I arrived at Elle’s place just as the sun was going down. It was a sprawling mansion on the coast, low white slabs and glass, hidden in the trees. By the time the car stopped in the driveway, I was wound right up. My heart was beating too hard. My palms were sweating.

All the way here, I’d been wondering what this was about—a car service showing up at Ray’s place and the driver telling me he was supposed to take me to some house in Lions Bay, for Joanie.

I knew exactly whose house it would be.

As for why Elle had sent a car for me, there could only be one reason: she wasn’t finished with me yet.

She didn’t want me to leave Woo’s place; she’d made that clear. She’d also said she was staying in Kauai for a few more days, but now here she was, the very next day. Either she was pissed at me, royally, or she wanted to see me for some other reason.

One look at her when she opened her front door told me what that reason was.

I stepped inside, feeling uneasy. I’d never been in this house before, but I barely looked around. There was a white entrance hall and a giant, sweeping staircase leading upstairs, behind her. But all I really saw was Elle, standing there in her minuscule dress.

It was a sundress, innocent at first glance, white, with colorful flowers splashed across it. But it was thin and covered barely anything. One floss-like strap had drifted off her shoulder. She wasn’t wearing a bra; her firm breasts pressed against the soft, gauze-like fabric, her nipples poking out.

I wondered if she was wearing panties; the hemline barely covered her clit.

It was mid-summer, pretty warm out, and I was no expert in women’s fashion—but that was not a dress you wore to a business meeting. Or for a chat with a platonic friend.

“How are you?” she asked carefully.

I tore my gaze away from her tits and looked hard at her face. “Been better.”

“Why?” she asked, folding her arms at her waist. “What’s wrong?”

How to answer that, exactly? “I guess I don’t appreciate being summoned.”

“Summoned?”

“You sent a car to collect me. What would you call it?”

Her mouth dropped open, but she didn’t speak.

“Look, I get that in your world, this is normal for you,” I told her. “That you’re used to snapping your fingers and having everyone around you do your bidding. But it’s not normal, Elle.”

She looked taken aback. Offended, even. “So then why did you come?”

“I guess you could call it… morbid curiosity.”

She frowned. “About what?” She cocked her head a little, her loose blonde hair spilling over her shoulder. I let my gaze go with it, dropping briefly to her low-cut neckline, then the high-cut hemline of her dress.

“I think you know.” When I looked her in the eyes again, they were wide. “Are we gonna play games, too? ’Cause that’s not normal for me, either, and it’s not a turn-on.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Why don’t you tell me what we’re talking about. You’re the one who brought me here.”

“Yeah, so we could talk.”

“Right. Like you took me to Hawaii to talk.” I kept staring at her; I couldn’t fucking help it. I was drawn, getting sucked in by that dress, her bare thighs, the pouty, bitchy look on her face. “So we talked. What else is there to talk about?”

She balked, getting kind of flustered as she said, “Well… lots of things.”

I just stared at her some more. She did not go on. She didn’t offer up what all these “things” were as she stared up at me. I was half a foot taller, and standing close enough that she had to tip her head slightly back to meet my eyes. It put her in the perfect position to be kissed.

“Elle,” I said, trying to shake that idea out of my mind, even as I studied her pink lips. “You know the rest of the band won’t take me back. It was great playing with you again, but it’s done. It’s over. The faster we just move on forward, the better it will be for everyone.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she said, still flustered. Her cheeks were actually turning pink. “Move forward.”

“Feels to me like you’re still looking backward.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if you’re looking back at the past and having regrets. If you’re feeling bad about firing me. I don’t know if you’re regretting Hawaii. What happened. What didn’t happen. But what’s done is done.”

She’d started shaking her head slowly as I spoke. “Maybe it’s not done, Seth.” She blinked up at me, her gray eyes searching my face. “It doesn’t feel like it’s done to me.”

My heart beat harder, my throat squeezing a little as she spoke.

“Does it feel that way to you?” she asked.

I had no idea if we were talking about the band anymore, at all, or about the two of us and whatever happened—or almost happened—in Hawaii. But I told her, “That’s the way it’s gotta be, Elle.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no other way it can be.”

Couldn’t she see that?

“Maybe you’re just afraid,” she fired back, “and you’re letting that stop you.”

“Maybe you have the luxury of doing whatever you want, Elle, but I’m not you.”

“Maybe you’re afraid to take a chance.”

“Maybe you’re pissed that you didn’t get what you wanted in Hawaii, and you’re not used to that.”

Her gaze dropped to my lips. “What… what do you mean?”

