by Christina OW
“Aha. Coward.”
Reno paid the check and they quietly walked back to their apartment. The night was so cool and wonderful that she didn’t mind the silence. But when it followed them into the apartment, the silence became uncomfortable. They stood in the small living room, secretly stealing glances at each other. The last time Loraine had done something like this was in junior high after a really bad date with the son of her father’s friend. It was so ridiculous it made her laugh.
“Okay, I’ll ah, just get ready for bed.” She turned around and was about to go into the bedroom when his hand wrapped around her wrist.
“Wait.”
She turned around to face him. “Yes?”
He released her, pocketing his hands in his khaki shorts. “I should explain the blonde thing.”
“You really don’t have to.” She bit down a smile when he exhaled, visibly relieved. “But,” she moved to the couch and sat down, patting the spot next to her, “I have a feeling this is going to be great.”
His eyes narrowed at her. “Wow, I can’t wait to share my problems with such an understanding and loving friend,” he said sarcastically.
“Aw, that’s so sweet. But you have the wrong friend.” She patted the spot again. “Sit and share your embarrassing story with me and I promise not to ridicule you…much.” Loraine burst out laughing then quickly covered her mouth with her hand to smother it when he made a noise that sounded like a growl at her. “Okay. I’m sorry. I will try to be understanding about your need to date blonde blue eyed bimbos.”
Reno dropped heavily down next to her. “If you haven’t noticed you are blonde and blue eyed.”
“No I’m—” Loraine quickly stopped herself before she blundered. She was blonde and blue eyed, had been for the past eight years and would remain one for as long as she lived. She pulled her legs up onto the couch, and tucked them under her to keep from hugging her knees to her chest. “I’m not a bimbo.”
Reno reached up and rubbed a lock of her hair between his fingers before he brushed it over her shoulder and dropped his hand. Loraine’s belly somersaulted at his touch. God she was like a giddy teenager around him!
“No, you are too astute—with two degrees, both you haven’t put to use yet—to be a bimbo.”
She punched him playfully in his side. “Start talking.”
She noticed how stormy his eyes suddenly got, as his jaw clenched. The arm that a moment ago had been casually draped over the couch grew taunt as he clenched and unclenched his fist. His playful mood was gone and whatever it was he was silently debating, clearly angered him.
“Georgia, my wife, is blonde and blue eyed.”
“Wife!” she blurted out, making him jump. “You’re married!”
Reno looked as surprised as she was which was stupid! She was the one who just found out she was coveting a married man! Damn it!
“I thought you knew that. Didn’t Riana tell you?”
Loraine groaned. She couldn’t believe her luck! The man was married! The only guy she really liked more than she ever thought possible was already hitched. Riana had a lot to answer for!
She buried her face in her hands and groaned again, “Why me?”
“Lori…”
Her head shot up. “Don’t call me that!” she punched him in the chest which hurt her more than him. She rubbed her knuckles as she ranted at him. “How could you kiss me, how could you almost…almost…” Why the hell couldn’t she say it, she wasn’t a high collared prude!
“Almost make love to you?” he filled in, reaching for her abused hand.
Loraine narrowed her eyes to slits when she saw the smile in his face. She slapped his hand away from hers. “Are you laughing at me?”
She shoved off the couch but quickly fell into his lap when Reno pulled her back. She fought to get off him but he wrapped his arms around her caging her to him.
“Hold on, blondie, and let me finish,” he said laughingly.
Loraine tried to pull his arm away. It surprised her every time how large this guy was. She couldn’t even wrap her hand around his wrist. “Finish telling me—”
“That my divorce went through a week ago.”
She went still, turning her head to the side to look at him. “Divorce?”
He chuckled, lifting her and placing her on the couch next to him. “Yes, now will you please shut up and let me finish my depressing story?”
She made a zipper gesture over her lips and sat back against the corner of the couch though she really wanted to shout her relief.
“We were married almost four years ago. I fancied myself in love with her, fell hook line and sinker for her. A few weeks after the wedding, she ran off with a guest and I haven’t seen her since.”
As relieved as she was that Reno was a free agent, she felt sorry for him. She wasn’t quite sure how she would react if someone she loved betrayed her like that.
“Did she at least tell you why?”
He snorted, his lips curling in a sneer. “Take a guess.”
She nodded in understanding. “Money.”
“I got a taste of what my mother felt when the man she loved betrayed her for Albury’s Place.”
Loraine moved to sit closer to him until she was right under his shoulder of his raised arm. “You renamed the resort?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side then he lifted her legs onto his lap and slide off her heels. Loraine just watched him, waiting patiently for him to answer, her legs tingling from his touch as he moved his fingers lazily up and down their lengths, from toe to mid-thigh. If he was trying to distract her so that they could stop having this discussion, he was doing a great job of it.
His hand stilled between her thighs and she fought the urge to press them tightly together, trapping it there as her mind conjured up images that were not appropriate at the moment. She looked at his face, wondering if he knew what he was doing to her but he was somber, his eyes reflecting his sadness. Hell! He didn’t even know he was turning her on which made her feel like a lousy friend. A horny, lousy friend.
