There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.
-Federico Fellini
With their connection re-established, Mark spent Saturday showing Karma around Chicago. Nothing more was said about Carol or the argument they’d had the night before, which was fine by Karma. It was done and over, in the past where it belonged. All that remained were the two of them, and she was ready to get back to enjoying what little time they had left.
It was the Fourth of July, and the city bustled with activities. They enjoyed a couple of hours of the annual music festival in Grant Park, grabbed barbecue sandwiches and bottles of water for lunch from a street vendor, and milled through the crowds in Millennium Park before waiting for over an hour to be seated at a very packed, very popular Giordano’s for dinner. After devouring a small deep dish, it was almost eight o’clock, and they headed back to Mark’s place, where they watched from his balcony as the fireworks were shot off Navy Pier.
“I had fun today.” He stood behind her, arms around her waist. He smelled of soap and shampoo from the shower they had just shared.
A red firework turned the night sky pink.
“Me, too.”
They watched the rest of the fireworks in silence, then after the finale returned inside and sat on the couch. Mark exhaled heavily. “What a day. I’m beat.”
Karma played with the ends of her red scarf, which was wrapped loosely around her neck. “Not too beat, I hope.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Why? What did you have in mind?”
“Hold on.” She hopped up and went to the bedroom, where she fished the Truth or Dare game from her bag. They hadn’t played since that first time. She returned to the living room and handed it over as she plopped back onto the couch. “I brought it with me just in case.”
He grinned and opened the box, apparently interested in her idea. “Just in case of what?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Just in case we wanted to have a little fun.” She had come a long way since playing Sexual Truth or Dare that first time. It would be fun to see just how far by playing another round.
He shuffled the cards then placed them face down on the table. “You first.” He gestured toward the deck.
Karma picked up the top card. “Truth or dare?” She scanned both options.
“Oh, why not?” Mark said with a flippant wave of his hands. “Since our first venture into this game was all about the truth, I say dare.”
She read off the card, “Drop down and give me ten push-ups…shirtless.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “Lame.” He peeled off his shirt and walked around the coffee table.
Karma’s gaze ranged his muscled, lightly hairy chest and abdomen. “Not from my perspective.”
He hesitated on his way down to the floor and grinned. “Well then, in that case, I’m happy to oblige.” He got into position. “Count off.”
“With pleasure.” She sat forward. “One…two…three…” Interesting. She had never thought that watching a man do push-ups could be so sexy, and yet, mmm, yes, she could get used to this. The muscles of his arms popped into defined peaks and lickable crevices that reminded her of pictures of hot men she had seen on Facebook. “five…sex—I mean, six—seven…”
Mark bobbled on “sex,” paused briefly, chuckled, then got back to pushing up…and down…and up…and down…
“Nine…nine…nine…”
“Hey!” Mark stopped and rose to his knees, laughing. “I’m on to you.” He pointed an accusing finger, making her laugh.
“I’m sorry, but I just didn’t want that to end.” Watching him get physical had been a surprising turn-on.
He stayed on the floor and reached across the table for a card. “Uh-huh. We’ll see if I can make you change your tune, little lady. Truth or dare?”
She jutted out her chin. “Truth.”
“Awe, you’re no fun.” He grinned and read the card. “What were you thinking when you first saw me naked?”
“Damn!” she said without hesitation.
He frowned, confused. “Are you saying that’s what you thought, or is that your way of saying that you don’t like the question?”
She laughed. “That’s what I thought. ‘Damn!’”
It had been that first night at his condo. She had been too keyed up to notice much the first time he made love to her, but then he stood, went to the bathroom, discarded the condom, and she had gotten her first glance at just how incredibly built he was. It was obvious he was serious about weight training. His butt was tight and the perfect shape. Some men have bubble butts if they work out a lot, but Mark’s wasn’t. It was just the right size and roundness to grip during sex, which she had done later that night, at his insistence, of course. And his legs were strong and lean, with a perfect teardrop above each knee.
