The Next Move

by Lauren Gallagher

She wasn’t sure just how she felt about that.

  Twenty Six

  "You’re not going to use this to blackmail me someday, are you?"

  "Don’t give me a reason to blackmail you," Kat laughed as she unsnapped her bra and watched him adjust the settings on the video camera. "And this will stay our dirty little secret."

  "Just remember, you’re in it too." He pushed a couple of buttons and eyed her over the camera. "So anyone who sees me, sees you."

  "Well then you know your secret is safe with me," she said, lying back on the bed.

  "Why? Are you saying you’d be embarrassed if the whole world saw me fucking you?"

  She grinned. "Well, can you blame me?" She winked and he rolled his eyes. "I can’t believe you talked me into this."

  "Oh, yeah, really had to twist your arm there." He chuckled and joined her on the bed.

  She batted her eyes. "You did!"

  "I did not." He set the camera beside them and lay over her, kissing her deeply as his cock pressed against her thigh. "Unless of course you don’t want me to fuck you."

  "I didn’t say that." She ran her nails down his back, grinning as he shivered.

  "So then I don’t have to twist your arm." He nibbled the side of her neck and cupped her breast as he rested his weight on one arm.

  "Not to fuck me, no."

  He lifted his head. "You really are okay with this,

  aren’t you?"

  "Absolutely." She smiled. "If I wasn’t, I never would have let you anywhere near me with that thing." She nodded towards the camera.

  "Good," he said, kissing her neck again.

  "Now get a condom on and fuck me."

  "Absolutely not." He took her nipple between his teeth, flicking it gently with his tongue.

  "What do you mean, absolutely not?" She moaned and squirmed as he sucked her nipple. "Chris, don’t fucking tease me…"

  "It’s not teasing," he said, kissing his way across her chest to her other nipple. "It’s foreplay."

  She wriggled beneath him. "But I want you inside me."

  "And I want to document my incredible foreplay skills for posterity." He glanced up and winked at her. "Now get that camera rolling or I’ll have to start all over."

  She felt around on the bed for the camera, wondering if she’d even remember how to use the damned thing. He picked it up and put it in her hand.

  "Red button is record," he said, his voice vibrating across her belly as he kissed his way down.

  She furrowed her brow, trying to focus as his soft kisses destroyed her ability to think, let alone work any kind of electronic equipment. Red button, red button, red button. After a moment, she found it: The bright red button that was right in plain sight.

  She turned it on and trained the camera on him just as his head dipped between her thighs. "Oh God," she moaned, her hips lifting off the bed as his fingers slipped inside her.

  "Like that?" he said against her clit, his voice reverberating through every nerve in her body.

  "I love it," she moaned.

  "Good, because I love the way you taste," he growled.

  "I can’t promise these shots will be all that steady," she said, gasping as he closed his lips around her clit. She put a hand over her eyes, the other holding the camera, hopefully pointed in the right direction. "That’s…ooh…"

  The hand holding the camera dropped to the bed as

  her other went to his hair to pull him against her pussy. She just felt too damned good to care what the camera saw or heard. All she wanted was the release his mouth promised her, and with each delicious circle of his tongue and gentle beckon of his fingers, he brought her closer.

  "Just like that," she moaned. "Don’t stop, don’t…ooh, God…" His fingers moved almost imperceptibly inside her, adding just a hint of extra pressure to her G-spot, and she was over the edge.

  When she could finally breathe again, she said, "Fuck me, Chris. Now. I can’t wait."

  "Then I won’t make you wait." He brought himself up and kissed her deeply, letting her taste herself on his tongue. Breaking the kiss, he reached for a condom and sat back to put it on.

  As he did, she remembered the camera that was still in her hand. Propping herself up on one elbow, she giggled and zoomed the camera in on Chris as he rolled the condom on. "And here we have Chris putting a condom on, because we always play like responsible adults."

  "Don’t film that, what’s wrong with you?" he laughed.

