Page 26 of Paparazzi

“Strange, Dexter’s been restless for ten minutes. He usually gets agitated when there’s someone in the hallway.”

I forgot the nosy cat. “I don’t know...” my voice falters while she moves aside and lets me in.

I look around, focusing on details I didn’t see the first time because I was too absorbed in the woman who lives here. It’s like stepping into an alternate universe, compared to the rest of the building. The apartment is tiny. To my right is a pastel blue kitchen and on the left, a small loft with a double wrought iron bed, separated by a low wooden railing and a bar-sized table with two stools, I suspect from a bar in the area. What strikes me, though, is how much personality this room has. The red brick walls contrast with the pastel blue of most of the furniture and the green plants crammed along the two large windows on the wall in front of me. The furniture is clearly salvaged from around the neighborhood. Still, it’s all decorated and painted with so much creativity the room feels like a DIY Pinterest page that’s one of a kind.

“Why are you here?” She doesn’t sound disappointed, but I can’t see her face because her hairball cat is stuck between my legs and won’t let me go on if I don’t offer him a few scratches on the back. After a couple, he gets annoyed and walks away. I smile because clearly, he is the boss of this house.

“If I tell you I wanted to see you, does it make me sound cheesy, mushy…basically, like a loser?”

“You’re asking me? Don’t you have to keep the rock star facade up? Never show your tender side?” she teases with a laugh and motions to a cup of coffee she’s filling for me.

I gladly accept and sit at the only table in this small apartment. “No, actually, my behavior is swinging dangerously between a boy in love and a crazy stalker. Which do you prefer?”

“Boy in love? Aren’t you going a bit too fast?” She laughs amusedly.

“Look, the way a rock star’s life works, seeing a person three times in a row is like a marriage proposal for a normal person. Don’t underestimate the speed of this business.”

“Do you count the years in the same way you count a dog’s age?” She raises an eyebrow as she tries to hide an amused smile behind the cup.

I grab her gently by the arm and pull her toward me, making her settle between my legs. The contact with her slender physique short-circuits my brain, and I have a hard time controlling my body’s reaction. Her smooth, soft skin makes me want to kiss her endlessly. I want to worship her body until I bring her to orgasm and then start over again and take her back to the peak. The scent of her coconut shower gel almost makes my head spin. It’s as sweet as the cookies my mother used to bake, and right now, I’d like to undress her and taste it. It’s hard to stay focused on a conversation when my erection wakes up in my pants.

“Are you enjoying making fun of me?”

“I’d say yes,” she admits with a candor that makes her look even sexier.

“Okay, I wish I had a reply like something you’d read in those novels you love: super smart, sarcastic, and utterly captivating. But having you so close is confusing my brain. The blood flowing down to other parts of my body is not helping any.”

She bursts out laughing and gently kisses me on the lips, sending me into even more confusion. “So…why are you here?”

“I told you, I wanted to see you. After basking in the feeling of waking up with you, I can’t stay away anymore.” I look her straight in the eye and watch as embarrassment makes its way over her face. She’s adorable when she can’t hide her response to my directness. She’s used to being tough and sarcastic, but I’m starting to realize it’s a defense mechanism for protection.

“You tell that to all the women you sleep with.”It’s a statement, but I can see she’s looking for reassurance.

“I assure you, there’s never a second time with a woman. Nor do I go looking for a woman after having sex. And most of all, I don’t wake up next to her. I rarely even fall asleep next to a girl I’ve had sex with...let alone feed her demanding cat the next morning.” I smile seeing her blush. “I mean, I don’t know if you understand, but since you fell into my arms, I’ve been acting like a lunatic. Not even my friends recognize me.”

Her face darkens for a moment before lowering her eyes and letting her hair fall on them. As if to protect herself from her surroundings, from me. “What if I’m not the person you imagine? What if you were acting like a fool for a woman who doesn’t actually exist?”