But it was the upper half of his body that made Karma’s knees week. The six-pack abs, the thick biceps and chiseled triceps, the strong forearms, and of course, that pumped chest. The treasure trail—she had never known that was what the line of hair below a man’s belly button was called until she started reading her books—below his belly button created a thin, faint line to his penis. Even now, she couldn’t quite bring herself to call it a cock or even a dick without blushing. But even penis didn’t sound right…not impressive enough for its length and girth. Mark’s penis needed a better name. One that had impact. She would have to work on coming up with one.
“That’s all?” he said, grinning from ear to ear, obviously pleased with her assessment of his naked body. “Just ‘Damn!’?”
She considered for a moment. “Well, there was one other thing I thought.” Her face warmed and scrunched with embarrassment.
“I can tell this is going to be good.”
She giggled and slapped her hands over her face. “I thought, ‘How did that fit in there?’”
He laughed so hard he fell over. She buried her face against the arm of the couch, giggling uncontrollably.
Propped on his arm, he wiped a tear from under his eye. “Well, thank you. I take that as a compliment that my junk is notably sized.”
She made an “okay” sign with her fingers. “I definitely approve of your…er…junk.” She wasn’t sure that was the word she was looking for, but it worked for the moment. She caught her breath and grabbed a card. “Okay, your turn again. Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Bring your lips as close as you can to mine without touching them. Stay that way for two minutes and imagine all the hot ways I kiss you. If you kiss me, we have to start over.” She set the card back on the table and glanced at him expectantly.
He sat up and lifted onto his knees between her thighs, bringing his mouth less than an inch from hers.
“Like this?” he said
“You’re good at this.” She gazed into his intense, grey-green eyes and lifted her hands to his chest.
“I try.”
“I can tell.”
“Are you timing me?”
Her gaze flicked sideways but she couldn’t see the clock. “Sure.”
“So, are you having a good weekend so far?”
Their noses bumped, and she smiled as his cheeks rose and tiny laugh lines broke at the corners of his eyes.
“Yes, and you?” She was beginning to think this dare was harder for her than him. All she wanted to do was pull him to her and kiss him.
He blinked. “I’m having a fabulous time. Did you enjoy the fireworks?”
“Yes. They were nice.”
“You have lovely eyes,” he said out of the blue.
“Thank you. So do you.”
“You’re blushing.”
“Are you surprised?”
“No.” He circled the tip of her nose with his. “Eskimo kisses don’t count, do they?”
“Eskimo kisses?”
He nudged her nose with his again. “Yes. Didn’t you know this is how Eskimos kiss? With their noses?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Do I have to start over? Because technically I just kissed you.”
“But not with your mouth.”
“Ah, so Eskimo kisses are okay.” He tapped her nose with his again.
“Stop that.”
He grinned. “Why?”
“Because you’re cheating.”
“I’m not cheating. You said they don’t count.”
“You’re so difficult.”
“Only because I really want to kiss you.” He blinked. “How long has it been?”
Her gaze slid to the side. She still couldn’t see the clock. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” His brow crinkled. “You’re not timing me?”
“I can’t see the clock.”
His eyebrows lifted.
She huffed. “Hey, it’s not my fault. Your big head is in the way.”
He laughed. “My ‘big head’ is in the way?”
“Yes. You have a very big head.”
One of his eyebrows arched. “Do I now?”
“Yes.” Then she quickly added, “But it’s a very handsome big head.”
“Nice save.”
“Thank you.”
“So, do you think my two minutes are up?”
“I’m not sure.”
“How about now?”
“Mark.”
His left eyebrow arched. “Hey, it’s your fault. You were supposed to be timing me.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“And now I have to suffer because of it.”
“Poor baby.”
His eyes narrowed. “This is hard.”
“That’s the point.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I really want to kiss you.”
“You can’t.”
“I’m going to.”
“Mark…”
He rocked forward.
“Mark!”
“I wasn’t going to kiss you.” He rocked back, but his face was still within a couple inches of hers.
“Can’t you just sit there quietly? You’re supposed to be imagining my hot kisses instead of talking.”
“I can multitask.”
“Whatever.”
“Has it been two minutes, yet?”
“I don’t know!”
“Well guess!”
“Fine. It’s been two minutes.”
