by Donna Hill
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like nothing better.”
She pressed her lips to his, drawing on his warmth and strength, relishing in the feel of his body so close to hers. She needed to be sure that the exquisite sensations she’d felt the night before were not imagined, she thought as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt.
Her fingers trailed across his chest reacquainting herself with the texture of his skin, the feel of his mouth against her lips, her neck, reliving the electric currents that rippled up and down her spine when he caressed her breasts.
She moaned in delight when he loosened the tie on her sweatpants and his probing, talented fingers found their way into her panties to taunt her clit until it was hard and throbbing, sending shivers of longing running through her veins. She gasped when his finger slid up inside her, and pleasured her long and slow.
Her thigh muscles tightened as he kept up the teasing, faster, slower, faster, then back to her clit, then in and out again. Her heart was racing so fast she could barely breathe.
Alex moved away from her and she shuddered, instantly missing the thrill of his touch. He pulled her pants and panties off and tossed them on the floor then lifted her shirt over her head and unfastened her bra, discarding them both. For a moment he let his eyes feast on her incredible body, soft, warm and hard in all the right places.
He started at her lips, then her neck then suckled each breast until she thought she’d faint. He trailed down her stomach, licking and nibbling her until he reached the dark warmth, the treasure between her thighs. His mouth nuzzled her there and she moaned with pleasure, but when his touch laved her swollen, pulsing clit she grabbed the sheets in a death grip and nearly sobbed.
His tender, probing exploration sent rivers of fire running through her. She shook, trembled, begged him to stop, to go on, to give her more, less…yes…no…yes!!
“Ahhhh.” Her body rocked and bucked as if electrified and Alex kept the pressure up until she was wilted and totally spent.
“You okay?” he whispered as she snuggled against him.
“I’ll never be quite the same.” She caressed his shoulders. “No one has ever…”
“Good, then I’m glad the first time was with me.”
“Can it stay that way?”
“For as long as you want it.”
He gathered her to him and held her close, wishing that moments like this would be untarnished. They both had issues to deal with, things that would change them, but as long as they stood firm and together they could beat the odds. That he was certain of.
Chapter 36
“You told him?” Charisse asked.
“Of course I told him.” Stephanie examined her nails. “You wouldn’t have said anything to me if you didn’t want it to get back to him.”
Charisse sat down on the side of the bed. “So what happened?”
“He was livid to say the least. I rarely see David out of control but he was definitely pissed. He’d been like a raging bull around the whole team. We were glad to get rid of him.”
“Get rid of him. Why? What happened?”
“He got on a flight to New York this morning. Said he was going to straighten the whole thing out.” She smiled. “And if I know David, Kelly will no longer be a problem for you and Alex. If, of course, that’s what you really want.”
Charisse closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. The beginnings of another major headache loomed. They’d been coming more frequently lately. She attributed them to the personal stress that she was under.
“Well, aren’t you going to say thank you?” Stephanie asked.
“Sorry. Thanks.”
“Gee, cuz, don’t sound so enthused. Now you can go after your man full steam ahead with no obstacles.”
“I decided not to go through with it.”
“Humph, wish I would have known,” she said, totally unmoved by the news. “I would have saved my little bombshell for some other time. Oh well.”
“Listen, I’m going to lie down. My head is killing me. Thanks for calling and for trying to help.”
“Anytime, you know you can count on me. Take care and take something for that headache.”
Charisse hung up. She knew Stephanie meant well, but her way of going about things were really out in left field. She was different somehow, more edgy, wired. Stephanie had always been the more gregarious of the two but this was a different element. Sometimes talking to her it was as if she no longer knew who she was.
She stretched out on the bed and shut her eyes praying that the pounding in her head would go away.
It was almost midnight by the time David’s flight landed at Atlanta’s Hatfield Airport. It had cost him a pretty penny to change his ticket and finagle his way onto a return flight at the last minute.
Maybe he should have stayed, he thought as he got in the taxi, and found a way to make Kelly see the light and break things off with the good doctor. Just the idea of the two of them together had him seeing red. But he’d have her back under control in short order or she would be ruined and she’d have no one to blame besides herself. His main goal now was a winning team. And he could have that with Stephanie.
Thinking about her made him hot. He knew it was foolish to get involved with her but he couldn’t seem to shake her loose. He couldn’t get enough of what she offered. It was like an addiction and every time they were together it was more mind-blowing than the last time. Her stamina was unbelievable.
“Driver, make a left at the next corner.” He smiled to himself. A romp with Stephanie was just what he needed to take the edge off and his mind away from Kelly.
