All You Need Is Love (6 page)

Julia playfully nipped his ear with her teeth. “Then I insist on dessert, too. And don’t you dare make any cracks about my ass getting bigger.”

Nathan shook his head. “Wouldn’t dream of it, baby. Especially since your ass – and every other part of you – is just perfect the way it is. Besides, the more you eat the more you’ll need to work off. And that,” he added wickedly, “plays right into my plans for this evening.”

She made a low sound of pleasure as he gave her a soft, lingering kiss as they stepped off the escalator. “Lucky for me I’m in complete approval of your plans,” she breathed, her body already humming with need. “So why don’t you share them with me?”

“More than happy to oblige, baby,” he murmured, just before whispering something in her ear that made her squirm impatiently.

“You know, now that I think about it,” she recalled impishly, “I had a really late lunch. Pretty sure I could hold off on dinner for at least a little while. At least until after round one.”

Nathan’s shoulders shook with mirth. “Well, given that I know exactly what you’re wearing underneath that dress, I can say with absolute certainty that round one isn’t going to last very long at all. So you can satisfy both of your, um, appetites within the next hour.”

Chapter Three

Late April

Julia clutched Nathan’s arm and whispered to him urgently. “Am I really seeing what I think I’m seeing? Or have I already had way too much to drink this evening?”

Nathan grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple before replying in equally hushed tones. “Uh, uh, you haven’t had anywhere
near
enough to drink. Don’t forget how much fun we have when you get a little tipsy. As for the other – you are definitely not imagining things, baby. Mr. Prim and Proper is basically making out with his very hot girlfriend in front of the entire restaurant. And not seeming to give a damn who’s watching.”

“Making out” was probably a bit of a reach, but Julia could only stare in something resembling disbelief as Ian and Tessa exchanged a series of increasingly amorous kisses. The besotted couple seemed totally oblivious to everyone else present, including their own dinner companions.

Tonight was the first time the four of them had actually socialized together, given their respectively hectic schedules. Tessa had confided in Julia several weeks ago that she and Ian were officially a couple, and that she was now living with him at his grand home in Pacific Heights. A horrific fire at Tessa’s old apartment had hastened along the move-in process, as well as prompting her to resign from her job. She was now traveling with Ian and acting as his administrative assistant when he visited the dozens of luxury hotels under his direction. Tessa was also, thought Julia warmly, positively glowing with happiness, and making no effort at all to hide the fact that she absolutely adored her handsome lover.

But the changes in Ian were the true revelation. Julia had known the charming but elusive and very formal Brit for over a year now, while Nathan had been acquainted with him for considerably longer, and neither of them could have ever envisioned seeing him quite this way. Gone was the rather standoffish, almost stuffy persona he’d always portrayed, and in his place was a carefree, jovial man who smiled and laughed, and who was being especially demonstrative towards the beautiful woman who sat so closely beside him.

As though he were aware of their regard, Ian glanced up almost guiltily and looked a bit sheepish to find Julia and Nathan grinning at him knowingly. At the same time, Nathan ran his fingers up beneath the short hem of Julia’s ivory chiffon cocktail dress, inching a little higher up her thigh until he was tantalizingly close to her crotch. She couldn’t help the little shiver of arousal that racked her body in response.

“If you two need a room, Ian, I’m guessing that won’t be a problem given that you own this place,” joked Nathan.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ian only laughed in response, while Tessa blushed furiously and seemed suddenly pre-occupied with her glass of wine. Julia took pity on her friend and firmly removed Nathan’s hand from beneath her dress before pushing her chair away and standing.

“I think you gentlemen should order us some coffee and dessert while we visit the ladies room,” she announced. “Tessa, let’s go, shall we?”

Tessa surged to her feet instantly, as if grateful for the reprieve. Ian, with his perfect British manners, also stood and pulled Tessa’s chair out for her. He murmured something in her ear that caused her to smile at him adoringly.

Nathan followed suit and stood, and Julia gave him a little wink.

“Glad to see that Ian’s lovely manners are rubbing off on you,” she joked. “Not that you aren’t a perfect gentleman yourself but -”

He bent his head and muttered suggestively, “But not all the time. And admit it, baby – you like it, a lot, when I’m anything but a gentleman at certain times.”

