Dirty Aristocrat (14 page)

Tawny Maxwell

W
e stopped in front of the cutest little white American restaurant in Mayfair. Chuck’s Diner had a white and red sign that read, Bringing New York to London. Decorated like a steakhouse it had dark-wood paneling, inviting red booths, a bar counter running the length of the restaurant, and chatty staff that practically sat down to eat with us.

Ivan ordered the two hundred and fifty gram fillet and I very nearly had the four hundred gram rib-eye, but in the end I had the Chuck’s Hefty Hamburger with an extra side of fries.

The salad arrived and while Ivan drizzled dressing onto it, I observed his movements with fascination. The more time I spent with him, the more interested in him I became. I liked watching him perform even the most mundane action and I wanted to do more than just watch him.

I wanted to touch.

As Chloe had pointed out, he was someone so out of my league that even contemplating such an idea was playing with fire. I was bound to get hurt.

Fortunately, before I could become too morose, my burger arrived and it was something else. Nearly as big as the dinner plate and dripping with melted cheese, bacon grease, and beef juice, it looked and smelt like the food from my childhood.

I grinned at Ivan. ‘Now that’s what I call a burger.’

‘Bon appétit,’ he said mildly, picking up his steak knife and fork.

I picked up my burger in my hands and took a really big bite. ‘Mmmm,’ I said, and rolled my eyes like I was eating ambrosia.

Ivan stared at me. ‘That good?’

I nodded enthusiastically since my cheeks were so stuffed talking was not possible. 

‘Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,’ he said and cut and speared with his fork what my granddaddy used to call a civilized bite.

I swallowed my food. ‘You don’t know what you’re missing. This is so good it practically dissolves on your tongue.’

‘I don’t think I’ve quite seen a woman enjoy her food this much,’ he said with a chuckle.

‘Where I come from they say, fries before guys,’ I said, as I used two thick, golden, salty fries to soak up the excess juices from the meat on the plate and put them into my mouth. I half-closed my eyes and fluttered them as fast as I could, as if I was in the throes of ecstasy.

‘Give me one of those damn fries,’ Ivan said and, reaching over, grabbed one.

I watched him put it into his mouth and chew thoughtfully.

‘Isn’t it brilliant?’ I asked, picking the dripping burger up in my hands.

‘Yeah, it is good,’ he conceded.

I widened my eyes. ‘Good? It’s freaking wicked.’

I took another hefty bite. Ketchup ran down my finger and I licked it.

He stared at me.

‘Sorry,’ I said with a grin.

He shook his head. ‘Don’t be sorry. You look cute when you’re stuffing your face, besides, it’s a pleasure to see you truly enjoying something. You’re normally so ready to fly into a rage anybody would think you’ve a fucking cactus up your ass.’

‘Why, Lord Greystoke, I could have said exactly the same thing about you,’ I said.

‘So you’re a Southern girl. I don’t have much to do with the South. Where exactly are you from?’ he asked flashing one of those smiles that made my stomach go funny and made me glad I was sitting down.

‘Tennessee. I’m from a little town close to the border of Virginia.’

‘What was it like?’

‘Oh, parochial. Our nightclub only opened on the weekends.’ I wiped my lips.

‘Keep me away from there,’ he said, with mock horror in is voice.

‘No, you’d hate it,’ I agreed.

‘So tell me something about you?’ he invited, slipping a piece of potato into his mouth.

‘Like what?’

He pretended to consider. ‘Hmm … start with your weaknesses.’

I grinned. ‘The only real weakness I have is cowboys.’

‘Get me a hat and I can ride longer and harder than any cowboy.’

I laughed. A funny little flutter in my stomach.

He took a gulp of beer straight from his beer bottle and eyed me seriously. ‘What do you love, Tawny?’

I said the first thing that came into my head. ‘Horses, turtles, my shoes, oh, oh and I really love Christmas. Well, I suppose everybody does.’ I poured ketchup on the side of my plate.

He smiled. ‘Not me.’

