Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  She let her eyes scan across the numbered jerseys for…? “What number did you say he was?” she whispered to Lindsey.

  “I didn’t say.”

  “Oh. Well, what number is he?”

  “I’m not telling you.”

  “What do you mean, you’re not telling me?”

  “I’m not telling you. Trust me. The offense is taking the field. Just watch, and pay attention.”

  Watch and pay attention? All right, she thought. It wasn’t like she was going to turn around and ask the Ketterings what number their son wore.

  Vivi had one sister and six cousins. Only one of them was a boy, and he played baseball, because baseball was king in Henderson. But Vivi’s father and her uncles had played football in both high school and college, so she grew up a fan. And she lived in North Carolina where the ACC was king and you cared about college sports. So again, she was a fan. And Lane was a running back. Which meant that he ran with the ball. And since he was being recruited heavily, it meant he probably could run fast and score touchdowns. So when the first play of the game was a short pass to number eleven, who caught the ball on the fly and then turned on the power boosters to run down the field, stiff-arming one defensive player and eluding two others all the way into the end zone, Vivi began to feel woozy.

  She stood while everyone around her cheered and yelled and clapped and whistled. Stood and watched as number eleven was pounded on by his teammates as they congratulated him. Stood and watched as he came to the sidelines, got a high five from his coach, took off his helmet, and looked into the stands.

  Right at her.

  Lane Kettering had just run eighty yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game. And then he’d looked for her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It’d been three months, fourteen days, and something like thirteen hours since Lane had last had his hands on Vivi. So after the locker room celebration was over, and he’d politely answered all the local media’s questions, and after he and his dad had met a new college scout from South Carolina, Lane had one thing on his mind. One thing only.

  He had his cell pressed to his ear as he walked toward his car. “Where are you?”

  “I’m at home.”

  “Vivi, you’re supposed to be at my house, waiting for me.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I just…”

  “You’re just what?” he snapped.

  “I’m just…feeling a bit…woozy.”

  That had him stopping in his tracks. “Woozy?”

  He heard a big sigh. “Seven touchdowns’ worth of woozy.”

  Lane Kettering stood there, in the dark, speechlessly grinning from ear to ear.

  “You scored seven touchdowns,” she breathed.

  “New school record,” he said.

  “Who scores se-ven touchdowns?” The way she said it made it sound like she was in the throes of an orgasm. “I…I couldn’t trust myself. Lane, I’m not kidding. All I could picture was you walking off that field and me throwing my arms around you and tackling you to the ground. In front of everyone. I had to get out of there.”

  Lane chuckled. “Give me your address. I’m coming to you.”

  “You’re not coming to me. I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

  “I’m counting on that. Now give me your address.” Lane put her on speaker and started Googling Jeb DuVal.

  “Lane, we haven’t talked to the lawyer yet. This is a bad idea.”

  “S.B., there’s nothing your hands can touch tonight that they haven’t already touched before. This teacher crap is all just semantics.”

  “Semantics that may ruin my career.”

  “So we have a very slim window of opportunity we need to take advantage of. Because until Mr. L. or someone in authority tells us we can’t continue a private, physical relationship-we can. Besides,” he lowered his voice and smiled, “I scored seven touchdowns.”

  “Laaaaannne,” she wailed.

  He really did like tempting Vivi. “Hold on. I’ll be right there.”

  “Where are your parents?” Lane asked as he followed Vivi into the family room.

  “I told you my Dad is head of the Booster Club right? Well, he and my uncles are all fired up about Henderson’s new offense after their big win last week. So he and my mom went with my aunts and uncles to watch them play Swain County in Bryson City.”

  “Bryson City? Isn’t that five hours away?” He couldn’t hide his grin as he began backing her up against a wall.

  “Lane,” Vivi reached out and stiff-armed him. Shaking. Shaking usually meant things were going in his favor. Lane looked at her hand pressed against his chest then quirked a brow. “Yes, Bryson City is five hours away,” she said trying not to smile. “My parents aren’t coming home until tomorrow.”

  “And why am I just finding this out now?” he smirked.

  “Well, I don’t want to get you in trouble by keeping you out after curfew,” she teased.

  “I set a school record tonight,” he said, removing her hand from his chest. “Pretty sure my parents are going to overlook curfew.”

  “Maybe not if they knew you were with me. Unchaperoned.”

  “It’s been fourteen weeks since I’ve been able to touch you. To kiss you,” he said, moving in, wetting his lips. “I’m going to take advantage of being unchaperoned.”

  He let himself go then. Both hands on both breasts, his mouth all over hers, his knee shoved between her legs, and man, it was better than he remembered. Definitely better than his fantasies. Because after a moment’s hesitation, she was matching his enthusiasm play for play, getting her hands underneath his shirt, shoving it up his chest, making him stop what he was doing so he could pull it off over his head.

  “Seven touchdowns,” she said, panting.

