Hello there!
How are you doing my beautiful friend? I hope you’re well and safe and healthy and a million other things!
It’s been a little bit since I added a little note, so I thought I’d slip one in. It’s been a warm, sticky these past few months and I’m looking forward to getting back on the road.
Speaking of road, should you find yourself in the book store and spot ROVA Magazine, (edition 26), you’ll find a spot I wrote up for them about being being stuck in the Nevada desert.
I also put together a little relationship story for the folks down under at Mamamia (even if you’re not Australian they have some wonderful content). And if you’re a beer drinker, I took a deep dive into what exactly a Golden Ale is for the team at Hop Culture.
But for now, we’re getting back into it with The Forbidden Book Club. Things officially get NSFW this week so…well you’ve been warned (again, it’s supposed to be a little over the top, cheeky, and yet still sexy/fun). I know, I know, it took a while for a Harlequin-style story, but it’s coming your way.
For now though, I hope you’re doing as well as can be, and I look forward to connecting again with you real soon.
Take care,
Greyson
The Forbidden Book Club
Chapter 3, Part III
(We previously ended on)…
…Pamela pulled Charles back to his gear. Charles looked over his shoulder, wanting to say something to Erika, but she didn't notice. Her eyes had already started to swell and she was walking away as quickly as she could. It was now a race to whether her eyes or the sky would begin to downpour first.
…continued.
Erika pushed her way through the crowd of tourists flocking to take cover inside restaurants and bars as the rain started to come. Her eyes had already flooded over. A cold rain pelted her exposed shoulders, yet she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything. Her heart and everything along with it had shattered, leaving a trail of broken emotions behind. Erika needed to get out of the pedestrian avenue. She needed a cab. A way home. She needed her bed and her pillow to shove her face into it.
How could you be so dumb?
Even her head had turned against herself, berating her as she tried to escape. Erika no longer had any mental fortitude to fight it. She had no more will. And she knew her head was right. She was stupid. She was stupid for coming. Stupid for thinking anything other than what happened would happen.
The rain came down harder. Her wet hair clung like vines to her exposed skin. The cotton mint dress soaked up every drop and pulled heat from her body. She shivered. It was a cold rain. A very cold rain. Strange for the time of year, or maybe she just wasn't feeling anything correctly any longer. Tears and rain swelled in her eyes. She struggled to see, wiping away the fuzzy vignette in her vision just for it to return.
Erika rounded a corner, right into a large man holding a red cocktail. Red liquid exploded from the plastic cup, the front of her dress taking the brunt of it. The man swore but was in too much of a hurry to do anything else. He headed for the nearest bar. Erika looked down over her stained dress, yet the stain didn't even register.
Lights from restaurants burned in the black night sky. Streetlights dotted the road ahead. She just needed a cab. But when she finally reached the road there were none to be seen. No car lights. Everyone had scampered away, seeking shelter like roaches in light. Erika reached for her purse but remembered she left her phone at home. Of course. Her shoulders slumped in complete surrender and the tears fully came. A cry escaped the confines of her lips, followed by another. She lost all control of her emotions as the dam finally and utterly broke. Erika turned to start the walk home, accompanied only by the sound of rain and her sobs.
By now her body could feel the cold. Could feel the rain. Her teeth chattered as she tried to hug herself. Her arms shook from the cold. She was surprised she had any strength left to do even that. She waited at a streetlight. The pulsing red almost mocking her. A car drove past, kicking up water pooling in the street. It missed her, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Her mind wandered and yet didn't go anywhere. Her thoughts weren't with her but weren't on anything else. Like everything else, like everyone else, it had abandoned her. She continued on the shell of a woman.
She walked past empty streets and darkened alleys. Steam twisted up from sewer covers. Leaves and Spanish moss dammed up storage drains, keeping most of the water in the street.
"Erika."
A voice. It took her a moment for it to register. She turned. In the shadow of an alley, stood Charles, steam curling up behind him from a storm drain.
Erika brushed soaked hair from her eyes to try and see clearly. He stepped partially into light, his straw cowboy hat drooping under the heavy rain, cast half his face in shadow. His button-down shirt, soaked through, clung to his chest.
