She leaned in to kiss him again and, as she nipped gently at his bottom lip, they quickly reached the point of no return. This was really, truly happening. Sex with a stranger. In public. The thought was enough to send a shiver through her whole body in anticipation. Their hands explored each other’s unfamiliar bodies, fighting with buttons and zippers, tugging aside cotton and satin until each finally made contact with the naked skin they desperately sought out.
Lauren couldn’t get enough of her masked man. With his tuxedo shirt open to the waist, she found he was hard in all the right places with rough patches of hair on his chest that tickled her palms. The warm scent of his skin teased at her senses, urging her to bury her face in his throat and taste him. The growl that rumbled from deep inside his chest vibrated against her lips and fingertips. She might not be an expert where seduction was concerned, but it sounded like she was hitting all the right buttons with him.
The wolf’s hands moved over her outer thighs, pushing the heavy fabric of her gown higher. “Lift your hips, Red,” he said, and she complied. Now the dress was bunched around her waist, giving him free access to everything from there down.
That was exactly how he must’ve wanted it. His fingers grasped the sides of her panties and tugged them down her legs, stopping long enough to slip off her rhinestone-covere
d heels and let them fall to the floor along with the panties in his hand.
Had the lights been on, Lauren would’ve felt incredibly exposed, but in the dark there was a freedom she didn’t expect. Her partner could only see with his hands, something that would greatly benefit her, of that she was certain.
As he stood up, his hands smoothed back over her legs. He dipped to the inside of her knees and stroked the skin of her inner thighs even as he inched them farther apart. Lauren could feel the cool air on her newly exposed flesh, but to her surprise it was quickly followed by the moist heat of his breath.
She wasn’t prepared for his tongue.
Lauren gasped and squirmed against the hard edge of the pool table. With each flick of his tongue across her aching flesh, her mind went blank to everything but the waves of pleasure that pulsated through her body. She had to lean back onto her elbows before she collapsed entirely. Her back arched, her hands clawing futilely at the felt top. In mere moments, this stranger had coaxed heady sensations from her that she could hardly remember having before. He had her on the edge of climax and he’d barely touched her.
“Lie back and relax,” he commanded, briefly lifting his head. Lauren couldn’t do anything but comply. The man moved each of her legs over his shoulders, pushing her knees backward until they were pressed to her chest. With her pinned there, he unleashed a fresh assault on her center.
It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. She couldn’t escape the sensations, couldn’t pull away from his mouth. Before she knew it, an orgasm washed over her that was stronger than any one she’d ever had. She bit into the side of her hand to keep from screaming out loud until the waves passed. But he didn’t stop. He let up for only a moment, allowing her to catch her breath before he started again. She didn’t think it was possible, but she came again almost immediately, harder than before.
“Please stop,” she gasped and pressed against his head to push him away. Lauren wasn’t sure she could take a third orgasm so soon.
He relented, lowering her legs and allowing them to fall like limp noodles over the edge of the table. “You’ve had enough?” he asked.
“Enough of that. Now I want you. Or are you going to keep me waiting?”
He stood up, resting his hands on her shaky knees. “Not too much longer. I’ve just got to take care of one, important, final detail.”
Lauren watched as the dark shape of his body moved across the room to where he’d left his tuxedo jacket. He dug around in the pockets for a moment before returning to her still-trembling body.
Stepping back between her thighs, he put something on the pool table beside her bare hip. The moonlight caught the foil packaging to reveal the condom he’d sought out. Thankfully, he planned for things like this. It was so unlike Lauren to do something like this that she never would’ve had condoms in her purse.
She heard the clinking of his belt and the buzz of him undoing his zipper. Felt him reach for the condom to put it on. Then his hands gripped her hips and he entered her in one, slow, steady stroke. The hard heat of him sinking into her welcoming body was a pleasure she’d long denied herself. Building her business hadn’t allowed her much of a social life. She dated now and then, but nothing serious. How could she date in a town where all her peers thought she was a joke? It wasn’t impossible, but it had been so long, she almost couldn’t believe it was really happening.
Lauren pushed herself upright on the edge of the table, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Pressing her satin-covered breasts against the wall of his chest, she leaned in and whispered, “I need you so badly,” before gently biting at his earlobe.
He must’ve liked it because he shuddered in her arms and stilled himself, perhaps to regain control. She was pretty sure he was fighting a losing battle, because this fantasy had them both riding the razor edge of desire. He gripped her back and pulled Lauren so close to the precipice that she might have fallen without his support. Then he gave her what she’d asked for. He filled her again and again, pounding hard into her quaking body.
He didn’t know her name or anything about her, but he seemed to know exactly what Lauren needed from him. She didn’t think it was possible to respond to him so quickly, but she was on the edge of coming apart again. She clung to her big, bad wolf, gasping and whimpering into his shoulder.
As Lauren’s release came closer, her body tensed and her cries sharpened. He responded by redoubling his efforts and thrusting harder than ever before. She instantly unraveled, shattering into climax as she bit into the flesh of his shoulder to silence her screams. When she was finally silent and still, he thrust hard one last time and finished with a deep groan of satisfaction.
They collapsed back onto the pool table together, and after a moment he rolled off to the side to rest beside her and catch his breath. It was strange to lie there together in the pitch-darkness of the room, hearing the voices and music from the great room just feet down the hall from where they were.
She expected the wolf to say something, but they both seemed comfortable enough in the silence. Perhaps too comfortable. After a few minutes, his breathing was steady and even. He’d fallen asleep beside her. She was tempted to curl against him and give in to the lure of sleep, too. But she needed to go.
The morning would bring nothing but disappointment for them both. Lauren knew it deep down. She was not the glamorous seductress she’d pretended to be tonight. She’d never acted more out of character in her whole life. Staying behind meant that her lover would learn the truth. And that would ruin everything.
Moving as quietly as she could, Lauren slipped off the table. She shimmied her dress down her legs and then sought out her things in the darkness.
Looking back over her shoulder, she could see he was still fast asleep on the table. She pulled her mask off and tossed it onto the felt beside him. A little memento for him to remember her by.
With that done, she opened the door and crept out into the hallway and out of his life.
* * *
“What the—”