20 | catch me if you can
The pulsating music pounded against my eardrums – the kind of music that would transform even the most sensible person into a lustful animal. The club resembled a strobe light illuminated jungle, where the wild creatures unleashed their primal core. Still, there was a level of class to it. Spread over three floors, the whole area was quite impressive. The guests weren’t casually dressed, but they weren’t wearing much to cover their glistening skin either.
William and Andy had left their waistcoats and ties with the cloakroom staff. They still looked somewhat out of place, but they weren’t a lost cause. Looking at William, I saw that he had already rolled up his sleeves, which was a nice touch of casualness. All that was required was a little tweak. I intended to put theory into practice when I raised my hands toward his collar, but when my fingers gripped it, he clasped my wrists. My breath hitched upon the contact of our skin and the ensuing current that charged through my bloodstream. Had he felt it too?
I looked up and found him glaring at me, his grip tightening around my wrists.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked.
‘Damn.’ I smiled. ‘Who let you out of your cage today?’ I twisted my wrists out of his grip and undid the top button of his shirt.
Andy laughed. ‘I didn’t,’ he said. ‘I’d rather he stayed in it all the time. ’
‘That makes two of us,’ I joked back.
William was not amused, and I could tell because his glare shifted onto Andy instead.
After undoing a second button, I retreated a few paces to judge my artistry, and I immediately regretted it. Like this, he looked beyond tempting. The sight of him right then even made my vagina throb, and when I felt it, I nearly sobbed. How on earth did I manage to resist him? I deserved an award.
‘Thanks, love,’ William murmured and turned his profile to me. He delved his hands in his pockets, and his casual stance only made him more appealing.
I searched for his gaze, but I didn’t find it. ‘That colour really suits you.’
He scoffed and stole a glance at me. ‘Hardly as much as you do.’
Taken aback, I gaped, my eyes flickering to Ellie to see if she had heard him, but her face was buried in her phone. Relief closed my mouth again.
‘Nice one, Will,’ Andy said with a smirk as he undid his top buttons, copying my work.
Suddenly Ellie exclaimed, ‘He’s texted me. He’s in there, far end!’ She pointed into the crowd. A heartbeat later, she had caught my hand and was dragging me into it.
Countless bodies ground against one another, and mine. Numerous eyes glanced in my direction, and most of them looked faded, drugs lifting them high above the clouds. Going in had been like sinking into quicksand – the more I shifted, the deeper I got. Andy and William charged after us, but the moving crowd swallowed us up until they were no longer in my view.
‘Fuck,’ I mumbled. William was not going to like this. ‘Hey, Ellie!’ I jerked her hand. ‘We’ve lost the others!’
‘They’ve got my number, and they know where we’re going! We’ll be fine!’ she yelled back and carried on squeezing through the crowd.
Suddenly a pair of arms hooked around my waist and tugged me into a warm embrace, breaking my grip on Ellie’s hand. Whirling around, I stared up at a face I had never seen before. I shoved him off and turned toward Ellie again, scared I had lost her too. Glimpsing the twists of her mane, I charged after her. She had stopped, her eyes searching for me.
‘Cara!’ she yelled as soon as she spotted me. She extended her hand, and I grabbed it firmly. ‘Don’t let go! ’
She faced away and pulled me through the crowd until we reached a bar at the far end. Among the people around it stood a group of five men. One of them briefly met my gaze before his eyes darted to Ellie’s person, and then to the man in front of him. As he jerked his head toward us, all five of them looked over.
Ellie released my hand and rushed toward them. A man of average height, with bronzed skin and dark brown hair, spread his arms to welcome her. She swung her arms around him and planted a firm kiss on his waiting mouth.
So that must be Brian, I thought.
I couldn’t hear what they said to one another, but while they embraced, his friends blatantly ogled me. Feeling awkward, I gave them a wave.
Ellie pulled out of Brian’s arms and motioned to me.
‘Nice to finally meet you, Cara!’ he yelled.
