“Protection?” he asked, fighting the urge to push her hips down on his hard length.
“I think there are some in the second drawer of the bedside table.” She leaned over him, her breasts tantalizingly close to his mouth. His tongue darted out and drew a lazy circle around her nipple, before drawing the pink bud into his mouth.
“Oh, God.” She shuddered. “Feels so good.”
The slamming of the drawer and the crinkle of foil had him releasing her breast. He raised his legs as Tamara moved so she could roll the protection on. His hips lifted when her hand enclosed his hard length, stroking slowly up and down, tormenting him as her thumb caressed his tip. The possibility of his false starting increased with each stroke of her hand.
“If you want this to last farther than ten meters, you’d better stop what you’re doing and get that condom on.”
Her chuckle rolled down his spine, straight to his balls. He hardened even more as she rolled the latex over him. “And here I thought you could last a decent distance.”
Drake rubbed his hands over her hips before lifting her and positioning her pussy over his cock. “Baby, I can be a long distance runner if I want to be.”
He thrust up into her as he pushed her hips down his length. Her channel wet, warm and tight.
“Fuck, you feel so good, Tam.”
“Mmmmm.”
Her breasts moved languidly up and down in time with her movements. He closed his eyes as the pleasure of having Tamara moving above him buzzed through his blood. He lost the ability to think, only feel. The way she ground her body against his on the downward movement. He wanted more. He wanted a deeper connection with her. He wanted it all.
He reached up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and, with a sleek motion, flipped her beneath him. He could penetrate her more deeply this way.
Still he wanted more.
He lowered his head and kissed her again, his tongue thrusting in time with his hips. Her inner muscles clenched him in tiny spasms, intensifying as her orgasm built. He held her tighter to him as she wrenched her mouth away and cried out her release, repeating his name over and over in a litany of bliss.
The tingles started in his toes, engulfing his calves, then his thighs and finally his balls. His release exploded through him, and he pulsed inside of her. He threw back his head and shouted her name.
His elbows quivered in exhaustion, and he had the presence of mind not to collapse on her, but to roll to the side, bringing her once again over the top of him.
Her ragged breathing matched his.
“That was amazing,” he said as he brushed his fingers down her spine. Never before had he had a release as intense as the one he’d just experienced with Tamara. He didn’t know what to think. Was it a fluke? One of those once in a lifetime events never to happen again. Was it a residual thrill from winning his heat? The excitement of being at the Olympics? Or was it because he was falling for her? No. Love wasn’t on the starting block for him. Not yet.
Whatever it was, he couldn’t let it overtake him. He had to remember why he was here in Rio. In two more days, his fate would be sealed. He would either be a winner or a loser. Would his father be proud or disappointed? Dad had already emailed his displeasure at Drake’s time for his heat. Even though he’d made the semis, it still didn’t seem to be enough for Simon Roberts. And what would he say if he knew Drake had hooked up with Tamara?
The pleasure of a few minutes ago drained out, leaving only apprehension. Had he made the biggest mistake of his career?
12
The tension seeping back into Drake was as obvious as a muscle knot. His body had been so pliant and relaxed, and the sensations still shooting through her after the most wonderful sex she’d ever had, had made cuddling up to him seem so natural. Now it was like lying next to a piece of granite.
“You’re regretting what we just did, aren’t you?” she asked, dreading his response. There was nothing worse than the person you’d just had mind-blowing sex with regretting ever stepping into the room. Somehow she wished for the lightheartedness that had grown between them before they’d fallen onto the bed.
Tamara sensed, with the way Drake was now tenser than he had been when he’d walked into her room to apologize to her, that he was counting down the seconds until he could leave without it being offensive.
“No.” Two letters but the word seemed to be dragged out of him.
Not wanting to be that clingy girl, she pulled herself away from the warmth of Drake’s body, refusing to let herself miss it. She clutched the blankets around her.
“It’s okay, you can leave. I won’t be offended.” Ha! She talked a good talk. But no matter how much the little bloom of hope that had burst to life in her wanted to grow into a fully-fledged tree, she needed to nip it now. Disappointment was always going to be on the cards with her and Drake.
Now she was having second thoughts about what had just happened in her room. And she didn’t want to have second thoughts. If she were truthful with herself, she wanted seconds with Drake. Another go around the track. Being held by him as he drove into her had been pure heaven. She wanted to grasp that feeling back and never let it go.
But he was a world-class athlete, and she was a lowly trainer. How could she have been so stupid as to let her hormones overrule her sensibilities? She’d known getting involved with Drake would end up a disaster. Why hadn’t she been stronger? Why hadn’t she pushed him out the door? Why hadn’t she gone to dinner?
A hand landed on her back. She turned her head and spied Drake watching her intently. Why hadn’t he left? She tried to paste a smile on her face.
With a blur of movement, she found herself lying flat on her back and Drake lying on top of her. His body already hard again.
Confusion warred with desire.
“What’s going on, Drake?” Hard to play it cool when pinned by the guy you just fucked.
