Chapter Fifteen

“He actually told you to wear that?” Aimee gave her an incredulous look. “The last time he told you to get dressed, it was in a nicer, more conservative outfit. He really wants you to go out looking like some kind of street walker?”

Karla looked down at her outfit: a short skirt, which barely covered the cup of her ass cheeks, high heels, which raised her ass, and a flimsy red top that revealed quite a bit of her cleavage, almost her full breasts if she bent over just right. Aimee was right. It didn’t make sense. “This is what he asked me to be dressed in when he got here.” Karla shrugged. “It’s like I always say. Men are crazy.”

“And kinky by the look of it. When is he picking you up?”

A knock came at the door. “Now?” Karla said.

Walking over to the door, she opened it, but it wasn’t Mitch standing there. It was Clint. “Wow,” he said. “I’m guessing it’s going to be an interesting night.” He turned to Aimee as he entered their condo. “Do you have an outfit like this? We could have some fun.”

Aimee stood, walking over to him, putting her hand on his chest. “Are you trying to say we don’t have fun?”

“Smooth move, Clint,” Karla said, noticing the trapped-in-the-headlights look in his eyes.

He leaned down and kissed Aimee on the nose. “We always have fun, love. I don’t know what I was saying.”

“Sure, sure,” Aimee kissed Clint’s cheek.

“Seems I’m missing the fun,” Mitch said, standing in the doorway.

Karla jumped a little, his presence surprising her. She had left the door open and hadn’t heard the elevator opening down the hall or him approaching. “Hey, I didn’t hear you coming,” Karla said, nervousness making her voice tremble a bit. She closed the door, pulling down on her skirt as she did, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Aimee was curious about the choice of outfits.”

“Yeah, she’s kind of exposed,” Aimee said, pointing at her sister’s bare legs. “Not that it’s new for her, of course, but the last time you made her get dressed, it involved more fabric.”

Mitch turned, his dark eyes sparkling to match his grin. “Well, we’re not going out to dinner. We’re hitting a bar.” He raked Karla with his gaze, and she felt herself actually blush. “I think she looks perfect for a bar.”

“Um, thank you?” Karla said, her voice weak, timid. She wasn’t sure what Mitch was up to. The last time they talked about going out, he said something about showing her off. This outfit definitely accomplished that. “So, where are we going tonight?”

“Out,” Mitch replied with a wink.

“Well, have fun,” Clint said with a chuckle. “I can’t wait to hear how this all plays out.”

“Neither can I,” Aimee echoed.

Karla was kind of curious as well.

“You ready?” Mitch asked as he gestured at the door.

“As ready as I can be not knowing what’s going through your mind,” Karla answered, her nervousness confusing her. It was just Mitch. It was just another night out. She dressed like this all the time. Yet, somehow, all combined, it made her feel as if she had no control, and that intimidated her.

“Good. Let’s go.” Mitch turned toward the door and Karla stood there, allowing him to open it, as she knew he would wish to do. Always the gentleman. Or, at least, she thought until he dressed her up like an escort on purpose.

Aimee and Clint wished them good luck as Mitch closed the door behind them and led Karla to the elevator. She stayed quiet, not sure what he had in store for the evening and afraid to even ask. Miss Fowler opened her door, but stopped abruptly as they passed her, Mitch giving her a wink as they did. The older woman’s eyes widened and then her face twisted into a scowl at the way Karla was dressed. With a shake of her head, Miss Fowler turned and entered her condo again, the click of her door a loud judgment against her neighbor. Karla would have normally giggled, but instead, she blushed with embarrassment.

Mitch must have felt her body tense as they neared the elevators. “What’s wrong? You dress up like this for work all the time.”

“Yeah, I know, but those are outfits I choose for specific reasons. This is different.”

“How so? You chose it.”

“Yeah, because you told me how you wanted me to dress, which as my sister pointed out, is the complete opposite of how you wanted me dressed a few nights ago.”

“I just told you to pick out something sexy, something that would draw men’s eyes.” He pointed to her outfit with an up and down motion of his hand. “You came up with this.” He squeezed her hand. “I like it. Definitely sexy. You are definitely going to turn men’s heads and piss off their dates.”

“Is that the plan? To piss off other women?”

The elevator doors opened, and he ushered her inside, hitting the down button as he did. “Nope. The plan for tonight is to have fun, have a few drinks, dance, maybe get naked.” He waggled his eyebrows at her with his last phrase. “That doesn’t sound like fun to you?”

“It’s just not what I’m used to my dates wanting.”

“They want to keep your sexiness all to themselves. What fun is that? I much prefer letting people know what I have, and then letting them seethe with jealousy and envy when they discover they can’t have it.”

She watched him grin, his eyes sparkling again in the dim light of the elevator. He wasn’t joking, she realized. He meant what he said. She took a deep breath, somehow feeling like he was leading her into a trap. No man wanted other men to stare at their woman. Too many bar fights started that way. She knew. She was in the bar when it happened.

