It took less than thirty seconds. It was a piece of cake, no sweat, easy as pie. After tasting the chicken, cooked so well done it was dry, and the baked potato that wasn't hot enough to melt butter, Carly tried the vegetables. The broccoli medley would have been better raw, it may have been tender if served well done, but it was leathery in between. The dessert chef must have forgotten to add sugar to the whipped cream, but it didn't matter, by the time the meal part of the banquet was over, the dry chocolate cake had absorbed the cream, so few of the attendees ate their dessert. It was annoying that the servers didn't bring coffee to their table until the Master of Ceremonies stood to introduce the special guests.

One couple across the table was making out so blatantly, the man had one of his date's legs draped across his lap. Carly's escort had imbibed so many pre-dinner drinks he was no longer watching his words or where he put his hands. Although she had moved away from him every time he tried to do so, he was using his inebriation as a pretext for permission to put his hands inside the top of Carly's evening gown. He made several attempts to nibble on her earlobe, but it did not seem to deter him when she turned her head. At his suggestion they skip the speeches and check in to one of the upstairs hotel rooms, Carly decided she had had enough.

When the standing ovation began for the second dignitary, Carly slipped away from the table, and walked quietly toward the nearest set of double doors. While a man folding a cell phone returned to the roomful of applauding idiots, Carly walked out. She did not look back. She didn't worry about her boss sitting at the next table. She was even less concerned about her date, the son of her employer. She simply left the big banquet room. It was an escape.

Carly walked about twenty feet down a hall and joined a couple stepping into the nearest open elevator door. Expecting to go down one floor to the building's ground floor, where she could find a taxi, she was surprised to see the numbers above the door indicate the elevator was going up. Oh well, it would eventually go down and she was at least free of being mauled any worse than she had already been groped and pinched for the previous two hours.

The couple who got on the elevator at the same time Carly did, left on the fourteenth floor, leaving Carly alone for the remainder of the ride. Two floors later, the doors opened showing the inside of a very dark room that resembled a lounge, a salon, or a very exclusive club with thick expensive rugs over glossy hardwood floors. Widely placed leather couches, club chairs, and a few low tables created several seating areas. It didn't look like she needed to walk in the front door of the club; she was already inside the club and what she saw fascinated her.

Unaware she took a step forward, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, a well-dressed man waiting to enter the elevator stepped back and held the door long enough for Carly to take another step for a better look around, before he walked inside. The way he looked her up and down as the doors slid together, caused Carly to wish she had not listened to her sister about what to wear under her new gown. She wasn't quick enough to catch the doors, although she wished she had been faster, because that was the moment she realized she had left her evening bag on the table sixteen floors below. Carly's disappointment grew, when she discovered there were no elevator buttons, instead there was a keyhole.

"How much?"

Hearing a man's voice, Carly swirled around, the side slit of her gown flaring around her legs. "I beg your pardon?"

"How much?"

At the same time she examined the man leaning in a softly backlit doorway across the room, he looked at her from the softly curled hair, the clinging full-length evening gown, and her dark red toenails.

"How much what?" Carly asked, as the man, dressed in a dark suit and stark white shirt and tie, walked across the dark room and held out his left hand to capture Carly's hand. He pulled her a little farther into the room, slipped his other hand between her arm and her body, and slowly ran his hand down to just below her waist, the slinky fabric, bereft of undergarments clung to her curves.

The elevator gave a soft ding to indicate its arrival. As the doors opened and Dan turned to look behind him, Carly saw a nearly naked blonde standing in the elevator.

He raised his voice, "Get lost," and took his hand from Carly's waist to wave the blonde away, adding, "Tell Josh I'll take the first one."

Before it occurred to Carly to join the blonde in the elevator, the doors slid shut and she heard the sound of the elevator moving.

As Dan turned around, Carly looked at the tall dark-haired man who squeezed her hand. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "What did he pay you for a whole day, ten, or more? Never mind, I'll double it, and you'll do as I say."

Mentally shaking herself, trying to understand what this man was talking about, Carly repeated, "Pay me?"

As if he was speaking to someone only half-conscious or who did not understand the language, the man explained. "Whatever my brother Josh Hunter, promised to pay you to be the gift for my birthday, I'll double it. Then I can expect you to do what I want, rather than what my brother paid you to do."

"I'm sorry, I don't know a Josh Hunter."

