24. A Little Taste

24

A LITTLE TASTE

COLD WAR, CAUTIOUS CLAY

Cara

“Manny,” I whisper, my voice trembling completely out of breath. His lips are so close that I can still taste the whiskey and spice lingering on them.

His hand frames my face, while the other rests possessively on my hip. I look down and realize my legs are wrapped around his waist, and he’s holding me securely because apparently, I climbed him like a tree during our kiss. I was so lost in that perfect moment that I didn’t even notice.

“Yes, Carita?” he murmurs, his eyes closed as he gently caresses my cheek.

“Put me down,” I manage to say. He complies, easing me back to the ground. I close my eyes and exhale deeply, my hands coming to rest on his chest. As I steady myself, my mind reels with everything that’s happened in the past ten minutes—or maybe even the last hour. I keep replaying how I was blissfully lost in the moment with Manny until that other jerk tried to interfere. Now, here I am, caught between confusion and clarity. It’s not about that idiot anymore; it’s about what’s happening between Manny and me. There’s something undeniably real here, and I can’t keep ignoring it.

“Why did you kiss me?” I ask, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay cool, calm and collected. My heart races as I glance up at Manny, unsure of what to expect but hoping to God he wants me as bad as I want him.

“Because I’ve been dying to kiss you nearly my whole life,” Manny replies, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that makes my breath catch. “I’ve told you this before.”

“Yeah but did you really mean it?” I press, my stomach fluttering uncontrollably. The weight of his words and the depth of his stare leave me both anxious and hopeful, each second stretching out with a mix of anticipation and longing.

“With every fiber of my body.” His gaze darkens, his expression shifting to one of raw, palpable desire. “But if I’m being honest, I want to do more than just kiss you, Cara. Watching that man’s hands all over you, hearing him say he was going to have you tonight—it had me seeing red.”

My breath catches in my throat, a mix of confusion and excitement swirling inside me. “If you wanted to have me tonight, you know, you could just wear the hat.” I try to lighten the mood with a playful tone, though my nerves betray me, making my voice quiver. I smile softly at him as I wait for his reply.

“I want you tonight, tomorrow night, and every damn night since I can remember.” Manny’s lips curl into a smirk. He lowers his body slowly, his movements fluid and purposeful. He picks up the hat from where I dropped it, and he acts as if he will slide it onto his head but instead, he drops it back to the floor and brushes his fingers against my skin with a charged, lingering touch .

“I don’t need a damn hat to show you how much I want you, and if anything,” he adds, bringing his arm in between us and snapping the pink bracelet on his wrist—the bracelet I gave him. “I was claimed by you days ago, whether you realized it or not.”

The sweat glistens on both of us, our breath coming in heavy uneven bursts as the night wraps around us. The bracelet. He has not taken it off but I didn’t think it was because he thought I was claiming him. Was I?

“But if we’re doing this, it won’t be because I want you to, you need to make that decision, bebé. I want you,” he adds, pressing his hard dick against my hip, “in case it wasn’t crystal clear. But I need you to want me back. I need you to say yes.”

I can’t fight this anymore so I wrap my hands around his neck, pull him flushed against me and kiss him again.

Manny kisses my lips like he might not ever kiss me again. Carefree but not careless. He kisses, and bites, and licks, and when I open my mouth to let his tongue in, he hums as his tongue dances with mine. I’m lost in this kiss and this man, I don’t even care where we are. I don’t even care who might see.?

I break the kiss to come up for air, and he kisses my chin, my neck, going down until he licks my collarbone and squeezes my hips, making me moan. His hand immediately comes up to cover my mouth as he whispers in my ear, “You have to be quiet, Carita. I’ll make you feel good, I promise but I need you to be quiet.” I nod, slowing my breathing and trying not to lose my mind in this moment.

“Can you be a good girl and be quiet for me?” Holy shit. I open my mouth and bite his fingers gently, his skin’s hot and salty against my tongue, at the same time that I nod again.

“You listen so well,” Manny praises as his hand drops from my mouth and traces along my chest to cup one of my breasts. His mouth is hot against my ear, kissing and pulling at my skin as his fingers find my nipple and squeeze. When my nipple pebbles under his touch, he hums again and groans, “These are fucking perfect.”

He squeezes my breast again and when I arch against his touch, he lowers his hands to lift me up, my legs wrapping around him and his mouth having better access to my chest. Manny uses his teeth to bite the fabric of my thin dress out of the way before closing his hot mouth over my nipple.

I let out a soft moan and he shakes his head, reminding me to be quiet. I bite my lip instead because this is too hot, out here in the open where anyone can see.

His mouth stays on my breast but he slowly stands me back up, lowering his mouth and kissing my chest and belly, before coming back up to kiss my lips. He lifts my dress over my exposed nipple, covering up again before bringing his hands down to my thighs. His fingers crawl up my legs and under my dress until they reach my hips and hook into the fabric of my underwear. My skin is on fire and I can feel my clit pulsing with every touch of his hands. With every second that passes and his body is this close to mine.

Manny’s eyes are locked on mine as he pulls the panties down my legs, licking his lips showing me a smirk. I part my lips, catching my breath, and when he notices, he smirks again, dropping down to his knees to lower the panties all the way down to my ankles. My chest heaves as I try to control my breathing and not come just from the view of Manuel Zabana kneeling between my legs with my underwear in his hands.

