I never saw a girl fall asleep so fast after a mind-blowing orgasm, even if it’s one she gave instead of received. Then again I have never been with any girl like Trace. There are so many versions of her: the shy and insecure Trace, the feisty and strong Trace, and now I discover the sex-goddess of the universe Trace. At the moment, that one’s my favorite. I’m beginning to think that when I’m done being her friend with healing benefits, Trace Hayward is going to be a tough act to follow.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Tracey
The smell of bacon and eggs is better than any alarm clock to blast me out of my cozy slumber. When I open my eyes, I blink a few times at the unfamiliar surroundings before remembering where I am. Mmm. Right. I’m in Dak’s bedroom, in Dak’s bed. Except, his side of the bed is empty. I roll over and press my nose into his pillow and inhale so deeply I may suffocate myself with feathers. The scent of him is everywhere. It’s so yummy, even better than the smell of bacon and eggs. I stretch and languish in the afterglow of what happened last night. It was amazing! He was incredible! I was incredible! I’m no longer an anxiety-ridden freakazoid!
I didn’t cringe when he touched me. And I was the one who made him feel everything he felt last night. I did that to him. Sean’s main interest in bed was to give me instructions on how to make him feel good. I have to admit, the dude knew all about the best way to give a blowjob.
The whole thing is so ironic. After allowing myself to be so controlled and used by Sean, I took a little something away from the horrible experience, which has allowed me to feel more confident after all. I may do a happy I still-got-it dance right here in bed, like the one Diane Lane did in Under the Tuscan Sun after sleeping with the hot Italian dude.
“You awake, Sleeping Beauty?” Dak says from the doorway. He has his sweatpants on but he’s still shirtless. He’s so beautiful standing there smiling at me. I could lie here all day admiring his muscled chest and roped abs or better yet, licking them. He walks over to the bed and bends down to brush a soft kiss across my lips.
“Hi.” I give him a sleepy grin.
“Hi,” he answers in a hushed tone. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m feeling pretty fabulous.” I stretch in pleasure.
“That’s because you are fabulous.” He brushes light kisses down my neck.
I run my fingers along the fuck-sexy morning scruff on his face and find myself wondering what it would feel like scratching against the skin between my thighs. The thought causes heat to coil in my stomach and I’m rubbing my legs together to soothe the growing ache for him.
He can already read my movements like a book. When he glances up his eyes deepen to a sultry dusk blue and then he returns to the exploration of my neck with his lips and finds the spot just under my earlobe, which sends my hormones racing.
“You drive me crazy, baby. I could eat you for breakfast.” He nibbles along my neck.
“Dakota…” I purr.
He bends his head back so he’s looking into my eyes again. “Tracey.” My name is a prayer on his lips.
I’m about to tell him how much I want him inside me, right this second. Until he says, “As much as I want to climb back in this bed with you, baby girl, we need to get to the rink and start working on our routine. We’re going to rock their world when they see us skate together.” He leans in and gives me another soft kiss. How can he be all logical and shit at a time like this? I would rather he rock my world.
“We’ve got all day. Hold that thought.”
What thought? I know he’s got bionic abilities at everything he does, but can he read my mind too?
“The only thing I’m thinking is…” I run my fingers down his chest and his skin quivers at my touch, “…how much I really, really want…” I sweep my fingers down his abs to the waist of his pants and feel the thick bulge of his erection move inside his sweatpants. “To eat bacon and eggs, right now.” Giggling, I grab the pillow next to me and push it into his face.
“You little tease. Get out of that bed right this second.” He throws the pillow back at me, laughing, but I move out of the way before it hits me.
Scrambling out of the bed to get away from him, I run out the door and down the stairs to the kitchen. I’m still giggling when I run into the kitchen, stopping dead in my tracks when I see Dalt and Wolfe sitting at the table.
Wolfe smiles at me over his coffee cup. “Morning, sweetheart. You have a good night?”
