One Night in Stockholm: Short, Steamy Romance - Episode #1 of 4 (Stockholm Diaries, Alice)

by Rebecca Hunter

  “Can I—” she started. “Can I sit on your lap?”

  “Please.” His voice came out a little hoarse.

  Jonas shifted further back onto the bed. Alice climbed on top of him until she straddled him. She rested her hands on the thick muscles of his shoulders. His hands caressed her hips, the muscles of his chest flexing under his movements.

  “You’re gorgeous,” she whispered.

  His eyes widened. He was silent as creases formed on his brow. “Not usually the kind of response I get.”

  Alice nodded. A long scar cut through a tribal-like tattoo by his shoulder, through the dusting of hair across his chest. She drifted her fingers down to trace it. His pulse pounded at the base of his throat, but he didn’t move.

  “How do people usually describe you?” When she asked a version of this last time, he kissed her. This time?

  The creases on his forehead deepened. “Intense. Probably a lot of other shit I don’t want to hear. Nothing like gorgeous.”

  “But you are,” she said.

  He shrugged like he didn’t quite believe her. “Okay.”

  She traced the inked lines of a Celtic cross, woven together with bright drops of blood. Above it, a thick black bird flew away into untouched skin. He flinched a little when she touched the bird, so she explored further down. Phrases. Intricate designs. In faded black script, she found the word Norr.

  “What does this mean?” she asked, following the slopes and arches of each letter with her fingers.

  Jonas smiled. “That was my first tattoo. It means North, the area of town where I grew up.”

  “Sounds like a gang.”

  He laughed. “We wished we were.”

  He covered her hand with his as she moved over his skin. “Norr is a sprawl of run-down apartments, and we all had a rougher reputation, though not for any good reason. Then a couple of us got into the top high school, including me.” He gave her a sideways glance. Did he think she wouldn’t believe he was a good student? His writing skills had to come from somewhere.

  He moved her hand a little lower. “We all got this tattoo after we realized we’d get the shit beaten out of us if we all didn’t look a little tougher. Both at school and back at Norr.”

  She raised an eyebrow as she followed the hard ridges of his abs. “Looks like your plan worked.”

  He shrugged. “I took a lot of bad hits before I started figuring it all out.”

  Jonas caressed her cheek. He slid his fingers down her throat and along her collar bone. He traced the edge of her bra, over one breast and then the other.

  “You look pretty amazing, too,” he said. “But all the other words that come to mind are going to sound crass.”

  Alice smiled. “I don’t mind.”

  “I do.” He cupped her breast and teased her nipple with his thumb. She sucked in a breath, and he groaned.

  “Can I take off your bra?” he asked.

  Alice nodded. He leaned forward, and his chest brushed against her bare skin as he unlatched her bra.

  Her breasts tumbled out, and Jonas drew in an uneven breath as he moved the straps down her arms. He traced the slope of each breast with his fingers, sending currents of pleasure through her body. He pulled her up higher against him and kissed a path down her shoulder and over her breast. She arched, moving, pressing herself into him, until finally he took her nipple in his mouth. His tongue caressed her slowly, sucking until she moaned.

  He released her and buried his face in her neck. She pressed against his fever-hot skin, his heartbeat pounding as hard as hers. His voice was tight when he spoke, and there was nothing polished about his accent now.

  “I want to do this right with you, Alice. I don’t want to get carried away.”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” she said.

  His rough fingers trembled as he ran his hands down her arms, pulling her closer.

  “I want you to enjoy this so much that you can’t stop yourself from coming back for more.”

  Alice froze. She drew in a quick breath and pulled away. She wasn’t coming back to Stockholm.

  “But that’s not how this works,” she said slowly.

  He frowned and looked away. “Sorry. That just came out.”

  Alice reached up to stroke his cheek.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “This feels really good. But it isn’t the real version of either of us, right?”

  Alice’s heart thumped harder as she waited for his response. It took a moment, but his frown softened, and he nodded.

