By The Book

Diane stood in the aisle of the book store, absently thumbing through one of the paperbacks. Every few seconds she would furtively glance towards the door, looking for him. He had just called her, surely he couldn't be that far away. Her eyes looked around the book store once again, wondering if she had missed him. This store was pretty big, and coming in from the mall there wasn't any real entrance, just a wide open area that melded into the store.

Tossing the book back onto the pile she decided that she might as well put her mind to rest and actually look for something she was interested in. The neat pyramidal stack of World War II plane histories was not her usual genre, but it was near the front door. Her eyes flitted over the inlaid gold titles on the wood paneling over the book racks searching for something that might distract her for a few more minutes. "Cooking, Gardening, Computers, Finance..."

"You look like a woman who's searching for something," came a voice from behind her. Diane startled slightly and turned, annoyed at being snuck up on. Instantly she recognized who it was, although she had never met him until now.

"More like someone actually. You're late." The mock sternness in her voice covered the slight nervousness she felt on finally meeting him. They had been in contact through email many times, and often chatted online. Until just now she had a tiny suspicion that it was all a charade and she would be faced with Billy Bob Thornton's uglier and meaner brother. Not so at all. Ken was everything she had imagined him to be.

"Actually I'm never late, I arrive precisely when I mean to," he joked, stealing a line from Gandalf.

Diane picked up on it immediately and came back with "Then either you are a wizard or a liar and I don't know if I should be associating with your type."

Not to be outdone Ken replied "Then I guess I'll have to find some other woman to accept my hug. Some woman of lesser standards and questionable virtue."

A big grin spread across Diane's face at that as she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh don't think you're escaping that easily."

They embraced briefly and began chatting about what they each had been up to since their last contact. It felt oddly comfortable to Diane, but then they had been "talking" for months. The face wasn't quite familiar but the banter back and forth between them was a well established pattern.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. This long harrowing search to find the bookstore has made me build up an appetite. Let's go eat!"

"But of course," replied Diane. "That was your intention, wasn't it? An innocent little luncheon?"

Ken smiled back at her and said, with just a hint of mischievousness, "Of course. I'm nothing if not innocent and well-behaved."

"Rats," Diane exclaimed, a little louder than she had intended. In truth she would be disappointed if he stayed well-behaved, but she didn't want him to know it just yet.

Walking through the mall they passed several likely looking places until finally deciding on a small little cafe. It looked like it would be suitable to a quiet conversation. It was a little late and the lunch crowd had abated somewhat. They had their choice of seats, and Ken opted for a small little table for two by the window.

Their drinks ordered, they turned their attention to the menu. Of course Ken couldn't resist poking fun at some of the menu entrees. "Pulled Pork", "Jerk Chicken"... I think I'd rather have something the chef hasn't been yanking on.

"Oh I don't know about that," teased Diane. "Sometimes yanking on some meat is just the thing to do to make it tasty."

Ken was a little surprised that she had come back with such a bold line, given how shy she typically was in other conversations, but he wasn't about to back down from a verbal challenge. "I've always found that marinating it in some hot liquid gave it the most firm and enjoyable texture."

Diane grinned and looked down intently into her menu, apparently trying to hide a small blush that had crept into her cheeks. She was mentally forming a picture of the two of them engaged in such a 'marination' and was finding it hard to concentrate enough for a reply."

Just then the waitress arrived to take their order. Ken selected a chicken stir-fry. Not wanting to admit she hadn't really looked at the menu Diane looked stern and said "Hey, I was going to order that!"

"So go ahead and order it. They must have more than one," joked Ken.

"Fine, I will," replied Diane, "Make it two of those, and put some Teriyaki on mine."

"Hey," mocked Ken, "I was going to order that!"

"So go ahead and order it. They must have lots," Diane said, doing her best sarcastic imitation of Ken's voice.

This repartee continue as they sat there, and while they ate. They each ordered a coffee and continue to chat long after the dishes had been cleared away. As was usual for their conversations there were lots of innuendos and double entendres but this time they were different. With Ken sitting there facing her there was a tinge of danger to them. Online any comment she made was perfectly safe because she knew there was no chance of it actually happening. Here however,...

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ken said abruptly. Diane suddenly realized that she must have been gazing off into space as she pondered.

"Ummm..." she started, slightly off-guard. "Sorry, these thoughts are worth way more than a penny. A quarter at least."

