‘Still can’t hear you.’
He was really pissing her off now. ‘Fuck you!’ she spat.
‘That’s better. Now try saying it like you mean it. Not whispering would help.’
‘Fuck off, Luca!’ she said, louder this time.
He sat forward, his face softening. ‘Good. Louder! “Fuck off, Luca!”’ he shouted.
‘Fuck off, Luca,’ she yelled back.
‘Fuck off, Luca,’ he roared, waving his arms like he was conducting an orchestra.
‘Fuck off, Luca!’
He looked happier by the second as they shouted the call and response at each other, the volume of Claire’s shouts increasing until finally she screamed at the top of her lungs, ‘FUCK OFF, LUCA!’
‘Yes!’ He punched the air with both fists and beamed up at her, and Claire burst out laughing because he looked so damned happy that she was screaming obscenities at him. And then he joined in and they were laughing witheach other. She threw herself at him and he caught her in his arms.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Now we can get to the fun stuff. Unless you meant it? If you really want me to fuck off?—’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t.’
‘Sorry. I had to do that. I just need to know that you won’t let me do something you don’t want because you’re afraid to say no.’
‘I know.’
‘Because you’re quite shy, and that’s great, but?—’
‘Luca.’ She stopped him with a finger to his lips. ‘I get it.’
‘Okay.’ He kissed the finger. ‘Good.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, because she knew he was just looking out for her. Besides, all the shouting had felt good – freeing. She had enjoyed it.
‘I like this shirt on you,’ he said, touching the collar. ‘It looks way better on you than it does on me. But I still want to get it off you.’ He began undoing the buttons slowly and then he pushed it off her shoulders, but she didn’t mind that she was sitting naked in his lap. She was getting used to him looking at her, and she liked the way his eyes darkened and his breathing changed, enjoying the power her body had over him.
‘Let me know what you want – what you need,’ he said, as his hands caressed her breasts. ‘Tell me if what I’m doing feels good.’
‘Can’t you tell?’
‘Well, yeah. But that’s not the point. Dirty talk is sexy. It’s a turn-on.’ He smiled. ‘You know it is.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘I know it turns you on when I say things to you. I can feel it.’
She blushed. That was true. She found it really hotwhen he said things like ‘You’re so wet’ and she could tell from the way he said it that he liked it. It excited her when he told her what he wanted to do to her, or praised what she was doing to him and told her how good it felt. She couldn’t deny it. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘You could tell me what you want me to do to you.’
‘Um… have sex? I want you to have sex with me.’
He laughed. ‘Oh, stop it, you’re driving me crazy.’
‘Sorry.’ She bit her lip. ‘I want you to kiss me.’
‘Where?’
