Truth or Consequences

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Natasha sluggishly opened her eyes, blackness surrounding her. In the distance, the hum of an air conditioner pierced the silence of the room and a surge of anxiety leapt within her body. Wha … Where am I? Her hands fisted the sheet as her gaze darted back and forth in the dark trying to figure out where she was.

  Okay. Okay. Calm down and relax. Calm down and relax, she told herself, using the same chant she had used plenty of times when doing a surgery. Just calm down. She breathed, inhaling a deep breath and releasing it slowly as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Memories of the evening slowly penetrated her mind.

  Malik. I’m at Malik’s house.

  She sighed in relief and turned onto her side, snuggling into the pillow and hoping that sleep would once again claim her. Time passed and like earlier, when she closed her eyes, the scene at the café infiltrated her mind. She didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to remember. All she wanted was to be lulled back into the mindless, dreamless state she’d just come out of.

  When she realized that wasn’t going to happen, she sat up in bed, only to sway to the left and then to the right. Whoa. She grabbed her head. Once the room stopped spinning, she planted her feet on the floor and felt her way to the adjoining bathroom. She wasn’t much of a drinker and the queasiness flowing through her body reminded her why. She hated the after effects of alcohol.

  Happy to see a new toothbrush and toothpaste near the sink, she brushed her teeth and splashed cold water on her face. The small gesture had her feeling somewhat alive. Returning to the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed. It was too quiet. She could turn on the television mounted on the wall, but that’s not what she wanted. What she really wanted was to be wherever Malik was.

  That’s not a good idea.

  Ignoring her inner voice, she went in search of him. When she stepped into the hallway, it was just as quiet and dark. A light from the lower level illuminated part of the staircase, whereas the other end of the hallway was pitch-black. She didn’t hear Tank, so she assumed Malik had put him in the basement since he had mentioned it earlier.

  She glanced across the hall at Malik’s bedroom, his door slightly opened.

  Natasha brought her hand up to her mouth, her bottom lip folded between her teeth. She knew she was asking for trouble if she went to him in the middle of the night, but the need to be held was overriding all common sense.

  With one foot in front of the other, she approached his door and slowly pushed it open. He had showed her around upstairs, but with the darkness, she could barely see her hand in front of her face. A sliver of moonlight shone through the slats of the blinds, guiding her to the massive bed in the middle of the room.

  There wasn’t enough light for her to see him clearly, but it didn’t matter. She remembered every inch of his strong, enticing body. She licked her lips recalling how she dug her fingernails into his unbelievably broad shoulders the night he rocked her world. And she would never forget his wide chest, sprinkled with soft, dark hair perfect for running her fingers through.

  Natasha swallowed hard. Why was she torturing herself? Torturing herself with memories of making love with a man who didn’t want the same things she wanted? Marriage. Children. She asked herself the question, but she knew the answer. Malik had brought her more pleasure in one night than her own husband had brought her in all the years they were together. She shook her head knowing she should go back to her room, but she couldn’t. She wanted him. Right now, she needed him.

  Natasha stepped closer to the bed. Her heart lurched when her gaze landed on the spot where he’d been shot just below his ribcage during a mission in Afghanistan years earlier. She stretched out her hand, her fingers grazing the wound that had almost cost him his life.

  Malik bolted upright with his gun drawn.

  Natasha screamed when he grabbed her by the front of her T-shirt, the barrel of his gun between her eyes. Her heart slammed against her chest. Fear kept her from breathing. “Ma–Malik!” she cried, tears clouding her vision. “Please …”

  Malik released her and slapped his hand against the side table. Light illuminated the room.

  “What the hell?” he roared, his gun still drawn. “Are you crazy? You could have been killed!”

  Natasha stumbled back. Tripping over his shoes, she landed hard on her tailbone. Fear kept her moving. She shuffled her feet and scooted away from him until she hit a wall, unable to go any further, unable to breathe.

  Shit!

  Malik shoved his pistol into the side table drawer and leapt off the bed, not caring that he was only in his boxer briefs. The fog in his head barely lifted as he hurried toward Natasha, her eyes wild with panic, her arms flailing around.

  He dropped onto the floor and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. “Okay, baby, I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he said calmly near her ear, barely able to contain her as she fought against him, her chest heaving uncontrollably in full panic attack mode. “I need you to breathe for me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to catch her breath. “Come on, baby. Just breathe,” he repeated over and over again, showing her by going through the motions himself. “That’s it. In … and out.”

  Malik didn’t know how long he sat there with her, his back literally against the wall. She had finally calmed down, but still hadn’t spoken. He’d had enough heart-stopping moments in the last few hours to last him a lifetime. First the café shit and now this. His heart thumped wildly, remembering the look on her face. He wasn’t used to having anyone in the house, especially in his bedroom. He hated to be the cause of her panic attack.

  Natasha shifted in his arms, her head on his chest, her body molded against him. His body reacted to every move she made on his lap. The skimpy T-shirt covered her, but her soft curves were driving him crazy. Even considering her mental state, he wanted her more than he had ever wanted a woman before.