"Ah, I see. Then for your information, I'm Dan Hunter. Do I get to know your name?" Dan spoke as he released her hand and turned to walk toward the elevator, pulling a ring of keys from his pocket. He inserted a key into the key hole, and turned the key.

"Carly, ah, Carly Glenn," she announced and walked to the elevator expecting the doors to open soon so she could go down.

Trying to listen for the sound of the approaching elevator, she watched Dan walk across the room, swing a painting away from the wall, and use another key to open what looked like a wall safe. He reached inside and removed two stacks of currency with bands around the middle.

"Twenty grand, right?" He asked as he tossed the money on a nearby table, closed, and locked the safe, and then swung the painting back into place.

Finally beginning to understand, Carly laughed,

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not that ... I'm not your date." She couldn't resist a little more laughter escaping when she added, "I was just trying to leave a boring evening, and took the wrong elevator."

She watched him look at the elevator, both of them probably thinking about the half-dressed blonde he sent away. Dan, however, was not thinking about the blonde dressed in a black leather mini-skirt and bright blue bandeau barely covering her over-sized breasts. He was looking at the slender Carly, feeling a tingle in his groin at the sight of the softly gathered shoulders of her gown that went down the sides of her back, leaving a great deal of skin showing, and then clung to her softly rounded hips. A slit up one side showed a high heel sandal, a shapely calf, and one-half of a thigh. Her dark red dress molded itself to her with each step she took.

Carly stepped back to look above the elevator doors expecting to see what floor the elevator was passing and then turned to ask Dan, "Did you send for the elevator to take me down?"

"No," he shook his head and walked behind a long richly carved wooden bar. "What can I get you, wine, champagne, or a single malt scotch?" He paused after each one while Carly shook her head, although he did notice she faintly nodded her head when he mentioned the scotch whiskey.

"Then will you do that, please? I mean, call the elevator?"

"No, I locked the door. I think I'll keep you."

A tingle of apprehension went up Carly's spine and lodged at the back of her neck, causing her to lift her arm and rub that spot. The movement of her arm pulled the deeply plunging neckline of her dress across one breast and left the other side of her gown in a wide gap exposing most of the other breast, just barely concealing the tip. She was not looking at his face or she would have seen Dan swallow, lift his chin, and lick his lips.

Although Carly had watched Dan splash whiskey into two glasses and add small amounts of water, she was still surprised when he walked from behind the bar and put both glasses on the table where he had earlier tossed the two stacks of money. He walked to where Carly stood and took her elbow, led her back to a sitting area, and told her to have a seat and enjoy her drink.

Instead of sitting down, as Dan requested, Carly folded her arms across her chest and tapped the toe of one high heel shoe. "Mister Hunter, please call for the elevator, I'd like to leave."

"Relax," Dan said, falling down to the low seat. "You've already been missed by your companions. The rest of your evening is ruined and you don't have anywhere else to go. Sit down and keep me company for a while." He left unspoken his wish that he had been her date for the evening, or that he was very pleased about her mistaken elevator ride.

He picked up his drink and leaned back into a comfortable slouch as he grabbed Carly's hand and tugged until she sat down, while he kicked off his shoes and crossed his ankles on top of the low table. "I'm probably better company than the people you left, so let's enjoy what's left of the evening." With his hand holding his drink, Dan indicated the money on the table. "You'll get your money when you leave."

He took a small sip of his drink and asked, "What do you do? Where do you work? What's your time worth, two hundred, three hundred, or maybe five hundred dollars an hour? I'll pay you a thousand dollars an hour, up front. Right now, all you need to do is have a conversation with me. Is that too much to ask?"

Carly looked at Dan, "Is it really your birthday?"

The man laughed, showing a genuine display of emotion, which to that point he had not done. He leaned back against the couch and nodded, "Yes, it's my birthday." He lifted his wrist and brought it closer to his face so he could see his watch in the darkened room, "At least it is, in a couple of hours. I'll be double digits, thirty-three. How old are you?"

Carly giggled, enjoying his sense of humor. "I'll be double digits in a few months."

"Damn, you're a baby," Dan chuckled. "You're a dish, but you're still a baby."

Looking at the man out of the corner of her eye, she picked up her drink, took a sip, and nodded about the taste of the whiskey, before she asked, "A dish, huh?"

"What? You're looking for compliments?"

"Not really, but I guess every female likes to know the way they look appeals to a man."

