The Apartment: The Complete Affair (19 page)

He had been running a few errands, picking up a few more art supplies, when he decided that it wouldn’t kill him to have a few groceries around the place since he was practically living there now. It was only supposed to be a studio, but he felt so much better when he was there lately. He hadn’t had any nightmares in days.

He hadn’t seen them inside the store at all, but when he was getting ready to pull out of his parking spot something just made him look up directly at them. It was as if his eyes were drawn to her like a magnet.

The big burly idiot had been tossing bags in the car before leaning down to steal a kiss, and it had taken everything inside of Ethan to keep from jumping out of the car and socking him in the jaw. Even though he was seeing through a blood-red rage cloud, he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. She looked so sad, so alone.

The next thing he knew, he was driving. It was simply instinct, his body following hers. He hated to think how easily he could have rear-ended them when the Neanderthal had slammed on his brakes; his eyes had been locked on her profile through the back window the entire time. It would have made for an awkward accident report, that’s for sure.

He had felt something painful deep in the pit of his stomach when they both went into that tiny little house together. Suddenly the pitiful ring made much more sense. Did they live there together? What was she missing there that kept her coming back to him?

Ethan sighed deeply and threw his head back against the wall in frustration. “Fuck!” he growled. He wondered why he had to pick now to give a shit about something.

In an effort to distract himself, he broke another chunk off the large candy bar that he’d purchased. He sucked the melted chocolate off his long fingers before chewing loudly, regarding the blank canvas again. As a few different images began to filter through his mind, he could hear a familiar light cadence outside in the hallway, slowly climbing the steps.

He stopped mid-chew and stared at the door, not daring to get up. He almost thought his ears were playing tricks on him until the knob began to turn, that amazing sound of the tumblers turning in the lock making his insides melt. The door opened in slow motion before him, revealing the loveliest face he could have ever hoped to see at that moment.

His brunette goddess entered with a smile so bright that her eyes were glowing. She was in her standard gym attire, this time sporting a pair of dark gray pants and a light blue shirt emblazoned with the words
Part Time Model
in black letters. She shut the door behind her and crossed the room, stopping once she was standing right in front of him and crouching down until she was looking him in the eye.

“Morning, stranger,” she whispered, the smile never leaving her face. He couldn’t keep from glancing quickly at her fingers. All bare. Good.

“What’s got you in such a good mood this morning?” he replied, still feeling sore about yesterday, but already noticing her contagious good mood spreading throughout his senses.

“Well,” she sighed, “it’s the weekend, and I have found an entire Sunday to be just where I want to be.” She leaned forward slowly and brought her mouth to his, kissing him lightly. When she pulled back she flicked her tongue out and licked her lips, tasting the slightest hint of chocolate. “Mmm, you taste rather sweet today.”

Lily sat down next to him, propping herself against the wall. She reached over and took the chunk of chocolate from between his fingers, biting off a small piece before sharing another smile with him that he felt all the way down in his groin… after it first left his stomach fluttering in the strangest way. It was a sweet smile that told him she really was happy to have finally found time to be with him.

“So are you just a big Conchords freak, or is it all things New Zealand?” he asked, nodding toward her shirt of the day. He tried to ignore how loud his heart pounded when her eyes lit up.

“Oh, New Zealand, all the way!” she gushed. “I didn’t know much about it before I started getting into the Conchords a few years ago, but I just love so much about the culture.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“God no, I could never afford that,” she sighed. “But if I could go anywhere…” She didn’t need to finish her thought; the wistful look on her face said it all. She blushed a deep red when she noticed he was watching her closely. Taking another quick bite of chocolate, she used it to give her a moment to catch her breath before handing it back to him.

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, their simultaneous chewing the only sound that could be heard.

“So,” Lily finally said, gesturing to the canvas. “What exactly are we looking at here?”

“Well, it’s supposed to be my next great masterpiece. Right now it’s nothing.”

