by Kira Archer
“You’re lucky you came tonight,” Rick murmured in her ear. “Dad’s taco nights are legendary.”
Someone handed her a plate and she followed the flow of people through the line. Rick heaped his plate and grinned broadly when Gina did the same. They ate out on the deck under the waning sun with his family spread all around. When they were all full to busting and the sun had set, they kicked on the white Christmas lights strung all over the deck and sat back to chat.
“So, what’s it going to be tonight?” Linda asked.
Suggestions of Pictionary, Pyramid, Taboo, Wheel of Fortune, and other game names started flying. Gina looked at Rick, eyebrows raised in question.
“Taco night is also game night,” he said with a wink.
“You guys do this how often?”
“Every weekend. We don’t always do the games if not everyone can come, but since there’s so many of us…”
They finally settled on Pyramid and divided up into teams. Rick and Gina were paired together with a decidedly speculative gleam in Jenny’s eye. That girl was nothing but trouble. Gina couldn’t help but love her, though. Her enthusiasm for everything was infectious.
They went through several rounds with each team racking up more and more points. Gina was surprised at how well she and Rick did. She’d never been a big game player, but her initial hesitance evaporated with the lighthearted spirit of the game. It finally came down to a tie between Linda and Charlie and Rick and Gina.
Rick’s parents started their round out fairly well. Hell, they’d been together since high school. They knew each other so well that all one had to do was say a word or two and the other almost immediately got it. It was like watching an episode of Will & Grace during one of their game nights. But then Charlie choked, missing his last clue.
Everyone hooted and hollered. All Rick and Gina needed to do was get three more points and they would win.
Rick jumped up and Gina followed, adrenaline rushing through her.
“You ready?” Rick asked, holding his clue card out in front of him.
“Lay ’em on me,” Gina said.
The second his mom flipped over the timer he began rapid-firing words at her.
“Frosting. Sprinkles. Edible glitter.”
“Things you’d put on cupcakes! Or cake!”
“Right!” He dropped the card and grabbed another one. “Mayonnaise. Sugar.”
“Things that you eat.”
He shook his head. “Snow. Lotion… My legs.”
“Things that are white!” Gina shouted, laughing.
“One more point to win!” Jenny said.
Rick pulled the last card and frowned for a second. “The Godfather.”
“Things that you watch?”
He shook his head. “Thugs. Hit men. Money.”
“Um…things that are scary?”
“Five seconds!” Jenny said.
Rick’s face brightened. “Alejandro!”
Gina jumped up. “Things that are in the Mafia!”
“Yes!”
“Time!” Jenny said.
“We won!” Rick bent and picked Gina up, wrapping his arms beneath her butt to hold her aloft.
She laughed and held on to his shoulders as he spun her around. His family laughed and chattered along with them. Rick seemed to realize how close they were about the same time Gina did. Their laughter died down and he slowly lowered her to the ground, his eyes burning into hers the whole way. Every inch of her body tingled with little electric shocks where it came into contact with his. When her feet finally touched the ground again she expected him to let go. But he didn’t. Instead he pulled her closer. She looked up at him…
Stacy’s husband clapped him on the shoulder. “You should bring her around more often, Rick. She’s good for you. Or for your losing streak, anyway. Maybe you’ll win more if she’s here to help you out.”
Rick released her but kept a hold of her hand. He laughed good-naturedly at the teasing his family gave him, but as soon as he could excuse them without making it too obvious they wanted to be alone, he did so. Not that he fooled anyone. Gina caught more than one smug and knowing glance pass among his family members as they went back inside the house. She didn’t care nearly as much as she thought she would. There was nothing malicious in the joking that went on. They all seemed genuinely happy to have her there, mostly because they thought that Rick wanted her there.
He pulled her up the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall that she hadn’t seen yet. He clicked on the lights and shut the door behind them.
“This is a nice room,” she said, suddenly breathless.
“It’s mine for when I visit. Mom and Dad just moved all our stuff over when they moved here. ”
“So, this is your childhood room?”
He shrugged. “Basically. Only in a different house.”
“Oh. That’s nice.” She didn’t even look around. She was pretty sure there was a full-size bed behind him with some sort of blue comforter. But her attention was mostly riveted on Rick. Was it bad that the only other thing to register in her brain was the bed?
Rick’s hands grasped her hips and pulled her forward. She didn’t fight him. Her hands came up and slowly moved up his arms to loop around his neck.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” he said, dipping his head.
Chapter Thirteen
Rick had spent most of his childhood fantasizing about having an unbelievably hot woman in his bedroom. Well, any kind of a woman really, but someone of Gina’s caliber had been the ultimate wish. It may have taken a decade or so longer than he’d have liked, but here she was. Amazing and sweet and adorably insane and trembling in his arms, her face raised to his.
Their lips met, and it was better than any fantasy his prepubescent brain had ever dreamed up. Hell, better than anything his adult mind had ever experienced. Those sweet lips of hers moved under his, opening with a little moan, letting him delve inside. The moment he touched the heat of her, he groaned, all thoughts other than the woman in his arms obliterated. Nothing else mattered but her. Getting closer. Deeper.