My mouth dropped open. I had never met anyone who did not like Christmas. ‘Why? What’s not to like?’

He made a face. ‘The presents, the stupid decorations, the Christmas jingles, the dry turkey. Ugh. Everything. What do you like about it?’

‘The presents, the stupid decorations, the Christmas jingles, the dry turkey. Everything.’

‘Every Christmas I’d disappear off to Barbados or somewhere they don’t make such a fuss.’

‘Didn’t you even enjoy it as a child?’ I asked curiously.

‘No.’

‘Unbelievable. Christmas was such a special time when I was a child. My mama and I used to drive down to my grandma and granddaddy’s. It was so wonderful. We used to eat until we couldn’t move. Then we’d sit in front of the TV and slowly my granddaddy would start farting. I can still remember the horrible smell of his sprout farts mixing with the Christmas candles. Then mama and I would giggle when my grandma brought out the air freshener can and started blasting the room.’

He chuckled. ‘Well, if you want to celebrate Christmas when we are married, you can.’

I dipped a chip into the pool of ketchup at the side of my plate. ‘I was going to ask you, where will we live after we’re married?’

‘Well, for the first few months we’ll keep the present arrangement going, and then if you prefer living in the country you can move to Foxgrove Hall.’

‘What about Barrington House? Will I ever go back there again?’

His face hardened. ‘I’m afraid you won’t be able to live there for some time. I wouldn’t feel safe with you being so far away.’

We had apple pie and ice cream for dessert. The crust was golden and crunched satisfyingly when my spoon sliced through it. I put it into my mouth and Ivan was sitting back looking at me.

‘Good?’ he asked.

‘Almost as good as my grandma’s,’ I said.

He looked at me curiously. ‘Robert told me you have no one.’

I put my spoon down, suddenly wary. ‘Yeah. That’s me. Little orphan Tawny.’

‘What happened to your parents?’

I took a deep breath. I was getting into dangerous territory here
. No, lies, Tawny. You don’t have to reveal the truth but no lies.
‘My father left before I was born and my mother died when I was seventeen.’

‘Robert also said that your mother passed away before you came to England.’

I sobered up. ‘Yeah, my mother died.’

‘You miss her very much, don’t you?’

I looked up at him and took a deep breath. A lump was forming in my throat. ‘Every day.’

His expression was serious. ‘I’m sorry, Tawny.’

‘Yeah, me too.’

‘What was she like?’ he asked softly.

‘When I was growing up my mama was amazing. She had read Paper Moon when she was a young girl and the main character’s mother used to paint her nails, and while they were drying she spread her fingers out and waltzed around the room. My mama was so impressed by that, that she used to copy the action. If I close my eyes now I can see her floating about our trailer to Celine Dion’s
It’s All Coming Back To Me Now
.’

I smiled with the memory.

‘She sounds sweet,’ he said.

‘She was. Every Saturday evening she used to lay me on the kitchen counter and wash my hair in the sink. Then she’d put rollers in at night, and then next morning just before we left the house she’d blow a whole can of hair spray on it so I could go to Sunday church looking like a poodle.’

He laughed softly.

‘But she became sick and then it was horrible. I couldn’t bear to see her suffering. We didn’t have insurance and there was nothing I could do for her. After she died I lived in her car for a few weeks.’

He looked at me horrified. ‘What did you after that?’

I looked down at my pie. I couldn’t remember the last time I opened up to someone like that. I couldn’t even blame the alcohol. I only had a few sips of my beer.

‘I came to England. I met Robert and the rest is history.’

He looked at me curiously. ‘So how on earth did you meet Robert?’

I shook my head. ‘I’d rather not talk about it.

For a second his eyes narrowed suspiciously. I stared at him steadily.

He looked at his watch. ‘You still up for The Dirty Aristocrat?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah. What actually goes on in there?’

‘It’s an anything goes kind of place.’

I leaned forward. ‘Why do you go there?’

He looks at me expressionlessly. ‘Usually for an anonymous fuck.’

