You Want A Drag?
989 Words
Kylian swallowed the water, to clear his throat. Then he hooked his foot around the leg of the opposite armchair and dragged it towards him.
"Sit."
Evangeline dropped into the seat, her eyes darting to the glowing tip of the joint between his fingers.
He took a drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke right between them. Without saying a word, he lifted his hand, offering the joint to her face.
"No, sir." She pulled her hands back, tucking them firmly into her lap. "I don't do that. It’s not right."
Kylian chuckled but didn't lower his hand. "No one is looking, Evangeline. Take a hit."
"I can’t sir."
“Suit yourself.”
She tried to look down at her lap, but Kylian leaned forward, catching her gaze so she couldn't look away.
"Tell me about yourself then," he murmured, leaning his head back against the armchair. "Who were you before you ended up in my kitchen?"
"Nobody interesting," she said, her fingers twisting the linen of her apron. "Just a girl from a small town who needed a job that paid enough to take care of her family back home.”
Kylian watched her fiddle with her fingers. "I don't believe you’re not interesting. Let's make a deal."
Evangeline shifted in her seat, her skin tingling under his stare. "What kind of deal?"
"An answer for an answer," he said, holding the joint between them. "I ask you a question, you answer. Then you get to ask me one. No lies."
She hesitated, her heart starting to beat a little faster. The idea of questioning Kylian Moreno was terrifying, but the curiosity was already clawing at her. He was always so out of reach, so having him sitting there, relaxed and offering up his secrets, was too tempting to pass up.
"Okay," she whispered. "You first."
"How old are you, Evangeline?"
"Twenty-one."
Kylian paused, a faint smirk touching his lips. "Twenty-one. You're a child."
"I'm not a child," she murmured, her cheeks warming. "How old are you then?"
"Thirty-two."
She went quiet, absorbing the eleven-year gap, and realizing he was a fully grown man who ran his own company while she was barely starting out.
Her eyes drifted down from his face, lingering on the joint resting between his fingers. She looked back up at his eyes, giving him a hesitant look.
"What?" Kylian asked.
Her eyes dropped right back down to the joint.
He lifted it slightly, an amused smile spreading across his face. "You want a drag?"
She hesitated, then nodded slowly.
“Come ere…” Kylian leaned forward, holding the filter directly to her lips. "Don't just swallow the smoke," he murmured. "Inhale, hold it in your lungs for a second, then let it go."
She leaned in and drew from it, but the heat caught her throat, causing her to cough uncontrollably.
Kylian laughed out patting her back slowly. He waited for her to quiet down before raising the joint to her mouth again. "Try again. Gently this time."
She took a smaller drag, holding the smoke in before breathing out shakily. Almost instantly, she felt completely relaxed, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"My turn," she giggled. "Why do you always have different women in your bed?"
Kylian smiled at her sudden nerve. "Because I can, Evangeline.” He leaned in closer to her. "Why? Are you jealous?"
“Why should I be?”
"You're brave when you're high," Kylian murmured.
He stood up, lazily shrugging his silk robe off his shoulders to let it hang over the back of the chair. He caught her watching him and gave her a wink.
Evangeline’s eyes left his face, openly sliding down his bare, muscular chest, down to where his grey cotton lounge shorts sat low on his hips.
"You're staring.”
She simply shrugged, her usual shyness disappearing over the high.
Kylian sat back down and rested his elbow on his knee. "Are you afraid of me?"
"Sometimes," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Honestly? I don’t know, being in your presence sometimes makes me feel so small.”
"I don't want you to feel small," Kylian said.
As the words left his mouth, his free hand dropped from his knee. Absent-mindedly, he rested his large palm flat on her lower thigh, and gave her leg a squeeze.
The sudden friction sent a shiver straight through her.
He leaned in closer. "Have you ever been with a man, Evangeline?"
Looking back at him with hazy eyes, she slowly shook her head.
Kylian’s hand stilled on her thigh, the high vanishing from his face suddenly. He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time, and the realization hit him heavy. He wanted to be her first.
Sensing the change in the room, Evangeline stood up abruptly, breaking his grip as she stepped toward the door. "I need to go to bed. It's late."
Kylian didn't chase her, he just sat back watching her chest rise and fall. "Alright."
As she turned around to leave, he stood up, and walked behind her to the door.
When she reached for the handle, his hand came over her shoulder, and convered hers on the door knob.
Gently, he pressed her back against the door, trapping her beneath him. Leaning down, his face stopped just inches from her, and the sweet smell of the smoke on his breath hit her.
When she lifted her head to look at him, his lips were already close enough to brush hers if she moved any further.
He looked back up into her eyes, holding her there in the dark for one long, agonizing second. Then, his hand reached behind her waist, and pushed the door open.
"Good night, Evangeline," he whispered.
She stumbled backward into the dark hallway, as the door shut in her face.
She stood alone in the quiet corridor, her lips still tingling. Why had she leaned in?
- Writer
