Page 18 of Dream Lover
“Please make yourselves cozy.” Madame Bisset took the high-back chair that faced us. There was nothing else to call it but a throne. “You on the end, introduce yourself and your partner and then so on.”
We each had our turn making our introductions, telling the woman how long each of us had been coupled up. I lied and said Quinn and I had been seeing each other for months. There was no way I would give Rebecca the satisfaction of the truth, and technically we’d been together for years, but that was neither here nor there.
I slung an arm over the back of the sofa behind Quinn’s shoulders. She appeared more relaxed than this morning. This I liked.
“Did you know that the term French Kiss was not coined in France?” She paused, waiting for us to answer. Once satisfied with the murmurs of yes and no she continued. “My assistant is going to give each of you a clipboard with basic questions about your likes and dislikes in a kiss. Answer truthfully. These will be used to give a compatibility score for you and your partner at the end of today’s lesson. Niko.” She gestured to the young man standing in the corner. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of white drawstring pants. No shoes. I was certain based on the look that passed between them he was her lover. Good for her.
Each of us were given a pen and clipboard. Skimming through the list, I had to admit it was a bit strange, but this was a new experience and one with Quinn, so I was in.
The questions were:
Do you consider yourself a good kisser?
On a scale of 1-10, (10 being the highest) how would you rate your kissing skill?
Do you think your partner or you should initiate the kiss?
What’s your ideal kiss?
Are you a lip biter?
Do you enjoy kissing?
Who is your partner today?
Never had I thought to rate my kissing skills. It turned the woman on, that was what counted. But I answered honestly.
“Now if you are finished, please pass your answers back to Niko, and he will return them to you at the end of our session today.”
Niko gathered our responses and handed them off to another woman who I didn’t even hear enter the room, and as fast as she came, she was gone.
“Thank you, Monique. Before we get started, everyone, if you will please take a breath mint.” Niko passed a bowl full of individually wrapped mints around. I popped it in my mouth tasting wintergreen and watched as Quinn wrapped her lips around hers. “Now I want you to face your partner. Gaze into each other’s eyes. Gentlemen, I want you to stroke your partner’s cheek with one finger. Setting the mood is critical. Seduction is an art not all can master, but I’m going to give you the tools you’ll need to perfect kissing.”
“Ouch. You scratched me,” Carley hissed at Joe.
Both Quinn and I chuckled.
“Enough!” Madame clipped. It took everything we had to stop smiling.
After taking a deep breath and trying to get as serious as Madame was, which didn’t happen, but we tried, my hand lifted. Index finger out, Quinn’s skin felt so damn soft at my touch.
One finger wasn’t enough, though. Cupping her face in my hand, my thumb swept over her lower lip. Quinn’s eyes softened, then closed as she leaned into the touch.
“This right here!” Madame said, snapping us out of our moment. Looking up, she was pointing at Quinn and me. “Do you see this? The way his hand is on her face, sensually and caring. The way his thumb traced her bottom lip telling his partner he wanted nothing more than to put his lips on hers.” Then Quinn closed her eyes, giving in to mine, requesting, wanting nothing more than for me to follow through. “This right here is seduction. Not a single word vocalized, but so much being said between them.”
Quinn’s breathing picked up as I felt my heart thump. Yeah, this was definitely a moment paused that we’d need to get back to later.
After the other couples did another try, Madame clapped her hands. “Next! Pecking. No, I’m not talking about a chicken. We’re talking friendship. That’s where all relationships begin, correct? That peck on the cheek. Now, go on.” She waved her hand at us to get busy.
I leaned over and gave Quinn a soft kiss on the cheek, and she reciprocated. Never thought a peck would be so damn seductive, but with Quinn it felt like it.
A commotion came from the other side of the room. Bruce was holding his hand to his lip, blood trickling down from it. “I’m so sorry!” Laura cried out.
“You need to be in sync with your partner. When you are not, these things happen,” Madame explained.
Bruce took off to the bathroom, coming back a bit later.
“The kids these days call this ‘making out.’ Me, I call it a connection. The first one you’ll have with a partner. This is with lips only at first, then builds into more. Carley and Joe. Show us.”
