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  "Maybe I should buy you a drink," I said. "You know...to keep up appearances."

  "Of course. Appearances."

  I made eye contact with the bartender and gestured to the woman. She ordered her drink and I asked for a beer. It wasn't the most sophisticated choice, but I had never been one to go for mixed drinks, and I had turned my back on liquor soon after Jason was born. With beer I could keep myself under control. I waited until the bartender placed a napkin on the bar in front of me and had served my beer to turn to her.

  "What's your name?" I asked.

  She looked at me as if she was unsure of how to answer.

  "Well, if this is all for appearances, then maybe I shouldn't tell you my real name."

  I took a sip of my beer as I nodded. This couldn't be any more perfect. I had had no intention of telling her my real name or why I was in town anyway, and it was reassuring knowing that this woman wasn't going to turn into one who I was going to find trying to have breakfast with me or sneak to call herself from my phone so that she could have my number. I could happily have my fun with her and not have to worry that she was going to show up at my house or start wedding registries online.

  Both fucking true stories.

  "Appearances are very important," I agreed. "In keeping with that, my name is Ethan and I am a concert violinist on my backwoods tour."

  She laughed and nodded.

  "That's so interesting because my name is Debbie and I'm a costume designer for the backwoods circus."

  "That is interesting," I agreed. "Maybe we'll do a cross promotion. I'll play for the acrobats and tightrope walkers."

  "Oh, there aren't any acrobats or tightrope walkers. It's a flea circus."

  "You're a costume designer for a flea circus?"

  "It's very detailed work."

  I laughed and finished the beer.

  "So, Debbie, are you from around here?"

  "No. Just visiting. You?"

  "No." I looked at her and felt the burning in my chest increase. I could still taste her kiss on my tongue and I wanted more. "I'm staying at a hotel not far from here."

  Her tongue slipped out and ran along her bottom lip, but her eyes didn't move from mine. I could see her breath quickening, causing her full breasts to rise and fall from the tight, extremely low-cut top that barely contained them.

  "Do you like it?" she asked, sounding as though she were trying to keep up our flirting, but her mind was traveling elsewhere.

  "It serves its purposes."

  "Do you have a nice view?"

  Not as nice as the one I have right now.

  "I'd be happy to show it to you."

  "I'd like that."

  I stood and helped her down from her stool, guiding her in front of me as we made our way back through the bar and out to the parking lot. She pointed toward her car, but I grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her against me. I caught her mouth again and plunged my tongue between her lips. I could taste the remnants of her drink clinging to her tongue, mixed with the heat of her. I held her close to me, letting her feel the hardness of my body against hers, wanting her to know exactly what I was thinking without having to say a word. When I broke the kiss, she let me lead her to my car and open the passenger side door for her. She slipped in and I caught a glimpse of her thigh when her skirt rose up as she sat down. She was wearing thigh highs clasped with a garter belt and I felt my belly tighten even further. I wanted to drop to my knees in the parking lot and tuck my head under her skirt right there. I rushed around to the driver's side and took off toward the hotel without even being sure the door was closed all the way.

  Chapter Two

  Gwendolyn

  Oh, what the fuck am I doing?

  Who gets in the car with a stranger ten minutes after meeting them in a bar?

  My eyes scanned across the car toward the man who was driving at breakneck speed down the street toward his hotel. At least, I hoped that it was actually his hotel. For all I knew this could be the beginning of a breaking news special just waiting to happen. He glanced over at me.

  Ethan? Is that the name he gave me?

  I had been the one who had set the precedent of us not saying our real names, now I was questioning whether this was actually one of the best of the plans I had come up with in my life. He looked over at me and gave the hint of a smile. He was so sexy I felt like the scrap of silk I was considering panties for the evening was going to melt. He was exactly why I had come all the way out here from Silver Lake. I wasn't usually the type of person who would be sitting in the front seat of a stranger's car waiting to see where we ended up, knowing full well what was going to happen when the car stopped. I was the quiet one. The conscientious one. The one who had once been known to run a background check on a blind date that I had been set up on.

  And yet here I was wearing the outfit I had bought for my best friend's bachelorette party two years before, with my boobs jacked to Jesus and heels an inch away from qualifying as stilts, riding into the middle of the night with a man whose name I didn't even know.

  Ethan? Why did he choose Ethan? He didn't look like an Ethan. He was far too hot for that. He was a…. Fabian. Francois. Filipe. Something vaguely exotic that would make him even more inaccessible than he already seemed.

  But this is exactly what I wanted, exactly what I needed right now. This is exactly why I had put on this outfit and driven the 45 minutes to find the bar where I had been sitting when he came in. I had to come out this far to find the release, the night of fun that I felt that I owed myself. I had absolutely no intention of finding someone who I'd want to see again. I had no interest in any type of relationship. Though it has been more than a year, my heart still felt raw, as though it was still recovering from the bitter, brutal break up that left me wary of attention from anyone. That didn't mean, though, that I didn't crave at least some attention. It didn't mean that I didn't still think about the touch of someone's hand or the taste of someone's lips. Being from Silver Lake though, meant that any decision that I made might as well be broadcast on the morning news. Sometimes it seemed as though everything that I did was part of the grapevine before I even did it. Considering I had just started my first-year teaching at the high school a few weeks before, the last thing I really needed was to start building a bad reputation.