There wasn’t much room for conversation above the pounding music, so introductions were swift, but I was too drunk to remember the names of Brian’s friends. When one of them caught my hand and dragged me toward the dance floor, I looked at the bar, hoping to spot William, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I faced a dilemma then, because while I wanted to find him and Andy, I didn’t want to be a killjoy, especially since the original plan had been to spend time with Ellie tonight. So, with some reluctance, I allowed myself to get dragged away, but it was only because Ellie and Brian were heading to the dance floor as well.
Like William and Andy had warned, the drinks suddenly kicked in. The room spiralled around me while I danced with this good-looking stranger. We danced until we were glistening with sweat. Even though we were out of breath, the music hypnotised us into continuing.
I had to give it to him: he was an excellent dancer. Did he have a single stiff bone in his body? I could feel a stiff muscle, but it contained no bones.
We had danced for a while when I sensed his mouth beginning to search for mine, clearly hoping for some action. Three months ago, I wouldn’t have minded a random snog, but something prevented me now, and the reason wasn’t present. I had lost him some time ago, and he still hadn’t found me.
‘Sorry, I need the loo!’ I shouted and escaped out of Brian’s friend’s hold.
Staggering toward the edge of the crowd, I searched for the toilets. When I found them, I sucked in a deep breath, determined to breathe only through my mouth to avoid the stench of the place. I hurried to finish because I despised toilets in clubs and pubs. Thankfully there was still a little soap left that I could wash my hands with.
When I came out I leaned against the wall. I was so drunk, and the thought of having to find Ellie again made me want to go home.
While standing there, I got the eerie feeling that I was being watched. I scanned the crowd, but I didn’t register any familiar gazes.
Suddenly I saw Brian’s friend – the one I had been dancing with – and the sight of him was like a light at the end of the tunnel. He was walking out of the men’s room. Maybe he had some idea of where the others were.
Our eyes locked, and the smile that caught his mouth was infectious. The music was quieter here, so when he said, ‘Hey, there. Cara, was it?’ I could actually hear him.
‘Yes.’
He came over, but when he put his hands against the wall on either side of my head, my smile faded. I froze in place, feeling intimidated.
‘Well, then, Cara. How are you?’
‘Quite drunk,’ I said as I gazed into his dark eyes. His brown hair was longer than that of the average man, and, like Will, he had symmetrical features and neatly groomed stubble.
‘Well, you’re not alone.’ Smirking, he lowered his head, his lips drawing closer and closer to my own.
I turned my head. My gut twisted with discomfort. This didn’t feel right. I didn’t want this.
‘Oh, come on, love. Just a peck. I swear you won’t regret it.’ He clasped my jaw and turned my face toward him. Putting my hands on his chest, I wriggled against his hold.
‘N-no.’ I tried to push him away and was just about to thrust my knee into his balls when big, familiar hands gripped his shoulders. A split second later, William dragged him off me with violent force. He was fuming, his eyes ablaze as he glowered at Brian’s friend, who had fallen to the floor.
Leaning down, William gripped his collar and held it firmly, pulling him up somewhat. ‘Touch her again and I swear I’ll rearrange your fucking face!’ he hissed and let go with a shove, causing Brian’s friend to slam into the ground again. ‘She’s made it abundantly clear she doesn’t want you. ’
William moved to stand in front of me. Peeking past his strong right arm, I saw Brian’s friend scramble to his feet and leap into the crowd. A few people stared at us while William glared after him.
When he turned toward me, his eyes immediately softened. ‘Are you all right?’
I swallowed, overcome with lust. I wanted him so badly.
The waves of his hair cradled his ears, and the bigger wave above his forehead made me raise my hands to run my fingers through it. My breath hitched at the feel of it. It was exactly how I remembered – thick, but velvety soft. With wonder in my eyes, I gazed up at him, captivated by his beauty.
‘I’m sorry we lost you,’ I said and dragged my hands to the nape of his neck to play with the strands there.
‘That’s not what I asked,’ he said and lowered his head somewhat. I could smell the alcohol on his breath; he was intoxicated as well.
