“Exactly.”
“If that doesn’t make him snap, I don’t know what will.” Selena poured me some more champagne. “By the way, no onebrings lunch to school on Monday. My sister is making tacos for us.”
“Your sister makes the best tacos I’ve ever had.”
“It’s the cilantro.”
I grinned at my two friends, stupidly happy at how much I felt like I belonged. “How do I know when I’ve cracked the code?”
Selena laughed. “That’s when he takes over.”
I wasin my room watching a show when I heard him come home. It wasn’t that late, just past nine. I heard the TV in the living room turn on with the familiar sounds of a televised hockey game.
This was the moment I had been planning since my spa day. I checked my mirror one last time. I was wearing a short pink plaid skirt and white wool socks that came over my knees. I wore a cropped white angora sweater without a bra. The sweater had cap sleeves and hugged the curve of my breasts before ending just below my ribs. It was a daring outfit, but I was determined to give stage three my best shot.
I walked into the kitchen. Axel was in the living room, on the couch, with his laptop open. He had a glass of alcohol and a sandwich on a plate next to him.
I took a fudge bar out of the freezer and unwrapped it before sitting down on the smaller ottoman.
I straddled it, facing the TV, pretending not to notice that my bare legs were spread wide and my short skirt was barely covering the basics. “What are you watching?”
“The Vancouver Wolves are playing Montreal.”
I had practiced the straddle on that ottoman in this outfit, and I had practiced eating a frozen treat. Eating with sexual energy was harder than it looked. I had to study a few suggestive videos online before I finally figured it out.
His phone rang, and I started to eat.
First I started on the tip with tiny licks and nibbles. When my fudge bar began to melt with a vengeance, I started to use my tongue.
I could feel his eyes on me. I pulled the top half into my mouth. I couldn’t help the luscious sucking noise as I tried to bring it back out.
He was on the phone, but his eyes were glued to me. “Yeah, I’m still here. Sorry, I just got distracted.”
I stood up and smiled at him.
He was staring at me like he didn’t recognize me. I gave him a distracted wave and then moved to walk back upstairs. That had gone a lot better than I had hoped. The first few times I had practiced, I had gotten chocolate everywhere. Tonight I hadn’t spilled a single drop on my sweater.
I was almost at the top of the stairs when his voice sounded from below me. “Mila.”
I turned and saw him standing at the bottom of the steps, staring at me with an intensity I couldn’t understand. “You think you can tease me over and over again and walk away untouched?”
“Am I not allowed to eat in front of you now?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll make you pay for your little acts.”
My stomach did a slow flip, like I was riding a rollercoaster. I loved it when he talked like this. I worked hard to match his energy. “Does that come with spankings?”
He remained completely still, but his eyes narrowed slightly, and it was like he was trying to contain the heat coming out ofhis gaze. “I’d be happy to bend you over and flip up that skirt, but you’d get more than a spanking.”
Something dark and delicious quivered inside of me. “What would I get?”
He looked like he was debating coming after me. “You’d get thoroughly fucked.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Axel.” I flounced upstairs, feeling electric, wondering how close I’d come to breaking the code.
I willed him to follow me, but he never did.
He just stood there, silent and motionless, as he watched me walk away from him.