  “School record.” He pulled her mouth back under his.

  “You are reee-aally good,” she said against his lips.

  “You taste really good,” he countered. “I wanna unzip your dress.”

  She turned around and pulled her ponytail out of the way.

  “Jesus Christ, S.B. I thought I was gonna have to beg,” he said, unzipping her dress, watching as she stepped out of it before she turned around and held it up in front of her.

  “I think you’re probably right,” she said.

  “Good. About what?”

  “That we have a narrow window of opportunity. Thank goodness Piper Beaumont didn’t want to meet with me until Monday.”

  “Who’s Piper Beaumont?”

  “The lawyer. She suggested you be there too.”

  “Whatever you want.”

  “Lane, if she tells us we need to…stop…”

  “Stop what?”

  “Stop this,” she said, flipping a hand back and forth between them. “Then, we’re going to have to stop.”

  “I will prepare for the worst.”

  “Okay,” she said. It sounded a little panicky to him.

  “S.B. please, just let us be us one last time. Before all the student/teacher bullshit starts. We are the same two people we were in Myrtle Beach. And thankfully, three months apart hasn’t changed anything. We’re still crazy about each other. Right now, we’re alone. In your home. In Henderson. Just you and me. Safe. Okay?” he asked, ducking his head, looking her in the eye, moving back in slowly. He desperately didn’t want her putting her dress back on.

  “You scored seven touchdowns,” she breathed.

  “For you. I did that for you.”

  “For me?”

  “Uh-huh.” He stepped in, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I mean, I had fun doing it. The Spartans aren’t playin’ their best these days, so I figured I might be able to take advantage of that. But I did it for you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “If I had my best game ever, which I did, my parents could have no objection to me dating you. In fact, they are so superstitious, now that I’ve set a school record, they’re probably going to insist we keep da
ting.” When she laughed at that, he backed her up into the wall. “If I had my best game ever, which I did, Principal Levendusky wouldn’t worry that I’m being distracted from football or my grades.” He pulled her dress away from her and dropped it to the floor. “If I had my best game ever, which I did,” he said as he started to kiss her shoulder, “the recruiting staff from my top colleges in North Carolina will get serious about signing me before the rest of the country comes knocking on my door.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “You don’t want to date a high schooler forever, do you?” He kept kissing her neck.

  She smiled and shook her head no.

  “Didn’t think so.”

  “You scored seven touchdowns.”

  “You keep saying that,” he whispered against her ear as his hand snuck inside the back of her panties and squeezed her silky soft derrière.

  “Because I got woozy when you scored the first one.”

  That had him pulling back and looking down into her eyes. “Woozy?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “And then it got worse when you scored touchdown number two.”

  “Go on.”

  “And after touchdown number four, all I could think about was that time we were in the ocean and you took my hand and put it down your-”

  He had to shut her up or he was going to blow. He put his hands against the wall and leaned in, taking control of her mouth. Her hands were on his belt buckle and unzipping his shorts before he realized what was happening. When she snuck her hand down his pants, he hummed against her mouth, pressed their bodies together with her hand caught right where it belonged, and started to move against her.

  He…

  Did not…

  Last…

  Long.

  “Jesus, Viv,” he panted against her neck. “I’m sorry. I just…”

  “Scored seven touchdowns,” she said with a smirk.

  He laughed, stepping back. “Yeah.” He reached over for a bar towel and cleaned off her hand and arm and then cleaned himself off. “I scored seven touchdowns and it took seven seconds for you to get me off.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. “We don’t have all night this time. Your parents are going to expect you home at some point. What I did right there? That was for me. Please tell me you have a condom.”

  “S.B. I believe I told you the other day I was going to be packing at all times. I was not lying about that.” He pulled a black packet from his shorts and held it up for her to see.

  She stared at it. Like a deer in the headlights.

  “S.B.? What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking you walking around with a condom in your pocket and me knowing about it might be a little too much temptation.”

  “I think we’ll be able to handle it.”

  “I don’t. I was so hot for you after your third touchdown I would’ve done you on the fifty-yard line.”

  “Keep talking,” he said as he picked her up and carried her to the oversized couch. He sat back and let her straddle him.

  “My body is crazy for you,” she said, exasperated.

  He laughed and divested her of her bra. She didn’t even notice.

  “You can’t carry condoms in your pocket,” she insisted.

  He stopped listening because his hands had found their way to her breasts, which stood out against the rest of her tanned body, milky white and looking like they were lit up by the light of the moon. He couldn’t wait to get his mouth on one so he tossed her on her back and followed her down.

  “Lane,” she breathed as he sucked her nipple and half her breast inside his mouth. God, he loved filling his mouth with her. His hands had a mind of their own and were taking off her panties even while he was stretched out on top of her. Even as he feasted on her flesh. He rolled to his side and tucked a knee around her thigh, opening her up to his fingers.

