His teeth pull at the nipple hidden beneath the fabric of my dress.
“Is there a camera in here?” I moan, thinking of Aunt Brook.
“I forgot.” He moves his lips up my neck. “You like it kinky.”
He pushes me further into the elevator wall. I hook a leg around his waist and press against him, reeling from the sensation of his mouth against my ear. The security guards in the lobby downstairs are having a good show. I distinctly remember seeing a camera bank in the little room behind the desk. I just hope our escalating foreplay doesn’t make it onto YouTube.
I run a hand up his back and grab his hair, forcing him closer. His hips grind against me and my belly jumps at the contact. Alex fondles my breast as his lips work their way back to my mouth for a blistering kiss. My heart’s going a mile a minute. It’s amazing how something so wrong can feel so right.
The elevator chimes and Alex pushes away from me roughly. I pull my dress down, for all the good it does. Anyone on the other side of these doors would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to notice Alex’s raging erection and my stubble-burned cleavage. Thankfully, the hallway is vacant. He grabs my hand, bringing it up to his lips for a quick kiss then pulls me down the hall after him. The high rise is luxurious. Green and gold paisley wallpaper glows elegantly beneath French-inspired lamp sconces.
Alex stops at the third door down and searches his pockets for keys. The momentary lapse in foreplay gives me a moment’s pause. What am I doing here? I know he wants me, but for how long? He either can’t or won’t explain what kept him from coming to me sooner and I’m smart enough to know that spells trouble. It would be better to cut and run now then wind up brokenhearted later.
“No.” His voice disrupts my thoughts.
“Alex…” I take a step back.
He moves toward me and I step away against his advance. My back meets the wall.
“I know what you’re thinking. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
From almost the first moment I’ve been amazed at how well this man reads me. It’s not transparency, he isn’t looking through me; he understands me. Right now, he might understand me better than I understand myself. I’m afraid to want this. Too afraid of what will happen tomorrow.
His head dips and his lips meet mine in an achingly gentle kiss. I try to put all of my questions into the kiss. Can I trust him?
Alex kisses me deeply, lulling me into complacency. He pulls back and I grudgingly open my eyes to look and see where he’s gone and why he dared to stop doing such lovely things to my mouth. He reaches out, pulling me forward through his open front door, never taking his gaze from me. The apartment smells clean but spicy, like him. I want to look around but I can’t bring myself to break our connection.
He takes each step by memory, turning to his left and pulling me down a long hallway. At the last door on the right, he pulls me in. I see a king-sized bed with a fluffy blue duvet in my periphery. He doesn’t stop until the backs of his legs come in contact with the mattress, and he draws me to him.
Fingers graze the softness of my cheek. “I dreamt of you here,” he says.
I forget to breathe.
Alex turns me toward the bed and eases me back onto its comfort. Above me, he removes his jacket, pulling the shirt from the waistband of his pants.
“Take off the boots,” he commands.
I bend one leg, then the other, dropping each boot to the floor. They land softly on the plush rug by his bed. His shirt unbuttoned, he carefully pulls his arms out of the sleeves and tosses it. His chest dips and expands with muscles a rich guy’s got no business having. The sight of it sets me panting.
Alex’s breathing is controlled and even. “Sit up. Take off your dress.”
I scoot back a bit, using my palms to push upright. Last time we were together, I dictated how the night would play out. It seems this time he’s determined to have control. His domineering tone makes me wet.
I grab the dress at the hem and pull it to the top of my thighs. I have to shimmy to get it over my hips. He pulls at the erection outlined against his pants as my plain white bra comes into view. I drop the dress over the edge of the bed and wait for further instructions.
Alex removes his belt, a long piece of black leather. “Remember this?” He waves it in front of me.
Oh yes. I remember. I tied him up with it so I could win our little game of who could hold out longer. My mistake was to untie him before he’d been fully sated. As soon as his bonds were removed, he used that belt to a very wicked end.
I nod and watch as it falls to the ground. The buckle clangs loudly on the hardwood floor.
“I want to see your breasts.”
