Bettie Page Presents: The Librarian (9 page)

Smack!

His palm came down sharply on her left ass cheek.

“Ow!” she yelled, moving her hand back to rub the spot. “That hurt.”

“You were a bad girl,” he said. “Don't disobey me like that again. If I tell you to wear heels and lingerie, you wear heels and lingerie. If I tell you to change in front of me, you get changed. Do you understand me?”

Regina could not believe this. She didn't say anything . . . couldn't say anything. What was there to say? Yes? Or worse,
no
?

Smack!

His hand came down again in the same spot. Was this normal?

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.

“Um, yeah . . . no . . . I don't know . . .” she said.

“Stand up, Regina.”

Her mind buzzing, she got slowly to her feet. She didn't want to stand up with the dress hiked above her waist, but she calculated that it would quickly fall back into place as soon as she was vertical. Then, as if reading her mind, Sebastian said, “Hold your dress up where it is,” he said. “Or you'll have to remove it.”

Regina felt her face turning hot, and she knew she was probably bright red. And yet she did as he asked, standing up in front of the couch, the dress bunched in her hands above her hips. She looked everywhere but at him. She felt his eyes on her, and she felt herself become excited.

And then, shockingly, he reached out and stroked between her legs, just barely grazing her tuft of hair. His hand moved slowly, his thumb brushing her clit. She took a sharp breath and then felt the shock of his fingers pressing inside her.

“You're wet,” he said. “I knew you would be.”

She moaned, and her legs almost buckled. His finger dipped in and out. She grabbed onto him, and he quickly looped one arm around her waist to support her while he increased the pressure on her throbbing center. She felt herself opening her legs to him, and his finger surged deeper, touching a spot that made her gasp. He quickly retreated, then hit it one more time before pulling out to circle her clit slowly.

“No,” she moaned, leaning into him. She felt his face against hers, and he whispered “Shhh” in her ear, so softly she might have imagined it. His fingers kept playing their dance of touch and release, inside and out, until she felt a pressure building that ended with a burst of pleasure that made her cry out. She was embarrassed by the sound she made, something animalistic and completely foreign to her. She felt her pussy convulsing around his hand, and he kept it moving in tandem with her spasms until her body shuddered to stillness.

He guided her back to the couch. She lay down, her entire body trembling.

It was the first time she had come with a man. The thing she had always wondered—how it would feel, could it happen with someone beside her—was finally answered.

Sebastian sat on the edge of the couch next to her. To her surprise, he leaned down and pulled off her shoes. He stroked her hair. She closed her eyes, too embarrassed to look at him. After a minute, when she felt her breathing return to normal and she didn't feel a residual throbbing between her legs, she sat up.

“I should go,” she said, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be alone in her own room to process all of this.

“Stay,” Sebastian said, pulling her face toward him so she was forced finally to look. He was so beautiful, and it made it all the more difficult to think about how wantonly she had just behaved in front of him. She had lost control of herself, and the sooner she got out of there and tried to make sense of it, the better.

“It's late,” she said, pulling her shoes back on and hobbling around the room looking for her bag. He handed it to her.

“I'll drive you. Let me get my coat.”

“No,” she snapped. “Don't drive me. I just want to be alone.”

And with that, she bolted out the door.

CHAPTER 17

Regina smuggled the cup of Starbucks into the library.

She couldn't believe she was breaking such a major rule by bringing a beverage into the Main Reading Room, but it was the only way she would get through the morning.

She had not slept for more than a few hours, and each of those had been broken with strange, sexual, and even violent dreams. Every so often, she would wake up in a sweat, her hand in her underwear.

She shook off the memory of her dreams and all thoughts of the night before. But the night clung to her like a scent.

Sebastian's touch had left her body and her mind in a heightened state. She felt exquisitely sensitive to everything—sounds, light . . . even taste. She noticed, for the first time, the earthiness of her morning coffee, and the way each sip ended with a note of sweetness, like dark chocolate.

Approaching her desk, she saw a white box sitting on top of it.

She looked at the box more closely and recognized the unmistakable Apple logo.

“What the hell?” She pulled off the lid, then found inside a cardboard sheath. From that, she extracted a brand-new, latest generation iPhone. And a small, white envelope.

She tore it open.

Dear Regina:

I assume you made it home safely last night.

The next time you run out like that, please at least text me to let me know you are okay. Or better yet, I will call you on this phone to check for myself.

Yes, this phone is yours, but only for use between the two of us. I want you to keep it with you—and on—at all times.

—S.

Regina had managed to meet probably the only guy on the planet who sent iPhones instead of flowers the next day.

“What's going on, Finch?” Alex asked, startling her.

“Nothing,” she said. “Do you know how to work one of these?” She handed him the iPhone.

“I'm breathing, aren't I?” he asked, pressing a button. The white Apple logo appeared on the screen.

“Where was all this wit when you wanted to pick up that messenger girl? Okay, when it rings, how do I answer it?”

Alex sighed, and launched into a quick iPhone tutorial, his fingers tapping and sliding all over the screen.

“Where's the keypad?” she asked. “I can't type on that.”

“Yeeah,” he said. “You might be more of a BlackBerry person, Finch.”

With that, he ambled back to retrieve more books.

She put the phone in her bag, then read her note over and over again, unable to contain her smile . . . or her thoughts, which had no place in a library.

CHAPTER 18

Regina forgot that she had promised Carly a night out. At the time, she had been looking forward to it. Now it was the last thing she wanted to do.

Her head was in a Sebastian fog. The entire day at work, all she could think about was how it had felt to have Sebastian touch her between her legs. She mentally replayed the scene over and over again, an endless loop as she mechanically processed the requisition slips. She thought about how Sebastian's dark eyes had looked at her while his fingers moved deep inside. Just thinking about it had made her unbearably excited.