I was uncomfortably aware that she’d been drifting closer and closer to me as we spoke, that there were a few mere inches of air left between us.

“Elle. You did everything but fuck me on that dance floor.”

“What?” she protested. “We didn’t even kiss!” But she sounded disappointed about it.

And that tone of hers… kind of aggravated, frustrated—aroused?—went straight to my cock. I could feel myself swelling as the blood rushed south.

“Is that what you wanted?” I swiped my tongue over my lip. “A kiss?”

Elle’s eyebrows pinched together and her lips made an angry little O. “Well… So what if I did?”

I stared at her, my heartbeat thudding through my body, throbbing in my dick. But my voice was calm when I muttered, “Shit. This has to be the stupidest argument in the history of arguments.”

“So why are we arguing?”

“Because, Elle,” I said. “I can’t give you what you want.”

“Why not?” she demanded, bitchy as fuck. Yeah; the girl was totally unaccustomed to not getting what she wanted.

“Because it’s a bad idea,” I managed to force out.

“Why?”

Jesus. She was serious.

It was not helping my raging hard-on; my dick was now getting its hopes way the fuck up.

“You really need me to spell it out for you?” I said. “I can’t come between you and the rest of Dirty.”

“You won’t.”

“Elle.”

“Seth.” She inched closer to me, drew a shuddery breath and said, “I want you to kiss me.”

And those words… they did something to me.

I did not expect her to fight me on this. I thought all it would take was one reminder of how bad an idea this was, of the damage it could do to her and the band if I put my hands on her, and she’d know I was right.

I didn’t think she’d really consider taking this kind of risk with me.

I didn’t dare fucking dream that she’d want me this much. That she would insist on this.

But she was definitely insisting when she said, “Kiss me, Seth. I want you to.”

I stared at her for a heartbeat as I fully digested her words.

Then I reached out and grabbed hold of her. One hand, slipped under her hair, around the back of her neck. I drew her toward me. At the same time, I slammed against her. I wanted her up against me in that tiny dress.

But when I had her there, I didn’t smash my mouth to hers like I wanted to.

I was doing this slow.

I moved in slow, looking in her eyes, looking at her lips, pausing for a long, long moment, right before I touched my lips to hers. I had to be sure she was sure about this.

But this time, there was no alcohol on her breath. No heady music playing. No dancing.

It was just the two of us, standing here in the silence of her white house, together.

My mouth melded, slowly, to hers… and when she opened for me, I slid my tongue inside her mouth.

And something broke, deep inside my brain.

In that instant, I gave up caring about anything else. All I cared about was Elle’s body pressed against me, her tongue lapping against mine. All I cared about was giving her what she wanted.

Maybe because I cared about her.

Maybe because it was the most erotic sensation I’d ever felt. Elle’s silky-wet mouth, her soft tongue, the way she sucked on me a little… One hand on my waist, the other splayed on my chest, her fingers curling and digging in… The soft moan in the back of her throat that told me she wanted more.

So much more…

I walked her backward until we found the wall. I pressed her up against it. Then I tore my mouth away. We locked eyes, panting, for a long, heated moment.

Then I dropped to my knees, breathless.

I had to have her pussy. Now.

My hands trailed down her body… over her breasts, her stomach, and past the hem of her short dress. I bunched the flimsy fabric in my hands and shoved it up. She was wearing panties; skimpy and pale pink.

With one hand, I held her dress up out of the way. With the other, I slid her panties down, but I did that slow, too. Really fucking slow. And I looked up at her face while I did it.

She tipped her head back against the wall, watching me from under her lashes, her mouth open in anticipation. Her chest rose and fell in shuddering breaths.

She reached out and dug her fingers into my hair.

I looked down. Her panties were now in my fist, down around her thighs.

Elle’s pussy was completely bared to me. Pink. Tender.

Mine.

My heart rammed in my chest. It was a total fucking rush, that she wanted this.

I kissed the soft flesh over her clit, once, and let out an involuntary groan. The softness… The smell of her. The fucking taste…

Then I buried my face between her legs; I couldn’t stop myself. My eyes closed. My cock ached, rigid in my jeans.

I opened my mouth, sliding my tongue over her pussy, tasting her again. She cried out, her hands tightening in my hair, and I groaned again. Her breaths came short and fast, in little moans and cries, as I worked her with my mouth.

I tried to go slow, tried to hold myself back, as my heartbeat thundered in my head. I wanted to fucking devour her, lose myself in the heady-sweet taste of her, ram my tongue up inside her and suck on her clit, hard, until she came—but I was afraid of being too aggressive and turning her off.

