by Marian Tee
She tried it one at a time. Two fingers. Thrust it in, and found that it wasn’t enough. Three fingers made her start to feel tight, deliciously so, but after a few thrusts, it just wasn’t enough.
And so the last finger went inside, and she was finally full, her folds stretching almost the way they did when it was Silver’s cock inside of her.
Silver growled, “I’m close now so you have to do it hard, as hard as you can...”
She fisted herself as hard as she could, trying to go deeper and harder with each thrust.
“I’m fucking close now...”
Lace moaned, his dirty talk never failing to push her ever so close to the edge.
“Use your other hand, sweetheart. Touch your clit. Press hard...”
She did as asked, her middle finger finding her clit, a long moan escaping her as she pressed hard.
“Come now!”
She fisted herself and played with her clit, and her orgasm exploded out of nowhere.
She gasped, her eyes rolling back behind her eyelids, her entire body stiffening as she came in huge waves of pleasure. Over the phone she heard Silver roaring as he came as well, and the sound of him stroking himself into a frenzy made her moan and press harder on her clit, prolonging her orgasm until she ended up slumped down on the desk, completely exhausted.
Over the phone, she heard Silver ask, “Do you need me to fly back?”
A tear slipped down.
God. Why was he so irritatingly perfect? Why did he seem to have a sixth sense when it came to sensing when she was in trouble?
She remembered Aria and KC’s words.
“I—-” Her phone vibrated at an incoming message, cutting her off.
“Wyndham?” Silver asked when she got back.
Could she risk Silver finding out about how stupid she had been in the past?
She said dully, “I’m...good.” Swallowing back a painful sob, she said, “But March?”
“What is it?” His voice was sharp with worry.
“Hurry back, okay?”
She ended the call before he could answer. On her way out, she almost stepped on her lucky coin. She bent down to pick it up, but her hand froze mid-air when she realized what she was staring at.
Heads. Tell Silver about it.
Bad Thoughts
Lace would never admit it to anyone, would rather have people think she had been fooled by his looks. Six-foot-three, dark brown hair, green eyes, and a winsome smile.
She would rather people thought he had turned her head around because of his wholesome All-American image. Boy Scout childhood, varsity since he hit six feet in his pre-teens, and a family well-known for their charitable endeavors.
Lace would rather people thought anything but the truth, which was that she had let her guard down because his name was Grant.
Like...Grant Hill.
The most gentlemanly player that ever lived.
Ever.
When she had found out Northwest’s team captain was named Grant as well, her mind went la-la-la. By the time she realized she had been wrong about him, it was too late. He had her number, and life as she had known it was over.
“You’ve gotten much more beautiful,” Grant said huskily as he stood up at her approach. He was dressed like he always did, crew neck shirt, jeans, and of course his varsity jacket. Grant was the type of guy who felt naked without his jacket and signet ring.
There were only a few other patrons around, which was exactly why she had selected the place. It was a little-known Italian restaurant, with dark interiors and tinted windows. More importantly than that, it was located far away from anyone who could possibly know her...and Silver.
She didn’t make a fuss when he pulled out the chair for her. “Thanks.” Lace said. The less fuss, the better. She had learned that the hard way.
When they were both seated, she called for the waiter immediately and gave her order. She needed food to get her brain cells to work. And they better work right now because she couldn’t afford to have this meeting end badly.
“Just your house salad and lemonade, no sugar,” Grant said.
Never trust a man who didn’t eat meat. She had always thought that, and Grant was proof of it.
Seeing her eyes on him, he said with a smile, “I missed you a lot, Lacey baby. We had good times, didn’t we?”
Good times, Lace thought incredulously. They probably seemed that way on the surface, but both of them knew it hadn’t ever been so, not after she had found out the truth.
She remembered what was probably one of his so-called good times, of her joking around with him in the dugouts after practice. “Yes, I’d date you. With you as my boyfriend, I’d probably make it to coach status in no time.”
The words ended up haunting her, Grant’s recording of it one of the threats he held over her head.
Her fists clenched in her lap. She wanted to overturn the table, throw her glass of water on his face, and scream at him for being the worst scum on earth. She really wanted to do it, but then the waiter came, a reminder that she had to be sane.
For her new life, for her boys, for Silver, she had to do this right.
When the waiter was done serving their food, Lace dug in immediately, hoping it would dissuade him from bringing up more “good” times.
Every time he tried to speak, she would immediately stuff her mouth full with whatever was within reach. Dinner roll, steak, mashed potato, clam chowder, crème brulee. Unfortunately, they could only last for so long. Even with her stomach groaning, she started to call for the waiter, determined to eat until she died choking.
“Lacey—-”
She waved her hand at a nearby waiter, trying not to be desperate. “Excuse me?” When someone finally noticed her, Lace almost expired in relief.
But the feeling was short-lived. As a waiter headed her way, Grant said in a hard voice, “I still have your video on my phone, you know.”
Oh God, not that.
She waved the waiter away desperately.
