“I - I didn’t have time to get ready this morning. Didn’t want to be late,” I explained, once I gathered enough courage to pull away from him.
He nodded, then asked, “Late night?”
I blushed. It was really none of his business, and the answer was not as scandalous as I’m sure he wanted it to be. In truth, I had been up late, because Alice had come home crying from her ice skating lesson. The Knight sisters were both tough. Neither of us cried often. So when I saw the pink, puffy splotches on her face, I knew something terrible had happened.
After some persistent prodding, Alice finally revealed to me that she had a crush on an older boy who worked at the ice rink. She said she’d been nursing this infatuation for months, and she was finally almost ready to tell him-- until yesterday. It was his day off, and he came in with a beautiful girl, a gymnast on the Saint Seraphina school team. Poor Alice was devastated to find out that the object of her affections was dating a girl who routinely bullied her at school.
So the two of us hunkered down on the couch to share a pint of ice cream and watch old black-and-white movies until Alice finally got tired of crying and fell asleep around one in the morning. Even after I covered her in a blanket, laid out her clothes for the next morning, and kissed her on the forehead, I still couldn’t fall asleep.
I sat in bed, thinking about how overwhelming it all was-- trying to raise a teenage girl all on my own. It was hard enough keeping her fed, clothed, and healthy. But now I had to contend with all kinds of crazy hormone stuff, too? I hadn’t even known about her crush until after it, well, crushed her. I lay awake for hours lamenting how unprepared I was, how insufficient my parenting was. I needed help, but there was no one left but me. I was lonely and afraid and I wanted - no, needed - someone to listen to me, to understand how hard I was trying. And more than anything, I needed a distraction. I needed a break.
But I couldn’t tell Marc any of that. I would never have expected him to understand. Besides, Alice would have been mortified if anyone else found out about her momentary weakness. She, like Marc, preferred for everyone to see her as tough and invincible.
So I simply said, “Yes. It was.”
“Me, too,” he replied.
“Are you ready to get some work done today?” I asked, fumbling through my bag for his chart and some print-outs I’d made yesterday.
“What do you have in store for me?” he rumbled, his voice deep and predatory. I bit my lip, feeling something like trouble, like danger, was fast approaching the both of us.
As soon as I turned around, before I could even say a single word in response, his hands were on me. His fingers clawed at my shoulders, his lips capturing mine in a hard, desperate kiss.
I knew I should fight him off. I knew I was supposed to hit him, scratch him, tell him no. Scream at him. Scream for help. But instead… I simply melted into his touch. I couldn’t stop myself. Adrenaline shot through my veins like the long-awaited hit of a powerful, irresistible drug. Every nerve was blazing, every synapse firing rapidly. Marc’s huge, calloused hands roved down my shoulders, my back, one of them falling to grip my ass while the other reached up to tangle in my hair. I sighed into his mouth, his sensual lips moving passionately against mine.
He wanted me. I could feel his impatience, his animalistic need to possess me, pumping through every collision of our bodies. Marc pushed his tongue into my mouth and I accepted it greedily, moaning into the kiss as my eyes shut and I released myself completely to the moment. There was no stopping this now. There was no turning back. I had no idea how we’d gotten here, how I’d allowed myself to fall into this trap. But god, it felt so right. And I was so lonely. I hadn’t been touched this way in years - not since that abominable Dr. Warren coerced me into bed with him.
This was different. This time… I wanted it, too. More than anything. I had seen it coming, maybe, from a distance. But I hadn’t thought ahead, hadn’t considered it a reality until it was too late. I should have known I would want him just as he wanted me. How could I resist? He was so strong, so powerful. Marc Montoya could move me in ways no other man could.
And he did.
In one swift movement he lifted me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. He kissed me again and again, his lips nipping and sucking a trail down my cheek, along my jaw line, to my sensitive neck. His teeth grazed along my collarbone, making me dig my fingernails into his back. Suddenly, we both needed to feel each other-- bare skin on bare skin.
Marc ripped my tank top up over my head, my pink sports bra following suit. Then he pulled off his own thin, black workout shirt. I gasped, revelling at the hard, chiselled muscles of his chest and stomach. Even though I had seen them outlined beneath his clothing before, nothing could have prepared me for how remarkable and superhuman he looked now.
And god, he was so strong. He carried me over to hold me up against the wall, his fingers rushing to pull off my shoes, then to tug down my leggings. When he pulled them over my feet and dropped them aside, his breath caught sharply and he let out a possessive growl.
I blushed, realizing that in my haste to get here in time this morning I’d not only foregone makeup, I had forgotten to put on panties, too. I was stark naked, my creamy white breasts and pale pink nipples on display, and my dripping cunt exposed in front of this beautiful, powerful man. Marc tore off the rest of his clothes in a hurry.
My jaw dropped at the sight of his massive, rock-hard manhood jutting out between us. Unable to stop myself, I reached out to caress its silky pink head and he rolled against my touch, groaning in approval. I dropped to my knees instantly, pulling his long, hard length into my mouth until the tip brushed the back of my throat. Marc’s hands tangled in my hair and he pushed into me, barely holding back. But he didn’t let me take control for long, as he lifted me up in one easy movement and pinned me against the wall again, his cock hard against my thigh.