“No,” she whispered, meeting his eyes again. “Never nothing.”

Ethan had no choice after that—he simply had to kiss her. He shifted slightly until their noses were almost touching, inhaling her deeply before bridging the gap and settling his mouth over hers. Rather than the explosion of fire that they were used to, it was a slow burn that spread over them both, radiating throughout their bodies until even their fingers felt like they were glowing.

Neither of them had ever felt anything so sweet.

Somehow he forced himself to break the kiss, resting his forehead against hers and exhaling. “So you have all day?” he whispered, almost afraid to open his eyes and find out he’d misunderstood her.

“Yes.” He could feel the warm sweetness of her breath on his lips as she answered him. “Unless you need to work?” her voice faltered. “I’d hate to be a distraction.”

“Oh, you’re a distraction alright,” he groaned, lifting his hand to the back of her head and spearing his fingers through her hair. “To my sanity.”

He pulled her mouth back to his and kissed her more roughly, pouring every drop of anger and uncertainty he’d felt over the last few days into it until it grew more and more heated. When she gasped at the onslaught he slipped the tip of his tongue between her soft lips and caressed it against her own.

She responded instantly, moaning into him and running her hands frantically up across his chest and shoulders, desperate for something to grab onto. When she had finally fisted enough material from his tattered t-shirt between her fingers she yanked him toward her.

He followed with a hungry grunt.

Wrapping his other hand around her waist, he leaned her back slowly onto the floor, never breaking contact with her delicious mouth as he slid one knee up between her thighs. She spread them eagerly, stretching her legs up around his hips, allowing him to settle his weight there more firmly. His now painful erection was pressed up against her and the friction of him felt so good there, even through their clothes, that she couldn’t stop herself from rocking her hips up into him.

Ethan groaned through the kiss, shifting his hips into her again and running his hands over everywhere he could reach on her body at once. He stroked her hair, caressed her cheeks, and cupped her firm breasts through the material of her shirt before finally grabbing her hips and pulling her up into him again, grinding himself even harder there.

“Please!” Lily gasped around his strong lips, gripping and pulling at his shirt around his back, trying to lift it up but getting it bunched up around his moving arms. “God, please!”

Ethan pulled back long enough to get the offending shirt over his head, tossing it over in the corner before attacking her mouth again. She let out a blissful sigh once her fingers came in contact with his warm skin, sinking them into his back when she was treated to another grind of his pelvis.

He tugged at her shirt, pulling it up just enough to see her lacy bra. With another loud groan he buried his face in her cleavage, fondling and squeezing her breasts before yanking the lace down. A small rip could be heard as her dark, erect nipples were exposed to his ravenous mouth. He feasted on her swollen peaks, licking and sucking them while sliding one hand down between their bodies and cupping her sex.

“Are you wet for me?” he panted against her lips, bringing his hand back up long enough to slide it behind the waistband of her panties. She could only respond with a moan as she nodded and his fingers sank into her slippery wetness, giving him all the answer he needed. “Fuck,” he gasped, quickly pulling his fingers free and shoving them in his mouth.

When the taste of her juices hit his tongue he snarled, a new wave of need washing over him. He had to be inside her body. If he wasn’t buried deep inside her in the next minute he knew he would go insane. He sat back on his knees, knowing that she would follow. As soon as she had gotten up on her knees to face him, he kissed her one more time roughly before grabbing her and turning her around.

She arched back against him, bringing one hand up behind his head to tug on his hair, while at the same time rubbing her backside against the throbbing bulge in the front of his jeans. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and pulled her head back, nipping and licking at her lips.

“I need you,” he groaned.

“Then I’m yours,” she gasped.

Ethan bit back a growl as he began to pull on her pants, sliding them roughly over the swell of her hips while he nipped and licked at her neck. As soon as her pants were down around her knees and her delectable ass was uncovered, he ripped them the rest of the way off and pushed her forward to guide her onto her hands and knees. Perhaps later he could take his time and look her deep in the eyes while he lost himself inside her, but at that moment he didn’t have the patience to take the rest of her clothes off.

