Page 49 of Totally Played
While we were practically power walking when we set out toward his place, we’re strolling now, and it’s nice. He’s still holding my hand, his long fingers wrapping mine in their warmth.
“So, this is me,” he says, stopping in front of a five-story walk-up. It’s like most others in Savannah, old brick, but with a new vibe. The first door is covered by ornate metal bars, and behind it a second door, all glass, gives full view of the checkerboard tile running the length of the hall.
“This is nice,” I say as he leads me up the stairs. I glance up. “What floor are you on?” I ask, my breath coming a little heavier than expected. I’m a fit guy, but it’s been a long day.
“I’m only on two. Not far now,” he says with that same lustful smirk that sends a swirl through my gut.
He fumbles with his keys a little, and it somehow makes me feel better, knowing that maybe he’s a little nervous, too.
“Can I kiss you now?” he asks as soon as the door clicks behind him.
“Okay,” I say, my voice a whisper, and my heart pounding in my ears. He cups my face in both hands, letting his thumb brush over my bottom lip.
“I’ve wanted to kiss these since that first night in the bar,” he whispers, leaning in a little closer, and my nerves start to settle into an excited buzz that’s vibrating all over my body.
“I felt something that night, too,” I say. My hands find his waist again and slide up the soft satin of the corset. The smooth sheen under my fingertips sends ripples up my arms to my chest. “I didn’t understand it at first. But now I know what it was.”
“You do, huh?” he asks with a smirk.
“I think so.”
“I’d like to hear what this revelation of yours is,” he says, stepping back without kissing me, and it’s like a giant hole has formed where my stomach once was. “Would you like a drink?”
“Umm. I guess, water would be good,” I say, my throat impossibly dry all of a sudden. The nerves rising again. It’s silly, or at least that is what I’m telling myself as I follow him through to the living room. I’ve been with women before and never batted an eye at telling them what I wanted to do with them. But this is different. And not just because Ash is a man, but because the way I feel with him is so different from anything I’ve ever felt with anyone.
“How about we pause for a minute and take a seat?” he says, and I follow him to the couch, hoping the nervous energy bubbling under the surface doesn’t send me running for the hills. His apartment is nice. Super clean and modern with the couch on the right wall, set centered on an extremely large flat screen television on the opposite wall. On its right, there is awindow with two tall bookcases flanking it, filled with too many titles to count.
“You like to read,” I say, and he smiles and passes me the water as we sit.
“I do. I’ll read pretty much anything, but science fiction is my favorite. Do you read?” he asks, cracking the seal on a bottle of water and passing it to me.
“Yeah. I’m more of an epic fantasy guy, Wheel Of Time and stuff like that.”
“Good to know. I read The Lord Of The Rings when it first came out and saw the movies, too. The books were better. For the most part, anyway.”
“Totally agree. Like the movies were good, but nothing was ever going to live up to the fantasy world I built in my mind.”
“Are you worried this might not live up to your imagination, too?” he asks before biting his lower lip. He’s nervous. Funnily enough, that thought gives me a small jolt of confidence.
I take a sip and place the bottle down on the black glass coffee table.
“The moment we met, there was something that pulled me to you. I figured our connection was a friend thing, like when you meet a person and you just click with them, and you know you’re going to be friends for a long time.”
“I know what you mean, but how did you know it was something else?” he asks, resting his hand on my thigh. Heat floods under his touch and the nerves resurface. Not fear, excitement. An excitement I haven’t felt in the longest time. If ever. I hesitate for the briefest of moments, contemplating telling him the truth or just shrugging in response to his question as if I had no clue what made me see this was something else. Really, I know exactly why he had me questioning if I really even knew myself. I’ve been honest withhim from the moment we met, and I don’t want to start hiding things now.
“I started fantasizing about you. About us, together.”
His eyebrows pick up.
“Tell the truth, it was joking about me eating balls that put the idea in your head, wasn’t it?”
Chapter sixteen
Ashley
Alaughrumblesthroughhis chest, and it’s like the balloon of tension that has been holding us both back bursts, and his mouth is suddenly on mine. The stubble on his two-day-old shave scratches at my skin, and it’s an incredible sensation I can’t imagine ever tiring of. There is a raw carnal need driving us forward, his hands jumping from one place to another, like they want to be everywhere at once and when his fingers slide up the back of my neck and slip through my hair as he pulls me close, I moan into his kiss and reach for his jeans.
It only takes a second to unzip him and release his hard thick cock. His kiss moves along my jaw to my neck, and when I grip his length, he bites down on the soft skin with a heavy groan.