"You appeal, honey, oh yes, you appeal," Dan nodded, acknowledging his own comment and the bump of his growing erection, hoping the darkened room did not allow her to see too clearly. "I thought my brother had finally gotten it right, for a change."

"What do you mean, for a change?" Carly asked as she half-turned to face Dan, and leaned against the corner of the couch. She was beginning to relax in Dan's company. He hadn't made any sudden moves, was being hospitable, and she had discovered she liked him, for his sense of humor, if nothing else. He was certainly better than the drunken idiot she had left at the banquet. She tried to ignore the fact that he was the kind of man that usually attracted her attention, tall, dark, intense, and handsome.

"Let's see," Dan looked up at the ceiling, which caused Carly to do the same. Now that her eyes were better adjusted to the available light, she liked the lack of lighting in the room. A faint light from the room behind them barely showed a warm wood grain in the panels of the ceiling and walls, and the elegantly framed paintings and other furnishings in the room. It occurred to her that she had been mistaken; this was a private living room, rather than a club. However, she turned her attention back to him when he began to talk, "Once, there was a stupid parachute jump out of an airplane. That turned my stomach up, over, and then down. I threw up when I landed and I've never been able to walk onto an airplane since then, unless I am liberally medicated." He lifted his drink indicating his favorite medication.

Carly laughed for a moment, but admitted, "I don't think I could do that. Jump out of an airplane, I mean."

Dan agreed, "Yeah, I'll never try that again." He put his drink on the table beside him and turned his head to look at her as he talked, "Another time, there was a deep sea fishing trip. I was sea sick the whole time, turned green, and urped up my toenails. Likewise, I don't get near water any deeper than my shower."

Carly could not resist laughing at his description. Much as she would have done for a child, she put her hand on his cheek and spoke quietly, "Poor baby, it sounds like birthdays are not always happy days for you."

Dan lifted his head, leaned over and kissed her quickly and softly on the lips, "Is that going to cost me extra?"

Carly's fingers went up to soothe the tingle on her lips as she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"If it isn't going to cost me extra, then I'm going to do it again, but this time, I'm going to enjoy it." He lifted his hand, put it at the back of Carly's neck, and pulled her forward for a soft, very thorough, kiss while his other hand was sliding down her back as far as her waist, encouraging her to move a little closer to him.

Then he let go of her, picked up his drink, and asked, "Now, where was I?"

"You were telling me about your brother's strange birthday gifts."

"Ah hell, I'm tired of me. It's your turn to tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?"

"Let's see, where you were born, through the first time you were kissed, and include what you were doing tonight when you got on the wrong elevator."

"That sounds like you want my life history."

"Yeah, that's enough, to start with."

As they talked, he removed his jacket and talked Carly into taking off her shoes. A short time later, he loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. They laughed, he refilled their drinks, and Carly moved farther down into the corner of the couch. Her head rested on the arm and she crossed her ankles then tucked her feet behind him. Eventually he removed the heavy cufflinks from his wrists and rolled his shirtsleeves up a couple of turns.

She discovered he was the General Manager of the hotel. After a quick phone call down to the front desk, a server retrieved Carly's evening bag from the banquet room. When the front desk called to let him know they had her bag, he hung up after saying, "No calls."

Occasionally he checked his watch, once saying she had forty-seven minutes before she would need to wish him a proper happy birthday. In seemed like such a short while later that Dan stood and commented that it was a few minutes to midnight. He walked across the room and moved behind the bar, picked up a bottle of champagne, and began the ritual of opening the wire holding the cork in place.

"Hey," Dan motioned to Carly to come over to the bar. "You gotta come help me celebrate my birthday."

While Carly walked across the room to watch, he opened the bottle, both of them laughing as the cork sailed across the room. He placed the opened bottle on the bar and put two champagne flutes beside it. Dan walked around to the front of the bar, poured two glasses of the bubbling wine, and put his wrist on the bar, as they leaned over to watch the second hand on his wristwatch.

At five seconds before midnight, they lifted their champagne glasses, entwined their arms, and chuckled about how cheesy the gesture was, but enjoyed it just the same. After a sip of the delicious wine, Dan took Carly's glass and placed it on the bar with his own, and then pulled her into his arms.

"Wish me Happy Birthday," he said and before she could do so, he was bending his head to kiss her.