“This.” He responded before he framed her face with his hands and rubbed his nose softly against hers. “This.” He repeated as he kissed her. His mouth warm and soft against hers, coaxing her to open beneath him.
It was impossible to fight the inevitable, especially as she wanted what he was offering. Consequences be damned, no way was she going to say no to a second round.
* * *
The soft click penetrated Tamara’s sleep. She didn’t need to feel next to her to see if Drake was gone. The room breathed it. She flung a hand over her eyes. Drake walking out definitely saved the ”morning after” awkwardness.
Why had he run?
Did it matter? He’d avoided answering her questions in the aftermath of the first time they’d made love.
Wasn’t it better this way? They’d had one night together. One magical night, never to be repeated. After the Games were over, she’d go back to her home in Colorado Springs. Her contract with the Olympic team would be renewed, saving her from trying to find a new job. If her contract wasn’t renewed, she hoped her experience in keeping Olympic athletes in peak condition would prove to other sports teams that she had what it took to be of benefit to them. She knew breaking into a man’s world would be hard, but there had been so many recent appointments of women with high profile sporting teams that she hoped the trend was changing.
With the football season just starting, most teams’ positions would be filled. There could be an opportunity to get a position with a hockey or basketball team, but, again, the chances of job vacancies were slim. She supposed there were college teams she could try to apply to.
And maybe she should forget about what would happen to her after the Games and concentrate on the here and now. TJ had told her he still wanted her on his team, maybe she would have nothing to worry about. As it was, she still had four more days of the athletic portion of the Games to get through.
Immediately her mind turned to seeing Drake again. How would he act when he saw her next? Would he smile and flirt, or would he ignore her? God, she hoped it wouldn’t be the latter. Tha
t would be a dead giveaway to everyone on the team and her fellow trainers that something had happened between them. She hoped he would be his usual self, because, by goodness, she was going to try and act as normally as possible.
Perhaps she should get up and get ready for the day ahead. Nothing like being prepared and keeping busy as a sure fire way to keep her mind off Drake and the way his touch set her on fire. The way he kissed her. The feel of his body thrusting into her. The sound of his shout of release echoing in her ear.
Stop it. She couldn’t let her thoughts get away from her.
Be professional.
She was a professional. She could do this.
Tamara glanced over to the clock and groaned. It was only three in the morning. Still way too early to get up. She rolled over and her senses picked up the lingering aroma of Drake’s musky scent on the sheets. It was clichéd. It was such a girly thing to do but she didn’t care. She reached out and grabbed the pillow on which Drake had rested his head. Burying her head in the softness, she took a couple of deep breaths and closed her eyes. It was a poor substitute, but it would have to do. Closing her eyes, holding the pillow tightly against her chest, she willed sleep to come.
Everything would make sense in the morning.
* * *
Her hand hovered over the doorknob to her shared office. It wasn’t exactly a walk of shame, but that’s exactly what it felt like. She’d headed to the track first thing to see if Drake was doing his usual morning run. There had been athletes training, even some with dark hair and a five o’clock shadow. Only none of them set her heart racing. None of them were Drake. She’d pushed away the disappointment, chastising herself for being silly and headed to the office. Now she stood on the outside, hesitating to enter like a school girl being told to go to the principal’s office knowing she hadn’t done anything wrong. And she hadn’t done anything wrong this time either. No one had to know who had spent part of the night in her room with her.
Tamara reached out to grab the handle. Instead of the cool metal, she came in contact with nothing but air.
She tried to regain her balance but couldn’t. Great, she was going to fall into the room like a clumsy girl. Now that would go down well with future employers if they could see her.
Face planting the floor seemed inevitable and she braced herself for the impact, only to find a pair of hands grabbing her upper arms to steady her. Her body had no problem recognizing who owned those hands.
Drake.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she found herself in a vertical position instead of in face plant mode.
“You don’t have to fall at my feet to get my attention, Tamara.”
She pulled out of his embrace and rolled her eyes. “Very funny, Roberts. The door opened as I reached for it. I’m sure you have plenty of women falling at your feet.”
Yes! She mentally congratulated herself. Her voice was strong and showing no quiver of surprise or need. Her body, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to fall against Drake’s strong chest.
“Are you okay there, Tamara?” TJ’s voice floated to her.
She looked around Drake’s body and waved to TJ. “All good.”
So far she’d avoided looking into Drake’s eyes, not sure what she’d find and if she really wanted to know what he was thinking. Unable to avoid it any longer, she looked at Drake. “Don’t let me keep you from where you were going.”
His eyebrow quirked up along with the corner of his mouth—rueful was how she’d describe his look. “I’ll see you in the treatment room later on? I’m going to do a light workout.”
He went to brush past her, but she put her hand on his arm, halting his exit. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’ve got your semi-final tomorrow. You don’t want to run the risk of doing anything to aggravate your knee.”