  "Anything you do can and will end up on film, my dear," she said. She leaned forward, putting the camera inches away from his cock. "Look at that technique—smooth, but fast, clearly an expert. Why, Christian, one would think you’d done this before."

  "Give me that thing," he said, pulling the camera out of her hand.

  "I was about to say the same thing," she said as she laid back. "But I wasn’t talking about the camera."

  He chuckled. "Oh, I’m going to give it to you, all right. Now get on your knees."

  "What? You don’t want my face on camera?" She gave him a playful glare before she sat up and shifted onto her knees.

  "Of course I want your face on camera," he said, running his hand up and down her back and making her shiver. "But I want to get a shot of this angle first."

  "I suppose I can let you fuck me this way, for art’s sake," she said.

  "For art’s sake, my ass," he laughed. "You love it this

  way and you know it." With that, he steadied her hip with one hand and thrust his cock into her. Keeping his hand on her hip, he moved slowly, pulling all the way out before pushing his cock in as deep as he could.

  "Now you can finally see what I get to see," he whispered breathlessly, the humor in his voice replaced by a low, unsteady current of lust. "Jesus, Kat, you just don’t know how hot this is…"

  "Tell me," she said.

  "I’m going to do better than that, I’m going to show you," he said. "Oh my God, this is fucking gorgeous."

  "You’ll show me later," she said, biting her lip as her breath caught. "I want you to tell me now."

  "You want me to tell you?" he growled.

  "Yes," she moaned.

  The camera beeped and a second later, Chris shifted his weight. He set the camera down a safe distance away from them on the bed. Then he leaned over her, moving only from the hips now as he kissed the back of her shoulder. His hand slid down her arm before coming to rest on the bed. With his free hand, he gathered her hair and draped it over one side of her neck.

  "When I fuck you like that," he whispered against the back of her neck as he slowly pushed into her. "I can watch your pussy take every last inch of my cock…" The tip of his tongue made a tiny circle at the base of her neck, making her gasp. His lips barely leaving her skin, he said, "And when you come, I can see every shiver…" His free hand snaked around her hip. "Every goose bump…" Two fingers circled her clit and he sucked in a breath as she arched her back against him. "Until you throw your head back and scream."

  She whimpered, digging her fingers into the bedspread as the first quivers of an orgasm rippled up her spine.

  "But there’s one thing missing this way," he said, kissing the side of her neck. "I can’t see your face when you come." His fingers moved away from her clit. "Get on your back."

  He started to pull out but she moved with him, grabbing his hand to keep it on her hip.

  "I want you on your back." He nipped her shoulder.

  "I want…" She gasped as he slid deeper, then pulled

  out again. "I want you to fuck me." Another gasp as she thought he was going to pull the way out, followed by a relieved moan when he pushed back in. She took a breath. "Just like this."

  "You feel incredible this way," he said, his lips brushing her ear. "And you’re fucking beautiful this way." He withdrew slowly, holding her hip so she couldn’t follow him. "But the way you look when you come…" He kissed her shoulder, pulling out enough that only the head of his cock remained inside her. "…Christ, I could come ju
st thinking about it." He slid back in just a little, just enough to take her breath away. Nuzzling her neck, he pleaded, "Kat, let me watch you come."

  The desperation in his voice melted her resistance. Unable to speak, she nodded and pulled forward, letting him withdraw all the way. She turned over and they both sank to the bed together. Kissing her deeply, he took a few quick, deep strokes, then whispered, "I want the camera to see you come too."

  "I don’t care who sees it," she moaned. "Just…keep…fucking me…"

  "I want you to see it," he said. Sitting up, he pulled her hips up against him and reached for the camera. "I have to get this on tape," he said. "You just…" He let out a long sigh as his cock slid deep into her. "You just don’t know how gorgeous you are when you come."

  Holding her leg against his hip, he fucked her faster, leaning back just enough to angle his cock perfectly against her G-spot.

