I fidget with my dress, feeling a little out of place.

“Told you that you should have let me dress you up tonight, Ara,” my friend Julia yells over the music in the loud club we are in. I look down at myself, thinking maybe she was right.

She’s dressed to kill, fitting right in like she belongs. I look like I might be going to church. Her strapless mini dress hugs her curves, showcasing her perfect body.

Julia and I are like night and day. She is tall with curves in the right places, short black hair that is styled in a perfect bob, showing off her shoulders and highlighting her cleavage. Her dark, sparkling eyes and blemish-free mocha skin finish off the flawless package.

I’m the opposite. I’m more than on the short side. It doesn’t help that I can’t wear heels to save my life. I have a habit of tripping over my own feet with perfectly good flats. My hair is long and so blonde that in the summer it almost turns white in color. The color of my hair and my fair pale skin make my bright blue eyes seem too big for my face. And well, I do have curves, but more than I really should have. Hence why I’m in a simple white dress that hugs me at the top and flares out at my waist. The tulle of the skirt gives it even more fluff. But like always, my boobs are still trying to bust free. No matter how hard I try, I can never keep them locked away. I swear they have a mind of their own. To get a top that comes close to fitting them, I have to go a million sizes too big and I look even bigger than I am.

“He seems to like it.” Julia smirks at me. I follow her line of sight to see a man leaning up against the bar, his eyes trained on me. His dark eyes meet mine and my heart starts to race. I’m frozen for a second.

“He’s so fucking you with his eyes,” Julia says next to my ear, shaking me from my trance. I snap my eyes from him and bring them back to her. My face feels warm and I don’t think it’s from the one amaretto sour I’ve had since we got here. Then again, maybe it is. I’ve never drank before. “This is what we talked about, Ara,” Julia reminds me. “This is what tonight is about. Don’t want to go off to college with that virginity. Those frat boys will sniff that shit out. Have a man your first time. He’ll know what he’s doing. Not some drunk college boy putting notches in his bedpost.”

I know we talked about this before we left. We graduated high school today. Julia met some guy who said he worked the door at Eres Mía. The club was only a year old and one of the hottest around, or so Julia had informed me. It was twenty-one and up, but he told her he’d get us in. And he had. Not only that, he got us a special table in the VIP area. It was roped off and actually had a guard standing in front of the rope.

My cheeks heat even more at Julia’s words. I love her to death. We became best friends in the sixth grade at the private all-girls school we went to. She was always full of life and personality.

I was shy and didn’t have any friends because I was the new kid. She sat down right next to me and started talking and never stopped. She pulls me out of my shell and I love her for it. Sometimes she can be a little too wild for me, but tonight I caved to her idea of going to a club. Maybe meeting a guy. Though I didn’t really think I would follow through with it. Until now.

I glance over my shoulder to see the man who has his dark eyes trained on me. He looks like more than a man. He fills out his expensive dark gray suit. I know it’s expensive because my dad owns hundreds.

Everything about him seems dark. His eyes, his hair, and the power that is flowing off him. I can tell just by looking at him he’s a man in charge. It rolls off him in heavy waves. I’ve been around enough of them to know what that’s like. Men like this make up the company my dad keeps.

A smirk pulls at his lips, revealing his perfect smile. I bite my lip and glance back to Julia to see if maybe he’s really looking at her. As I do so, our security guy steps out of the way as a server comes up and sets down another round of drinks and two shots.

“Vodka.” Julia sings the word. My eyes widen, but she reassures me. “It’s fine. Swallow and chase it with your drink fast. You won’t even taste it.” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Okay, you’ll taste it, but you won’t die.” I laugh.

“To the next journey of our lives.” She holds up the shot glass as she says the words. It makes me pause for a moment because I don’t know what my journey is. I know what other people want—well, more specifically what my father wants. College. I’m not sure that’s what I want, though.

“To the unknown,” I hedge, as we clink our shot glasses together. The bitter taste hits my lips, sliding down my throat as it turns into a burn. I pick up my drink and chug it down, trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Julia giggles next to me, then screams, “Hell yeah!”

I shake my head at her. A giant smile lights up her face and I see it’s not at me. She’s looking at someone else. Just as I turn to see who she’s looking at, she announces, “I’m going to dance. Have fun.”

The man from the bar is standing behind my chair. The guard must have let him in. I look up at him. He seems even bigger than before. I know my eyes grow wide. He places his huge hands on the back of my chair, and his warm honey-whiskey smell fills my lungs.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” His voice is deep, just like I imagined it would be. But I wasn’t prepared for the goosebumps that break across my skin at the sound of it. My mouth falls open a little. I’m speechless. I’m not used to men coming on to me, and that’s clearly what he’s doing.

I don’t need words because his mouth falls onto mine. His tongue swipes into my mouth, and I let it as my whole body loosens. He pulls me easily from my chair, and instinctively I wrap my legs around him while letting him dominate my mouth. I close my eyes, enjoying the feel of his body against me.

