11. Celina

ELEVEN

CELINA

Mortified, I covered my face with my hands and peeked down at myself through my fingers. Why had I answered the door wearing only a robe? I'd seen him through my peep hole, had known it was Miles, and still, I opened the door wearing basically nothing. The robe was one of the few things I owned that I would have considered sexy. I usually only wore it while I was lounging around the house, a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other. No one else had ever seen me wear it. I chewed at my lip and wondered if, subconsciously, I'd wanted Miles to see me like this. Had I? His eyes had most definitely slid across my body.

I needed help. Grabbing my phone, I called Felicity. She'd agreed to come over the next night to give me some pointers, but now that Miles had invited me over at the last minute, I was in dire need of help.

Felicity answered via video call. "Hey, lady. What's up?"

I switched on my own phone camera and saw Felicity lying on her couch. "I need that lesson sooner than expected."

Felicity sat up, looking eager. "Oh? What happened?"

"Miles invited me to dinner tonight. I'm supposed to go over in less than two hours. Help. Please?" I didn't like the desperate quality I had in my voice, but I couldn't help it.

"We can do this. Big, deep breath, girl. First things first, is that what you're wearing to dinner? Because if so, you don't need any help from me. He'll jump your bones in about five seconds."

Heat crept into my cheeks. "No. I'm not wearing this. It's my bathrobe. He just came to the door to tell me what time to go over. He…well…he got an eyeful, to say the least."

"Nice. Good job."

"Good job? What?"

"You gave him a little taste of what you have to offer. Like fishing. You have to hook them first before you can reel them in."

"Oh." The way she described it didn't make it sound like the utter disaster I'd thought it was.

"Back to the lessons," Felicity went on. "You need to give him subtle signs. Nothing overt, but little things that get his engine revving."

I already felt overwhelmed. "Like what?"

Felicity made her face go serious and sexy. She licked her lips and blinked several times, giving me a look that made me catch my breath. If I didn't know any different, I'd have thought she wanted to jump in bed with me. Once she was done, her face went back to normal. "See? Stuff like that. The lip licking, the fluttering eyelashes. Oh! Play with your hair when he's looking at you. And touch him softly and subtly. Brush his forearm, put a hand on his chest, and slide your boobs across his back if you need to get by. You'll have his dick hard in no time. Guaranteed."

My breathing started to pick up. I almost allowed myself to fall into a fantasy of him unzipping and sliding his pants down, but I blinked it away and focused on Felicity.

"I don't think I can do any of that, Felicity. I don't have the balls to try stuff like that."

"Girl, how much experience do you have with guys?"

I sighed. "Not much. None really."

"None? Like at all? Wait…are you a virgin?" Felicity asked, looking shocked.

I swallowed hard and nodded reluctantly. "Umm…does a dildo count?"

"Holy shit, no, it doesn't. That's—" She thought for a moment before continuing. "Okay. No big deal. Everyone has to start somewhere. Okay, baby steps. Keep those other tricks in your bag, but maybe start slow. Shy smiles, little compliments, eye contact, and lots of ego stroking. Make him feel important and fun. Once you get comfortable with those, you can move on to the bigger stuff."

"What if I do all that and he doesn't flirt back?" The fear of that was almost enough to send me into a panic.

Felicity smiled knowingly. "Don't worry. He'll jump at the chance."

"Right, but how do you know?"

"I've been around the block more than you have, Celina. Trust me. If you want that dude to bang your brains out, this'll work."

My face radiated heat. I nodded. "All right. I need to finish getting ready and make some brownies for dessert."

"Good call. The quickest way into a guy's pants is through his stomach."

"I thought it was the quickest way to his heart?"

"Maybe, but I like my saying better."

After getting off the phone, I whipped up the brownies and put them in the oven to bake while I got dressed and did my hair. I repeated everything Felicity told me five or six times in my head as I put on my makeup, and I was done right before the oven timer went off. I needed to be at Miles's place in under half an hour, so I used that time to debate which among three shirts I should put on. One was really tight, another kind of low cut, and the third was baggy. I wanted to wear the baggy shirt, but Felicity's voice kept echoing through my head. I couldn't force myself to wear the low-cut one, but I did talk myself into the tight and stretchy top.

