Chapter Ten

Annie entered her room, shut the door behind her, then flopped down on the bed. She was going to drive herself crazy with these fantasies swimming in her head. She needed to snap out of it and get back to her plan.

Closing her eyes, she tried to doze off, but all she could think about was Ryan. Finally, she sat up and pulled open the drawer next to her bed. She took out the sheet of paper with her list and reread it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She tried to visualize doing the things on her list, but, once again, she couldn’t seem to get her mind off of Ryan.

She thought about how sweet he’d been when she was attacked. She thought about how he’d looked at her like he wanted to eat her up when he picked her up earlier and how romantic the gondola ride had been. She thought about how much fun they’d had at the wax museum, and she wondered if there was another man whom she could desire and still have so much fun with.

Sighing, she stood, stripped off her dress, and lay down in the big bed. She stretched out and rolled over and stretched out again, taking special care not to press her knee against the mattress. It was soft and comfortable, but cold and empty. She was determined to get her mind off of Ryan.

The list. Focus on your list.

What would it be like to make love to a stranger? She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it. Getting dolled up. Flirting and dancing with someone she didn’t know. Looking deeply into his eyes as he said she was beautiful and that he wanted to kiss her. She would probably blush, then say, “Yes, that would be nice.” His lips would be warm and soft as they met hers, and she would part her lips, letting his tongue slip inside. They would kiss deeply, and as the passion heated up, his lips would move down to her neck.

She tried to imagine what he would look like. She could see dark hair and a nice build, but every time she tried to imagine his face, it was Ryan’s.

The thought of kissing Ryan made her quiver. She imagined sucking his bottom lip into her mouth and licking it with her tongue. She loved his bottom lip and could hardly look at it lately without wanting to bite it. She thought back to their kiss on the gondola. Remembered how sweet his lips had tasted and how hot his tongue had been as it slipped between her lips and dueled with hers. Most of all, she remembered how hungry he’d seemed for her, and how his fingers had brushed her breast while his tongue delved into the warm caverns of her mouth. Annie shivered, imagining his hands becoming bolder, cupping both breasts then sliding over her body with both desperation and restraint, as if exploring a piece of precious art.

She brought her hands up from her sides and lightly rubbed her nipples through the fabric of her bra. The more she rubbed and pulled at them, the harder they strained to break free of the sheer fabric holding them back. She finally unhooked her bra, pulled it off, and tossed it aside. Lying back again, she took her right breast in her hand and tenderly massaged it. Thinking of Ryan, she pinched her nipple between her fingers.

Butterflies took flight in her body, and a fire kindled in her belly. She let out a long moan as she brought up the other hand and began giving the other breast the same attention. She lay there with her eyes closed and imagined it was Ryan touching her.

Annie pulled her knees up toward her chest, then let them fall open. She ran a trail with her fingers from her breasts down across her abs, over her belly button, and down to her mound, finally settling there. She rubbed her hand across the satin and lace of her panties. After only a few seconds, with the image of Ryan fresh in her mind, she increased her pressure and began to move her hips in time with her hand. She thought about Ryan’s lips on hers and imagined it was his hand running across her wet panties. Her breaths shortened, and she slipped her hand inside of her panties, thrilling at the feel of bare skin and then shuddering violently at the touch of her fingers to her now-swollen, aching clit.

The panties were only in the way, so she slid them off and tossed them aside. Returning her hand to her mound, she pressed down just above her clit with her palm. She rubbed gently. She didn’t want to come just yet, although she already felt on the verge. As she moved her hand, she could not only feel her own wetness but she could hear it, as well. She had her eyes closed, and she ran her tongue across her lips, imagining that Ryan was there, sliding his throbbing hard cock between her lips and across her tongue. She imagined herself sucking wildly on it as he thrust his hips, causing the head to press against the back of her throat, making him moan.

Using one hand to spread herself, she used the fingers on her other hand to begin driving herself even more wild, pulling and pressing and rubbing as she squirmed and writhed across the bed. She moaned out loud and shivered as she plunged two fingers inside of herself. But it wasn’t enough. She needed. Longed for Ryan’s cock to be inside her.

She glanced at the bedside cabinet then toward the door to make sure it was locked. Of course it was. She pulled out the bottom drawer and looked at the box that held her new vibrator. Feeling nervous, she closed it again and lay back down. But the tingling between her legs and in her nipples was only growing stronger, and the knowledge that Ryan might be lying on his bed in the very next room turned her on even more. She wondered if he ever thought about her when he stroked his cock.

Unable to resist the need to at least pretend it was him inside her, Annie slid the drawer open again. This time she took the box out and set it on her belly. She took off the lid.

There it was, staring back at her. Eight inches of rippled pink latex, five speeds, tapered on the end, already infused with four Energizer batteries. It was ready to go and so was she.

She reached inside the box and pulled out her new sex toy. It felt strange in her hand. She flicked it on to the lowest setting and watched as it rippled to life.

Annie had never used a vibrator before. Hesitantly, she trailed it gently across one breast, instantly shivering. She ran it in slow circles around her breast, the circles getting smaller and smaller until she reached her nipple. As she ran the vibe back and forth between her eager nipples, she could feel the wetness between her legs increasing.