“Kiss me back,” he growls, pulling away for a moment, then taking my mouth again. I do as he says. His command lights something deep inside me. I moan as our tongues tangle together, his warm whiskey taste filling my mouth.

I hear a ding and realize I no longer hear loud music. The sound of it is faint now. My eyes flutter open, and I see we are stepping into an elevator.

“What are you doing? Where are we going?” I pull back when I finally understand we aren’t in the club anymore but in a back hallway.

“Don’t stop kissing me,” he warns me. I look into his eyes and see they aren’t as dark as I thought they were. A soft bronze color surrounds his pupils. I get lost in them, and his mouth comes back to mine.

Heat rushes through my body like nothing I’ve ever felt. It’s as if I’m on fire. I find myself moving against him. My eyes fall closed again and I get lost in this man who has taken over my body. Every clear thought I should be having has vacated my mind.

Softness meets my back and his mouth goes to my neck. He licks and sucks, and a feeling I’ve never felt before washes over me. Moans leave my mouth.

“What are we doing?” I ask mindlessly. I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but I also don’t want to say no either. This is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

“Little love, don’t tell me to stop. I’ve waited a long time for this.” His words only partly penetrate my brain. I can’t think with his mouth on me like this. I think my neck might be a weakness I didn’t know about.

“I don’t want you to stop. It feels so good. You feels so good,” I admit.

“Fuck,” he growls against my neck. “Let me get this off you. I don’t want to rip your graduation dress.”

“Hmm,” is all I can say in response. I’m not listening to him; I just want his mouth back on me.

I hear the zipper on the side of my dress descend. He slips my straps down off my shoulders, then pulls the dress down my body. I reach for him, want him back on top of me. I love the warmth of his body. The smell of him. His size makes me feel delicate and small.

“Fuck,” he mutters again. I open my eyes to see him standing at the end of the bed. His suit jacket is gone and he’s unbuttoning his shirt, but his eyes are running all over my body. I feel some flashes in my head, like reality is intruding, reminding me of what’s really happening here, and I feel self-conscious for a moment.

“You’re the most decadent thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” From the look on his face, I believe him. “Take your panties off. Show me you want this.”

I feel sexy and wanton in this moment. I’ve never felt like this before, and my momentary self-consciousness is a distant memory. I’ve never felt more alive. I want this. Even if it’s only a one-night stand. I slide my thumbs into my panties and slowly slip them down. When I bring them down to my knees, he grabs them and finishes the task for me.

“Part them.” His voice is even deeper now, and I do as he commands. Something inside me wants to please him. I need to see if that hungry look he now has stays on his face when he sees even more of me.

I slowly part my thighs, and he hisses in response. Before I can really read his face, his mouth is between my legs. My body jolts, and my hips try to come off the bed, but he stops them.

“I can’t go slow, little love. I need this. I can’t take the agony of wanting you any longer.” His mouth goes to my center, sucking my clit into his wet warmth. A single finger enters me, and I cry out at the pleasure. Everything is happening so fast. Emotions and feelings pump though my body, and I cry out at his firm assault of my clit. My nipples grow even harder. My hips jerk as an explosion rocks my body. I cry out; the pleasure is fiercer than anything I’ve ever felt.

When I finally come to, I open my eyes and see he’s looming over me, a hungry look on his face, but he smiles as his hard length presses against me.

“I’ve never done this before,” I tell him.

“You think I’d ever let another man touch you?” I don’t understand his words, but I haven’t understood much since I laid eyes on him.

“I should have taken my time worshiping you. I regret rushing this tonight, but my control—” He closes his eyes like he’s pained.

“Take me. I want this,” I admit. I do. I feel more alive than ever. I’m not as shy as I normally am. Maybe it’s because I want it so much. Want him.

He pushes inside me. I moan and contract around him. Even my body is trying to take him.

“Sorry, little love,” he says before his mouth lands on mine and he pushes forward. I cry out at the sharp pain, but he drinks in my whimper. His body stills for a moment, but he keeps kissing me.

He pulls back. “Tell me you’re okay.” His eyes are pleading.

“I’m more than okay,” I whisper. The pain has passed and something else is growing in its place. I feel myself start to clench around him again, over and over, my body demanding his move.

“Fuck,” he snarls.

“You curse a lot,” I tell him on a moan.

“You’ll get used to it,” he grunts. “Wrap around me, little love. I want to feel you everywhere on me.”

I’m already doing it before he can finish what he’s saying, wanting to feel every part of me on him. He moves inside me. I feel fuller than I ever have in my life. He moves his hips, touching something inside me that sends pleasure radiating up my spine.

“It’s happening again,” I moan. I feel my orgasm pushing down on me again. The first one was fast and hard, I already know this one is going to be deep and mind-blowing.

My eyes lock with his. I can’t read his expression. He looks agonized.

The pleasure hits hard—intense and life changing. I scream, and everything goes dark.