  "Oh my God," she cried. "Oh fuck, Chris, that’s…" She sucked in a breath, closing her eyes as intensity overwhelmed her. "Don’t stop…don’t stop…"

  "I won’t stop, baby, I won’t," he said, his voice strained. "Fuck, just watching you this way is gonna make me come."

  She didn’t speak, didn’t even try. The only thing she managed to do was draw one last, ragged breath and whimper softly before everything went white. She was vaguely aware of Chris moving faster inside her, of his voice telling her how good she felt and how fucking amazing she looked when she came. Then his body shifted and a moment later, both hands grabbed her hips and he slammed into her, thrusting harder and faster as his voice crescendoed from a deep growl to a throaty roar.

  With a shudder, he exhaled and eased himself down on top of her. "Oh my God, that was hot," he said, kissing her jaw.

  "We didn’t get a shot of your face when you came, though," she said.

  "Well damn, you’re right." He kissed her lightly. "Maybe we’ll have to do another take."

  "I think we should. As many takes as we have to."

  "Of course," he said. "This video has to be perfect. Porn star perfection."

  "Then we should get started again." She nudged his shoulders. "Come on, take two. Action!"

  He stared at her incredulously. "Give me a few minutes, you damned slave driver."

  "Okay fine," she said, rolling her eyes with mock exasperation. "You have five minutes."

  He laughed and let his head fall onto her shoulder again. "Give me ten, and I’ll make it worth the wait."

  "Deal."

  Twenty Seven

  The chessboard was set up, black and white pieces arranged into neat rows and ready for battle. The wine rack was fully stocked, as was Kat’s nightstand drawer.

  The only thing missing was Chris.

  Kat kicked back on the couch and turned on the television, scanning the movie channels for anything that would kill a few hours. Not that a few hours would be enough. Chris was out of town on business for the next two weeks.

  She let out a long breath, wringing her hands as she tried to think of something to do. The range and the batting cages were still open for a few hours, but weren’t nearly as much fun alone.

  I could go to bed early, but that’s not nearly as much fun without him either.

  She groaned. Was she really this pathetic? Chris was gone for a couple of weeks and suddenly she didn’t know what to do with herself?

  It occurred to her that David was on the same trip, so Natalie was probably free. Kat wrinkled her nose. She loved Natalie to death, but the last thing she felt like listening to tonight was her friend prattling on about how miserable it was when David was out of town.

  She didn’t want to listen to Natalie’s theatrics, and if she commiserated, then her friend might catch on that there was something going on with Chris. Natalie and David had suspected for years that they were secretly dating. It had even become a running joke amongst their group of friends. Their longstanding suspicions were a perfect cover for what was going on, but if Natalie noticed that Kat really was pining for Chris, she might catch on.

  Tapping her toe on the coffee table, she looked around her apartment, wondering if her CD’s needed alphabetizing, or laundry needed folding, or if she should start on her tax return a few months early.

  It occurred to her that she could go through the boxes of Dylan’s things in her spare bedroom, but that was just too depressing to think about. Going through his apartment with her parents and sister was more than enough. Those boxes had been untouched since the week after the funeral, and they were just going to have to stay that way for a while.

  She shoved all thoughts of her brother’s death out of her mind. She wasn’t nearly deep enough in a bottle—or three—of wine to think about that. Oh, wouldn’t that be a pleasant night? Diving into Dylan’s things while I’m pining for Chris—wait, I am not pining for Chris, I’m just bored and horny.

  "Fuck this." Swallowing the lump in her throat, she got up off the couch and went into her bedroom to change clothes and go out. She wasn’t sure where she was going or what she was going to do, but she wasn’t staying home. Too much in her apartment reminded her of people that weren’t here, so she didn’t want to be here either.

  But of course, before she could decide what to wear and just how much to make herself up, it would help to decide where she was going and with whom. She groaned aloud. I’m really getting pathetic.

  She laid across the bed on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows as she scrolled through her cell phone.

  "Let’s see who tonight’s victim will be," she muttered, starting at the bottom of the list and working her way up.

