Chapter 2
2
ZARINA
“What…” he panted on my lips. “What’s your name?”
My fingers dug into his broad shoulders and his hands gripped my ass while he carried me towards his front door.
I had no idea where I was. I hadn’t even been able to take in a full breath the entire taxi ride to god knows where, not with his mouth on mine and his fingers in my hair.
“Mmm…” I thought out loud. “Penny.”
“Well,” he chuckled, pressing my back against his door and nibbling at my neck as I wrapped my legs tighter around his torso. “It’s very nice to meet you, Penny.”
“Uh-huh. Open the door,” I breathed, leaning back against it.
The stranger shuffled me in his grip so that he could hold me propped against the doorframe in only one arm while he used the other hand to fish keys out of his pocket.
The short semi-introduction had been the extent of our verbal interaction, and I wasn’t overly interested in continuing it.
I needed this man to be on top of me.
After what felt like a lifetime, he unlocked the door and swung it wide open and I tumbled back out of his grip, giggling as I stumbled into his home.
It was sparsely furnished, which seemed to be the norm among men, but it was nice enough. The main difference was the art that hung on all the walls, in different colours and styles with beautiful frames.
I jumped as the door slammed shut and I spun around. The stranger was watching me with pinched, curious brows and warm, hazel-coloured eyes.
“Well,” I dropped my purse to the ground, “what do you want to do now?”
He chuckled again, deep and rough.
The sound of it made me even more excited for what was to come, and only made my mind drift towards what noises he might make in bed. I could already tell that he was probably the more vocal kind, and the thought of him moaning or grunting in my ear made me tingle.
I kicked my shoes off next, and he continued to silently watch me with his hands behind his back and his head still leaned against the door.
Without the height of my heels, I had to crane my neck to look up at him.
“Are you going to show me where the bedroom is?” I drew a finger through the belt loop of his dark jeans, tugging gently. “Or do I have to get on my knees right here?”
The stranger made an approving noise, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me against his body.
“You’re dangerous.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” I chuckled, reaching up and wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down into a kiss.
His rough hands wandered a little more freely now, gripping at my waist, my hips, my ass, pulling me against him so hard that I could feel just how ready he was for me through the denim.
“I’m really trying to behave myself here,” he said against my ear.
I ignored him, turning my attention to his belt, undoing the buckle and freeing it from the loops.
“You’re making it very hard.”
“ That’s what he said ,” I mumbled, snort-laughing at my own joke, before finally releasing the stubborn button of his jeans and dragging the zipper down.
With that, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, storming through the dark house at a determined pace. I was sure that if anything got in his way at that moment, he would kick it aside, whether it was a three-legged dog or his grandma.
A drunken giggle escaped when we rounded a harsh corner. He chuckled and smacked my ass playfully before opening another door, slamming it shut and throwing me onto the bed.
The mattress was feather-soft, so soft that I felt I might melt into it. Though, that could have also been a side effect of the alcohol.
He stood at the edge of the bed, looking down at me with a curious smirk while I ran my hands over the buttery fabric of his sheets. Everything was so luxurious, so soft and silky and comfortable.
Surely, it must have been a woman who picked out these sheets. I made a mental note to ask him about them later and find out where he had got them from.
I pushed my hair to one side and crawled to the edge of the bed to meet him, fingers reaching out to tug at his already unbuttoned jeans.
He swatted my hand away lightly, taking a step back and making a motion with his finger, telling me he wanted me to turn around.
Again, by some miracle, I did as I was told.
I turned to face the headboard, reaching forward and splaying out until I was face down in his silky pillow with my ass in the air. He made me wait for a few moments before I felt his hands on me.
The sensation of his rough finger trailing up the back of my calf made me shiver a little from the light touch. He continued tracing lines on my bare skin; up the back of my thigh, over my ass, up my back.
Every movement was painfully slow and calculated, like he was imagining different shapes and figures to etch into my skin with his fingers.
He found the tiny zipper halfway down my back, tugging at it a few times with no movement. I chuckled a little, remembering how stubborn the zipper of this dress was, and how the fabric always bunched beneath it.
The stranger fiddled with it for a while longer before a frustrated growl escaped him. Seconds later, his once gentle hands had balled into fists around the material and ripped the back of the dress open.
“Hey!” I half-snapped, half-giggled.
“Shush,” he said. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
I scoffed at that. “You couldn’t afford it, honey.”
It was his turn to laugh this time. “Whatever you say, honey .”
Sober Zarina would likely be thoroughly pissed about the state of her dress, but she would have to forgive me. Because before I had any time to argue the point further, he had torn the remaining pieces of material from my skin, pressing warm kisses down my spine as he went and cleared the way.
He tugged my panties to the side, giving me no warning before the warmth of his mouth covered me.
I gasped in a breath, trying not to shudder under his tongue immediately. His grip was firm on my calves, forcing my legs further apart as he licked and nibbled between my thighs.
“Oh, fuck,” I moaned, arching my back and giving him more access.
He growled a noise of approval against me and my eyes rolled back at the sensation.
It wasn’t like I held the men I picked up in the early hours of the morning to any sort of high expectation. I kept the bar low in order to avoid disappointment, but sometimes I was pleasantly surprised.
This was one of those times.
My intuition was usually right, but god, was I thanking Past Zarina right then as this particular stranger’s tongue licked and flicked and sucked at my clit.
This man was devouring me like he had been deprived of pussy for a lifetime.
“Holy fuck,” I panted again, clawing at his headboard like a wildcat. “Fuck?—”
Wait.
He must have felt me go stiff in that instant, because he slowed and then stopped.
“Are you okay?” he panted, trying to catch his breath as I flipped over onto my back. I scrambled back, frowning up at him and pulling the blanket over to cover my chest.
The stranger arched a brow, looking at me with that confused grin again.
Fuck, he was beautiful.
His wispy, dark blonde hair was dishevelled, and his beard glistened from where it had been moments ago.
The warm light that filtered through the gap in the blinds hit his eyes just right, highlighting the way the colour swirled from dark gold into green.
“What is it?” he checked over his shoulder, scanning the room for a problem.
“I don’t know your name.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
His shoulders relaxed then, realising that there was no real threat, and he rolled his eyes.
“That’s because you didn’t fucking ask , darlin’.”
“Okay? So what is it?”
The stranger let out a gravelly chuckle, reaching up and snatching the blanket away from my chest in a whipping swoop. His eyes trailed for a split second as he climbed onto the bed towards me, reaching forward to roughly grope at one of my tits.
“It’s Ashe,” he said quietly, pinching my nipple, and then pushing me back down before he sank back between my legs to finish the job he had started.