He pushed forward and locked lips with her, stealing her breath. His tongue danced over hers, and his teeth nipped her lip, then he pulled away and sat back down on the floor, grabbing the next card.
“Truth or dare?” he said as if he hadn’t just blown off her toes.
“Give me a minute.” She held up her hand then fanned herself. Fire still coursed from her lips to parts south of her waistline.
He huffed sarcastically as if she were wasting his time.
“Hey!” She leaned forward and smacked his arm.
He laughed and sat back down beside her on the couch, giving her knee a playful shove. “Did I fluster you?”
“A little, yes. You don’t play fair.” She sat back, took a deep breath, then said, “Okay, truth.”
“What outfit of mine gets you really worked up? Explain exactly what you like about it.”
“This is an easy one. You have this navy blue suit with pinstripes that you usually wear with a white shirt and dark red tie.”
“I know the one.” His grin cut through her soul.
“I like that suit. It fits you very well and always turns me on when you wear it. But you look good in suits, in general. I love seeing you in a suit.”
“Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I hope you do.” She picked up the next card.
“Dare,” he said.
She giggled when she read what he had to do. “Rub your chest, paying special attention to your nipples, for thirty seconds.”
“What?” He shot forward, snatched the card from her hand, and read it. “Oh, hell.” He disgustedly flipped the card to the table.
Karma snapped her fingers. “Come on, Mark, show those nipples some love.”
“Have I mentioned that I’m going to get you for this?”
“No.”
“Well, I am.” He sat back and, as if it was the last thing he wanted to do, lifted his hands to his chest and began rubbing. “Are you timing this?” He gave her a look as if to warn her that she had better be watching the second hand on the clock this time.
She coughed out a laugh and nodded. “Yep.” She checked the clock.
“You should be doing this for me, you know.” He swirled his fingers over his nipples and made a face. Out of nowhere, he said, “Do I make you randy, baby?” in his best Austin Powers voice.
Karma howled with laughter, waving her hand in front of her. “Stop! Just stop!”
He dropped his hands from his chest and fell into laughter with her. “Was that good or what?” He reached forward and picked up the next card on the deck. “I sounded just like him.”
“Not,” she said.
“Hey, I thought it was pretty good.” He looked at the card. “Austin Powers rocks.”
“And, just like that, the sexy moment of a few minutes ago is gone.”
With a smirk, he said, “Well, let’s get it back. Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Oh, now…I do like this one.” Mark trailed the tip of his finger across his bottom lip and sat forward. “Starting at my lips…” he paused and met her gaze. “Kiss your way to your favorite part of my body.”
This could definitely bring back some of the sexy mood his Austin Powers impression scared away.
Mark set the card down and settled into the cushions, one arm slung over the back of the couch. “I wonder what the lady’s favorite body part is?” He tapped his fingers on his leg.
She slid to the floor between his knees, hands on his thighs. “I guess you’ll find out.” She kissed his mouth, lingering for an extra few seconds, then pulled away and kissed the side of his neck.
“Where will she go? Where, oh where?” His voice rumbled quietly.
Down his neck to his shoulder, she left a trail of soft kisses. She continued to his biceps, where she nipped him with her teeth before skimming her tongue to the crook of his elbow, where she licked back and forth along the crease. Then she kissed down the underside of his forearm to his wrist and finally to his hand. As she swirled her tongue against his palm, she lifted her gaze and found him staring glassy-eyed at her, his eyelids heavy and his lips parted. She turned over his hand and kissed the back of each of his fingers.
“Who would have thought my hands were an erogenous zone?” he said huskily.
She smiled and sat back on her heels.
“So, my hands are your favorite body part?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Do you want me to show you what my favorite part of your body is?”
“Isn’t it my feet?”
“Well, there is that, but no. There’s another part of you I like just a little better?”
“My butt?”
He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees, shaking his head. “No. Come here.” He lightly grabbed her shirt and pulled her forward. “It’s this.” He lifted his mouth to her eyelids. As she closed them, he kissed one then the other. She opened them again, and they shared an intimate moment, gazes locked, and then he gestured toward the cards. “Your turn, honey.”
