" 'You've got me rethinking my stance on older men.' That's what you said to me last time we all went out."
Iris looked at Ray with playful shock, but he maintained his composure. Could she have said something so brazen to him? She knew the answer before she could finish the thought. Iris suddenly felt hyperaware of the closeness of their bodies. What started as a farewell party for a shared coworker had slowly evolved into a private chat between Ray and Iris. They hadn't worked together long, but Iris had been feeling strange twinges throughout her body whenever his dark eyes landed on her. Before she could get too lost in thought, a knee pressed itself into hers.
"Clearly I was past my limit if I was being so blunt with you," Iris replied coyly.
"We even almost kissed," Ray admitted with an off-putting nonchalance.
"Well, I'm glad we didn't...because I would like to remember that."
Iris pressed her leg against Ray's denim-clad one and took a sip from his pint of Guinness. The stolen sip wasn't missed by him because he responded by taking a long sip from the same place her mouth had just been. The air around them buzzed as Iris tried to even out her breath. Ray kept his gaze behind the bar as his hand crept from his knee to hers. The tips of his fingers brushed beneath the hem of her dress and rested there a moment before they continued their careful journey up her thigh. Iris pursed her lips together to stifle a squeal from the tickling sensation inside her thigh. The tips of Ray's fingers traced leisurely along her nether lips and between them; Iris felt herself moisten at his touch. He must have too for his fingers stopped their play and roughly squeezed her upper thigh before he abruptly got off his stool.
"I need a cigarette," Ray whispered hoarse with desire.
Before either one could recount how they'd gotten there, Iris was being pushed into the alley's brick wall by Ray's famished body. He hadn't even put out his half-smoked cigarette before grabbing Iris by the waist and pulling her towards him. It felt so good to be ardently needed that she wanted to go limp like an old-fashioned damsel. To think she had any control over her body's needs anymore almost made Iris laugh aloud because her hands were moving without any prior message from the brain. Her hands ran along his slender and soft back, then split up to cover more territory. His breath was, naturally, hot and so smoky that she felt herself steam as he kissed furiously along her neck. There are going to be marks left for sure, she thought delightedly.