“Instead of selling, I changed its name. He wanted to pass on a legacy and I wanted a new start. I was grateful for the resort and it came at a time when I really needed it. And considering what he caused, it was the least he could do.”
Loraine played with the buttons of his shirt, opened to right below his pectoral muscles. “Why? Is it because of your mom?”
His face dropped for just a moment before he forced a smile. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “That’s a story for another day. Come on let’s go to bed.”
Loraine got a little nervous when he said that, but judging by his sad mood he wasn’t interested in any hanky panky. “Okay, I’ll just go get ready.”
She pulled away from him and walked around the couch to the bedroom. She stopped by the door and watched him for a minute.
His head was bowed and shoulders hunched over like he was suddenly extremely exhausted. That’s when she realized Reno was always there to help carry everyone else’s burden when they needed him. But who helped him carry his burden? Who does he have to lean on when everything gets too much for him to handle, too heavy to carry or even contemplate carrying?
“Me. I’ll help him,” she whispered determinedly to herself before she moved into the room.
* * * *
Loraine was startled awake by a sharp pain in her lower back. She was having one of her very few peaceful nights and it came to an abrupt end when Reno kicked her in the back. She turned around to face him, wincing at the pain.
“Jerk ass, you kicked me!” her voice heavy with sleep.
“No…mama…” the words came out in a whisper but she could hear the pain in his voice loud and clear. She never thought the tables would turn and she would be on the receiving end of a bad nightmare.
She reached out for him in the dark and her hand landed on his shoulder. “Reno, wake up.”
He thrashed harder,
his cries growing louder. Loraine quickly sat up in bed and turned on the bed side lamp, flooding the room with low light. She looked down at Reno and sucked in a startled breath.
His body was wet with perspiration; even the light sheets were plastered to his belly. It was a hot night and she’d opted to sleep in the t-shirt he’d loaned her the night before and he slept with only his boxers after teasing her about wanting to sleep nude but being afraid she would take advantage of him while he slept. It was difficult to believe that the teasing man from a few hours ago was the same one thrashing next to her, his face contoured in agony as he cried for his mother. It frightened her.
This was the man who was to give her strength to fight her demons. It was difficult watching him suffer his own. The irony, a case of the blind leading the blind…
Unable to stand it anymore, she shook him harder and yelled, “Reno wake up!”
“No, mama!” he screamed, vaulting up to a sitting position. Loraine jumped back against the headboard and quietly watched his trembling wet back, his breathes coming harsh and heavy. He looked around the room, his eyes moving over her like she was invisible, and then he got out of bed and rushed out of the room.
Loraine wasn’t sure what she was to do. Should she let him deal with it alone or should she go to him?
He never leaves me alone when I have a nightmare.
She remembered waking up in his arms as he rocked her, whispering soothingly to her until the nightmare faded away and she felt safe again. Loraine felt like an ass. The shoe was finally on the other foot and here she was just sitting there like a scared little girl. Wasn’t it just a few hours ago she proclaimed she would be his shoulder to lean on?
Hypocrite!
She got out of bed and hesitantly walked out of the room. She leaned against the door frame and watched him. He was leaning against the back of the couch, his breathes still harsh the muscles on his back taunt as they flexed. She moved closer to him and pressed her hand to his back. He went rigid and Loraine fought the urge to pull her hand away.
“What do you need from me?” she silently asked, relieved her voice was as strong as his was when he said the same words to her.
Reno just stood there, he didn’t turn around nor did he speak. She wasn’t sure if he heard her.
“Reno—”
He suddenly turned, placed his hands on her waist and lifted her like she weighed nothing. Loraine let out a startled cry, her hands grabbing hold of his shoulders and her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he moved. Her back hit the wall hard. Her mouth fell open from the blunt pain and Reno’s mouth was suddenly over hers, his tongue pushing inside. His kiss was hard, bruising her lips but Loraine didn’t push him away instead matched his intensity stroke for stroke. This was what he needed. She knew that. She just hoped she didn’t freeze up like last time.
She felt her panties snap free of her hips and just as fast, the shirt was pulled over her head. Loraine entertained a moment of fear before she pushed it away. Reno wouldn’t hurt her and she wanted this…she truly did.
His lips left hers and he pushed her up higher against the wall before he pulled her nipple into his warm mouth. He sucked hard, the heady mixture of pleasure and pain left her breathless. Each time he pulled on her nipple she felt it in her pussy as if there was a string connecting the two. Her body bucked against his, needing wanting…something.
Then she felt it, the nudge at her entrance right before the sharp pain of his intrusion. He was big, really big. She screamed and Reno’s mouth bore down against hers, muffling it. He pressed his body against hers, squeezing her soft breasts against his hard chest and trapping her against the wall as he rotated his pelvis.
Loraine felt the pain diminish and something else stir inside her as his hips moved. She hooked her hands under his shoulders, her forehead pressed against his, their parted lips an inch away from each other. He stretched her as he rotated his pelvis. He was so thick and long she felt him right in her womb. She tightened her hold on him as the feeling built into a desperate need. He pulled one of her legs from his waist, placed his arm under it and lifted it high resting the crook of her knee on the inside of his elbow.
