Hell, the alcohol was still talking. And I was happy about it, otherwise I wouldn’t be here, outside in the shadows, waiting to talk to a perfect stranger. Secretly hoping he would kiss me senseless and whisk me away to his bed.
I shivered.
The guy patted his friend’s shoulder, then turned his back and, hands shoved inside his jeans pockets and head low, he started walking away.
That was it? He was just leaving like that?
I waited until the R guy went back to his crew before jogging after his friend. When I thought I was within hearing distance, I stopped.
“So you’re leaving?” I asked, loud enough to be heard.
He turned to me, his eyes wide. His radiant, dark blue eyes were locked on mine. “Did I have another option?” The roughness in his voice brushed around me like a silky glove on my skin. I fought the urge to shiver. “It was leave on my own or be invited out.”
He was right. Even if he had wanted to stay, he wouldn’t have been allowed to. “Well, since I didn’t have an opportunity before, I came to say thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He looked over my shoulder, then around us. What was he looking for? “You should go back in now. After that show, I don’t think anyone will bother you anymore.”
At this moment, outside the club was way more interesting than inside. “I’m Rayna. What’s your name?”
Five seconds passed before he answered. Five seconds where his eyes locked on to mine, and the intensity of his gaze stole my breath. “Josh”
I bit my lip. “Why did you do it, Josh?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Why did you help me?” I felt bold, brave. Invincible. I took a step toward him. “I mean, if you had succeeded in getting that guy off me and you didn’t have to leave the bar, what would you have done next?”
“I don’t know.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “Obviously, I wanted to talk to you, but I had just fended that guy off you. I didn’t want to be like him.” This time, he took a step closer to me. “I would probably have introduced myself and kept close, though not too close, and hoped you gave me some kind of sign that you wanted me to get closer.”
One more step. Now only two feet separated his hot body from mine. I lifted my chin to stare into his eyes, hoping they conveyed the right message. “What signs?”
“Well, if you kept on dancing and looking at me every few seconds, if you smiled at me—” I smiled at him. He stared at my mouth for three seconds before continuing, “Chicks flip their hair when they want someone to notice them.” On cue, I flipped my hair. “If you licked your lips—” His eyes flicked back to my mouth. I didn’t waste the opportunity to lick my lower lip. I had to contain a satisfied smile when his eyes grew darker. “If you got too close to me.” I stepped right into his personal zone, bumping my feet into his and leaving only a couple inches between us. He groaned and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Come here,” he whispered, before pulling me flush against him and lowering his mouth to mine.
Tasting of beer, his lips were rough, moving rapidly and pressing hard. His tongue swept over my lips and I parted them for him. Taking my breath away, he explored my mouth, but it wasn’t a slow, gentle journey. It was rough and hard, as if he would drown if he slowed down.
I felt sexy, wanted, as if this stranger needed me to survive.
My hands moved of their own accord, plastering my palms against his chest. A happy sigh escaped my throat upon discovering that his chest had more muscles than I had expected. I slid my hands down and found out his abs matched his chest with a nice six—no, eight!—pack and that V that drove girls crazy. Me included.
My fingertips followed that V down, to the waist of his pants. I sneaked inside, grazing my fingertips on the warm skin above his underwear. He groaned and closed his hands around my wrists. Gently, he held my arms at my sides.
He brushed his lips across my cheek and whispered in my ear, “What are you trying to do?”
I wiggled my body, brushing against his bulging erection. “I think you know what I’m trying to do,” I whispered back.
He nicked the tip of my ear, making me shiver. “I want to hear you say it.”
I pulled back and stared into his bright blue eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”
***
Josh
I stared, a little shocked. I didn’t think she would actually invite me to go somewhere with her. Of course I had hopes of that. I had imagined undressing her since I first laid eyes on her. Nevertheless, that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t look like the type to leave bars with strangers.
The tequila and the beer took over.
