Nightfall by Evelyn Glass Page B

don’t know if I’m even looking for a mate,” she said. “In the sense of one person to be with for the rest of my life. It sounds… boring, really.”
     
    “Are you polyamorous then?”
     
    “I don’t think so? At least not on an ongoing basis.” She shrugged. “Other things have been my focus for so long. Getting my degree, getting a good job, getting off the crappy shifts. I want to be a Charge nurse, too.”
     
    “Ambitious,” he commented.
     
    “Is that a bad thing?”
     
    He grinned, his teeth flashing. “Not to me.”
     
    The park was small, but nice. There was a fountain in the center, and benches, and a little playground area off to the side. Around lunchtime, a couple of old men circled the park with sausage carts and ice cream carts, and she’d always made a point of buying something if she was here when they came around.
     
    Julian led her to a bench and sat down beside her. She found herself leaning into him, and when he put his arm around her shoulders, she felt a wave of exhilaration. That pull was back, and strong. She turned to look up at him, found his face already turned towards hers. “Hi,” she said.
     
    He didn’t smile this time. His eyes were intense, dark with desire, and very full. His hand caressed her cheek, his fingers tracing her cheekbone, and he leaned down towards her. “Hello,” he whispered in the moment before his lips brushed over hers.
     
    The kiss was like nothing else she’d ever felt. It ran through her like an electric shock, setting her nerves on edge, commanding an immediate response from her body. Her nipples tightened, her thighs filled with heat, and she felt wetness surge between her thighs again. “Jesus wept,” she whispered against his mouth, and felt more than heard him laugh. His mouth moved to the corner of her mouth, then traced up her jawline to her ear. He teased at her earlobe with his tongue and his teeth, and her hands clung to his shoulders. She whimpered at the contact, and she felt that low rumble of his laugh again. He abandoned her ear and worked his way down her neck. She dropped her head to the side to give him better access. She was turned towards him, and his hand came up to cup the breast that was closest to him, where the contact was masked from anyone who might be looking by their bodies. His thumb circled around her nipple, never making contact, and she had to force her hips to keep still, to not thrust against the air like this was the fantasy she’d dreamed of the night before. She could straddle him, right here, kiss him until he cried, grind against him until she came. Who cared if she was in jeans or not, who cared if she screamed loud enough for everyone to hear?
     
    No , she told herself firmly. Absolutely not. You want to take him up on his offer to go back to his place, fine, but you do not have sex in public.
     
    He must have read her mind; he drew back from her, and took a moment to readjust the sudden bulge in his pants. “Well,” he said. “It seems like the chemistry is still there. So the only question, Roxie, is what you want to do with it.” She was quiet for a moment, and he misunderstood the silence. “If the answer is go home and move forward another time, or even go home and never speak to me again, that’s fine. That’s your choice.”
     
    “I was trying to think of a way to say take me home and fuck me until I scream that wasn’t going to make me sound like a complete slut,” she said.
     
    He laughed, loud and brash. “I’ve never quite decided what I think a slut is,” he said, “But if knowing what you want and asking for it is sluttish behavior, then I think the world needs more of it.” He stood again, tugging her up to her feet. “You tell me you’re done at any point, and it’s all finished. All right?”
     
    “Yes,” she said, feeling excitement pouring through her in a waterfall. She’d never felt like this, never. But the look in his eyes promised so very much to