He stared at me pensively. My eye was strained from looking through the peephole at him so hard. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and an intricate burst of black roses clung to his ribs and disappeared around to his back. He had plenty of other ink, but the roses were my favorite so far.

“Anything. Just tell me. I’ll do it.” He put his hands behind his head and laced his fingers together like he was about to be arrested. It wouldn’t have been his first time. He’d been to prison for a few months when he was younger for stealing photography equipment. It cemented his bad boy reputation and, along with his good looks and smarts, catapulted him to the top of the photography world.

I tapped my fingernails on the door as I considered him. I wanted to open the door, to let him in, to finally give up the piece of me that I’d been saving. My pussy was already wet, my panties sticking to me. I’d been breathing hard from the moment I’d seen him standing outside. Even so, I was afraid.

“Have you ever been naked with a man, Jess?” He dropped his hands to his hips and hooked his thumbs into his shorts.

Oh, god. “N-no.”

He smiled, his even white teeth perfect despite the low light of the hallway. “Have you ever seen a dick that was hard because you made it that way? A dick that was ready just for you?”

I scissored my thighs against each other, trying to stem the buzz in my clit. It only made it worse, the sensation heightening each time I moved.

“No.”

“Would you like to?”

I examined his broad chest, down the rippling expanse of his abs, and to the long, hard length in his black gym shorts. I’d fantasized about it for so long that seeing it might make me go up in flames. But I wanted it all the same. “You’d do that? Right now? Right there in th-the hall?”

His smile widened. “I’d rather do it on the other side of the door with you there, your eyes watching me, your hands itching to touch me. But as it is, I’ll take what I can get. Do you want to see what you do to me?”

Fuck yes. I leaned back and took a breath, my lungs filling but still burning with the need for him.

“Yes.” I kept my voice as even as I could, but it still wavered. I was safe here, a door and a deadbolt between him and me. But my voice wasn’t trembling from the fear, it was from the excitement.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He eased his shorts down.

I moved up onto my tiptoes and stared hard at each centimeter of his skin that came into view. The fabric caught on the head of his cock. He paused, his deep green eyes still on mine though he couldn’t see me.

“Ready?”

Was he teasing me? I put a hand in my hair and pulled, just to feel something other than the out of control lust that was flooding my system. It only made it worse because in my mind it was his hand in my hair, his inked fingers twisting and pulling the strands until I said his name.

“Michael, yes.”

He pushed the waistband out and down. I held my breath as his taut flesh appeared. His head was glistening. I swallowed hard. He kept going until the entire smooth shaft was revealed. It was thick, thicker at the base than the tip, and long. I had never seen a more beautiful cock. I ran my nails down the door.

“You like?” He moved a hand to it and fisted himself.

I moaned and bit my lip to stifle the sound. I didn’t like. I loved.

I put one hand back into my panties and eased my fingers between my slick folds to my clit. He stroked himself, one slow pump, and I pressed into my nub, sending pleasure flittering across my skin. A high, breathy sound escaped me as I did it.

“Jess?” He stepped closer and I had to get up higher on my toes to see his gorgeous cock. “Are you touching yourself?”

“No.” I lied and flicked my fingers over my sweet spot.

“I know you are.”

“Mm.” I put my hot forehead on the cool door as he came closer, so close I couldn’t see his hand anymore. Would I open the door if he asked again? “Maybe.”

“Quick question, Jess. Have you seen my piercings?”

“Yes.” I delved my fingers lower and brought my wetness out.

“Have you seen my tongue piercing?”

“What?” My breath hitched.

“My tongue is pierced. Any idea how pleasurable that is on your pussy, Jess? How nice it feels on your clit?”

He was so close, like the big bad wolf at my door, demanding I let him in.

I put my free hand on the deadbolt. I put the slightest bit of pressure on it. All I had to do was turn it, and he’d be inside.

“Let me in, Jess.” His words were smooth, his voice like slippery silk.

“But I don’t even know you.” I was surprised at the little piece of logic that escaped my mouth.

“You don’t? You haven’t been watching me for months right through here?” He tapped at the peephole. “You haven’t been to the gallery two blocks over that exhibits my work at least twice a week? You haven’t been following my Twitter or Instagram, LegalJ87?”

Shit. I was so busted. He knew about all of it.

“I also follow the tabloids. I saw you with a model on each arm just last month at a New Year’s thing.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. Stalker, much?

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I didn’t fuck them, if that’s what you’re implying. I haven’t touched a woman since I moved in here and saw you. You would know. Have you ever seen me bring a woman home?”

I hadn’t. I’d often wondered about why he never had company. Then again, he was out all night most of the time. “When you’re out at night, you don’t . . .”

“Sleep around?” He ran a hand through his hair, mussing his dark fauxhawk. “I have. I did. A lot. I don’t make any bones about my past. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. I’ve been with women, a lot of them. But I haven’t since you, Jess. I swear. Not since I first saw you.”

“Why?” My chest was warm, as if filled with steam after each of his revelations.

“You.” He shrugged as if that was all he needed to say.

I moved my hand back to the deadbolt.

“Me? Me what?”

“The second I saw you, even though you were too shy to look at me, much less speak to me, I wanted you. I had to have you. I’ve given you space, Jess. But today, I just couldn’t bear it. I need you.” He put both hands on my door, the passion in his eyes boring into me. “Now let me in.”

I started to flip the bolt.

“But there’s one thing you should know, Jess.”

My fingers hesitated. “What?”

“Once you let me in there, I’m going to take everything you have, every way that I want. You’re mine. I need you to know that.”

My heart stuttered and kicked into an even faster beat. Was I ready for this? Could I handle the bad boy from across the hall?

He stared me down with his green gaze flecked with hazel. Did it matter anymore whether I could do it? No, it didn’t. What I wanted was right in front of me. I realized I was going to do it no matter what.

I took a deep breath and unlocked the door.