Holding my hand, Rayna hailed a cab and rattled off an address to the driver. I didn’t pay attention because her hand had snaked down my stomach and found the waist of my pants again. This time, she didn’t try to get inside. Instead, she kept going down until she had cupped my increasing erection. I sucked in a breath and, despite always behaving in public, I pushed my hips toward her hand.
She leaned into me and gently bit my ear. Breathing hard, she played with my neck and ear. The little sounds she was making were enough to get me harder. That combined with her hand running up and down my length was driving me crazy.
I groaned, barely controlling myself. If we didn’t arrive somewhere soon, I wouldn’t be able to resist anymore. I would pull her down under me and fuck her right here, in the back of this cab.
I rested my hand over hers and pressed it harder.
“You like that?” she whispered.
Another groan ripped through my chest and I nodded.
Rayna stopped. I was about to complain, but then she reached for the button of my jeans. Eyes wide, I held my breath as she sneaked her hand inside my pants and closed it around me.
Something like a growl made its way through my lips.
“Hey!” the driver shouted. “You two are not gonna do anything in here. We’re almost home.”
With a mischievous smile, Rayna withdrew her hand and turned to look out the window.
Feeling rather alone and cold from the absence of her touch, I closed my zipper and button, and adjusted myself. My massive hard-on didn’t leave me much room to be comfortable, though.
Soon after, the taxi stopped in front of an elegant building in the Upper West Side. Rayna reached for her purse, but I paid the cabbie before she could pull out her wallet. With a smile, she exited the taxi and walked to the building’s front door. She fished keys from her purse and unlocked the door, pushing it back, giving me space to come in.
For a brief moment, I paused. What was I doing? Taking advantage of this girl? That was why I had tackled that guy off her. I had done it because he was a jerk and didn’t deserve to be near such a beautiful girl. A beautiful girl who was leaning against the door right now, her hands on her hips, sliding them suggestively up her waist and under her breasts, all while giving me a fucking come-hither look.
Shit. What man could resist that?
Once more I blamed the alcohol in my veins as I walked to her, wrapped my arm around her waist, kicked the door closed with my foot, and pressed the elevator button. The elevator’s door opened one second later and I pushed her in. The doors closed again and I pressed her against the mirrored back wall.
And then I kissed her. I kissed her hard and deep, savoring her sweet taste. On the dance floor, she had looked amazing, but now here with me, she felt so much more than that. Her lips were soft against mine, and her tongue brushed mine tentatively, enticing me to do more, to show her more.
My mouth wandered from her mouth to her chin, and I bit the soft spot between her shoulder and neck. She threw her head back and moaned, digging her nails on my shoulders. Holy shit, the sounds she made. They would be the death of me.
I grabbed her ass—her firm, round ass—and pulled her up. Immediately, her legs went around my waist. Her skirt rode up, giving me free access to her thighs—her toned thighs. Damn, did this girl spen
d all day at the gym?
She wiggled, adjusting against me, rubbing on me, making me even harder, if that was possible. Making me crazy.
I slipped my fingers between us and rubbed her through her panties. She moaned and her back arched. I moved my mouth from her shoulders to her cleavage, slowly dragging my tongue on the curve of her breasts while my finger inched under her panties. She shivered as I touched her center.
“You like that?” I repeated the same words she’d used on me in the taxi. There, we had been interrupted, but here … here, I intended to finish it.
Rayna half-nodded and half-moaned, an odd little sound that brought a smile to my lips. I loved seeing how far gone she could get with a simple touch. Christ, I wanted to see how she would be when I was done with her.
I slipped a finger inside her—she was so fucking wet—and she froze. For half a second, I worried I was hurting her, but then her hands tightened around my shoulders and she pulled me to her. I slipped a second finger inside her and rubbed her clit with my thumb. Whimpering, she ground her hips in rhythm with my hand.
