Page 7 of Where the Dark Knelt
Refocusing, I feltas if I was being stripped bare by his eyes, and I became self-conscious of the attention he was giving me. I covered my chest awkwardly with my arm.
“It’s mysuggestion for your song lyric. Music is the sound of feelings, and she listened to what he felt,” I repeated.
Alfie broke his gaze from me and looked around him. “Well, shit! Where did that come from?” He looked surprised.
“Anon,” I replied.
“A music quotation?” Heseemed to be singing it to himself in his head and then his face broke into a wide grin. “Smartandsexy,verynice!” he flirted.
“Well the first part, ‘music is the sound of feelings’. I added the rest, but yup, a quotation.” I nodded and made a mock curtsey with my pants.
“How did you come up with that?” He asked, appearing impressed. I smiled slowly and bit my bottom lip.
What he didn’t know was that I had a tattoo that circled my upper thigh, in small script writing, that said just that. What I said aloud was, “Well, maybe if you’re persistent with your flirting you’ll find out one day.”
Alfie clapped his hands together in front of him. “Good enough for me.” He laughed, then rubbed them together. “Now you have me intrigued.” He scratched the slight stubble on his chin.
His eyes raked sensually over me again, and he drew in a sharp breath. “Okay, Lily, now about that sex you promisedme…” He poked playfully at my belly and pulled me up onto my feet.
Before I knew it, he’d picked up both of our guitar cases, grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me down a grassy hill behind the campus buildings toward some long grass. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to seduce you or anything crazy… yet.” He cocked his head and smiled, making me shiver.
Shouting breathlessly for him to stop or at least slow down,my voice sounded shaky, and my feet were hitting the uneven ground hard. He pulledme along faster than my legs wanted to go.
“So, what are you doing then?”
He shrugged, twisted his lips at me, and said, “I just wanted somewhere I could have you to myself to talk. I don’t want to be interrupted.”
When we stopped, he flopped down on the ground, flat on his back again, but this time he bent his knees so that they were raised in the air with his black cowboy boots flat on the ground.
Labored breathing caused his chest to rapidly rise and fall from the exertion of running. I was excited at his impulsiveness, but kind of disappointed when he had made no move on me. He just gave me this adorable lop-sided smile and panted breathlessly up at me from his position on the grass.
Playfully, I teased him, and raised my brow. “No long grass lovemaking then?” Instantly, he lifted his hand to block the sun from his eyes and looked at me.
Pursing his lips in thought, he nodded. “Some men do that I’ve heard, but I won’t make love to you, Lily. Iwillthoroughly fuck you though. With your permission, of course, and maybe we’ll get a little kinky.” He wiggled his brows at me and gave me that panty-melting smile again.
“I don’t do that slow, tender shit, Lily. It’s overrated. Besides, I have other charms that will make sure you are welltaken care of and sexually satisfied. By the way, has anyone ever told you how gorgeous you are? I’m fighting a losing battle here, but I’ll try hard to keep my hands to myself…for now.”
I’d never known anyone to speak to me that way before. I fought hard not to allow any outward reaction from me that would let him see the effect he was able to have on me.
Ignoring the last comment, I preferred to continue to flirt with him. “Damn, Alfie, you really know how to make a girl feel special, don’t you?” Giggling light-heartedly, I hoped I sounded convincing.
Alfie stopped smiling and gave me an intense stare, before he sucked in a deep breath again, then said animatedly, “You want to feel special? Then I guess I’m not your man… but, if you want to have special feelings, then I can most certainly do this for you. ‘Friends with benefits', if you will.”
Iwas mortified at his suggestion and fought to hide my true feelings again. Keeping my face controlled and my breathing calm as my out-of-control heart thumped faster wasn’t easy.
Uncertain if my reaction was because the idea excited me or horrified me, I locked eyes into a staring contest with his. I asked directly, “Are you interviewing me for the position of ‘fuck buddy’?”
Alfie’s face broke into the most heartbreakingly handsome smile. “Ah, you are so smart, I love it. Intelligence, as well as beauty, the only thing left now is for me to be inside you to determine whether or not I’ve hit the jackpot.” Grinning, he raised his eyebrow at me.
Myjaw wanted to drop, but I didn’t let it out of principle. My first thought was that I should turn and run right back up the hill and never look back. I couldn’t though. I wasn’t ready to walk away yet. I was far too intrigued by him.
The silence between us wasdeafening. He sighed, stoodup, and stroked my hair. “I’m twenty-four years old, Lily, music is the only love I have room for. I don’t do romance, and I’m not a hearts-and-flowers kind of guy. I’m a highly sexed young man, and I do just fine for offers.” He shrugged. “I’m not saying this because I’m an arrogant bastard, and I don’t usually proposition women—they come on to me.”
Alfiesighed again and shrugged slowly. “It’s just how it is.” I didn’t doubt what he had said for a minute.
“Well, I have to admire your honesty, it’s refreshing,” I heard myself tell him and schooled my face to hide my shock.WTF, Lily?
Swallowing audibly, he said in a low, husky voice, “I just feel a connection between us.” He motioned his finger between us. “An acute sexual tension if you will. It could make for some amazing sex between us. I think we have great chemistry. I felt it even before I looked at you.”