  I just wanted some fun. I just wanted one night where I didn't have to think about anything but myself and relieving the tension I had been feeling for months. Now as Ethan reached across the car and I felt his fingers touch the inside of my thigh, any hesitation that I might have been feeling melted away. His kiss was burned into the back of my mind and I was aching for more of his touch. I felt my thighs part slightly, inviting him to touch me further. His fingertips ran up my black thigh highs to the bands that held them in place, and then further until they touched my sensitive, vulnerable skin. He traced the edge of the band until his fingertips, reached the clasp of my garter and I heard him let out a groan. I leaned toward him and pressed my lips to the side of his neck. I could feel his pulse beneath his hot skin and I flicked the tip of my tongue across it. His fingertips tightened on my skin in response to the touch and I felt a sense of relief as the car turned and I realized that we were finally in the hotel parking lot. I unhooked my seat belt as he came around the side and opened the door for me. He offered me his hand and I took it, feeling him pull me up out of the car and press my back against it. His mouth crushed down on mine as he leaned me back against the car; his lips moving across mine aggressively and our tongues tangling. He kissed me until I felt breathless and my mind was spinning. When he finally took his mouth from me we took a few steps toward the back of the car and then he turned, grabbing me by my hips and picked me up to sit me on the trunk. He pushed my knees apart so that my skirt bunched at the top of my thighs and stepped between them. One hand pressed against the small of my back pulling me up close against him while the other dug into my hair to hold my head steady as he kiss
ed me again. I could feel the delicious pressure of his hardening erection and my hips rocked against it almost involuntarily.

  We were parked under a streetlight in the parking lot, in full view of anyone who might be looking out of the windows of the hotel, but I didn't care. If he had wanted to pull my panties aside and take me right there, I would have let him. Instead, he picked me up again, put me on my feet and led me into the hotel. He pushed the button on the elevator and as soon as the doors opened, he gave me a gentle push inside. The doors weren't even closed yet when he pushed me up against the wall and flattened his body up against mine. His mouth came to my neck and he kissed his way down to the swells of my breasts. One hand ran down the side of my thigh and lifted my leg so that it was up at his hip, forcing my skirt up nearly to my hips again and allowing me to feel the bulge of his cock against my damp panties. I gasped as a nudge of his hips sent a shock of sensation through me and grasped at his shoulders. I couldn't decide if I was excited or disappointed when the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open on his floor.

  Ethan stepped back from me and took me by the front of my shirt, pulling me out of the elevator and down the hallway. I was teetering on my heels and barely keeping up with him, but when I stumbled, I ended up in his arms, which is exactly where I wanted to be. I kissed along the side of his neck and nibbled at his earlobe as he pulled the key to the door out of his pocket and inserted it into the slot. The little light flashed a judgmental red and I laughed at the stream of obscenities that spilled from his mouth as he shook the door and jiggled the key. I stepped around behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and running my hands up his belly and onto his chest. I could feel his chiseled muscles through his shirt and my thighs grew damp and hot. I molded my body to his back, bringing my hands back down his chest and belly and onto his belt as he continued to fight with the key.

  "I hate these fucking things," he said.

  As if his scathing comment was enough to hurt the card-shaped key's feelings, the little green light finally illuminated, and the door popped open beneath Ethan's hand. I held onto him, letting him pull me along with him as he stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him, immediately pressing me to the door and covering me with his body again. His size engulfed me, and I felt fully enveloped by his presence. I felt him stepping out of his shoes and I followed suit. The loss of the height from my heels brought me down so that he had to lean down to continue kissing me. This brought the heat of his body away from me and I felt a flicker of disappointment. Soon, though, I realized that the step back that he took gave me just enough space to reach between us and release his belt. As I tugged the end of the leather out of the buckle, Ethan pulled off his shirt and dropped it to the floor beside us. He then reached for the ties on the back of my top and loosened them with his eager fingers. The tight top fell away from my body and I wriggled out of it so that it slid down my arms and dropped to the floor. The cool air of the room touched my breasts and nipples, already hardened by the touch of Ethan's hands and mouth, tightening them further.

  His head dipped down and caught one of them in his mouth, sucking as he ran his hand down my back to reach the zipper on the back of my skirt. I had managed to unbutton and unzip his pants, but they were still up as he guided the zipper down and pushed my skirt down my hips so that it slid down my legs and pooled at my feet. I stepped out of it and reached for his pants again. He shook his head, wrapping his arm tightly around my waist and yanking me up against him to kiss me again. I looped my arms around his neck, holding him tightly as I rose up onto the balls of my feet to close our height difference as much as possible. He grabbed my ass with both hands and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, allowing the heat of my core to cradle his engorged cock through the fabric of his trunks. I hated that he was still dressed. I wanted every inch of his skin against mine. The tension that I had been feeling had only increased since I saw him and now I felt like I was going to burst with need and anticipation.