Before he opened her door, he kissed her nose, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “If at any point tonight you feel like something is wrong or things are making you feel uncomfortable, just say the word red and I’ll get you out if it, even if I’m the one making you feel that way.”

She stared at him through narrowed eyes. “You’re giving me a safe word? What exactly do you have planned tonight that I would need a safe word?”

He opened the door, his smile growing. “Nothing you haven’t done plenty of times already. Trust me. And the safe word is there from now on, to be used at any moment you feel you need it.”

“I think I want to use it now.” Trust him. She needed to trust him. Besides, she was quite capable of taking care of herself. She had been doing so for twenty-five years. That mental pep talk did nothing, however, to stop the churning nerves in her stomach as she slid into the passenger’s seat.

By the time they arrived at The Lily Pad, Karla had worked herself up into a worrisome knot. How in the world did he expect her to relax and have fun if she had no idea what he intended? She couldn’t behave properly if she didn’t know how he expected her to behave. This would be a disaster and she knew it.

He made her wait for him to open her car door, and then led her to the bar, her arm draped over his. He treated her like a lady while dressing her up like a whore. She was so confused.

The interior of the bar was dark, the lights on the walls barely illuminating the place. Even behind the bar was dark compared to how they kept it at Sand Dune. How the bartenders could see what they made Karla had no idea. She would hate working there for sure. As they entered, most eyes turned toward them, checking out the newcomers. Most turned back to their tables and the people who joined them. A few openly gawked, admiring Karla’s exposed virtues. She blushed as she pulled down on the hem of her skirt, wishing she could make it longer.

“Stop it,” Mitch whispered to her with a smile.

She obeyed, reluctantly. He led her to a table, not a booth, and not even a normal table. No, this was one of the high bistro tables, which pretty much put her crotch at eye level with everyone else who sat at normal tables. She groaned quietly. As she slid into her chair, she clamped her thighs together after tucking her skirt firmly in place under her ass.

The waitress came over and took their drink orders—Jack and Coke for him, whiskey sour for her. As the woman, dressed almost as skimpily as Karla, left, Mitch chuckled as he gave a small shake of his head. “What is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you acting all scared and embarrassed? This isn’t the Karla I’m used to, the woman who loves people looking at her, and showing off her body. So, why are you doing your best to hide it?”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “You want these people to see my body?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “I mean, you want them to see flesh? No man wants their girl showing off for other men.”

He leaned across the table, whispering as well. “I’m not most men. I thought I told you that already. Don’t you believe me?”

“Not really, no.”

He just grinned as he reached out and took her hand. “Then, let me prove it to you. Let’s dance.”

“Mitch!” she whispered when she wanted to scream. She didn’t know what he was trying to prove, but she knew she would fail.

The dance floor was toward the front of the bar, couples and clusters of women already gyrating to the DJ. Mitch spun her into the mix, her skirt flaring out, exposing part of her ass. She watched as a couple of men shot her appreciative glances. It made her blush.

It also made her smile.

“That’s more like it,” Mitch said, as he noticed the grin on her face. He pulled her close, so no one else would hear him. “This is your stage. Have fun with your performance.”

She knew he didn’t mean it, knew he was just trying to get her to fail, but she was tired of the contradiction, so she did as he suggested; she danced in a way that forced people to look. And stare. And gawk. She felt the cool air of the air conditioning caressing her ass every time her skirt flared outward, felt her breasts pushing out the top of her shirt. Mitch spun her, dipped her, and bent her over, making sure that parts of her were exposed as much as possible. She had everyone’s attention, for good or bad. However, she didn’t care which it was as long as she had it. Their eyes were glued to her. Men nodded; women scowled. It didn’t matter to her as long as they looked at her, and the more they looked, the more extravagant she became in her moves, even to the point of starting to flirt with those around her, men and women. Mitch just kept grinning, not acting the least bit jealous. It spurred her on to try harder. She would prove he couldn’t handle it, so the more he grinned, the more she flirted with those around her, leaving him at times to dance with someone else. He never complained or even attempted to pull her off the dance floor. He’d either just watch her, dancing where he was, or turn and dance with someone else close by. His refusal to admit he was jealous and didn’t like her behavior drove her nuts.

At one point, she thought he finally surrendered, but instead, he merely said he needed a drink and for her to enjoy herself. “You don’t want me to go to the table with you?”

He shrugged. “You can if you want. I just thought you were having too much fun out here. I didn’t want my thirst to slow you down any.” He winked at her, his grin still pushing his cheeks up.

It was a trick, she knew. He was feigning his desire for her to keep dancing and enjoying herself, but inwardly, she knew he really wanted her to choose him over the dance floor and the attention she received. She wasn’t going to let him win. He would admit he was wrong by the end of the night. She’d make sure of it. “Perhaps in a bit,” she said, as the next song came on. “I like this song.” She didn’t even know the song.