“Did you get your research project done?” Dalt asks, obviously trying to hold back a grin.
“Yes, as a matter of fact we…” Holy crap. When I notice Wolfe eyeing me up and down, I remember I’m in Dak’s t-shirt. Only Dak’s t-shirt, nothing else.
When Dak walks in the room behind me, Wolfe adds, “You must’ve had a seriously hard time agreeing on what info to use, the way you were yelling at Dakota…screaming his name.” Wolfe snickers into his coffee.
I turn toward Dak. We stare at each other for a second before we simultaneously raise our hands and high five each other. “Yup. It was pretty much the best research I’ve ever done in my life.” Dak grins and moves to pull a chair out from the table for me. “Take a seat. I’ll make you a plate.”
I walk right over, chin held high, pull Dak’s t-shirt down to my knees, and take a seat. “You guys should try some real research sometime,” I offer matter-of-factly.
No walk of shame for me. Last night was one of the most wonderful nights of my life. I feel good about everything for the first time in a long time and I have no intention of feeling ashamed of any of it.
“Yeah, assholes. You could all use some real research instead of the shit you do almost every night.” Dak sets a dish filled with scrambled eggs and bacon down in front of me. “Coffee?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
“Cream and sugar?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Milady,” Dak says, placing a steaming mug of coffee in front of me. He bends down and kisses me on the cheek. This show of affection in front of his friends feels a bit strange, even though they obviously could hear us loud and clear in the bedroom last night.
Wolfe almost spits out his coffee. “Who are you and what the fuck did you do with Dak Andersen?”
“Shut up, Wolfe,” Dak and Dalt admonish him in unison.
None of us laugh the way we did last night when the same thing happened at the table. It’s like we’re all aware Dak and I crossed beyond a friendship line. The question is, can we stick to our plan of no strings, no messy feelings and keep our friendship? No. The question is, can I?
***
After inhaling my breakfast, I run home to take a shower and change into dance clothes for our first off-ice practice session. I don’t even get my foot on the first step before Nikki calls out from the living room.
“No way. Get your ass right over here, Tracey Hayward.”
Wow. She’s going to make someone a wonderful mother someday.
“I’m in a hurry, Nikki,” I say, stepping into the living room. “What do you need?”
“I need you to tell me what the fuck happened last night. Come on, girl. Spill it.”
“Nothing happened. We got our project done…it took all night.” I suck in my bottom lip and worry it between my teeth.
“Tra-cey,” she drawls and waggles a finger at me. “I haven’t known you long, but I already know when you bite on your bottom lip, you’re either very nervous or thinking really hard. Right now I’ll bet you’re nervous and thinking hard about what kind of story you can tell me instead of telling me the truth. You need to tell me. I’m dying to know. Was he as good as they say? No way, right? No one can be that good.”
Um. Yes, they can.
“Nikki, there’s nothing to tell. We didn’t have sex. Gotta go. We’re going to the rink to practice.”
“Are you telling me you spent another night with the hottest guy on campus and nothing happened? Have you seen you? There is no way Dak would’ve
missed climbing all over that body.”
“We did not have sex. We…we…did other things. Okay? Got to go. I’m in a hurry. We’ll talk later.” I hurry out of the room before she can say another word.
As I’m running up the stairs she calls out, “After I get back from my touch football game, I want to hear every dirty, luscious detail.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Dak
“Let’s try a reverse lasso lift at this point in the music. Rotate three times and I’ll grab one foot as we spin. What do you think?”
Trace has an excited little girl at Disney World expression on her face again. I love how enthusiastic she gets when she’s working on our skating routine. As much as I love hockey, that kind of exhilaration is a special experience. It’s the reason I told the coach I wasn’t thinking about going pro. I only feel that kind of intensity when I’m on the ocean. Trace seems to feel intense enthusiasm for everything she does, and seeing her face light up as she choreographs our routine is causing her exhilaration to rub off on me. I’m focusing on every word she says like we’re practicing for the Olympics.
