Her hands ran up my chest and wrapped around my neck. She pulled her body in closer to mine and nipped at my jaw. I felt the feathers of her mask run along my face, turning me on even more.

I slowly moved up to her rib cage, where I rested for a short period of time, allowing for her heart rate to pick up from my touch. She became breathless as my hands moved up even farther until the pads of my thumbs just barely grazed the underside of her breasts.

A light moan escaped her, and her hips started to move faster across my lap.

I whispered in her ear, “Are you dry-humping me right now?”

“Yes, I have no shame when it comes to you,” she answered breathlessly.

And I had no control when it came to this gorgeous woman sitting on my lap. “Get your clothes, we’re leaving,” I commanded her gruffly.

“I have a robe I can borrow. No time for clothes,” she answered.

Reluctantly, she retreated to the dressing room as I rested my elbows on my knees. I ran my hands through my hair, wondering what the hell I was thinking. This woman was tearing me apart and all in one night.

I kept reminding myself this was going to be a onetime thing. Once I fucked her out of my system, I would go back to the dark hole where I belonged, but just this night I would live without worry, without self-hatred, without the thought of the kind of monster I was. For one night, I was going to be the free-spirited man I’d once been.

The man I’d been before taking someone’s life.

Chapter Fourteen

My present…

The trip from the lingerie store to Lyla’s apartment seemed to take forever when in fact I knew it had only been a short few minutes. But with the way she was rubbing up against me, nibbling on my ear, sticking her hand down the back of my pants, she had me panting and wishing I could just take her down one of the dark alleys of the Quarter.

The rickety steps of Lyla’s building creaked in distress as we ran up them to get to her apartment. I watched with impatience as she fumbled for her keys.

“Need help?” I asked, desperation in my voice.

“I got it.” She winked.

I pressed my front against her back as she worked the locks on her door, tasting the skin below her ear. She was intoxicating; her smell, the velvet texture of her skin, everything about her was like a dream, and I was getting so fucking lost in it.

The creak of her door broke my lips from her neck, and without giving her a chance to move, I picked her up and took her inside.

I had time for one quick glance around. The walls were made of cracked plaster, her floors were wood that dipped with every step you took, and the temperature of her apartment was stifling from the warm but windy night we were having.

“Bedroom?” I asked, looking into her beautiful green eyes, not quite remembering my way around.

“Second door down the hall.”

I found the room easily. I pushed her door open and was greeted with a large bed that took up all the space in the room. There was a small dresser to one side that I wasn’t sure if she could actually open the drawers to. Even though her bed took up all the space in her room, she had the softest looking sheets, and a thick comforter invited me to lay down.

I placed Lyla on the bed and looked down at her as I grabbed the back of my T-shirt and pulled, giving her a little show. Her eyes lit up with elation as she pushed her robe to the side and tossed her clothes to the limited amount of floor space between her wall and the bed.

Laid out on her bed, Lyla showed off her delectable body as she leaned back on her elbows and waited for me to make the next move. Her nipples were puckered from excitement. Her breasts were prominently on display from the lingerie, and her flat, toned stomach showed me just how much she trained for her job at Kitten’s Castle.

The thought of other men seeing what I got to see made an animalistic and possessive thought pass through me. I didn’t want anyone seeing her like this. No one besides me should have the pleasure of seeing her naked.

“Are you just going to stand there?” Lyla asked, taking in my physique.

I gripped the back of my neck and contemplated my next move. If I did this, if I spent the night worshipping every inch of her, I would be setting myself up for sheer disappointment when it was over, because I knew what Lyla and I had was never going anywhere beyond tonight. But could I really walk away? Could I honestly grab my shirt and walk out her front door with her looking so damned sexy and tempting?

Looking at her glistening pink lips and such yearning in her eyes, I knew then and there I was going to be screwed. I needed her.

“Scoot back.” I motioned for her to move deeper on the bed.

She obliged, giving me room to lean down on one knee and stretch out over her. I placed both of my hands on either side of her head, and her eyes flickered across my chest, watching my muscles flex with my motions. She acted tough most of the time, but I saw the weakness I brought out of her, and like the sick fuck I was, I enjoyed it. I liked seeing I could bring such a strong woman down a peg, that I had an effect on her.

Carefully, I lowered my head until I was mere inches from her face and spoke softly to her, revealing a little part of my soul. “What are you doing to me?” I asked, wondering why I was voicing my worries.

Her hand ran up my chest, then to my neck, and finally cupped my cheek. Her thumb brushed the scruff on my jaw and her eyes softened as she pulled my head down to hers. Very lightly, she nipped at my lips, and I slowly let her open my mouth with her tongue, igniting a flame inside me that’d been burned out for a while.

I went down on my elbows so my body weight was more evenly distributed on top of her and gripped her face while I kissed her back with the same kind of passion she was giving me. Her lips glided perfectly across mine. Slowly, I felt her fingertips work their way under the back of my jeans, looking to tease me.

The heat of her touch sent a blaze of fire through my veins, igniting my desire for her, my need for more, my need to be deep inside her.

I dipped my tongue farther into her mouth, matching her thrusts. A moan escaped her throat. Her hips pressed against mine, begging for more, wanting me to move lower, to pay attention to the rest of her body, but I was too lost in her kiss. I was enjoying her mouth way too damn much to move away.

“Kace…,” she said breathlessly. “Touch me.”

“I am,” I said gruffly as my mouth went back to hers. There was something to say about making out with a gorgeous woman. Yes, fucking was the end result, but getting their way of mouth was how I fucking rolled.

Wanting to keep her satisfied, I lightly stroked her hair, then moved down her side, where I played with the side of her breast by lightly stroking it with my thumb. Through the sheer fabric of her lingerie, I could feel the heat pouring off her, a light sheen of sweat starting to cover her delectable body. That’s when I realized I needed her naked, completely and utterly naked.

Reluctantly, I tore my lips away from hers, causing an unpleasant protest to erupt. I chuckled from the look of displeasure on her face but then grabbed the bottom of her lingerie as I straddled her lap and started to bring it up and over her head. She sat up and raised her arms, making it easier for me to take it off. I tossed it aside. To my shock, she still wore a sheer bra underneath the lingerie set. At the lingerie store, I never would have guessed she was wearing one.

I rolled off her lap, hooked her thong with my fingers, and easily took it off.

I kneeled to the side, observing Lyla as she rested on the bed with her hair fanned out and her legs slightly bent and crossed at the ankles. If she was trying to seduce me, she didn’t have to give it much thought because I was hard as a fucking rock.