Strung Out Read Online Free Page B

hard-on.
    “But,” she continued, “this has nothing to do with your last name.”
    “Then what, exactly, does it have to do with?”
    Talia put her glass to her full lips and drank the last few swallows of the pink-tinted martini before setting it aside. She slid from the bar stool to the floor, her heels boosting her height just enough that her head was level with his chest. Erik watched, mesmerized, as she tilted her head back and gazed silently into his face. Beneath her clinging chenille sweater, he could see the outline of her firm, round breasts rising and falling with each breath.
    “Ask me in the morning,” she said softly. “I might have an answer by then.”

Chapter Three

    There was a man in her apartment, a stranger. She should’ve been terrified. Instead, Talia’s excitement was all-consuming. Well, that and her pure, unadulterated lust.
    Erik pivoted once to take it all in. It didn’t take long. Her place wasn’t that big. His gaze drifted over her ancient upright piano and the music stand sitting in front of the studio’s wide windows. Several battered practice instruments rested on their stands near the piano. The tiny kitchenette was cluttered, the sink overflowing with dishes and several cabinet doors hanging open.
    Talia’s cheeks flushed. “I’m not much of a housekeeper.”
    His eyes flickered over the dingy green secondhand sofa and rested meaningfully on her queen-size bed. “No, it’s perfect.”
    Her breaths were coming faster, heart pounding until her pulse hammered in her ears. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t do these types of things. She was careful, purposeful. It had taken Dylan months to prod her into a physical relationship and even longer to convince her to accept his proposal. So given her history, how was this possible?
    This was all about animal attraction and raw need. It was time to leave her inhibitions at the door and take the opportunity he was offering.
    She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. Erik was watching, waiting to see what she would do.
    She pulled her sweater over her head, tossing it onto the already cluttered sofa. Slipping her thumbs into the straps of her simple dress, she sucked in a deep breath. She could count the number of people who’d seen her naked on one hand. Growing up as a music geek hadn’t exactly left her with a surplus of confidence. But this situation was different. Erik Aasen was different. This was one night. After what she could only anticipate as mind-blowing sex, she would never see him again. So did it really matter what he thought of her body?
    The dress didn’t drop to the floor in a silken waterfall. That only happened in the movies when the sexy heroine decided to bare her perfect body to her suitor’s eyes. Instead, she wriggled it down inch by inch over her curves until she could step out and drape it over the arm of the sofa beside her sweater.
    A wave of goose bumps trickled over her skin. Left only in her bra, panties, black stockings, and heels, Talia was painfully aware of Erik taking in every inch of her body.
    Before her courage could desert her, she walked boldly toward him. She reached for his tie, loosening the expensive silk knot and making quick work of the buttons.
    “You’ve got too much clothing on,” she whispered.
    “Is that so?”
    “Definitely.”
    She pushed his jacket over his arms, tossing it lightly on top of her clothing. He pulled his tie over his head and added it to the pile. A look of predatory anticipation glittered in his green eyes.
    With the last button undone, she tugged his shirt off. Her mouth went suddenly dry. She’d been wrong about what he looked like beneath his clothing, so wrong. Whatever she’d thought, whatever she might have imagined. The truth was much better.
    His skin had a faint golden hue, as if he spent a good amount of time outdoors without a shirt. His shoulders were broad, muscular, his arms covered in downy soft, dark hair. His chest was smooth,