He had started calling her “honey” and “baby” lately, and she liked it. He didn’t say it like Daniel did. When Mark called her “honey,” it came out sounding as easy as a breath, and just as tender.
“Truth or dare?” she asked.
“I’ll try dare again. It’s got to be better than the last one.”
She giggled. “Don’t be so sure.”
“What? Come on, don’t do this to me.”
Her giggle turned to outright laughter. “Pull your shirt up and do a sexy belly dance.”
He flopped back on the couch. “Oh good God!” Sighing, he stood and quickly shimmied his hips then sat back down and grabbed the next card.
“Hey! That wasn’t a belly dance.” Karma smacked his leg.
“That’s as good as it’s gonna get, sister. Truth or dare?”
“Fine. Truth.” She sat back and crossed her arms.
“What’s a sex position we’ve never attempted that you’re dying to try?” Smug satisfaction oozed over his face as if he were opening his mental Karma file and preparing to amend it.
“Well…” She nibbled her bottom lip. “There is this one story I read in one of my books that’s kind of stuck with me.”
“Oh? And what position did the participants in this story engage in that made you like it so much?”
She lowered her voice and cringed with embarrassment. “Doggy style.”
Mark’s eyebrows shot high into his forehead. “Oh really. Is that so?” He sat forward, suddenly fully interested in the conversation.
“Yes.” She flopped sideways to the floor and buried her burning face in her hands.
His dark chuckle suggested he was definitely amending his Karma file. “I’ll have to see what I can do about that. I’m actually kind of surprised I haven’t shown you that, yet. Wait. What about that shower we shared at my place? Doesn’t that count?”
He had taken her from behind in the shower, but she didn’t count that as doggy style since she hadn’t been on all fours. “I want it on a bed.” Something about being held face down on the bed while he took her from behind just…well…it really—as in really—worked her up.
“I see.”
Karma was still lying on the floor, covering her face, when she felt the edge of a card flick against her fingers. She drew her hands away and saw that he had picked up the next card for her and was waving it in front of her face, his gaze dark and mischievous.
She took it and sat up with a resigned sigh. “Truth or dare?”
“I’m banking on dare.” He crossed his fingers. “This time I’m catching a break. I can feel it.”
Karma read the card and burst into laughter. Mark groaned and threw his head back on the couch.
She cleared her throat. “Speaking of doggy style…your dare is to get on all fours and playfully spank your booty in a naughty way.”
“Oh, Christ!” He slapped his hands over his face. “Are you kidding? I cannot catch a fucking break with this game.”
“Giddyup, little pony!”
Mark slammed his palms on the cushions on either side of his hips. “You’ll get yours.”
“You keep saying that, but so far it’s not happening. Now get down here and smack that ass, Mark.” She scooted out from between his feet to the other side of the coffee table.
Grumbling under his breath, Mark joined her on the floor and reluctantly got on all fours, smacked his butt a few times, then sat down cross-legged. “Happy?”
“I’ll accept that. You have been getting some pretty lousy cards.”
“Thank you, and yes I have.” He picked up the next. “Truth or Dare?”
“I’ll take dare this time.” Hopefully it would be another good one.
A slow grin crept over Mark’s face, and he looked like he had just discovered the secret of the Holy Grail. “This one card makes all the shit cards I’ve received worth it.” He licked his lips. “Are you ready for this?”
This was either going to be very good or very embarrassing. Possibly both. “Sure. Bring it.” She waved him on.
“Using only your feet,” he said with a pop of his eyebrows, “caress your way from my ankles to my inner thighs and back again.”
The reason for his excitement became glaringly apparent. As much as he loved her feet, he had never asked her to do anything fetishy. But now he was going to get his dream come true, all because of this sexy game.
“How do we do this?” she said, taking off her socks, determined to give him the best fetishy foot feast she could. This game had been her idea, hadn’t it? And this one dare would prove just how far she’d come in her quest to shed her old, shy ways.
He gestured toward the couch. “You might find it easier if you sit on the couch.” He pushed the coffee table out of the way while she hopped up and took a seat. A few seconds later, he slipped out of his sweats, leaving on his undershorts. Then he situated himself in front of her and opened his legs, wearing a hungry smile. The revitalized tent in his shorts expressed his eagerness.