“I watch it several times a day. I love hearing your hands run over—-”
The waiter came to their table anyway. “What may I help—-”
“No, none, please go away.”
The waiter threw her an odd look before bowing stiffly and leaving. When he was out of earshot, she hissed, “How could you?”
“How could I what?” he asked, still smiling. “Pleasure myself while watching you in the shower?”
“You’re sick!”
“Why...how?” She stared at her naked self on the phone, taking so damn long to shower because she was an idiot. An idiot, she thought with self-revulsion.
“My shower, my rules.”
Her head jerked up, a thousand words of recrimination brimming on her lips. But when she saw Grant’s eyes, she knew it was pointless.
“You’re sick.” She saw it now, what she was too caught up with the excitement of her new life to see. What she had been too scared to see. His mood swings, his bursts of violence, his tendency to stare at her for far too long, longer than what was normal.
“Grant—-”
“Don’t look at me like that!”
“Get rid of the video. Of the recording. I’ll pretend this never happened—-”
“And what? You’ll pretend you don’t love me, too?”
“I never did,” she cried out.
“Liar! What about the times you told me I’m your number one—-”
“You are my number one. You’re my best player, but that’s it!”
“And the hours you spend with me almost every night, letting me feel your body—-”
“We were practicing. PRACTICING!”
“I don’t believe you,” he snarled. “You’re just lying. To me. To yourself. You love me, you love ME!”
“No,” she screamed back. “I don’t and I—-”
“You will love me, Lacey baby. You will. You know why? Because if you don’t, I’m going to show this to everyone. I’m going to r
uin all your chances of your dream ever coming true.”
Lace remembered the first time he had shown it to her like it had just happened a moment ago. The feel of her blood turning cold inside her veins, of the ground disappearing under her feet, of the sense of betrayal choking her, making her unable to breathe.
When she remembered, it hurt. And it made her hurt. Not Grant. But herself. She hated herself for always thinking she was so smart but in the end, she had been more of an idiot than anyone could have ever imagined.
“Enough with the B.S. What do you want, Grant?”
“You. Always you.”
And she knew, in a way, he meant it.
“I’m sorry. You can’t have me.”
“It’s not over between us.” He spoke like he hadn’t heard a thing she said. She had always thought this was a cute part of him, one that was effective when blocking out yells from the rival team’s fans. But now, she saw it for what it was – his psychotic side, only showing him the world the way he wanted it to be.
“I gave you time, you know.” His voice was indulgent, as if he were speaking to a runaway pet. “I wanted you to realize on your own that you’re mine. Always been mine. But...it’s taking you too long, so I thought I’d give you a reminder.”
Standing up, he laid a hundred dollar bill on the table. “I hate to leave you first, Lacey baby, but I thought you’d appreciate seeing this on your own.” He pulled out an envelope and laid it on the table as well.
As Grant walked away, she slowly took the envelope. Opening it, she saw a set of photos, all of it from the video he had taken when she had borrowed his shower.
Over his shoulder, Grant said, “You can frame them if you like.”
Bad Moves
Lace arrived at the airport lounge thirty minutes ahead of time. Even at seven in the morning, the lounge was a busy place, and there was even a long line leading to the shower stalls.
All seats were occupied, every inch of available space already taken by sleeping bags laid out on the floor.
No good place to wait, all in all, which meant her airport pass from Slade meant nothing.
“Lace?”
Turning around, she saw that it was the European prince Silver had been in such a great hurry to take her away from. “Gabriel.” The memory made her smile. Silver had told her he had been extremely jealous that time.
In a t-shirt and jeans, Gabriel was dressed far too casually for his standing. According to the royal family’s P.R. guy, the prince was on an “indefinite leave” to provide the necessary time for “personal persuits”. According to rumors, it was basically the prince sowing his wild oats before his arranged marriage.
“Are you flying out, too?” Gabriel asked.
“No. I’m just waiting for Silver. He’s due to arrive about twenty minutes from now. You?”
“I am set to leave as soon as my perpetually late cousin makes it here. Would you like to join me at the jet while we both wait?”
“Does it have ESPN?” she asked seriously.
“Of course.”
“Lead the way,” she said brightly.
His royal guards materialized the moment they exited the lounge, the men clearing the way as they headed towards the hangar. “I bet you do this all the time to impress the girls,” she joked.
He snorted. “No. Only to those whose brothers have their own jets, too.”
She nodded in understanding. “Great way to filter gold-diggers, although it does leave you with rather few choices.”
The prince’s jet was as fancy as she expected, but instead of bearing the royal crest of his country, it had on a Dutch company’s logo. Her eyebrow raised. “You borrowed this or something?”
He shook his head. “De Koningh side of the family.”
Climbing inside, she found the interior ruggedly masculine, the décor a mixture of leather and stainless steel.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Just water please.”
