Kieran leaned down and kissed Emma’s head. He stood up and handed her over to Carrick. “I’ll go pack now.”
Ava set her cup down and walked up to Kieran. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Good luck Kieran. I have all the confidence in the world in you.”
Kieran gave her a quick squeeze, clapped Carrick on the back and headed back to his apartment to pack.
Kieran hated New York City. It was loud, bright and it smelled. There were too many people and the sky was blocked by the tall buildings. He rarely came here, unless it was to buy clothes. Again, no apologies for his desire to always look fashionable.
Ava had indeed known a contact for Annika. Word had been passed back and forth to set up a meeting and Annika was supposed to meet him at a nightclub called Itch in downtown Manhattan. Why in the world someone would name a club
Itch
was beyond him. He supposed people went there to do some scratching.
And here he now sat, at
Itch
, waiting for Annika to arrive.
He decided to dress in understated elegance. He was wearing flat waisted, black dress pants and a lightweight charcoal gray sweater that molded to his frame. Black Ferragamos and a platinum watch were his only other accessories.
Sitting at the bar, nursing a beer, he watched the people bumping and grinding on the dance floor under swirling electric lights. He’d been waiting for Annika for half an hour and had already been propositioned a half dozen times by women asking him to dance. He politely declined all of them but made mental note of a gorgeous blonde he wanted to hook up with later. He bought her a drink so she would know he was interested. She sat a few tables away and kept batting her eyelashes at him.
Kieran glanced at his watch. He would give Annika another five minutes then he was heading out. Hopefully with the blonde on his arm.
Taking another sip of beer, Kieran watched in the mirror behind the bar as a huge man approached him from the rear. The guy was monstrously packed with muscle and was easily Kieran’s height, although he couldn’t be sure since he was sitting on a barstool. His skin was black as ebony and his head was bald. He sported a ring pierced through his upper lip and as he got closer, Kieran noticed his eyes were light green.
Interesting but weird.
Kieran tensed slightly, not knowing the man’s intent. His eyes were bland and revealed no clue as to what he might want.
He came to stand beside Kieran, who turned his head casually to face him. The man reached his hand out and said, “I’m Marcus.”
Kieran accepted the handshake. “Nice to meet you, Marcus. I hope you’re not gay. I don’t swing that way. But I have all the respect in the world if you do.”
Marcus gave an amused smile, flashing straight white teeth. His grip was firm and Kieran had no doubt this guy could crush his bones if he wanted to.
“I’m here on behalf of Annika. She sends her apologies but she can’t make it tonight.”
Kieran cursed under his breath. “Did she say when she might be able to meet with me?” His words were said through clenched teeth.
Inconsiderate brat.
Marcus nodded. “She said she’ll meet you at your hotel bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“That’s it? Just ‘bright and early’?”
Marcus shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Women!”
Kieran sighed. “Thanks, Marcus. Can I buy you a drink?”
“No thanks, dude. I’m on duty. Have a good one.”
Kieran watched Marcus walk across the dance floor then he was lost in the sea of dancers. Kieran glanced at his watch again. Time to go find the blonde and see if they could make an early getaway. Tipping his beer back, he finished it in a few swallows. As he set it down, he glanced again in the mirror behind the bar and noticed a stunning red-head walking up behind him. The blonde could wait.
Kieran watched as the woman approached. Her hair was a burnished red and hung in loose waves past her shoulders. She had bangs cut straight and severe across her forehead, which lead him to look at her eyes. Crystal green and popping in the electric light display from the dance floor.
She was sinfully dressed in a tight, black mini-dress that showcased miles of leg. Kieran noticed she wasn’t walking toward him but rather to the empty stool to his right. As she sat down, Kieran dragged his gaze from the mirror and turned his head to look at her. He flashed a mega wattage smile at her and she returned it. Yes, the blonde was forgotten.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Kieran asked. He watched as she crossed her long legs, appraising him with those glowing green eyes.
“I would love it. I’ll have a dirty martini.”
Kieran signaled to the bartender and ordered up the martini and another beer for himself.
“I’m Kieran,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
She placed her hand in his to shake it, but he brought her hand up for a light kiss across her knuckles.
“I’m Ashley,” she stammered, clearly caught off guard by the kiss. Her cheeks flushed and Kieran thought it was adorable.
“Well Ashley, tonight is my lucky night. I seem to be talking to the loveliest lady in here.”
Ashley blushed again but seemed to find some of her wit. “I seriously doubt that, but if you want to tell me that again anytime soon, I’ll be more than happy to listen.”
Kieran chuckled. He loved a woman with humor. It would be a good night. The bartender brought their drinks and Kieran watched as Ashley took a dainty sip. Her lips were pouty and smooth. What those things could do to him he could only imagine.