I looked at him long and hard. ‘Why?’

‘Because I like it.’ A smile spread across his face. ‘Because I get bored easily.’

‘Don’t you ever want to be in a relationship with someone?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve never met a woman yet who has stopped me from wanting other women, so what’s the point of pretending to her or me that we’re in a relationship when I’m not truly committed?’

‘Fair enough.’ I said, fixing my eyes on him, not liking what I was hearing. Chloe was right. He was a womanizer. An unapologetic, unabashed, unrepentant manwhore. Yet I could not stop wanting him.

He raised his eyebrow at a passing waiter and signaled for the bill.

Tawny Maxwell

T
he foyer of The Dirty Aristocrat was claustrophobic, small and dark and hot.  We went down some red steps and into a place with red lights and purple velvet curtains everywhere. A queen size bed with purple sheets and red cushions had been roped off. Presumably it was meant to evoke the sensation of entering a brothel, or a courtesan’s boudoir.

I could feel the heat from Ivan’s hand around my waist as we moved deeper into the club. It was heaving and the music was very commercial. They were playing
Gangnam Style
as we made for the bar. Somehow it seemed perfect in such sleazy surroundings. A gay couple sat on top of a massive speaker kissing passionately, and the dance floor was jam-packed with writhing, half-naked bodies.

Ivan led me to the bar. There was one empty stool. He curled his hands around my waist and, picking me up, popped me on the seat. I squealed with surprise.

‘Why did you do that?’ I asked, a little bit embarrassed and a little impressed with the show of brute strength.

‘You wanted to be here. Remember? Anything goes,’ he replied with a glint in his eye.

‘Oh yeah?’ I challenged daringly.

He gave me a look that made
something
happen between my legs. Jesus! Such a thing had never happened to me before.

‘What’re you drinking sexy lady?’ he asked staring into my eyes.

For a moment my mind was a complete blank. Then I said the first thing that came into my head. ‘Tequila with salt and lemon.’

He smiled. ‘A fire drink. Excellent choice.’

He didn’t even have to order the drinks. A switched on barman had not only heard the order, but had already fulfilled it. Two glasses came sliding across the bar towards us and stopped dead in front of us.

‘Impressive,’ I said.

The barman smiled, put down a saucer with lemon wedges and a salt shaker, and went on to another customer.

I looked at Ivan. ‘Don’t you have to pay for this?’

‘I have a bar tab running. The bill is settled monthly.’

Wow! A regular haunt then. We did the salt, alcohol and lemon thing.

‘Whoa,’ I said, my face scrunched up with the sour taste of the lemon. I had never had tequila before.

‘Another?’ he asked.

‘OK,’ I agreed immediately.

We did it all again.

‘Whoa,’ I said, trying not to cough.

‘Another?’ he asked with a devilish grin.

‘OK, but this is the last one,’ I said firmly. ‘I already feel ten times merrier for no good reason.’

‘This time let’s do it the Mexican way.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Warm without the salt and lemon.’

I raised my eyebrow. ‘Surely that would take all the fun out of it.’

The corners of his eyes crinkled. ‘On the contrary.’

He spoke to the barman and two shots came sliding towards us.

He clinked his glass to mine, his eyes telling their own story. ‘Anything goes.’

‘Anything goes,’ I agreed, and let the drink slip down my throat. Without the salt I could actually taste the peppery taste of the drink.

‘Like it?’ he asked.

I nodded. ‘I do actually.’

PSY’s
Daddy
came on and it could have been the Tequila or the feeling of being so damn close to him, but my foot started tapping.

‘Wanna dance?’ he asked.

‘Thought you’d never ask.’

He laughed and pulled me off the stool. The palm of my free hand somehow ended up on the wall of his chest. Heat radiated out of him into my skin.

‘Damn, you’re solid,’ I whispered, my knees all of a sudden quite wobbly.

His hand tensed around me. He was just keeping me upright, I guess.