It didn’t take long before I felt her body tensing, her hips shifting, her nails digging so hard into my skin I was sure she would draw blood. I knew she was close.
“Come for me,” I whispered before taking her mouth again. I kissed her even harder and deeper than before, extracting little moans out of her, moans that only incited me to do more. I increased the pressure from my thumb and thrust my fingers faster. “Come for me, babe,” I repeated.
Eyes closed, Rayna threw her head back, whimpered, tensed, and then broke into little trembles in my arms. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. She melted, her legs dropping down hard, and if I hadn’t had my arms around her, she would have fallen to the floor. I held her close to me with one arm around her and brushed back a strand of hair from her face.
“What floor?” I asked.
She blinked. “What?”
“Your apartment. What floor?”
“Oh.” She straightened her skirt. “Eighteenth.”
I turned to press the button that would finally get the elevator moving, when the doors opened.
***
Rayna
On instinct, I jumped three feet from Josh, who was calmly pressing the button to the eighteenth floor, and quickly checked my clothes before Mariah walked in the elevator. I sighed in relief.
“Rayna! Girlfriend!” she squealed. “You were out, girl. Good for you.” Mariah was twenty years old and lived in the building with her father and younger brother. She was always out partying. Her eyes wandered to Josh and she smiled. “Oh, and I see you have company.” She leaned into me and whispered, “He looks yummy.”
“I know,” I whispered back, knowing all too well that our words weren’t low enough and Josh could hear us. His eyes were locked on mine and I still saw the want there. The desire. No man had ever made me feel this beautiful, this sexy. I should have been self-conscious and embarrassed, but I wasn’t. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it wasn’t, but I was drunk on him. On the way he looked at me. On the way he touched me. On the way he made me feel. I couldn’t wait to get him to my bed and finish what we started.
“Well,” Mariah said, pressing the button to the thirteenth floor. “You know, next time you want to go out, let me know. I could definitely show you some great places to go.” She batted her eyelashes to Josh. “You too, handsome.”
Josh didn’t even acknowledge her. Still fixed on mine, his blue eyes grew darker. It made me shiver.
“Or not,” Mariah whispered. The door opened at her floor and she winked at me. “Have fun, girlfriend.”
I nodded, sure I was gonna have way more than just fun. “Later.”
The doors closed and, to my surprise, Josh didn’t move. He stayed on the other side of the elevator, undressing me with his eyes.
The elevator stopped at the eighteenth floor and I got out. Josh followed. I walked down the short corridor, stopping in front of the fifth and last door. With my keys, I unlocked the door and entered my dark apartment. I didn’t bother turning on the lights.
Josh stepped in and closed the door behind him. I took his hand in mine and pulled him past the dark living room, the dining room, down a hallway, and then into my bedroom.
Once inside, Josh didn’t waste time. He practically attacked me, taking my mouth with his. His hands worked to push my skirt down, and then he broke the kiss to pull my blouse over my head.
With a low growl, Josh pushed me onto the bed, but instead of joining me, he stepped back and looked at me. Just looked at me. His gaze traveled over every inch of my body, his blue eyes brewing like a storm. Once more I felt like I should be self-conscious and embarrassed, and once more I realized I didn’t have a reason to be. I liked the hunger in his eyes, the way they darkened while his whole stance changed, the way his jaw worked, the way he licked his lips as if I was the best meal he never had.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice husky. “Too damn beautiful.”
Slowly, he inched to the bed. Dipping his knees, one leg on each side of me, he leaned into me. He ran a finger up my body, sending a blazing fire wherever he touched—my thigh, my hip, my waist, the curve of my breast.
A moan slipped from my throat and I arched my back into his touch, amazed at how my body reacted to him.
Josh groaned, pulled the cup of my bra down, and closed his mouth around my breast. Crying out, I buried my hands in his hair as if to hold him there, because I would die if he moved his mouth away. He teased. He licked. He sucked. He drove me insane with pent up ecstasy. I needed more. I needed him.
