The Apartment: The Complete Affair Read online

  She wondered briefly if her beautiful stranger would have more skill in that department. She remembered how strong his tongue had been as it swirled inside her mouth, instantly recalling the taste of him. She shook her head to clear her mind, knowing that it was useless to fantasize about something she would never get to experience. It also made her feel even more guilty when she realized how thoroughly she was comparing Scott to a man whose name she didn’t even know.

  She thought about her jacket again, deciding that she would simply have to get it back. She needed to get it back in her hands so that she could stop focusing on it. She debated simply leaving it there and forgetting about it, but she really couldn’t afford another one right now and Scott would never understand what was so hard about just going back to get it. He didn’t know that retrieving her jacket meant possibly running into her stranger again.

  Remembering that she only had a half-day of work that day, she figured that she could just pick it up on her way to the gym and have it out of her mind that much sooner. If she was lucky, perhaps Mrs. Knight could even go up and get it for her.

  A loud yowling interrupted her thoughts. She looked down to see one of the large cats staring up at her expectantly, while the other one pawed at her foot. She sighed loudly and smiled at the one who was staring at her. “I suppose you’re hungry, huh, Wembley?” When she was treated to another loud whine in return, she decided it was time to put her worries aside and finish getting ready for work.

  “Okay, just a minute, babies. Mama needs to get dressed.” She stood up and waded through the furry bodies, making her way to the small closet. She took the towel off her head and draped it over the doorknob, shaking out her damp hair. Throwing on a pair of scrubs quickly, she brushed out her hair and left it to air dry as she opened the door to the hall. “Come on, tubbies,” Lily called behind her to the portly felines who were already following her eagerly. “If you ask me, I think you two have had enough to eat.”

  As much as Lily liked to tease them, she wouldn’t have them any other way. She loved their jiggly fat tummies; they reminded her of how much they’d changed from when she first got them.

  Wembley and Boober were brothers from the same litter and had been dumped at the animal shelter where Lily had worked while attending school at the University of Minnesota. There had been six kittens in total, all malnourished, and Wembley and Boober were the frailest of the group, which meant that nobody wanted them. Nobody but Lily. She couldn’t stand leaving them there every night when she went home, so one day they came home with her.

  Her roommates were a bit cross with her at first, but after watching her try to nurse them back to health, they couldn’t resist the adorable kittens. Before long, her roommates were all doing their part to sneak them some extra scraps, hoping to fatten them up—and fatten up they did.

  Lily walked into the kitchen and filled their food dishes, jumping out of the way before they knocked her over. She took a package of ground beef out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw, planning to make a simple meatloaf when she got home later that night. Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, she sat down at the small table and began to eat, trying her hardest to keep the memories from coming back.

  After a few minutes, some loud thumping came from upstairs, quickly followed by the awkward thump and drag of George limping down the stairs with his cane. He had recovered enough to return to work, but some cold mornings still left him feeling a little stiff. Distracted by the loud thumping, Wembley and Boober turned away from their now-empty bowls and tore off back up the steps, looking forward to a long day of sleeping on Lily’s warm bed.

  “Goddammit, Boober!” George yelled as the hefty tabby ran over his foot, causing him to stumble down the last two steps. “Swear to Christ I’m gonna string them up by their tails one day,” he grumbled to himself as he joined Lily in the kitchen.

  “No you won’t,” Lily muttered, her mouth full of cereal. “Or else I’ll string you up,” she finished after she swallowed her bite. “Besides, you love those cats. Admit it.”

  George sat down next to her and looked her in the eye with his most deadpan expression before smiling at her, causing his 70s porn stache to curl up at the corners. “Yeah, they’re alright,” he replied, wondering if Lily knew just how much they cuddled on his lap whenever she was gone. “So, half-day today?”

  “Uh… no, actually,” she lied quickly. “They changed a few things around on the schedule. I might end up being there a full day, and then the gym. I’ll have to see how it goes.” Changing the subject quickly, she added, “I’m gonna make meatloaf when I get home.”

  Her father looked at her, and Lily felt as if he could see the lie on her face, but he simply shrugged. “Okay, whatever. I’m at work until after five tonight anyway.”

  Sighing with relief, Lily stood up and kissed him on the head. “I should get going. See you later, Dad.” She threw on her coat and grabbed her repacked gym bag, closing the door behind her as she left. On the drive to work she wondered why she had lied so considerably about her schedule. By the time she had pulled into the parking lot, she had convinced herself that it was simply to allow her more time to get her jacket back—just in case Mrs. Knight wanted to talk again, she wouldn’t feel so rushed.

  It was the typical morning in the office: Pap smear, Pap smear, pregnancy test, ultrasound, Pap smear. Lily assisted where she was needed and answered calls from concerned patients. At one point, she and Becky shared a laugh over how obvious the flirting had become between Jason and Natalie, who seemed blind to the fact that people had noticed their little games of grab-ass.

  Before long it was noon, and Lily’s shift was over. “Let’s get this over with,” she said to herself as she headed to her car. When she pulled up to her usual parking spot outside the gym, she was disappointed to see a CLOSED sign on the door of the dance studio. She got out and took a closer look, groaning when she saw that Mrs. Knight would not be opening up until 4 p.m. today.