His mouth trailed across her cheek, down her neck, and across her collarbone. As his lips moved the softly gathered material of her evening gown off her shoulder, his hands moved down her back, slowly lowering the short zipper at her waist.

Dan lifted his head to whisper in her ear, "Now I can unwrap my birthday gift." He pulled the dress off her other shoulder.

Before Carly could think, react, or speak, the dress slithered to pool at her feet, leaving her absolutely naked. He caught her hands before she could cover herself, holding her arms away from her sides.

"OH!" Carly only managed one sound as she tried to twist away, before Dan had his arms around her and he was kissing her again. He held her tightly, preventing her movement. A moment later, she had no wish to escape as his mouth sucked on her lower lip. His tongue scraped across the sharp edges of her teeth and gently touched the tip of her tongue.

When he let her go, she started to bend to pick up her clothing, but Dan moved a step forward to stand on top of her evening gown. "I like you better like this," Dan's voice rumbled inside the darkened room as he ran the backs of his fingers across the top of her breasts, wishing he could see well enough to know if chills formed on her skin.

"Dan, please." Carly's voice vibrated as she crossed her arms and rubbed her hands up and down her upper arms as if she was suddenly chilled.

As if he had not heard her, he opened another button at the top of his shirt and then pulled the shirt out of his pants, grasped both sides and ripped the shirt open, buttons pinging around the room as they landed. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled the shirt off, putting it around Carly and helping her put her arms in the long sleeves.

"Is that better?" He asked as one finger trailed down from the soft spot at the base of her neck, between her breasts, brushed through the dent of her belly button, and then drew a soft circle through the closely trimmed pubic hair of her mound.

"Dan?" Carly looked at the man, his dark eyes looking down as his finger moved back up to her neck, until he cupped her chin in his hand.

"You don't want to be my birthday present?"

"Yes ... I mean, no ... but..." Carly stuttered and tilted her head toward the table behind them. "I'm not that kind of..." she shook her head, unable to find the words she wanted to say.

"I know you aren't. It was stupid, but I didn't want to let you leave." Holding her chin, he leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Will you please help me celebrate my birthday?"

Carly nodded then whispered, "Yes, I would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday." She placed her hands on the top of his bare chest and slowly moved them downward until they rested on his belt. Her hands trembled as she opened the buckle, the button, and slowly unzipped his pants, before dropping to her knees, taking his pants down with her.

"Carly, you don't..."

"Please," she interrupted him. "I've only tried this once, but I want to give..." and then she did not speak as she held his pants for him to step out of and then did the same for his boxers. He watched her as she carefully removed his socks and ran her hands up and down his lower legs. Then she moved her hands up the front of his thighs touching him slowly, in a caressing way, in no hurry, watching her hands as they moved over him, his erection swaying slowly above her. She finally moved her hands upward, grasped his cock in one hand, and held it as she licked off a bubble of precum and swirled her tongue in her mouth, a surprised smile coming and going across her face. Then her mouth closed over the head, the heat of her mouth sending a chill across his shoulders and down his spine as she slowly began to suck on his cock. Her movements were tentative and slow as if she was getting used to the feel of him in her mouth.

"Oh God, oh mercy," he breathed as his knees bent slightly before he once again straightened up as her other hand slid between his thighs and turned to cup his balls. It was a glorious feeling, her warm mouth gently taking more and more of his cock in as her tongue swirled over the swollen head then back and forth across the sensitive spot on the underside. Dan trembled as Carly's hand slowly massaged his scrotum, gently pressing her thumb between his balls, moving it from side to side, and softly across each ball, tentatively exploring him.

Her mouth slid back and forth, causing Dan to groan and grit his teeth, until she drew her head all the way back, leaving his cock wet and glistening with her saliva and her lips pursed around the swollen purple glans. Dan looked down, watching Carly run her tongue around the head and turn to the side to do the same to the rounded ridge on each side, and then taking him deeper into her mouth as she continued to move her head back and forth. She was not moving quickly, it was a slow erotic discovery of the size and shape of him.

Finally, over the initial intense feel of her mouth, Dan was slowly realizing what Carly had said right before she engulfed his cock. She said she had only tried this once before. Two hours of watching this enticing young woman had left him with a raging erection that barely subsided before he was painfully hard again. He knew he was not going to last long, but he did not want to draw this out, either. He wanted her in his bed, his mouth on hers, his cock in her, her legs wrapped around him, and his arms wrapped around her.