The taxi pulled up in front of Stephanie’s town house. The lights were on. Good, she was still up. David paid the driver and got out.
Before he could ring the front doorbell the door was pulled open. Stephanie stood in the frame with a long, off-white silk robe, partially opened. She had nothing on underneath.
“Why, Coach Livingston, what a pleasant surprise.” She licked her lips. “Is there something you needed?”
He stepped up to her and roughly grabbed her around the waist, pulling her hard up against him. “Yes,” he said from between his teeth. He reached down between her legs. “This.”
“Ooh, Coach, I think we should take this inside. We may cause a scene.”
They stepped in and David kicked the door shut behind them.
After a rousing session, David and Stephanie lay back on her queen-size bed sipping wine.
“I really didn’t expect you back so soon. You only left this morning,” Stephanie said, draping her leg across both of his. She played with his earlobe.
“Took care of things sooner than I expected.” He could never tell her or anyone about the kind of relationship that he and Kelly shared over the years, especially now that it was basically over. And now that she was determined to sever her ties with him.
“I’m sure she was surprised to see you.”
He didn’t respond.
“Well, was she?”
He pushed her leg off him and got up. “Does it matter?”
Stephanie sat up in the bed and stared at his back. “What happened between the two of you?”
“It doesn’t concern you, Stephanie.”
“Doesn’t concern me!” Her head snapped back as if she’d been slapped. She rose up on her knees. “I’m the woman you’re sleeping with, the one you came straight back to.” Her voice rose in pitch and volume. “I’m the one that told you what was going on with your precious, do-no-wrong Kelly. And now it doesn’t concern me.”
David spun around and was stunned by the wild look in her eyes. “Take it easy. And no it does not concern you. What went on between me and Kelly stays between me and Kelly. End of story.�
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Suddenly she sprung up from the bed and slapped him across his face. “You bastard. You slept with her didn’t you!” She went at him with nails bared.
David grabbed her by the wrist and tried to push her back down on the bed but she fought him like a woman possessed.
“You’re not going to do this to me! You’re not going to treat me like this.” She swung and kicked, screaming at the top of her lungs. She wrestled one hand free and scratched him across the face.
David howled. Her nails felt like razors. He put her in a headlock until she gasped for air. “Don’t make me hurt you,” he said, breathing hard.
Her eyes bulged as she struggled to breathe. Slowly he released her and eased up off the bed.
Stephanie grabbed her throat, stumbled to her feet and ran for the bathroom. David listened to the rushing water in the sink while he got dressed. She was crazy. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten involved with her, but this was totally out of control. He had to put a stop to it and now.
She came out of the bathroom. Her eyes were red and even at the distance between them he could see the bruising around her neck.
He stood up. “Look.” He ran his hand across his head. “This is not going to continue. I don’t know what your problem is but—”
“My problem?” She tossed her head back and laughed. “I’m not the one with the problem, David. It’s you. She has you so twisted you can’t see straight.” She stormed across the room and refilled her glass, downed the wine and refilled it again. She sniffed hard then turned to face him. “Did you sleep with her?” This time her question was more a plea than an accusation. She pressed her lips tightly together.
For a moment she looked incredibly vulnerable, David thought, as if she had warm blood running through her veins and really cared about someone other than herself. Not Stephanie Daniels. Don’t even fall for it.
“No, I didn’t. Satisfied?”
She lowered her head and actually looked sheepish. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
David knew he wasn’t hearing right. Did Stephanie just apologize?
“Forget it. Look, why don’t you take a few days off from training. Relax.”
She sniffed. “Yeah, sure.” She turned away. “I’m tired.”
David straightened, drew in a long breath. He walked up to her but she didn’t turn around. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about what happened tonight.”
Stephanie nodded her head but didn’t offer more of a response. She stood there until she heard the door shut.
He was not going to ignore her. She opened a new bottle of wine. He was not going to toss her aside for Kelly Maxwell. She wouldn’t let it happen. She refilled her glass.
Chapter 37
“I was thinking about our talk yesterday,” Kelly was saying as she stood at the sink brushing her teeth.
Alex leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, loving every minute of watching her walk around in the nude.
“What part?”
“The part about me going back to Atlanta.”
“Oh.”
“I really don’t want to wait until I get the okay from Dr. Logan.” She rinsed her mouth and turned around, resting her hip on the side of the sink.
“You can’t be serious. There’s no telling what damage you might do to your ankle if—”
“I didn’t mean for good.” She saw the lines of concern slip away from his tight expression. She smiled. “I thought I would go back for a couple of days just to get my papers together and come back. I want to finish my rehab here and I want to continue with my classes. They’ll be finished soon. And I want to stick with my counselor here at least until I can find someone back in Atlanta.”
