by Ace Gray
“Is this the part where you tell me your deep dark secrets?” She was staring up at me, worry plain on her face as her fingertips dug into me.
“No, Ladyface. They’re buried deep for a reason.” I tangled my feet into hers. “But my past? That’s easy. My parents sucked, and I left. I started stealing cars and getting ink. I liked the tattoos, I loved art. I apprenticed while I paid my dues to the mean streets of this city. It took a while but I have my own shop now.”
Her fingers started back in on the outlines of the designs. This time, four dainty fingers all followed along, sweeping across my skin.
“That’s what you do? You’re a tattoo artist?” She leaned up on her elbow to look at my artwork, her hair cascaded around her shoulders and danced on my abs. They flexed involuntarily beneath the whisper touch.
“Yeah, but those aren’t my work.” I nodded toward the tracks she was still making.
“Oh, right.” Her warm little giggle tightened everything below my belly button and I reached out for her. Elle folded onto my chest, her chin resting right on the nose of my panther and her bright eyes studying me. “Did you ever practice on yourself?”
I held my hand up and showed her the back of my palm. “A lot of these.” I couldn’t help but shake my head at myself.
“Like the cat?” She giggled at me and I didn’t blame her.
“Yeah, Felix is mine.” I laughed and she wiggled on my torso in the faint moonlight.
“He has a name?” Elle folded her hands under her chin, still just watching me as we spoke. Her eyes danced and had the faintest twinkle. If it was possible, she was even more irresistible than she’d been before.
“Course. All good pussies have a name. Yours has to be something about cherries.”
Her cheeks flushed and she twisted away from me but didn’t stray from my side. Something inside me clenched, but this time it wasn’t below my belt. Who knew a night lying in bed with Elle was a bigger treat than her sexual exploits?
“What do you do, Elle?”
Deep, stunning eyes twisted back to meet my gaze and she smiled again. “I’m an artist too. I work mostly with metals, etchings, prints and such. I have a few large installations in more modern buildings in Seattle.”
“Damn.” I knew the type of equipment that required. Elle played with fire, literally. Her almost shy smile split her face but then her stomach rumbled. “Shit, I never fed you.”
“Well technically you only promised cock so…”
Her full, bright and unashamed smile spread across her face and for the first time in years, I felt myself falling. I’d maybe been in love once. Maybe. Even then, that relationship was…different. And long. Even more complicated. I’d known Elle for all of twelve hours. It couldn’t be love, but that didn’t stop it from being oddly intense.
She interrupted my thoughts by pushing up off me and walking toward my kitchen. In the loft I could follow her silky, smooth silhouette as she snaked toward the pile of takeout still on the counter. A goofy grin split my face when she lifted up onto her tiptoes to survey the boxes.
Elle snatched something and turned, still on tiptoes. She was holding a singular pink box, the one that held the cake. She sauntered back to bed, letting me appreciate the sway of her hips, then effortlessly sat cross-legged next to me. I shifted up, letting the sheet fall from me as I hugged my knees, more interested in watching her than sharing.
“Silverware, Ladyface?” I asked when she popped the lid, no utensil in sight.
“Nah.” She settled further into her seat, gently rocking side to side, then snatched a piece of cake.
Elle wrangled the crumbles as best she could and lifted it up to her lips. She arched her head back to catch what she could of the cake and frosting and I couldn’t help but think about my hand around her throat again.
But this time I could act on it. I rose up onto my knees, dragging a finger through frosting as I went. Elle’s big eyes watched me and I stretched over her. Just like I imagined, I grabbed her throat and squeezed. Her eyes widened but they didn’t threaten to bug out this time. Whether she said it or not, she trusted me with her body.
I squeezed harder as I bent to kiss her. I roughly took her lips, kissing her until she gasped raggedly against my skin. Only then did I pull back. I barely lightened my grip on her throat. But I took the moment to shove my frosting coated finger into her mouth. Every muscle in her neck rippled beneath my hand as she closed her plump lips around and sucked. My dick perked up.