Thank God she was on board with that. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rising on her toes to press closer. He walked her backward until they hit the bed. She let go of him only long enough to scoot onto the mattress. He followed, half covering her as she reached up to drag him back down to her lips. He tried to get a thigh between her legs but her skirt formed a tight leather barrier that no man was penetrating.
They broke apart, both laughing breathlessly, both reaching down to hike her skirt up. His hand dragged up her thigh, and her laugh choked off the moment his fingers skimmed over the last silky barrier between them. She tugged at his shirt, her hands skimming across his stomach, tracing every corded muscle. Her fingers skirted across the band of his jeans. Dipped inside to tease and darted back out. Over and over.
Two could play that game.
His hand cupped her, rubbing, until she arched under him, her body begging for his touch. He slipped a finger inside her and she nearly came off the bed.
“God, Rick!”
“Shh,” he said with a laugh.
She giggled along with him and rocked against him again. Her laugh broke off with a choked sound, and he renewed his attention.
Her hands were everywhere. They were wearing far too many clothes, but some tiny, rational corner of his brain kept him aware of the fact that he was in his parents’ house. With his entire family just beyond the door to his room. Which he hadn’t locked. And wouldn’t lock anyway, because then he would never hear the end of it.
Gina was beginning to whimper and buck against his hand, and he sped up his movements. His mouth closed over hers, his tongue mimicking what his hand was doing to her. She clutched his shoulders, her body tensing.
“Rick?” Jenny’s voice rang out.
“Shit!” Rick and Gina both hissed at the same time.
They scrambled up, righting clothing and smoothing
hair as fast as they could. By the time his sister burst through his door, after a quick knock but no wait for a response, they were presentable again. A bit breathless and frustrated. But presentable.
“Here you guys are. Stacy and Karen are leaving. Mom says come say good-bye.”
“Okay, we’ll be right down,” Rick said, though his attention was still mostly on Gina, who sat on the edge of the bed.
She smiled at Jenny, but her body was so rigid Rick could almost feel the tension in her, even from across the room.
Jenny looked back and forth between the two of them and abruptly spun around, heading for the door, a smug smile on her face.
“Don’t take too long or Mom’ll probably send one of the kids to come find you.”
“Noted,” Rick said, following her to the door.
She turned back to him, eyes twinkling. Rick didn’t wait to see what surely inappropriate question she wanted to ask. He closed the door in her face. He could hear her laughing. As soon as her voice faded, he locked it and went over to Gina, hauling her to her feet.
She gasped. “What are you doing?”
He spun her around so her back was pressed against him. “Finishing what I started.”
Before she could protest, his mouth closed on her neck and she leaned her head back with a quivering sigh, her arm coming up to loop around his neck. He cupped her breast with one hand, his fingers rolling her nipple beneath the fabric of her clothing. The other hand disappeared into the waistband of her skirt. She’d been so close. It probably wouldn’t take long.
He was right. The moment his fingers found her slick heat again she began to quake around him. Her arms tightened their hold on his neck. The position stretched her out, arching her breasts into the air. He continued to lavish attention on them while his mouth skimmed over the sensitive skin of her neck and shoulders and his fingers worked their magic.
Within moments she was gasping. And then her knees gave out. He held on to her, keeping her pressed against him until her breathing steadied and she found her equilibrium again.
She slowly turned in his arms and pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss that had him wanting to strip them both of any shred of clothing and start all over again. But before he could give that idea much thought, his name echoed throughout the house. He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.
“Rain check?” he asked.
“Unless you want to go to my place.”
“Let’s go.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door, her laughter ringing through his ears. And heart.
…
Gina didn’t know what she was doing. Okay, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly what she was doing. And if that small taste she’d gotten in Rick’s room had been any indication, she was going to love every second of what was about to happen. The problem would come when they were done. What then?
She tried to force the thought from her head. Because at that moment she really didn’t care. As long as it meant she could have him. Even if it was only for a short while. It would be freaking worth it.
They said their good-byes as quickly as possible and jumped in the car. The drive home was the longest of Gina’s life. They parked the car at the bakery so they didn’t have to worry about hunting for a parking spot. Then they raced the four blocks back to her apartment. They got a few strange stares as they hurried up the street, but Gina didn’t care. Even Rick didn’t seem to mind. They were both on edge. They needed to be alone. Quickly. Gina had never felt such urgency before. If she didn’t get her hands on him there was a good chance she’d drag him into an alley and have her wicked way with him up against the wall.
They got inside her building and hit the stairs running. By the time they made it inside her apartment, they were breathless and laughing. Gina locked the door behind them. The second the lock clicked, Rick turned her around. His hands threaded into her hair, and his lips covered hers. He ground against her, and she gasped.
Then their hands were tearing at each other’s clothes. Gina pushed away from the wall, walking backward while she tugged Rick’s shirt over his head. Her blouse quickly followed, as did her shoes and skirt. And Rick’s shoes and pants.