The heat from his flesh warmed her hand, and she had to stop herself from stroking her fingers up and down. As she looked into his eyes, they darkened, making the gold flecks in them stand out. Without conscious thought she leaned forward a fraction, almost brushing up against him in a movement that was anything but casual, but everything sexual.
Fortunately, Drake seemed to have his mind firmly in the present and took a step back.
Heat rushed through her body and she knew, without a doubt, her cheeks would be flaming red.
God, how could she have been so stupid as to do something so overtly obvious. With her boss watching.
“It’s okay, I’ve got it under control. I’m just really going to do a slow jog. Keep my muscles loose.”
Trying to pull herself back into professional mode, she straightened up. “Right. Well, then yes, I’ll meet you and we’ll go through your after workout regime.”
This time she walked past him to her desk, keeping her gaze averted from TJ. She set her bag onto the credenza behind her desk. She didn’t look to see if Drake left the room because the moment he did, TJ would be asking her questions.
“Want to tell me what’s going on with you and Drake?”
Crap. Of course, TJ had noticed. Nothing got past him. Schooling her features into what she hoped was a blank expression, she forced her attention to her boss. “Nothing. You heard us talking about what he was planning to do. I’m not sure I agree with his going for a jog, considering how his knee has been giving him trouble. But seeing as you didn’t object, I’ll keep my opinions to myself and hope nothing happens.”
Wow, even she could hear the snark in her voice. She’d never spoken to TJ like that. If he didn’t think something was going on between her and Drake, he would have to suspect it now.
“You’re not in trouble, Tamara,” he started softly. “I’m not one to get involved with what the athletes do, but I’ve wanted to make sure that you’ve been comfortable working around the guys. I’ve been around a lot of locker rooms in my time and know how guys talk about their conquests. I just don’t want you to be part of a conversation like that.”
Oh hell. She hadn’t wanted to be the topic of locker room conversation. That was one of the main reasons she’d kept her distance from the athletes. She had a good, athlete-trainer relationship with them. A relationship she was proud of. But it stopped there.
Drake had somehow always been different. Even when she’d first treated him, their relationship had been easy, natural, as though they were always on the same wavelength, except, of course, when she’d noticed his injury in one of the first training sessions here in Rio—then he’d done everything to keep his distance. She still didn’t understand why he’d been so reluctant to seek treatment. Perhaps now they’d slept together, he would be willing to let her in a bit, to help her understand what he’d been going through two weeks ago.
But first, before she even considered approaching Drake, she needed to get this matter sorted out with TJ. She had to admit she got the warm fuzzies inside of her at his concern. She’d lucked out getting a boss as good as TJ.
“I appreciate your concern, and, to be honest, I’m not sure what is really happening between me and Drake.”
Not technically true. But she didn’t want to let TJ know that a little over twelve hours ago, they were locked in each other’s arms.
“I take it he’s the reason you didn’t make dinner with us last night?”
The blush that had bloomed in her cheeks earlier returned. Well, there was no point denying it. “Yes.”
TJ chuckled. So not the reaction she expected from him. “Just be careful, kiddo, and if you need me to give him a talking to, just let me know.”
A warm glow burst to life in her chest. It was so good to have someone in her corner all the time. TJ was taking his job as her surrogate father seriously. She pushed away from her desk and walked over and gave him an around-the-shoulders hug. “Thank you,” she whispered and kissed his cheek.
“Aw, go on with you,” he said as he patted her arm.
Knowing that TJ knew something was happening between Drake and her and was okay with it was a hug
e relief. While, in the back of her mind, she knew there wasn’t an issue or a future, it still helped knowing he was okay with it all.
“I can’t believe the Games are almost over,” she commented as she sat back down at her desk. “Are there any injuries we need to be aware of?”
“Nope, everyone is looking good. This contingent of track and field athletes have been outstanding in their performance. I’m very proud of the team and all of my staff in keeping them in tiptop condition.”
Tamara asked the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind. “Do you think Drake has a chance of winning?”
“You can never say never in the Olympics. The slightest thing can get you disqualified from a race or event. But I like to think he’ll do well. Len seems to think he’s got a chance. Whether Drake’s mentally prepared is the real question.”
Mentally prepared?
“Why are you worried about his mind-set? He seems pretty focused to me.” She paused and then felt safe she could speak openly with TJ. “You know he was really reluctant to let you know he was having some difficulties with his knee when we first arrived. He wanted to hide it from you. Is that what you mean by being worried about his mental state?”
“It’s a bit more than that, but it’s not my story to tell. You’ll need to take it up with Drake.”
TJ’s phone rang, effectively ending their conversation.
A million questions flew around Tamara’s mind. Was there something more that Drake wasn’t telling her? What was he hiding? Did she need to be worried?
There was only one way to get the answers she wanted—go directly to the source. But when would be the best time to approach Drake? Before or after the semis? If she approached him before, would it upset his preparation? And if he lost his semi, the last thing he would want to do was spill his secrets to her.
Fighting to Dream (The Elite Book 2) Page 7