When I pulled my finger from Elle’s lips she gasped. I grabbed another piece of cake and pushed it into her mouth. She chewed a little on the luscious cake and the flex of her neck got me nice and hard.
She used the frosting on her fingers in defense, dragging it down her front and circling one of her nipples. A primal snarl ripped through my chest without me meaning to make a sound. I used my grip on her to push her down to the bed and pin her there.
Her breaths were short, small gasps but she didn’t stop me—she didn’t even make a move to lighten my grip. My mouth moved down the trail of frosting with licks and kisses, even nips. Her hips rolled an easy rhythm, her eyes fluttered shut and her hands simply balled at the covers beneath her.
Elle loved it.
I captured her nipple and pulled. A mangled cry left her throat as best it could. I reached for more cake and fed her, lightening my grip so she could swallow. She groaned again but this time it was that loud, lusty groan of hers that tightened my balls. I couldn’t help but laugh against her soft skin, never letting her nipple leave the trap of my teeth.
I scooped more frosting and painted her stomach in it. Still holding her throat, I let my tongue travel across her body. She tasted every bit as good where there wasn’t frosting. My lips made it to her clit and for a second I thought about biting down and mercilessly pleasuring her the way I had in the car. If her skin tasted good than her pussy tasted downright magical.
But I stopped short.
The urge to kiss a very different set of lips overwhelmed me. I wanted to be close to Elle, close to the woman that had me tumbling.
I changed directions and captured her lips. I kissed her wildly as my grip fell away. I didn’t need to squeeze her throat to take her breath away this time. Besides, I needed that hand to scramble and pat around for the condoms I hid beneath the mattress.
When I couldn’t find one, I looked away. When I turned back she shoved a small bit of stolen cake in my face. Her laugh was pure gold.
“Lick it off,” I challenged.
She didn’t even hesitate. Her mouth was on mine, her tongue at my cheeks, sucking, licking the frosting and crumbs from me. A shiver ran down my spine. My dick begged to burrow inside her.
I roughly shoved my hand into the cake and smothered her lips to tits before I pushed into her. I’d been inside her before but not like this. Not naked skin to naked skin. Not in my bed. Not with her shy smiles and epic blow jobs and confused eyes. Not when I felt…something.
I couldn’t help but cry out, something ragged, pained and about four octaves higher than I would have liked. She just felt so damn good.
Elle let me hammer into her, her hands raked over me trying to find somewhere to hold. I kept moving though, into her, to taste her, to suck on the cake that was squishing between us. And then I found her throat again. I couldn’t help but squeeze.
She screamed but it cut off in a gargle. I picked up my pace, hitting the end of her each time. Every inch of Elle trembled beneath me. Her legs started scrambling again and her breasts shook and swayed with every single thrust. Her face was turning a shade of red to match the cake. I let up just enough that she could gasp for air then slammed into her again. And clamped down on her throat again.
This time she shoved at me but it wasn’t at my hands. She railed against my shoulder and after a few decent thumps I knew what she wanted. I grabbed the crook of her knee and flipped us so she was on top. Her slight hand came to mine and encouraged me to squeeze even
harder on her neck.
My eyes went wide. A flooringly gorgeous woman sat on top of me, balanced on my dick. Her hair was matted down around her chin and breasts, tears pooled at the corner of her eyes, her skin was a dark shade of red and her lips had dried from desperate breaths but I’d never been so enamored by raw beauty before.
Then she started to ride me, setting a rhythm all her own.
Her eyes rolled back as her fingers dug into me, clawing at the flowers she’d been tracing earlier. She never arched too far, content to keep her throat in my clutches. It didn’t stop her hips from waving expertly up and down the length of my dick. Without moving her neck she could roll her body up so high that I almost fell out, then shove it back down and sit flat on my hips.
Elle was a goddess. And I was going to come far too fast.