  That’s just great. I didn’t want to wait around all day for this. I want it done now.

  She huffed off to the gym, not knowing what else to do, and changed quickly into a pair of gray sweats and a brown t-shirt that had the words Band Meeting: Present across the front in white letters. This time she signed in for an elliptical machine, taking her trusty iPod with her and queuing up her favorite workout playlist. Soon she was running to the sound of Scissor Sisters and almost feeling like normal.

  She closed her eyes to enjoy the beat and was instantly bombarded with flashbacks from yesterday evening. Only now they had a soundtrack. She could feel his hands grabbing her, his lips kissing her flesh, and his hips bucking to the rhythm of the music.

  She opened her eyes again quickly, a warm flush spreading over her face. Her favorite thing was to get lost in a good beat, and she wondered quickly what it might be like to actually have sex with someone to music, since Scott always wanted lights out and said music was too distracting. Once the thought entered her mind she couldn’t shake the fantasies of trying it, with him.

  Dammit, this is getting me nowhere!

  She turned off the machine, and for the second time in two days, gave up out of frustration. After leaving the locker room again with her bag, she noticed a rear exit down the hall that was eerily similar to the one at the dance studio. Wondering if it led to the same alley, Lily looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching and slipped out the back.

  There it was. The door to the apartment building.

  Deciding that she couldn’t wait any longer and intending to simply check the door and pray it was still unlocked, Lily quietly went up the stairs. As she got closer to the top, she could hear loud rock music blaring from the other side of the wall.

  Shit! She had hoped no one would be there yet.

  Lily could tell from the thin streak of light on the ground that the door was cracked open, just like yesterday. Over the music she could hear odd noises that sounded almost like a stapl
e gun punching through the floor. She knew that she should get the hell out of there, but something was drawing her closer. She wanted to peek at him one last time. She wanted to know what he was doing in there to make that noise.

  She wanted to see him without being seen.

  The song was almost over. It was now or never. She slowly inched forward, holding her breath as she watched her hand getting closer to the door. Just as her fingers came close enough to push it just a little further open, the song ended and she could hear the sound of footsteps. It startled her so much that she reached forward too fast and her hand bumped the door. A loud creaking sound echoed through the hall.

  Lily backed up quickly, intending to run away, when the door was suddenly yanked open. There was her beautiful stranger standing before her, sweaty and out of breath, staring down at her in shock. He was messy and disheveled, wearing a black V-neck t-shirt and dark, paint-splattered jeans. Somewhere in the background Lily could hear a sexy techno song starting to play by one of her favorite bands, Prodigy. She stood there, frozen to the spot, and an insane thought entered her mind: this band’s heavy techno beats always made her either want to dance or screw—and this guy didn’t look like he was in the mood to dance.

  After what felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds, the gorgeous creature’s too-perfect lips curved up in another wicked smile, as if he were the inventor of the smirk. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, dragging her into the apartment and slamming the door closed. In a move so fast that she had no idea how it had happened, he had her shoved back against the door and half-drunk with his kisses once again.

  His mouth was ravenous, as if he were being presented with his last meal. He kissed her fiercely, sucking and biting at her tongue and lips, frantically trying to cover every inch of her skin at the same time.

  Lily wanted to say something, but she couldn’t remember what it was. She knew it had to have been something important, but whenever she tried to think long enough to come up with it, he would shift his mouth on her or flick his tongue and she would be lost all over again.

  When she realized that he was pulling his lips away, she moaned in protest, until she felt him kissing his way down her bare chest. Somewhere in the middle of all the kissing her shirt and sports bra had been removed, leaving her topless before him, but she honestly hadn’t even noticed it happening.

  His long, slender fingers gripped her breasts, massaging them roughly before his hot kisses took their place. She threw her head back against the door and almost cried from the pleasure of his mouth suckling her hard. She shoved her hands into his silky hair, grabbing large handfuls and squeezing, feeling him groan against one of her painfully hard nipples. His hot tongue flicked it repeatedly, nipping at it with his teeth before moving even lower.

  He dropped to his knees before her, pulling her sweats down in one swift motion, making her step out of them as he stared at her, hypnotized. Lily wanted to squirm under his sharp gaze, not used to having anyone pay such close attention to her below the waist, but he wouldn’t let her cover herself. He stopped her self-conscious hands and placed them back on his head, and she instinctively knew to grab onto his hair again. When she did, his eyes rolled back into his head for a moment before they looked up to meet her own heated gaze.

  He smiled again, licking his lips, before he reached out and slid his hands between her legs, bending his arms back up around her hips until she was forced to slide forward and sit on his shoulders. She was left balancing there precariously, her back leaning against the door and her hands grabbing onto his hair for leverage.

  He buried his face between her legs and inhaled sharply, and before Lily had time to be embarrassed or ask him to stop, he snarled loudly and opened his mouth against her. She felt his hot tongue sweep across her wet sex in broad strokes, and she wasn’t able to keep from crying out loud anymore.