Erika swallowed and sniffed back a sniffle. "I..." She didn't know what to say. She didn't need to say anything.
Charles stepped toward her, his strong hands cupping the back of her head as he pressed his lips to hers. The heat from his mouth breathed new life into Erika. Momentarily stunned, she slid her hands to his cheeks, her fingers running along the hard jaw line as if a perfect fit.
Charles pulled his lips from hers, his eyes glistening silver in what little light they had. He pulled her into the alley and pressed her against a brick building, his mouth returning to hers. His tongue traced along hers, finally exchanging secrets both had been longing to share. His hands, strong and powerful, were delicate along her cheeks. Her hands squeezed at his shoulders and his muscular back.
His lips traced away from hers as he kissed along her jaw, down along her neck. Her eyes closed as her head leaned back, the sensation filling her entire body. Heat surged, radiating from every point he touched, as it pooled between her legs. His tongue flicked around the back of her ear lobe, the heat of his breath mixing with the cold of the rain sent chills down her spine. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. She could feel his heart pounding through her chest. Her own heart clapped back in return.
Charles slid a hand behind her neck and grabbed gently but firmly the hair at the base of her head, arching her face toward him so he could press his lips back to hers. His other hand ran over her dress, his fingers running over a swelling nipple. The cold rain had already made it hard. His touch pulled the skin of her breast tight. She moaned out into his mouth as she kissed back, biting at his lower lip. The teeth pressing into his flesh sent a fire into his eyes, his hand squeezing the base of her breast as his thumb circled over top her nipple. He tugged at his lip. Erika bit down further but let the lip slowly escape her teeth. Her own face shown bright with desire. He squeezed tighter at the hair behind her head. Erika slid her hands down his hard chest, fingers tracing defined muscles until she reached where the shirt buttoned. She slid her fingers between the fabric and ripped his shirt open, buttons flying as the shirt flapped behind him like a cape.
Erika pressed her hands to his bare chest. The heat between her legs swelled and cried out. Her fingers glided down the slopes of his pecs before feeling every ridge of his abs.
He pushed a strap of her dress down her arm, the cotton slipping off her breast, the nipple firm and hard. She cried out in ecstasy as he lowered his head and swirled his tongue around it before letting his warmth fully embrace her the nipple. His free hand caressed her other breast. She ran her hand through the back of his hair. Steam rose from their bodies under the cold rain. Every breath. Every moan. Every exhale adding to the swirling cloud of passion.
Charles pushed into her, his body fully against hers. Erika could feel the throb in his pants against her leg. Its heat through the cold pants intoxicating. She held his head to her breasts as she leaned her head back and gasped before pulling his head back away from her fully aroused nipples. His eyes, silver and glistening in the pale light, connected to hers. Connected to her every being. Connected to her soul. She slid a hand down to his pants, unbuckling his belt. The buckle swung free like a heavy door, granting her entrance to what he held back. Before working on the fly, she slid a hand down, between the wet denim and slick skin. He moaned into her ear as her fingers touched him. Its thickness surprised her as she struggled to pull air through her gaping mouth. She felt its incredible heat. She felt his pulse as if touching his heart. The burning between her own thighs had become unbearable. With her other hand, she opened his fly and pulled him out of his jeans. She ran both hands over him. Fingertips running from base to tip. She wanted to study it. Discover it. She wanted to swirl fingers around its thickness. She wanted to taste it. But most pressingly, she wanted it inside of her.
Charles slid his leg in between hers, pushing one to the side to give him more clearance. He traced a strong hand up her leg, running under the fabric of her cold dress, coming to a stop where his thumb rested right at her waist, his fingers arching around her butt. If he was surprised at her lack of panties he didn't show it. Erika could fee the heat from his shaft move between her legs, the soft head gliding nearer to its target. His tip stopped, the velvet tissue delicately nestled at her opening. She trembled at the feeling. She felt numb, dizzy, exited. A drip of her own moisture slipped away, gliding down his shaft, coming to a stop at the base of his abs. She looked into his eyes. He looked into hers. She nodded, her bottom lip slid between her teeth. He pushed in. Slow. Deep. She gasped in air just as slowly as he slid in. She started to close her eyes as she moaned, but she didn't want to miss a moment. She didn't want to miss him. Her eyes fluttered back open. His eyes were deep and intense. Nobody had ever looked at her like that before. As if he saw everything that made her her. And he wanted to learn more.
