6. Gemma
Alone on the edge of the dance floor, I watch the people.
Out of nowhere, a man approaches from behind me, his hands gripping my hips as he dances to the music. “No need for a lovely lady like you to stand alone here.”
Repulsion crawls over my skin as I stiffen. “Don’t touch me.”
“Come now, don’t be like that.” His breath smells like alcohol, and his fingers dig into my skin, pulling me flush against his body.
Disgusting.
“Let go of me!” I try to push him away, struggling to free myself, but his hold is too strong, and the loud music drowns out my voice.
No one notices, too caught up in their own world, and Mary is too far away.
The man chuckles, his breath hot against my neck. “Playing hard to get, are we? I like that.” One hand creeps up to cup my breast, and I see red, stomping down on his foot with all my might.
“Bitch.” His grip loosens enough for me to wrench away, stumbling forward.
A strong arm wraps around my waist, steadying me in an instant. I cling to it like a lifeline as it pulls me closer to a wall of muscles in a suit. Shielding me.
A male voice whispers into my ear, “There you are, love.” This time, it is everything but unpleasant or repulsive. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
With my chest heaving, my gaze shifts from the arm around my waist to a pair of stormy gray eyes peering out from behind a black mask.
My savior is tall and broad-shouldered, his firm jaw shadowed by stubble.
His face is hard and unyielding as his gaze sweeps over me, taking in my probably disheveled appearance. “Are you alright?”
I don’t answer, too transfixed by the sculpted planes of his face and the intensity of his gaze. It’s the same handsome man who peered down at me from the secluded area. Taking a deep breath, I nod and finally find my voice. “I-I need some air.”
I start entangling myself from him, but his grip on my waist is too firm.
“Let’s get you outside.” He swirls me around, guiding me off the dance floor and out to the lobby.
Only when we’re outside he removes his arm. The comforting touch gone makes me want to place his arm back around me, but that would ask too much from a stranger. I lean against the cool brick wall, drawing in deep breaths to steady my racing heart. “Thank you.”
My savior stands before me, his lips quirking up. “Don’t thank me. You already had it handled by the time I got there.” His voice is as compelling as his eyes, deep and smooth.
Heat blooms on my cheeks. “Still, thank you. If you hadn’t caught me, I probably would’ve ended up on the floor with a broken nose or something. I hate guys like him, just like my ex-husband, and I—”
Gemma, he’s a stranger. He doesn’t want to hear your sob story. Why should he care?
“You don’t need to explain.” He reaches out to brush my hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear.
This slight brush of his fingertips against my skin makes me goosebumps all over, and I shiver involuntarily, a sudden warmth radiating from inside of me.
“You’re cold.” He takes off his suit jacket and wraps it around me.
“Thanks.” Yeah, cold… but I hug it close anyway, the fabric smooth against my skin.
Upon closer examination, it appears to be a very pricey, high-grade jacket. It has a dark red hue, and it likely had been custom-tailored in Italy for him. It’s 100% not from the rack.
Our eyes meet as he cups my cheek, tracing the contour of my cheekbone with his thumb. He stares at me, his gaze intense and unreadable, not straying for one second.
“Do you want me?” The words escape my lips before I quite realize what I asked him.
Damn alcohol.
I duck my head, focusing my eyes on his shoes. Italian, too. He has style, no question.
“Look at me.”
My head shoots up, staring right into his deep gray eyes.
“I think you can’t even imagine how much I want you.” He takes my hand and presses a smoldering kiss on my wrist. “How much I want to see you trembling beneath me. Screaming.”
Time stands still, and his lips are like a live wire on my skin, waking nerves I didn’t know existed.
“Perhaps it’s time to erase these memories of your ex and come with me.” He steps closer, caging me against the wall. His eyes are dark with desire and something else that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it makes me weak in the knees.
Mary’s voice appears in my head, urging me to let go of my worries and have fun again.
“Yeah, it’s time.”
“What’s your name?”
“Gemma. After my grandmother.” God, I got bad at this. After my grandmother, really? “Forget the last part, please.”
“Done. Gemma.” He rolls my name on his tongue as if tasting it. “A beautiful name for a gem like you.” His hands cup my ass, pulling me off the wall and against his body, letting me feel every inch of him. And I mean it. Every inch.
“Is this the moment you’ll kiss me?”
Not even a second later, his lips are on mine. Hungry and demanding. Rough and gentle. And gone too soon.
“Let’s get out of here. Or do you want me to fuck you here?”
“No! What…”
“Good.” Taking my hand, he leads me to a limousine parked on the street. I stop, and he turns around.
“You didn’t tell me your name,” I say.
A deep, wicked chuckle. “Thought you’d never ask. It’s Elijah.” He steps back to me, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Sure about this, my gem?”
