Unrequited

If anyone could make me forget my demons, it’s her.

If any woman could shine bright enough to blot out the dark, she’s right here in front of me.

“When I’m lost, when it all fades away, I feel free,” I tell her, thinking of the spotlight; my guitar, the rush of melody pouring through me. “Nothing else matters; it’s like my soul is taking flight.”

She lets out a whispering shiver of a sigh. “That sounds wonderful,” she murmurs. “To lose myself completely...” Her eyes glaze over; her lips part, soft and wet, and crying out for me to take them.

Damn.

I can’t hold back any longer. I get up and slowly walk around the table. Alicia freezes, looking up at me.

I hold out my hand. “I made you a promise,” I tell her, my voice coming out low and hoarse with desire. “I won’t push you further than you’re ready. But I can show you pleasure like you’ve never dreamed. All you have to do is say the word.”

9.

ALICIA

I stare up at him, his eyes glittering dark in the candlelight, his whole body tense with desire. God, he’s magnificent.

Nobody’s ever looked at me so hungrily, as if he’s holding himself back from devouring me right now. But still, he waits for my response. “I want you ready,” he told me. “You’ll be wet, and naked, and begging for me.”

My breath stills in my throat. My heart races, my body already aching to feel his touch.

I’ve been tiptoeing along the edge of chaos all night long, torn between my loyalty to a man I can never have, and this, the most reckless choice of all. I can’t avoid it any longer, and oh, I don’t want to. I know it’s time to make that leap.

“Show me,” I whisper, feeling a rush of giddy anticipation. I’m in free fall, plunging through the night.

Dex pulls me to my feet, but he doesn’t make another move; he just stands there, inches away from me, cradling my cheek gently in his hand.

I gaze into his eyes, into the promise of surrender. “I want to feel it all,” I tell him, flushing. “Teach me, Dex. Show me what I’ve been missing.”

Victory surges across his face. Without a word, Dex takes my hand and leads me down the hallway to the bedroom.

I step over the threshold, already feeling dizzy with desire. Like the rest of the apartment, the room is minimal and sleek, dominated by a huge king bed that takes up most of the room, laid with crisp navy linens and an iron headboard.

Dex turns to me, slowly pulling me closer. He kisses me softly, featherlight against my parted lips, but it sends heat blazing through me, right the way to my core.

“I’ve been waiting to take this dress off you all night,” he whispers, trailing a finger down my neck. My pulse kicks as he slowly slides one strap and then the other off my shoulders so the silky fabric pools around my ankles on the floor. I’m wearing a delicate white slip underneath, and I watch, hypnotized, as his large hand trails across the lacy neckline, teasing me.

Oh Lord.

He dips his head, whispering kisses along my collarbone and down over the edge of the lace. I gasp at the sensation, arching up towards his mouth, but he take his time, teasing over the soft fabric, swirling his tongue over me in a riot of pleasure until the fabric is wet and my ni**les pucker in tight buds. I’m gasping, clutching at his shoulders with shallow, fevered breaths.

“I want to see you.” Dex’s voice is ragged. He steps back, his eyes devouring me. “Take it all off.”

My stomach twists. Slowly, I peel the slip over my head and drop it to the floor. I’m standing in my bra and panties, trembling under his hungry gaze.

“Goddamn,” he breathes. “You’re perfect.”

He reaches out and trails a possessive hand over my hot skin, across my chest, down between my br**sts, over my stomach. I exhale, feeling his fingertips shiver across my skin, sweet as molasses.

Then he firmly pushes me back, until I’m sitting on the edge of the bed.

Dex slowly sinks to his knees.

My heart stops. He’s settled just in front of me, his head lifted, holding my gaze. Not taking his eyes from me, Dex slides his hands up my legs and eases them apart.

I let out a gasp. I’m spread to him, just a slip of silk panties covering my core as he drops a kiss on the inside of my knee. Another, higher, the scratch of his stubble brushing lightly against me, inching his way up my thigh.

Oh God.

Sensation shivers across my skin, wet heat pooling at the apex of my thighs. I can’t believe I’m here, that he’s doing this right now.

“Your skin...” he breathes, tracing slow circles up my thighs. “It’s like silk. So soft...”

He drops another kiss, just below my panties. I can’t help but flinch at the foreign sensation, even as pleasure swells through my body.

“Relax,” he orders me softly.

I gulp, embarrassed. “I’ve never...”

“You’ve never had a man kiss you here before?” he asks, lowering his head again. This time, he licks upwards right between my thighs in a gorgeous blaze of pressure.

Oh God, I can feel his tongue, hot through the silk of my panties.

“No!” I squeak, shuddering.

“No, you’ve never been licked out before?” Dex murmurs, swirling his tongue again. And oh, this time he’s licking over my clit, and I can’t help but grasp onto his head, sinking my fingers into his dark hair as the pleasure swoops through me. “Or no, you want me to stop?”