She closed her eyes and pictured Ryan. She imagined him in bed with her, sucking and licking her nipples, twisting them between his callused fingers, making her squirm all over the bed. She flicked the speed up on the vibrator and pressed it against one nipple as she pinched the other. A soft moan escaped her, and her pussy began to pulsate, begging for attention. Ryan’s attention.

She trailed the vibrator across the soft skin of her belly and down toward her mound. Her hips arched up slightly off the bed in anticipation. As she swept it delicately down between her thighs, the toy slid across her slick lips, causing her clit to ache and swell.

Widening her thighs, she imagined Ryan with his beautiful face between her legs. She pressed the vibrator down hard, opening her lips slightly and grazing her wanting clit. In her imagination, Ryan’s tongue pressed up hard against her, moving back and forth.

She moaned loudly, and her eyes flew open. God, had she been too loud? Could Ryan hear her through the wall? She should stop, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to come, and she wanted to imagine it was Ryan making her do it.

She slid the rippling vibe down the inside of one thigh and then the other, purposely avoiding her pussy, wanting to make the ache last a little longer. The whole time, she allowed her other hand free rein to squeeze her nipples. A little roughly. The way Ryan would be when he was on the edge of his control.

She ran the vibrator up along her core again, making sure to get it wet, then she brought it back to her nipples. She used her own arousal to dampen the aching points. Her hips bucked with want.

She pictured Ryan bracing himself above her with his biceps and his hard, naked chest glistening with sweat. She pushed the vibrator up against her slick opening and slowly dragged it to her clit. She whimpered, and the more she allowed it to vibrate against her sensitive bud, the more her toes curled at the intensity of the sensations building inside her.

She continued to run the vibrator up and down, each time bringing herself closer to the edge. It was agony, but the sweetest, most seductive kind. Instinctively, as she continued to torture herself, she said Ryan’s name. Once. Twice. Again.

She kept repeating it as her thighs tensed and her body arched, begging for release. Her clit throbbed intensely now, and she flicked the toy up to its highest setting.

“Ryan,” she moaned, and she pushed the toy inside her. She moaned his name even louder as she moved the toy in and out, bucking her hips off the bed to meet it.

She felt the waves of her orgasm building. She wanted to scream, but some part of her conscious brain was still working. It warned her that Ryan was next door. That screaming would give her away. She turned her head to the side and gripped the plush pillow between her teeth. Visualizing only him, she let go, the damn releasing in a pulsating explosion. She continued to pump the toy inside her as the waves of her climax swept through her body. Everything inside her tingled and clenched, squeezing around the vibrator, flooding her with pleasure.

When it was over, she flicked the vibrations off, but kept the toy inside her. She massaged her breasts gently with one hand, waiting for her clit to become less sensitive. She imagined Ryan gently suckling on her nipples while he slowly stroked her, allowing her to cool off before starting up again to achieve his own release.

When her body finally stopped shaking, she removed the toy from between her legs, switched it off, and set it on the bedside table. Curling on her side, she sighed—not with satisfaction, but with sadness.

Her toy had been a poor substitute for what she really wanted.

Ryan.

Not just for a night, but forever.

* * *

Annie drifted off to sleep, then woke from her nap about an hour later. She rolled over and saw the toy she’d used before she’d fallen asleep. The sight of it made her want to cry. She felt empty. Hollow inside. Her chest ached with the renewed knowledge that Ryan would never truly be hers.

She tossed back the covers and padded into the bathroom, toy in hand. As she stood in front of the mirror and washed it, she looked at her reflection and swore she’d never pleasure herself while thinking of Ryan again. It was too painful. She needed to get Ryan out of her system now more than ever. She was going to go out tonight and find a new man, one who would satisfy every urge in her body, or at the very least occupy her fantasies from this day forward.

When she finished cleaning the toy, she put it back in its box, donned her robe, and picked up her phone. She called Ryan.

“Hey,” he said in a sleepy voice.

“Did I wake you?”

“Just got up. Did you decide what we’re doing tonight?”

“I decided what I’m doing tonight,” she told him in a stern voice. “I’m going through with my plan, Ryan.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. She waited for what seemed like a long time for him to say something. He didn’t.

“I know you’re not happy about the idea. I know you’re just worried about me, and I appreciate that. I’m not stupid, though. I’m going to be careful.”

“You can be as careful as you like, Annie, but you won’t know what you’re inviting into your room—into your body—until it’s there.”

“I have good instincts about people, Ryan. If you’re that worried, you can come with me.”

“And do what while you’re seducing some stranger on the dance floor?” he asked in a grumpy tone.

“Single adults hook up for hot sex all the time. You’ve done it yourself, and I’m doing it now. If you want to keep an eye out for me at a distance, you can. But I do not want you to interfere. I’m a grown woman. Don’t forget that.”

He grumbled something that sounded like, “Yeah, okay.”

Annie wanted a firmer commitment.

“Ryan, promise me that if I’m not in clear danger, you’ll stay out of it.”

“I said yeah,” he told her.

“Promise,” she said.

“Okay, Annie, I promise.” His tone was still begrudging, but she knew he wouldn’t break a promise to her.

“I’ll be ready in an hour,” she told him.