We start swaying. I don’t know how, but my feet seem to be moving just fine, probably because Rainier is guiding me.
Guiding me? It feels more like he’s commanding me, like I’m a puppet and he’s pulling the strings. Every cell is at his beck and call. Every function is under his control. My body no longer feels like my own.
And yet I don’t resent it one bit. I don’t mind this haze, this feeling of not having my feet planted firmly on the ground. It’s exhilarating, in fact.
Is this the effect of the alcohol?
No. I have a feeling it’s something else. Something stronger.
Him.
God, I want more of him.
“Rainier?” I look into his eyes.
Even my voice doesn’t sound like mine.
“Yes?”
My lips move on their own. “Would you like to come to my apartment?”
Chapter 2 ~ Starter Dose
Rainier
As soon as we step inside Ellis’s apartment, I place my hand on the back of her head and press my lips against hers. I’ve already taken off my coat in the elevator, so now I just let it fall to the floor.
I pull her bonnet off. My fingers get lost in her hair and clutch a few tendrils as my lips crash down on hers over and over. Her hands grip my scarf and the frame of her glasses bumps against my nose as she kisses me back. The moan that escapes her throat echoes in my crotch.
It’s not the best lip lock. It’s clumsy, like how she flirted with me. Messy. The edges of her teeth graze against my lower lip. Ellis clearly hasn’t had much practice. Either that or she’s lacking finesse because of that half glass of wine. Or maybe it’s just nerves. She certainly seemed to have them on the way here. At any rate, I don’t mind. I was going to take point anyway.
I tug on the sash of Ellis’s coat and push it off her shoulders. She shrugs it off and it falls in a pile on the floor. I kick off my loafers and carry her in my arms. She lets out a squeal as she clutches the front of my sweater, then laughs.
“Sweeping a woman off her feet, hmm?” She smiles giddily. “I didn’t know you were a romantic.”
“I’m not,” I tell her. “I’m practical. Carrying you seems like the fastest way to get to the bed. Where is it?”
Ellis’s gaze narrows. “Impatient, are we?”
I frown. I know I don’t need to rush. I’m not on call. But I haven’t been with a woman in months and I haven’t seen one I’ve wanted this much in… well, I can’t remember. There’s just something about Ellis that has me hooked. Maybe it’s the spark of childlike innocence in those cerulean eyes. Maybe it’s her honesty. Or maybe it’s because of how she helped that woman out earlier. Whatever it is, it’s hot. Arousing. I don’t get aroused easily, but when I do, I just have to be satisfied.
“Tell me where the bed is or we’ll have sex on the carpet. Your choice.”
That makes her smile vanish and her eyes grow wide. She turns her head.
“The bedroom is behind that door with the sunflowers.”
I carry Ellis towards it and turn the knob. I step inside the room and lay her down on the bed painted in the strips of moonlight seeping in through the open blinds.
After her head hits the pillow, I remove her glasses and set them down on the bedside table. Her blue eyes look up at me in trust and anticipation. My pulse quickens.
If she keeps looking at me like that, I’m not going to last long.
I lower my face to hers and capture her upper lip. Then I press my lips against both of hers and slip my tongue in between. At first, Ellis’s tongue remains still, but then it begins to writhe against mine. The friction sends a buzz down my spine and a flood of heat to my groin.
I remove the scarf dangling from my neck and throw it away. I reach for the hem of Ellis’s hoodie and pull it up to her armpits. As she takes it off the rest of the way, I stare at her bra. A grey sports bra, not a skimpy one fashioned from black lace, and yet there’s something sexy about the way the cotton fits snugly over her breasts, something alluring about how I can see the mounds of flesh squished together through the hole right down the middle.
Ellis crosses her arms over her chest. “Sorry. I know there’s not much…”
I cut off the rest of her sentence with a firm kiss and move her arms out of the way. I slip my fingers between hers and pin her palms beneath mine as I drag my lips to her ear. I trace her lobe with the tip of my tongue and she gasps. Her hands tighten around mine.