Ken reached into his pocket, deciding to call her bluff. He tossed a quarter in front of her and continued, "There you go. Now you're obligated."

Diane thought for a second, then before she had a chance to stop herself told him exactly what she had been thinking.

Ken lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Do you mean that you consider anything I suggest right now to be a proposition for immediate action?"

"Well, I guess that's what I was thinking, yes," replied Diane. She held her breath, wondering if he was about to feel insulted and storm out on her. That would have been terrible since she had been enjoying her afternoon so much to this point.

Continuing his whisper Ken went on, "In that case, I understand you have a perfectly good hotel room that you're paying for, but instead of using it you're sitting here with me in this expensive restaurant. I think you should be getting your money's worth out of that room, and being the polite hostess you should invite me along with you."

That was probably the least subtle thing Ken had said to her, even though there was still a small doubt as to what he actually meant. Diane decided that now was the time to remove that doubt.

"I'm nothing if not polite as a hostess, but I have to warn you. Nobody who goes into my hotel room is allowed to keep their clothes on. It's a silly little rule I have. Most people insist on taking off their shoes, I insist on all of the clothes. Of course I understand if you don't ..."

She never got to finish her sentence. Ken interrupted by leaning over the table and placing his lips against hers, giving her a soft warm kiss. "I'll take my clothes off for you anytime, but now I have to warn you. I can't resist kissing exposed skin so if you take all of your clothes off you might have to deal with having my lips all over your body."

Diane felt the blush returning, more intensely this time. What had she done? She had actually propositioned someone who was a complete (well not complete, but close enough) stranger. And worse, he had accepted! And even worse, she felt completely happy about the situation, even a little excited.

There was nothing to do but get up and head out the door. She looked back at Ken trailing behind and teased, "Don't lose me now. It's a big city, you may end up knocking on hotel doors for days to find me." With that she dashed off out the mall with him close on her heels. They both headed down into the subway like a couple of kids racing home after school.

The ride was short, but it seemed to stretch out longer for Diane. All sorts of possibilities for what was about to happen ran through her head, most of them extremely pleasant.

Ken stood up and gave Diane a playful little nudge. "There you are, lost in thought again. I got a good deal for my quarter last time, should I pay you again for your thoughts?"

"This one's on the house," replied Diane. "Especially since it involves you, me, some bubble bath, and that jacuzzi in my room."

"Well well well, with those kinds of thoughts I don't want to discourage you. Please, continue daydreaming."

The subway arrived at their stop and Diane playfully jumped ahead again, having the advantage of knowing her way around at least this small piece of the city. Ken followed close behind, careful to let her stay just out of reach.

She reached the hotel elevator and ducked inside with two other passengers. Ken would have been left behind if it weren't for one of the passengers holding the door button for him. Diane looked him in the eye and said, "Which floor please," as though she had never laid eyes on him before. Furtively glancing at the elevator panel Ken saw three numbers lit up and made a guess. "I'm going to 14," then held his breath.

"What a coincidence," Diane replied, "So am I." The other two passengers looked quizically at the two of them but made no comment. Diane barely suppressed a giggle as Ken stood at the front of the elevator, obviously wondering what to do in this situation, slightly embarrassed.

The doors finally slid open on floor 14 and Ken jumped off. Diane watched him leave then waited for him to turn around, waving as the elevator doors closed again in front of her. Ken stood there astonished for a moment before realizing that the game had not yet ended and it was up to him to track her down again. He stood watching the elevator's floor indicator until it stopped again on 37. He momentarily debated running up the stairs but that many floors was just a little too many at this point. Pressing the UP button he sat down and waited patiently for the next elevator to return.

On arriving at the 37th floor he half-expected to see Diane sitting there, laughing at her little trick but the floor was empty. He cautiously peered out into the corridor, letting the elevator close behind him. There was no sign of her in any direction. Mentally flipping a coin he started down the left side of the hallway. He walked all the way to the end and found no sign of Diane anywhere. Continuing past the elevator he eventually came upon a door that was slightly ajar.

To open the door, or not open the door? Clearly there was somebody in there since the door was ajar and hotel room doors always close themselves automatically when people leave. On the other hand there was absolutely no indication that it was his elusive playmate in there. He cautiously knocked on the door, but there was no response. Not knowing what he might try next he decided to look inside, just in case it was the right room.

