Chapter 18
Whatever plans Maya had in mind, she wasn’t in a rush to act them out. While Harper had been more than willing to make sinful use of the temporary privacy found in the elevator, Maya wasn’t. Other than taking Harper’s hand as they walked through the high-rise, they didn’t touch at all.
This was the complete opposite of Harper’s usual approach to romance.
She was a pro at seduction, and sex was a dance whose steps she was more than familiar with.
Most of her relationships had spawned from one-night stands, with the honeymoon phases lasting only as long as their bedroom adventures remained interesting.
Another thing that made Maya different. They had become friendly before anything like that happened. Friends, even. Though, granted, Harper had wanted to move past the ‘friendship’ stage since that first not-date of theirs.
“After you.”
Maya gestured through the door she’d just opened, showing a spacious studio. It followed the same industrial aesthetic as the rest of the high-rise, with the walls being a mix of exposed brick and concrete, while most of the furniture was made of dark wood or stainless steel.
But despite the harsh appearance, the space exuded warmth. Colorful abstract art hung on the walls, there were stacks of books everywhere, and over a dozen plants were scattered around the living area. All well cared for, too.
Which meant Harper should stay far away from them. She had whatever the opposite of a green thumb was. Every plant she’d ever bought had needed emergency rescue from Nell.
“How gallant of you,” Harper said and stepped inside. Maya followed, closing the door behind them. “Nice place. How long have you been—”
Maya pulled Harper back and pushed her up against the door. Pinning her in place, their bodies flush, Maya’s lips found Harper’s in such a hard, wanting, desperate kiss that it erased everything but the present.
It took less than a second for Harper to match Maya’s intensity. She moaned, pulling at Maya’s t-shirt, wanting her closer. Wanted to feel their bodies pressed together without the barrier of fabric. To touch her, all over. To dig her nails into her fucking skin.
Maya broke the kiss, Harper panting in the wake of it.
“Were you serious downstairs?”
Harper nodded feverishly. “Yes. Do whatever you want.”
She was starving for it. For far longer than the few minutes it took to get to this goddamn apartment.
Under different circumstances, that distant evening on the park bench would have ended with them doing exactly this.
She would have let Maya’s lips brush against hers, following that kiss to wherever Maya’s bed happened to be.
Maya lifted her off the floor, the door groaning as she was pressed against it. Barely straining herself, too. Just how strong was she?
How hard would her grip be to escape?
A moan escaped Harper’s lips, and she pulled Maya’s face closer, muting the noise by kissing her again.
To think she had survived days without this. Without feeling Maya’s body against her own. Without hearing her groan and sigh. Noises Harper echoed and which only grew shallower as Maya carried her through the studio and dropped her on the bed.
Maya pulled Harper’s shirt off, tossing it away. The bra went right after, giving Maya perfect access to dot kisses over her chest. She teased her tongue around a nipple, teeth following. Grazing her skin.
Barely touching. So light. So careful. And it still fired a sting of pleasure through her chest.
“You can… You can go harder than that,” Harper panted.
“I will. Later.” Maya unbuttoned Harper’s jeans, tugging them off. “I’ve wanted to do this for weeks. Let me take my time. Let me fucking savor you.”
If Harper hadn’t already been turned on to the point of absurdity, that comment would have accomplished it just fine.
Maya moved between her legs, pulling down her underwear. Her lips feathered over her stomach, her hips, the inside of her thigh.
Fuck, this teasing was torture. From the conversation downstairs, Harper had expected prompt consequences the moment they were somewhere private.
This was the opposite. A delightful opposite as Maya’s tongue found her clit, circling so perfectly that Harper’s head fell back on the mattress.
“Oh my God.” She gasped as Maya started sucking instead of circling. Lightning fired through her body, the flashes made all the brighter by how Maya moaned.
Yeah… They definitely should have done this sooner.
It didn’t take long before Harper couldn’t control the sounds she was making. Before those bursts of pleasure grew to a more constant, tensing stage. In just a few minutes, her muscles were stiffening and her moaning grew louder, laced with breathless affirmations.
She dug her fingers into Maya’s hair, clutching as pleasure tightened in her core, but right when she was about to fall over, Maya chuckled. A noise that continued as she moved her mouth away and started kissing her way up Harper’s body.
“You’re not getting off that easily. That was just the warm-up.”