Alex nodded in understanding.
“I really want to go over my contracts and…I was hoping you would go over them with me.”
“Of course. I can get my lawyer to take a look if you want.”
“One step at a time. Okay?”
He held up his hand. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. It’s the man in me, just wants to jump in and fix it.”
They laughed.
“So what do you think?”
He stepped up to her, reached out and wiped a spot of toothpaste away from the corner of her mouth. “I think I’m very proud of you.” He slid his fingers through the back of her hair and drew her toward him. “And I think I’m falling in love with you.”
She drew in a breath and it stuck for a moment in her chest. “When do you think you’ll know for sure?” she asked slowly.
“One day at a time,” he answered. “It becomes clearer and stronger one day at a time.” He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.
Kelly wrapped her arms around him and melted into his embrace, and silently hoped that the days came fast and furious.
“Do you have someone to meet you?” Alex asked as they drove to the airport two days later.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll take a cab to my house.”
“I really wish I could go with you, but I have two surgeries this week.”
“Stop worrying. I’ll be fine.”
“I just don’t want you there alone. No telling how David is going to react when you see him.”
“I can handle David.”
“Call me when you arrive.”
“I will.”
He pulled up to the departure gate, got out and helped her with her bag.
Kelly grabbed his hand. “I don’t want you to worry. I’m going to be fine and I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know. And I promise to try not to worry.”
“Good.” She reached up and kissed him for a long moment. When she eased away she said, “There’s more where that came from when I get back.”
He grinned. “I’ll be counting the hours.”
She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I think I’m falling in love with you, too, one day at a time.” She turned and walked into the terminal before he could respond.
Alex stood on the curb for several moments trying to keep her in sight for as long as possible until the crowd swallowed her up.
Reluctantly he got back in his car, her parting words reverberating in his head. Things were going to work out between them. He felt it in his gut. Yet, the sooner she got back the better he would feel.
The flight to Atlanta was pretty uneventful. Kelly spent most of it drifting in and out of a light sleep with images of her and Alex making for pleasant dreams. When she’d told him how she felt about him it was liberating. She’d never confessed that to anyone, never came close. Of course there were obstacles that they would have to overcome but she was willing and had walked into it with her eyes wide open.
Alex, though protective, didn’t smother her or make her feel inadequate. If anything he wanted her empowered, to be as strong as she could be. That was important. It’s what gave her the impetus to finally fight her inner battles and believe that she could win. No matter what happened between her and Alex from here on out, she would always be grateful to him for that.
Wow, she was in love. She smiled to herself. She didn’t just think it, she knew it and she was loved back for the first time in her life.
When she departed the plane and went to the exit, she quickly donned her baseball cap and pulled it low over her brow. She may not be a readily recognizable face in the hustle and flow of New York, but her hometown of Atlanta was a different story. She wanted to get to her place and behind the sanctuary of her closed doors without being accosted by news-hungry photographers.
When she stepped outside and back on familiar territory, she drew in a deep breath of warm southern air. It was good to be back. She made her way to the taxi line, waited her turn for the
next available cab and before she knew it she was pulling up in front of her house.
Kelly went from room to room turning on lights and opening windows to air out the spaces. Once she had some circulation going, she went to her bedroom, took off her sneakers and put her feet up. She leaned down and massaged her ankle, pleased that it didn’t ache and wasn’t in the least bit swollen. What a relief.
She reached for the phone and it rang in her hand.
“Hello?”
“I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss you until you were actually gone.”
She leaned back against the stack of bed pillows and smiled.
“I hear missing a person is a good thing.”
“Not from this end. How was your flight, baby?”
“Smooth for the most part. I slept the majority of the time. How did surgery go?”
“Good. Both of my patients will feel like new money in a few weeks.”
She chuckled at the analogy. “Well, I just got in and aired the place out a little.”
“So you haven’t had a chance to get your papers together?”
“Actually they’re not here.”
“What do you mean? You keep them in a safety deposit box or something?”
“No.” She hesitated. “David has all of the contracts.”
He spewed out an expletive and Kelly cringed.
“I wish you would have told me that before you left, Kelly. I would have moved hell and high water to be there with you.”
“It will be fine. I promise.”
He blew out a breath. “I don’t like it. But there isn’t much that I can do about it from here. You just hurry up and take care of your business so you can come back here.”
“Yes, sir.” She giggled.
“Very funny.” He paused. “This afternoon…when you left…did you mean what you said at the airport?”
“Every word,” she said without hesitation.
“Yeah, me, too,” he said.