He slipped her bra from her shoulders, dragging his hands down her arms as he went, until he reached her waist and dropped it to the floor. He paused a moment, setting her far enough from him so his gaze could rake over her. She shivered at the heat in his eyes and launched herself at him again. By the time they made it to her room, they were both naked, splendidly so, in Rick’s case.
Her gaze roamed over him, her mouth going dry with anticipation.
“You are absolute perfection,” he said, closing the distance between them.
Her heart skipped a few beats. “Right back at you.”
She grabbed his hands and pulled him with her onto the bed. He tumbled her beneath him. “I can’t take this slow.”
“Good. I want you. Now.”
“Condoms?” he asked.
She reached out and grabbed a handful out of her nightstand drawer and dropped them in a pile.
He laughed, low and deep. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or terrified at your expectations of my stamina.”
“I like to be prepared.”
He grabbed one of the foil packets and rolled it on. “It’s always good to be prepared.”
She dragged him back. He thrust into her and she cried out. He immediately stopped.
“Are you okay?”
She tried to keep from thrashing under him, but her body cried out for him. Needed him. “God, yes. Again. Please. Rick,” she gasped, clutching at him.
He didn’t wait. He drove into her hard and fast. Her hips rose to meet his thrusts, her moans growing louder as her climax peaked and crashed over her. She held on to him for dear life as wave after wave washed through her. A few strokes more and he came, pulsing into her with a groan.
He eased himself to his side, careful to keep from crushing her. They lay side by side, chests heaving as they sucked in deep breaths.
“God, you’re amazing,” he said when he could talk again.
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”.
He leaned back over her for a leisurely but very thorough kiss. By the time he was done, her body was humming, craving him again.
He got up briefly to dispose of the condom, and then he rejoined her in the bed.
“My turn to play,” she said, pushing him onto his back. “You had your fun.”
“I’m barely getting started,” he said, his hands trailing up to grasp her waist.
“And I very much look forward to you finishing. But first…” She leaned down so she could briefly kiss him before she moved on to his neck and across his collarbone. Her lips trailed over the rock-hard planes of his chest and stomach. He was so unbelievably sexy. Her hands ached to trace every inch of him.
When her hands closed over the long, hard length of him his breath hissed out.
“Hmm,” she murmured. “Look what I’ve found.”
He let her stroke him, her hands running from tip to root and back again. But when she tried to bend to take him in her mouth, he stopped her.
“I won’t last more than two seconds if you do that. And there are other things I want to do first.”
“Really? Even after what we just did?”
He laughed, and the sound rippled through her. “Oh, that barely took the edge off.”
Before she could say anything, he flipped her over, and she landed with a laugh on her back. This time when his lips met hers he took his time. Slowly and gently, his mouth moved over hers. Like he was committing the contours of her lips to memory. He kissed her until her head spun, not touching any other part of her. It was the most sensual thing she’d ever experienced.
Kissing was such an intimate act. Up close and personal. And the way Rick kissed her was even more so. Every brush of his lips drove her closer to that precipice in her heart, the one she’d never
allowed herself to fall over before. That way meant danger. She didn’t do danger. Not that kind. She did fun. She did temporary.
But these kisses…these weren’t temporary. He wasn’t merely kissing her. He was worshipping her. And she knew every touch would haunt her memory for the rest of her days, long after he’d gone.
She tried not to think of that. She pushed all those thoughts from her mind. There wasn’t room for them. There was only room for him.
With the first brush of his hand down her body, she nearly came off the bed, arching under him, trying to force more contact. The wicked chuckle that escaped his lips had her eyes flying open in surprise. Well, well. Her Goody Two-shoes could be a little devil, after all.
“Hold still,” he commanded.
He ran his hand up her side, covering a breast for the briefest of moments before bending to take it in his mouth. Her hands fisted in the sheets beneath her, and she whimpered his name.
He had no mercy, lavishing careful, calculated attention over every bit of her body until each cell screamed for him to complete her. Fill her, ease her. Her entire being cried out for release.
“Please,” she begged. She couldn’t take it anymore, and he’d barely touched her.
He grabbed another condom and rolled it on, then eased into her, one slow, delicious inch at a time. She shivered beneath him, every nerve ending on overload.
This wasn’t some random hookup. He was making slow, exquisite love to her. And every stroke of his body marked her as his. Ruined her for anyone else.
When the pressure finally burst in a flood of pleasure, she could do nothing more than cling to him as he found his own release. They lay together, muscles trembling, still connected and entwined and too raw and exposed to move.
Chapter Fourteen
Gina blinked and turned her face from the warm sun that filtered in through her blinds. The sight that met her on the other side was even better. But one that made her unexpectedly shy. She rolled back over, careful not to wake him, and was half tempted to sneak out of bed and take off. Or at the very least get spruced up a bit and wait for him in the front room. Waking up with Rick beside her was more intimate than she thought possible.