He stared into my eyes, intensely, and it made my chest flutter. Merely by looking at me, he made me feel more alive than I ever had. Caught under his influence, I bucked my hips forward, wanting to be closer to him.
His lips formed a brooding line as he locked his arms around my waist and pressed me against him.
‘Cara, say something. Tell me you’re all right.’ He sounded unbearably sensual when he used that tone. I had never heard a voice more inviting in my life. I knew he was merely speaking to me, but I could have sworn he was singing, luring me to my doom.
‘I’m fine.’ It was almost a whisper.
He grimaced. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t intervene sooner. At first I thought...’
My eyebrows curved with surprise. ‘You were watching me?’
He nodded vaguely. ‘I thought you wanted him at first. I saw you dancing earlier.’
‘You did? Why didn’t you come over?’
‘I wanted to, but . . . I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate it.’
I frowned. ‘That didn’t stop you earlier tonight.’
‘I know, but that wasn’t right of me. I didn’t want to repeat my mistake, so I left you alone. I have no right to interfere like that, and you looked like you were enjoying yourself.’ Averting his eyes, he turned his profile to me, and he looked a bit sad. ‘Frankly, I...I gave up for a moment. ’
My heart palpitated painfully. Moving my hands to his jaw, I turned his face toward me.
‘I wasn’t enjoying myself – not really,’ I said as I held his gaze. ‘I’d rather it was you. In fact I’ve been looking for you, but since I was supposed to spend time with Ellie tonight, I didn’t want to leave her side.’
Something bright shone from his eyes. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
He smiled winsomely and glanced over his shoulder, but when he faced me again, he had knitted his brows. ‘I have to say, though, I’m a bit disappointed. Of all women, I’d expect at least you to escape predators like that.’
I chuckled. ‘Well, I was just about to kick him in the balls when you arrived.’
His lips stretched into another smile. ‘Really?’
‘Yes.’
He looked proud. ‘Good. I’m almost sorry I intervened, then. A kick in the balls is what he deserves, and even that would be merciful.’
Nodding my agreement, I gazed at the crowd. I wanted to dance again, but with William – only him. Biting my lip, I looked back at him with a mischievous smile. His brows twitched faintly, revealing some confusion, but before he could say anything, I pushed him away. As I strode past him on my way to the dance floor, I wondered where Andy had gone.
‘What are you doing?’ William asked.
Eyeing him over my shoulder, I gave him a lascivious smile. ‘Escaping a predator,’ I teased with a wink.
His eyes grew darker as he followed me. I had barely managed to pass a few dancing bodies when he clasped my hand, and I nearly shuddered with desire at his touch. As he entwined our fingers, I took a deep breath to steady my rising pulse.
‘I’m not letting you out of my sight,’ he said. Good. I didn’t want him to, and I let him know by squeezing his hand.
When we were further into the crowd, I turned to face him. ‘Can you dance?’ I asked above the music.
He grinned. ‘With you, I’ll do just about anything.’
A warm wave of colour flushed my cheeks, but I didn’t think he could see it under the dim light. He moved closer and brought his arms around my waist, pulling me against him.
I had never felt so anxious before – not over a man. My blood simmered in my veins as I circled his neck with my arms. He was so fucking hot. All I wanted was to submerge myself in this moment with him.
Lowering his head, he paused by my ear. ‘Stay close,’ he said and began to move along with the carnal music. I followed his movements with my heart in my throat, feeling my arousal drench both my mind and my underwear. All I could think of was my intense yearning for his flesh, how much I wanted him – all of him.
I hadn’t thought that a man like William could dance, but he was indeed proving me wrong. Then again, considering his skills in the bedroom, it shouldn’t have surprised me. He practised perfect control over his body, and he seemed determined to make mine come undone.
And it was working. My hands were all over him, exploring and caressing.
We had danced for a while when he gripped my hips and whirled me around so that my back was facing him. Smoothing his hands down my arms, he didn’t stop until they covered the back of mine. There, he entwined our fingers and brought our arms around me to form an embrace. My heart jolted when he hugged me tightly. Our new position was powerfully intimate, and it made me catch my breath. When he moved along with my body now, I could feel his erection straining against my bum.