She had never done anything like this but was willing to give it a shot if it turned Mark on. “Okay, like this?” She pressed her toes to the insides of his ankles and smoothed them up his calves.
“Mmm, yes.” He heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back on his arms.
She pushed the soles of her feet past his knees and curled her toes against his inner thighs. His erection bobbed and briefly strained the cotton fabric of his boxer briefs. He liked this more than she anticipated. She continued the upward climb along his inner thighs and pushed her toes under the bottom hem of his shorts, making him groan.
“I know it’s not part of the dare,” he said, “but I’d love it if you would keep going.”
“Keep going?”
He pushed the waist of his shorts down and blinked almost drunkenly.
“You want me to put my feet on you?”
“Please…yes.” His muscles flexed and bunched under his skin, making his body appear to be in constant, fluid motion. And it was damn near the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. But then Mark himself was the damn sexiest man she’d ever met.
Cautiously, she lifted her right foot and gingerly placed it at the base of his cock. Yes, she was beginning to like that word a bit better for his junk.
Mark moaned low and deep and dropped his head back.
She liked the way he responded. She spread her toes and rubbed up his shaft, her big toe and second toe massaging up either side, all the way to the head, where she rubbed her toes around and around. Something slippery coated the bottoms of her toes, and she spread it down the shaft. Mark groaned and stared, eyes hooded.
“Am I doing okay?”
“Better than okay.” He sighed and squirmed, watching her foot rub slowly up and down.
After a couple more minutes, he gently pushed her foot away and pulled his shorts back up. “Thank you, but I think I have to stop you.”
“Why’s that?” she flirted. “Getting to be too much for you?” She skimmed her toes down his calves.
“Something like that, yes.” He picked up the next card on the deck, sat forward, and handed it to her. “The next time we do that, we’re using baby oil.” He kissed her. “By the way, dare. My luck has to get better at some point.”
She grinned, looked at the card, and read, “Place steamy kisses all over my face…except on my lips.”
“Finally, a good one.” He pulled himself to his knees, pushed her legs apart, and leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose. “Now this I can do.”
He left a blazing trail of kisses all over her face. Her nose, her cheeks, across her forehead, even her eyelids again, then he kissed along her jaw. Pressing near to her ear, he said, “Dare me.”
“But you don’t have a card,” she whispered. Her pulse hammered in her veins.
“I don’t need one.”
“Dare then.” She was game for improvisation.
He licked her earlobe then said softly, “I’m going to whisper one sexy command into your ear. You must follow it.”
“Okay.” The timbre of his voice hinted of wicked decadence.
“Go into the bedroom,” he whispered, “take off your clothes and lie down on the bed.” He kissed the tender place just behind her ear. “Then wait for me to join you.” He rocked backward, took her hands, and pulled her off the couch as he stood.
With one final heated glance his direction, she tore herself away and went to the bedroom. She closed the door, stripped, and then crawled into the center of the bed and lay down on her back.
A check of the clock on the nightstand showed they had been playing their naughty game for almost an hour. An hour of foreplay. And didn’t Karma know it. Her body was alive and tingling, and her muscles quivered with anticipation. A pool of moisture slicked between her legs in the most debauched way, and abandon ruled her emotions. She was a woman quickly becoming lost to the pleasures Mark showed her, but which for so long she had thought would never be hers.
The door opened a few seconds later, and her anticipation spiked. He was naked, and his ruddy erection stood high and proud.
Without a word, he took her scarf from the pile of folded clothes on the dresser and slowly walked all the way around the bed, his gaze devouring her from every angle as he played the fabric through his fingers. Then he returned to the foot of the bed and stopped, playing the gauzy material loosely around one hand before unwinding it and placing it on the foot of the bed.
“Roll over for me.” His rich voice purred.
She did as instructed, and he rubbed the soles of her feet. The mattress shifted as he climbed behind her and smoothed his hands up her ankles, calves, thighs, to her butt. His weight pressed forward as his hands continued up her back, to her arms, and then finally to her hands before skimming their way back along the path just traveled as he sat up and straddled her hips. His erection rested against her backside.