  “Holy fuck!”

  Her exclamation only drove him on, making him lick her harder. She could feel every flick, every swirl of his evil, perfect tongue. By the time he latched onto her swollen clit and began suckling her again, she was rounding the corner to insanity.

  All the while, the song blared in the background.

  Lily began screaming as her orgasm ripped through her like a lightning bolt. She gripped his hair so hard that she was surprised it didn’t come out in clumps in her hands, and as she rode out her release she began pulling him into her, grinding herself against his eager mouth.

  She tastes so fucking good she tastes so fucking good she tastes so mother fucking good! The words ran through Ethan’s mind like a chant. He couldn’t get enough of her addictive flavor, never in his life experiencing anything so unique. She tasted like liquid lust—like heaven and sin combined—and he knew with absolute certainty that he would never be able to stop after only one taste.

  When his beautiful brunette mystery finally stopped shuddering against his lips, Ethan let her down gently until he could free his shoulders, and then he was picking her right back up again until her legs were wrapped around his waist. He carried her past the living room, where he was halfway through stretching a new canvas, and into the bedroom, where there was now a lavish king-size sleigh bed with a thick down comforter and soft leather frame pushed up against the far wall. The ornate bed stuck out like a sore thumb in the otherwise bare surroundings. He’d only wanted something he could crash on whenever he ran out of energy, but couldn’t resist the opulent size and the silky-soft sheets and blankets. He told himself they might help him with his sleeping problems, but if he was honest with himself, he had picked it out with the hope that his mystery woman would return.

  And now that he had her back in his arms, he was going to use it for so much more than sleep.

  He knelt on the edge of the bed and leaned over, setting her down like a prized treasure. She looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes and managed a weak smile, grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him down to her. Then she kissed him, passionately, tasting herself on his lips and moaning at how erotic both of their flavors were, combined.

  As the kiss grew more and more frantic, Lily noticed that she was writhing completely nude underneath him while he was still totally dressed. She slid her hands down his back until she could grab onto his shirt, pulling and yanking until he was forced to lift his arms and allow her to slip it over his head. His lips were right back on hers as soon as she chucked the offending garment on the floor, and then she set about working on his jeans.

  The moment her hands slipped between them and touched his button fly, his own hands were shoving hers out of the way, desperate to comply with her obvious wishes. However, by the time he had pulled his pants open and down his hips to kick them off, the amazing sensation of her naked breasts sliding against his chest was enough to make him pause for a deep breath. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed, opening his eyes to look at her.

  “You came back,” he whispered.

  And then he entered her.

  Both of them gasped as he slowly penetrated her body, sinking deeper, inch by solid inch. Lily somehow heard the music change in the other room and then the loud, thumping beat of another song pounded through the walls. He started moving back and forth, grinding against a place inside Lily that she had never felt stimulated before.

  “Oh!” she cried out, and he searched her eyes. He moved again, shifting his hips and rubbing more firmly against the tight bundle of nerves there, watching her face react as her body spasmed around him.

  “Is that it?” he groaned, already wanting to explode from the way her inner muscles were gripping him tightly. “Is that your spot, baby?” He shoved into her harder, making sure to drag his thick tip along that place each time he passed it.

  Lily was lost: lost in the moment, lost in the grinding beats of the music, lost in his unbelievable scent that was pure sex. When she began rocking into him in time to the song, matching his rhythmic movements, he grunted loudly and rolled over, pulling her
on top of him. At first she stayed close to his body, not wanting to move far from his lips, but as he coaxed her back slightly, she felt the deeper angle her position created.

  Moaning her surprise, she raised up on her knees, leaning her hands back on his thighs and arching back, riding him roughly. He almost lost it again at the sight of her, firm breasts thrust forward with the most delicious rosy peaks that bounced with her motions. Ethan reached up and gripped her hips, pulling her down onto his shaft harder with each upward thrust, wondering how the hell he was going to keep his sanity while he tempted the fates and fucked a goddess.

  She began shaking then, and he could feel her growing wetter around him, dripping down his length. The room was flooded with her scent, thick with arousal. Ethan growled deep in his chest, sitting up quickly to grab her around the shoulders and kiss her succulent nipples, pulling first one, and then the other, into his mouth. When he felt her shuddering grow exponentially, he moved a hand back between their bodies and slid his thumb inside her light dusting of curls, swirling circles around her clitoris as he thrust deeper inside her.

  Lily came undone, her tight sheath clamping down on him, her nectar flowing freely. She moaned and screamed her release, never having felt any amount of pleasure like that before in her entire life, even by herself.

  Ethan began bucking his hips furiously, finally unable to hold on any longer. He exploded deep inside her, allowing the death grip she had on his erection to milk him dry. He cried out, burying his face in her neck and biting lightly.

  When the frenzy had subsided for the both of them, he pulled her with him as he lay back on the mattress, holding her on top of him and loving the feel of her in his arms. After a moment, he rolled her to the side so that he could look down at her. Her eyes were closed, from exhaustion or perhaps embarrassment—he couldn’t be sure, because the loveliest blush he had ever seen was spreading from her cheeks down to her chest.