by Linda Verji
“Hi.” She smiled back.
Before either of them could say anything more, her phone suddenly beeped. With a frown, Freddie extricated herself from his embrace then pulled out the phone. It was a message. From her mother. And it simply said, ‘You could’ve just used the door.’
Freddie’s jaw dropped.
“What’s the matter?” Lex watched her, concern marring his expression.
“I think my mother heard me sneaking out through the window,” Freddie whispered, her eyes still wide with shock.
“You sneaked out through the window?” Lex laughed. “Why?”
“The door is-” Freddie paused to breathe out noisily. “That’s not even important right now. What’s important is that my mother knows.”
She quickly texted her mother. ‘You heard me?’
‘Yes,’ Tanaya texted. ‘I always hear you.’
What did that mean? The implications of that text message hit her seconds later. All these years her mother had probably known about her escapades through that window. Freddie wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified that her mother had never confronted her. Tanaya had been known to serve her punishments cold.
“I’m so dead,” Freddie whispered. When Lex only chuckled, she sent him a sharp glare. However, that glare changed to a smile when he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.
The drive to his place was spent chatting about their respective conversations with Ari. About twenty-five minutes later, they were in the elevator on their way up to his place. As soon as his door closed behind them, Lex brought her to him for a passionate, deep kiss that left her breathless and craving for more. She thought he’d drag her to bed right then and there but instead he led her to the living room. Once he was seated, he pulled her down to sit sideways on his lap.
“So?” He watched her keenly. “Have you thought about it?”
“Thought about what?”
“About us dating?” He frowned. “Or did you forget?”
“No, I didn’t forget.” She smiled then dipped down to press her lips to his in a brief kiss. “And my answer is yes.”
His breath whooshed out. “Yes?”
“Yes.” She nodded. Playing with the hair brushing the nape of his neck, she added, “I’ve decided to take you on a test-drive.”
His eyebrows lifted in question. “A test-drive?”
“Mm.” She nodded. Lowering her eyes shyly to avoid the intensity of his gaze, she admitted, “I want us to try dating.”
It’s weird but Lex was always the last thing on her mind when she went to sleep, and when she woke up, he was on her mind again. Right before he’d called her today, she’d actually been itching to call him. Only the thought that it was too late to call him had held her back. But when he’d beat her to the punch, she’d eagerly grabbed her phone. Even though they were supposed to meet later in the day, she still wanted to hear his voice and his one-word answers. It was obvious that she liked him as much as he liked her, if not more.
Lex watched her for a second then shook his head. “That doesn’t work for me.”
“Huh?” Her eyes widened in confusion. Was he saying he didn’t want to date anymore?
“I don’t want to try.” His arm tightened around her waist as he explained, “I don’t want a test-drive. If we’re dating, then I want it to be the real deal not a trial run. This isn’t a game for me, Freddie.”
“Um… I didn’t mean that it was a game…” She worried her lower lip as she tried to find a better way to explain herself.
But Lex spoke before she could. “I want us to date with the future in mind.”
The future? Did he mean marriage? She’d never imagined that he was thinking that far ahead.
“I want something serious. Something that could lead to the altar if it works out,” he confirmed. “Is that something you’re interested in?”
His honesty was enough to knock the breath right out of her. She was so used to living in the moment that it’d never even occurred to her to imagine a future with Lex. But with each passing second she realized that it wasn’t a bad idea at all. Lex was a decent man. Actually he was more than decent. A woman couldn’t ask for a better man to share a future with. And she was interested in being that woman.
She nodded.
Squeezing her waist, Lex urged, “I need to hear the words.”
She licked her suddenly dry lips then murmured, “I’m interested.”
“Good.” The smile he gave her was so bright, so full of promise that it set her heart racing in excitement. He dipped his head for a kiss before whispering against her lips, “I guess that means that we’re dating.”
She smiled. “I guess we are.”
“Good.” He came down again.
This time the kiss was more than just a delicate brush of his lips against hers. It got deeper, became firmer. Lex kissed her longingly. He made love to her mouth with slow, sliding thrusts of his tongue, and she took it all. Her fingers tangled in his hair, reveling in the silky softness, even as she answered his overtures, kiss for kiss.
Lex pulled away from the kiss to meet her eyes. He stared at her for an impossibly long time as if memorizing her features before coming back for more of those sweet kisses. Cupping the back of her head, he tilted her face upwards so he could touch his lips to her chin. His lips skated over the line of her jaw up to her ear.
“Lex!” She sighed at the tenderness of the moment when he nipped her earlobe then lightly traced the shell of her ear. When he came back to her lips, there was no holding back her instinctive moan or the way her fist curled over his sweatshirt. It was just a kiss, but he was already driving her crazy.
When his hands began to move, she shifted desperately on his hard thigh. His hand swept along her back and shoulders while the other played with her thighs. When he moved his hand to the inside of her thigh, an instinctive whimper tore from her throat. Though she was wearing leggings, she could feel the heat of his touch on her skin and it sent a pang straight to her core. Her already thumping heart went wild when he slowly, torturously moved that hand up her upper thigh.