  Ethan carried me over to the bed and tossed me onto it. I bounced and then scooted back a few inches. I watched as he stood at the foot of the bed and stared down at me, his eyes burning into mine. Without undressing any further, he climbed up onto the bed and crawled forward, capturing my mouth again and pushing me back onto the pillows with the force of his kiss. He took his mouth from mine and kissed his way down my neck and onto my collarbones. His mouth ran across each, then settled above the soft spot between them, the tip coming out to flick across my pulse there. He kissed down the center of my chest and onto my belly, making his way toward my hips and pausing only to dip his tongue into my navel. I gasped at the feeling of his warm breath shivering along my skin and my belly trembled with anticipation and growing need. His mouth continued its path down my stomach until it was at the waistband of my panties. He followed it with a brush of his lips and then slipped his tongue under it to lick from hip bone to hip bone. I arched slightly, trying to encourage his attention lower. My thighs opened, and I hooked my thumbs into my panties, wanting to peel them off and be completely accessible to him.

  He pushed my hands away and I felt his mouth close over my core, his hot breath seeping through my panties and sending another bolt of need through me. He breathed in, sucking my clit into his mouth and teasing it through the fabric with the tip of his tongue. I whimpered, biting my bottom lip to try to control myself. My hands found his back and I gripped it tightly, avoiding leaving scratch marks, but pressing my fingers deeply enough into his muscles that he would know the intensity of my desire for him. One hand came to my knee and he traced it up the inside of my thigh. His fingertip slipped beneath the edge of my panties and pulled it to the side. I could finally feel the air on my wet core and I lifted my hips slightly toward his mouth.

  This time he took my invitation. His tongue slid up through my petals and I cried out at the intensity of the sensation that rocked through me. He didn't pause or even hesitate. Instead, it seemed that my reaction only pushed him further and soon his tongue was roving over me, delving into every delicate, intimate curve and dip, and finally slipping fully inside me. I felt my body release a new wave of hot fluids into his mouth, readying for him. He ran his hand over my belly, resting on my pelvic bone and turning so that he could massage into my clit with the pad of his thumb. He used the other hand to pull the crotch of my panties aside further so that he had even more access to the rest of my body. He moaned slightly as he lapped me up as if relishing the taste of me on his tongue. The thought was even more erotic, and I drew my knees up slightly to open myself up further.

  My body was overcome with the sensations he was creating, and I could feel the delicious, delirious pressure of a powerful orgasm building through me. Just as I thought that I was going to topple over the edge, he pulled his mouth away from me and pushed back. I opened my eyes, my mouth falling open to protest, and saw that he was finally shucking his pants. He pushed his trunks off his hips and a thick, mouthwatering cock sprang out toward me. He climbed up onto the bed, moving until he straddled my stomach. He propped one leg up on his foot, so he sat on one knee and reached down to slip his hand behind my head. I knew exactly what he wanted and was more than happy to oblige. He lifted my head and I supported myself on my elbows as I licked up along the underside of his cock, pausing to create tight circles with just the tip on the bundle of sensitive nerves just under the head. He gave a deep groan and tightened his grip on the back of my head. I lifted up higher and opened my mouth, allowing him to push his hips forward and sink fully in across my tongue.

  I closed my mouth around his delectable length and sucked him deep toward my throat. That one stroke was enough to fuel him as he held tightly to my head, thrusting his hips so that my mouth ran along him at a fast, smooth pace. He grunted, his head falling back as he gave himself over to the pleasure of my mouth. I didn't want this all to end too fast, so I wrapped my hand around the base of his cock and withdrew him from my mouth. I ran my hand along his le
ngth, continuing to stimulate him but also allowing him to cool a little.

  When he seemed to be back in control of himself, he pushed back off the bed and went to the small overnight bag that was sagging on the floor as if it had just been tossed into place and forgotten. I admired his sculpted body as he leaned down and dug through the bag, coming up with a box of condoms in his hand. He opened it and took out one of the packets, immediately tossing the rest of the box back down onto the bag. He tore the packet open with his teeth and rolled the condom into place over his thick cock still glistening from my mouth.

  Climbing back onto the mattress with me, he leaned down and gave me a hard, insistent kiss, then brought his mouth to my ear.

  "Roll over," he said. "Get on your hands and knees."

  I shivered at the dominance in his voice and complied with his command, rolling to my stomach and then rising up so that I was in the position that he demanded, presenting myself to him. I felt vulnerable and exposed, but at the same time unchained and without the inhibitions that had for so long held me back. This was what I wanted. Uncontrolled. Unapologetic. Uncharacteristic. Sex in a form that I had never experienced, but that I felt like I needed more than anything else.

  I felt his fingers touch the base of my neck and run down my back, his nails scraping down my skin, so they sent what felt like little sparks of electricity down to my hips. The heat of his breath touched my skin and I felt him grab the back of my panties with his mouth. He dragged them down until they caught on my thigh highs. His fingers ran up the garters on each thigh and I heard his husky voice whispering to me.

  "You should never take these off. Ever."