AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Just as my hand reaches for an empty glass sitting on one of the funky open shelves, I hear something that makes my entire body freeze. The sound is undeniably...male.
For a moment I wonder if I’ve imagined it. I strain to hear, searching for something in the soothing stillness of the night. There are sounds of life outside, the whisper of tires over road, the faint pulse of music somewhere in the distance. And then...
I hear it. The unmistakable sound of someone releasing their breath, followed by the softest gasp that tells me it’s not a sleeping sound.
It’s a pleasure sound.
Before my addled brain has time to think through the consequences, my feet draw me away from the kitchen and toward the stairs leading up to the second floor. It’s like I’m drugged, or maybe controlled by outside forces. Perhaps some greater being has tied string to my wrists and ankles and is dancing me across the apartment. When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I pause, listening. Now I hear something else—the faint sound of slickness, of skin over skin.
My body beats, pulses. I’m like a ball of aroused energy. I take one step and my breath catches at the shock of how cool the metal feels against the sole of my foot. I take one step at a time, quiet as a predatory cat stalking through thick, dense green.
You shouldn’t be doing this. This is a total invasion of privacy.
If he didn’t want me to hear then he could have taken it elsewhere—like in the bathroom. In his shower where a closed door would keep the sound locked away.
Maybe he wanted me to hear.
My palm smooths along the railing as I ascend, unsure what exactly I’m going to find. I’m holding my breath, my heart fluttering like a hummingbird caught in a spider’s web, and with each step my mind spins quicker.
When I get to the top, I have to place a hand over my mouth to stop myself from making any noise. He’s magnificent.
Daniel is stretched out on his bed, muscular thighs spread. The light from outside plays on his skin, dappling him with shimmering yellow and blue. He has one arm over his eyes and his other hand wrapped around his length. His muscles flex with the up-and-down movement, his hand a tight fist sliding from root to tip.
His chest—smattered with the finest dusting of hair—rises and falls and his abs clench. My gaze slides all over him, taking in every glorious detail. Taking in the hard, curved length of him. Taking in the gleam of something wet, and the way his jaw clenches as he tries not to make a sound.
Holy shit.
It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. In the past, my ex never let me watch, though I’d asked. Multiple times. I grew up in a house where talking about such things was off-limits. Couple that with a Catholic school education and I felt unprepared for the world of sex and sexuality—so I’d explored on my own, searching for things on my computer and hoping to hell I didn’t end up ruining my MacBook with a virus. Then my ex had reinforced the idea that sex was for closed doors and blankets pulled up and lights flicked off.
It had been good. At one time I’d even thought it was enough.
But now...now. There’s nothing shameful or perverse about self-pleasure. It’s beautiful. Empowering. Exciting. Simply—
“What the fuck?” Daniel is awake—how did I not see his eyes flick open? Too busy looking at what was going on downstairs.
I whirl around, my stomach in my throat. “I got up for a drink of water and I heard...”
“Jesus.” The sound of something hitting the floor, possibly his feet, makes me jump. “And what? You thought you’d come up here and investigate?”
WhatwasI thinking? Nothing, clearly. I’d been acting on instinct. Impulsive and reckless and intruding on his privacy.
“I’m sorry, I...” I scrub a hand over my face.Oh god, oh god, oh god.“That was really uncool.”
The silence stretches on as my heartbeat thunders inside me. For a moment, I wonder if he’s disappeared.
“So was me trying to take care of business while you were in the apartment,” he says roughly. “That won’t happen again.”
I’m facing the window, watching the subtle shift of the reflection in the large glass panes. I make out Daniel’s broad chest and wide shoulders. The shadow on his jaw. My gaze skitters to the floor as heat floods me, and not the good kind. I walked into his bedroom and watched him masturbate.
What the hell was I thinking?
“I can’t even blame this on having too much to drink,” I say with a shake of my head. “I was so nervous at dinner I didn’t even finish one glass of wine.”
Daniel lets out a long breath. “Whydidyou come up here? What did you think you’d find?”
“Exactly what I found,” I admit. “I’msosorry. That was a complete invasion of your privacy and honestly... I wasn’t thinking at all. If I had, then I would have stayed downstairs.”
I sense movement behind me, see it flicker in the glass. Daniel bends over, probably covering himself with some underwear. I chew on the inside of my cheek. How am I supposed to face him tomorrow, in the light of day? How am I supposed to keep my shit together when that image of him is going to be permanently seared into my brain?