“Sounds good. Let’s try it.” We stand on the mat in the middle of the room, watching ourselves in the mirrors along one wall. I face her, her back toward me, and we hold each other’s opposite hands. I spin her up and around my head and we drop one hand. Trace uses the hand to bend one of her legs up to her head, while I spin us around twice. It’s a crazy difficult lift, but we do it like we’ve skated together for years. The fact she’s as light as a feather and I bench press three times a week in the gym helps.
“Hey. That was almost kind of perfect,” she says when I bring her back down in front of me with one hand.
“You sound surprised, Bambi. You gotta trust me, baby.” I tap her nose with my finger.
“Hmmph. If I didn’t trust you, jackass, there’s no way I’d let you throw me around over your head.” She flicks my nose in response.
I rub my nose. “Or let me fuck you into ecstasy with my tongue?” I say, holding back a grin.
She closes the short space between us, her sweet breath on my lips when she says in a hushed voice, “No matter how much I adore your tongue, Dakota Andersen, you will always be a jackass to me.”
I push her back against the mirrored wall and press my mouth to hers. This girl makes me crazy. Her lips are soft and sweet and welcoming. She moans into my mouth and Christ, I’ve got a raging hard on again. I pull her leg up around my waist and grind my erection into her and she moans again. “That’s not what you called me last night when you came all over my face and screamed my name,” I whisper and grind my hips into her again.
“Oh God. Dak, I want you inside me.”
There’s no place I would rather be. I crash my mouth onto hers again. Our kisses become deeper, more insistent.
“Well that’s an interesting routine you’re practicing. Although I’m not sure the administration will allow it. The Winter Fest is a family show.”
At the sound of the snarky voice behind me, Trace drops her leg and stiffens in my arms. Bri and her entourage are reflected in the mirror in front of me. I bring my eyes back to Trace and don’t let her go or turn around. “We’re using this room, Bri. Use the dance room next door, okay?”
She sneers. “I can see you’re using it. But that’s not what the dance rooms are for. I’m sure you can find a cheap motel room to fuck her in.”
Trace pushes me back and by the way she’s glowering at Bri, I think she’s planning on punching her lights out. Lucky for Bri, Alex intervenes.
“You would know all about the locations of the cheap motel rooms in the area wouldn’t you, Sabrina honey?” Alex snaps his fingers back and forth in front of her face. The shocked look on Bri’s face is priceless.
“Alex, you better—”
“Oh shut it, Bri. The room next door is bigger and it’s empty. We can use that one.” Surprisingly, Bri stomps out of the room without saying another word, the rest of her groupies in tow. I guess the fact Alex is the best skater on the men’s senior skating team means Bri holds no swag over him.
“Hey, Trace, Dakota. What’s up? Uh, never mind. I can see what’s up.” Alex scans my crotch area and quirks a brow.
“Hi, Alex. Thanks.” Trace sighs.
“For what? I only want to make sure there’s enough time to teach this he-man how to pair skate.” He hooks a thumb in my direction. “I want you guys to be so freaking good you’ll blow the pole right out of Bri’s stuck up ass. Eww. Now that I said it, it’s kind of a disgusting mental graphic. Right?”
Trace and I are cracking up too hard to answer. “Bye you two gorgeous hunks of humanity. You may resume whatever it was you were doing so hotly when we so rudely interrupted you.” Alex waves, walks out of the room, and slams the door behind him. I think he’d lock us in if he had a key.
“I fucking love that guy.”
“Me too.” Trace smiles. “So, where were we?” She gives me a narrow-eyed glare when she notices the lust-filled ogle I send her way. “Where were we with skating lifts?”