Harper laughed. “You know that you’re encouraging bad behavior, right? If you want to make me regret anything, threatening me with orgasms isn’t very effective.”
Maya lowered her lips to Harper’s, offering a gentle kiss filled with such a tangy taste of desire that Harper moaned again.
In fact… the kiss was almost too gentle.
“Oh, Harper,” Maya whispered. “When I’m done with you, you’ll wish you never said those words.”
Maya got off the bed, leaving Harper sweating and panting on the mattress. She had to use a minute just to lie there, waiting for the anticipatory tension to fade some, before her snark recharged and she pushed onto her elbows.
Whatever comment she’d been working on shriveled up. Maya had stripped out of most of her clothes, tossing her belt onto the end of the bed, and leaving her in just a black bra and boxers.
Harper hadn’t had a good picture of Maya’s body before this. The t-shirts she preferred left a lot to the imagination, and Harper had been imagining some rather indulgent things over the past few weeks.
Reality put those thoughts to shame. Maya was toned like a fitness model from a sportswear ad. Her light, golden skin glowed in the low, warm light of the studio, taut lines showing at her stomach and thighs.
And her scars… The one on her hand she’d already inspected, but the jagged one by her waist she hadn’t seen before.
But there were other ones. Dotted marks around her wrists and her neck. A hand-sized mark between her shoulder blades, in the shape of a jawless skull. It looked like it had been branded on.
And a tattoo. Four lines of black text inked onto her ribs. The same style as the one Evie had. Though she’d said that Maya hadn’t suffered the same horrors she did, there was enough overlap that a pang went through Harper’s chest.
It was written in block letters, but it still took a few moments to make out the words.
MAYA N. – B-POS – LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH – SPECIAL SKILLS: SOCIALIZING
She almost asked, barely catching herself. Maya didn’t want to share. She’d made that clear. Harper had tattoos with private stories, too. She didn’t have the right to push for information that wasn’t any of her business.
It was also hard to stay with those thoughts. Maya had rifled through her closet and produced a harness she was now tightening around her hips, a sizeable strap affixed to its front. The leather dug into the black fabric of her underwear, creaking lightly.
Harper swallowed. Fucking hell.
“Is this okay?” Maya stopped at the end of the bed, gesturing at the harness.
For a moment, Harper kept staring at her, mouth dry as sand, before she got her smirk in place.
“Very okay. Though, all these assuring questions aren’t helping your case. You know, the one about you being too sweet for this sort of thing.”
She pushed onto her knees. Maya’s eyes fell to her naked chest as Harper hooked a finger under the harness and tugged her a step closer.
“Told you I like it rough.” She ran her fingers down the length of the silicone strap. “But how you’re acting feels very soft.”
“Soft?” Maya caressed Harper’s chin. The side of her neck. Her shoulder.
Then she gave Harper a firm shove, pushing her back down.
“I’ll show you soft.”
Maya reached for something at the end of the bed, and only then did Harper notice it wasn’t just her belt Maya had thrown on the mattress.
“Why don’t you hold this?” Maya said, handing her a wand vibrator. “Since I’m being so sweet?”
That statement hid a trap of some sort. Obviously so, from Maya’s innocent tone and knowing smile.
But how many teeth could that trap really have?
“Feels like you’re going easy on me.” Harper switched on the toy. But she kept it on a low setting. “I’m pretty tough, you know. I can take it.”
“Don’t know if I believe that.” Maya grabbed Harper’s wrist, leading her hand down so the head of the wand rested against her clit.
Then Maya pressed the button on the side of the vibrator, dialing up the intensity. Her smile widened as Harper gasped.
“You may think this is easy now.” She ran her hands down Harper’s waist, pausing at her hips. “We’ll see if it lasts. I’d love to hear your thoughts in an hour or so.”
Harper had been working on getting her smirk to a particularly provoking stage, but that comment undid all her progress. Her brows knitted together.
“Wait. What do you mean an hou—oh.”
Whatever question was about to leave her tongue transformed into a moan as Maya grabbed her by the hips, pulled her to the edge of the mattress, and slowly pushed the strap all the way inside.
Fuck, that felt good. Horribly good, and after the earlier treatment, the strap went in with no resistance at all. She let out a sighing moan as Maya started rolling her hips.
She cocked her head, grinning. “Is it too much already? You’re shaking a little.”
Harper clenched her jaw. “Am not. I can… I can take it just fine.”