Erika could feel every inch of him. Every movement. Every shift. Her body clasped around his shaft. His velvet head curving up inside of her, massaging, stimulating, with every thrust. With every withdrawal. She felt his heart beat inside of her. His right hand squeezed at her butt. His left hand pushed her arm against the brick wall, pinning it in place. Despite all the movement, the thrusts, the gasps for oxygen, he never took his eyes from her. She grabbed at his hand around her butt, feeling his locked fingers curve around her skin. Her hand glided up his arm to his neck. Her thumb traced the slight indentations of his dimple, her hand holding his face. Her eyes holding his gaze. It was the look in his eyes. The pure, intense, startling look of desire, of love even, that set her over the edge. Her head fell toward his chest as she moaned out. Cried out her exaltation. The lips of her vagina clamped down around his shaft and squeezed as she convulsed. Her hand on his neck dug into his skin. Exhilaration washed over her and she glowed. She didn't want to let him go. She never wanted to let him go.
Charles' eyes were somehow warm, even in the rain and silver light. He smiled and kissed her deeply. His own shaft started to quake. He began to pull out so he could finish but Erika let a hand slip down and grabbed the base of his penis. His eyes filled with uncertainty. A look that almost tipped her over the edge again.
"No," she whispered into his ear before she wrapped one leg behind his butt and pushed him further into her. Uncertainty remained in his eyes but she nodded a slow, subtle nod. He pushed deep into her, moving slowly but deliberately. She felt him move. Felt him grow. Felt him shake. His breathing became labored. He moved a hand to her face. His thumb shook. She placed her own hand over his, steadying him. He pulled in a final, harsh breath and finished inside of her, shaft pulsing. His eyes never left hers. They had unlocked something within each other, and neither one wanted to let go just yet. For a time, all they did was stand there with each other, their hot steam twisting up to meet the cold rain. And yet they couldn't feel anything but one another.
****
Erika stood in her shower, the hot water cascading down her body, warming her. It barely registered. She still felt numb. She still glowed. She regretted not drawing a bath, but the tight confines of the tub would have made sprawling out and relaxing all but impossible.
Charles had driven her home. His truck just around the corner from where he tracked her down, so they didn't have long to walk. Not that it mattered. They were already soaked and yet couldn't feel any of it. He drove in silence. She felt nothing but the memory of his pulsing between her thighs. She smiled to herself the entire way home. At her building he walked her to the door, the rain still coming down hard. His shirt hanging open as it would never close again. At least not until he replaced all the missing buttons. She wore his drooping cowboy hat. His hair clung to his head. A perfect lock hooked around his eye, sticking to the skin. He asked if he could stop by later. He had to take care of something first. She said she'd leave the door unlocked.
He looked happy, and yet she could see through his eyes, into the depths of his mind, where parts attempted to solve the Rubik’s cube puzzle he now found himself in. They had opened something in each other. Doors to the depths of their mind never opened to another person. He didn't need to say anything and yet she could feel it. He watched her enter the building and close the door. She watched him drive away from her bedroom window. She left the door unlocked.