She expected Gabriel to issue an order, but his attendants, after bowing in his presence, left immediately, prompting Lace to ask in a tone filled with wonder, “You like doing things independently, don’t you?” He was completely unlike her brother, Slade, who never did anything for himself as much as he could help it.
Gabriel only shrugged, but since he was the one serving them drinks himself, he had already answered the question.
“Make yourself at home, by the way.” His voice was dry, but his eyes gleamed with amusement with the way Lace was already making herself comfortable in one of the couches.
“Oops. Sorry.” But she was grinning when she said it.
After offering her bottled water, Gabriel took a seat across her. “So...you’re still with Silver?”
Lace made a face. “You make it sound like that’s a miracle.”
“It is,” Gabriel agreed. “I never pictured him to be the patient type.”
“Umm, excuse me?”
“You rather made a cake of yourself that night,” he said with malicious sweetness.
She said honestly, “You’re so different from what the papers say about you.”
He laughed.
The sound startled her, and Lace suddenly realized it was her first time to see the prince laugh.
“I apologize. It just struck me that I had actually let my guard down with you.” An odd smile played on his lips. “Probably because...you’re the first girl I know I’m a hundred percent sure I won’t need to play the prince for.”
“Because—-” Lace had to ask, even if she was already pretty sure she’d end up being insulted.
“Because I don’t see you as a girl, I suppose.”
She knew it.
“I mean no offense,” the prince said seriously. “I only mean, that night, it was obvious to me how much you loved Silver March. Since I won’t ever find a way to tempt you into my bed, why bother keeping up the act?”
“Err...” Lace didn’t know what to say. “Thanks for being honest with me, I guess?”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Pfft. The prince had actually taken her seriously.
“So, you and Silver? Everything going smoothly?”
She only hesitated a second before blurting out gloomily, “I’m doomed.” She leaned back against the couch, throwing a hand over her eyes. With KC and Aria, she felt she had to keep up an act, too.
But with the prince, who felt more like her confessor than anything, Lace felt herself opening up. “I have a problem...”
“And?”
“But I didn’t want Silver to know, so I ended up lying.”
“Why don’t you want to tell him?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because it will make me weak. Duh.”
Gabriel snorted. “You mean you’re too proud.”
“God, you remind me so much of how an asshole Silver is. No wonder you’re friends.”
“Actually, it’s his older brother Steel I’m friends with.” The prince was about to say something else when the intercom buzzed. Answering it, he spoke in Dutch, nodding at whatever the person on the other end was saying.
When he was done, Gabriel said, “Silver’s jet has arrived.”
THE SOUND FROM THE runway was deafening, but somehow her heartbeat felt noisier. It was embarrassing, the way excitement made her skin prickle at the mere thought of seeing Silver again.
When the plane touched down and the stairs were in place, her heart pounded harder against her chest. By the time the door slowly opened and the security team started to file out, Lace was itching to run towards the jet. Only the thought that it would be such a cliché stopped her.
And then Silver appeared—-
Too. Irritatingly. Perfect.
Not only because he was physically imposing, but more because she loved him, helplessly and desperately.
He was dressed almost entirely in black, the only color in his business attire the white silk handkerchief peeking out of his breast pocket. His handsome face was unu
sually severe as he spoke on his phone. Whoever was on the other end, Lace was willing to bet the person was about pissing in fear now.
When he was done with the call, he turned to the group of men behind him, saying something that had everyone laughing.
Her chest hurt. That was her Silver all right, ruthless one moment, charismatic the next.
Silver’s head suddenly towards her, his gaze swinging unerringly to her like some kind of instinct had told him she was there. Even so, a bemused expression flitted over his face, as if a part of Silver couldn’t believe she really was there.
He started walking towards her, and when his security team started to follow him, Silver lifted one hand up, holding them off without taking his gaze off Lace.
They fell back immediately, and even she was impressed at how attuned his men were to his commands.
When he reached her, she didn’t beat around the bush, saying gruffly, “I thought I’d surprise you for a change.”
“If you really wanted to surprise me,” Silver drawled, “you should’ve come running and thrown yourself at me—-”
Lace said immediately, “I’m going home.”
A silvery laugh, just before Silver captured her wrist from behind, whirling her around.
Both of them were smiling when they faced each other again.
“Wyndham.” His voice was a low, seductive caress.
Her toes curled, her voice breathless as she said, “March.”
His head bent while she lifted hers. They kissed, starting with a tender, sweet brush of lips. A moment later, Silver tugged her towards him, and Lace’s body slammed against his. Her laughter was swallowed by his deepening kiss, her tongue eagerly mating with his.
When he lifted his head, Lace found herself hugging him tightly, unwilling to be separate from him. Fighting the urge to cry, she thought, I really, really missed you. I’m so scared I’m going to be the next YouPorn sensation. Please, please, please tell me you’re not going to leave me if that happens.
Over her head, Silver suddenly said, “That’s Gabriel’s jet, isn’t it?”
When Silver gently set her away, she didn’t have the courage to stop him, didn’t have the courage to keep clinging to him even if she wanted to.