  He slid his hands over her shoulders and reached to cup her chin. He tilted her mouth up for a long, liquid kiss that dissolved his comment. He kissed her jawbone and her neck. If he was waiting to gauge her hesitation, he wasn’t going to find any. She left that back at the pub.

  Alice slipped her hand between them, playing with the trail of hair that ran down into his pants. She dipped her hand lower, slowly running her hand over the rough material of his jeans and down the length of him. His mouth brushed against hers. His lips found her neck, and he sucked and bit as his hand glided over her breast.

  “This is up to you, Alice,” he whispered in her ear. “You know I want you badly. Do you want to take this further?”

  She nodded.

  It didn’t take more than that. He rolled her over in one quick motion so she lay on her back with Jonas hovering over her on all fours. His deep blue eyes steady on hers, he lowered his body until his hot skin brushed against hers. She arched her back again, craving the contact. His mouth took hers in long, hungry strokes. He sucked and nipped at her lips, and her whole body responded.

  Alice reached down and fumbled with the button of her jeans, but he caught both of her hands in one of his.

  “Slowly, Alice,” he said.

  He shifted down her body, his tongue tracing a line over each breast, around her navel, to the edge of her jeans. Her breaths came faster, louder. He unbuttoned them and drew down the zipper. He took a deep breath and let it out, the warm air tingling lower through the lace of her panties. She shivered.

  He was taking his time. Way too much time.

  “Jonas?” Her voice cracked.

  He stopped and looked up at her, his eyes dark. “Do you know what you want yet, Alice?”

  Answers came to her mind, places she wanted to explore, positions she had heard hints about. She wanted the part of her who said yes to this whole crazy evening. And right now was her chance. She could say whatever she wanted, and it wouldn’t matter.

  “I want you to taste me,” she whispered. “And I want to know what you taste like. I want to know how turned on I get if I take you in my mouth and suck hard.”

  Jonas’s eyes widened, and her face burned.

  “Fuck,” he growled and mumbled a few other words she didn’t understand.

  Alice pushed herself to continue. “But what I want most is to be the woman who asks for all these things.”

  His tongue brushed against the top of her panties, and her hips responded, searching for more. But he didn’t give it to her.

  “Do you know what I want?” Jonas rumbled. “I want to be the man who makes these fantasies real for you. And I want to do things you’ve never even thought of.”

  Alice lifted her hips, and he eased her jeans down her legs. They didn’t exactly slide off. Note to self: don’t wear tight jeans if you’re bringing a man back to your hotel room. Not that a night like this would ever happen again.

  Alice scooted further onto the bed, and Jonas knelt between her legs. He unzipped his pants and reached inside to adjust himself. His long, thick erection poked out of the top of his boxers. She bit her lip. This promised to be… fulfilling.

  He leaned forward onto his elbows, and she widened her legs to accommodate his broad shoulders. He stared at her lacy panties, his hot breath teasing her. Alice grabbed the sheets. Slowly, he moved the tiny scrap of fabric aside until she was bare. With his other hand, he traced her
up and down. Alice squirmed and dug in her feet when he reached the top, so he stayed there, exploring. She was so wound up she wasn’t sure what would happen when he actually started.

  He leaned in. His tongue passed over every sensitive inch of her. Alice pulled the sheets and moaned loudly. He sucked and licked slowly, luxuriously. She twisted under his movements until one firm hand held her down. Sparks of electricity shot through her as she wriggled but went nowhere.

  Oh, God.

  She wriggled again, and he held her down harder. Something flipped inside, and all at once, her body ignited. The burst of pleasure came all at once. Sudden. Intense. She let out a loud cry, somewhere between ecstasy and surprise, and her head fell back onto the bed. She moaned and twisted as he drew her out. She clawed at the sheets and whispered his name.