He winked again. “Enjoy.”

She turned back to those on the floor, swinging her ass around two guys who were happy she stayed. She kept watching Mitch out of the corner of her eyes, but he seemed content sitting at their table, sipping his drink, that damn smile still on his face. She decided to turn up the heat.

She ran her hand around one of the guy’s necks who swarmed around her as soon as Mitch left, the other guy sliding up behind her, his hands on her hips as he ground his cock against her ass. She could feel her skirt sliding up just a bit but did nothing to stop it. Mitch did say to show off, and she had to admit, she loved the attention. She pushed back on the guy behind her as the other one moved in front of her, his cock against her abdomen. She swayed between them both, their hands on her sides, her waist, their cocks pressing against her. She could feel their arousal growing. She grinned, pushing them further, as she turned her gaze to Mitch, making sure he still watched. He was. And smiling.

“Nice of your boyfriend to leave us alone for a bit,” one guy said.

She winked at Mitch before turning her attention back to the guys focused on her swaying ass. “He’s good like that.” She felt one of them slide his hand up under her skirt, felt the strength of his hand on her ass as he pulled her tight against him. She gasped at the suddenness of it but didn’t pull away. Ballsy. She could feel the heat of her sex stir, her pussy growing wet as her breathing grew heavy.

“Maybe he’d let you go home with us and continue the party,” the other guy said, his hand wrapping around her waist.

Oh god, she wanted to go home with them right then, wanted their hands on her, their mouths, their cocks. She glanced back at Mitch, but he was busy talking with the waitress. He wasn’t even watching her! Of all the…

“Sorry boys, but we already have plans tonight,” she said, as she eased away from them. “But perhaps I’ll see you in here another night.” She wiggled her fingers at them as she walked over to her table. “Having fun?” she asked Mitch, as she approached the table, her tone clipped, annoyed.

He just smiled as he lifted his glass. “I always have fun. I ordered you another drink. Figured you were working up quite a thirst out there.” He sipped his drink, his smile obvious around the rim of the glass.

“You were watching?” She slid into her seat and grabbed her glass, downing a large swallow as she did. He was right. She was thirsty. And hot.

“Of course. Never took my eyes off you except to order the drinks. I may have to dust you for fingerprints.” He bounced his eyebrows at her, his grin never wavering.

“Those men groping me didn’t piss you off?” She couldn’t believe he was still playing it so cool.

“Should it have? I’m the one who dressed you up for easy access. You aren’t some weakling, easily intimidated. If you didn’t want them to touch your ass, you would have racked them and put a halt to it.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Nope. You’re going home with me, after all. This is just foreplay.”

She leaned back in her chair, forgetting how high up she was for a moment, allowing her legs to part. She didn’t even realize how she was sitting until she noticed two guys at a nearby table gawking at her open legs, her thong quite visible with her short skirt. She smiled at them as she parted her legs a little wider.

Mitch chuckled, noticing what she was doing. “Having fun?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Jealous?”

“Hardly. It’s just underwear. You should take them off and give them a real show.” He leaned forward on the table, daring her with his eyes.

She shifted in her seat, slipping her hands under her skirt as she kept her gaze riveted to his. He was pushing her, but two could play that game. She hooked her thumbs into the waist of her thong and slid them off, keeping her thighs together as she leaned against the table. It was dark and only the two guys watching her even knew what she did. As soon as the thong came off, she slid it into her purse, and then leaned back in her chair, her legs open, her pussy exposed for the men’s viewing pleasure.

“Good girl,” Mitch said, and those two words stirred the passion within her like nothing else ever had. He leaned back in his seat and sipped his drink. When he set the glass back on the table, he said, “I bet it’s dripping right now, throbbing with hunger. I bet your body is thrumming with need. Open your legs wider. Let them see what’s mine. Do it.”

She obeyed, his words making her breathe harder, making her honey drip, her pussy ache with desire.

“And you are mine, aren’t you?”

She stared at him, ready to spout off that Karla Harper belonged to no one, but all that came out was a raspy, “Yes.”

“Are you turned on right now?” he asked, as he turned his glass in his fingers, his eyes never leaving hers.

She couldn’t speak, so she just nodded.

“Good. I want you so turned on it drives you crazy. I want the hunger to build, the passion, the desire. I want you so horny it drives you crazy with need, and I want it without even touching you. It’s all because of others appreciating what they see, of others touching you, turning up the heat within you. Yet, it will be me who drives his cock into that wet pussy of yours until you scream.” He lifted his glass and sipped his drink, and Karla thought she would have an orgasm right then and there without anyone touching her, just because of his words.

She took a deep breath, her hands trembling as she reached for her glass. She needed to be fucked.