  “Have you ever had a panic attack before?” he asked, and placed a kiss on top of her head, willing his body to settle down.

  “Once.” She snuggled closer, her small hands gripping his upper arm. “During my residency. I hadn’t slept in three days and on one particular day there had been a ten-car pileup. The emergency room was like nothing I had ever experienced and we were literally running around trying to keep up.” She rubbed her forehead and Malik could feel the tension radiating from her body. “We had a code blue and um … a little boy went into cardiac arrest and I had … I had a panic attack.”

  Malik tightened his arms around her.

  “Thank God someone else was able to help him.” She sighed. “That day I almost gave up on my dream of being a doctor.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “More like who changed my mind.” She was silent for a moment. “I called home and told Marty what happened and he pretty much talked me down off the ledge so to speak.”

  Malik was glad Martin had been there for her, but the last thing he wanted was to hear anything about her ex-husband. Besides that, his legs were getting stiff.

  Instead of asking her to get up, he stood with her in his arms and set her on the bed. Sitting next her, he leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs.

  “Sorry about the gun. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.”

  He studied her solemn expression, the color slowly coming back into her cheeks. With all the activity over the past half hour, he hadn’t asked why she was in his room, not that he minded. The only thing was, it brought back memories of their night together, memories he wanted to repeat.

  “Sleeping with my gun is a force of habit,” he said, interlocking his fingers together and staring down at the floor. He needed to stop looking at her, stop thinking about all that he wanted to do to her and all of the positions he wanted them to try. Sitting in only his boxer briefs did nothing to hide his desire for her, and if she hadn’t already noticed his state of arousal, she would eventu
ally.

  She cleared her throat and fidgeted beside him. Trying to maintain some semblance of modesty, he kept his arms in front of him, but turned slightly to look at her.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just thinking about you sleeping with your gun.”

  He shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

  “But wouldn’t you prefer to sleep with a woman tonight?”

  Malik froze. It wasn’t often he was left speechless, but damn if she hadn’t caught him off guard. He turned fully, suddenly not caring if she noticed his erection. His gaze traveled from her disheveled hair hanging loosely around her shoulders to her gorgeous face, free of makeup. The T-shirt he’d given her to wear did nothing to hide her perky breasts, her nipples standing at attention, begging to be tweaked. Since the moment they stepped into his home, he’d been struggling to keep his hands to himself.

  He continued his inspection, zoning in on those smooth legs that he’d wanted to run his hands down all night. The thought of them wrapped around his waist took his erection to new lengths. And she had pretty feet. The hot red toenail polish coupled with the rest of her sexy ass body had his libido fully awake now.

  He leaned back on the bed, staring up at her. “In answer to your question … it would depend on the woman.” When he didn’t get a response or a reaction he asked, “So, why are you in my bedroom?”

  She fiddled with the tail of her T-shirt before meeting his gaze.

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  This day for Natasha had been like no other day in her life. Now, here she was, sitting in a man’s room, who she barely knew, trying to figure out how to tell him that she wanted him. She wanted him in all the ways a woman could want a man and she wasn’t sure how to proceed. And the way he was studying her, it didn’t appear that he would make this easy.

  “I thought … I thought if I came in here, then maybe … I’d be able to fall back to sleep.”

  He still didn’t say anything. Instead, he laid on his back and stretched, his long arms extending over the side of the bed. His sculpted body was displayed in a way where all she had to do was reach out and slide her hands down his dark skin. Unlike some women, her favorite body part of a man were his thighs, and Malik didn’t disappoint. Nice, solid, tree-trunk like thighs, with a light dusting of dark hair were calling out for her. If only she could run the tip of her fingers up the inside of his powerful thigh and … An involuntary tremor surged through her body as her gaze went higher, his thick shaft straining against his underwear. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one in need of sexual release.

  “There you go, checking me out again,” Malik said, jarring her from her inspection of his man parts. He climbed fully onto the bed, his back against the fabric-covered headboard, his legs spread apart. “C’mere.” He extended his hand and she accepted it, allowing him to pull her to him. Positioned between his legs, she was on her knees and they were face to face. Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears at their nearness. “Tell me what you want.” He cupped her cheek and she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.

  This man made her feel things that she couldn’t put a name to. Every nerve came alive when he was near, when he touched her. She couldn’t explain the sensation sparked by the tenderness of his fingers against her heated skin.

  His hand glided down the side of her face and he lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Tell me what you want,” he repeated. The velvet edge in his voice was as sexually stimulating as his touch.

  “You ... I want you.”

  With his hands cradling her face, he drew her closer, their lips only a breath apart.

  “And I want you.” His deep voice dripped like warm honey tantalizing her with unadulterated desire. He lowered his head and his mouth covered hers. His kiss was slow, thoughtful, and almost torturous.

  For months, Natasha wondered if she’d ever see him. Wondered if she would ever get to experience what it felt like to be in his strong, muscular arms again. And wondered if she’d ever feel him inside her, stroking her, stirring everything within her, making love to her.