“Lift your head for me,” he said.
She did, and the scarf came down over her eyes, blocking out the light coming in through the wall of windows on the east side of the bedroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Trust me.” He knotted the scarf at the back of her head. “Too tight?”
“No.” It was just right. “What are you going to do to me?” She had never been blindfolded and had to admit it excited her. With any other man, it probably would have scared her, but this was Mark, a man she had come to trust. She knew he wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want.
He kissed the back of her shoulder. “I’m going to give the lady what she said she’s always wanted, but first…” He rolled her onto her back again. “A little fun.”
She felt the mattress shift as he left.
With her sense of sight taken away, all her other senses were on high alert. And had he just said he was going to take her from behind? Was that what he meant by saying he was going to give her what she wanted?
The sound of ice clinking in a glass caught her attention, and she turned toward it. What sounded like a plate or bowl was set down on the nightstand, and the bed shook again as Mark rejoined her.
“What is that?”
His mischievous chuckle rumbled in her ear. “That’s what you have to tell me.”
Was this another game?
“What do you mean?”
His tongue—at least she thought it was his tongue—licked her shoulder. Yes, it was his tongue. She felt the subtle rasp of his whiskers.
He moved then went still. A moment later, something lightly touched her lips, making her jump. He rubbed the object more firmly back and forth. “Tell me what it is,” he said.
Concentrating, Karma focused on what he pressed to her mouth. It was smooth but a little prickly, and she frowned behind the blindfold. No, prickly wasn’t the right word, but it was definitely not a perfectly smooth surface. She licked her lips and picked up the faint flavor of…what was that? She smacked her lips together. It was fruity, sweet.
“Strawberries?”
“Mmm, good. Take a bite.” He nudged the berry between her lips.
She bit off the end. Juicy sweetness slid over her taste buds.
Mark brushed the wounded berry over her lips, spreading the juice, then kissed her and licked it away. A moment later, the berry unexpectedly swirled around her nipple, and she sucked in her breath. His mouth followed and sucked off the juice, then he repeated on the other nipple. Then she heard the quiet crunch of him biting into the berry and chewing it.
“More?” he said.
She nodded and licked the taste of strawberries off her lips. “Yes.”
She heard the sound of a spoon inside a glass jar. A familiar smell infiltrated her nose. “Peanut butter?” she said.
He chuckled. “Not quite, but you’re close. Open.”
She did, and something thick and sticky rubbed her upper lip as he slid the spoon gently into her mouth.
“Oops,” he said. “Looks like I made a bit of a mess. Leave that for me.” His quiet laughter made it sound as though he’d missed her mouth on purpose.
She swirled the buttery, nutty matter on her tongue. It wasn’t as thick as peanut butter, and there was a hint of something else, cocoa maybe? “I don’t know. What is it?” She finally said, giving up.
The mattress shifted, and then his mouth was on hers. He sucked in her top lip and licked off what he had smeared there, making her moan. God, he was a good kisser. A few seconds later, he released her lip. “It’s gourmet espresso almond butter.”
She giggled. “Oh gee, how did I not guess that?” She had never even heard of almond butter. But now that she had, she would have to buy some. It was pretty good.
“Stick out your tongue,” he said.
“What?”
He pinched her nipple, which made her jump and sent a jolt between her legs. “Stick your tongue out for me.”
She did as he said, and something sweet and syrupy dribbled onto it. Honey.
Before she could swallow and tell him what it was, he squeezed more on her left breast, circling her nipple. A moment later, his tongue lapped it up, and his teeth grazed the tight peak that formed.
Now, this was what she called playing with food. When she’d been a kid, she had sculpted mountains from her mashed potatoes and turned peas into torpedoes, which she flicked from the table to behind the refrigerator. Her aim had gotten pretty good, too. Of course, her fun had ended when ants invaded the kitchen and her parents discovered her spent arsenal when they moved the refrigerator. There was no more warrior princess of the pea after that. But now Mark was reintroducing her to the lost—but fine—art of food play. She needed to take notes. This could come in handy in the future.
The bed rocked again, and his legs straddled her body. “Stick your tongue out for me again.”
