Nightfall by Evelyn Glass

on the air, the intensity of his eyes on her collarbones, and the sense that he was watching her even when his eyes were closed. “We’ll talk more about that later,” he said, and she felt the heat drop down through her stomach like a ball of lead, landing in her clit, soaking her panties, leaving her struggle to keep from wriggling on the seat like a little kid who needed to pee. She crossed her legs, letting the tension in her thighs ease the ache, just a touch.
     
    The conversation lightened from there. They talked about typical date things. Movies and music—he was horribly out of date with both. Books—she lacked here, though less than she’d anticipated she would have. Favorite foods, desserts, drinks, colors. They ordered dinner, and then dessert, and she found herself easily laughing at his dry sense of humor. At one point she tapped her hand with her fingers to tease him back for something he’d said, and she found her hand enveloped in his. It was large, strong, warm, and it sent a flurry of butterflies through her. She watched their hands together for a moment, and then she looked up at him and smiled.
     
    “This is the point,” he said quietly, “When normally I would invite you back to my place. But this is far from a normal situation.”
     
    “Is it?”
     
    “You’ve only just met me. You don’t know me or my preferences.”
     
    She shrugged, feeling the wetness in her panties and the excitement in her belly. It was worth talking about, if nothing else. “So tell me about them.”
     
    A faint smile brushed his lips, and then his thumb traced over the back of her hand, making her sigh. “I like control. Giving it, losing it. Having it, having it taken away. I like tying people up, and being tied up, and teasing. I love teasing. I’m not a killer, and I don’t want to beat a stranger up. But I don’t… find much satisfaction in what most people call ‘vanilla’ sex.”
     
    She stared at him for a long moment, watching all the pieces in her mind tumble into place, and feeling shocked that she’d never thought about this before. “So—I’ve never done any of that? But from the way you talk about it, it’s something that—” She stumbled over the words for a moment, focused, and continued. “That I’d like to try. It sounds… intriguing.”
     
    There was something in the curl of his lip that was almost mocking. “Intriguing? Well, that’s fair. But before we leap to conclusions—perhaps we could go for a walk. See if that chemistry we both experienced survives closer contact?”
     
    “Okay,” Roxanne said. “I have to do one thing first.” She pulled out her phone and sent Izzy a quick message, saying that they were going for a walk and might end up back at his place. She glanced at the time, and said she’d be in touch by midnight. She didn’t thank Izzy for making the condom suggestion. Although she thought about it.
     
    He was watching her, his chin propped on his hand. “Letting someone know where you’re going, and when you’ll be in touch?”
     
    She nodded. “I hope you don’t find that offensive?”
     
    He grinned. “Not in the least. I like a woman who’s smart enough to make sure she’s safe. And I’m not going to hurt you—unless you ask me to—but I understand how, from where you sit, there’s no way to tell that yet.”
     
    “I’ve never known anyone like you,” she said.
     
    “No,” he agreed. “I’m quite sure you haven’t.” He stood and held his hand out to her. “Shall we?”
     
    Betsy gave her a grin that was quite wild for a woman who was over sixty and went to church as often as she did. Roxanne gave her a smile back, and felt Julian squeeze her hand as they walked. He’d noticed the attention too, apparently.
     
    They walked out the door and ran smack into Matt. Julian metaphorically, but Roxanne had been leading the way, and she really did run into him, bouncing off his chest and falling back against Julian’s.