“Aaah!” she moaned when he finally touched her there. Right there!
It didn’t matter that there was fabric between his touch and her skin. Electric heat jolted through her to center in her pussy. She spread her legs to give him more space to play with her. He tested her mound over her leggings before delving in the space between her nether-lips to rub her clit.
Goodness gracious! The sensations that zipped through her at his touch were indescribable, beyond words. She’d never been so wet in her life – and she was still in her clothes. Not for long though.
His hand wandered away from her mound to her cardigan. He helped her shrug it off before grabbing the hem of her t-shirt. With one swift move, he got rid of the fabric to reveal her ample breasts caged by the white bra. He reached behind her to unclip her bra and soon, that last barrier disappeared too. Then he paused to take his first glimpse of her.
“Beautiful,” he murmured almost to himself before cupping one breast.
Her breasts were already swollen and aching, but when he touched her, it was almost as if her flesh came alive.
“Yessss,” she hissed and closed her eyes when he plucked each nipple then soothed them with the tips of his fingers. His hand was like fire. It burned her and melted every single cell within her until she sagged against him in absolute need. She was barely coherent enough to do more than whimper when he moved to set her on the couch.
Her breath coming in pants, she lay on the seat as he played her like a guitar. He cupped both breasts and tweaked their sensitive tips before bringing his mouth down to them.
“Oh… my…” Freddie couldn’t even finish the sentence because of all the sensations careening through her body and blocking any rational thought.
He suckled her, caressed her, swept his tongue around her, flicked her, tasted her… Damn! He was intent on killing her, wasn’t he?
&nbs
p; When he grabbed the waistband of her leggings, she instinctively lifted up. With one yank, he pulled both her pants and panties down her legs to leave her completely naked. When he kissed his way down her torso, she instinctively spread her legs for him. He knelt on the carpet beside the couch, hooked her leg on his shoulder and dipped his head.
Soon, he had her writhing on the couch like a mad woman. Christ! She was so far gone she didn’t even realize that she was crying until she felt the cold liquid wetting the side of her face. The things he was doing to her were just… beyond anything she’d ever felt.
Pure pleasure pulsed through her as his tongue speared inside of her, tasting and lapping at the liquid passion that coated his tongue. When he added his finger and thrust into her, she had to bite her fist to keep from wailing like a banshee. Her hips jerked, her body bowed and shuddered, surrendering to his skill.
“Lex,” she cried out his name as the colors began to dance behind her closed eyes. All her senses centered on the almost painful pleasure that was swirling where his mouth and hands touched. This man had control of her body like no one else had ever had. With expertise, he drove her right into ruin.
SEEING FREDDIE SO close to her breaking point was more of a turn-on than expected. Lex was so hard, it felt like he could break through steel. Oh, how he ached to be where his fingers were right now. She was so tight and hot that he knew it would be a snug fit when he was finally in her. However, despite his body’s demands he kept pleasuring her, dragging her closer and closer to the edge.
When she finally tumbled, it was with a high-pitched scream that echoed in the silent living room. Smirking, Lex lapped up the last of her passion before kissing his way back up her naked body. He’d done this to her, brought her so much pleasure that she could only lie tired and boneless as passion swept through her. And now he’d get to do this to her many more times without wondering whether it would be the last time.
He still couldn’t quite believe it. After all these years of yearning after her, craving her, she was finally his. Officially his!
Smiling, he fixed his lips over hers for a passionate kiss before lifting her up. When he stood, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. His bedroom had never seemed so close yet so far. The way she kept kissing every inch of skin that she could reach as he walked, and the way she kept grinding her naked body against his, left him so hard it felt like his whole body was one mess of nerves attuned to her and only her.
By the time he got to the bedroom and set her on her feet, he was breathing hard. Not because of exertion, but because he wanted her so much it almost felt like he was about to burst through his clothes. Fortunately, Freddie was just as eager to get him naked. She shoved his sweatshirt and tee up his body in one go. While he scrambled to get them over his head and toss them across the room, she was already on her knees, pulling down his pants and boxer-briefs.
Then he was just as naked as she was.
Only she didn’t come up. She stayed on her knees, staring at the tower of flesh jutting needily towards her. When she bit her lip, Lex barely managed to hold back his groan. However, the moment she touched him then put her mouth on him, there was no holding back. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. Growling, he grabbed the back of her head as his hips arched up to meet her mouth.
Holy hell! This was torture. No, it was pleasure. Hell, he didn’t know how to describe what was happening to him. The flames dancing within him jumped. They seared his flesh and scorched away everything around him until all he could see, all he could hear, all he could feel was Freddie.
No, this was too much. He needed to be inside her. Now! He pulled himself from her grip then bent down and yanked her to her feet.
“Lex,” she protested. “Let me-”
He sealed his lips over hers, swallowing that protest with a hard kiss that was more effective than any words. Once he had her just as weak as he was, he tore his mouth away from hers and tossed her to the bed.
