Edge of Moonlight (5 page)

She’d never been one to flirt and tease. She’d been a tomboy all her life, and a loner at that.

Before John, she hadn’t found a man she wanted to flirt with. She’d had sex, yes, but that had been more about curiosity and scratching an itch.

John had been the first man to make her want…something more. An emotional attachment. Even if it could only be for one night.

And if all she had was this night, then she damn well didn’t want to waste time trading longing glances in a bar.

She needed to cut to the chase. “Do you live close, John?” He blinked, the only sign that her question might have startled him. “Yeah, I do.

Would you like to come back to my place for a drink, Kaine?” She opened her mouth to agree but caught herself just before she did. What would he think of her if she merely followed him back to his apartment? Would he think she was a slut? Or just plain crazy?

Did
eteri
women blindly follow men they’d only just met back to their homes for sex? Especially big, strong ones?

She could protect herself from pretty much anything an
eteri
dished out, even John.

But he didn’t know that.

As she considered her options, he leaned away from her, as if trying to give her some space. The problem was, she didn’t want space. She wanted him to crowd against her, to tear her clothes off and ravage her. To make her scream out his name while he pounded into her.

The image stole her breath.

John backed off just a little farther. “Or you could let me buy you a—”

“Yes, I’d love to go back to your place.”

If John had second thoughts, he never showed them as he slid out of the booth then waited for her to follow. He held out his hand to help her to her feet but released her immediately so she could grab her hoodie.

Both of them threw money on the table to cover their bills and, without another word, they walked out into the spring night.

The cool night air seeped into John’s clothing as he and Kaine walked at a steady pace toward his apartment.

It helped to contain the raging lust coursing through his body.

He was starting to wonder if he was more drunk than he’d thought. He’d never had this reaction to a woman. Hell, not even when he’d been a teenager and perpetually horny.

This was…almost like a fever, one he had to get under control before they reached the apartment. The way he felt right now, he’d be ripping off her clothes before he got her inside.

Cars zoomed by, the thump of a bass and the annoying buzzsaw of a fucked-up muffler filling the air. They didn’t speak but the silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable. It held anticipation that grew with every step.

He glanced at his watch. Almost ten p.m. At least four hours until Evie got home.

He didn’t want to waste a second. He thought about picking her up and running for the apartment but figured that might be pushing it.

She could get frightened and bolt, even though he hadn’t had to twist her arm to get her to leave with him.

He’d been almost afraid to touch her since they’d left the bar because maybe he was dreaming and he didn’t want it to be over yet.

Hell, she’d practically flat-out asked to come home with him.

Maybe he should be worried that she’d agreed so fast. She didn’t know him but she didn’t seem to have any fear of him. Did that mean she was a nutcase?

Or did she feel the same irrational lust for him that he did for her?

He stole a glance down at her, walking at his side. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder and that unusual hair hid her features from view. She looked like a teenager, and a boy, at that, with the hoodie covering her from her shoulders almost to her knees.

He couldn’t wait to strip her down to her skin and reveal the sleek, muscled body he suspected was hidden under all that clothing.

She wasn’t anything like the women he typically dated. She wasn’t blonde and built like a supermodel. And she probably had more brains than his last three dates combined.

Kaine’s dark eyes held a sharp intelligence and she walked with a confidence most men didn’t have.

It made him hot as hell.

He walked faster and though her legs were shorter than his, she had no trouble keeping up.

Just before they reached the house with the rose hedge that he could see from the apartment’s front window, John touched her shoulder and directed her to cross the street.

Unable to help himself, he let his hand rest on her elbow. For some reason, he needed that contact, needed to touch her.

She didn’t pull away.

Taking her around the side of the building, he opened the private entrance to the stairway to their third-floor apartment.

He waved her in front of him and nearly tripped up the steps as he watched her tight ass sway under the hoodie all the way up the stairs.

By the time they reached the top floor, he had a hard-on threatening to bust his jeans. He had to unclench his fists to get the key out of his pocket and the width of his hand tightened the material against his cock until he hissed in a sharp breath between his teeth.

She glanced up at him at that moment, her dark gaze meeting his. The raw lust in her expression made something snap inside him.

Like an overwound rubber band breaking, his control shattered and it was all he could do to fumble the key into the lock and get the door open.

He crowded against her, practically pushed her into the apartment, wanting to cover her with his body.

Irrational instinct made him want to subdue her even though he knew she wouldn’t submit. At least, not without a fight.

Christ, he looked forward to the challenge.

He couldn’t quite contain his groan when she reached for him. But he nearly came in his pants when she gripped his shirt and ripped it open.

Buttons flew, cotton tore and for one brief second, he thought he could contain the animalistic lust that made him want to pull down her pants, toss her over the arm of the couch and fuck her hard and fast.

“Christ, Kaine—”

“Shut up and kiss me, John. Please.”

It was the “please” that broke his control, combined with the heat in her eyes.

He dropped his mouth over hers, but he didn’t have to go far because she reached up to meet him.

He lifted his hands to cup her face but she had his shirt down around his elbows by that time. For a brief second, as his mouth opened over hers and their tongues clashed for that first, intoxicating taste, he was trapped. He couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t touch her and that nearly made him crazy.

With a growl, he snapped his arms straight so the shirt could fall away. Hands now free, he reached for her jeans, for the zipper.

But of course, her jeans didn’t have a zipper. Four difficult buttons impeded his progress and he needed both hands to open them.

He felt her hands pull his plain white undershirt out of his waistband and the touch of her skin on his overheated flesh made him groan into her mouth.

