Free Requisite Vices by Miranda Veil

this.
    We wander up and down the various one-way roads, my mind grasping at landmarks, trying to remember which parking garage I left my car in. Aided by alcohol and the steadily increasing desire pulsating through my body, the memories of the landmarks I’d convinced myself to remember beforehand, are running into one another.
    “I think it’s down here.” I state, uncertainly, and lead him down a road where the towering skyscrapers of the business district meet the smaller buildings of the French Quarter.
    He stops in his tracks halfway down the road in front of a large shattered hole in the sidewalk, his fingers gripping mine tightly and causing me to jerk back against him. I lose my footing, and he reaches out to hold me fast. When I look up, his face is inches from mine.
    The scent of alcohol and musk of smoke mixes with his words as he cautions my steps. It’s an intoxicating mix that fills my nose, my mouth and smothers my body.
    My mind blanks; my body a bubbling cauldron of hormones and booze ready to boil over. I hold my breath as he stares into my eyes, then in one fluid movement, press my lips against his. And in that moment, nothing else exists. The couple walking by us no longer exist. No one on the side walk, no cars and no buildings. No cracking, fractured asphalt, no stifling heat, no brilliant lights or noise wafting through the streets from Bourbon.
    The world around us falls away, each sound and scent and touch melding into a single moment filled with everything and nothing at all. A blank canvas splattered with the swirling colors that dance beneath closed eyelids.
    Pulling back, my heart hammers against my rib cage as my cheeks flush the color of blood.
    “I’m so…I’m so sorry.” I stutter as my brain wrestles my thoughts and body under control. This is supposed to be a business meeting. You don’t make out with the guy you’re interviewing. It’s unprofessional!
    So is getting drunk…
    He reaches behind me and rubs my back gently, his eyes blazing. His hand moves up further and further until his fingers are touching the base of my neck. Pushing his body against mine, his muscles tense against me as he looks down into my eyes.
    I move my hand away from him, drop my eyes and try to step away, embarrassed at my behavior, but his hand reaches along the last inch of the back of my neck and grips my hair firmly from underneath. Tugging my head back, my eyes are now forced into his. An animal has now taken the place of this well-spoken, well-mannered author I had met with just a short time ago.
    Pushing my back against the brick wall of the building behind me, he holds my hair firm, and presses his lips passionately against mine. I relent, every muscle in my body surrendering to him. His hand tightens in my hair as his tongue hungrily seeks passage through my lips, and as he deepens the kiss, his free hand roams down my side.
    Strong fingers grip my hip, then slide their way down the front of my thigh and beneath my dress, teasing along quickly dampening panties. I groan against his kiss, my knees trembling and growing weaker by the second. The need to maintain the line between the two sides of my life becomes thinner by the second, but my god, this is incredibly hot. I’m finding it hard to navigate through my murky thoughts.
    I manage to break from his lips, our noses and foreheads still touching.
    “We shouldn’t…not here…there are so many people around.” I whisper breathlessly.
    What am I saying? Am I honestly considering this?
    He smirks, the devil dancing in his eyes as he strokes his finger between my thighs once more.
    The moonlight shimmers against his glasses as he takes my hand. His fingers slip between my own, and his thumb softly strokes the top of my hand.
    “As you wish.”
    We manage to walk, carefully, another block before finding the parking garage. He grips my hand and leads me up to the desk.
    “How much would it be to leave the car overnight?” he asks as he