Loraine wrapped one arm around his neck and held on as he began to move. Slow at first, building her pleasure at the same time as he quickened his rhythm. His hot breathe puffed in her face with each stroke inside her.
Needing more, she titled her hips forward and cried out when he sank deeper inside her. He growled and slammed into her making her cry out again. Her mind was filled with a white haze as he kept slamming into her like he wanted to go deeper, her ass knocking on the wall. Her head dropped against his shoulder, her nails digging into his back.
The pleasure gathered deep inside her like a raging storm. She tried to hold it back, unwilling to let go and put an end to their coupling. She may not be experienced but she knew the moment she gave into her orgasm, Reno would leave her body and she didn’t want that. But that choice was taken out of her hands when she felt his fingers pinch her clit hard.
She threw her head back as the storm crushed in an explosion of color in her mind, ripping her body apart and her cries from her throat, her back arching upwards. She felt her body spasm in her release including the muscles around his shaft. Her limp body fell against him, bouncing as he kept on driving into her in jerky short strokes until his entire body went rigid. His final stroke was so hard and deep it pushed her up against the wall making her whimper. His taunt body held her up there as he poured inside her with a shout.
His legs trembled beneath them and she held onto him with the little strength she had left as they fell to the floor.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him his face hidden in her shoulder, not bothering to withdraw from her. Loraine stroked his head and wet back until his trembling subsided. She had no idea what to say after that, so she said nothing.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She kissed his temple. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
* * * *
Reno sat on the bed and watched Loraine as she slept, the guilt of what he did ripping him apart. He didn’t even know why he did what he did; he hadn’t been thinking. He needed a distraction from the guilt his nightmare had brought on and Loraine was right there.
He’d taken her, fucking her hard without a care for her until the last moment when she cried out his name. He’d realized then what he was doing and with whom and brought it to a quick end, bringing her to release before he found his own. His orgasm had been better than all his encounters before put together. He knew sex with Loraine would be incredible but he never expected that.
He’d held her afterwards, and once his ass started to go numb from the cold floor, he carried her to bed and held her as they both slept. And when morning came and he went to take a shower, he realized two things. He hadn’t used a condom and there was blood on his dick.
When he saw the blood, there was a moment of apprehension, then relief. If she was a virgin it meant that Loraine hadn’t been raped, as he’d feared. Which begged the question, what did that monster do to her to give her such horrific nightmares. And how is it that Crazy Lori was still a virgin? It didn’t fit with her eccentric character or the stories Riana told him about the best friend who majored in partying in NYU.
She began to stir, moving closer to him. He smiled, loving that she sought him out in her sleep. He stroked her hair, reliving the wild sex they had the night before. Her blue eyes had shone violet when she’d come. It was beautiful and made him wish that was her natural eye color.
Reno leaned down and kissed her temple. “Wake up Lori.”
“Hmm,” she responded, moving her head onto his thigh.
Reno chuckled. “I ran a bath for you. I’ll go buy us some breakfast, then we’ll finally start our vacation.”
“Hmm,” she answered nodding her head.
Reno shook his head as he watched her slip back into sleep a co
ntented smile on her face. He hated doing this to her, but. “Lori! Lori wake up!” he half yelled.
Her face scrunched up with displeasure as she shifted her head to the pillow. “I’m up. Leave me alone…grouch,” she grumbled.
He slapped her ass hard as he rose from the bed.
“Ouch!” she yelled, throwing a pillow at him.
He dodged it laughing. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes Lori. You’d better be up.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and sat up, her hair falling on her face exposing just her frown as she grumbled unintelligibly. Reno laughed as he walked out, thinking that it was one more thing he had wrong about her. Most women would have been running for the bathroom to put their faces on and freshen their breaths. Hell, some of his one night stands made sure they woke up before he did to freshen up then pretend to wake up the same time as he did. As if he wouldn’t notice the difference—nobody woke up fresh faced and beautiful especially after a full night of partying. Being married to Georgia had taught him that.
But Loraine didn’t give a shit; what you see is what you get and he liked that about her.
Reno bought a simple meal of boiled grouper fish, grits and wedges of Johnny cakes. He’d been tempted to go for something she was used to—eggs and bacon—but there was nothing adventurous about that and that was what he wanted for his two weeks of vacation. It wasn’t likely he would be taking another vacation for a couple of years so why not live to the fullest. And the best part is he had someone to be adventurous with—his Crazy Lori.
Just thinking about her and the night before made his body flush with heat. He had needed release and comfort, just for once to put his own needs first and she’d given that to him. Another thing to disabuse him of the person who he thought Loraine was. She wasn’t an uppity rich princess, for sure. She was caring, selfless, and a friend to be counted on. He was going to enjoy getting to know more about her.
He just hoped she would agree to a friends with benefits kind of relationship because now that he’d tasted her there was no way he was going to be able to just lay next to her without having more. He had plans for their next encounter, and this time he was going to take his time and worship her body as she deserved. Reno smiled wolfishly as he opened their apartment door. He was looking forward to the next few days with the anticipation of a horny teenage boy.