“Please, do me,” I croaked, out of breath.
He groaned and lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine. The desire in them, the want … I shivered, anticipating the moment he was inside me. I couldn’t wait.
Then, beside us on the bed, his cell phone dinged. I hadn’t even seen him put it there. A new text had come in, but I couldn’t read it. Josh could. His brows formed a knot and he let out a loud breath.
“Shit,” he murmured.
“Something wrong?” I asked as he pocketed his phone. Why the hell would he pocket his phone if his pants were meeting the floor very, very soon? A chill swept over me when I realized Josh was backing off the bed. “What happened?”
His eyes clouded over and he ran his hand through his hair. “No,” he whispered, lowering his gaze. “This isn’t right.”
Then he left. He turned his back on me, opened my bedroom door, and raced out.
Chapter Four
Josh
I lay in my bed for hours, unable to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, Rayna was there. Dancing at the club, going after me outside, inviting me over, touching me in the cab, squirming in my arms in the elevator, lying in her bed, and trembling with my touch.
Fuck. I had wanted nothing more than to take her last night, to bury myself deep inside her, and to make her come again.
Fuck.
As much as she didn’t act like it, as much as she didn’t speak like it, I knew she was a nice girl, one who didn’t just sleep around with any guy. And I wasn’t a guy who took advantage of drunk girls.
If Diego, my best friend from back home, hadn’t sent me a text showing me a picture of my sister in a club—she had probably snuck out of the house and went out with her friends without permission—I would have screwed Rayna senseless.
Then I saw the photo of Sarah—sixteen years old, looking a little drunk, and out and around lots of guys who preyed on innocent girls and took them home as if they were recyclable soda cans. And I was acting just like those guys. Preying on an innocent girl who was clearly too intoxicated and acting out of character. Even if it was fun and hot and I wanted to take her all the way, it was wrong. I couldn’t do to another girl what I didn’t want to be done to my sister.
I hadn’t thought. I’d just acted. I’d run out of Rayna’s apartment and called Diego. He promised me he would carry Sarah home himself, an
d then call me back when she was inside the house. I had tried calling her too, but she was ignoring me. Oh, but she would hear from me. She would get an earful.
I sighed and closed my eyes.
And I saw Rayna again. The two of us on her bed, with her tight little body writhing under me.
Damn, sometimes I hated being the good guy.
When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about my sister being cornered by a guy much, much worse than me.
A couple of hours later, I woke up sweating and shaking, with a tremendous headache. I threw back my covers and stood, hating myself for having drunk too much. For my stupidity, I deserved the pain stabbing at my brain. Groaning with each step I took, I dragged myself to the shower.
After I was dressed and decent, I prepared coffee and took a Motrin to help with the pain.
I was sitting down to eat when Robbie walked out of his room.
“Hey, man. Good morning.” He strolled into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. I just groaned. He chuckled. “You came back late last night. Who was stupid enough to take you home, huh?” I groaned again. He was already too chipper this early on a Monday. It made the pain in my head that much worse. Robbie patted my shoulder. “That good, huh?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered.
With a wide smile, Robbie poured his coffee into a to-go mug and went back to his bedroom.
I inhaled the coffee in my hands, savoring the strong scent, and closed my eyes for a moment. And saw Rayna again. Holy shit. I had to forget about this girl already.
Talking about girls …
I pulled out my phone and dialed my sister’s number.
She answered on the second ring. “I knew you would call me.”
“You did? And why is that?” I feigned ignorance. I wanted her to confess her crimes.
“It was nothing, okay? Just an innocent party,” she started. “I only drank one beer.”
I slapped my palm on the kitchen counter. “One beer? One beer is a fucking lot when you’re sixteen and in someone else’s house. Someone older and with older friends. What the hell were you thinking, Sarah?”
Dazzle Me (When You Dance Book 1) Page 3