“Thank you for the drink.”
“My pleasure.”
“So, Kieran, what do you do?”
“I work for the government. Acquisitions.”
True enough.
“Sounds interesting. So what do you acquire?”
“Whatever the government tells me,” he returned evasively. Then he leaned in toward her and said in a low, warning voice, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Ashley laughed. She had a full throated laugh that was sexy as hell. “Yeah, I’ve never heard that line before.”
“Well, please don’t tell me I’ve bombed out with you over that one lame line. I swear I have better material.”
Ashley took another sip from her drink and appraised him over her glass. “I tell you what… how about we dance and I’ll see if your moves on the floor are any better than at the bar.”
She set her glass down and grabbed his hand, leading him to the dance floor. Kieran couldn’t help but admire the way her black dress molded to her ass. Looking down her legs, he noticed she was wearing black stiletto heels with huge buckled leather straps wrapped around her ankles.
Damn that was sexy.
Turning to Kieran once they made it through the throng of dancers, Ashley wrapped her arms around Kieran’s neck and molded her body to his. Those kick-ass stilettos brought her head to the top of his shoulders. Luckily, there was a slow techno beat playing that allowed Kieran and Ashley to need to do nothing more than seductively sway back and forth. Kieran brought his arms around Ashley, one hand resting on the middle of her back and the other on her lower back. His thumbs brushed back and forth.
“So, what do you do for a living, Ashley?”
“I’m a prostitute.”
Kieran actually released Ashley in shock and took a small step back, but then saw that her face was covered with a big grin. He grabbed back hold of her and brought her in close.
“Little liar,” he whispered playfully against her ear.
Chuckling now, Ashley turned her face up to his. “No, seriously, I’m about as far from a prostitute as you can get. I’m a librarian.”
“Really?” Kieran was clearly surprised.
“Shocking, right? But yes, I am a high school librarian, and proud of it.”
Kieran leaned down, putting his lips against her ear again and murmured, “Well, you’re a very sexy librarian. Throw a pair of horned rimmed glasses on right now and I would be completely at your mercy.”
Kieran felt Ashley shudder against him and pulled her a little tighter. Looking down at her, he found her returning his stare. His gaze skimmed down to her mouth. It was parted and moist. He couldn’t resist. He leaned in for a soft kiss and found her mouth accommodating. Pressing in further, he slid his tongue into her mouth and felt a moan vibrate in her throat. He leisurely explored her mouth while caressing her back with his hands. He felt her hands reach up and fist in his hair. Damn, but she was responsive which was causing him to be responsive. It wouldn’t be long before he was sporting a raging hard-on.
As much as he was enjoying the dance, it was time to blow this joint. He needed to broach this right with her. First Dimension women had more hang-ups when it came to casual sex. She was sexy as hell but hey, she was a librarian. A very confusing combination indeed. Before Kieran could think of what to say, he felt Ashley pull back from their kiss and lean her mouth up to his ear.
“Let’s blow this joint and go back to your place.”
Woman. Of. My. Dreams.
Kieran couldn’t believe how quickly they seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. And she used the same exact words he was thinking. There was definitely a connection there.
Kieran gave Ashley a huge smile and pressed a small kiss to her lips. Releasing her, he grabbed her hand and led her off the dance floor, through the crowd. He noted the blonde he had bought the drink for shooting daggers at Ashley with her eyes.
Oh well.
Exiting the nightclub, Kieran was able to quickly hail a cab. He opened the door for Ashley and climbed into the backseat beside her. He told the cabbie he was staying at the Mandarin Oriental and settled back for the ride. He turned to look at Ashley and picked up her hand. Casually stroking the back of it with this thumb, he found he wanted to know more about her.
“What was a beautiful, smart and sexy librarian doing in a nightclub by herself?”
“Just blowing off a little steam. Believe it or not,” she looked at him with seriousness all over her face, “library work is full of stress.”
“Really? I never would have guessed.” Kieran gave her a mock look of surprise.
“I know, right? People always underestimate the perils of being a book monitor. But making sure that books are checked out properly and late fees collected can really raise the blood pressure.”
Kieran gave a chuckle. This Ashley was really a delight. He was sure he’d remember her name in the morning. Kieran may enjoy the beds of many women, but he truly treasured a lady that was smart and witty. Too bad he wouldn’t be hanging out in New York very long. She was definitely proving to be someone he could see himself dating more than a few times. Plus, she was smoking hot.
They made small talk for the rest of the ride. Well, he mostly made her talk. She was originally from New York and loved the city life. She actually had not intended to be a high school librarian, but having a bachelor’s degree in English didn’t leave her with a lot of job options. She was planning to pursue her master’s degree in the Fall. Before he knew it, they had arrived at Kieran’s hotel.