“I suppose we do need to keep practicing if we want to blow the pole out of Bri’s ass.” I rub a hand down the back of my neck. Hell. This much restraint can’t be good for a guy’s health. Might cause some kind of blockage or something. “But after we’re done here, we’re going back to my place…or yours. I don’t care as long as there’s a bed…and a wall, and a sofa and possibly a table and countertop. What do you think?”
“I think it sounds like a whole lot of furniture. We better make it my place.”
She giggles. Fuck, I can’t wait to bury myself inside her.
***
After perfecting our fancy lasso lift, which requires lifting her from a spread-eagle position, rotating once in the first position with a two-handed hold, and then her changing position in the air while we switch to a one-handed hold and do two more rotations, Trace decides we should practice a star lift. The icing on the cake is the exit. She drops in front of me and slides on her back between my legs. She’s a little thing and again, I work out a lot and have my fair share of muscles, but damn. When I told her she could trust me, I didn’t think she’d take it to mean I’m Maxim Tankov!
By the time we’re done two hours later I feel like someone’s used me for their punching bag workout right after I was run over by the Bigfoot Monster truck. Holy fuck. I thought I was in good shape. Did I travel through some kind of time warp and come out a hundred and fifty years old? Because that’s what I feel like. Make it two hundred and fifty. I’d love to climb into one of the team whirlpool baths, except the side of my brain that isn’t bruised and battered is revving up to get back to Trace’s for the afternoon delight we discussed earlier.
I let out a loud groan, and not the kind of blissful filled to the point it aches groan I gave when she had her lips around me last night.
“You okay?” She places her hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah. I’m good,” I answer, even though every one of my muscles is screaming, no you’re not, asshole. What makes you think you can pair skate? “I just need a shower and you.” I bend my head to kiss her and even that slight movement elicits a groan.
“Oh, poor baby. When we get back to the house I’ll give you a full body massage. How does that sound?”
Like the skies opened up and all the angelic choirs in heaven started serenading me.
“Sounds like heaven, but I’ve got hockey practice at four. I’ll take a raincheck for the massage. We’ve got more important things to attend to right now. Let’s get out of here.”
The drive back to our houses is quiet except for Paramore’s “Only Exception” streaming from the satellite radio like a psychic reading. I’m nervous. Me. The guy who’s seen more pussy in the last year than Tumblr. But this is Tracey and she hasn’t let anyone get close to her for over a year. How do I handle that?
I glance over at her and see her gaze is fixed out the window. She’s nibbling o
n her bottom lip again and her left leg is bouncing up and down. Even though we’ve already given each other these mind-stupefying oral orgasms, it’s apparent she’s nervous as hell too. Is she thinking the same things I am?
No matter how much I fucked around, I’m aware there’s a unique trust that comes with having the kind of sex which joins two people together to the point they’re almost one entity. They move together, breathe together, climax together…hopefully. That climax, the moment when there’s this kind of out of body experience, it leaves you open, vulnerable, unguarded. Is Trace ready for that kind of vulnerability again? Am I? Despite our agreement for no attachments, no feelings, when I look at her, my heart races and my balls tighten. This is way more than the thrill of a meaningless one-night fuck. This is Invasion of The Body Snatchers level of mind and body takeover, but a good kind of body snatcher. She’s all I can think about, all I want. The only one I want. Could she be feeling the same way, even though she said she isn’t interested in anything but friends with benefits?
I reach over and place my hand on her thigh to calm her. She stops bouncing her leg up and down.
“You still with me over there?” I stroke her leg.
“I’m with you.” She smiles and my heart races a little faster. The effect she has on me is unbelievable.
“We got a lot done today. The routine is gonna be awesome.”
“Yeah, it is. A few more off ice sessions to get it all put together and then we can try it on the ice.” She’s talking to me but I can tell she’s distracted. Her mind is somewhere else. Then she goes back to staring out the window and chewing on her lip.
A few minutes later I pull into my driveway. “I’m going in to take a quick shower. I’ll be over in a few, okay?” She stares at me for a minute. The shy, insecure Trace is back.
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