I shrug and think about it for a while. If only she knew what I’m hiding. “Do you think I was born a famous rock star? Everyone has parts of themselves that aren’t visible to others, but that doesn’t mean that the part the person shows you isn’t real.”

A smile spreads over her face, and her arms tighten around my neck in a hug. Her lips rest on the skin of my cheek and then move toward my lips and stun me with a kiss full of a feeling I can’t decipher. I wrap my arms around her narrow waist and plunge my face into the hollow of her shoulder, into her shampoo-scented hair. I inhale deeply and get her sweet smell into my brain and chest, responding to my body’s need to have her.

I cover her pale skin with my lips, from her shoulder to behind her ear, savoring with my tongue what I’ve missed like air. She shudders under my touch, and when I stick my fingers under her shirt to undress her, she lifts her arms, leaving me breathless in front of her round breasts, which rest perfectly on the palms of my hands. I lower to kiss them, grabbing between my lips a pink nipple that reacts under the touch of my tongue. I can hear her moaning as she sinks her fingers into my hair, drawing me against her chest so I can’t escape. I lower my hands to her jeans and unbutton them, then tuck two fingers under the waistband, pulling them down with her panties.

I kneel in front of her, grab her leg and put it over my shoulder. As I sink into her with my tongue and explore her intimate parts with my fingers, I look up and find her looking at me, her cascade of red hair hiding her slightly reddened cheeks, open lips, and green eyes fixed on mine. She’s always beautiful enough to take your breath away, but when she comes whispering my name, dropping her head back, she’s almost a heavenly vision.

I get up and smile at her. She reciprocates by fastening her arms behind my neck and kissing me as if she wants to steal my oxygen. Her tongue slips between my lips, stroking mine in a kiss laden with an eroticism that makes the erection hurt inside my pants. She seems to notice it. She lowers herself, kneeling in the same space that I occupied a few minutes ago with a mischievous smile. She unbuttons my pants and slides them, with my boxers, down to mid-thigh without ever taking her eyes off mine for a second. She’s so sexy and innocent when she kneels in front of me, I could die of desire right now. How the hell did I last two days without her?

When she wraps her lips around my erection, grabbing it with her pale fingers at the base, I’m about to come like a kid for the first time. Her tongue moves sinuously, stimulating the spots that drive me crazy. Watching her head move to give me pleasure is an almost hypnotic dance, those lips slipping up and down my flesh, dictating a rhythm I can’t control. She accelerates, taking me to my limit, but then slows down to prolong the agony of so much pleasure it makes my legs tremble. I can’t resist. I close my eyes and lose myself in her soft lips, her tongue that caresses my erection, her throat I press against with every plunge. I can’t take it anymore, and Iris lets me come inside her, the feeling so intense I almost fall over and have to lean on the stool behind me. I never want this feeling to end. I wish I could lock myself in this apartment and make love to her every day of my life, losing myself in the emotions she stirs in me—like a junkie getting his fix. I can’t get enough of her. I want more of her, again and again, until I’m totally intoxicated.

I find it difficult to catch my breath, and when I open my eyes, I see her two immense green irises welcoming me. Her expression is almost curious, a half-smile on her lips that catches me by surprise. She’s pleased at her control over me.

I look behind her and find Dexter staring at us with what looks like a disgusted face. “I think we just shocked the cat.” I completely forgot the hairball was here watching us every single moment.

Iris giggles as she turns around and throws him an amused glance. “He’ll get over it...or tonight, he’ll kill me in my sleep.”

“The second hypothesis is more likely.” I hold her in my arms and kiss her on the forehead as we drag ourselves to sit on the bed. She’s so beautiful I’d like to make her orgasm again, this time between these sheets.

“Anyway, he’s going to have to get used to it, because now that I’ve found out what it’s like to have you naked in my arms, I’m going to spend a lot more time around here making you moan my name.” I kiss the tip of her nose as a mischievous smile forms on her lips.

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