“Hmm. Perhaps. In fact, I’m pretty much counting on the fact that you’re going to be a very, very bad man later on this evening,” she purred in his ear.

Nathan chuckled and gave her waist a little squeeze. “Baby, you have no idea how bad I’m going to be. Watching these two lovebirds here has been, uh, getting me in the mood. So let’s try to wrap up coffee and dessert soon so that we can enjoy – uh, second dessert at home.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll do my best. See you in a few.”

Julia was very conscious of the numerous pairs of eyes – both male and female – that followed hers and Tessa’s progress as they walked across the crowded restaurant. Ian had chosen the very elegant four-star establishment – Giovanni’s – located on the top floor of the lavish Gregson Hotel on Nob Hill as the venue for his fortieth birthday celebration. Julia and Nathan had been both surprised and flattered to be invited to join him and Tessa for the very intimate occasion. They had socialized with Ian in the past, of course, but only at business related functions, so tonight was really the first time Julia felt that Ian considered them more friends than professional associates. She also knew that Tessa really didn’t have many friends of her own, except for Julia herself, and she guessed Ian was well aware of this fact. It was beyond romantic, thought Julia wistfully, how Ian seemed to be constantly making his woman’s needs and desires the top priority in his life.

She told Tessa as much as they were touching up their makeup a few minutes later, and the tall blonde nodded in agreement.

“He’s so good to me, Julia,” Tessa replied earnestly. “And I’m not talking about the clothes and gifts he gives me constantly. It’s more about the way he cares for me, how he makes me feel – well, cherished is the word that comes to mind.”

Julia patted her friend on the arm. “That’s pretty obvious, honey. Ian is absolutely obsessed with you, can’t take his eyes off of you for more than a few seconds at a time.
Sooo
romantic!”

Tessa laughed. “No more so than you and Nathan. In fact, I think it was watching you and Nathan, um, snuggling that might have inspired Ian to, er – well, be a little more - ”

“Affectionate?” finished Julia. “I mean, at least in public. The way he looks at you – I’m guessing he’s plenty affectionate and then some behind closed doors.”

Tessa put away her lip gloss, her cheeks flushed anew. “Yes, he definitely is that. And in public – well, he’s certainly starting to loosen up some.”

Julia winked. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot to do with that. You’re making him feel young again, honey. God, not that he’s the least bit old, I didn’t mean to imply that at all! And he’s way hunkier than most men ten to fifteen years younger.”

Tessa lowered her voice as two other women entered the ladies room. “He’s amazing, Julia. I mean, he’s only the second man I’ve ever been with, you know, and things with my ex-husband were never anything near like they are with Ian. I still feel so inexperienced around him, though, like I’m learning something new from him every time we’re together.”

“I’m guessing Ian likes it that you’re not very experienced,” Julia told her gently. “He’s a pretty controlling kind of man, after all, and I imagine awfully possessive as well. As for learning something new –” she looked around furtively, making sure no one could overhear them. “I’ll share a little trick with you, something that will drive him wild. I mean, it
is
his birthday, after all, and I’m assuming you’d like to give him a, er, special surprise?”

Tessa nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, of course. I, um, do have something a little special planned for tonight, as you guessed. It was – oh, God, this sounds silly, I know – but I was planning to, well, seduce him. But I’ve got no real idea what I’m doing and I just know I’m going to make a fool of myself in the process.”

Julia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, trust me. He won’t really give a damn if you do. Men are astonishingly easy to turn on sometimes, and as long as they get their rocks off they don’t much care how it happens. And you did decide to wear those black undies we picked out from that shop on Union Street, right?” At Tessa’s nod, Julia gave her a reassuring grin. “Then no worries, honey. All you really have to do at this point is just take your dress off and stand there and let nature take its course. But if you want to drive him really wild, then listen up.”

Julia drew Tessa to a secluded corner of the ladies lounge, conscious of the other women coming and going on a consistent basis. Her voice was hushed, almost in a conspiratorial manner. “Okay, then, here’s what you do. Nathan actually taught me this, and it drives him crazy every single time. You can use it on a man in almost any position, but it tends to work best if you’re – ah – sucking him off at the time. I assume you do that?”