Now she stood motionless under the hot water, soaking it in. She closed her eyes, letting the showerhead take her back to the alley. Back to the moment he pushed into her, giving her the kiss she had attempted weeks earlier. She could taste him on her lips. Could feel his breath on the back of her ear. His tongue gliding around her earlobe. Her own breathing deepened as her memory rewound and played back what had just happened. A warmth inside of her increased, yet it had nothing to do with the shower. Erika placed a forearm against the tiled wall. Her other traced down her stomach, stopping between her legs. She delicately glided a finger over the folds of skin before coming to a stop at its apex. She applied further pressure as she drew a small, tight circle. Her heart thumped. Her breathing came through her mouth, as her nose could no longer keep up. Her chest rose and fell at a quickening pace. He fingers moved. Faster and faster. Faster and faster.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
The voice startled Erika out of her pleasure coma. She opened her eyes and stepped back, her foot slipping on the slick porcelain tub. She felt herself tumbling backward when Charles' arms swooped in and caught her. Embarrassment quickly washed over the sudden flash of terror at falling. She looked at Charles. She hadn't heard him come in. Or open the bathroom door. Or undress. Or open the shower curtain. She felt his biceps around her body. His strong hands on her naked back. A look of concern and wide eyes on his face. All she could do was giggle. A giggle that quickly turned into all-out laughter. The look of concern quickly left his own face, replaced by an ear to ear grin, white teeth flashing and dimples fully formed. He laughed right along with her as he lifted Erika back to her feet.
Erika held Charles' face in her hands as they both continued to laugh. "I didn't even hear you come in!"
"I didn't want to interrupt. You looked a little preoccupied."
She could feel her face go flush, but she didn't care. She pushed up onto her toes and kissed him. His grip around her back held her tightly against his chest. "So is this going to be our thing? Kissing under falling water?"
"If so I'm going to need to carry around a sprinkler with me."
Erika giggled. She pressed the tips of her thumbs over his dimples as she pulled his head to hers. His lips were slick. Their tongues met. He pulled her in tighter to him, then without warning slipped an arm behind her knees and picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all. He stepped out of the shower and carried her into the adjoining bedroom, laying her down gently on the bed.
A touch of panic washed over her as she realized just how exposed she was. His body was perfect. Hard. Defined. Cut. He should be on the cover of fitness magazines or romance novels. She felt soft. Ordinary. Intimidated with all the lights on. He could see her entire naked body. Her moles. Her stretch marks. Erika reached for the bed cover, to pull it over her body, but he held her arm down as he knelt on all fours over her.
"Don't," he said gently. "I want to see you." He leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips. The touch of his mouth on hers seemed to transfer confidence into her chest. His lips traced down and delicately kissed the edge of her chin. A finger softly caressed down the front of her neck. His breath deliberate and hot on her skin followed the finger. Each kiss tender and soft with just enough pressure to let her know he was there. The heat of his exhales and the lingering moisture left by his lips caused her skin to tingle. Erika's own breath came in shorter and shorter as her chest rose with every inhale. Goosebumps flushed down her chest. Her nipples pulled tight and firm. As he kissed around her shoulder blade his finger lightly swirled down her raised skin, following random patterns as it curved around her breast, taking extra precaution to not touch her nipples. She breathed in deeply, pushing her chest out whenever his finger came close. She wanted him to touch her breast. She needed him to.
Charles' lips tracked down her chest. She could feel his hot, wet breath carry along the bottom of her plump, aching breasts. He kissed up the curve and she moaned. He was moving closer. As he moved closer to her right nipple, his hand began to trace imaginary lines along her left, again making sure to not touch her nipple. She wanted to cry out in frustration. His nose pushed hot air over her aching nipple, and as it felt like he'd finally grant her wish, his mouth moved down past it, to the base of her breast. She whimpered out, silently cursing him in her mind for teasing her like this. Her hands clutched the bedcover. She felt a drop of moisture caress down between her thighs. So focused on his breath heating her chest Erika hadn't realized just how wet she'd become.
Momentarily distracted by the moisture brewing between her legs Charles snapped her back to reality when his tongue firmly slid up over her throbbing nipple. She gasped. Her body quivered and shook. It came so unexpectedly and yet came at the perfect time. Her back arched as he turned his attention to her other breast.
At least I know the lick will eventually come.
And it did with similar results. She squeezed at the bedspread above her head with one hand. The other she held onto the back of his head. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair but her entire body was so paralyzed with sensation she couldn't even focus on moving her fingers.