I dropped my hand, hoping that it would cool things the slightest bit for me. She took it as an invitation to lay down along me. Her nipples pressed against my chest and I could feel them grow harder. Soft breaths became desperate moans against my skin. Then I remembered what she’d let me do to her backdoor on the plane.
Without hesitating, I wrapped around her ass and shoved my finger in.
Her whole body clenched down around me and I swore. Heat shot through my body and collected where I was busy pounding into her. I couldn’t remember my own name in that moment.
I came hard and fast into her. Everything below my bellybutton clenched and waved painfully hard, almost like a jackhammer was being taken to my body. But there was no pain from the assault, only pleasure, releasing like hot butter on a skillet as it skated across my body.
An otherworldly shriek brought me halfway back to the apartment, just in time to watch Elle as she convulsed on top of me then collapsed the last inch onto my chest. I was barely aware as she nuzzled, still whimpering, into the crook of my neck.
“Oh Ladyface,” I breathed.
There were a million ways to finish that sentence but I was too far gone to figure them out. You do something special to me seemed appropriate but far too intimate. So, I simply turned and kissed the corner of her mouth.
5.
Elle
I nestled into the navy sheets and breathed in the smell of Cole. There was something raw and husky underneath the fresh spice of his deodorant that lingered behind him. I breathed it in deeply as I lay alone in his bed. Just like his insanely tattooed skin, and his haunting green eyes, something about his musky, manly, delicious scent, made the outside world melt away. I could get lost in Cole and for that I was grateful. I wanted to be anywhere but my life right now.
The beautiful loft was a perfect hideaway. Three walls were weathered, exposed brick, each peppered with massive windows that sunlight flooded in. Raw reclaimed wood ran the length of the place, except for the subway tile in the bathroom. A small couch and TV were in between, easy to maneuver around if you walked diagonally to the kitchen. His dresser and a benchpress were the only things between the closet and bathroom doors. Everything about it screamed bachelor but the stunning art on the walls made it homey.
“Morning, Ladyface.” Cole bent over me like he was going to kiss me. At the last moment, he zigged and caught my pert nipple in his teeth and bit down.
“Fuck,” I swore as my hands flew to his shoulders.
Every muscle flexed beneath my hands as he lowered himself to my body. His tongue rolled around my nipple, miraculously touching every inch. He was so painfully talented, he made my whole body tremble. His teeth closed to replace his tongue and he gently rolled them side to side, spinning my sensitive skin left to right then back again. My fingers clenched into his skin and I groaned.
“Are you going to fuck me sideways today?” I managed to gasp.
He kept my breast in his mouth as he rolled his head side to side like he was contemplating whether he wanted to. My skin pulled and my back jerked off the bed. Some incredibly breathy, awkward sound shot out of my lips when he changed directions.
“Am I allowed to?” His voice was muffled since he hadn’t bothered letting go of my nipple.
“Sideways? Sure.” I couldn’t help but gasp as I pulled him up toward my lips.
Cole didn’t let go, stretching me to the max; I cried out with the lightning that shot straight to my clit. But I didn’t stop pulling him upwards. My body was bowing wildly off the bed when Cole shoved my hips down. My breast fell from his teeth and jiggled slightly, sending aftershocks through me.
“A Saturday of playing with your body? Yes, please.” He sounded like a kid in the candy store and I had to press my thighs together.
But then Saturday hit me like a ton of bricks and the world was back, hanging heavy on my neck. I let loose a heavy sigh before I thought about it.
“Something about that sound bad to you?” He sat back and my hands fell away when he looked at me—really looked at me.
Cole’s eyes were evaluating my every motion, piercing straight into me and laying me bare. I was ready to surrender all over again to the man that made me feel so…much, but it was the whole reason I’d come.
“The funeral.”
“Ladyface,” Cole only breathed the word before he launched himself at me. His lips devoured mine, his tongue roughly pressed into my mouth and his body blanketed mine. “I didn’t expect it to be today. I thought there’d be things for you to do.” He kissed me. “Or family for you to see.” He traced his nose along my jaw. “I mean, you got here yesterday and came home with me.”