I looked up at her; her eyes drifted closed, then flickered open. She was getting louder, her breaths cutting off as I teased her pussy with my tongue… my lips… As I started to suck on her soft flesh.

Then the green light on the wall caught my eye. The alarm system. And it hit me, I didn’t even know if anyone else was in the house. But I was pretty sure Elle wouldn’t be happy if someone walked in on this. Me, eating her out. And her, making a hell of a lot of noise about it.

I forced myself to pause and ask, “Are we alone?”

“Yeah,” she panted, but then she looked around, like she wasn’t so sure. “Let’s go upstairs.”

So I got to my feet, a little shakily, picked her up, wrapped her legs around my waist, and carried her up the stairs. As I did that, she kissed me, delving her tongue in my mouth, her hands in my hair again. She sucked on my mouth and moaned as she ground her pussy against me.

By the time I managed to find a bedroom and throw her down on the bed, my dick was trying to drill right through my jeans.

“Please tell me you have condoms,” I said, my voice rough, as I tore off her panties and shoved her thighs apart. “Because if I eat your pussy much longer and I can’t fuck you, my heart’s gonna explode.” I didn’t bring any condoms with me; I hadn’t been that optimistic.

“Yes,” she breathed as I kissed my way up her thigh, toward her clit. Then she gasped, moaned, and clawed at my hair as I went down on her again.

This time, I did not go slow. I did not hold back. All my patience had fled, along with any lingering reservations about this.

Fuck reservations.

Fuck the band.

This was happening.

I ate her until she was dripping. She was writhing, shaking, hyperventilating, and I knew she was a mere tongue-stroke away from total-body rapture. I managed to stop and get my shit together enough to stumble over to the bedside table, where she pointed me, and find the box of condoms.

It was a new box, so I got to tear it open without mentally counting how many condoms were missing and wondering who she’d used them with. Last thing I wanted to think about right now—or ever—was Elle fucking Ash or anyone else.

I shoved my jeans down, my hands fumbling. I was vibrating with lust, my heart pounding, blood thudding through my veins. I took a breath, knowing I had to calm the fuck down. That, or I was gonna blow my load the second Elle touched my dick.

While I got the condom on, Elle came to me and managed to tear off my clothes. She was still wearing her dress and I ripped it up over her head. I was amazed, actually, that we were both able to stand with so little blood in our heads. She looked dazed with desire, her lips flushed, as she ran her hands slowly down my chest.

We were naked now.

I was naked with Elle…

I cupped her firm, perfect breasts; they fit my hands like they were meant for me. She grabbed my cock and squeezed, tugging me with her, toward the bed, and I groaned, my eyes rolling closed. There was a part of me that couldn’t believe this was happening. It was just too surreal.

Then I opened my eyes—because the rest of me was vividly focused on the fact: this was real, and I wasn’t fucking it up.

I laid her out on the bed and kissed her everywhere I hadn’t yet kissed her, stalling to give my dick some time to adjust to this new reality. I let my tongue linger on the little indentations inside her hips… on her nipples… on her neck… when her responses told me she liked that—a lot. Then I explored her pussy with my fingers, finding her slippery opening and nudging a fingertip inside, making sure she was ready… but she was sopping wet.

“Fuck me…” she whispered, squirming beneath me, impatient.

So I fucked her.

I braced myself over her and pushed my cock into her, slow. Then I did it again… slow, deeper. Then faster, as the rhythm of her hips urged me on.

Elle met every thrust, her hands squeezing my ass. I gave it to her how she wanted it, letting her cries and her hips and her hands guide me. Long, deep strokes; that’s how she wanted it, mostly.

Then, suddenly, she wanted it harder. She got louder. She dug her nails into my ass and pulled me deeper. And I gave up on trying to hold back. I gave her what she wanted, hard, in a relentless rhythm that had us both gasping for air.

I knew I should’ve cared that this was a bad idea. I should’ve cared about the complications and the bad karma and the just plain stupidity of this.

I didn’t.

All I cared about anymore was worshipping Elle’s pussy… and getting her off.

I was so focused on it, I could feel the responses in her body as I drove her there. I could feel her tightening around me. I could feel her ecstasy rising through her in a rolling wave about to crash. And when she smashed apart, I sealed my mouth over hers, feeling her shudder and shake and melt in bliss beneath me.

It yanked me right over the edge.

I went with her… coming, hard, deep in her sweet pussy.

The sense of connection was head-spinning erotic.

Her legs draped around me. Her fingers in my hair. Her kisses on my face as I panted for breath.

