Stupid Cupid

by Liz Hunter, Aka Mennen, Phyllis Campbell

  “I’ll be back by the time it gets here.”

  True to her word she showed up just before the bell rang. They chowed down and he found himself laughing at her artless conversation. She seemed a good kid. And boy could she talk. He found their mother had left a few years ago and Leena had taken over raising Carly; that Leena had given up being a witch at the time her mother left.

  Despite his skepticism, he asked more questions. And heard about witches in general and their powers and Leena’s deal with Carly to teach her over the summers. He’d spent some time yesterday looking up this very issue on the web. Turned out some people really did think they had powers. He was inclined to believe it was in their heads. But how could he explain his obsession with Leena? And his see-sawing emotions? Wanting to take her in his arms one minute and run like hell the next.

  “So what happened with the spell you mentioned? The love potion.”

  She had the grace to blush. “Didn’t Leena tell you?”

  He shook his head, his mouth full of pizza.

  “They reversed it.”

  “They who?” he mumbled.

  “Gina and Lee.”

  Ah, the mysterious Gina said. “So, who’s this Gina?”

  “My neighbor. She’s the best. She helped Lee set it all right. Wouldn’t let me stay. She actually sent me to bed.”

  Something her sister should probably do more often. “So this … this spell doesn’t work anymore?”

  “Nope,” was the blithe answer. “I’m stuffed.”

  He forbore to agree that she should be. She’d certainly ate like a normal teenager.

  “Can I put the rest in the fridge?” he asked.

  “Sure, I’ll give you something to put it in.”

  They stuffed the remaining slices into a plastic container. Soon after, Carly wandered off to watch TV and he sat on the wooden step outside his door drinking a beer. And thinking.

  Lord, but his mind was in a jumble. Could she really be a witch? And how stupid did he seem for even considering it? Yet Leena had seemed so sincere. And Carly seemed to totally believe.

  He glanced up at Gina’s house. She apparently was the attractive redhead next door. He toyed with the idea of marching up to her door and demanding an explanation.

  Grimacing at the direction of his thoughts, he finished his beer, stood up to stretch, and wondered where Leena was. What a way to spend a Friday night. He wandered back to the kitchen for another beer.

  Of course he didn’t have to be home alone tonight. There were a few people he could have called for company—there were even a couple of women on that list. But he had no interest in being with them.

  One curly haired woman who said she was a witch consumed his thoughts.

  Leena threw her keys and the mail on the kitchen table. A glass of orange juice fortified her. She wasn’t really hungry enough for dinner. The hard slatted back of the chair provided some relief for her aching back. Amazing how much calmer she felt now, compared to when she left the bank earlier this afternoon. Knowing that the bank could foreclose on the house had been a nasty surprise.

  On an impulse, she’d stopped at the salon belonging to Gina and her cousin. She desperately needed some advice and Gina and Kat had been more than willing to give it. They went out for drinks and talked through Leena’s situation. The women couldn’t have been friendlier or more supportive. They welcomed her to the sisterhood, as they called it, with mango mojitos. She must learn how to make that drink!

  And they helped her reach her decision to sell the house. She had no great love for it. Her mother had written it over to her and Carly before she left. Mom was somewhere in Alaska, last they heard, following her latest love. The house was a liability to them. But with the value of real estate having gone up like it had in their neighborhood, Kat thought Leena would get a good price. She’d even called her husband, who consulted on development work for the city, to ask his opinion and he agreed.

  Tomorrow she would talk to real estate agents after she discussed this with Carly. She was pretty sure Carly would go along with the plan.

  With a sigh of relief, she began to leaf through the mail when she noticed the white envelope with her name. She read the word Deposit. Inside was the equivalent of one month’s rent.

  Oh no! Vince hadn’t really thought she would hold him to that deal with Carly. And why not give it to her in person?

  The clock on the wall behind read 9:42 p.m. She would just have to see if he was still awake. She finished off the juice as she thought about her week: tiptoeing around him, holding her breath, praying he wouldn’t brush against her. Trying to ignore the long looks he gave her when he thought she wasn’t looking.

  She stalked up to his door with the envelope of money. The door stood ajar. When no one answered her knock, she pushed the door open and stepped in.

  “Vince,” she called, standing just inside the door. “Hey, Vince, are you there?”

  She heard a muffled curse. “Leena?” He walked in from the bedroom. She choked and sagged against a thankfully firm wall behind her.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked holding a towel closed at his waist. She was far too busy following the line of dark hair that disappeared under the towel’s edge.

  Six

  Leena gulped and prayed for the strength to act nonchalant. “Oh, hi. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were in the shower.”

  “That’s okay. Did you need something?”

  Despite herself, her eyes roved over his shoulders remembering how she clutched them just a week ago.

  “Leena? You okay?”

  “Huh?” She pulled her eyes back to his. “What? Oh, yes, I’m fine. I’ll stop by in the morning.” She half turned, reluctant to leave the delectable sight.

  “Wait. Please stay. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  He disappeared into the bedroom and she heard the faint sounds of a drawer opening. He was back in less than a minute. Much to the disappointment of that newly-found wild side of hers, he’d pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. She let out a tiny sigh, trying to dispel the regret.