We got to the floor and suddenly all those people trying to be so sexy seemed funny so I started clowning around doing all the totally unsexy moves from PSY’s video. I flicked my hair back from my face and, pointing my forefinger at him, screamed the words, ‘Hey, where’d you get that body from?’

He was good for it. He copied my earlier goofy dance moves and shouted back, ‘I got it from my Daddy.’

I laughed.

He fell to his knees and to my surprise executed some unexpectedly cool moves while on them. The tequila started buzzing in my head and we carried on like two fools until the song ended and I smiled sunnily up at him.

The next track was Galantis’s
Peanut Butter Jelly
.

‘Spread it like,’ he prompted, miming the action of combing his hair.

‘Peanut butter jelly,’ I bellowed, and turning wriggled my butt provocatively at him. He slapped it and I whirled around with exaggerated surprise and showed him my middle finger. Laughing he spread the fingers of both his hands and made circles with them.

He looked so ridiculous I had to laugh.

It was the most fun I’d had since the hogs ate grandma and I was giving it all I got, widening my eyes, and making silly faces, when he suddenly grabbed me, pulled me towards him, and kissed me. The laughter died in my throat. His cologne flooded my senses. Delicious. Everything around us melted away.

Oh my God! It was like our mouths were made of chocolate. They melded into each other. We were just a hot mess of lips, tongues, saliva and desire. I became lost in him.

Spread it like. Spread it like. Spread it like.

I felt the effects of his kiss down to the tips of my toes. When he raised his head I could only stare at him dumbfounded.

‘Oh wow!’ I said, my lips tingling.

Reaching my hands around his neck, I pulled his head back down and carried on kissing him. I was like a hungry animal that had been kept in a cage and not fed for days, while it could see the food just outside its reach. I could have stayed like that forever, just drowning in the sensation of that mind-blowing kiss if he had not pulled me off him.

‘Hey,’ I protested, frowning up at him.

‘This club is not wild enough for what I want to do to you,’ he muttered thickly and dragged me off the dance floor.

We were standing facing each other at the coat counter, waiting for my coat, when I saw a woman behind Ivan approaching us. She was slim with shiny, dark-chocolate hair and her skin was smooth and olive toned. She was staring at me intently. Not taking her eyes off me she tapped Ivan on the back. I watched him turn and look down at her.

‘Isla is having a party,’ she told him. ‘You can come. There will be girls there for you.’ She let her eyes slide toward me. ‘I can take care of her while you are busy.’

Hot bling
was blasting in the background. The expression on Ivan’s face did not change in the slightest, except for the sudden tightening of his fingers on my hand.

‘Maybe next time,’ he told her flatly.

‘Shame,’ she said looking at me. ‘I really like your little friend.’

‘Have a great time at your party,’ Ivan said and turned his back on her. I looked up at Ivan. His face was a frozen mask.

The girl who had taken our ticket emerged from the back room with my coat. She put it on the counter and he took it and helped me into it. 

We walked out into the cold air and Ivan took hold of my elbow. I looked into his eyes.

‘Did you want to go to that party?’ I asked.

He shook his head. ‘No, I can go to parties like that any day of the week.’

‘Good,’ I said.

He hardly spoke in the car. I stole a few glances at him, but he seemed to be in his own thoughts. He parked in the underground car park. I turned to look at him.

‘Thank you for a lovely evening.’

He smiled. Slow and sexy. Oh! I’m so screwed.

‘It’s not over yet,’ he said softly.

‘No?’ There were butterflies in my tummy.

‘Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.’

‘Makes sense,’ I joked, but my voice sounded nervous.

He came around and helped me out. We walked without touching, but the air between us was throbbing. I did not look at him in the lift. When we got inside the apartment he closed the door behind him and I turned to look at him. His eyes were veiled. I stared at him nervously. It had been fun in the nightclub, but now that we were at the point where it all got serious, I felt incredibly nervous. Whatever buzz from the alcohol seemed to have completely exited my system.

‘Should we have a drink first?’ I asked.