He continued to kiss around her breast as he moved to her arm, tenderly caressing fingers along her forearm while working down from her shoulder with his mouth. Each kiss seemed more soft and delicate than the last. It surprised her how much she enjoyed his touch around her wrist and his kisses around her elbow. He lifted her hand up from the bed and sucked on each individual finger, his tongue swirling around the edge of the fingertips as he slid them into his mouth. Erika closed her eyes and let her body absorb every movement of his tongue. The heat from his mouth. The gentle touch of his hands. He returned a hand to her breast, barely touching the skin along its base. It was so light she didn't know if his skin actually touched hers, or if she imagined it. But the light touch forced a wave of goosebumps along her breasts as if even her skin reached up to touch his palm. She managed to take a free hand and clasp it around the top of his, holding it firmly against her chest. Against her heart.
He kissed down along her bellybutton. He pulled his hand free of hers and slid it down along her side. She suddenly felt conscious about her stretch marks on the sides of her butt as the tips of his fingers ran along them. She wanted to apologize for them. Give him an excuse. A reason. Something for why the lines were there. He kissed along the side of her butt, over the stretch marks, as if sensing her self-consciousness. At first, she wanted to pull his head away from the blemish. To keep him moving, but every kiss added to her confidence. Every kiss added to her desire for him. She watched him through half-open eyes. Her breathing hard. The burning inside of her an inferno.
His mouth moved from the side of her butt around the front of her thigh. She slid her legs open wider. To give him room to work. She had never been someone who typically enjoyed a man going down on her, but at this moment she had never wanted anything more in her life. And it felt different from when other men had attempted in the past. She didn't feel like a trophy or an object easily replaced by someone else. It didn't feel like he was just connecting dots or checking off boxes. Charles made her feel like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. That he wasn't just kissing every inch of her body, but instead he was showing he cared about every inch of her, and that every inch was just as important as the last.
Erika could feel his breath around her thigh, tracing down between her legs. She could tell by the wet spot growing under her butt that she was soaked. The heat of his mouth mingled with her juices, making her feel numb. He kissed next to her clit. The heat from his face radiated over her. He leaned over her. His mouth open. Hot air swirling around her. He moved closer. So close. If he pursed his lips he'd be on her. If he licked his lips it would slide over her. She wanted him to lick his lips. She wanted him to lick her.
He moved in, but off to the other side, his lips coming down on the opposite thigh.
She groaned out in frustration as he continued down her leg. Down to her knee. Around her kneecap and along the back of her leg. It felt incredible, but she could think of one thing she knew would feel better. It was the only thing she could think of.
As Charles kissed down around her ankle and the back of her heel, Erika felt a sense of sensual elation wash over her. She felt like a queen as he kissed over areas of her body no man had ever touched before, let alone kiss. Around the curve of her calf. The top of her foot. The pads of her toes. Yet the anticipation of what she hoped would come continued to simmer. The steam inside of her body reaching a boiling point. Him kissing back up the side of her leg almost pushed her over the edge. She dug her hands into the bedspread, mentally trying to coax him into giving her what she wanted. His mouth traced over her knee. Caressed along her thigh. So close. He was so close. The hot, wet breath teased the folds of skin between her legs. His own breath had picked up, coming in hard and deep. His lips were again over hers. Teasing her. Driving her wild. He just needed to--
--Charles moved away, down her other thigh.
God damn it!
She didn't know what to do. She needed a release and she needed it now! Sensation had flooded over her and--
--Charles pressed his tongue firmly against the saturated folds between her legs, licking up. His thumb applied gentle pressure and formed small circles around the nub of her clitoris. Erika cried out at the sudden wash of satisfying pleasure bursting from her thighs and spreading like an inferno over her body. It came so sudden and so perfectly she couldn't even prepare as his tongue pushed her over the edge as it entered her. Her thighs squeezed around his head as she convulsed and writhed from the overwhelming explosion. She worried she might hurt him with her squeezing legs, but she momentarily lost all control over her body as the aftershock of the orgasm continued. By the time her senses could no longer release anything further, she lay back, completely in a numbing satisfaction, unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
Her breathing steadied and as control over her body returned, she grasped at the back of Charles' head. He looked at her. A mixture of his own sweat and her satisfaction on his face. She reached for his arms to pull up. She couldn't find a grip but he knew what she wanted and slid up to her. She kissed him and could taste both him and herself on his mouth. The throbbing mass pressing along her side quickly stole her attention away. She reached down and took hold of his erection in her hand, the size more startling than she remembered. The beat of his heart pumped through the engorged veins as if his entire shaft threatened to burst. Erika ran a finger over the massive velvet head, catching a drop of moisture clinging to the tip. She raised her finger to her lips and slid her tongue across.