  “What’s up?” he asked with that sexy half-grin that tantalized her all week.

  “Er … nothing really.” She clasped her hands together and the envelope crinkled in her hand. “Oh! I came to return this.” She held it out to him.

  “The deposit? Why?”

  “You can’t imagine I would hold you to that.”

  “It’s a normal part of a rental agreement. So you forgot to ask me for it when we signed the lease. Big deal.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing,” he interrupted. “Your sister is a better business woman than you are, you know that? I’m not taking it back.”

  “You have to.”

  “No.”

  They stared at each mutinously. Her lips quivered as she realized how ridiculous they must look. Glaring at each other like a couple of five-year-olds. He must have seen the humor because he grinned at her.

  “We could do this all night.”

  She could think of much better things to do with him all night. “I don’t think so. Will you really not take this back?”

  “I really won’t. Now you want to sit and talk about something else?”

  Something else? What could he mean? She reminded herself of the last time they talked about personal stuff. He said some really mean things. But somehow, here in his room, in the muted light of a table lamp, it didn’t matter that much.

  He walked toward her with slow steps, his look warming her. She found that wall again, pressed her back against it for support and closed her eyes. One deep breath and the fresh scent of soap and that delicious aftershave assailed her. Her lids flew open to find him close enough to touch, his hands splayed on the wall on either side of her.

  She should have been uncomfortable with him looming over her. But all she knew was the rising excitement as her senses awoke. The heat of his body so near to hers called forth an answering warmth from her own.
His face descended even closer and his breath fanned her lips.

  “Leena?”

  She answered the unspoken question by lifting her chin. Her eyes closed as their mouths met, clung. Such a sense of homecoming. She didn’t stop to analyze but gave in to the raw need that stalked her all week.

  Of their own volition, her hands crept up around his neck, rifling through the damp hair curling on his neck. His own seized her shoulders and pulled her close.

  Warm tingles turned to heated shards coursing through her body as he pressed closer and closer, until she wasn’t sure where he began and she ended.

  Hands fumbling with the buttons of her shirt, he began walking backwards, pulling her with him with the sheer magic of his mouth. His tongue stroked hers in a wild rhythm, a prelude to the inevitable primal dance to come.

  He stopped and pulled back from her only to wrench his tee over his head. Leena used that moment to wave her hand at the door, which shut gently. He didn’t notice.

  Vince framed her face with his hands. “Are you in this all the way?” he asked, his eyes catching hers in a look that made her shiver in anticipation.

  “Yes,” she whispered. It was the only answer she could give. Here was a pull far greater than her will. “Yes, if you are.”

  He groaned and captured her mouth again, even as he shoved her shirt off her shoulders. Leena shrugged out of it. She spared a thought for the older, rather plain bra she’d worn, then dismissed it. Somehow she didn’t think he cared.

  “I’m in, babe, all the way. It’s what I’ve wanted all week,” he murmured against her neck, his breath tickling the sensitive spot on the side.

  She shivered. “You, too?”

  At that he pulled back and looked down into her face. “It was the worst torture.”

  “I know,” she replied, her tone soft. “Believe me, I know.”

  “Let’s not waste any time.”

  Vince fell back on the sofa. She stopped, confused. Until he smiled in a way that heated her blood to boiling. “Shall we go back to where we left off?”

  God, yes.

  She nodded, suddenly shy.

  “Then take your bra off. And your pants.”

  He sat back, hands behind his head. It took all the courage she had to do it, but she did. The open desire in his face encouraged her and she reached behind and unhooked her bra. Ever so slowly, she slid the straps down then held the cups in place with one hand.

  “Take it all off,” he ordered softly, his voice rougher than usual, before he ran his tongue over his lips.

  The memory of that mouth on her breasts spurred her on and she dropped the bra on the sofa next to him. His breath hitched as he held out his hands to her.

  Vince used her outstretched fingers to pull Leena down onto his lap. He winced as she landed on his erection. If he didn’t watch it this would be over in the next second or so. Marveling at how quickly she could bring him to fever pitch, he raised her hips slightly, adjusting her position.

  Sliding his hands in slow torture up her sides, he drew out the moment before touching her breasts. The slight arching of her back told him what she thought of his pace.

  With a chuckle he closed his fingers around each breast, molding, glorying in the feel of those perfect mounds. Just a little too big to fit into his palms, they spilled out, her nipples standing, plump and ripe. Hefting her flesh in his hand, he lowered his head until his breath fanned the strawberry colored aureole. She whimpered—a small sound that nevertheless filled him with satisfaction. Good, she wanted this as much as he did.

  He licked one nipple then blew on it and a shudder ran through her. She arched again and this time he took her in his mouth, suckling hard, just like she wanted the last time. The sound of raw need that broke from her egged him on even as she clasped his head in place with one hand, the other roving over his shoulders.

  Splaying his hands under her arms, he lifted her higher. She came up on her knees, pressing herself against his stomach. Vince moved to her other breast, murmuring encouragement as she rubbed against him.

