I right my slacks, then I offer my hand and help her to her feet. "Too much?"
"No."
"Could you take more?"
"Could you go again?"
"Another time?"
"With practice." She straightens, tall and proud and perfect. "I'd be happy to practice."
"Would you?"
She nods. "I could drop by your office Tuesday. I'll be in the neighborhood anyway. Dinner with my brother."
"Really?"
"You don't believe me?"
I do. That's the problem.
"We meet at six thirty. How about I come by at five thirty?"
"The place will be crowded."
"You have blinds."
I do.
Fuck, if Raul was alive, he'd kill me for turning her down. A gorgeous young woman offering to drop by my place anytime to suck me off?
What the fuck happened to my life?
How the fuck can I consider saying no to that?
"Tuesday," I say.
She beams.
"Keep the top off." I pick up her coat and hang it over her shoulders. "I want you walking home like this."
"Home?"
"To my place."
"For the rest of the night?"
"Unless you have a problem with that."
"Are you going to fuck me?"
"Yes."
"You promise?"
"No."
She pouts, but she still cinches her coat, gathers her things, and follows me to the elevator.
Chapter Fifteen
OPAL
Even though it's a cool night, the six-block walk to Max's apartment sets me on fire. Knowing I'm topless under my coat—
Knowing he wants me like this—
Fuck.
I don't notice the streets we walk, the nearby buildings, the other people in the apartment. Only the feeling of his hand against my back, pressing my coat into my bare skin.
We stop on a high floor. He leads me down the hallway to a corner apartment.
Inside, the space is sparse and modern. A one-bedroom. Maybe two. Barely decorated.
"Are you staying here?" I ask.
"Until the semester ends." He slides his suit jacket off his shoulders and rolls his sleeves to his elbows. He stops behind me and runs his finger over the neckline of my wool coat. "It's a short-term rental."
"You were staying at the hotel?"
"When I first arrived."
He invited me into his space that night. And he's doing it again. It means something, but I don't have enough blood in my brain to put the pieces together.
He traces the neckline again. "Did you eat dinner?"
"Yes. You?"
"Before our session." He leans down and presses his lips to my neck. "Do you want something to drink?"
"Water."
He places a hard kiss on my neck. Then it's the scrape of his teeth.
My body hums. I need him. I need him now. I need what he promised.
This wait is agony.
Perfect agony.
"Your wish is my command." He pulls back and moves to the sink.
It's only a few steps. The main room is small, but with the lack of furniture, it seems spacious. There's only a small table and two chairs and they're against the wide window. "For a Californian, you pick places with great views."
The city is alive against the night sky.
It's beautiful.
Perfect.
He fills two glasses and hands one to me. "Raul picked this place. Company housing."
That makes more sense.
"He loved the city."
"Does that make it hard… being here?"
"Sometimes." He brings the glass to his lips and takes a long sip. "It would be hard no matter what."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Do you?"
Kind of. And not at all.
I want to talk to Max for hours.
And I want to fuck him for hours.
"If you do," I say.
"But you'd rather I put my mouth to other uses?"
"You promised."
"I know."
"Are you… ready to go again?"
He smiles.
"What?"
"You ask often."
"I'm curious."
"About male biology?"
"About how many times you can fuck me in one night."
His pupils dilate. "Is that a dare?"
"Maybe."
"Bad girl."
My cheeks flush.
He finishes his drink. Sets it on the counter. Waits for me to finish mine.
When I do, he peels my fingers from the glass and sets it aside.
He moves behind me again, runs his fingers over the wool neckline of my coat again, presses his lips to my neck again.
But he doesn't undo my button.
He doesn't slide his hand between my legs.
He doesn't order me onto my knees.
He teases me with the soft brush of his lips, again and again.
"Do you want to see the rest of the place?" he asks.
"Please."
He presses his palm into my lower back and leads me around the corner to a narrow hallway, past three doors (two on the left, one on the right) to the sliding glass entrance to the balcony.
He pulls the door open and motions after you.
I step outside onto the red tile. The view is even better here. Skyscrapers with pockets of yellow light in every direction. And the deep blue water of the Hudson.
Fuck, I'm breathless.
Then he steps outside and I'm hot as hell too.
"I come here often," he says. "And I think about you."
"What do you think?"
"The wonder in your gorgeous blue eyes as you take in the view. The way you marvel at the city and art and me."
My cheeks flush.
"And this…" He looks me in the eyes as he runs his fingers over my neck. "Winding you tight with anticipation. As tight as I can, until you're not sure if you can take it."