Read Ecstasy for Free Online

like from the times before. I fumble with her blouse first, undoing the few buttons, then hastily undo my own clothes, just enough to give me access to her. I nibble my way down her neck to her chest, tasting the vanilla-and-sex scent that pervades her skin. My hands and mouth drink it in, my eyes half-lidded, not wanting to see, just to feel. I’m not completely sure she’s ready, but I can’t wait any longer. I work my way up to her mouth again, sliding my hands up her hips to lift her short skirt.
    I bury myself in her, one fast thrust that lifts her from the ground.
    The hot relief blanks my mind. My frantic movements still. Her eyes are closed, her head tipped back against the wall, lips parted. It’s all the confirmation I need. My thrusts bring quiet moans from both of us, but mostly me, a sound that feels like frustration and anger and need leaving my body. Her heels clatter the wall, banging in time with me. The release coils inside me, and small bits of my mind white-out, one by one, as it builds. When it comes, I gasp.
    I forget how to breathe. It’s a moment of pure sensation and relief, empty of sound and thought. I don’t think about what she’s thinking. I don’t think about anything at all. I want it to stretch and carry me, but it’s already starting to fade: the coldness of my hand on the wall, the cool draft of air wrapping our bodies. Awareness of the world seeps back into me. My lungs cry for air, and I suck in erratic drafts of her skin and mouth as my lips hover over them.
    She caresses my cheek, soft hands trying to give sweetness to the moment. I turn my face away. Only one collector can understand another. Ophelia’s voice is reminding me of my real purpose here. I pull back from Grace completely, disentangling our bodies, suddenly needing distance. I fumble with my clothes, half-turned away while she fixes hers.
    I need Ophelia to help me figure out how to survive. How to not be the next wash out or mortality statistic on Candy’s collector sheet. I need to find out where Ophelia is and get her away from the mob. After that... who knows. I can’t think that far ahead.
     Grace is finished with her clothes, standing tall on her heels again, only a slight flush in her cheeks and muss in her hair giving us away.
    “Take me to Madam A,” I say. “I’m ready to make a deal.”
    She nods and brushes past me, putting on the same fake, all-business calm that I have. I catch her arm, gently. She turns and looks straight into my eyes, searching for something. I smooth down the strand of her hair that’s still sticking up.
    “That hit,” I say, my voice hushed. “Give it to Tilly.”
    She nods hastily, like she knows that I don’t want her to say anything. She turns and marches up the stairs.
    I follow, determined to do whatever it takes to find Ophelia.

 
     
    Madam A hangs up from a call on her monitor as Grace and I step into her office.
    It’s dark, like the entryway, and Madam A’s tiny body is dwarfed by the enormous wood-carved desk she’s sitting behind. She rises and comes to the front. If it’s obvious that Grace and I just had off-book sex in the stairwell, Madam A doesn’t let it show.
    “My contact in the Kolek family has information about your friend, Ophelia,” she says.
    My ears perk up. The police said Kolek was the mob boss controlling my neighborhood.
    “What do you want in exchange?” I say, cutting to it. I’ve wasted too much time already.
    She measures me with her dark eyes and looks to Grace standing behind me. They exchange some kind of meaningful look, and Grace gives a very small nod. Probably another test—one it appears I’ve passed by the satisfied look on Madam A’s face. I’m instantly suspicious that they’ve planned out the entire thing, including the stairwell sex.
    I need to be more careful around Madam A.
    “You understand the work we do here, now,” Madam A says softly. “So, what kind of man are you, Lirium? Are you the kind who’s