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“Well, I was going to offer to walk you home, Serena. But I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sure I know what happens next.”
“What do you mean?” I was pretty sure I knew what he hinted at but I wanted him to say it.
“Oh, Serena, don’t be so naïve,” he said as he brushed the hair out of my face. “You’re a beautiful woman. I’m a handsome man. We’ve been talking and drinking all night. There is a certain implication that comes with me walking you home.”
“True. And is that an implication you’d like to see become fact?”
I immediately started praying he’d say yes. I wanted it so bad. Even if it was just a one-night fuck before going our separate ways. Maybe that was all I needed.
“Maybe not the exact implication. After all, with a beautiful woman like you, it’d be a shame to fuck you only once.”
Holy shit, here we go. I kept myself composed, even though I wanted to scream. It was finally happening.
“Well,” I said as nonchalantly as I could. “I’m definitely not going back to my apartment in The Under tonight. My neighborhood is not the best, and I’ve already had trouble with people being too forward with my newfound fame. It’s scary. And I don’t want to deal with it.”
“Is that so?”
“It is, and I haven’t gotten much sleep there recently either. Between loud neighbors and concerns about that creep.”
“Then I’ll take you back to my place,” he responded as he placed a hand on my lower back and led me away from the bar. “You’ll be able to get a restful night’s sleep there.”
I tried to hide an excited smile as we walked. Jalik never took his hand off my back. I could hardly contain myself.
“Was that all true?” Jalik asked after we walked in silence for a while. “About your neighborhood being bad. Or was that just a ploy to get back to my place?”
“It is,” I said sadly. “All of it. The Under is not a good place. Men will follow you home. If you don’t lock your door as soon as you get in your apartment, it can be dangerous. Then there’s just all the crime. Apartments broken into, people attacked and killed. The real degenerates sometimes come up from the bowels of the ship and take whoever they want. It’s bad. Not like where you live, I’m sure.”
“Why haven’t you said anything?” Jalik asked. I could tell he was genuinely confused, and it was kind of cute. “Draven got you the position. Surely he can get you out of The Under to somewhere nicer.”
“Jalik, no one has ever cared enough about me to do something like that. I’m not going to expect it now.”
“Well, Serena, with me, expect it.”
Fuck. When was he going to kiss me?
JALIK
Ileaned into Serena, brushing my nose slowly across hers. I managed to contain myself until we got just outside my apartment door. But I couldn’t bear to wait a few more steps.
I hesitated for a mere second before she subtly leaned into me. She gazed up at me through parted lashes, and I watched the rise and fall of her chest quicken as her breath picked up speed. I ducked down and closed the distance between us, pressing my lips against her soft mouth.
I stroked her lips with my tongue, parting them before slowly slipping inside to caress hers. She matched my rhythm, and her own tongue darted into my mouth with a slow-paced ferocity.
I reached around her, opening the door to my apartment one-handed, I pulled her body close to mine. I pressed my back into the door as it slowly swung open. Keeping my hand on the small of Serena’s back, I pulled her in and closed the door.
We broke away as she turned to take in my apartment. The arousal and magnetizing need left over from the kiss hung in the air between us.
“So, this is your place?” she asked, her words coming out in breathless pants. “Wow. The casino business must be quite lucrative.”
Normally, I wouldn’t mind discussing my abundance. I made a healthy salary at the casino, and I knew I had an apartment most would admire. Especially a human coming from the slums of The Under. Though I didn’t like to brag, I understood why she was impressed.
Right now, however, I was more interested in impressing her in other ways. I glanced around quickly before bringing my eyes back to hers with an intensity rolling off of me in waves.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” I said, trying to play modest. With that, I pulled her body back into mine to interrupt the chat with something more enjoyable. Our lips crashed together in a sharp tangle of teeth and tongue. We were consumed by the heat of the moment, lost in each other’s touch.
I felt Serena’s delicate hands wrap around my neck, pulling me closer to her as my free hand found its way to her lower back, pressing her body against mine even more firmly. Her hair tickled my fingertips as I ran them through it gently, and then with more urgency. The taste of her mouth was sweet and addictive. I couldn’t get enough.
Our tongues danced together, leading and following each other in a sensual tangle of breaths and caresses. Every slight brush and stroke of her hand fed a fire deep within me that threatened to burst out in a fiery inferno.