I shrugged on my coat and grabbed the tray of brownies. I was out my door before I could psych myself out of it. The six strides to his apartment felt like six miles. I knocked, and when my hand didn't shake, I high-fived myself internally. A few seconds later, Miles answered the door, that gorgeous smile on his face.

I took him in, fixating on his chest. His button-down shirt was unbuttoned, the outline of his chest muscles and a few curls of hair easily visible. I was so engrossed in looking at his bare skin that I didn't register him saying my name. I wasn't sure how many times he'd said it.

"What?" I blurted.

He grinned. "Are you still alive in there? You zoned out for a bit."

I fought off the blush threatening to spread across my face and met his eyes. "Sorry."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to come in? It's kinda cold out."

I was being an idiot again. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Sorry."

"You know, you don't have to apologize for everything," he said with a smile.

"Sorry. Er—" I winced, and a blush flushed across my cheeks. "I mean, yeah. Thanks."

Miles chuckled as he stepped aside to let me in. At least it was a good-natured laugh. If I'd thought for even an instant that he was laughing at me, I'd have sprinted back across to my apartment—and probably booked a plane ticket out of here for tomorrow morning. I was already embarrassed enough. Being made fun of would have made me want to crawl into a hole and die.

Miles glanced at the tray of brownies. "Wow, those look great."

I handed it to him. "Thanks. I wasn't sure if you were planning on dessert so I baked these."

"I have ice cream. These will go great with that."

I looked around at the apartment and saw it had the same layout as mine. The décor was different of course—a little sparse, even compared to mine. It didn't seem like the place got much use. I wondered if Miles's job kept him away a lot.

"Have a seat. I'll get everything plated up," Miles said as he pulled a chair out for me.

I sat and watched him serve up a salad and plate a massive pile of pasta. "Everything smells amazing," I said, my stomach growling.

"Thanks. It's a recipe my mom and grandma used. I hope you like Italian."

"Who doesn't like pasta?"

He laughed. "Good to hear."

He set the salad bowl down in front of me along with the plate of pasta. On the side was a thick piece of Italian bread slathered with butter. I forced myself to not dive in right away, and waited until Miles sat with his own food before taking the first bite. I moaned as I chewed. It was fantastic.

Miles was pouring me a glass of wine when I moaned in delight over the food. His eyes flashed up to me at the sound. The look he gave was one I couldn't name, but there was an intense hunger to it. Trying to keep things moving, I started asking him different questions from the night before. Talking to him seemed easier––not that the awkwardness of the evening before was gone. I assumed it was because we were on a second date. At least, I assumed this was a second date. I'd never had a second date with anyone, so I was in uncharted territory.

He was telling me about some of the jobs he'd done in the past, and it fascinated me. Halfway through one of his stories, I remembered what Felicity said and started licking my lips and blinking at him, doing my best to bat my eyelashes.

Miles stopped talking. "Do you need a mirror? Is there something in your eye?"

I stopped blinking and tried not to melt into the chair. "No, just…uh, nothing, sorry."

"Okay." He shrugged it off, much to my relief.

As embarrassing as that had been, I still felt accomplished by staying engaged in the conversation. A few minutes later, I tried another tactic. The ego boost Felicity had told me about.

"You have to be really smart to do what you do. It's incredible that you can find all these tiny clues, figure out these big mysteries and find lost people. It's really impressive."

Miles looked at me, and I did a mental fist pump when I saw how appreciative he was of the compliment. "Thanks, Celina. In fiction, most private detectives are belligerent drunks or flamboyant playboys, and it's not like that at all. It takes a lot of knowledge and work to solve a case. I've always kind of had an eye for things. I'm not the type to take things at face value. I think that helps me get under the surface and discover the truth."

I smiled at him. He was fascinating, unlike any guy I'd ever met or read about. Plus, he didn't seem to think I was an annoyance. Usually, after ten or fifteen minutes of conversation, guys were disengaged and already on their phones, ready for the date to be over. I almost didn't know how to act.