  Seconds or minutes passed as the warm bliss flooded through her. Wow. The whole night had been a long, slow build, but the moment he held her down…

  Jonas sat back on his knees and gave his erection a long stroke.

  “That was hot,” he murmured. “Really hot.”

  “I didn’t expect…,” she panted, searching for words. “It’s been a while for me.”

  She propped herself up on her elbows to get a good look at Jonas. His muscles were tight and flexed, and his erection was stiff under his hand, but he didn’t move closer. How could she still want more? But instead of settling her, the intense burst just minutes before got her going. Was this what she had missed out on all these years? She had wanted the other side of herself tonight, and she couldn’t deny that she found it.

  Her voice was still breathless when she spoke. “Are we taking this further, or do I need to beg for more?”

  Jonas’s low, sensual laugh rumbled. “I like the idea of begging, Alice. We can play with it later. But right now, I want you too bad to wait for it.”

  He crawled off the bed and shed his jeans and boxers in one move. Whoa. She hadn’t just imagined it. Like everything else on him, his erection was huge. She stared, far beyond embarrassment. He climbed back between her legs and settled his body over hers, brushing against her in all the right places.

  Despite the urgency of his words, he still took his time. He teased her mouth with long, sensuous thrusts of his tongue, nipping and sucking at her lips. She arched her hips to meet his thick erection, and he groaned as he ground over her aching core. She ran her fingers over the scarred, tattooed muscles of his chest. Did he like things rough? The firm hand on her hips as he held her down suggested he might. But despite the tightly wound power under her hands, he seemed to be looking for something else than rough from her tonight. What was it?

  “You bought a condom when we stopped at that store, right?” she asked.

  He nodded. “More than one.”

  “How many?” she whispered.

  He smiled. “Ten in a box.”

  “Hmm… ten. That’s ambitious.”

  His erection was rock hard now and pulsing against her as she spoke.

  “I’ll do my best,” he said with a little laugh.

  He met her lips once more and then reached for the bag on the nightstand. Tearing the wrapping from the condom, he rolled it down his length and then held himself for a moment, watching her.

  “Is this what you like?” he said with a wicked hint of a smile. He settled back against her, guiding himself to her.

  “Yes,” she gulped.

  Then he pushed, sinking in. He hissed a sigh and squeezed his eyes shut as he pushed further.

  “Oh,” she breathed. The hot, sweet relief. The heavy weight of his body. She had been waiting for this moment all night, and she didn’t even know it. He was so big and thick inside her. There was still more, and she grabbed onto the hard muscles of his arms and squeezed tighter. His eyes were wild and hungry.

  “You okay?” he groaned.

  “Yes.”

  “I want this to be good for you,” he said. “I want it to be better than good.”

  “It already is.”

  He began to move, slowly teasing. Alice lifted her hips to match his strokes. He gritted his teeth and thrust hard. Oh, God, again? She moaned and he thrust harder. She cried out, and he froze, his eyes filled with fear.

  Alice shook her head quickly and caressed his face.

  “Better than good, Jonas,” she panted. “Don’t stop.”

  He nodded, but the wariness in his eyes didn’t go away. He started to move again, building a rhythm, but his wild look was gone. The tight muscles of his arms flexed, and his pulse pounded in the base of his neck.

  He lowered himself to his elbows, changing the angle, and flexed his hips against hers. He took one of her breasts in his mouth and sucked. Alice arched, begging for more.

  “I’ve been hard for you all day long,” he groaned. “I just knew this would feel right.”

  He squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples each time he thrust. Better than good. It was the way he looked at her, as if she were the only woman he’d ever want. That he’d give her everything she needed.

  He shifted, slipping his arms under her, his hands around her shoulders. She tilted her hips to meet each of his movements, to find a way closer. His heavy breaths mixed with hers, and he buried his face in her neck. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the scent of sex and him. Hard cords of muscles contracted under her hands as his body moved faster. Deeper.

  She was close, so close.

  “Oh,” she breathed. “Jonas.”

