Chapter 126

Mr. J led her slowly across the room. Not being able to see made her rely on her other senses. She caught the scent of something fresh and sweet. Roses, perhaps? Yes, definitely roses. And something else... Vanilla. Mr. J’s steady breathing was high above her head, as if he were quite tall. Her heart quickened and she smiled. She did like tall men.

He stopped and put his hands on her upper arms and squeezed gently, as if to say ‘stay.’ Then she felt the gentle scratch of a beard as he kissed her cheek. Shivers ran down her arms at that simple touch and she swallowed hard.

A soft, muffled swoosh reached her ears and his breathing lowered to the level of her face. He took her hands again, pulling her close enough to feel his body heat. He took hold of her ankle and she shifted her weight so he could slide the strappy sandal off, and then he did the same with her other foot.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She felt much steadier on bare feet while blindfolded.

Did she just hear him smile?

His fingers touched her cheek and trailed gently down her neck and along the deep neckline of her shirt. Goosebumps erupted in the wake of his touch. Fabric slid against fabric, and then cool air reached her nipples, making her shiver.

She let out a shaky breath as he pushed her shirt off her shoulders. The soft fabric rustled as it settled onto the floor. When he didn’t move, she bit her lip. Did he know what her piercings meant? She stepped back unconsciously but he grasped her hand and held her in place, then traced the underside of her breasts with a finger. Her nipples tightened into hard pebbles at his touch and she sucked in short, stabbing breaths. He pulled down her skirt and thong, and she stood in front of him, naked. She wasn’t normally ashamed of how she looked, but she couldn’t see his face to see if he was pleased or not. She could have read him, but that would have been invading his privacy, something he clearly valued, and she would respect his wishes.

When he finally cupped her breast in his large hand, she moaned softly and gasped for breath. It had been far too long since she’d been touched.

He plucked gently at her nipple and tugged at her ring, still holding her other hand. The heat that had already been growing between her legs roared into a blazing inferno and she squeezed her thighs together.

He gently squeezed her breast and pulled her even closer, using her ring. His hard thighs on either side of her own were covered in soft material. Finely woven wool, perhaps?

“Oh, God!” she cried as he took her nipple into his mouth. She instinctively reached for his shoulders, but he caught her hands before she could, and held them at the small of her back.

“I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t mean—Oh!” He sucked at her breast with increasing pressure, and she felt like she could have come right then and there. His hands caressed her back slowly as his tongue swirled around her nipple.

He released her breast, the air cold after his hot mouth, and kissed his way to her other breast, lapping at it with his tongue a little before taking it into his mouth like he had with the other.

She moaned, tilting her head back. If his hands hadn’t held her so firmly, she would have fallen backward. As it was, she was having a difficult time keeping her legs from collapsing. His hands separated and ran around to the side of her ribs. His thumbs caressed the side of her breasts and her knees buckled. He caught her and released her breast.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a while...” She swallowed and he caressed her cheek. “Is that okay?” she whispered. He paused and then stroked her cheek again. Her face warmed and she bit her lip.

He brushed his thumb against her bottom lip. She fisted her hands at her sides, desperate to touch him, but knowing she couldn’t. He took her hands in his and intertwined his fingers with hers. Her heart pounded at the intimate gesture, and when his lips brushed hers, she whimpered at the quiet intensity of the moment. She tilted her head, letting him know she wanted to kiss him. He hesitated for a moment and then nibbled on her lower lip, making her lips part. He pressed his lips to hers and his tongue darted between her teeth.

She tasted sweet red wine and man. His scent was very masculine, in an outdoorsy way. A hint of lemon and cinnamon and cypress. Something tickled her lips and she realized he had a beard.

She groaned against his mouth, leaning in against him. Her nipples came into contact with a hard, bare chest. He didn’t pull away and she stepped closer, her breasts firmly pressed against him.

His chest rumbled with a growl, and he snaked his arms around her and turned her onto the bed, rolling on top of her. His kisses turned passionate, and she gasped for breath as he released her mouth and kissed down her neck and between her breasts. He lavished attention on one breast with his mouth as he kneaded her other breast. He rolled her nipple between his fingers and pulled, eliciting another deep moan from her.

She could feel his erection at her thigh. It was very, very hard beneath the soft wool of his pants. Unthinking, she reached for him and he caught her hands and held them above her head. He gently pushed them into the mattress and then released them. She kept them in place. His hands trailed down her sides and his mouth kissed down between her breasts to her belly, where he swirled his tongue around her belly ring.

He kissed across her stomach and down to her hips and then trailed his tongue along her hip bone. She squirmed and he held her hips gently to trace her other hip bone with his tongue. Her pussy was on fire. She wanted him inside her so badly!

When he kissed the top of her mound, she jerked and cried out, “No!” Horrible memories of what Devin had done to her every night flooded in, and she twisted to get away.

Mr. J released her, though whether it was from shock or concern, she wasn’t sure. She rolled to her side and curled into a ball.

She felt him looking at her and could feel his concern. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Just... give me a minute.”

After a moment, Mr. J lay down behind her and tucked her in close. His heart pounded against her back. He stroked her arm gently and she slowly relaxed. She swallowed and turned over, even though she couldn’t see him. “I’m sorry. I just?—?”

He pressed his finger to her lips and then caressed her cheek. She smiled at his kindness. Leaning forward, she searched for his mouth, using his breathing as a guide. She pressed her lips gently to his. “I’m okay now. Just... don’t kiss me there. Please.”