Tessa’s rosy cheeks were now almost as red as her carmine lip gloss, but she managed to nod briefly. “Yes. Ian likes that – a lot.”

Julia snorted. “Uh, huh. Most men do –
such
predictable creatures. Well, if Ian likes getting a blow job then he’s literally going to explode when you try the next part. When you can tell he’s getting close, all you do is press your finger against his prostate gland.” At Tessa’s confused look, she added gently, “You’ll have to insert your finger – very carefully – up inside his anus. Not very far, and you should probably wet your finger first for lubrication.”

Tessa stared, her blue eyes wide. “And he’ll, um, like that?”

“Absolutely. Especially when he’s that close, stimulating him that way is going to make him go off like a geyser.” She frowned. “Nathan didn’t warn me about
that
part the first time I tried it, and things got a little, er, messy. So be prepared, because it tends to prolong the orgasm for a while. But it will definitely be the best one of his life.”

Tessa still looked more than a little shell shocked at what she’d just learned, and Julia hoped gingerly that Ian wouldn’t think her a bad influence on his young and still somewhat innocent girlfriend. She quickly changed the subject, asking Tessa how she liked traveling with Ian, and how she was spending her days now that she wasn’t working full time.

In the end, Julia didn’t have to worry about “wrapping things up” because Ian took things into his own hands very capably, and they were finished with coffee and birthday cake and standing outside the front entrance to the hotel within a rather astonishingly brief period of time. One of the valets jumped to attention when he recognized Ian, and two cabs pulled up immediately beneath the porte-cochere. After exchanging good-nights, each couple slipped into their respective cab and headed off.

Nathan was chuckling as he slid an arm around Julia’s shoulders, pulling her in close against him. “Well, I’d say someone is very eager to continue his birthday celebration in private, wouldn’t you?”

“You picked up on that, too?” she laughed. “I’m sort of surprised he didn’t pick Tessa up and carry her out of here caveman style. Though
he’s
the one who’s going to be surprised once they get home.”

Nathan looked at her quizzically. “How so? Does Tessa have a surprise gift waiting for him or something?”

Julia winked naughtily. “Well, if she didn’t already have something in mind before, she definitely does now. I might have, um, shared some advice with her when we went to the restroom.”

He groaned in dismay. “Oh, God. What did you tell her? Did you forget that in spite of our socializing with him tonight Ian is still our best client? He is
not
going to appreciate your corrupting his very young girlfriend.”

She gasped in mock indignation. “Corrupt?
Moi?
As if I would ever dream of doing such a thing. Relax, honey. All I did was share your favorite little trick with Tessa. You know, the one where you like me to put -”

“I know exactly what you’re talking about, Julia,” he replied sternly. “And Ian is going to know damned well that Tessa didn’t dream that particular move up all by herself.
You
, my little minx, are going to get yourself in big trouble one of these days. Ian’s still a little pissed off at you for meddling that one time, when you actually had the nerve to tell him we were going to set Tessa up with one of my friends. “

Julia laughed in delight at the recollection, especially the way she’d almost expected Ian to start breathing fire at any moment. “Well, I’m willing to bet all will be forgiven if Tessa goes through with my idea. He might even send me flowers as a thank-you gesture.”

Nathan shook his head in exasperation. “You know, when I first met your thoroughly intimidating sister, I thanked my lucky stars that I’d picked the sweet, docile twin to fall in love with. Now that I’ve come to know you a whole lot better, however, I’m beginning to see that you and Lauren are far more alike than first impressions would have suggested. You’re every bit as big a troublemaker as she is.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think anyone can compete with my sister on that level. And I wasn’t trying to cause trouble, honest. Tessa’s a little shy and insecure yet when it comes to sex, and I was just giving her some friendly advice. Besides, if Ian is anything like you, he’s going to love his – er, surprise.”

He pretended to look put-out. “And that’s the other thing. I’m not sure I like the idea of you sharing my favorite little trick with other people. I always thought that was our special thing.”