After paying the cabbie, Kieran exited the cab and helped Ashley out. He couldn’t help but admire those lovely legs as she gracefully stepped out of the cab.
“Nice hotel,” Ashley commented. “Government acquisitions must pay well.”
“I do alright for myself,” Kieran replied smoothly.
They walked hand in hand up to his suite. Kieran was hoping that there would be no sense of awkwardness, seeing as how they really had met just a little over an hour ago. But Ashley seemed confident and sure of herself.
Opening the door, Kieran stepped in and turned on the lights. He turned to Ashley to offer her a drink but found her right behind him. She reached up with both hands and brought his face down to his. She laid a scorching kiss on him and his arms wrapped around her waist of their own volition, pulling her body tight to his. Kieran was surprised. He figured he would need to continue his seduction over drinks and more talk. He was not prepared for Ashley to take the lead. But he was not one to argue either.
Kieran let Ashley lead the kiss for a while but then he took over. Reaching down, he grabbed her under her ass and lifted her up. Her legs automatically went around his waist and locked herself on by crossing her ankles. Kieran angled his head to be able to kiss her more deeply and he was triumphant to get a deep groan from her. He was so going to enjoy leading her toward pleasure.
But then she surprised him again by pulling back from his kiss and moving her mouth down his neck. She licked and nibbled her way across his jaw, down his neck and back up again. Reaching his earlobe, she nipped him and it caused a jolt of lust to shoot straight down to his groin. His erection lengthened and using the grip on her ass, he pressed her hard against it. The contact was amazing and Kieran growled in response.
He quickly walked into the bedroom, still holding Ashley locked around his waist. Reaching the edge of the bed, he leaned over and laid her in the middle, nestling his body in between her legs. Rubbing his erection up against her, he felt her hips move against him reflexively. He leaned his mouth down again to claim a kiss. Their tongues dueled, hot and wet.
She engaged in the kiss for just a few seconds, and then once again, caught him off-guard. With surprising confidence, Ashley pushed him back off of her and urged him to roll on his back. Apparently librarians needed to have a certain amount of force to deal with all the pressures they faced. As he fell to his back, she rolled right with him and straddled his groin.
Her dress hiked up to the very tops of her thighs and he wondered what type of underwear she had on. Five minutes ago, he would have guessed bikini. Now he was thinking thong. His hands were itching to smooth that dress upwards and find out but she scooted back out of his reach and started working at his belt buckle.
Laying back and watching her, Kieran marveled at how adept her fingers were. She had the belt unbuckled and removed quickly. She moved backwards off the bed and took his shoes and socks off. She ran a fingernail lightly up the instep of his right foot and Kieran jerked back reflexively. He was a little ticklish. So what? He didn’t think it in any way detracted from his manliness.
He saw a grin curve her mouth upwards and realized her really liked her smile. He also realized, they had not said a single word to each other since they entered the room. Right now, she was staring hungrily at his pants zipper and the look caused him to harden even more.
“Ashley.”
Her eyes snapped to his and he saw they were literally sizzling in their intensity.
“No talking.”
Kieran raised his eyebrows but kept his mouth shut.
Still standing at the end of the bed, Ashley reached out with her hands and ran them up his thighs. As she bent forward with the movement, he saw her full breasts swaying within the neckline of her dress. Reaching his hips, she made short work of his button and zipper. Then she slid his pants and briefs off of him in one smooth move. His erection sprang free and he thought he would die when he watched her lick her lips while looking at him.
“Sit up and take your shirt off. I want to see all of you.” Her voice was husky and filled with desire.
Kieran didn’t need to be asked twice. He quickly shed his sweater and leaned back on his elbows. He held his breath while he watched Ashley’s eyes rove all over his body. He seriously couldn’t remember a woman ever looking at him with such fascination and hunger. For the first time, he was glad he put so much work into his physique. It was beyond hot to see a woman appreciate his efforts.
His erection lay heavy on his stomach and he was coiled with tension waiting to see what she did next. And he waited, because there was no doubt in his mind that Ashley wanted to run the show tonight. He normally didn’t like ceding dominion in the bedroom but he was beyond mesmerized by her at this point. She could have lit him on fire and he probably wouldn’t have cared.
Ashley kneeled on the end of the bed and crawled her way up his legs. She never took her eyes off his cock, intent in her purpose. Reaching her destination, she lightly palmed his erection, skimming her hand up and down. Then she leaned over and slowly licked the head of his shaft, circling her tongue around the top. Kieran felt his hips surge up, silently asking her for more.