When we were done with the pasta, Miles went to get the brownies and ice cream. The food had been really amazing. So, not only was he hot, smart, and intelligent, but he could cook too. This guy was dangerous. In a good way.

He set my bowl down, and I took a spoonful of ice cream and licked it, sliding my tongue down the bowl of the spoon and scooping the ice cream into my mouth. I glanced over at Miles and saw that hungry look in his eyes again. It took me a second to realize how I must have looked eating that bite. It could have been misconstrued as sexy. From the way he was looking at me, maybe I wanted it to be misconstrued.

"Are…are you okay?" I asked as I set my spoon down.

He stared at me for several seconds. I could see the wheels in his head turning. He frowned, like he'd suddenly thought of something. "I'm fine," he said, his voice hoarse and strained.

"Really?"

He continued to stare at me, and by the look on his face, I could practically see a question forming in his mind. His cheeks were suddenly pink, and I wondered what question someone like Miles would be embarrassed to ask. Finally, he blurted, "I don't want to be too forward, but…when was the last time you were with a man? I want to know, because it's getting hard for me to hide how I'm reacting to you. And I—Sorry." He shook his head, looking even more embarrassed. "That's a really strange thing to ask. Inappropriate. I'm sorry."

My eyes almost bugged out of my head in surprise. I cleared my throat. "Uh…what do you mean ‘react to me?'"

He sighed, shaking his head. "If I stood up right now, you'd see exactly what I mean."

I clenched my jaw to keep it from dropping open. I had no trouble understanding that. Butterflies stirred in my stomach. Were people always this blunt when they spoke about stuff like this?

"Are you serious?" I asked.

He nodded, eyeing me curiously. He was a professional investigator, he would have figured it out eventually. Of that, I had no doubt.

Before I could say anything, Miles asked, "Have you ever seduced a man before?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. Finally, I choked out a few words. "I–I…well, I don't have the experience to…you know, seduce someone."

He closed his eyes. "You're a virgin?"

I waited for him to open his eyes again before nodding. A sinking feeling swelled in my stomach. I finally managed a single word, barely above a whisper. "Yes."

That same rumbly sound I'd heard this afternoon on the bench came from Miles's chest again. If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought he was growling like a dog or something. He looked away for a few seconds before glancing back at me. His eyes were almost animalistic. It was scary––but at the same time, strangely exciting. He stretched his hand across the table and rested it on mine. The touch of his skin sent a shiver of pleasure up my arm, and my mouth instantly went dry. I couldn't take my eyes off his fingers.

"You should probably go back home."

Sadness fell over me like a weighted blanket. "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry."

He winced and clenched his teeth together before speaking. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just trying to be a gentleman." He pulled his hand away and ran it across his face. "I don't want to scare you. I'm a man, and you are a very attractive woman. You just told me that you've never had sex before, that no other man has ever touched you in that way. Now all I can think about is all the ways I want to touch you." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And hearing you tell me how you want to be touched."

My body reacted to his words. I'd never experienced anything like it in my life. My nipples grew so hard they ached. A warm flush crept up my legs and settled between them. Wetness seeped into my panties. I could hardly catch my breath.

"Go home, Celina. I need time to think. Unless…unless you don't want me to hold back." He looked at me, and his eyes flashed with a warning.

I wanted him to do what he was thinking, and was suddenly desperate for it, but terror and anxiety overtook my desire. I stood quickly and grabbed my coat. He watched me the way a predator watched prey. Any other time, that look would have terrified me, but instead, it made my carnal need grow even stronger.

"Uh…thanks for dinner," I mumbled. "See you…umm…see you later." I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Soon, I hope."

Without another word, I swung his door open and practically ran back to my apartment. I unlocked the door and got in as fast as I could. After locking the door, I leaned back against it, taking several deep, steadying breaths. My nipples still ached, and the wetness between my legs had only increased. The way he'd stared at me as I left was seared into my brain. He'd looked at me as if I was something to be devoured, to be caught. I walked to my bedroom to get my vibrator.

Maybe I'd like to get caught by him.