“Hmm, maybe.”
“It can’t be a ghost,” she argued, then realized he wasn’t even arguing back. Nico was too busy lowering her top to kiss even more bare skin.
Encumbered in fire, she arched back and felt him catch her, then ground back until she felt his erection dig into her butt. Before she could fully get into it, her bra snapped open and thumbs worked their way over to her nipples. The overload of sensation sent her reeling, unable to do anything but respond. She tried to turn around, but he wouldn’t budge, eagerly moving fingers and lips to arouse her even further.
“Watch the movie,” he teased. “See if your theory is correct.”
When his hands slid under her skirt, she understood what he wanted and ground harder, earning a stifled groan. Her eyes stayed glued on the screen as the homeowners scrambled to get to the bottom of the mystery, but she felt every bit of sensation there was: his fingers nudging her panties to the side, his knuckles grazing her entrance, the sound of his zipper lowering. When a hardened tip nudged her slit, her core violently trembled.
“Hold on to something.”
It was a command, not a request, and the dominance sent her into a frenzy even while she gripped the control table in front of her for support. A lift of hips and he plunged in one go, buried so deep that a moan burst out from her. Hushing sounds followed, signaling they might not be as soundproof as they surmised, but his hips began to move with a precision that told her she was in for a good ride.
Anne rode him back, rotating her body to capture his thrusts better, leaning back to feel his heat harder. She kept her eyes on the screen, shock hitting her when a lurking figure finally stepped into the light and showed itself. At the same time, Nico’s rhythm changed, quickening and losing precision.
He drilled with abandon, erratic motions that made her vision hazy. Then he was clutching her hips to get to a better angle and reaching a part of her that had her body quaking as she lost all semblance. Nothing mattered now except getting to the finish line—and when she got there, it was a splendid soaring all over again that battered her inside out and left her into a puddle afterward.
“I’m coming,” was all he said before he, too, threw himself into an explosion that made him tremble for the longest time. Then he slumped against her, still half-hard inside, and kissed her cheek.
“I was right,” she mused. “It was a monster, not a ghost.”
A low, surprised chuckle flew out of his lips and tingled her skin. His hands still cruised, the lack of sexual intention thickening the intimacy.
“We can watch more movies next time and predict the endings.”
The idea of going on more dates with this man had her heart skipping a beat at how appealing it sounded. When she attempted to turn, he let her this time, gazing into her eyes while he tugged her clothes back in place.
“That sounds nice,” she whispered.
He didn’t reply. Nico perused her in silence. Every second of it plucked at her system until she was half-sure that he was ready for a second go.
“I can’t seem to get enough of you,” he confessed, matching her sentiments. But he shook his head. “But if I let my other head think for me, then we will be checking in somewhere private and won’t be leaving the bed all day long…Anne, don’t give me that look.”
“What look?”
“Like you are considering dragging me in that private place already.”
Her body heated, unable to deny that a part of her wondered. But he was already pulling her out of the room, obviously not pursuing that plan tonight. Relief battled with disappointment, the two emotions creating a push-and-pull that complicated her relationship with him all the more. They left the theater and blended with the crowd in the streets, listening to the noises of people having a good time before they went their separate paths. Nico tapped her arm.
“Do you want to go home, or do you want to keep strolling around?”
She looked up at the sky, then at him. “I want to shift with you.”
His eyes widened, then blazed with concern. “Don’t overexert yourself. Shift only to the point where it doesn’t hurt.”
“That’s why I want to shift with you,” she confessed. “You comfort my beast and make me feel…” Alive. “Calmer.”
“You are going to drive me crazy, Anne,” he returned. “But it would be my honor.”
He offered his hand, and soon they were venturing into the forest to find the perfect spot. Scanning the horizon, she was about to tug him in a specific direction when something trickled into her line of vision and left her frozen.
“Nico.”
He stilled at her urgency. They spun to watch fog creep from a forest patch, dancing the same pattern it had danced before.
Chapter 15
It took him a while to recover from the shock, but Nico closed his eyes once he did, remembering how Anne had escaped the trance they had all gone through. When he opened his eyes, he checked her first, reassured to find her expression clear as she blinked repeatedly. Then he turned back to the fog as it steadily crawled into open view.