Haze - By Andrea Wolfe Page 0,25

asked.

"Sure." My eyes crawled along the walls—there were gold and platinum records hanging there. He wasn't that much older than I was, and already his talent had reached more people than I would reach the rest of my life. It made me jealous in a very superficial way.

Jack joined me by the wall and handed me a glass. "Let's go look at something more interesting." He turned me around and led me out onto his outside patio. It was yet another incredible view of the city. Skyscrapers stood innocently around us, their blinking and changing lights so fascinating in the nighttime.

We sipped in silence, our arms wrapped around each other. I quietly listened to his heartbeat, allowing it to blend in with the ambient noise of the city that never slept. His apartment was pretty high up, so the noise that reached us wasn't as harsh and abrasive as it would have been at street level. It was relatively calming, more so than I was used to while being in the heart of everything. In a way, it was like the subway, that beautiful drone that overtook my senses entirely.

Being so close to him only made me remember what had happened in the suite after the party, how he had touched me, made me come so effortlessly. I was thinking about it non-stop, wishing I had the guts to make a move. He had said we would take it slow, but God, I just didn't want to wait. Frankly, I didn't believe I could wait. I wondered what he was thinking, wondered what was going on in his brain.

"Effie?" he asked. I was glad to hear him speak.

"Yeah?" The tension was so strong that I feared I was about to melt.

He set down his glass of wine on the table next to us. "Will you please put down your glass of wine?"

"Why?" I asked. I reflexively took another sip. I wasn't sure if his request was something to be concerned about.

"Because I don't want it to spill when I'm carrying you inside to fuck you."

He had read my mind and had matched how filthy it was at that moment. "Jack, I—"

"I can't resist you anymore, Effie." The dim light from the city reflected in his eyes, those gorgeous, powerful green orbs of intensity. He remained still, awaiting my response like a defendant awaiting a verdict.

"I feel the same way." As soon as my glass hit the table, his arms were under my legs and back, lifting me into the air, his strength so perfectly overwhelming. Our lips met immediately, the spark between them something I'd never forget. We were moving inside his apartment as our tongues twined, dancing intricately within the kiss.

I had become wet instantly, my body manipulated and flipped on like a switch. I couldn't delude myself—I had wanted him this whole time, even through all of the ups and downs of my thoughts, through his strange yet effective process of handing out public gifts.

This moment said it all.

We were moving down the hall, approaching his bedroom, our chests rising and falling together. He lowered me onto his bed gently, the comforter so soft and inviting. Sweat was already beading on my forehead, the combination of our heat and the warm night threatening to cook me right then and there if I didn't get out of my clothes.

Jack immediately pulled up my blouse, his hands tracing along my bare skin as he revealed it. I unbuttoned my jeans, and he helped me wriggle out of them.

"God, Effie, I need to taste you," he moaned.

I unbuttoned his shirt until it was loosely hanging off him. He dropped it to the floor, revealing his taut muscles, his physical condition optimal without being overpowering. Even though I could see very little in the dark, I spotted the bulge in his jeans, the promise already almost too much to handle.

Jack unclasped my bra with one hand and tossed it onto the pile of clothes next to the bed. "Your breasts are fucking perfect," he said, his tone husky and dominant enough to make me tremble.

He greedily took my nipples into his mouth, one by one, cupping the opposite breast with his hand as he alternated. His lips and teeth took me teetering toward the delicate edge of pleasure and pain, his touch making me shiver.

His hand settled against my mound, holding pressure there, reminding me teasingly what he could do with his fingers. My clit was so swollen, so needy. I moaned