When their cab pulled up to Nurse Bettie, Regina saw that the line to get into the bar was already down the block. Carly rushed toward the entrance. Regina struggled to keep up with her in her heels. Upon Carly's insistence that she look “hot,” she'd decided to wear the black dress and shoes Sebastian had bought for her.

“It looks really crowded,” said Regina. Carly glanced at the people waiting.

“Yeah, those suckers are never getting in,” said Carly. She led Regina by the hand to the door and handed a small card or invitation of some sort to the bouncer. He opened the red velvet rope, and they walked right in.

“How did we get past the line?”

“Tonight's invite only,” said Carly. “I'm on the list.”

Inside, it wasn't just standing room only, it was standing room
barely
. Regina shifted in place, regretting her sartorial decision, her feet already pinched in the heels.

“What's going on here?” asked Regina. A space was cleared near the stage area, and an oversize British flag hung on the wall.

“Katrina Darling is performing tonight,” said Carly. Regina looked at her blankly. “She's Kate Middleton's cousin.”

Kate Middleton's cousin was a burlesque dancer? The world truly was, as her mother would say, going to hell in a handbasket.

“I'll get drinks. Wait here.”

Before Regina could offer to go with her, Carly was already pushing her way through the crowd. And then Regina was startled to feel something vibrating in her bag. And then she remembered the iPhone.

She retrieved the device—which still felt totally alien to her—and tried to figure out if it was ringing. She noticed the text on the screen:
Where are you? I'm outside of your building.

Her heart started to beat wildly. Her first thought was to kick herself for not being at home. But then she thought maybe his knowing that she was capable of going out and having a good time on her own wasn't the worst thing.

I'm out,
she typed awkwardly, pecking each letter and making mistakes so that autocorrect got more words on the screen than she had managed to.

“Hey—you look really familiar. Did you perform here the other night?”

Regina looked up to find an attractive blond guy smiling at her. His T-shirt read “SP
I
N N
EW
Y
ORK
.”

“Are you talking to me?” she asked. She felt her phone buzz again in her hand.

“Yeah. Do you perform here?”

“Perform? Me? No,” she said, wondering if this guy really thought she was a burlesque dancer, or if this was just some lame come-on. She glanced down at her phone.

Her phone vibrated with another text:
Where are you?

She smiled and typed
Nurse Bettie,
then put the phone back in her bag.

“What are you drinking?” the guy asked.

As if on cue, Carly appeared with two cocktails. She handed one to Regina.

“And who are
you
?” she asked the guy flirtatiously.

“Brandon,” the guy said.

“Carly.”

Regina sipped the cocktail. It was the same drink she'd had the night they were there with Derek, and it still tasted just as bad. But she kept drinking.

“I was just telling your friend here that she looks like one of the dancers,” said the guy.

“She sure does,” Carly said, giving Regina a wink. The look on her face urged, Play along.

Regina glanced at the stage, wondering when the show would start.

One of Brandon's friends joined them, and Carly chatted them both up.

“Why so quiet?” Brandon's friend asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder and smiling. He was very thin and smelled like cigarettes.

“It's kind of loud in here,” Regina said. “Not ideal for conversation.”

“What's your name?” the guy said, his eyes on her breasts.

She reluctantly mumbled, “Regina.”

“Cool. I'm Nick,” he said.

She nodded and looked away, sipping her drink. The burn in the back of her throat was a welcome distraction from the unwanted company. Glancing at Carly, she saw that her roommate clearly did not feel the same way. She was leaning into Brandon, tossing her hair around and smiling at whatever he was saying.

“Hey,” Nick said to Brandon and Carly, “Audrina here says it's too loud. Maybe we should bounce.”

Regina didn't bother correcting him on her name.

“Let's do it,” said Nick. Carly nodded.

“But the show didn't even start yet,” said Regina, feeling slightly panicked. There was no way she was going anywhere with those guys, but she didn't want to be left alone at the bar, either. She didn't even know where to find the nearest subway.

Nick laughed. “You're funny,” he said, touching her arm. She shrugged him off.

The three of them started making their way to the door.

“Wait, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked, tugging on Carly's shirt. Carly leaned in to say something to Brandon that Regina couldn't hear, then humored Regina by walking off to the side with her.

“What's wrong?” she asked, her hazel eyes bright with alcohol. Regina wondered how she could be buzzed so fast. “These guys are hot. You know how upset I've been about Rob. Let's have
fun
.”

“I'm not going, and I don't think you should, either,” Regina said.

“You need to relax,” Carly said, then walked to where the guys were waiting by the door. Regina watched her go but didn't move. Carly turned to look back at her, and waved her over. When Regina didn't respond, Carly shrugged as if to say,
Your loss
. Regina watched Carly and Brandon walk outside and was mortified to see Nick making his way back to her.

“What's the problem, Audrina? Trust me, you're not missing anything here. I promise to keep you entertained tonight.”

His smile didn't reach his eyes.

“I just don't feel like going anywhere. But don't let me stop you. I'm sure you'll all have a great night.”

“Come on,” he said, moving closer to her. “You're turning me into a third wheel. You don't want to do that, do you?”

She looked away, anywhere but at him. He was way too much in her space, but there was little room for her to move. And then, over his shoulder, she saw something that made her think she was hallucinating.

Sebastian was heading straight for them.

Regina felt her breathing quicken, and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was moving through the room like a shark cutting through water, unfazed by the dense crowd.

Nick was still talking at her, though she had stopped hearing him. Within seconds, Sebastian's large hand was on the guy's shoulder, spinning him around.

“Excuse me,” Sebastian said to him brusquely, and grabbed Regina by the hand.