“God, I need to feel you,” he breathed into my ear, his voice ragged.
“Please,” I murmured softly. His hands groped at my breasts, tweaking my nipples between his fingers until they stiffened, sending spirals of pleasure down into my core.
Marc rutted up against me, letting one of his hands fall to that damp, aching spot between my legs. Just as he caught my lips in a kiss, he began to stroke my clit, causing me to cry out into his mouth and rock into his hand. His finger circled faster and faster, drawing me into higher and higher plateaus of ecstasy. Just before I could climax, he stopped.
I whimpered and he sank his teeth into my neck, sucking on the soft skin there until it bruised, like a red rose blooming in spring. I was limp and obedient in his hands-- totally enthralled by his every touch. Before, he had been at my mercy, and now I was at his. Clearly our work together was paying off, since he hadn’t once flinched during this whole time.
He was showing off, almost back to his former glory, and I wanted to know just how strong he was. I wanted to see what this beast of a man had to offer. I didn’t care if he broke me in two-- I needed to witness the unbridled power he’d been keeping back all along.
I wanted to feel his power, let him handle me however he desired.
“Oh, please, please,” I whispered.
“You want me to fuck you,” he growled, and it was more of a statement than a question.
“God, yes,” I replied, breathing hard. And with that, he angled the head of his cock against my slick opening and thrust inside of me. I cried out and clung to him desperately, my body trembling. It had been so, so long since I last had a man inside me. And nothing had ever felt as good, as liberating, as this.
Marc lifted me up, wrapping my legs around him and pinning my arms against the wall as he pounded into me with abandon. His mouth fell open and he groaned with pleasure, rearing back to slam into my pussy hard, striking that deep, delicious place again and again until I was seeing stars.
I cried out when my climax came thundering through me, and he covered my mouth with his hand, not wanting anyone to hear u
s. I couldn’t have cared less in the moment. It wouldn’t have mattered if the whole gym had walked into the room right then, I was so caught up in the waves of ecstasy shaking my body.
Marc’s sheer strength held me captive against the wall, his cock spearing me again and again, the rhythm picking up pace until he was nearly jackhammering into my cunt. He was losing control, and I wanted him to. I needed to feel his release.
“Come for me, baby,” I whispered, not sure where that kind of talk even came from. I was always somewhat of a prude growing up, and I had never before felt so sexy and free.
“You want it, don’t you?” he murmured, his hands falling to grasp at my hips, moving me back and forth, up and down on his cock.
“Yes, give it to me,” I replied breathily, as my second climax hurtled toward me.
With one final thrust, Marc growled his pleasure and dug his fingers into my hips, spilling his seed deep inside of me. My own orgasm followed a half-second later, and I could feel my cunt pulsing around his shaft.
Slowly, we both slid to the floor, still tangled up in each other. He pulled out of me and leaned forward to rest his forehead on mine, both of us panting heavily. As the cloud of lust evaporated and reality began to settle back in, we both tensed up and looked at each other. There was a question in his eyes I know he must have seen reflected in mine, too…
Where the hell do we go from here?
CHAPTER 11 - GEMMA
“Gem, get up. Don’t you have to be at work today?” asked a quiet, concerned voice at the door. I turned over in bed and pulled a pillow over my head, trying to pretend the day was not happening yet. I wasn’t even remotely ready to take on the dreaded physio appointment scheduled for just an hour from now. I was almost certainly going to be late for that. Normally, by this time of morning, I would have already bounced up out of bed and breezed through most of my morning routine. But today, all I wanted to do was call in sick.
“Are you even alive in there? Do I need to call an ambulance? Did you die?” Alice half-joked from the hallway. I could clearly picture her leaning into the door, rolling her eyes. It was somewhat encouraging to know that if anything did happen to me, Alice would certainly notice and care. I almost wished something had happened to me. Anything to give me a reason not to go to work today.
“That’s it, I’m coming in,” she concluded, and before I could stop her, the door creaked open and Alice bounded into the room. She jumped on the bed, nearly landing directly on top of me, giggling and trying to tickle me.
“Stop! Stop! I’m awake! I just… don’t want to be,” I sighed, sitting up in bed and batting Alice with a pillow gently. She was already dressed in her school uniform, her blonde hair tied back in two little buns.
She cocked her head to the side and gave me a pitying look. “What’s wrong? Are you sick or something?”
“No. I wish I was. That would be easier to deal with,” I replied heavily, rubbing my temples. I leaned back against the headboard and pulled the covers up to my neck.
Alice snuggled into the bed beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I was too distracted to even wince at the fact that her shoes were on the bed. She put an arm around me and asked genuinely, “Is it something to do with that guy you’ve been working with?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Did he try anything else on you? Get fresh with you? I can totally stab him with my ice skates if you need me to. They’re really sharp,” she suggested, smiling.
