Page 18 of Reckless Kiss

“You sure about that?” Hope laughed.

“I’m sure.”

“Someone youwishwas waiting for you, then?”

Women were freakishly perceptive creatures and I knew from years of experience that to head this off I needed to be brutally honest. “I shagged a gorgeous woman thinking there was no chance I’d ever see her again. Turns out my best friend has been trying to ask her out for ages.”

“So you’re quietly sitting on the sidelines.”

In a manner of speaking. “Sure.”

She laughed again. “And not enjoying it.”

“No sense in waiting around for something you can’t have. And make no mistake about it, this is pure male stupidity. I wanted her again and when I couldn’t have her, I wanted her more. It’s not romantic.”

“I can appreciate that. I like you, Leo. You’re honest and honesty is a rare quality these days.”

And I liked the easy way about Hope. “Why are you in Tampa?”

“I decided to get some distance from Brian and Lilith. I came home.”

So this was her stomping ground. “And how are you liking the city?”

“It’s changed but still fundamentally the same town I grew up in. I think I’ll stick around. Can I be blunt, Leo?”

God how I loved when women were blunt. “Please.”

“You’re nice, you’re honest, you’re sexy, and I came here in this dress to get laid. Can we cut the shit?”

My dick stirred. “Tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen.”

“I want you in that bathroom right now.”

I shot the last bit of my drink. “I’ve fucked five other women in that bathroom.” All like Hope, but not at all like Hope. She was different. Fun. I could see us getting some relief and coming right back here to chat some more.

“Then it’s a good spot. I was hoping it was a good spot.” She said that second line more under her breath.

Some women needed a night. An entire night of wining and dining, conversation and romance. They needed attention. I gave it to them freely. But other women just needed a no-strings-attached, no-regrets, fuck for fun.

I was happy to give those too.

So after another round of drinks were ordered I whisked her off to the row of private bathroom stalls at the back of Rusty’s Bistro, selected the one on the end, and locked the door.

Everything at Rusty’s was clean and polished. Oh sure it was a bathroom, but you felt more like you were in someone’s home than a busy restaurant. There were even condoms on the counter.

Rusty believed firmly in safe sex and he wasn’t oblivious to the idea that people came here for the safety he provided. That meant people occasionally fucked in his bathrooms.

“Leave the heels on. Don’t move.”

Hope froze where she was, bum barely brushing the edge of the clean counter, back to the mirror. I moved her hair over one shoulder and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder. She was soft. Smelled like peaches and cream. For some reason Iexpectedher to smell like peaches and cream.

Not like Esme. No, she smelled dark and musky.

Hope sighed. This was a woman wound tight. Her release would be easy and quite frankly, a needed service. I moved with practiced skill. On automatic. My lips teased her sensitive zones behind her ear as my hand slid between her legs to determine her level of arousal.

Wet and warm but not swollen and ready for me.

I followed a roadmap my mind knew all to well, like sleep driving to work in the morning because your muscles know the route even though your mind was still asleep.

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