Oh my God. I was going insane.
Resting my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes and surrendered to the euphoric moment. He was seduction in the flesh. The longer he held me, the more unbearable my lust for him became. Eventually my desire for him grew so heavy that I knew I would be crushed under its weight if I didn’t act on it.
All at once, lust capsized my good sense. I needed to kiss him. It felt as vital to my existence as oxygen did.
Opening my eyes, I saw an area deep in shadow at the far end of the room, and it became my quest to bring him there. I thrust my hips back to push him away. He let go of me, and I rushed forward immediately, but not before I had cast a lewd smile at him over my shoulder.
‘Cara,’ he called, though it sounded more like an order. He charged after me.
Giggling, I snuck through the crowd, always just barely escaping his grasp. Like a man possessed, he chased after me, eyes resolute.
‘Cara!’
Twirling, I gave him another smile. ‘Catch me if you can, Will! ’
Still giggling, I manoeuvred past the dancing bodies toward my desired spot. It was just below the staircase leading to the second floor, and it was shrouded in beckoning darkness.
I had nearly reached it when I turned to wait for him. About three feet away from me, he stopped, his eyes flickering between my mischievous smile and the dark area behind me. Seeming to infer my intentions, he took a deep breath, his jaw flexing.
With a lustful gleam in my eyes, I offered my hand to him as a silent invitation. I couldn’t quite distinguish the emotion that permeated his gaze. All I could tell was that it was intense.
He seized my hand and pulled me forcefully toward him. I slammed into his muscular chest, startled by his urgency. Before I could recover, he was moving forward, his hands on my hips as he steered me backward into the darkness. Veiled by shadows, he kept walking until I bumped into the wall behind me.
Suddenly his lips were right by my ear. ‘You are such a tease.’
I wetted my lips and locked my arms around his neck. ‘Am I?’
‘I swear to God, Cara, you’ll be my undoing,’ he said gruffly.
‘What, you can’t handle me?’ I purred and ran my fingers through his hair. Moving my leg between both of his, I started grinding against his thigh.
‘Oh, I’ll fucking handle you,’ he said and thrust his hips against me to pin me to the wall. Air exploded out of my lungs at his lustful action. A heartbeat later, his mouth found mine, and my chest ignited with a passion I had only felt twice before.
Truly, he was the best kisser I had ever encountered. How I had managed to resist him before was beyond my comprehension. I must have been an idiot.
The mesmerising motion of his mouth sent a surge of excitement through me. Tender, yet still so forceful, it ravished my own. His tongue wasn’t plunging into my mouth. It merely teased it, and it aroused me to an extent nobody but him had ever managed.
Dopamine raged through my system when the delectable taste of him detonated in my mouth. I had missed it more than I had been aware of. He tasted so good, and he kissed even better.
But his kiss was slightly different this time. It held such resolve that I was rendered powerless.
As his lips continued to slide against mine, my heart ached terribly. Pleasure tore at the very fibres of it. When William kissed me, I felt ecstatic. It was as though nothing else mattered anymore. Everything faded, everything but him. It just felt uncannily right; I felt complete, as though a vacancy I hadn’t known I harboured had been occupied; as though our lips had been designed for each other; as though we had been fated to combine all along.
It was entirely liberating to finally allow myself the sin – to touch him, to taste him. I wanted the moment to last for ever. There would be no consequences, then. Just him and me, marvelling endlessly at our overwhelming chemistry, in a moment locked away in infinity.
He groaned into my mouth and cupped my cheeks in his hands. Pulling away, he rested his forehead against mine and heaved for air.
‘Shit, Cara. What you do to me.’
‘Less talk, more kissing,’ I said on a ragged breath and brought his mouth back to mine. His stubble scraped my palms when I clasped his strong jaw, and I felt him smile against my lips. God, he was enticing. I wanted to devour the entirety of him.
He kept kissing me for minutes on end, and I never wanted him to stop. He was so damn good at it. I was addicted to his mouth, and all the things it could do.
