Six Ways to Heaven

"Wine?"

"Sure."

Glasses clinked back in the apartment's kitchenette. Holly resumed her inspection of Edward's abode.

Flat screen TV. Killer sound system. Leather and dark-wood furniture. A tidy bedroom and sterile bathroom glimpsed through partially open doors. She trailed a finger across the entertainment center as she drifted towards his collection of vinyl. No dust.

The pop of a cork drew her eyes back to the kitchen. Ed sniffed the cork and began to pour. He wasn't intruding on her covert inspection just yet so her gaze returned to his records. Her fingers casually walked through a random few.

Chuck Mangoine. The Beattles. Metalica.

Hmm. Variety.

She moved to his the bookshelf.

War and Peace

.

Lord of the Rings

.

The Hiding Place. What the hell

?

Legal Ease. Romance

? She looked about the apartment for any other signs of a female presence. Nothing. The one piece of art, an abstract coffee-table sculpture, evoked the kind of sensuality a man might find more captivating than a woman. Even the three candles next to the turntable spoke more of seduction than a feminine presence.

Holly pushed the romance novel back into its place. The neighboring title caused her eyebrow to arch.

Slave Girl of Gor

. The cover art had sophomoric porn written all over it. She snorted and let her eyes dance across a half dozen more sci-fi and fantasy titles until the content of the shelves changed.

A book on meditation.

Interesting.

A quick flick of the eyes back at

Legal Ease

.

Yoga

? She looked at the title closer and let out an echo of the snort she'd afforded

Slave Girl of Gor

. It was Kama Sutra. The next book was

The Concise Seduction

. Seemed appropriate, if a little belittling. Next to that was

Self Hypnosis

followed by

Pillow Talk.

Holly sucked in a quick breath that caught in her breast.

"Wine?"

Holly flinched. "Oh, yeah—" A tide of heat splashed across her cheeks. "—thanks." She took the proffered glass.

Thank God for poor lighting.

"You want to watch something?

No String's Attached

?"

Oh my God!

Holly bit her lip to keep from snickering.

That was blunt.

Ed seemed to notice and shrugged. "It's the only chick-flick I've got."

"You've got

Legal Ease

."

"What?"

"

Legal Ease

—" She tapped the book on its spine. "—a romance novel."

"

Well—

" Ed dragged out his ells. "—it was . . ."

"Was what? Slutty? Randy? What about

Slave Girl of Gor

?"

That time Ed did blush. "I was fifteen."

"And you're mom let you read it?"

"She didn't know."

"What about Kama Sutra, or—" Her tone changed towards playful mockery. "—

The Concise Seduction

."

Ed's brow lowered to a glower.

"And this one,

Pillow Talk: A Comprehensive Guide to Erotic Hypnosis

? Did she know about that one?"

"I'm no longer fifteen."

Holly sipped her wine. "You'd think you'd hide it from prying eyes."

The dark look on Ed's face lifted. "I've nothing to hide." He started fingering through his DVD and Blue Ray collection. "Red October? Star Wars? Guardians of the Galaxy? What y' want to watch?"

Holly's gaze went back to the bookshelf. "Does it really work?"

"Eh?"

"Erotic hypnosis?"

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

Holly's eyebrow climbed her forehead once more. "You suppose? You've never tried it?"

"Yeah, a few years back . . . once. But she . . ."

"She what?"

"The whole thing was her idea. She wanted it

so

bad. Couldn't tell if it was hypnosis or play acting."

Some emotion inexplicably withered within Holly's breast. "Oh." A first date I'm not sure I want to kiss you silence followed.

"How 'bout Golden Eyes," Ed said, holding up a DVD, at the very same time Holly blurted.

"You wan'a try again?"

"What?" Ed's surprise erupted in a staccato bark.

"You want to try and hypnotize me?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Holly, this being our first date and all."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun."

Ed said nothing.

"Look, you brought me to your place because you were hoping to get my pants off and

I

came because I was thinkin' about getting out of them. I'll tell you what, if you hypnotize me out of my pants, I'll let you bang me six ways to heaven."

Ed stared at her for a moment then deliberately stuck

No Strings Attached

in the DVD player. He turned his gaze back to her.

"Six ways? You only have three holes."

Holly paused. "I

meant

it as an expression but I suppose I said it so -- I've only one hole for banging, my vagina. But if you hypnotize my pants off you can bang me six times."

"Six rounds is a tall order. And it's a cunt."

"Vagina. Cunt's nasty. You have all weekend."

"Vagina's are for making love to. Cunt's are for fuckin' -- or banging if you must."

"God.

Fine

. You can fuck my cunt six times this weekend if you hypnotize my pants off."

"Do you want me to fuck your cunt?"

"I

think

that was the general idea of this conversation."

"Okay. But it won't work while you're riled, so relax, drink your wine, watch the movie."

Holly blinked and swayed on her feet. He was going to hypnotize her. He was really going to hypnotize her. Until that moment she hadn't known how much she really craved that but with her victory, something hot flashed in her core and faded to an immodest itch. She took a sip of wine to cover the sudden flush that heated her cheeks.

