Free Beat of the Heart by Katie Ashley

dragged my fingers through his hair, smoothing down
    the places where I’d mussed it earlier. “Yeah, it was,” I replied hoarsely. Between my cries of
    pleasure, I’d practically lost my voice. Cupping his face in my hands, I said, “That was everything I
    needed to get back into the game and more. You lived up to all my expectations, Mr. Latin Lover.”
    His smile widened. “Thank you.”
    “No, thank you.”
    I leaned over to kiss him again when Benny’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Sir?” he asked
    hesitantly.
    “Yeah?” AJ croaked.
    “We’ve, uh, been here at the restaurant about fifteen minutes. I was letting you…um, finish.”
    Glancing down at our still joined bodies, AJ laughed. “Thanks, Benny. But we’re still going to
    need a minute or two.”
    As I slid off of him, a delicious soreness filled my lower half—one I hadn’t experienced in a long,
    long time. “Can you zip me up?”
    “With pleasure.”
    “One sec.” I quickly adjusted my breasts back into the cups of the bodice before I turned slightly.
    Just as AJ’s fingers started pulling up the zipper, they stopped. “What’s wrong?”
    “Just admiring your ink,” he said, feeling along my shoulder blade.
    I tensed as he touched the puckered skin beneath the Italian script words of the tattoo. “Thanks,” I
    murmured. Suddenly all the languid, post orgasmic bliss was snatched away.
    “Did you get in an accident or something?”
    My eyes pinched shut as a horrific memory assaulted my mind. “Something like that,” I finally
    replied.
    AJ must’ve sensed I didn’t want to talk about it because he finished raising the zipper up my back.
    Once he was finished, I leaned forward to try and find my crumpled panties. Feeling blindly along the
    floor, I sighed.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Finding black panties on a black limo floor is harder than I thought.”
    “Shit, I’d turn the lights on, but…” I glanced over my shoulder. Although he’d gotten rid of the
    condom, he still hadn’t gotten his pants back up yet.
    At the feel of lace, I shook my head. “Got them.” I collapsed back on the seat before shimmying
    them back up my thighs. AJ watched my every move. After I readjusted my dress, I cocked my brows
    at him. “Quit eye-balling me and fix your shirt.”
    He responded with a bark of a laugh. Grabbing my purse, I dug out my brush, lipstick and body
    spray. As AJ readjusted his tie and tucked his shirt in his pants, I went about trying to make my
    appearance a little less ‘I just screwed my eyes out in the back of a Hummer limo’. After spritzing my
    thighs and arms with the body spray, I reached over and sprayed AJ.
    “What the fuck?” He sniffed his shirt. “I smell like a chick.”
    “Better than smelling like sex.”
    A smirk curved on his lips. “That happens to be one of my favorite scents.”
    Out of my purse, I produced some hand sanitizer. As he eyed me suspiciously, I patted one of my
    hands over his mouth and cheeks like aftershave. “Ow! That burns like hell,” he whined.
    “Yeah, well, I know sex is one of your favorite smells, but I’m not going in a restaurant with you if
    you’re smelling like sex and…” I trailed off, not wanting to say the word.
    “Pussy?” he questioned.
    With a grimace, I replied. “Yes.”
    “Whatever.”
    Cocking my head at him, I asked, “So sex isn’t your top scent, huh?”
    He shrugged. “Nah, probably Top Five. I gotta give props to some others like my drum set and my
    abuela’s tamales.”
    “Speaking of tamales, are we eating Mexican tonight?”
    “Actually, we’re eating at my favorite Italian restaurant. I figured with you being Sicilian, you’d
    probably like that.”
    “I do.”
    “Then for dessert, we’re going down the block to my favorite Mexican café. They make Flan that
    melts in your mouth. It’s fucking fabulous.”
    I shuddered as an eerie feeling came over me. No, it couldn’t be. Out of all the restaurants in the
    entire