My heart seemed to have caught fire, and his lustful hands on my body were adding fuel to it. Again, a most uncanny feeling poured into it, nibbling on the fibres.
What was it? It was so alien to me. So sweet, and yet so vulnerable. Delicate yet profound.
I frowned, trying to identify it, but when his hand trailed down my thigh, I forgot all about it. Groaning, I invited his touch to progress. Seeming to understand, he hooked his arm around my thigh and brought my leg around him. His fingertips travelled as light as a feather up my thigh again, then inward toward my dripping lips. He was barely touching me, yet a touch had never felt more powerful.
‘Will,’ I moaned and broke our kiss.
Chuckling, he reclaimed my mouth as his fingers drew closer and closer to my aching wetness. When they flirted with the soaked part of my thong, he pulled away and rested his lips by ear. I panted, trying to withstand the tingling sensation he was causing between my legs.
Suddenly he cupped my sex, making me gasp.
‘Always ready for me, Cara.’
‘Yes,’ I whined. ‘You drive me insane!’ I gripped his collar to tug him back to my mouth, but he refused me the satisfaction. He stopped just before he reached my swollen lips, his breath breezing across them.
‘Good.’ He rubbed me gently and I shuddered, caught by the delicious friction he provided. Hooking his fingers into my thong, he pushed it aside and revealed my wetness. One finger lapped over me once. Then he dipped it into me, though barely.
I shuddered again, wanting him to continue.
‘More?’ he purred into my ear.
‘Mm, yes,’ I said, high-pitched, and curled my fingers in his hair. I dragged his mouth toward mine, and this time, he allowed it. He pushed his finger deeply into me then, making me groan into his mouth. It felt so good.
Using the thumb of his other hand, he rubbed my clit. The sensation rippled up my spine and made my head jerk backward. He seemed determined to make me come with nothing but his hands, and I marvelled at the idea of it. No man had ever managed to make me come this way before, but William was well on his way to becoming the first.
Adding another finger, he thrust them in and out of me, and he focused his point of impact on my front wall. Meanwhile, the thumb of his other hand continued to rub me.
My lips parted and my eyes grew wide. Whoa . This was nothing short of delicious.
The tension rallied in the pit of my belly. Growing larger and larger, it expanded until every muscle of my body tensed.
‘Shit,’ I breathed out.
I chewed on my lower lip, grimacing. Heat spread across my skin, burning. Everything was so hot . My heart accelerated with the speed of his fingers, my breathing growing louder, harder, ragged. The background faded. All I noticed was him.
His thumb struck my clit with perfect precision then.
I moaned, my eyes squeezing shut. Applying more pressure, he continued to rub my throbbing bud, making my thoughts scatter into dizzy elation. Inside me, his strong fingers kept stroking that susceptible spot.
‘Will,’ I wailed. Responding, he thrust his fingers harder into me. I gasped, my walls clenching around his digits. Shivers bolted through my system while my toes curled in my heels.
Oh no.
‘Fuck!’ I cried, hitting the peak. The dam inside me crumbled and a warm torrent of pure liberation flooded my body .
As I convulsed away from the wall, he rushed to cage me in his arms. Whether he remembered my tendencies was lost on me, but it was entirely plausible. I always quivered when I came, and he had experienced that first-hand before.
Finally, I went limp, drifting away on the blissful orgasm that stormed through my body. William’s intoxicating scent filled my nose as I recovered against him. When I found the strength to lift my head again, he leaned down and nuzzled his nose against mine.
I couldn’t see much, but I could make out the vague silhouette of his hand as he raised it to his face.
‘What an appetiser, Cara,’ he said then, and I realised he was licking his fingers clean.
Lost for words, I stared at him through the dark. He was so fucking erotic.
He took my hand with his other one. Moving next to my ear, he said, ‘About time we leave this place, don’t you think?’
‘Y-yeah.’
He leaned away and turned his head, probably scanning the crowd. When he looked back, he said, ‘I need to find Andy first, though.’