The nickname is so cheesy, but at the same time, it sounds so good coming from his lips. Does he give other women nicknames, too? Picking up another woman every week?
If he’s so practiced, he must be good in bed, right? After all, tonight is the night for me to let go, and, oh heavens, do I want him. And I want fun. I deserve fun. He doesn’t seem opposed to me, rather wants me.
Surging up, I press my lips to his. But instead of my planned short kiss, he deepens it, kissing me hard. My little moans, swallowed by our kiss, should be an answer enough to his question. I want him. He knows it, and there is no point in denying it.
When we part, he’s searching my eyes for something before opening up the passenger door of the limousine.
“Get in. Now.” He nudges me inside. The cool seats press against my legs. A stark contrast to the heat between my thighs.
The moment he’s inside and the door shut, he pulls me onto his lap, kissing me with an insatiable hunger. His hands are everywhere, squeezing my ass and breasts, making me moan into his mouth and rubbing myself against the hard bulge in his pants.
He pulls back to study my face, lust darkening his eyes to cobalt. “Last Chance. Do you want this? Because I won’t hold myself back anymore.”
Do I really want this... him... to happen in the back of a limo? “Stop asking and take me.”
“I will and you better be ready for it.” He taps the car window, and the engine rumbles to life.
He moves the straps of my dress down my shoulders and reveals the black transparent lace bra I wear beneath. Wherever he touches me, my skin tingles, and my nerves come alive, making my chest heave involuntarily. My body screams yes while my mind lingers on a shred of uncertainty as his thumbs brush over my nipples, making me gasp.
“I knew I was going to have fun with you.”
One of his hands glides down my chest, over my belly, to my thighs, and under my dress. It’s not long before his fingers slip beneath the fabric of my underwear, sliding through my wet core. My body stirs, and I rest my head against his shoulder, moaning and rocking my hips to chase his touch.
“Look at me.” His breath is warm against my ear.
Locking eyes with him, I clasp my lips, holding back a moan. The intensity of his gaze makes me feel stripped bare, like he sees through me, sees how much I want him.
“Do you always get this wet for a stranger?”
Heat floods my cheeks at his blunt question. “I—”
He makes me whimper, pinching my nipple hard enough. Playing with me.
“You?”
“No.” I moan. “You’re not a stranger, though, are you?”
His movements stop for a quick second before picking up the circling of my clit. “You’re right. I’m not.” His expression turns predatory. “And after tonight, you’ll only get this wet for me.”
My mouth goes dry. The thought should scare me. Instead, I’m getting wetter and wetter by the second. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want Elijah buried deep inside me, claiming me as his right now. And I’m in a limousine getting ravaged by this gorgeous as fuck man, with full lips curling into a knowing smirk at the small moans he’s evoking from me. It’s official. I’m either going crazy, or it has been too long.
The moment his fingers plunge inside me, my mind goes blank, consumed only by the building pressure between my legs. I grab onto his neck, anchoring myself against the waves of dizzying pleasure.
He pumps them inside of me in a hard and fast rhythm while his thumb circles my clit in time. This feels so much better than a vibrator.
The way he observes me, relishing in every reaction of my body, feels depraved and unbelievably good.
My breathing gets faster, and I cling to him as he pushes me closer and closer to the edge. And right when I can’t take it anymore, he stops, palming my pussy.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
“Please.” I buck my hip forward, chasing his touch.
“Please, what?”
“Please don’t stop.”
“Good girl.”
He resumes thrusting his fingers into me, yet this time, he doesn’t stop, and with one last thrust, I cry out, trembling against him. My eyes flutter shut, and I tip my head back.
I should feel ashamed, letting him do this to me in the back of a limo. But all I feel is bliss and a desire for more.
He works me through my orgasm until the waves of pleasure slowly subside, and my body relaxes into his.
Looking up at him, I see the raw hunger in his eyes. He’s holding back, keeping iron control while I’ve already come completely undone.
Elijah removes his fingers from inside of me, bringing them up to his lips and into his mouth. I watch, mesmerized, as he licks them clean. Never has a man done that.
“Delicious.”
A new flood of wetness coats my thighs. I’ve never wanted someone so badly. It scares me even as it thrills me. My hands move to his belt on their own accord, but he stops me.
“There’s time for that later.” He tilts his head to the window.
I glance outside. We’re not moving anymore. “How long?”
“Some minutes.” He sounds so full of himself. It’s arrogant and cute. Not that it has anything to do with him giving me the most amazing orgasm of my life a few seconds ago.
Elijah slides the straps of my dress back in place while I try to smooth my hair.
“No worries. You’re beautiful. Only a bit…”
“Like I was hit by a train?”
He chuckles. “Flushed.”
I tap at his chest. “Thanks to you.”
“Thanks are in order.” He opens up the door and nudges me outside.