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I lasted three days before I texted her. Then I gave in.
Jax: How’re you doing?
It was a Tuesday night. I’d just left her husband at my bar. He looked like he was settling in for the night with his club buddies and his girlfriend. That meant Sky wouldn’t be with him. If she wasn’t working, she might be back at her apartment, by herself.
I sat in the parking lot, straddling my bike, waiting for her reply. It came quick.
Sky: Good, thanks
Jax: What are you up to tonight?
Sky: Not much, just hanging out
Jax: At your apartment?
Sky: Yup
My bike wound its way down the city streets as if it had a mind of its own. Outside her apartment, I stopped, engine idling. I remembered the night when I’d dropped her off, the two of us sitting close in the cab of my truck. She’d pointed out which window was her bedroom, the second story one with the fire escape next to it. Her light was on. And Griller wasn’t there.
I parked my bike down the street. That’s what people did when they were up to no good. They covered their tracks, making sure there weren’t any clues to their whereabouts. I hated myself for doing it, but I’d reached a boiling point. I had to see her.
I rang the doorbell for the second-floor unit. It took a while to get any response. The building was old, at least for Southern California, and it didn’t have an intercom system. But after a minute, someone came to the door.
“Who is it?” I hadn’t heard her voice in weeks. It sounded like music.
“Hey, Sky. It’s Jax.”
“Jax?” She sounded surprised, the volume and pitch of her voice raised.
“Yeah, hope it’s OK—” I lost my train of thought when she opened the door. Her hair cascaded down in waves, tousled and free. She looked glowing, like she’d just been exercising, rosy and pink and slightly out of breath. Her short shorts made her legs look a mile long and the spaghetti-strap top she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination, with a scooped neckline and no bra. My mouth watered to have her so close, standing there before me looking up with wide eyes.
I cleared my throat, remembering I had been saying something. “Hope it’s OK I stopped by. I was in the neighborhood.” Bullshit. I lived twenty minutes away and the route between the bar and my place went in the opposite direction. She didn’t know that, though.
“Sure, um, that’s fine.” She seemed flustered to see me, stumbling slightly as she opened the door wider to let me in. I brought my hand to her arm, steadying her. The brief contact, my palm wrapped around her smooth, warm skin, felt charged like a live wire. Moving ahead, she led me upstairs and, yes, I checked out her ass. Show me a straight man alive who could have resisted, and I’d prove to you he had no pulse.
The apartment door opened into the kitchen. It was small and clean. It didn’t seem right that the kitchen at my place was twice the size when I barely ever used it. I bet Sky would have a good time in it. I bet I would, too, if she were there. I’d probably keep her from doing much baking, though.
“So, this is the kitchen!” She gestured around, laughing at the obviousness of her statement.
I nodded, looking at her, not the kitchen. She was what I saw that looked good enough to eat. “How you been?”
“Um, fine.” She looked down at the floor. I noticed her painted toenails, that same shade of hot pink. She must like that color. I know I did. I could start there and work my way up. “How about you?”
“Good.” I ran my hand over my head, searching for words when all I wanted to do was take her into my arms. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I know! It’s weird. Whenever I’ve worked I’ve looked for you, but I haven’t seen—” She swallowed, stopping herself, seeming to realize what she just admitted. “I mean, not that I’m looking for you.”
“I’ve looked for you.” I took a step closer, needing less distance between us. It had been too long apart from her, over two weeks since I’d seen her smile, heard her laugh. “Ace caught me doing it, too.”
“He did?” She laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind one of her ears.
“I’ve missed seeing you.”
A loud clunk from another room startled us both.
“Oh my God. Let me just—” She bolted away, nearly sprinting into a room off the kitchen. The door was open and I could see it was her bedroom, the light on like I’d noticed from down on the street.
I looked in and could see what had made the clunking noise. It was white, plastic, about nine inches long and vibrating nice and loud now that it had fallen onto the wooden floor. Sky swooped down fast, swiveling her back to me as she turned it off. She acted quickly, but not before I’d seen her vibrator.
She must have been using it and left it on when she’d gone to answer the door. It had vibrated its way right off the bed. She had to be mortified.
But that wasn’t foremost on my mind. What occupied every millimeter of space in my brain was the vivid image of her masturbating, spread out across her bed right where the sheets were thrown back, her lips parted in a moan. Now I knew why she’d looked flushed and glowing when she’d answered the door. Now I understood why she’d been out of breath. She’d been pleasuring herself, maybe close to orgasm right when I’d rung the doorbell.
My cock sprang hard and ready, pressing against my jeans. I walked over to the doorway, arriving in time to see her stash it fast under her pillow. When she turned around to look at me, she’d turned as red as a strawberry.
“Sorry, my alarm clock went off!”
I could read arousal all over her body, from the way she shivered slightly to the pebbling of her nipples. Heavy-lidded, I took a step closer.
“That was such a funny mistake!” She fumbled for words, laughing nervously, backing herself in a corner. I followed, closing in on her. “I must have set the alarm for p.m., not a.m. and it started vibrating.”
“Sky,” I murmured, done with excuses. I was finished with all the reasons to resist. If she’d been feeling anything like the sexual frustration I had been for months now, we were both about to lose our minds. I reached out and took a strand of her hair in my fingers.
Breathing quick, she held still, watching my hand. Between my thumb and forefinger, I stroked her hair, then leaned closer so I could breathe her in, the scent I knew so well, had missed so much the past couple of weeks.
“Jax,” she whispered, her breath coming out in a pant. She sounded needy, nearly pleading. But for what?
My hand at the back of her head, I tilted her back and kissed her, sound and full as I’d wanted to a thousand times. Only this time I was really doing it, pressing my lips to hers as she moaned into my mouth, her hands coming around my shoulders, her fingers digging into me. A growl forming in my throat, I devoured her, drugging myself on her lips, her tongue.
At times I’d told myself one kiss would be enough. I’d thought maybe I could find a stolen moment with Sky and kiss her, just once. No one would ever have to know. But now I knew that was impossible. The more I kissed her the more I wanted to kiss. We only broke apart when she pressed her hand to my chest, her forehead to my chin.
“Wait,” she asked, panting. “I need to…” Her breasts heaved up and down as she breathed. My hands cradled her waist, small against my large frame. I caressed her curves, slowly, letting her take a breath. I wanted to give her space so she could choose to keep on going. “I can’t think!” She swallowed, bringing a shaking hand up to her forehead. “I’ve been telling myself we couldn’t do this! We could never do this!”
“Have you been thinking about it?” I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver at my words. She nodded, pressing against me. Her mind might be struggling to put distance between us, but her body wanted to get even closer.
“I think about kissing you, Sky.” I placed a light kiss on her cheek, then down her throat, holding back. I wanted to feast on her, but only if she wanted that, too. So I restrained myse