She may have been pleasuring him but he could see the evidence of her arousal. That bare pussy was so wet, he could see the cream coating her folds. With no time to waste, he opened the bedside drawer and grabbed a condom. Once it was on, he came to her.
Groaning, he mashed his mouth against hers. She in return grabbed his neck to bring him even closer. His hands wandered across her flesh, hers did the same to him. When he pushed two fingers into her to test if she was still ready for him, she grabbed his cock to stroke and squeeze him.
“Now, Lex,” she urged as her eyes met his. The undeniable need that glinted in her hooded eyes was identical to the desire pulsing through him.
He nodded then arched closer to her body until the head of his cock was playing against her pussy. He didn’t enter her right then. Instead, he took his shaft in his hand then rubbed it up and down the hot groove between her nether-lips.
“Aaah… ooh,” she moaned and spread her legs even more for him. He brought the head of his cock to that trembling nub, rubbing it, teasing her with slow circles. When he dragged his shaft to her entrance, teased her there before moving back to her clit, she whined in protest.
“Lex, please,” she begged.
Smirking, he finally gave her what she wanted. He leaned forward slightly, propping his arms on either side of her head as he positioned himself at her moist entrance. Her fingers dug into his shoulders when he eased in, stretching her with the thick head of his cock.
“Oh… my… aahh! Jeez…” she whimpered. Her face was flushed and damp with desire, and her breathing was irregular, panicked even.
“Easy, baby,” Lex soothed. Lowering his body so he could cup her head, he set his mouth on hers. He sunk his tongue between her lips even as he thrust more of his pulsing shaft into her.
Bit by bit, she relaxed around him, swallowing him inch by inch until he was completely and irrevocably inside her. He gave her a few seconds to adjust to his length and girth before he started to stroke.
This! This was what he’d been missing. He’d missed her and the electric thread that seemed to bind them whenever they made love. How had he managed to last for so long without claiming her? Even now, he found it hard to believe that he’d wasted so many years; years they could’ve been using to get to know each other better. Well, it was time to make up for all that.
He ended the kiss, lifting his body slightly off her so he could meet her eyes. He glued his gaze to hers, not bothering to hide any of his need or desires. He showed her everything, all the feelings he’d never let anyone else see. And she did the same. Her eyes, clouded with both wanton need and tenderness, never left his as she cried and moaned in pleasure.
Her hips moved to meet his long, deep, slow strokes, and her hands grabbed his waist as she sought to bring him even deeper into her. Her look, her feel, her whole being exuded desire and passion, and all he wanted to do was possess it all. His strokes became stronger, harder, faster. She took it all.
Sweat formed on his brow as the onslaught of pleasure scrambled the nerves in his body. Her skin glistened with identical heat and her breathing became more erratic.
When Freddie started to tremble and convulse around him, Lex felt his own body begin to boil. It wouldn’t be long now. He sealed his lips over hers to swallow her keening cries as he sped up. It was hard holding on when he was so close to the edge, but he wanted to take her along with him. Gritting his teeth, he thrust deeper into her.
They were sealed so tightly to each other that it felt like they were one person with one heart. They both lost their inhibitions racing wildly into the unknown abyss. And when they tumbled, it was together.
Lex wrapped his arms around her and held himself tight within her as he spilled his seed. In that moment, he fiercely wished that there was nothing between their flesh, no latex. He wanted to own her, to possess her completely. He wanted to create new life with her and seal their connection irrevocably. But already, he knew that it was too early for that.
Spent, h
e collapsed over her, barely having the forethought to catch his weight with his arms to avoid crushing her with his weight. Freddie lay limp beneath him, her eyes closed and her breathing ragged. She looked worn out, completely wrecked. A smile twitched at his lips with the knowledge that it was all his doing.
He strode to the bathroom to discard the condom. By the time he came back with a warm towel, she was already drifting off. She barely stirred as he wiped her down then left to get rid of the towel. When he finally slid into bed beside her, she was already out. Keeping the lights on, Lex sighed and pulled Freddie into his arms and jerked the covers over her.
He watched her as she slept, marveling at how she could look just as beautiful sleeping as when in the throes of passion. And she was all his now. The thought brought joy into his heart – joy he’d never thought he’d ever feel. He gently drew his fingers over her eyebrows and the nose. Before her, he’d thought that he’d likely spend the rest of his life alone, sometimes flitting between women. But now he didn’t have to live that kind of life. He had Freddie now. He leaned forward to press a kiss on her nose.
“I love you,” he whispered even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. “I love you, Freddie.”
Someday, when they’d gotten to know each other well enough, he’d make sure that she heard the words.
CHAPTER 21
~ Six Months Later ~
“Stop being ridiculous,” Michael gave Ari a frustrated look. “If Lex, Logan and Red are on one team, you, I and Kevin have zero chance of winning.”
“You change teams then,” Ari retorted unrepentantly, ignoring the frustrated looks the other five men on the basketball court gave him.
“I’m the Team Captain,” Michael reminded him. “I can’t change teams.”