“This room’s a good choice.” Larisa leaned back provocatively and stretched naked across the bed. “It has a great view.”
Darron looked at her with lust brimming in his eyes. “I like the view of
She gracefully slid on top of him and brushed her fingertips across his chest, stopping to tease his tiny nipples. She bent to kiss his lips.
“This is wonderful. I already love this life.” His eyes fell to half-mast as she kissed him. He looked completely lost in the experience. “Put me inside you,” he pleaded.
She took hold of his shaft and guided him inside her body. She was already so wet, his entry was easy. A tiny cry of pleasure escaped her lips as she sank down and felt the full stretch of penetration.
He slowly arched his hips with the most blissful expression on his face. “I’m so glad to be on Earth with you. My heart feels like it’s going to burst. I can’t image anything better than this.”
“Oh, it gets better.” She slowly rocked her hips, already feeling the beautiful tension building. “Wait until you hold your firstborn…”
DECADENT DANCE
by Aubrey Ross
Chapter One
“Just one more stop and I promise I’ll call it a night.” Sophie looked at Zoe with her puppy dog eyes and Zoe knew she was doomed.
“Auditions start at six a.m. and I should be there before they start. This is the first time I’ve worked with this director and I’ve heard she can be a regular pain in the ass.”
“Unlike you?” Sophie laughed. “I’ll be quick. I promise.” She looped her arm through Zoe’s to ensure her cooperation then hustled along the narrow sidewalk. They were only nine blocks from the Theater District, but the personality of Manhattan’s neighborhoods could change drastically with the turn of a corner. “My mom will only have one fiftieth birthday. I want to find something really special.”
After releasing an exasperated sigh, Zoe relaxed into the rhythm of Sophie’s brisk walk and accepted the inevitable. “Are you sure this place is open?” Did Sophie even know where the hell they were going? It wasn’t unusual for her enthusiasm to get them into trouble.
Sophie was the first person Zoe had met when she came to New York seven years ago and they were still best friends. Zoe’s pragmatic nature was the perfect balance for Sophie’s willingness to try anything.
“There it is!” Sophie rushed them across the car-lined street. A motorist honked as he passed and flipped them the bird. “Oh bite me! You weren’t even close.”
Zoe just shook her head and dragged Sophie up onto the opposite sidewalk, having long since grown accustomed to her friend’s passionate outbursts.
The faint scent of incense tickled Zoe’s nose as they stepped over the threshold and into the cluttered store. Glass cases contained all sorts of jewelry and small curiosities, while the walls were lined with shelves displaying less valuable wares. Zoe could detect no rhyme or reason to the shop, but it certainly offered a large selection. Some of the items looked antique, yet others were obviously modern.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?”
The man’s deep voice startled Zoe and she gasped as she turned around. “I didn’t see you there.”
His lips curved with the hint of a smile. The man wasn’t tall or broad, and with mouse-brown hair and common blue eyes, there was nothing remarkable about him, yet Zoe’s skin prickled and a tingle sped down her spine.
“I’m just waiting for my friend.” She motioned toward Sophie, who was being helped by a woman about the same age as the man.
Not easily dissuaded, he asked, “What interests you?”
“I’m a dancer.” No, that wasn’t accurate anymore. “Actually, I’m a choreographer.” Like so many in her profession, her ambition had held up longer than her body. One nasty ankle break and she was tossed from the footlights and banished to roles behind the scenes. She’d tried every form of rehabilitation Western and Eastern medicine had to offer, with the same result. The doctors swore she was lucky to be walking, but she would never dance professionally again.
“A ballerina?” His gaze narrowed and he shook his head. “No, you strike me as more in tune with modern rhythms. Something sultry and flowing. You want to tell stories through movements.”
She smiled. “You’re very perceptive.”
“And you are totally stuck.” Suddenly his common blue eyes pierced her with laser intensity and his features seemed to sharpen. “You’ve been struggling for months, searching every source you can think of, but nothing interests your muse.”
Zoe swallowed hard, trying to conceal her shock. How the hell had he known…
His shop was spitting distance from Broadway. Who wasn’t hungry for inspiration in this ultra-competitive district? Relaxing her shoulders while maintaining her guard, she looked at the salesman with more respect. Anyone who could read people that easily could be dangerous.
“I have something I think you’ll enjoy.” He turned and wended his way along the uneven aisle.
She glared at his back then glanced at the door, tempted to wait outside for Sophie. But what if he actually had something interesting? She looked around and shook her head. Fat chance of that in a place like this.
In the end, boredom won out and she followed the man to the office tucked away in the back corner of the shop. She stood in the doorway, making sure he couldn’t close her in. His motivation appeared to be financial, not nefarious, but one never knew.
He opened a tall cabinet beside the battered desk and pulled out a garment hanging on a padded hanger. He smoothed down the light brown material then turned it around, so she could see what he held.
The design was…interesting. A short, capped sleeve on one side, bare arm on the other, formfitting bodice with a short, flared skirt. It had either been designed for a child or the fabric was stretchy. From one angle it looked supple, like animal hide, then it caught the light and gleamed with a metallic sheen. How bizarre.
“Where did you get that?” She motioned him closer to the doorway, refusing to step inside.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
She carefully grasped each side of the narrow bodice and tested her theory. It was soft to the touch and stretchy, but it still looked like animal hide. Until the light made it glow. “It’s obviously a costume. What show is it from?”
“Not a show. More like a program. It’s used to perform the Decadent Dance.”
“The Decadent Dance? Like spinning around a shiny pole with my private parts on display? Not interested.”
He shook his head with an enigmatic smile and handed her the costume. A small drawstring bag was hooked around the hanger and dangled down inside the dress.
“What’s in there?”
He blocked her hand as she reached for the pouch. “That comes with the dress, but you must purchase the garment to learn its secrets.”
“I see.” She had to give him props for creativity. “So that’s your angle.” Even if it was a clever hoax, she had to admit he was entertaining. “Is that cabinet full of these things? I bet you get tons of dancers in here.”
“The dress is the only one of its kind on this planet.”
“‘On this planet’?” She arched her brow at him as a cold shiver raced through her. “Are there dresses like this on Mars?”
