A.SPECKHART | Book One

ECSTASY 3.1

** WARNING - 18+ CHAPTER **

My fate was sealed the moment the front door latched closed. The sound it made stole my attention from the city view. My pursuer didn't grant me any time to rally my thoughts and approached me. The anticipation of what was to come made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. Despite my feelings of foreboding, the stranger, unphased, peeled my jacket away from my shoulders. Involuntarily, my body grew ridged, but it was too late; I had been relieved of the denim's coverage. From behind me, his fingers gathered my hair away from my neck, and his other hand stroked down the bare skin of my arms. His warm and gentle hands soothed me. 

When I felt his breath on my skin, mine hitched in my throat. He'd daringly neared my neck for a kiss, and the instant his lips touched me, I wanted to wince out of nervousness. My heart was pumping so fast it was either going to spring right out of my chest or stop altogether!

"Relax," he whispered, close to my ear, "unless you really want me to stop?"

Without the distortion of loud club music or a buzzing radio, I could finally hear his voice, unadulterated. Its gravelly, calm bass lulled me towards his desired conclusion—unconsciously, I did as he asked, and my shoulders dropped their tense hunch. 

"Hmmm, you smell so good." The breath of each word swirled against my neck. 

The compliment caught me by surprise. My mind was reeling again. I couldn't remember putting on any perfume at Lindsay's, and I'd been dancing and had worked up a sweat in the club. Could I really have smelled anything near 'good'? Still, I had become so touch-starved that the mere brisking of the tip of his nose up my neck caused me to shudder. I stifled a moan to say, "Th- thanks."

"Mmm, you're welcome." When he went in for another kiss, like his breath, I felt his words moving on his lips. This time, they caressed my neck with more purpose, and in reaction, I hummed a pleased sigh. My enjoyment encouraged him further, and soon his lips were busy placing soft kisses over my shoulder, back up the length of my neck and jaw until he gently nipped at my ear. With my eyes closed, I tipped my head back into his shoulder in surrender and moaned again.

As if the sensations of the intimacy I'd been pining for weren't spine-tingling enough when I felt his hands slip away from my arms to grasp the small of my waist, my thighs instinctively squeezed together in reaction to the impatient twitching I felt between them.

When his palm laid flat over my stomach, I dared to imagine where things were going to progress. Would he soon slide it further down and sate my curiosity about the skill of his hands? The excitement I felt just imagining it caused me to throw caution to the wind. I had been such a good girl in all my twenty-one years. I had been faithful to four boyfriends, and while I hadn't led a boring sex life with any of them, I'd never let loose with a complete stranger before. Screw it. I'm going to get me some, my dark side growled lustily.

Turning around to face my accomplice, feeling bolder for surrendering to my instincts, but I was still ginger in my attempt to close the gap between us. Again, I was pleased by his height and how lovely it felt to nestle my head into someone's shoulder, tuck under someone's chin, and feel cosily close. My face hovered mere inches from the hollow between his collarbones. In the plender gap, I ventured my first offering—a kiss.

Tentatively, I reached and placed my hand on his neck. When his arm coiled my waist and pulled me the rest of the way toward him, I closed my eyes and submitted to the close quarters. Blind, all my other senses piqued to fill the void my lack of sight created. It was impossible not to breathe him in from that distance—his scent was musky with woodsy undertones but decidedly fresh. The tangy citrus notes from his soap or cologne were mouth-watering. One kiss wasn't enough, so I set my lips back on him hungrily. To savour the taste of him, I opened my lips over his skin. Submissively, the handsome stranger craned his neck, indicating he wanted me to venture further. Sure enough, he let me know he liked what I was doing; I heard and felt him groan when his throat vibrated beneath my lips. After a few more kisses, the groan transformed into a lustier growl, and then suddenly, my back found the entryway wall. The sudden contact with the hard surface didn't hurt, but the surprise caused me to gasp. That moment was fleeting, and soon, I was busy enjoying the texture of his hair between my fingers—he had bowed to kiss about the neckline of my top. Teasing that he wanted to kiss and touch beneath it, his fingers stretched up my ribs but hesitated at the hem and pulled away the second I anticipated his hands feeling their way up my chest. Slightly disheartened and hit with another pang of surprise, my eyes shot open and met his in the darkness. His handsome face loomed close. My focus honed in on his lips—the attentive and delicious-looking lips that had left my skin hot and tingly just a moment before. In that moment, I contemplated the possibility of kissing him there and gnawed the inside of my cheek.