Liquid warmth rolled in one languid stroke from lips to core.

God, nice wine.

She took another sip and sat.

"What?"

Ed stared down at her with a quirky smile. He moved to sit beside her. "I like watching women enjoy themselves." He turned slightly towards her.

She mirrored his posture. "Yeah? Am I enjoying myself?"

An eyebrow arched. "Aren't you?"

The flames in her pants jumped, as though that itch were hitched to Ed's brow. She took another sip which did nothing to swamp the embers burning below.

Ed turned towards the screen where the movie title had finished rolling and settled back in his seat.

"Aren't you going to hypnotize--"

"Maybe later."

Holly sighed. The fires cooled. The itch increased, right -- right on the peak of her bud, which was maddening. She crossed her legs and tried to rub as she slid back next to Ed.

The wine was good but she couldn't pay attention to the movie. She'd will the itch away, and it'd go, right up until she thought she was free, and then it'd explode leaving a gnawing ache that kept growing and growing. She crossed and re-crossed her legs. She shimmied in her seat. Her breath would hitch and her flesh radiated fire.

Fuck. God. Maybe if I--

Holly started to rise. Ed draped an arm over her shoulders and tugged her so their shoulders bumped. At his touch, the gaping ache at her core filled with warmth spelling relief. She uncrossed her legs and languid fire, like hot water mixing with cold, boiled up through her. She bit her lip to dam her contented sigh.

But it didn't last. The heat that had relieved her radiated out, leaving a hole in its wake. Her body tensed and lifted her ass a finger span off the couch as it tried to overpower the invisible need.

"You okay?"

Fuck no.

"Yeah." Holly voice was a little breathy. "Are you going to hypnotize me?"

Before I fuckin' jump your bones?

"In a bit."

She squirmed. "Why not now?" Her legs trembled and with each quiver they pried open ever so slightly more.

"It'll never work. You're too fidgety." His hand, the one on her shoulder, reached up and massaged the lobe of her ear.

Heat billowed through her. On the screen, Natalie Portman might've faked a moan. The noise that escaped Holly was beyond her control.

Ed stroked her earlobe once more. Again, a wave of wet heat washed through her stripping her muscles of all tension and strength. She slid lower in her seat only just managing to plop her wineglass upon the end-table before she spilt it. Her knees spread apart. She distantly recognized that her posture was lewd but she was wearing jeans and fuck, she just felt too good to move now.

Ed's hand moved from her shoulder to her neck. She didn't need to see his thumb to feel it hovering just behind her ear. He made contact and lazily traced the inner whorl of her ear all the way back to her lobe.

An inaudible moan vibrated her breast. the pinnacles of her twin peaks scratched inside her bra. A wet warmth warned her that the crotch of her jeans might soon soak through.

Oh hell.

She sucked in a heavy breath.

Oh fuck.

Another gasp cycled.

Her ear. He was only touching her ear. Had no one else ever touched her ear like that?

She heard ears were sometimes erogenous.

But God, who'd've known?

She slid down the couch further.

And he removed his hand.

Wait? What? No!

She nuzzled into his shoulder but rather than putting his arm around her, he dropped his hand just above her knee.

Her leg twitched at his touch. Static tingles radiated up the inside of her thigh. Where a moment before there'd been no stress, an electric tension knotted in the very lowest realm of her core. She grabbed his hand so as to prevent neural overload.

"Something wrong?"

Several heartbeats hammered by before her breast stopped heaving enough she could meet his eyes and answer. She licked her lips and forced the breathiness from her voice. "No. That scene was hot and -- you startled me."

"Ah." His eyes sparkled. "The movie's not over yet." He gaze returned to the screen. The tension between her legs grew unbearable.

Gently, attempting stealth, she pulled his hand a finger-width up her thigh.

God, I'm hot. Forget hypnosis, just fuck me already!

He resisted.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She closed and opened her thighs.

Can't you take a hint?

Her breath cycled deeper.

"Ed, God, don't make me ask."

Ed blinked at her but there was knowing behind his eyes.

"

Edward

?"

"Your pants are still on."

She was up so fast she stumbled over the coffee table. Her flats were off before she came to a standstill. A heartbeat later she kicked her pants and bikini briefs half way across the room.

The tension, the heat, the need evaporated. As she stood there bare below but her socks, the chilling wetness between her thighs was all that remained to tell her it had been real.

"Oh my God." A rose tide burned breast and cheeks. "You -- you did it. When did you do it?"

Ed graced her with a hungry grin. "Yeah,

I

sure did." He stood, a lion rising from a crouch.

Holly retreaded a step. One swift stride and he pounced. An arm wrapped behind her shoulders and pinned her breast to chest. A fistful of hair gently forced her eyes to his.

Oh God. Oh fuckin' God.

Every last ounce of tension, heat and need returned fortyfold.

Ed's free hand stroked down over her blouse, across her hip and to her juncture. Holly sparked as his strong, fucking finger bumped over her button and fish-hooked her.

His fist tightened in her hair. "Six ways to heaven,

yes

?"

Her breasts heaved against his chest. "All weekend. And any other time you want too."