  The small whimpers and mews that broke from her, sounds of satisfaction and need nearly sent him over the edge. Her delicate touch strayed beneath the elastic waist of his shorts.

  He unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down, his hand searching for her; over the silky material of her panties, between her legs where he found the cloth damp and cool. His fingers slipped past it, sliding in the wetness. He parted her folds carefully and inserted one finger, circling, testing. She bucked against his hand, her ready response releasing the storm he was trying so hard to contain.

  God, she was so ready. Vince thought he might burst out of his shorts. All he could think of was her sinking down on him, taking him into her, covered in all—. He didn’t have a damn condom with him.

  He was too far into this to stop now. Her fingers circled him, holding him firm. He clenched his jaw and gritted out, “I don’t have protection.”

  Her fingers stilled then she whispered against his mouth. “So let’s do it this way for now.”

  He could have resisted, almost, until she started pumping him with steady strokes. On her knees, her body bent slightly so she could reach him, thighs open to his hand. He wished there was a mirror in the ceiling so he could see her like this. Not a sight he would soon forget.

  Then all coherent thought fled as she brought her lips down on his, her tongue searching for his, moving inside his mouth, echoing the rhythm of her hand. The pressure built and he was barely aware of his fingers setting their own tune in and out of her. She stiffened and convulsed around his fingers losing the beat for a moment.

  He groaned into her mouth, but she picked it up again in an instant. The tension in his body built and stretched thin. She broke the kiss and bent to his chest, her tongue licking his nipple. When she bit down, he went rigid before he surged against her hand, the dam breaking. Never had he found his release with a woman this way. She continued to hold him gently as he pulsed in her hand before slumping back against the sofa, two fingers still inside her.

  Thighs trembling, knees giving way, Leena sagged against the comforting, solid chest before her. He captured her inarticulate cry with his mouth. A gentle kiss but with remnants of their passion lurking behind it. Slow and sweet, he explored her mouth, nipped at her lips then soothed them with his tongue.

  She clutched his shoulders wanting a reprieve, yet never wanting this to end. When he lay down on the sofa and arranged her to half-sprawl over his body, she acquiesced, marveling that he had any strength left. She closed her eyes to better absorb the sensations still bracketing her body, her mind.

  When she awoke it was to the unfamiliar feel of a body wrapped close to her. Without opening her eyes she took in the delicious feeling of a hard arm holding her close, of hair roughened legs entangled with her. The scrumptious scent of man, aftershave and sex threatened to overcome her and she opened her eyes, lifting up from the hard pillow of his chest.

  The tender kiss on top of her head seemed out of character for him. So far she’d only seen his passion and his anger. But the tenderness was there, in the way he held her, in the hand linked with hers. Still semi-aroused, the length of him nudged her inner thigh.

  If she could have conjured up a condom she would have. Hating the thought the night might end without the ultimate experience—his body joined to hers. Although, he didn’t seem inclined to ask her to leave.

  “Awake?” he asked, his voice a rough whisper.

  “Mmm.” Not entirely, not yet she wasn’t.

  “Feeling okay?”

  She came awake at that. Okay? What would he ask next? Are we expecting snow in Chicago this winter? Of course she was okay. In fact she was more than okay—she was sated yet aroused, still sleepy, somewhat hungry, and in love. She held herself very, very still as she realized what she had just thought.

  Throwing it around in her mind, she expected the phrase to knock against the walls she thought she had around her heart.
Turns out they either crumbled or weren’t there because her heart swelled in a mix of love, elation and trepidation. Oh no! This was just sex to him—she was so sure of that.

  His spoke again, not whispering this time. “Hey, you okay?”

  She levered herself up off his chest, leaning one elbow on the bed. Convinced her love would be written all over her face she didn’t really want to look at him. But he deserved an answer. After all, how many men could say they satisfied a woman without even going all the way?

  The uncertainty in his eyes made her chest ache. All she wanted to do was comfort him. Let him know he was the man. Marveling at how, in her moment of crisis, her instinct was to comfort this man, she shook her head.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  He thought she was answering him! “No, I’m fine. I’m okay. Better than okay.”

  “Even though…” His trailed away and again that hint of vulnerability tugged at her newly discovered love.

  She ran a finger along his jaw, loving the rough stubble that lined it. Oh hell! She was in trouble all right if she began mooning over the man’s beard.

  “Even though,” she stated, firm in her resolve that this had still been one of the best ever.

  He captured the finger straying over his lips. The gentle bite, the tiny lick of his tongue made itself known to every fiber of her being.

  “You know, I don’t even think we shut that door. God, I’ve never lost control like this.”

  She didn’t like the frown gathering in his eyes. “Don’t worry, I closed it.”

  “Really? When?”

  She hesitated wishing she’d left well alone.

  “Not that thing again? Like in the kitchen?”

  She sighed and nodded.

  Note to self: Do not mention you can move objects without touching them while cuddling in bed with the sexiest man you’ve been with.

  End of cozy interlude. She sat up grabbing for the sheet to cover her breasts as Vince hefted himself up in bed.

  “Tell me this isn’t true. This is some sort of joke, right?”

  “I wish it was, Vince. I’ve never wished so hard as I have this week that all this was a joke.”