He shook his head slowly and began to advance. Sensuality dripped from him. ‘Shit, Tawny. I’m going to make you scream so hard tonight,’ he promised.

I opened my mouth. There must be something clever to say to that. My mind was a blank. Oh sweet Jesus. Then my legs began to move. Backwards. I was retreating. Damn. Who’d have ever thought I was such a coward? My mouth started making words.

‘Hang on a minute. Can you just give me one minute to … ah … get into something more comfortable? Erm … something easier for you … to … um … take off,’ I babbled nervously.

He stopped advancing. ‘You have exactly one minute,’ he said silkily.

‘Perfect,’ I said, and almost ran to my room.

I closed the door, leaned against it and took a deep breath. My heart was racing like a mad thing.
Take stock, Tawny. You definitely do want to sleep with him, right?
Oh boy, did I want a lick of Ivan. OK, just nerves then. Perfectly normal. I can do nerves.

I rushed to my lingerie drawer and pulled out my new baby doll. I hurried out of my dress and into the lacy bit of material. I dashed into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror.

Wow! I sure looked different. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes were glittering with excitement. In my haste I had snapped one of the delicate white ribbons on my baby doll. If I switched off the main light he would never notice. I fluffed my hair frantically and gargled with mouthwash. I walked into my bedroom and froze.

Ivan was standing at the door. He had taken off his jacket and three of his buttons were already undone. Smooth tanned skin gleamed through the V.

‘Is it already one minute?’ I heard myself asking.

‘Sorry,’ he said not sounding sorry at all. ‘Couldn’t wait another second.’

‘Oh.’

‘My barefoot beauty,’ he said staring at me. No one had ever looked at me like that. With such naked hunger.

‘Bare feet go with every outfit,’ I babbled.

Reaching out a hand I quickly snapped off the switch for the main light. Illuminated only by the bedside lamps, the room was a little less intimidating.

He smiled slowly, confidently. There was something almost devilish about that smile. I was so anxious my heart was fluttering like a trapped bird, but I wouldn’t be outdone for bravado.

‘I bit my lower lip and said in the sexiest voice I could muster, ‘What’re you waiting for? Come and get it, babe.’

It was like a red flag to a bull. What happened next was a total shock to me.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself pinned face down on the mattress. A large, powerful hand landed between my shoulder blades to hold me in place while his other hand unclasped my bra.

I was too shocked to even think. Adrenalin surged through my blood and my body felt as if it was about to ignite. I could no longer keep my breathing calm. He twisted his fingers into my hair and jerked my head back until my ear was next to his mouth. I was so hyped up I felt no pain.

‘Is this what you want?’ he growled softly, his voice grating with lust.  ‘You want me to take you? To fuck you? To make you scream?’

The blood roared in my ears. I was shaking with a strange excitement.

‘Everyone thinks you’re such a nice, sweet girl, but I know the truth. I know how bad and naughty you truly want to be …’

‘Yes,’ I whispered.

‘I didn’t hear you,’ he said arrogantly, his breath hot on my neck.

‘Yes,’ I said, my voice louder.

‘Yes what?’

For God’s sake. ‘Yes, I want you to take me?’ I admitted through gritted teeth.

‘The word I was actually looking for was, Sir.’

‘Yes, Sir,’ I squeaked.

‘Good,’ he said with satisfaction.

He released my hair and my head flopped forward. He flipped the hem of my baby doll upwards. I felt the soft material land on my head. I knew my entire back and panties were completely exposed.

For a while he did nothing. I just heard him breathing hard. Then he roughly seized the silky material of my panties in an iron fist and yanked it up hard and forward, forcing me onto my knees, my ass high up in the air. The crotch of my panties was pulled so tight against my pounding clit that I lost even the ability to think rationally. Scrap that. I couldn’t think at all.

I wanted to scream at him to ease up, but when I opened my mouth only a raw groan escaped. I knew at that moment that I was in over my head, but I was already in the position he wanted me to be in and his fingers released the material suddenly. I took a shaky breath as blood started flowing to my clit again.