  Stella? No, she won’t be able to get a sitter on short notice.

  Raye? She’s probably out with Joe.

  Jennifer? Gina? Deidre?

  Every name prompted reasons and excuses why this or that person wouldn’t be available, or she didn’t want to hang out with them, or—

  Her thumb stopped.

  Blake.

  She chewed her lip and her stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of calling him, but couldn’t think of a reason not to call him. Except, of course, for the fact that if an evening with him went south, she didn’t have her booty call to fall back on.

  She stared at his number, trying to work up the courage to call him. For the life of her, she couldn’t decide if she was afraid that he would or wouldn’t be available.

  She couldn’t put her finger on just why, but the very thought of getting together with Blake always unsettled her. It wasn’t that he made her nervous. Quite the contrary. She was completely at ease with him, and everything about him told her he was exactly what she’d been looking for.

  Yet strangely, just facing his number on her phone created an odd, uncomfortable prickle at the base of her spine, as if she knew, but didn’t fully understand, that seeing him was a step towards something else. Even after a single date and a few phone calls, every bit of contact they made seemed like an irretraceable step down a road she wasn’t sure she wanted to go.

  Christ, I’m turning into a commitment-phobe. She laughed at the thought.

  His number seemed to taunt her on the screen.

  Go ahead. See if you can get through a date without the failsafe fallback of Chris. Maybe you’ll even get up the nerve to take Blake up on the offer he made last time.

  "Guess if it doesn’t work out," she muttered as she hit 'send'. "I’ll just have to take care of myself."

  "Hey gorgeous," Blake said.

  "Hey," she said, her cheeks burning as if she was suddenly embarrassed to have called him. "I, um, are you busy tonight?"

  "Nothing that can’t wait. Why?"

  "Want to get together for drinks?"

  ~ * ~

  When she arrived at the swanky but quiet lounge, Blake met her eyes from a corner booth and smiled. He stood as she approached, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and waiting for her to sit before he took his own seat again.

  "It’s good to see you," he said.
r />   "Likewise," she said. "Sorry for the last minute invite."

  He laughed. "If I minded, I wouldn’t be here."

  After they’d made small talk and ordered drinks, Kat

  said, "So what would you be doing if you weren’t here?"

  His cheeks darkened. "Probably wasting another night I’ll never get back playing online games with people I’ve never met."

  "Really? You didn’t strike me as the gamer type," she said.

  "What? You mean like fantasy RPG’s and all of that shit?"

  She nodded.

  "I’m not that kind of gamer." He scratched the back of his neck and his cheeks turned a little redder as he dropped his gaze. "Actually I’m usually playing online chess."

  Kat almost dropped her drink. "You’re kidding."

  "No, I’m not," he said. "I’m not very good at it, but I enjoy it. So now you know my deep, dark, boring secret."

  She cleared her throat and half-muffled her voice with her hand. "State chess champion three years in a row in high school."

  His eyebrows jumped. "Seriously?"

  Nodding, she said, "A friend and I get together and play all the time. In fact—" She bit her tongue before she could add the polite "you should join us sometime." Now wouldn’t that be awkward? She cleared her throat again. "You’ll have to tell me where this site is."

  He leaned back in his seat, swirling his wine glass slowly as he gave her an amused look. "So you’re a chess fanatic. I knew there was a reason I had to meet you that night."

  "Is that so?" She grinned.

  "I rather like intellectual women," he said with a smile.

  She folded her hands on the table and leaned towards him. "I think chess is a bit more than intellectual, though."

  Closing some of the distance between them, he sat up and let his hand rest gently on her wrist. Not holding it, just touching it. "I’ve always thought of it as strictly intellectual, but do tell."

  "Well, I…" She stopped abruptly, her cheeks burning. It hadn’t fazed her in the slightest to tell Chris about it, but the idea of describing chess as a form of foreplay to Blake made her balk. She dropped her gaze to her—their—hands. "It’s really ridiculous, but…"