He didn’t move and she began to worry that she’d offended him, but then she felt his gentle fingers on her cheek and his lips brushed against hers. All at once, the fire returned as he slid his hand down her back and to her ass. They moved to the side of her hip and stopped.

“It’s okay if you use your hand,” she said in a strained whisper. That she could handle. She just didn’t want to remember the pain of what Devin had done with his mouth.

He pressed at her hip and she rolled onto her back. He tickled her belly, making her giggle, and stroked her inner thighs, running them lightly up and down. Every time he approached her pussy, she held her breath, but he didn’t touch her. After several minutes of teasing on his part and wiggling on hers, his fingers lightly brushed the outer lips of her sex.

She moaned as his fingers traced the swollen lobes. They went lower and gently probed the wet inner lips. She spread her legs apart, wanting more. He sat up and then tugged at the rings.

Anna wondered what he thought of all her piercings. “I... like rings...” He tapped her nose and she jumped. “I don’t like rings?” He tapped her nose again. Did she dare ask? “Do you... know what they are?”

He didn’t move for a long minute. She could feel his hesitation, and then a gentle caress on her cheek. She inhaled sharply and blew it out. “Did you know before you... asked for me?”

Another hesitation and then a gentle tap on the nose. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” She bit her lip.

He caressed her cheek and then leaned in to kiss her on the mouth again while he slid his fingers slowly inside her. She broke the kiss with a gasp as his large fingers entered the tight space. “Oh!”

He took her hands and held them above her head, as if he knew she was about to reach for him, which she was. She wanted to touch him as he touched her. He slowly pressed his fingers in and out of her as he kissed her deeply. When her body had adjusted to that, he slipped in another one. She arched her back in pleasure, breaking the kiss once more, gasping for breath, and he kissed her neck. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she moved her hips in sync with his hand. “That feels so good...”

He kissed her cheek and then his fingers were gone. She whimpered as he moved off the bed, but when she heard the zipper, she smiled. “Oh.”

Fabric rustled to the floor and she clenched her muscles in expectation. Her hands were still above her head and she clasped them together.

She heard a sound that sounded like something tearing, and then smelled latex. She wrinkled her nose. “A condom?”

The bed moved as he reached to stroke her cheek.

Maybe the girls in Europe weren’t... fixed the way Devin took care of his girls. “You don’t need to?—?”

The thoughts disappeared as he moved back onto the bed between her legs. He was breathing heavily as he leaned forward and pressed his cock against her very wet opening. It felt weird. She’d never had sex with a condom before and wondered why anyone would want to. But when he began to press himself inside her, once again, all thoughts disappeared from her mind.

“Oh, God!” His large girth became apparent very quickly. She clutched at the pillow above her and tried to scoot away, fearful of the pain. But he leaned forward and kissed her, slowly moving inside and letting her body adjust. As Mr. J filled her and he scraped against the ceiling of her tight channel, pleasurable pressure quickly built. She gasped for breath and dug her fingernails into her palms. “Oh, God! I’m going to come!”

He slid a finger across her cheek, and her body exploded. She cried out in ecstasy and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him in deeper. The pain of his size accentuated the feeling and she soared to another level of pleasure. He held her hands with his as he moved, making the orgasm last for what felt like an eternity. It wasn’t more than a minute before Anna heard him grunt and let out a deep groan as he stiffened against her and came. He squeezed her hands so tightly she was half-afraid he’d rip them off. Their bodies moved as one, each movement igniting a new wave of pleasure that intensified the moment.

When Mr. J finally collapsed on the bed next to her, Anna’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it would break a rib. “I haven’t had an orgasm like that in a really long time.”

Mr. J let out a breathy chuckle and squeezed her hand.

She grinned up at the ceiling she couldn’t see. “I’d do that again,” she offered cautiously.

He moved and kissed her deeply, stroking her cheek the whole time.

“I’ll take that as an agreement?”

Another gentle caress on the cheek. He kissed her again and then moved off the bed. Fabric rustled and assumed he was dressing. She lay quietly, listening to his nearly silent movements until she could feel him looking at her again. She smiled in the direction of his sounds, wishing she could see him.

He pressed something thin and cool into her hand. The leaving token. “Will I ever get to see you?”

There was a hesitation and then he kissed her on the mouth gently. He pulled away and she heard quiet footsteps lead away from the bed. The door opened and closed. He hadn’t answered her question.

She cautiously pulled the blindfold off and blinked, her eyes watering in the light after being in the dark for so long. Throughout the room, candles flickered and cast a warm, soft glow. Rose petals had been scattered on the bed. She looked at her hand to see what he had given her.

A single pink rose.

She stared at it for a moment and dropped it, jerking her hands away from the gift. No. Pink roses were only Alex’s to give.

But Alex is dead . It wasn’t Mr. J’s fault that pink roses reminded her of her dead husband. She picked it up again, inhaled its scent, and put it on the pillow. She blew out all the candles and turned out the light.

Lying in the darkness, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking back over the unexpected evening. She could pretend Mr. J was Alex. If she never got to see him, it would be easy to do. It would give her a face to imagine. But was that wise?

She brought the rose to her nose and inhaled the fresh scent once more, and sighed. Maybe she could just allow this mystery man to give her new memories. He seemed to want to see her again. It would be a long time before she married Kurt. One last romantic fling with a mysterious stranger. In the Mystery Room of the Library Hotel.

How fitting.