“My family didn’t plan the service. We hadn’t spoken in years. I honestly don’t know why I’m here.” I spat the words out, thinking about which family actually coordinated everything, which family my mother had chosen over me, and let the anger and fury I felt spill over.
“I’ve been to services like that, and known a family or two just like yours. ” He kissed big, open mouth kisses down my neck and then across my chest. “I’m sorry,” he breathed the words across my skin.
He snatched up the same nipple he’d had before and once again latched on. This time he held softly with both his teeth and lips. Cole used the tip of his tongue to flick back and forth on my sensitive nub.
The pounding notes of Notorious by Notorious B.I.G. started to blare from my phone somewhere over by my discarded clothes.
“Ugh,” I whined as I wiggled away from his wanting lips. He held my nipple as long as he could but then let me go with a smirk.
“That’s your alarm?”
“My stepdad’s ringtone.” I slid out from under him and tiptoed over to where my phone was buried in my bag.
With a click, I silenced it and turned around to find Cole in nothing but soft boxer briefs laying across his bed like an inked Adonis. I inwardly sighed and let my eyes wander the artwork I’d gladly traced last night.
“Elle?” The question was inherent in Cole’s voice and I bit my lip waiting for the rest of it. “Why are you single?”
I blushed a color that would put a rose to shame. I hated that question. I mean why was anyone single? Why did guys in bars or bros with Tinder profiles find it particularly odd that I was unattached? Why did Cole?
The answer was so complex. It was knotted up with everything ugly, inky black and overly sticky about today. Everything I’d be damned to hell for bringing anyone into. Particularly someone like Cole who looked at me with those eyes. He deserved better.
“I should’ve said that I’m grateful, whatever the reason. I’m just curious because so far, you’re fucking everything as far as I’m concerned.”
His few right words, the simple and straightforward way he said them, made the darkness of my family fade away. I needed to get ready and get going—I still needed to scrub the cum off my thighs—but I couldn’t make myself.
As sexy as I could manage, I walked toward him then slithered across the bed. I pressed against his hip, wanting to roll him onto his back. He didn’t budge.
“No way.” He arched an eyebrow as he smirked. “I was promised a sideways fuck
.”
Cole grabbed my shoulders and pulled. His perfectly sculpted arms were that way for a reason, pure strength could pin me any way he wanted. And now it had me plastered against his skin, my back to his front, and his arms wove around me like restraints. One crawled up toward my throat while the other plunged between my thighs.
His deliciously perfect erection pressed firmly against me and he rocked his hips slow and steady just to make sure I felt it. Every single inch of it. I gasped and my hand shot back to wind around him and grab onto his ass.
“I like the way your body fits with mine, Elle. Perfectly fuckable at every angle.” His breath was warm against my shoulder as his fingertips pushed my chin up, opening my throat up and giving me a view of the headboard. A small horse figurine sat at the top and started to sway with the slow movement of us lining up together.
His other hand shoved at his boxer briefs and my body jolted with each slow steady shove. When the fabric was free of his legs, he wound them into mine. His dick twitched against my backside and I purposely shimmied against it.
“You don’t need to encourage me, Elle. I got hard when I first saw you in the terminal.” Cole’s fingers squeezed into my throat, his others brushed against my ass.
“I was a little turned on myself. That’s why I propositioned you.” My voice was already fading, words barely weaving through the tight space he’d left me.
“Thank God for small miracles.” He bit down on my shoulder at the same time he pushed his cock into me.
“There’s nothing small about you,” I groaned the words then let them become something else entirely.
“Glad you like it.” His words puffed against my cheek as he wrapped around me so completely that his body almost swallowed mine whole.
Cole stretched me just like he had each time before but that wasn’t what threatened to split me in two. It was him. It was him wrapped around me, kissing me, biting me—choking me—and the absolutely odd things that stirred in me. It wasn’t until he picked up the pace that it became a very real fear that he could break me. Thank God he held me together.