easy yet romantic dish, I place it all on the counter and shoot a grin over to the woman next to me. “You can keep me company while I make us dinner.”

Billie narrows her eyes at me briefly before she’s kicking off her heels and hopping up on the counter, her long, sculpted legs dangling in front of me like a red flag in front of a bull. My body is ready to charge right in, but I will myself to focus on feeding her. “I’m never one to turn down food,” she says. Her eyes find mine and she smiles seductively. “But if you’re making dinner, that means I’m in charge of dessert.”

Swallowing thickly, I try to focus on the task ahead of me and not on what she just said. “Sounds good.” My voice cracks slightly and a knowing laugh comes from her lungs. The rich, husky sound is so welcome that I don’t even feel embarrassed about my reaction. She knows how inexperienced and nervous I am, but she wants to help me anyway. All I can do at that is smile and hope that after all this, maybe she’ll see me not as a project, but as someone who can be a partner for her. That’s what I want, and that’s what she deserves.

Chapter Fourteen

Billie

Watching Carter adeptly handle himself in the kitchen has easily become one of my new favorite pastimes over the last month or so, and tonight is no different. Carter rolling up his shirt sleeves and exposing the sturdy muscles of his forearms was like a torturous form of foreplay. Then his strong, capable hands made quick work of preparing the chicken before he moved onto making some type of fancy garlic bread, and all I could think about was how he could put his hands to much better use by exploring my body. Even with all that yumminess on display, the best part was that before he even started, Carter poured me some wine, knowing how much I like to relax with a glass of my favorite merlot. The fruity bouquet was a welcome treat, and the dry texture contrasted nicely to the fact that my mouth would water every time the muscles in Carter’s forearms flexed as he cut, chopped, and minced, but his thoughtfulness was what affected me most, warming my heart more than the alcohol ever could.

Carter peeks at me out of the corner of my eye as he puts the pan of caprese garlic bread into the oven to broil. “What are you thinking about over there?” He raises a brow, making him look impossibly sexy. I wanted to be good and get through this date without derailing his plans, but it’s so hard when he looks at me like that.

“Are you sure you want to know?” I counter. When he nods, I hold out my hand and drag him over to me, pulling him in between my legs. His eyes go from light to dark in moments as his hands rest on the curve at my waist. The fact that he didn’t hesitate to touch me feels like a win, but I’ll save the victory dance for later. Right now, I want to focus on the incredibly thoughtful and unwittingly sensual man in front of me. Draping my arms over his shoulders, I lean in closer, staring into his forest green eyes. “I was thinking about how considerate you are, and how that coupled with the way you move in the kitchen has me thinking all kinds of ways to thank you properly after dinner.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his voice soft. “And what did you come up with?” His gaze moves all over my face but settles on my lips, his tongue peeking out to wet his own.

A wicked smile pulls at the corners of my mouth before I press my lips firmly to his, and he immediately groans and pulls me closer to him. A surprised gasp leaves my mouth, and Carter takes advantage of that by pushing his tongue inside, the naturally spicy taste of him engulfing my mouth in seconds. As we continue to devour one another, our hands start to roam. Mine to the strong muscles of his back and his to the tops of my thighs, his fingers teasing at the hem of my dress. My skin tingles and I squirm a little on the counter, a pressure building between my legs. Every brush of his skin against mine feels amazing, and I can’t help but smile a little as the Viking that’s been hiding inside of him all along comes out to play for a little bit. Shy Carter is endearing, but Viking Carter is a force all its own, and I am definitely caught up in his thrall.

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