Orchids for Lila Excerpt
Here’s a little sneak peek:
Lucky’s was the kind of bar you would find in most small towns. It was crowded, poorly lit, and you could always tell which holiday season was approaching by how the St. Pauli’s Girl was decorated. At the moment, she was wearing a Santa hat.
“Lila. Over here!” Jan’s voice cut through the small room. She was trying to pick up a guy, leaning toward him while she talked to him in her fast and friendly way. As I approached the table, the guy she was hitting on turned to look at me, giving me a confident smile. “Lila, this is Ben. Ben, meet Lila.”
“Nice to meet you, Ben.” I shrugged out of my heavy winter coat and deposited it on a stool next to Jan.
“Jan has been telling me about her mad skills on the table. Do you want to play doubles?” Ben spoke with a slight accent. He rolled his r’s and enunciated each vowel longer than a native English speaker.
As Ben spoke, I leaned toward him, smiling. “Doubles with whom?” I chastised myself for being attracted to Jan’s potential hookup and turned away from him to scan the dark room for another player.
“Me. Are you going to introduce us?” His silky voice came from directly behind me and startled me enough to make me squeak. When I turned around, I was faced with a skin-tight T-shirt, which was plastered to a sculpted chest. He was a head taller than me and was staring at me with dark brown eyes. His square jaw, perfect teeth, and smooth pale skin accentuating his bone structure all worked together to form the most handsome face I had ever seen. A strand of his dark hair brushed against his forehead, and I had to resist the urge to move it so I could see his entire face. I realized how long I had been staring, and I blushed.
“Lila and Jan, this is Jack.” Ben motioned to each of us.
Jan looked equally as surprised by Jack’s presence, and it made me wonder where he’d been sitting so that she hadn’t seen him.
I smiled at Jack nervously, my heart still racing. I reached my hand out, and instead of shaking it he put a pool cue in my waiting palm. Let the games begin.
Jan collected the balls and racked a game of nine-ball. She offered Ben the break. It was clear after a few shots I was the worst player at the table, and Jack was the best.
I leaned over the edge of the table, preparing to miss another shot, when Jack brushed a hand against my upper arm.
“May I give you a lesson?” he whispered.
I straightened my back to turn and face him, only to find myself pressed against his body. My body responded to his proximity, and a shiver of pleasure washed over me. He leaned over the table, pushing me down until we were bent over the pool cue, staring at the burgundy number seven. When the bulge in his jeans pressed against my ass, warmth crept through me.
His lips touched my ear as he spoke. “You need to grab the shaft firmly with this hand.” His cool right hand fell on top of mine, forming my fingers against the sleek lacquered wood.
“Uh-huh,” I mumbled.
Jack held my left wrist delicately with his left hand. “Keep your wrist firm and dip it, and spread your fingers and make a cradle for the shaft so it can move fluidly before the tip makes contact.” His voice caressed my ear while he pushed a finger in the “cradle” between my index and middle finger, stroking the sensitive skin, making my mind slip sideways as I struggled to remember what he was talking about.
He positioned the cue between my fingers and tightened his grip on my right hand. His fingers were interlaced with mine, and he guided my right hand back and forth, sliding the wood between the open fingers of my left hand. “Mm hmm, like that.” His voice was quieter than before, more private and sensual.
I moaned.
He chuckled and nestled his face against the base of my neck. He inhaled and his body shuddered. My pulse was racing and my skin heated from the deep blush that was surely covering my body. I had never been consumed by lust like this. It was controlling my body and nothing would’ve made me happier than to give in to it.
I leaned heavily against the pool table, panting, and wishing Jack and I were alone and naked. It had been a while since the last time I had sex, which had been like every other sexual encounter in my limited experience. Disappointing. “That’s it?” I always thought. “That’s what the fuss is all about?” I couldn’t understand why people even bothered. I gave up on relationships last year and decided to concentrate on school, since nothing good had ever come my way in the man department. It seemed as though everything was about to change.