He hooks a hand behind my knee, lifting my leg, and pulling the panties off one foot and then the other. He brings them to his nose and inhales. “Fuck, I knew you would smell good. I can’t wait to see if you taste as good too.”

I shiver at his words and as if he can sense how unraveled I am by that action, he smirks, putting my underwear in the back pocket of his jeans, and slides his hands up my thighs. He lifts the bottom of my dress slowly, saying, “You’ve been driving me wild with this dress all night, and I’ve been dying to get under it. Spread your legs for me, Carita.”

I widen my stance, arching my back against the wall. I pull his hair as his tongue licks between my folds. He licks, once, twice, before humming against my pussy and bringing his hand up to spread the lips wide while he licks me undone.

“Fuck,” I whisper and he stops licking me.

Manny’s eyes look up at me as he says, “Silencio, Cara or I’ll stop.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I say.

“Oh, I will stop and then you’ll have to wait until we get back to the house to let yourself finish. Or you can be a good girl, listen, and I’ll continue feasting on this perfect pussy. Which one is it going to be, Cara?”

When I don’t say anything, he smiles and adds, “That’s my girl. Now keep quiet please; I have a meal in front of me, and I’m starving.” He lifts my knee higher, hooking it to his shoulder, allowing him more access to my pussy as he brings his mouth to it and licks right on my clit. Jesus, I might die today.

He takes his time, licking, and kissing. He flicks my clit with his tongue, then holds it between his teeth and sucks gently. His hand leaves my leg and comes straight to tease my entrance.

“So fucking wet and perfect,” Manny coos before going back to lick my clit. He slides two fingers between my folds and right into my pussy, making me see stars. Every part of me he’s touching with his hands or with his mouth is on overdrive and I’m so close it hurts. I’m sure he can feel it because I’m squeezing around his fingers with every pump and with every lick of his tongue.

He continues the pattern until I’m about to combust. I can feel my arousal building. The warm sensation pools in my belly until there’s nowhere for it to go. I pull him closer, using the leg that is over his shoulder and when he bites my clit gently, I let go. I explode around his fingers, pulsing against them and letting out a silent cry. I shake, hard , until I have nothing left in me, and I become putty in his hands.

He licks my clit one more time, before sliding his fingers out, and standing up. He looks me dead in the eyes, when he brings his fingers up, my arousal all over them. He brings one of them to his mouth and licks it clean.

“Damn, Cara, you taste like heaven. I want to take my time savoring every last drop of your cum.” He brings the other finger to his mouth and proceeds to do the same. Licking them both clean, right in front of me, turning me on again.

There’s something so hot about everything that just happened that I say, “Bummer… you’re going to have to do it again later and let me get a taste. I’ve never been told I taste like heaven before and you just had it all.”

His eyes widen with mischief, bringing his hand to my chin, and kissing me hard. I can taste myself on his lips. Before he tasted like whiskey and spice, but now he tastes a little tangy and sweet. He breaks the kiss and says, “There, a little taste. Now let’s go, I’m not done with you tonight. And for what I have in mind, we need some privacy.”

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the road, never letting go. We weave our way through the most alive road I’ve ever seen—people dancing in sync with the city’s heartbeat, strolling without a care in the world, laughing with a joy that’s coming from their bones. A kaleidoscope of rhythm, color, and noise. A living tapestry of feel-good and good times. Maybe it’s not the happy city, and it’s just me, with my pores craving input. Craving emotion, because whatever that was back there with Manny, has just woken parts of me I didn’t know existed .

We make it to the van, I reach to open the door but he twirls me around and pins me against the sliding door. His hand smooths up to my neck, his fingers caressing my nape. He holds my head, pulling lightly on my hair, he tilts my chin up as he lowers and takes my lips in his.

He kisses me tenderly, not like the kiss shared in the alley. That was rushed and passionate as if he was going to lose me any second if he didn’t claim every single part of my lips. But this one is not feverish. This kiss is soft and sweet like I’m delicate, and he might break me if he kisses me any harder. It’s slow, as if we have all the time in the world and he wants to save every single second that his soft lips are on mine.

“Manny,” I whisper but he doesn’t let go. He kisses me again.

I bite his lower lip gently, and he smiles against my mouth, the kiss breaking but our connection remaining. His nose brushes against mine, sending a shiver of excitement through me. He whispers softly against my lips, “We have time. I’ve dreamed of the moment you’d let me get lost in you and I want to take my time. Let me commit every kiss, every taste of your lips to memory, Carita. Let me savor this moment.”

The sweet, intoxicating scent of his breath mingles with the faint trace of cologne he’s wearing. The reality of kissing him, something he says he’s dreamed about for years, is even more thrilling than I had ever imagined. Nothing in my wildest dreams could have prepared me for how incredible this feels.

“Let’s go back to the house,” I suggest, my voice trembling. Manny responds with a tender kiss to my forehead. He carefully opens the front door for me and then slides into the driver’s seat. The van hums to life, and as we pull away, he reaches for my hand, holding it tightly for a brief moment before letting it fall back to his side and start heading back.