Slowly he pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside. The lights were out and the faint smell of vanilla was in the air. Behind him the door slammed shut and the deadbolt slid closed. He whirled around to see none other than Diane, wearing nothing but an evil grin on her face.

"It certainly took you long enough to find me, didn't it? For that you are sentenced to kissing all of my exposed skin, just like you said you would. I recommend starting here." Diane was pointing to her own mouth.

Without a thought Ken moved forward and graciously accepted her invitation. Their lips met and pressed together, then he continued on until his body was tight against hers. She could feel the soft fabric of his shirt rubbing against her nipples and the hard fold of his jeans between her legs.

He was a great kisser, just as he had hinted at. His lips seemed to know just where to go on hers. Their tongues met and entwined for long seconds at a time. Gradually he moved his kisses outwards, first onto her cheeks, then her neck and behind her ears. Shivers ran down Diane's back as his warm lips stimulated the back of her neck and her shoulders.

Bending over he reached downwards and Diane braced herself for where his lips might roam next. But he was just putting his arms beneath her so that he could sweep her up into them. His lips continued their wandering as he carried her over to the bed and gently lowered her down onto it.

Now his lips were moving downwards, teasing the curves at the top of her breasts. Diane's nipples were fully erect as his mouth traced the outline of each breast in turn. Her breath caught each time he went beneath them and slid his tongue in the soft fold. Spiralling inwards he sucked on her entire breast in little spots until finally her nipple slid inside his waiting mouth. He drew as much of her breast as he could into his mouth while his tongue danced over her nipple, then he repeated the whole thing with the other breast.

In the middle Diane managed to gasp, "Lower, I want you to go lower now". To her frustration he obliged literally, leaving her breasts behind wanting more while his lips moved on to her ribs and stomach. At the rate he was going it would be a while before he got where she wanted him so she egged him on. "Further than that, I want your tongue between my legs. I want to feel your warm mouth sucking on me." She parted her legs more to help, as though he needed any further encouragement.

Diane felt his tongue leave her body and thought, At last! Nothing happened for a while so she looked down to see what he was doing. He had positioned himself between her legs and was admiring what he saw. She watched as he reached up and softly stroked her in just the right spot, bringing those shivers back. With each stroke Diane felt herself get wetter and wetter. She growled at him, "You'd better get your tongue in there before it's too late."

Almost as though waiting for her cue Ken did precisely that. He slide in close to her until she could feel his breath on her. Grabbing his head she pressed him tightly between her legs, feeling his lips meet her wetness with a sigh of relief. It was then that he dove in with enthusiasm. His tongue seemed to be everywhere, darting this way and that, circling around her, dipping inside. Diane's world exploded at his onslaught. She wasn't aware of anything but the pleasure emanating from between her legs. He grabbed her butt with his hands to pull himself in tighter and she squealed with excitement.

Soon she could take no more. Somehow between the tongue teases, when he had pulled her lips inside his mouth and was sucking gently he managed to moan "I want you. I want you inside me."

Not letting his mouth leave its position, or breaking his stride Ken reached down to undo his pants. They slid off easily and he tossed them to one side. Then his tongue started to slide upwards, making a lazy path back and forth across Diane's front but always rising. By the time he had returned to her breasts she felt his hardness against her. At each crossing of her body now he went deeper inside her. Across the top of her breasts...deeper. Back across her collar...deeper. Up and over her shoulders...deeper. Finally in one last thrust his tongue ran up her neck and he was completely inside her.

He started slowly at first but Diane was too excited to be patient. She pressed insistently against him, increasing their rhythm until it reached a frenzied pace. Again and again he slid inside her, rocking the bed until the headboard hit the wall. She didn't care about anything but the feeling he was creating inside her as he did so. Her orgasm was coming soon and nothing else mattered for these precious moments. "Harder baby, you're going to make me cum", she whispered into his ear.

With one last burst of energy he sped up even more, their sweat glistening as their bodies slid together. A burst of colours went off in Diane's eyes as she reached orgasm, and she squealed in surprise, just as she heard Ken moaning loudly as he came with her. Diane felt the pulse of his orgasm inside her, squeezing to match him and extend it for both of them. Soon he had slowed to a stop and they lay there, joined together in warmth under the soft glow of her candles.

Ken looked up at her and smiled. "That was nice," he grinned, "and if you let me stay longer the next couple of hours will be even nicer."

Diane grinned back at him and unable to resist the temptation, said "If you stay longer you can remain as long as you want."