I can’t hear it, but the metal teeth of his zipper taunts me as he slips it down, inch by inch. Alex’s eyes flicker to my neck. I wonder if he can see my heartbeat there. It’s beating wildly. Reaching back, I grip the clasp on my bra and unhook it. My breasts weigh the fabric down. The stiff material scrapes against the tender skin of my arms as I draw it off of me. His eyes feed on the exposed flesh. I shiver, nearly beside myself with excitement.
His pants and boxers fall noiselessly. His penis is long and thick, just as I remember. I reach out to touch, but he shakes his head slowly. “Lay down.”
The duvet is cold from the air conditioning and I arch my back in surprise. A sharp hiss meets my ears. I need to feel something, anything, or I’ll burst. I raise my hands to my breasts, wanting to massage them, but he tells me to stop.
“I want to be the first one to touch them,” he says.
I lie and wait.
“Spread your legs. Bend your knees.”
I’m hot and coiling with lust. Spreading my legs to the cool air sends a current of need rippling through me. Alex places a knee on the bed between my legs.
“Be still.”
I don’t know how he can sound so controlled. I’d burst into tears but having already done that once before, I worry he’ll think I’m unbalanced.
He bends his head over my belly. My muscles tremble in anticipation. His eyes blaze a scorching path from my navel to the crotch of my cotton panties.
“I dreamt of you here.” His mouth descends, hot and eager, over my core.
I want to fist my hands in his hair but he told me to be still. I moan and crumple the bedcover beneath each hand. His breath is impossibly hot over the wet cotton. Strong hands reach around my thighs and pull my legs further apart. Alex’s teeth bite the useless material and drag it across my labia, nicking my clitoris. I buck up, unable to obey his command. His hands force my hips back down.
With the cotton barrier moved aside, he delves, teases, and devours. One of his hands leaves me and I whimper. When his fingers spread me open so his tongue can lap that most sensitive part of me, my whimper turns into a scream.
I tug the bedspread from around me. The urge to grab his head and position him where I want is nearly irresistible. His movements aren’t gentle. He knows how much I can handle. Two fingers push their way inside to prepare me. The last bed I shared was with him, and my orgasm’s been building steadily for what feels like two years. His tongue runs aggressively up and down as his fingers reach deep. He uses his thumb to rub out a tight circular pattern against me and I feel like a pane of glass that’s cracking under pressure.
It’s the sounds that drive me to the end. The rapidity of his breathing, my own anguished gasps, the drum of his hand against my flesh… I shatter, moaning throatily as my neck arches back. My interior walls convulse around his fingers. His thumb stills and he soothes the stimulated nub with gentle lips.
As I come down, he removes his hand. His fingers are wet as he pulls my panties down my legs. He drags himself up the length of my body. My eyes are closed. My brain directing all sensory function to touch. Alex kisses my jaw and works his way to my chin. Breathing becomes easier as my body melts with spent bliss.
His breath tickles my ear. “Don’t go anywhere.”
I barely register his words before he’s back, seated against me. His hand grazes me as he rolls on a condom. I want to tell him not to, that I want to feel him. All of him. But as I open my eyes he enters me, and I forget everything.
Our eyes lock. I reflexively pull my legs back as he buries himself deep inside. He’s so hard, so impossibly thick. My body tenses beneath him. His eyes watch every movement, watch for every trace of emotion. I hold him inside me like a vice and I see the question form on his lips. I break my promise to be still and wrap my arms around him, drawing him closer. The truth that neither of us have been with anyone else since our last night together feels too intimate, even for this moment.
I hold him close until he picks up a faster rhythm, then find his lips and run the tip of my tongue across his mouth. He responds with vigor, pushing harder against me as his mouth opens and his tongue sweeps across mine. I wrap my legs around his waist but it’s not close enough. I need to grind against him. I try a new position but his thrusts are too long and I can’t obtain the friction I need to reach my orgasm.
Sensing my need, Alex grabs one of the pillows lying on top of the cover. He pushes fully inside me then stops.
“Lift up.”