  Malik pulled his mouth away from her lips and kissed the slender column of her throat, his heated breath caressing the sensitive area behind her ear. Her body tingled from the contact, goose bumps popping up on her arms. This is what she’d been missing the last three months. No actually, all of her adult life. When she was with him, he brought her senses to life like jumper cables to a dead battery, surging power to every cell in her body.

  “You have on way too many clothes,” he said, yanking on her T-shirt. His large hands slipped beneath it and he lifted the oversized garment over her head, allowing her bare breasts to burst free. His eyes brimmed with tenderness and passion, sending a flood of delight rising within her. “You’re absolutely breathtaking.” The huskiness of his voice was as much of a turn on as his hands and lips on her skin.

  He gently laid her on her back and hovered above her. She almost looked away as he boldly skimmed her body, but she couldn’t. His unwavering gaze met hers and had her rooted in place. Despite her desire for him to hurry and be inside of her. He would not be rushed.

  Malik cupped her breasts, gently kneading them, the pads of his thumbs caressing her sensitive buds. When he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth, Natasha swallowed hard. His tongue twirled around the harden peaks, sending wicked jolts of pleasure throughout every sensitive inch of her body. She moaned and her eyes drifted shut. Her nails dug into his shoulders at the pleasure he elicited, especially when he paid the other breast the same attention. Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more, he pulled her harden peak gently between his teeth, the euphoria pure and explosive. She wouldn’t have ever guessed that a man Malik’s size could display such tenderness, but she couldn’t take much more of the sweet torture. The ache between her thighs growing more intense.

  “Malik,” she whimpered.

  “I know, baby,” he murmured as if reading her mind, “but tonight I want to take my time and reacquaint myself with your body.”

  He stripped her of her lacy red panties, tossing them to the floor. Her pulse raced as his gaze roamed over her once again, as if cataloguing every curve and dip of her body. He made her feel things she had never felt with any other man and at that moment there was no one she’d rather be with.

  He moved to kiss her again. She placed her hands on his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. “You asked me what I wanted and I told you – I want you. I want you inside me…now.” Her throbbing sex had waited long enough. If he didn’t make a move soon, she was going to burst.

  Malik chuckled. “I like it when you tell me what you want.” He discarded his briefs, tossing them to the floor with her clothes. He leaned over her to grab a few condoms from his nightstand, keeping one and placing the rest on top. He sat back on his haunches, glanced at Natasha and caught her sizing up his rigid shaft. “There you go checking me out again,” he taunted, enjoying her appreciative gaze. “Do you like what you see?”

  A wanton smile slid across her lips. “As a matter of fact I do.” Her words dripped with seduction as she wrapped her soft hand around his erection, sliding up and down his length.

  Ahh shit.

  His eyes slammed shut and a surge of heat swept through his body like a roaring fire. He swallowed hard, crumbling the silver packet in his hand as her grip tightened around him. Natasha fondled and squeezed him with a mastery of a baker kneading dough, his length growing longer and harder with every stroke. When her thumb slid over the tip of his penis, he almost lost it.

  “Okay, okay, okay.” He grabbed her hand, trying to catch his breath. “Damn girl,” he said between shallow breaths. “I like that you’re not afraid to take matters into your own hands, but ….” His voice trailed off and he ripped the condom packet open with his teeth. To hell with taking it slow.

  He nudged her thighs apart. His hand slid over her flat stomach and didn’t stop until he reached the V between her thighs. He
dipped a finger inside her womanly folds. Wet and hot. “Oh yeah, you’re ready for me.” His mouth covered hers hungrily as he added yet another finger, sliding in and out of her. Deeper. Faster. Harder.

  She lurched against his hand and tore her lips from his. “Malik!” she cried and lifted her lower body off the bed, clawing at his back.

  The sexy sounds she made sent adrenaline rushing through his veins. His pulse pounded and his erection throbbed with need, needing to be inside her.

  Malik removed his finger and gripped her butt, pulling her toward him. He eased into her sweet heat. Inch … by inch, by excruciating inch, giving her body a chance to adjust to his size. He’d swear he heard angels singing when he entered her. Her tightness wrapped around him like a snug-fitting glove. She moved beneath him, her muscles contracting around his shaft as he buried himself deeper inside of her.

  Balanced above her, his weight supported by his hands and arms on either side of her body, Malik pressed his mouth to hers. Natasha draped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a hunger that matched his own. This is what he missed. Three long months since he’d last had her, and not a day had gone by that he didn’t think about how sexually combustible they were together.

  She felt so damn good. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hang on much longer. Especially with the way her tongue tangled with his, spurring him to thrust faster, harder. Their bodies moved in perfect sync with each other

  When an acute surge of adrenaline hit him, Malik pulled his mouth from hers. “Natasha,” he growled, his movements more jerky, his grip on her hips tighter.

  A whimper slipped through her lips with every thrust and Malik could feel her nearing her release. Like her, he was barely hanging on.

  “Malik!” She screamed and jerked against him violently, her nails digging into his arms as his explosive release followed right behind her.

  Malik collapsed on top of her, but quickly rolled to his side, taking her with him. It was a while before either of them could speak.