Page 15 of Age of Shade

Sliding a leg between her thighs, she melts against me with a throaty whine, grinding her hot little cunt over me. There’s material between us, but I can tell how wet she is. Almost in unison, the take-out bags fall to the floor at our sides. Our hands are free now, and I don’t know what feels better: her touching me or me touching her.

I’m only dimly aware of the ground moving beneath us; it seems like such an unimportant detail. Or it does until the lift chimes, signaling our arrival at another floor.

Fucking damn it.

By the time an elderly man steps onto the elevator, Adina and I are hurriedly gathering up the dropped bags, her face flaming. It couldn’t be more obvious what we were doing in here, especially when I have to reach past him to press the button for my floor again. With every passing second, the greedy, possessive feeling inside me coils tighter. When our silent companion finally steps off, the doors have barely closed again before I all but launch myself at Adina.

She’s right there with me, moaning into my mouth as I press her against the wall, kissing frantically. The taste of her—fuck. She’s so sweet. It would be so easy to get lost in her, to stand here, our bodies pressed tight, for hours. I must have some presence of sound mind remaining, though, because when the elevator doors open at my floor this time, I wrench myself back and slap my free hand out to prevent them from closing again.

Adina gazes at me, her pupils wide. Panting, she fumbles with her bags and follows as I back out of the elevator, not taking our eyes off one another for even a second.

The room Liam gave me for the night is halfway down the hall, an opulent suite which must ordinarily cost a fortune. It’s befitting the successful businessman Liam told her I am, but the moment we go through the door, Adina seems to falter. She draws herself back against the wall, watching silently as I shut the door and hurry to flick on the lights in the living area. All the passion that was burning so fiercely between us only a few seconds ago has gone cold.

“Saw a cockroach over there, watch out,” I attempt to joke, but the only response I get is the corner of her lips lifting into a tight smile as she scans the room. “Come on.” It’s an effort to begin moving again, and I feel unnatural and self-conscious as I lead the way over to the small dining area. The suite is so quiet that even the sound of the bags being set down on the table seems unnaturally loud.

Edging closer, Adina bites her lip, eyes still roaming over the room we’re in. I can see it happening—she’s shrinking into herself, trying to disappear just like she was when I first saw her in the lounge downstairs, and I won’t have it.

“Adina.” Looking up at the sound of her name, she grimaces apologetically.

“Sorry.” Her hands fumble with the buttons of her coat and the strap of her purse as she sets them to the side and slides into the chair across from mine. She keeps her eyes down as she busies herself with opening the dishes we collected. As someone who never quite managed to be self-sufficient enough to actually cook himself dinner, I’m well-versed in the range of cuisines in New York. We’ve assembled an impressive cross section in such a limited geographical area, but something inside me pinches at the thought of all the other things I’d like to have her try.

One night,I remind myself, almost viciously, as Adina reaches tentatively for a street taco. This is supposed to be a fucking rebound. She dates rich men for money; she wouldn’t beinterested in me if she knew I wear a sparkly lab coat and give away more procedures than I bill.

“Wait.” I shake myself, then reach into the paper bag it came from to pull out a sauce packet.

Squeezing hot sauce onto someone’s tacocouldbe a fun euphemism, or it could be the least sexy chivalrous act of all time. At the very least, in this case, it has the benefit of breaking through Adina’s nervousness. She lets out a reluctant giggle as the sauce comes out unevenly in one place and drips onto her thumb.

The sight of her pink tongue darting out to lick it away hits me like a physical blow.

Mouth dry, I sit back, watching as she takes a bite and groans softly, her eyes dropping closed in pleasure.

Christ, how am I going to get through this without mauling her? Every last thing this woman does seems to make my cock harder, and my imagination comes up with a million ways to make her feel good. It’s been so fucking long, and I’ve certainly never felt this gnawing, bone-deep need before.

“I don’t know how any of this will top that.” Adina sighs happily, successfully lightening the sudden tension in the room. She sets the taco down after her third bite, scanning the other boxes appraisingly.

My own face splits in a smile as I watch. She was hesitant about this before, maybe put off by the decadence of the whole thing, but now I can feel her enthusiasm building.

I can’t remember the last thing I’ve enjoyed as much as spoiling this woman.

Like she can feel my eyes on her, Adina looks up, and my cock twitches as she catches her lip between her teeth. “Aren’t—I mean. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

Instantly, her tight, too-young-for-me cunt comes to mind.

I nod. “Yes.” Reaching over to her side of the table, I take the half finished taco and bite into the side her lips just touched without hesitation. Itisgood, but not as good as what I want from her.

The quiet room presses in around us. Fireworks could go off right outside the window and I doubt I would notice a thing. Neither of us speak, quietly eating our way through a bit of everything until, finally, Adina closes the last take-out box and leans back in her chair, gazing at me.

“You’re looking at me a lot.” Her quiet, teasing comment makes me chuckle. What the hell does she expect?

My chair scrapes over the wood floors as I push away from the table. Fuck it. She’s attracted to me and I’m obsessed with her, so I’m going for it. “Come here.”

For a moment, I think she won’t. We stare at each other, tension crackling in the air between us. Finally, she stands and moves around the table, not stopping until she’s in front of me. “Asher…”

I don’t give her time to feel self-conscious. My hands come out, boldly pulling her into my lap. Adina gasps quietly in surprise, hands landing on my shoulders. Her body is warm and soft in my arms, and she smells so good—clean and sweet. I love the way she fits against me, small and firm and exquisitely feminine. My arms tighten, gathering her closer, and every little rustle of clothing or ragged exhale that I hear is another can of gasoline thrown on the fire burning me from the inside out.

Adina doesn’t hesitate, tilting her head back to kiss me like it’s a foregone conclusion, like this was always—always—going to happen.

She wants me.

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