Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (58 page)

“Good.” Vic kissed her cheek. “So let’s go wherever you want to go next.”

“So where would
you
like to see me take this?” She reached up to trace his lips with her fingertip again.

“I don’t want to push you into something that makes you too uncomfortable, and I don’t want you to be scared or upset, but I’ll be honest; I want to make love to you, have sex with you, fuck you – any and all of the above. If it were
my
goal, I’d be inside you in a split second. But it’s not. That decision is yours, and I’ll live with whatever it is. Not kidding.” His face was a reflection of everything he’d just said, and Laura decided right then what she wanted to have happen.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly said, “I’ve started feeling that way too. I’m scared, but I want you. I just wish I knew how long it would take before . . .”

But Vic never missed a beat. “That’s fine, but no pressure. Whatever you want, at your speed. I’ve got time if you have.”

“All the time in the world!” She smiled up at him, and his heartbeat went wild.

“But there’s something that’s been bothering me.” Vic tried to think – how to put it? “I want you to be able to be with me completely undressed. I’ve seen all of your scars. You should know by now that they don’t bother me. But it bothers me that it bothers you when you’re with me, and it feels like you don’t trust me because you can’t trust me with that.”

Laura was confused for a second, then nodded. “I can work on that.” Her face turned glum. “Vic?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you . . . I’d like for you to teach me how to have fun. It’s been so long since I’ve had fun of any kind, I just don’t know how to anymore.” Her face was sad, as sad as Vic had ever seen it. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“What about our shopping trip? Didn’t you enjoy that?”

“Yeah, sure, but I mean fun. You know, like . . . oh, I don’t know. It’s been so long that I can’t think of anything.”

An idea flitted through Vic’s mind. “I’ll come up with something.”

“Be still. You’ve got it all over your face.” Vic leaned in to pick a wad of cotton candy off Laura’s chin.

“This stuff’s good. I’d forgotten how good!” she laughed and pulled another big piece off, then stuffed it in her mouth. “What next?”

“If we leave pretty soon . . .” Vic waited.

“Where? Where?” Laura’s face lit up. “Where?”

“Well . . . we could drive up to the aquarium, eat dinner at The Levee.”

“Oooooo! That would be
awesome
! Let’s go!” She looked at him for a minute. “What was your favorite part?”

“I liked the tiger tundra. You?”

“I liked the polar bears – always. I remember when I was little, I thought they were teddy bears.” She looked around. “This place looks a lot different.”

“Yeah, the zoo’s made a lot of improvements. Last time I was here, Tony’s kids were little. It was a day when Dottie was . . .” Vic stopped. “Well, let’s just say Tony needed a safe place for the kids to go.”

“You know what?” Laura looked into Vic’s big, dark eyes. “You’re a good uncle, um, zio. They’re lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have them. I missed doing things with them when they got older.” He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go. We can be in Newport in a little over an hour, go to the aquarium to see the stingrays, then eat, maybe at the Irish pub.”

“Sounds like . . . fun!” Laura giggled, and for a minute, Vic saw the young woman in her face, the one who lived and loved and laughed before six men violated her. And it made him feel warm all over.

“Good day?” The drive home had been kind of quiet for the first ten minutes. They were both worn out, but Vic was pretty sure she’d had a good time.

“Yeah! It was so much fun. Thanks. I appreciate it. Vic?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I think we should try some stuff.” She paused.

He glanced over at her, not quite understanding. “Stuff?”

“Yeah, you know.” She hesitated. “Sex stuff.”

If Vic had been standing up, he would’ve fallen over. “Um, okay, what do you have in mind?” He couldn’t imagine where the answer would take them.

“Let’s see . . . I’ve done oral for you. Maybe you should do oral for me.” Vic looked over at her to see a pensive expression. “That’s something they didn’t do to me. Maybe that would be a good place to start.”

“Sounds logical. And when would you like to do this?”

“When we get home?”

It was about five thirty in the afternoon. She had to be joking. He’d never known anyone that inexperienced who wanted to have sex in the middle of the day, but who was he to discourage her? Then he realized: She didn’t know that. She was so inexperienced that she didn’t have any of the preconceived notions other people had, and he could see that working in their favor. “Sure! That’s fine with me.”

“Good.” She looked very satisfied with herself. “Think we’ll make noise?”

Vic tried hard not to laugh. “I’m pretty sure we will. Hell, I hope so!”

“Hmmmm.” That was all she said.

After about five minutes of silence, Vic said, “So when we get home, do you want to go straight up to the bedroom?”

“I’d like to get a beer first.” Vic was trying so hard not to laugh that he snorted. Laura turned and glared at him, her eyes slits. “What’s so damn funny?” He took another glance and realized she seemed a little embarrassed, but she was working at hiding it.

“Nothing, baby. Nothing at all.” Vic was almost choking. “It’s just that, well, damn, girl, you amaze me. I never know what you’re going to come up with next. And I love that about you!”

Laura grinned at him until her eyes were squinted. “Oh, I’m just full of surprises!” Then she laughed. And that laugh was the most beautiful sound Vic had ever heard.