I follow his direction and he shoves the pillow beneath me, raising my pelvis. This time when he moves, the clitoral and g-spot stimulation instills a maddening euphoria within me. I moan my thank you into his shoulder before biting down against the powerful pleasure. Alex’s hips move faster, each thrust bringing me closer to another release. He recaptures my lips, winding a hand into my hair to keep me in place. The slap of his skin against mine is the only sound other than our labored breathing.
My nipples are pert and drag against his chest with every move. The only part of me not touching him is the skin of my stomach. I pull him down on top of me, desperate to feel every inch of him.
His thrusts become more erratic and he no longer almost leaves me before filling me again. The pace he’s set is fast and furious. He buries his face in my neck. I breathe deeply.
Alex drags one knee up and grunts, slamming me down into the mattress. His bed creaks beneath the strenuous exercise as I call out nonsense. One more thrust, two, three… My orgasm ricochets through me. A swell of wetness coats him. Alex makes a small, strangled noise then jerks his hips wildly. He holds me to him tightly, rocking back and forth until at last, he’s fulfilled.
He pulls back, his expression tender as he studies me. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” I pant, smiling at him. “Holy shit.”
His laugh catches him by surprise and I relish the feel of it passing through me. “Holy shit,” he agrees.
“I regret to inform you that I have neither ice cream nor pancakes.”
Alex stands, blessedly naked, in his bedroom doorway with a plate in his hands. I sit up beneath the covers and scoot over, taking the plate from him as he snuggles in next to me.
“This is your version of post sex food? Apples and cheese?” I look at him, disgusted.
“Truthfully, I thought about stopping at the store before dinner tonight. I know how fond you are of carb-loading after sex, but I didn’t want to jinx it.”
I tilt my head to the side and smirk at him. “Mmmm-hmmm.” The apples are sweet but I avoid the cheese, failing to suppress a giggle at his choice in post-sex food.
“What?” he asks, grinning.
“Cheese? Alex, that’s got to be the worst sex food imaginable.”
He points an apple slice at me. “What evidence do you have to support your claim?”
Oh, I forgot how much he likes to argue his case in bed. It’s the lawyer in him, I suppose. “Well, for one, cheese is stinky.”
“Not this cheese.”
I take a whiff. The white cheddar, while potent, is not stinky. “Alright, then how about this? Cheese can make you stinky.”
He bites his bottom lip, subduing his smile. “I think you just won your first case, counselor.” He takes the plate from my lap and places it on the nightstand. Turning back to me, he says, “How would you like to celebrate your victory?”
I let the sheet covering my chest fall, exposing my breasts. “Got any chocolate syrup?”
Alex’s mouth hangs open. “I really need to start eating more junk food.”
He reaches for me but I twist away from him, making him chase me across the bed. He captures both wrists, pinning them above my head. “Where do you think you’re going?”
My cheeks ache from smiling, but I can’t stop. I’m genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. So why is it that the recognition of a perfect moment always gets in the way of it continuing?
Every second he stares down at me, and doesn’t move forward to kiss me, my playfulness ebbs away.
Alex must notice the drop in my enthusiasm because he releases my wrists and scoops me up instead, guiding me to face him on my side.
“What is it?” he asks.
I draw an invisible C over his heart, unable to look him in the eyes.
“Charlie?”
I swallow thickly. “What’s going to happen tomorrow?”
Alex nuzzles closer to me. “Well, first I’m going to set up a booby-trap in the hallway to prevent you from running off again.”
I shake my head, not wanting to joke around. “I’m serious, Alex. What is this? Is it just one night or something more?”
He sighs against me. “What do you want it to be?” He kisses my forehead.
What I want may be more than he’s got to give, so I start off slow. “I like you.”
“I like you, too.”
“I mean…I really like you.” I raise my head back so I can see his face. At the restaurant his expression was closed off, guarded. Now he looks ready to be free of his secrets, so I press on. “I think I’d like to try and be together.”
He remains silent.
“But if that’s something you don’t want…”
I begin to lower my head but his hand catches my chin and lifts it back up. “Charlie, I--”
“No,” I shake my head, “I get it. I wasn’t expecting you to--”
“I want to be with you too.”
I search his face for the truth. “You do?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate, just stares unflinchingly back.