  At the sound of his name, his big body tightened. In one giant growl, he erupted, driving, pushing her over the edge. His teeth sank into her neck, and she cried out. She clung to him as he drove in heavy thrusts, drawing out their pleasure.

  ALICE LAY ON her back. Her hair sprang out in all different directions over the pillow, but for once, she didn’t care. Jonas lay on his side, his slick body up against hers, playing with a stray curl. His other hand rested on her hip, his thumb gently stroking her skin.

  She looked up into his dark blue eyes. “We should probably get some sleep.”

  “Not on my account.” He chuckled. “Did I tell you I love your sexy hair?”

  Alice rolled her eyes. “It drives me crazy.”

  “Good,” he said. “Me, too.”

  He took a fistful in his hands and pulled her mouth to his for a hard, lusty kiss. Biting her bottom lip, he slowly let her go.

  He propped himself on one elbow and rubbed his forehead, flexing his long, thick bicep. Her fingers wandered over the thick black bird on his chest again. This time he didn’t flinch. She hadn’t noticed earlier that one of its wings was broken. It was an odd choice for something as permanent as a tattoo.

  Alice opened her mouth to ask more, but she closed it, frowning. There was no reason to learn more about his tattoos or anything else. In a few hours, she would leave for the airport, and the details about his life wouldn’t matter anymore. In fact, it was probably better not to know. Instead, she closed her eyes and breathed in his warm scent.

  “I knew it would feel right, too,” she said after a while.

  Jonas stilled, and she opened her eyes to get a look at his expression.

  She added, “You said it earlier, when—”

  “I remember what I said.” His hand dropped.

  “Sorry,” she said and looked away. “That was too much.”

  He coaxed her face back in his direction with his big, warm hand. “Not too much at all.”

  She studied him. His eyes were soft but guarded.

  Finally he shook his head. “This does feel right. Really right. I’m just thinking about all the ways it could go.”

  Alice snorted. “Are you talking positions?”

  Jonas raised his eyebrows and smiled a little. “I wasn’t, but I’m up for that discussion as well. I’m talking about what happens tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow I’m leaving,” she said flatly.

  “It doesn’t have to be
like that.”

  But it was like that. She was leaving for Copenhagen, and the next day she’d fly back to New York. The end. No matter how good or right this felt.

  “Look, I have a long history of getting tangled up with things that feel good,” he said. “The results are mixed. So I’m a little wary of what I’m about to say.”

  Alice raised an eyebrow, waiting silently. Jonas bent down and let his lips brush against hers. “Are you sure you want me to continue? We only have a few more hours together.”

  It would be easier not to talk about what ifs and maybes. Back in New York, she would have said no. In fact, she would have left Jonas behind in the pub. She knew the kinds of mistakes a woman could make with a man like Jonas. Her mother had made them. Her childhood friends had made them. On every corner of her old neighborhood she could find new ways to screw up the future in exchange for something that felt good. And she had sworn off that temptation. But that had never stopped her from wondering if those moments were worth it.

  Alice studied Jonas’s eyes. They were soft and a little sad. He had his own answers to her questions.

  “I want to hear it,” said Alice.

  “Okay.” Jonas nodded. He rubbed his jaw along the faded scar line. “I have this hunger inside, a part of me that can’t get enough. And I’m not always sure what will get it going. It took a long time for me to even understand this. I was into all sorts of trouble when I was younger.”

  Alice smiled a little. “And now you’re older and wiser, and you stay away from those things?”

  Jonas chuckled. “Sometimes it’s the kind of shit that everyone knows is trouble, and these days I’m not stupid enough to think I can handle it. I know I can’t.” He rested his hand on her hip and stroked her skin slowly with his thumb. “But every now and then I get hooked on something that’s good for me. Like writing books. When I started, I had a lot of time and not a lot of options. The stories were all I thought about for a long, long time. I wrote nine books that first year.”