“So we’re playing by your rules. How do you want this to go?”

Laura had gone into the bathroom and changed into some of the pretty lingerie Vic had bought for her during their shopping trip, then pulled on a tee shirt over it. And she’d put on lipstick. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why, but he wasn’t about to say a word. Laura shrugged. “Should we light a candle? Put on some music? I don’t know.”

“Whatever you want.”

“I want to get this show on the road.” She scooted down in the bed and smiled.

Vic couldn’t get to her fast enough. “Is that so?” He curled up beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then kissed her like there was no tomorrow. To his delight, she came back at him full force and eager, meeting his hunger with her own. Then he grinned and scooted down in the bed under the covers. Before she could say or do anything, he yanked her panties off and shimmied under her right leg, and she squealed and laughed. They’d closed the blinds but the room was still light, and Vic reached up and threw the covers off. Laura had never felt so exposed – she’d assumed he’d stay under the covers – and she started to protest when he asked in a breathy whisper, “Have you ever looked, really looked, at yourself? Or had anyone describe what you look like? Because you’re fucking
beautiful
, baby.”

“Well, no, I . . .” she started.

“Let me just tell you,” Vic said, and she gasped as he parted her slit. Then he blew gently on her clit, and she went weak. “Your clit is a lovely shade of pink, and it’s just barely peeking out of its hood. Your lips are pretty and rosy, and from top to bottom they go from kind of light-colored rose to almost burgundy-brown. I can’t wait to see what they look like when you’re excited – I bet they turn almost purple. And your introitus is a deep pinkish-red – gorgeous.”

“What’s an introitus?” Laura asked.

“That the entrance to your vagina, or pussy, or cunt. Whatever you prefer.” The words rolled off Vic’s tongue so naturally that they didn’t seem wrong or dirty.
And how does he know so much about the female body?
, Laura wondered. “You really should get to know your own body, honey. It’s a wonderful, graceful, delicious thing.” He stopped for a second. “Laura, how long has it been since you’ve been to a gynecologist?”

Why would he want to know that? “It’s been, oh, I don’t know, maybe . . .” she stammered.

He snorted. “Let’s try that again: Laura, have you ever been to a gynecologist?” Vic waited for her answer.

She could feel her face heating up. “No. I haven’t.”

“Um-hum. That’s what I thought. That’ll have to happen. Now. You’ll make an appointment tomorrow. I don’t want to risk hurting you if there’s anything wrong that we don’t know about. Catch Nikki before they leave town, find out who she sees. That’s a good place to start. Make sure you do it,” Vic told her, pointing an index finger at her, and she could tell that he wasn’t kidding. He’d be checking with Nikki to see if she’d called, so she decided she’d better just do it.

“Okay. I will, I promise. But you know
way
more about my body than I do.”

Vic chuckled. “Had plenty of practice, precious, but I think I’ve reached the end of the line with that. Guess you’re the only one who knows that for sure though.” He blew on her clit again and she gasped. “Ready? ‘Cause I sure am,” he told her. “I’ve wanted a taste of this for weeks and I’m past ready.”

Something in Laura’a belly clenched up, and heat spread out over her skin. “Yes. I do. I want it.”

“You really want it?”

A burning set up in her pussy and she could feel herself getting wet. “Oh, god, just get to it before I get too scared!” she moaned, and Vic laughed right out loud.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Laura could feel his breath, hot and steady, getting closer to her most valuable property.

Without warning, she cried out, “Wait!”

Vic stopped. “What do you want me to do, precious? Whatever you need.”

She sat bolt upright in the bed, snatched her tee off, then grabbed the back of the band of her bra, unhooked it, and threw the damn thing onto the floor. “Get up here before I lose my nerve,” she growled, and Vic glanced up from his previous point of interest. When he did, he scrambled to crawl up beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

“You sure about this?” Vic asked her. Laura nodded, her eyes squeezed shut tight. He took his arms from around her and she wondered what he’d do next. Would he just lie there and stare at her? She was getting more nervous by the minute, and he wasn’t making a sound. What was he doing?

Then she felt something as light as a dragonfly. Laura peeked to see what it was, and her heart trembled with excitement.

Vic lay beside her, and the sensation she’d felt was his tongue. With care and amazing tenderness, he traced the scars on her chest with the tip of his tongue, kissing here and there, his hand resting feather-light on her stomach. He traced and kissed back and forth, sometimes stopping and following a particularly unusual scar with the tip of his finger, then starting again. As Laura watched, she decided that it looked like he was meditating on, or maybe worshipping, those scars, the things she loathed most about herself, the things that had held her heart and her life back for so many years. When she saw them in the mirror, they were ugly and disgusting, but it looked as if they were beautiful to Vic, the way he was caressing them. Almost on cue, he whispered to her, “Do you have any idea how stunning you are? You’re amazing, precious. There’s nothing about you, nothing, that I’d change, except to see you even happier than you are already. And I hope you’re happy.” With that, he went back to her scars, not leaving a single one out.