Nikki froze. Then, she pulled back to look at me, her eyes trained on my lips.
I couldn’t remember who closed the distance — her or me or both of us moving at the same time — but her soft lips were on mine soon after. It was delicate. My pulse hammered in my chest. She tightened her arms around me. We were levitating. The kiss divulged into something more unhinged. Passionate. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
We were interrupted by tapping on glass.
“Shit,” I laughed. I felt like a schoolgirl who got caught kissing under the bleachers. Nikki’s eyes were dark and full of heat.
“Let’s drop her off?” I asked.
Nikki let out a growl as she cupped my face with one of her hands. She kissed me on the forehead and smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Eleven
Nikki
The drive seemed to blink by. After we dropped off Dolly with her dad, Maeda looked at me and said, “I don’t want to go to my empty house right now.”
“Do you want me to take you to my place?”
She blushed. “If you want to.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. I put the car in drive.
When we passed the WELCOME TO PINE GROVE sign, my pulse quickened. We had held hands the entire drive. I thanked the stars that my apartment was clean.
“I don’t want to make assumptions,” I said after I parked in my designated parking spot. “So, what are you expecting tonight?”
Maeda unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over the center console to me, one hand on my thigh supporting her weight. An inch away from my lips, she paused. “Tonight, I don’t want to think. I don’t want to pretend. I want to follow this wherever it leads, especially if that means I get to have a magical night with the wonderful woman in front of me.”
“With her kind heart…” She kissed the side of my neck.
“Her strong hands…” She kissed my cheek.
Then, she pulled back and looked at me. “But, only if you want to…”
I closed the distance. My mouth explored hers, our breathing became ragged.
“Get out of the car,” I commanded. “I want you on my bed.”
She giggled, and I rushed to open the car door for her, then fumbled with the key to my front door. Eventually, we got inside. I kicked off my shoes, and she followed suit. Then, I picked her up and placed her ass on the table by the door where I usually put my keys and plugged my phone in. The motion knocked some mail on the floor, but who cared? Maeda hiked up her floor-length skirt and wrapped her arms and legs around me. I kissed her. Hard. Unyielding. Our mouths caressed each other. Tongues tentative then possessive. I wanted to taste every inch of her.
I pulled at her shirt. She lifted it off over her head and let it drop to the floor. Her beautiful breasts were resting in a black lace bra. I practically drooled.
“You too,” she demanded. I obliged, removing my button up shirt one button at a time. My navy sports bra was nothing to brag about, but she traced her hands over my chest, down to my abs.
I pulled her off the table and led her up the stairs to my bedroom. The bedroom of my studio loft apartment was just a second-floor mezzanine with walls that didn’t reach the ceiling, so I could look down into my living room. It was just big enough for my bed, a nightstand, and some built in shelves between two closets — one I used for clothes and the other for storage. I was a little self conscious about the room, but Maeda only had eyes for me. When we got to the landing, I picked her up by her waist and tossed her on the bed. With a giddy shriek, she bounced on her ass onto the mattress, leaning back on her elbows. I knelt before her and placed my fingers inside the waistband of her skirt.
“May I?”
Maeda nodded.
“Use your words, pretty girl,” I corrected her.
“Yes,” she whispered. I kissed above her hip.
“Ass up,” I instructed. She lifted herself on her elbows, arching her back with her pelvic thrust to lift her hips off the bed so I could pull he skirt down. She was wearing a black thong with a small cherry charm under the black ribbon bow.
“Cherries,” I murmured, taking the charm in my teeth and pulling slightly. “My favorite flavor.”