“Nah. I don’t wanna hurt him,” I said.
Suddenly Alice leaned around to peer into my face, searching it for answers in the dim light of early morning. Her eyes got round and big and she gasped. “You like him, don’t you?”
Oh God. She’d figured it out. Well, somewhat. I didn’t know if I really liked him so much as I liked fucking him. I loved feeling his muscular body hold me up, control me, pound into me like nobody ever had before…
“I knew it! I knew this would happen!” Alice exclaimed, sounding a little angry. She hopped off the bed and flipped on the lamp, causing me to flinch at the sudden light. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently, pursing her lips at me. Uh oh.
“What? What are you doing?” I said, feeling very self-conscious. I did not like being interrogated and judged by my fifteen-year-old sister.
Alice threw up her hands in frustration. “This is just like before! With that guy in physical therapy school! That older guy with the weird hair who kept pestering you to date him. You didn’t even really like him, Gemma, and you went out with him anyway! Even though I could tell he was a bad guy, and I was only twelve!” she said, stomping her foot.
I blushed, feeling like an idiot. When you spelled it all out like that, I did sound like a bumbling dumbass. But it was more complicated than she made it sound… wasn’t it? And this thing with Marc, that was different… wasn’t it?
“That’s enough,” I mumbled, not in the mood to be scolded by this little girl.
“No, it’ll never be enough. Gem, you can’t let these awful guys wiggle their way into your heart anymore, okay? I love you too much to watch you get hurt again. The way that older guy treated you… that was scary. I just don’t want that to happen again,” Alice said, her words tumbling out in a rush. She took a deep breath, and I could see that she wasn’t just nagging me to make me feel bad. She was truly worried about me. And that broke my heart a little. I was the adult here; I was supposed to worry about her, not the other way around.
I got out of bed and hugged Alice close, holding her for a long moment. Finally she reciprocated and wrapped her arms around me, too. I could tell that she wanted to stay tough, to be the no-nonsense voice of reason she thought I needed. But in the end, she was just a kid-- a scared little kid.
I felt horrible for bringing that kind of fear into her life. I was supposed to be setting a good example for her, not showing her what not to do. Some kind of role model I was.
“I promise I’m not gonna let anyone hurt me like that again. And I’m sorry for freaking you out, Alice,” I told her solemnly. She pushed back and looked into my face, a smile finally appearing on her lips. She nodded her approval.
“Okay. I don’t mean to be all tough love, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, ya know?” she said, shrugging. I laughed and playfully shoved her away.
“Uh-huh. Well, go finish up getting ready for school. You don’t wanna miss the bus.”
“Hey, I’m not the one still in pyjamas!” she accused, poking her tongue out at me as she walked out the door down the hallway.
She was right. I looked at the clock. I had less than forty-five minutes to get ready and get all the way to The Fighting Chance in time for my appointment with Marc. I sighed and reluctantly started getting dressed. I would have to forego a shower today, but whatever. Maybe if I didn’t smell as much like flowers and sunshine, he wouldn’t be so into me. That might make it easier to resist fucking him again, knowing that I wasn’t squeaky-clean and fresh.
But deep down I knew that it wouldn’t matter if we both walked into that room covered in mud and smelling to high heaven - we would still want to jump each other’s bones.
I ran a comb through my hair, put on a quick swipe of lip gloss and mascara, and headed out the door, waving goodbye to Alice as I went. She blew me a kiss and a salute, in typical silly Alice fashion. I had to be strong, for her sake as well as mine. Trina said it herself, Marc Montoya was bad news. I couldn’t afford to put my reputation and career on the line just for a hot lay with a MMA fighter. No matter how good it felt, how utterly right it seemed in the moment, it was still wrong for me to get involved with a patient like this. I’d have to put a stop to it before it got any further.
So when I walked into The Fighting Chance exactly one minute late, I was already steeling myself for the awkwardness of the century. I wondered nervously how Marc would act when I came in. Would he be feeling the same regret I felt? Or even worse, what if he tried to sle
ep with me again?
I gulped. God, I hoped I would be strong enough to turn him down, to resist temptation.
But when I stepped into the physiotherapy room, he was seated on the bench along the wall, just staring at the floor. He looked more sombre than I’d ever seen him before. He was always brooding, always a little serious. But today the look on his handsome face was almost sorrowful. At the sound of my entrance, Marc glanced up at me.
“Good morning,” I said, trying to strike a balance between chipper, but not too chipper. I needed to find a tone which indicated I was happy to be here, but not that kind of happy. I didn’t know how to return to normal. There had never really been a ‘normal’ between us, had there?
“Hey,” he said shortly, standing up to his full height. As usual, I was stunned by his immense size. Immediately, my mind flashed back to the feeling of being pressed against that hard, powerful frame, his hands groping and caressing every inch of me…
Stop it, Gemma, I told myself inwardly. I had to find a way to eradicate those thoughts from my mind. It was going to be impossible to get anything done, to continue the rest of our sessions together, if I spent the whole time fantasizing about his hard cock inside of me.
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