As I recovered, my brain was so blown, I didn’t even know what to do with myself.

I was aware that I was slick with sweat, that I was soaking her in it. That the condom was still on and I was still inside of her. That I should get up, clean up, and figure out at what point she wanted me to leave.

But I could barely move.

I kept myself propped on my elbows so I wouldn’t crush her. I dropped my face into her neck as I caught my breath.

She sighed, relaxing beneath me as her arms encircled me. “Stay,” she said.

* * *

Somewhere in the dead of night, she rolled toward me in the dark. I felt her hand moving over my body, grasping my cock, coaxing me awake.

At first, I didn’t dare believe it was real.

I was back at Ray’s place, sleeping on his old couch, dreaming about a better life. A life where I could be in Elle’s bed.

Then her long, slender leg slipped over mine. I felt her smooth skin sliding against me as she shifted on top of me. I felt her warm breath on my thighs. And I couldn’t remember ever waking up to a moment better than this.

Then her wet mouth was on my cock. I was already hard, balls thudding, wanting into her. And she took me, sucking me in deep. I groaned uncontrollably as her tongue worked over my shaft, as she slid my dick in and out of her slick, sucking heat.

Then her mouth was gone. She crawled up over me. I smelled that faint coconut smell that had followed her home from Hawaii. Coconut and sex and something spicy-sweet and… latex. She was sliding a condom onto me.

My breaths rasped against her throat when she leaned down over me and whispered in my ear, “I want you…”

She slid herself over me until she’d taken me inside. She was wet; so wet, I bottomed out with the first thrust. She rolled her hips a little, getting comfortable. And I tried to breathe, to relax. Just lay still, my hands loose on her hips, as she started to ride me.

“Fucking… God…” I heard myself whisper. “Elle…”

I could see her, just a faint silhouette in the dark of the room. Her long hair. She arched her back as she dipped her nipple into my mouth. I caught it with my lips, sucked, licked her until she started to whimper.

I could feel her arousal building as her breaths grew faster, her rhythm more urgent, her pussy tightening on me like a stranglehold. And as I sucked on her tits, I closed my eyes and just tried not to think about her tight pussy. Or about how she looked… how she sounded when she came, when I’d first fucked her, only hours ago.

If I did that, I was gonna blow first and ruin her fun.

So I just focused on her rhythm, her body undulating over mine, her nipples in my mouth, her hands braced on my shoulders.

But I felt it coming…

She ground her clit against me, her pussy bearing down tight… and then she went wild, the walls of her pussy fluttering around my cock, her head tossed back, her nails digging into me. She cried out. She sped up, riding me faster, harder.

She leaned down and kissed me, frantically, her tongue delving deep in my mouth. And I could not hold back any longer. There was just something about Elle’s mouth on mine, her tongue probing me, that drove me insane.

Especially when she was mid-orgasm when she did it.

I held her hips down, tight to mine, as I drove up into her and shot, deep. I moaned into her mouth. She kissed me again and again as I came. The world seemed to be tumbling around us in an endless somersault. I could not figure out which way was up. Wherever we were connected; that was all that mattered.

When I came rolling back down to Earth and opened my eyes, she was there, still with me, still connected. She was still kissing me, but broke away to catch her breath.

I rolled over, taking her with me.

I pulled out and laid her on her back. I eased the condom off, tied it off and just dropped it on the floor.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

I was on my side, right up against her, and my hand delved between her legs. I touched her pussy, lightly. She was swollen and wet, and shuddered, murmuring a soft, almost sobbing sound as I touched her.

I found her clit, nudging it a little, just teasing gently, going easy on her. Her hand went to my wrist, but she didn’t push me away.

“I’m not done with you yet,” I whispered.

“Oh… Oh…” she breathed, like she couldn’t quite summon other words. But she didn’t stop me.

I rolled my fingers over her clit, making her pant. I kept doing it, slow, then a little faster… then slow again… until she bucked against me, the spasm tearing through her pussy, snapping through her body. Her back arched. Her mouth fell open and she screamed.

I kissed her as she shuddered, as she rolled in the bliss of her orgasm. When I closed my eyes, tight, I could feel her warmth, her pleasure, like it was rolling through me, too. The aftershocks rippled through her as I drifted my fingertips over her clit. My cock was stiffening again.

When I opened my eyes, I could feel her looking at me, and for a moment, I thought I could make out her eyes in the dark. The shape of them, the dark sweep of her lashes.

“Is this a dream?” she murmured, breathily, and I could hear the smile in her words.

“If it is,” I said, leaning in to kiss her again, “don’t wake me up.”