Page 6 of Stranger Session

Chapter Six

Mariah

Ishift on my feet. Left, right, left, right. My toes curl in my shoes and a light sweat slicks my forehead. I can’t see anything through the black blindfold wrapped around my head. Is it ruining my hair or smearing my makeup? I hope not. Sarah and her crew spent a lot of time styling and perfecting my look.

Ugh, the nausea is something else. My stomach twists into knots, looping and rolling until I feel sick. I almost didn’t come, but the thought of what I could miss out on outweighed the fear of disappointment from either party.

A chill breeze brushes over my cheeks. Since I can’t see anything, my ears work double time to provide sensory information. Leaves rustle somewhere nearby. Steps thud against the earth and grow silent. Fabric moves against skin in front of me, followed by more footsteps.

“We’re almost ready, you two,” Sarah says.

Every muscle in my body tenses. They may be almost ready, but I’m not. Now I want to rip off this blindfold andrun for my car. I’d probably apologize on my way out for wasting everyone’s time.

Someone breathes behind me. Each intake of air comes too fast, too ragged. It must be my match, because I’m breathing the same way.

“This is fucking terrifying,” I whisper.

He chuckles. “It sure is.”

Feet shuffle through the grass behind me, and then his back presses against mine. The warmth comforts me. Another breeze blows past us and carries his scent into my nose. Hints of cedar and bergamot make me dizzy, and I begin to think this might not be so bad after all. If I find him unattractive, I’ll just close my eyes and focus on this scent.

“We’re ready,” Sarah says. “Turn to each other, but don’t remove your blindfolds yet.”

On wobbly legs, I turn around. The ground spins beneath me. I’m not sure if my nerves make it so hard to tell which way is up or if the blindfold has something to do with my sudden lack of balance, but I stumble forward.

Powerful arms catch me before I land in the dirt. Embarrassment tries to worm its way into the mix of emotions, but I’m too caught up in the feel of him to notice. My hands fill with his biceps. They flex against my palms, and I want to melt.

The camera shutter clicks several times in quick succession and draws me out of this blinding haze. I’d almost forgotten I’m standing in a spotlight, where every action and facial expression will be documented.

“Remove your blindfolds on three. One . . .”

I release his arms and reach behind my head.

“Two . . .”

I unfasten the tie and hold the loose ends betweenmy shaking fingers.

“Three.”

I pull the blindfold away.

A smile crosses my lips at the sight of him tugging the blindfold off his head in one motion. His dark blond hair sits in a mess on his head, and his piercing blue eyes nearly make my heart stop.

With a bite of his full lower lip, he eyes me, starting at my hair and moving down to my lips. Then his gaze roves lower. Straight to my cleavage. It’s a typical guy move, but I can’t deny that I like the way I feel beneath his scrutiny.

My nerves begin to recede. This date has nothing to do with my personality or likes and dislikes. The success of this moment is determined by how our bodies respond to each other.

My attention moves to the hard bulges that make up his muscular chest and the curves of his strong arms beneath his dark dress shirt. My gaze drops lower, to the outline of his cock through his slacks.

He’s hard. For me.Becauseof me.

I’d say our bodies are responding pretty well, which makes me nervous all over again.

And excited.

Del

I’ve never seen such a beautiful creature. Wavy black hair frames her face and falls past her shoulders. Bright-blue eyes peer up at me. A bead of sweat gathers on the curve of her cleavage and drips between her full breasts. A purpledress clings to her in all the right places, and I can only imagine ripping it off with my teeth. The color matches the purple lines running through my dress shirt.

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