Page 53 of Love: Take Two

I sit first, and after a moment of hesitation, she joins me. She's like an exotic bird, ready to take flight at the slightest provocation. I can't mess this up. Not when I finally have her in my apartment. Not after so many years of unconsummated desire that was clearly mutual.

She doesn't protest when I lift her legs into my lap and slowly remove her heels. The moan she releases when I rub my thumb into the arch of her foot is damn near pornographic.

"Oh God. That feels amazing. Where on earth did you learn to massage likethat?"

"Oh, you know," I reply vaguely, but the moans stop and her legs go a little stiff.

"Come on, Awa," I groan, beyond frustrated at being so close to either heaven or devastation, depending on what's running through her mind right now. "If I told you I learned with another woman, would you leave?"

She shrugs, but doesn't remove her legs from my lap.

"No. I guess not. But it is a good reminder of the kind of man you are. Even after all those sweet nothings and gestures tonight, you're still the type to be gone in the morning."

I resume rubbing her feet while she eyes me warily.

"I can't very well leave my own apartment," I quip, which earns me a raised eyebrow. "OK, that was a bad joke. I didn't promise anything when I brought you up here, Awa," I say with a sigh. "If that's what you need to move forward—"

"Quite the opposite," she interrupts, placing her hands over mine to stop my ministrations. "I think it's best if we make it clear from the start that this is just sex. Just for tonight. You can get me a latte tomorrow, or not, but we're not anything outside this room."

I've given a version of that speech countless times. I remember saying something similar in her dorm room all those years ago. And that twinge in my chest probably has more to do with chili-spiced prawns at the event earlier than her words. I'm Noah Park. I've always been here for a good time, not a long time, at least where women are concerned.

But is that how you feel about Awa?my subconscious unhelpfully asks.

She felt different then, and she feels different right now, but clearlydifferentisn't where her head is at tonight. I'm not about to get cock-blocked just because of some feelings I haven't even figured out yet.

"We're on the same page," I respond, smiling. "Alors, s'il te plaît, est-ce que tu veux bien me laisser te baiser?" Her eyes darken, just as I'd hoped.

The surprise when I first showed off my French months ago had been delicious. She probably thought I forgot how she used to tease me about my terrible pronunciation. How she practically begged to teach me some basic phrases, if only to spare her eardrums. Our…relationship fizzled before she got the chance to make good on those plans, but I never forgot. Her words, the brief but scorching memories of our time together, stayed with me.

She leans back, resting against the plush cushions of my couch, and spreads her thighs open to tempt me.

God damn!Lacy panties that match the cobalt blue of her gown peek out at me from between her legs, the dampness at the apex making my throat constrict. It's going to take a miracle not to chase her when she walks out the door.

I lean forward, pressing my body flush with hers, and take her lips in a searing kiss months in the making. The sharpness of the wine mingles with the tanginess of the blackberry cheesecake from the party on her tongue, drawing me indeeper until I'm plundering her mouth, pillaging every corner of her sensual heat.

Her desperate moan when I grab her hips and squeeze sends a wave of pleasure up my spine. It's so fucking hot.Toofucking hot, when mere hours ago she would've been happy to never see me again. Little did she know that her snark, her frequent digs at my expense, only made me want her more. Want to feel the fire that smolders beneath her intimidating professionalism. I could never tame her, but I'd gladly worship her, even for just one night.

My hands move of their own accord, from the globes of her ass, along the supple flesh of her abundant thighs, and between her legs to the warmth that's been pressing against my crotch, ratcheting up my hunger with each grind of our hips.

"Yesssss!" she hisses when I slide a finger past the satin of her panties into her already soaking core. I release my own groan, feeling the strong grip of her hot cunt around my finger.How the fuck am I going to last in that?I won't; that's how.

Instead, I pull away, moving down her body.

"No!" she whines, trying to pull me back up to her tempting lips. My chest puffs out at that, at the fact that she might hate what my mouth says, but she loves what it can do to her.

"Don't worry, baby," I coo against her neck.

I untie the belt of her dress to expose more smooth, ebony skin. I kiss down her chest, push her breasts together to surround my face as I lick her sternum and the azure lace of herbra, and hum a moan of appreciation against her rib cage. The dark velvet under my lips is intoxicating, hypnotizing, irresistible. She stops pulling at my shirt when my shoulders settle between her open legs, my intentions clear.

"I'm going to eat you to within an inch of your life," I promise, my eyes burning into hers. "Then I'm going to fuck you until you're nothing but a puddle of pleasure on my couch."

The old Awa would have quivered at my words, cowered at the thought of pleasure she'd only seen in movies. But this Awa, the Awa who offers herself to me like the most sinful feast, simply smirks.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

I smile.So mean. So perfect.I'm going to wipe that smirk right off her face.

I make a show of rolling up my shirtsleeves, then wrap my left arm around her plump ass, while my right hand rips the material of her panties to expose her fully to me.