finally reach his room.
There’s so much lust barreling through me that I’m amazed to be still standing. There’s barely a coherent thought left in my brain.
I cling to Rich’s shoulders, pulling myself into him as his mouth presses down on mine. I’m aflame with anticipation of what will come next. My body feels heady but weak. It’s a thrilling combination that accentuates just how turned on I am. My heart is pounding, thundering in my chest. Each throb sends wild lashes of desire though my limbs.
I take immense pleasure in the expert way Rich’s hands trail over my body. I delight in the way our mouths connect in aroused, volatile harmony. I love the feeling of his tight muscles beneath his clothes. I love the musky scent that trails from him every time I take a breath.
Together, we stumble toward the elevator. Rich breaks away for a second to hit the button. The light doesn’t come on.
“Damn,” he growls, “it’s busted again.”
I’m one step ahead of him. I’d spotted the stairs when we entered. I grab his hand and pull him after me with no hesitation. I start up the cement stairwell, determined to get to his room as fast as possible.
“Penny, wait.”
I look back, confused. “What?”
A devilish smile plays on his lips. “Only this.” Without warning his hands wrap around my waist, and I’m being lifted up as easily as if I were a doll. He turns to the side and presses my body against the wall, suspending me between him and the concrete.
His mouth crashes down on mine again. I curl my legs around his torso, locking my ankles together, and kiss him back with the passion reserved for a lover after ten long years apart. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m getting even more turned on. Rich’s hands move down to grasp the outside of my thighs, and I moan into his kiss as the muscles of my core clench in sinful fashion. I want him so badly. If we don’t get somewhere private soon, I won’t be wholly opposed to jumping him in public.
I gasp as he steps away, freeing me from the wall. I start to fall, but one of his hands darts down to catch me just beneath the knees. The other one cradles my shoulders. Before I know it, I’m slung across his arms like a bride on her wedding night.
“I’ve always wanted to carry a girl up these stairs,” Rich admits.
I laugh, and wrap my arm around his neck. “Oh, you are just the best type of romantic.”
Four flights of stairs later, Rich pushes open the fire door to a dimly-lit hallway. He carries me down the hall and stops in front of an entrance on the right. He sets me down, then fishes around in his jeans for the key. When the door creaks open, he sweeps a hand out in front of him. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
I walk in, curious about his apartment. I tend to side with the camp of people who believe that a person’s living arrangements can reveal a lot about his personality. But, I don’t find much to work with here.
The apartment is sparse and dark. Pale moonlight filters in through the balcony window, shining down on the only piece of furniture present: a queen size mattress lying on the floor of the living room. The red brick walls are totally empty—no girly posters or other things I might expect in a bachelor’s apartment. There are no lamps, no chairs, no couches.
After a moment, I notice a second piece of furniture: a small, old-school CRT TV camped in one corner of the studio apartment.
Rich switches on the light. “So?” he asks, “what do you think?”
I walk past the entrance. There’s one hall leading away from the room. It is filled with brown cardboard boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. “Did you just move in or something?”
Rich laughs behind me. “Yeah, something like that. You want a drink?”
“A drink?” I say. “No, I—”
The words catch in my throat as he grabs my hips and spins me around. I had no idea he’d come so close. He’d moved from the door to me without making a sound. His fingers lock together against my lower back, and he tugs me into him, pressing my belly to his waist. I feel his growing erection right away, and a diabolical excitement builds inside me.
Nothing happens.
For a long moment, Richard just holds me like that, staring into my eyes