Fumbling with the fly of his pants, he wrestled his jeans down, and no sooner had he kicked them off and thrown them across the room than his leaking cock was in his hand and he was guiding it to her scorching heat. Arching her back, Lily offered him a perfect angle for entrance, and he thrust himself inside with one swift movement.

They both cried out at the sudden onslaught of sensation.

Ethan began pushing himself inside her, desperate to feel her climax on him again. He leaned forward enough to reach one of his hands around to the front of her, sliding his fingers through her wetness and swirling them around her clitoris in time with each thrust. She was shattering into a thousand pieces within seconds.

Lily wailed, her inner muscles gripping him tightly inside her. Ethan almost asked her to say his name, wanting more than anything to hear it falling from her kiss-swollen lips, until he remembered at the last second that she didn’t even know it because he hadn’t wanted her to. At the moment he couldn’t quite remember why that had seemed like such a good idea.

He slowed his movements a bit, allowing her to regain some energy so that she didn’t fall forward on her face. He was close, but he wanted her full participation. He ran his hands up her back, helping her take her shirt the rest of the way off until they were finally naked together. Once it had been tossed aside to rest next to his, she turned back and looked at him over her shoulder, a bright blush staining her cheeks.

“What could you possibly be embarrassed about right now, my beautiful girl?”

Lily moaned again, loving the sound of him calling her
his
. That was exactly what she needed to hear at that moment, especially considering what she was about to request. She swallowed down any nervousness she might have been feeling, knowing that this man was the only one she would ever want to share this with. Even if it was only while she was in this room, she was his. Body and soul.

“Come on, out with it.” He smirked at her playfully, pushing his hips into her for good measure. Feeling him sliding inside her only served to distract her again, but after she remembered what the heck she had been trying to say, she smiled at him and felt her cheeks flame again.

“I was just… well… I’ve been thinking about what you did the other day, what you said. I think I’d—” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I think I’d like to try it.”

She watched as the realization of what she was asking dawned on him. His mouth dropped open for a second before he could catch it and his gaze kept shifting from her eyes to her bottom. “Now?” he barely croaked. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, now, yes, I’m sure.” She looked him directly in the eye before adding, “Yes—with you. Only you.”

How he didn’t come right there on the spot was beyond him.

Somehow the enormity of what she was asking of him outweighed the sexiness. He was suddenly very overwhelmed with the need to make this comfortable for her. He didn’t know if he could promise total pleasure the first time, even though he would try, but he damn well wasn’t going to give her pain.

“Dammit! If I’d only known you would be ready for this, I would have bought some lube. I don’t have anything here that would work.” He looked at her and gulped nervously. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Scolding himself for his stupid mistake of ever being unprepared, he made a mental note to buy some lube the second he left again. While he was debating if he should be the world’s biggest idiot and ask her to wait there while he ran to get some, his beautiful girl managed to completely surprise him once again.

Reaching down into the pocket of her pants that were bunched up beside her, she pulled out a small squeeze tube of lubricant and handed it to him. “I took this from the sample closet at work,” she said quietly, a fresh wave of color tinting her cheeks.

Ethan briefly wondered where the hell she worked that she had access to samples of lube, but he stopped himself before asking her and crossing his own boundaries. “You’ve clearly given this some thought, haven’t you?” he asked instead, still amazed by her boldness.

“Yes,” she answered confidently. “I’m ready.”

“Alright,” he whispered. Before he could talk himself out of it, he opened the tube and squeezed a generous amount of the slippery substance onto his fingers and brought them up to her rear entrance. He hadn’t pulled himself out of her yet, wanting the feeling to stay pleasurable for her for as long as possible while he prepared her. “Now, this is going to feel just like the last time to begin with, okay? You liked that, right?”