Sliding her hand back down she took his erection and guided it between her thighs. Charles pushed her legs wide with his knees, taking hold of his penis as he slid the head against her still slick opening. His pushed himself in slowly, stopping as the tip entered her. Erika moaned but wanted to feel his full self inside of her. She wrapped her feet behind his back, trying to push him further, but he resisted. He was in full control.
Charles placed his hands on her hips, his powerful fingers curling around her back as his thumbs angled down toward her pelvis. He pushed himself in completely. Erika could feel the heat of his erection. She grabbed hold of his wrists as he slid back and thrust. The fat head of his penis massaging deep. Her breasts bouncing with each thrust. Just as she thought she knew his cadence, he switched, slowing down, then speeding up. When she felt like she might come again he slid out completely, smiling at her whimper.
"You're teasing me again,” she said in a whisper.
"I'd never do a thing like that," he responded, sliding back into her. She kept one hand on his wrist. Another grabbed and clawed at the bedspread behind her head. Her head twisted sideways as she gasped for air, each heave touching her in ways she'd never been touched before. He took one hand from her waist and massaged firm circles on her clitoris as he thrust.
Oh my god.
She squeezed his wrist and the bedspread as she came, her body writhing around his manhood as she convulsed again. She'd never finished twice so closely together. Three times if she counted their time in the rain. Her body squeezing around his shaft pushed him over the edge. His breathing quickened. His hand around her waist squeezed into her butt.
"I want to see it this time," she said to him.
Charles nodded, pulling out. Holding his fully enraged penis it erupted, spraying a jet of milky white up to her breasts before several more pumps covered her stomach. He let out a moan, as he seemed to buckle under his own weight. He collapsed next to her, out of breath and chest heaving. She could feel his pounding heart. His chin rested at the top of her head and she pressed her cheek against his rising and falling chest. He wrapped an arm around her and she placed a hand on his stomach. Feeling the firm, muscular torso pull in oxygen and receive blood from his pounding heart.
They lay there silently, breathing each other in. Their bodies twisted into one. For a time, nobody spoke. Neither wanted to break the illusion. Erika wanted it to last forever, but she knew, in its present form, it couldn't.
"So what happens now?" she said, wishing she didn't need to ask the question but knew it had to come out. That it would eventually come out. She decided it better to just rip the band-aid off all at once.
Charles sighed. Not at the question but at not knowing the answer. "I don't know."
"Do you still love her?" She regretted saying it as soon as it left her lips. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."
She could feel Charles shake his head. "Honestly I don't know. For the longest time, I told myself I did. Like as long as I kept repeating it then it must be true. As if I was terrified of what it might mean if I said no. But now, looking at it, I really don't know. Perhaps that's not the question I need to answer though."
Erika looked at Charles, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. "What is?"
"Whether it's the right relationship. Whether I'm the right person for her. Or if she's the right person for me."
"I'm sorry I've put you in this situation."
Charles looked into her eyes and brushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. He kissed her softly on the forehead. "You didn't put me in any situation. I'm here because I want to be." He trailed off as he considered something as if a thought just floated to the surface of his mind. "And you know what?"
Erika shook her head slightly against his chest. "What?"
"This is the first time I've ever completely felt whole with someone. The first time part of me didn't feel forced, or that a piece of me didn't feel empty and unfulfilled."
Across the room, a cell phone rang. It wasn't Erika's.
"That would be her."
"I guess you should go."
Charles held her tighter. "I'd like to stay just a little bit longer."
Erika smiled at a thought, a vision of a perfect future, yet it faded with the next ring. "I think you know what I'd like. For tonight, for tomorrow, and for every night moving forward. But above everything else I want you to be happy. Because you deserve to be completely happy. So whatever you decided I support."
Charles kissed the top of her head and held her. A warm embrace Erika wished could last forever.
…to be continued…