And she didn’t disappoint. She took him in deeply and Kieran nearly bit a hole in his tongue the pleasure was so great. Still leaning on his elbows, he watched her head bob up and down on him, taking him all the way to the back of her throat. He couldn’t stop himself. His hips started thrusting up and down. He was going to come hard if she didn’t stop.
“Ashley, slow down.”
Pulling her mouth away, Ashley looked at him and gave him a devious grin. Kieran waited to see what she would do. She was full of surprises tonight and he was quite sure she had something else up her sleeve. Pulling up, she placed her palms on her own thighs then grabbed the hem of her dress. She slowly eased it up her thighs and Kieran watched its progress, eager to know whether she sported the thong he suspected.
Sliding it up over her hips, Kieran about swallowed his tongue when he saw she wasn’t wearing any underwear. His eyes fixated on the gorgeous crop of copper curls between her thighs. But then she moved the dress up her stomach, and over her breasts, he got sidetracked as he found she wasn’t wearing a bra either. Her breasts were full and round, her nipples already hardened.
With a quick flip of her hands, the dress was free and she flung it to the floor. Shaking her auburn locks free to settle around her shoulders, Kieran was staring at perhaps the most perfect female body he’d ever seen. Her stomach was flat and her hips flared slightly. He watched as she moved forward to straddle him. It was then that he noticed she was still wearing those killer stiletto heels and had no intention of taking those off.
Fuck, that was hot.
Ashley reached her hands down and laid them on his stomach. She smoothed her palms upwards in a surprisingly soft and non-sexual way up to his chest and that actually turned him on more than if she had blatantly fondled him. It was then that he realized he had hardly touched her.
For the first time in his life that he could remember, he had just laid back and let a woman do all of the work. He had been so hypnotized by what she was doing, he had not reciprocated in anyway. That was very un-Kieran like. He was always a considerate lover. The type of man that would always bring a woman to an orgasm before he would even consider having one of his own. Almost ashamed of himself, his hands reached out to run up her legs but she actually slapped them away.
That surprised the shit out of him. Kieran looked up at her face and he saw something that he would bet reflected on his face most of the time he was in the throes of passion. Lust, dominance, pride. Who would have thought this would come from his little school librarian?
Hands still on his chest, she flexed her fingers and dug her nails in. Not enough to draw blood but enough to draw a moan from him and cause his hips to flex upwards again. Giving a throaty laugh, Ashley reached her hand back to one of her stilettos and he watched as she pulled a foiled condom packet from underneath the thick leather strap.
That was handy! Shoes with built in condom holders
.
Ashley put the packet in her teeth and pulled with her hand, ripping the package open. She deftly removed the condom and placed it over his erection, slowly rolling it down his length. Then she settled over him. Kieran felt her enclose over the tip and marveled at the hot wetness he felt. He hadn’t done more than kiss her but she was slick and ready with invitation. He watched as she slowly sank on to him, and watched her eyes close in rapture.
With determination, she began a steady pace, pushing up and down again with fluid strokes. Little mewling noises started pouring from her lips and willing to take another hand slapping, Kieran grabbed ahold of her hips to help push her up and down. And then he was lost to sensation, just as he knew Ashley was. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the feel of her tight core working him over. His breaths grew shallow as she pumped up and down.
Opening his eyes again, he watched mesmerized as she raised her hands and gathered her hair up to the top of her head, and let it spill back down again. Red fire. Her breasts bobbed up and down with her motions and he didn’t think he’d ever seen a more tempting sight. He watched her eyelids flutter as if they couldn’t decide whether to stay open or closed.
Ashley picked up her pace. He could tell she was close to tipping over and he was right there with her. Smoothing one hand over her stomach, he moved down and rubbed over the top of her sensitive flesh with this thumb. The No Touching rule fully breached, Ashley’s eyes flew open to look down at him and he rubbed her harder. Her head lolled backwards and he literally could see her orgasm ripple through her body.
She let out a cry, grabbing on to his hand and pushing it harder against her. The mere act of her needing something from him finally sent him over the edge, causing his climax to fire through his body. He let out a bark of a moan and then Ashley collapsed on top of him.
They stayed that way for several minutes while their breathing calmed down. Kieran stroked his hands up and down her spine. Neither of them said a word. Kieran was dumbfounded actually. He had never had a woman take such utter and complete control over his body, and he couldn’t believe he actually let her. He’d gotten immense pleasure too. This little librarian was quite intriguing. He really hated to have to leave her in the morning but the needs of his people always came above all else.
Easing out of her, he removed the condom and threw it in the waste basket beside the bed. She rolled over onto her stomach and within minutes was sleeping. Lying on his back, he closed his eyes. Yes, he would hate to say goodbye to her tomorrow.