As the gig drew to a close, Claire wondered if Luca had forgotten about her lesson. Not that she minded – she was having so much fun. In fact, she was glad he seemed to have forgotten it so she could just relax and enjoy herself. When the applause faded and the lights came up, everyone milled around for a while, dazed and blinking in the harsh light, ears still ringing. Emma came over to them with the rest of the band, Yvonne and Ivan.
‘Are you guys coming down to the bar?’ Emma asked Luca.
‘I don’t think so,’ Luca said, looking at Claire questioningly. ‘We have that thing, remember?’ he said to her.
‘Oh, yeah.’
‘Well, some of us are going on to the Arch Club in a bit,’ Emma said. ‘Maybe we’ll see you there.’
‘Okay,’ Luca said. He took Claire’s hand and they said their goodbyes.
‘We’re going home after a drink here,’ Yvonne said. ‘But I’ll seeyouon Monday,’ she added to Claire, in a way that left her in no doubt she’d be getting the third degree.
‘We could have done thethingin the bar back there,’ Claire said, when they got outside.
‘Uh-uh. There’s public and public, and I know way too many people back there. We wouldn’t get a minute’s peace. We need to be in public but incognito. We’ll go on ahead to the Arch Club.’
Luca led her out onto the quays and across the Halfpenny Bridge, up through Merchant’s Arch into the cobbled streets of Temple Bar. The streets were still crowded with people spilling out of bars and clubs.
He took her through a courtyard and down a set of steps to a small, intimate club. Red plush sofas werearranged around low wooden tables, the lighting was subdued, and soft piano music poured from the speakers. He sat down on a sofa in a quiet corner of the bar, pulling Claire down beside him.
A waitress came to take their order, and they asked for a glass of red wine each.
‘So what was that all about with Yvonne? Why was she acting so weird?’ Luca asked, while they waited for their drinks.
‘Oh, she thinks you’re my fuck buddy now. Sorry.’
Luca laughed. ‘Why would she think that?’
‘She knows I’ve been seeing someone. I didn’t tell her or anything. She figured it out.’
‘Did she do her sex-radar thing on you?’
‘Yeah, she did!’ Claire said, sounding surprised that he knew about it.
‘She’s a bit spooky, the way she can do that.’
‘I didn’t call you a fuck buddy, by the way. She said that – though I didn’t really contradict her.’
Luca shrugged. ‘It’s a pretty accurate description, I suppose.’
‘So… you don’t mind? That she knows we… see each other?’ Claire asked.
‘No. Why would I? She knows I’m not saving myself for marriage. As long as we don’t have to go on double dates with her and Ivan.’
The girl came back with their drinks and Claire tried to pay, but Luca wouldn’t let her.
He turned to her as the waitress left. ‘Hello, gorgeous.’ He stroked her cheek with a finger. ‘Alone at last.’
She smiled back nervously. Then she took a big gulp of her wine. When she had put the glass back on the table, he leant in to kiss her, trailing his fingers down her arm as he did so, allowing his thumb to brush her breast in passing.She was trembling already as he opened her mouth with his and their tongues tangled together, her fingers clutching his hair. Her breathing became deep and rasping as he slid a hand up under her shirt and pulled down the cup of her bra, his thumb teasing her nipple into a hard point. God, she was so responsive! He sucked at her neck as his hand moved to circle her knee. Then he slid it higher, under her skirt, stroking the achingly soft skin of her thighs. He pushed her legs a little further apart and pulled her knickers aside, his fingers stroking along the soft folds of her flesh.
‘You’re so wet!’ He sighed into her mouth, groaning deep in his throat as he slid a finger inside her, pumping it in and out while his thumb stroked her clit. He felt the heat and tension building inside her, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she clung to him. She opened her eyes as she kissed him, and he saw the desire mixed with panic as her muscles began to clench around his fingers.
‘It’s okay,’ he whispered, angling his body so she was completely shielded from view. ‘Let go. No one can see you.’ He worked his fingers faster, and her mouth opened in a silent scream, her fists clenching on his shoulders, bunching up the material of his shirt as he felt her spasm around his fingers. He continued to stroke her, and she gave a helpless little whimper, barely audible, as he made her come again. She held his gaze the whole time, and he thought it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. He wanted her so badly right now, longing to drag her off to the toilets and bury himself inside her. When he pulled his fingers out of her, she threw her arms around him, clinging to him fiercely and burying her head in his neck. He pulled her tightly to his body, stroking her back soothingly as she came down from her orgasm, still hot and trembling, until she went limp in his arms.
‘Okay?’ he asked. He pushed damp tendrils of hair off her face and kissed her softly – her forehead, her hot, flushed cheeks.
She gave him a slow, lazy smile. ‘That is so going in my blog.’