More honey? She liked honey. She opened and offered him her tongue. But what she received wasn’t more honey. A warm, rounded object settled against her tongue instead, and an instant later, he groaned.
“Fuck me, but that’s sexy.” His voice was an erotic rumble.
That’s when she realized what he had put on her tongue.
* * *
Mark gazed down at the head of his cock resting on Karma’s pretty pink tongue. He drizzled honey from his bear-shaped squeeze bottle onto the head and over her lips. Not much, just enough to make it sticky and slippery.
She lifted her hands to his hips as if she wanted to make exactly sure where he was, and then she drew them around to the front. One hand found his scrotum, which sent a wave of heat up and down his back and into his thighs, and then her other hand wrapped around his shaft at the same moment she closed her mouth around him.
Groaning, he capped the honey, tossed it aside, and grabbed hold of the headboard as he bent forward and watched the tip of his cock disappear inside her warm, sticky mouth. She was exceptional at fellatio. The way she touched him—the way she worked her tongue around the head and along the length—was by far the best oral sex he’d ever had. Was it because she was so inexperienced and had no preconceived notions about what he wanted? Was it because she didn’t try to be an oral acrobat like some women he had known? Or was it something more, something deeper and more intimate. Whatever the reason, she could go down on him all night and he would be in heaven.
He pumped forward and back in shallow thrusts, being careful not to invade her mouth too deeply. That would be a betrayal of the trust she had granted him, and he wouldn’t do that, no matter how intensely lust-driven he was. He gripped the headboard, clenched his teeth, and forced himself to maintain control as she licked and sucked away all the honey. Sweat broke over his face and chest from his self-imposed restraint, and he bit back a curse as pressure built inside his balls.
He abruptly pulled out of her mouth. “Roll over.” As she did, he reached into the nightstand, grabbed a condom, and hastily rolled it on. “Lift your ass.” He grabbed one of the pillows, thrust it under her hips, and lay down on her back. She moaned as he ground his cock against her backside. “Is this what you want?”
She nodded, breathing hard. “Yes.”
“You want me to fuck you from behind?” He took hold of his cock and positioned it at the juncture of her body, using his fingers to find and part her lips.
She nodded again, more insistently. “Yes. God, yes.”
After all their play, the blindfold, their growing intimacy, and yesterday’s near-disastrous fight, they had finally come to a place of complete and total honesty with one another. Karma was more turned on than he’d ever seen her, and he was more keenly connected to her than he’d ever been.
The head of his cock breached her, and she gasped. He buried himself inside, and she moaned. And when he began pumping in earnest, she found his hands, planted on either side of her head, and gripped them tightly as she issued a protracted crescendo of exclamations for more and cries for harder.
This was how man and woman had been made to mate. So primal, so raw. Prudence and social acceptance were abandoned as instinct took over. The man’s body craved the woman’s, and logic had no place here. All there was, was desire and need. The need to sow and the desire to revel. Coupling like this, with such primitive intentions, was a religion. A spiritual experience. A testament to the dawn of man and the invisible forces that drew one man to one woman and compelled them to procreate.
Karma was a vessel of perfection. The way she lifted her head and pressed it against his shoulder, the desperate cries that ruptured from her throat, the way she clutched his hands like she was holding on to a life preserver in choppy water. All of it called to his base needs like a siren’s song.
In this moment, she was his. All his. And he was hers. And as her body shattered into an earthquake of orgasm and a thousand aftershocks, Mark held on tight and let himself fall into her abyss. Pleasure erupted. Reality shifted. And for the moment, he wanted for nothing other than her. Her touch, her scent, her taste, the sound of her voice, and the sight of her beautiful, haunting eyes. For as long as he lived, he would never forget her eyes.
The spiritual moment gently faded as he lay against her back, spent, breathless, and drenched in sweat. Beneath him, she breathed heavily, just as swept away by their passion as he was.
He let go of her hand and untied the makeshift blindfold. She turned her head, blinked against the city lights breaking through the wall of windows, then looked over her shoulder.
“Where did you go just then?” she whispered.
So she had felt the magical transcendence, too.
He licked his lips and kissed her. “Nowhere. Nowhere but here with you.”