She kissed him with the same desperation he felt as he worked the buttons. Her hands spread across his back for a brief second, as if soaking in his heat. Then she went to work on his belt and pants. Scant seconds later, he felt his pants drop to the floor and her hands pushed under the waistband of his boxer briefs to cup his ass.

Oh,
fuck
.

His cock throbbed as he toed off the loafers he hated and pushed her tight jeans down her legs. Releasing her mouth for two seconds, he bent to toss his wallet at the couch then rose to tear the sweatshirt over her head and settle his mouth over hers again.

He couldn’t get enough of her taste, so hot and sweet, as he swept his hands down her arms just to feel the silk of her skin before he grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and lifted that as well.

Now he took a moment to look down, to take in the sight of Kaine naked and beautiful before him.

She wore no bra and didn’t need one. Her breasts were small but perfect, high and hard, her nipples tight and ruddy red.

He wanted to stop and stare but her hands continued to move, pulling up his undershirt so she could rip it over his head. Then she grabbed the waistband of his boxer briefs. He sucked in a breath as her hands brushed the tip of his cock before she yanked the briefs down his legs.

His hands covered her breasts at the exact moment one of hers wrapped around his shaft and the other cupped his balls.

Kaine gasped, her eyelids fluttering shut for a brief moment before she lifted her head to stare into his eyes. In the darkness of the apartment, her eyes looked black, bottomless. He had the oddest sense that he’d seen them before and not just in his dreams.

Then his body shuddered as she began to slide her warm hand up and down his shaft.

She held his gaze as she did it, watched as he fell more deeply under her control. It was a strange sensation. Typically, he was the one in control during sex, just by virtue of his personality.

He’d let this woman he’d just met do whatever she wanted.

And right now, she wanted to stroke him. Slow and tight, she pumped his shaft as her other hand played with his balls. Her steady motion combined with her hot gaze made his heart pound while his blood heated.

God damn, her hands…

He felt the heated rush of orgasm building and wanted to come right then. Just let himself go in her hands.

It almost seemed as if that’s what she wanted.

Shit, was he that much of a pushover?

Fuck no.

Without warning, he grabbed her under the arms and lifted her so her feet hung off the ground. Luckily, she released him, her hands going instead to his shoulders as he started to walk. He only needed to go a few steps. The couch was right behind him.

But she wasn’t going to let him get that far.

Her hips shifted as she lifted her legs around his waist. And the tip of his cock slid against the wet lips of her pussy.

They both gasped, and electricity sparked through John’s body as he shuddered to a stop.

“Christ, Kaine,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “Don’t—” She arched her back, moving her hips until she had his cock poised to enter. “Shut up and do me. Please.”

He didn’t think he’d be able to stop now if the world was ending.

Reaching between her legs, he positioned his cock and thrust into her.

Tight, hot. Holy hell, she clasped him like a fist. So tight he was almost afraid to thrust again for fear he’d hurt her.

But then she moved, wriggling against him, his shaft forging more deeply into her, every inch a victory that made him feel like a conquering hero. He wanted to savor the moment.

“Oh gods, John.” She sounded almost as if she were going to cry. “Don’t stop. I need you.”

And he needed her. So much so, he burned with it.

Forcing himself to take the last few steps, every movement causing lust to streak through his body, he made it to the couch and sank down in the middle.

Then, like they’d done this a hundred times before, Kaine’s knees bent on either side of his hips as he grabbed hers and sealed her mouth with his.

He drew back to thrust again and felt something cool touch his thigh.

His wallet.

Shit.
Condom. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten one ‘til now.

“Kaine, hang on.” By touch, he fished the condom from his wallet and eased her off him for the few seconds it took to sheath himself.

“What— Oh.” She watched his every move, her body trembling.

When he reached for her, she practically dove into his arms, lifting her hips and sliding down on him so fast, she took his breath away.

Then she started to move.

Kaine set the pace, hard and fast, and he let her. She kissed him with fire and passion, her tongue mimicking the thrust of his cock into her body.

Cupping her ass with one hand, he moved the other between their bodies, sliding a finger between them so he could flick her clit with each downward thrust. She moaned into his mouth, her hands clutching at his shoulders as if he might try to get away.

Their skin slickening with sweat, they strained together as one. John felt her every breath, every pulse of her muscles around him. The intensity of their passion felt like adrenaline rushing through his blood.

He couldn’t hold her close enough, couldn’t get deep enough inside her. He needed her to come, to feel her break apart around him, because it was him.

With each flick of his finger, he learned what made her moan, what made her shudder. Feeling his own release building, he stroked her clit and had the fierce satisfaction of feeling her body tighten just before her contractions started, milking his cock until he exploded into the warmth of her body.

For the first time in forever, he wished like hell that he wasn’t wearing a condom.

That he was pumping his seed deep inside her. Making her his.

Forcing the thought out of his head, he wrapped his arms around her still shaking body, her head falling onto his shoulder and her warm breath blowing against his skin.

“Jesus, that was fast.”

Well, shit. The filter between his brain and his mouth must have dissolved along with his control.

She shook against him and it took him a few seconds to realize she was laughing.

“Yeah, it was.” She leaned away, just far enough to stare into his eyes. “But I don’t have a curfew. Do you?”

Amazingly, heat began to build. “No, no curfew.”

Her smile made his cock twitch. “Then I guess we have time to go for slow.” Kaine tried not to smile like an idiot but couldn’t quite manage to control it.

She’d like to think the alcohol was still a factor but she knew better.

It was all John.

With his arms wrapped around her and their bodies still joined, she wanted to rest her head on his shoulder and sleep. Then let him wake her as he carried her to bed so they could explore each other more thoroughly.

This first time had taken off some of the edge but she still wanted him.

Would always want him.

No, she wasn’t going to think about that. That way led to heartbreak and tears.