Page 74 of Aftertaste

Haven burst out laughing, tears streaming down her face. The sound was addictive and infectious. “Damn, T.” She gasped for breath. “Holy fuck.” She couldn’t contain herself, gaining the attention of the entire restaurant. “I didn’t expect you to say that.”

“Expect the unexpected.” I shrugged, trying to act like I was way cooler than I actually was.

“Okay then.” One side of her lips lifted up in a smirk, as if she was about to top me. “Come back to my place.”

I sighed, acting as cool as a cucumber on the outside, but inside I was freaking the hell out. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Roaring Fire

Haven

We held onto each other’s hands tightly as the taxi weaved in and out of the city traffic and toward my apartment building. It felt natural, like we’d been holding hands our entire life, and I never wanted to let go.

I turned to face her, smiling at her through the darkness, only the streetlights illuminating our faces as we drove by them, but that was all I needed to see her. To know I was goddamn lucky to be taking her back to my place. I hadn’t intended on asking her to come back, but when the words came from my lips, there was no way I was going to back out of it.

Maybe I was being too forward, but deep down I knew I wasn’t. There was something between us, a spark that had ignited the night we met. And now all we needed to do was coax it into a roaring flame.

As soon as the taxi stopped in front of my building, I opened up the door and led Thalia outside. The cool bite of air made me shiver, but it was only seconds until we were inside the fifteen-story building.

Neither of us spoke as we made our way to the elevators. I clicked the number ten on the keypad and held onto her hand as we both watched the numbers go up. It felt like a lifetime until the doors whooshed open, then finally we turned left, and stopped at my apartment three doors from the elevator.

My gaze connected with hers as I halted in front of the door labeled 10c. She stepped closer to me, eradicating any thoughts that maybe I’d been too forward.

“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured, moving some hair behind my ear. Her fingers whispered down my cheek and to my lips where she stroked them softly. “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

My breath stuck in my throat; my skin alight with the need for her. I tried to put the key in my door without looking, but after several failed attempts, I turned away from her. Her body pressed against the back of mine, and as soon as the door opened, I yanked her inside then slammed the door closed behind me.

The air swirled, getting hotter and hotter as we both stood in the dim light of my apartment hallway. The seconds ticked by, neither of us sure whether to make the first move. But then she stepped closer to me, eliminating the space between us.

“I’ve wanted to do this from the moment I saw you tonight,” Thalia confessed. She placed both of her hands on my face, her eyes fluttered closed, and then her lips were on mine. Demanding, wanting. She wanted this just as much as I did.

I grasped her hips, pulling her to me, and maneuvered us down the hall toward my bedroom. I didn’t think about what we were doing. I was living in the moment with her, and I had zero regrets doing it.

Our lips stayed fused together as we halted at the bottom of my bed, and without hesitating, I pulled at the bottom of her top. My fingertips grazed against the soft skin of her stomach.

“Damn,” she murmured against my lips. “I love when you touch me.”

“Me too.” I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing heavily. I needed to slow down, to take it all in, but it was impossible.

My hand drifted up to her chest, my thumb and finger reaching for the front clasp of her bra. Her groan had butterflies taking flight in my stomach. I wanted more of that sound from her lips.

I whispered my fingers around the outside of her breast, teasing her—or was I teasing myself? Her head flung back, and I delighted in the sight of her perfectly perky nipples. My mouth salivated, and I instantly leaned down, pulling one into my mouth, and licking it.

“Oh god.” Her fingers pushed into my hair, gripping it, her body begging me not to stop.

I turned her, grasped her hips as I popped her nipple out of my mouth. She stared up at me, her eyes half closed, her hair becoming a wild mess. “Fuck, you look so damn sexy right now.” Her chest heaved, her nipples hard as a damn rock. I wanted her—all of her.

“Take your clothes off,” she demanded, her voice hoarse. She trailed her hand down her stomach, stopping at the waist of her jeans, and slowly, she unbuttoned them. I tried to keep my gaze focused on her face, but it was impossible when she was taking her clothes off too. “Haven,” she groaned out. “Take your clothes off.”

I shook my head, trying to concentrate on the task at hand, all the while watching her lift her pull her jeans off. A pair of black lace underwear were the only things between her pussy and me.

“Fuck. Me.”

Thalia tilted her head to the side and slowly lowered down onto the bed. “That’s the idea.”

I pushed my legs together, feeling how turned on I was at watching her, and within seconds, I yanked my skirt off and threw my jacket and shirt onto the floor. I hadn’t worn a bra or panties, and I wondered if she’d noticed; from the way her eyes lit up, I didn’t think she had.

Thalia bit down on her bottom lip, her hand pushing its way under her lace panties. “I’m so fucking wet,” she told me.

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