  “Holy shit,” he said, releasing her breast. He couldn’t help himself. He went right for the money, slipping his finger deep inside. “S.B. You are so ready.”

  “I know,” she whispered, smiling at him when he looked up to see her face. “That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell you.”

  “Fringe benefit from my best game ever?”

  She nodded.

  “Christ, I love football,” he said, sinking his tongue into her mouth.

  He made her come, quick and dirty, because he remembered every little detail about her body and had been longing to prove that to himself for three months and more. On top of that, he was so turned on by her being so turned on that he was ready, willing, and able to drive home touchdown number eight. He was hearing the crowd cheering in his head. Or maybe that was the Tonight Show they’d left on. Whatever.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he said, pulling her up and shifting her around so she was straddling him again. “Like this. Just…mine. All mine,” he said, handing her the condom packet before he stood her up on her knees so he could push his shorts and boxers off, down his legs, and kick them to the floor. “Seeing you in the stands tonight…” His hands were all over her, pulling her forward so he could kiss her. “I love that you’re here instead of Atlanta.”

  “You do?” she said, sighing against him in relief. “I feel like I’m causing us a lot of trouble.”

  He plucked the condom packet from her hand and tore it open with his teeth. “No doubt I’d prefer you teaching statistics over in Henderson, because then we wouldn’t have to go through all this bullshit…” He stood her up again and sheathed himself. “… but I swear to God, you are so worth it.”

  “You’ve got me naked on your lap. Of course I seem worth it.”

  He put his hand behind her head, brought her mouth to his, and soothed her with a kiss. “Not gonna lie. I’m pretty jacked about having you naked on my lap right now.”

  “Mmm,” she said, “then make this good because this is the last time we are doing this in my parents’ house.”

  “Stop being bossy.”

  “It’s an occupational hazard.”

  He grinned against her lips as he positioned his cock at her entrance.

  “What?” she asked on a breathy sigh as he eased her down on to him.

  “Nothing,” he whispered.

  “Tell me,” she insisted, head thrown back, eyes closed.

  He debated, and then just couldn’t help himself. He slid his thumb over her clit as he kissed her neck and said, “I’m screwing the teacher.”

  Damn if she didn’t burst out laughing.

  He stopped everything.

  “See, right there,” he said, looking into her eyes, brushing the hair off her face, “that’s why I know you’re the one for me.”

  “What?”

  “You’re putting us first.”

  Her hands came up and caressed his face. Then she touched her forehead to his. “Maybe I shouldn’t be. But you’re my hero,” she said, kissing his lips. “In every sense of the word. You saved me that day on the beach. My life expanded when you walked into it. And now you’re letting me tread all over your territory and ruin your senior year. And I get to watch you score touchdowns. It’s hard not to put us first. Us really works for me.”

  “Mmm.” He brought her hands down from his face, pushed them behind her and placed them on his knees. “If this is how you plan on ruining my senior year,” he said, his fingers and eyes coasting over the soft curves of her body, “you just go right ahead and do it. I will plaster a smile on my face and do my best to suffer through.”

  “Seven touchdowns,” she whispered.

  He sucked one of her breasts into his mouth, and she started to move on him.

  “You are so fast,” she said, eyes closed. “What’s that feel like? Running eighty yards for a touchdown?”

  He sat back, put his hands on her hips and let her set the pace, watching through heavy lids. “It’s fun,” he said, licking his lips because his voice was coming out rusty. “Sometime
s it feels too easy. Sometimes,” he said, really thinking about putting it into words for the first time, “it feels like I’m Superman.”

  Sleeping Beauty smiled with her eyes closed, rocking her smoking hot bod against him. Thank God she’d taken the edge off him earlier, because letting her ride him, giving her what she wanted, what she needed, felt like pure heaven.

  “What did it feel like for you, S.B.?” he whispered, stroking back her hair. “What did it feel like for you to watch me score seven touchdown?”

  “That’s easy,” she said. “I felt like Lois Lane.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  On Monday evening, Piper Beaumont, looking all sunshiny in yellow, with untamed curls and bright blue eyes, met with Vivi and Lane at a small coffee shop situated off route 85 between Henderson and Raleigh. She started the meeting by asking for a dollar.

  “A dollar?” Vivi wondered as Lane pulled out his wallet.

  “We’ll call this a retainer,” Piper said. She nodded a thank you to Lane and took the bill. “Being that you’re Genevra’s niece and Lolly’s cousin, I’m putting the two of you on the Friends and Family plan. Money has to be exchanged so you may talk freely to me, as your attorney, and I am obligated by law to keep whatever you say confidential.”

  “So you think I need an attorney?” Vivi’s voice held an edge of panic.

  “I think you were right to call me. I think your situation is unique and completely understandable. However, if somebody had it in for either one of you, the way the law is written regarding student/teacher relationships, they could make your life a living hell.”

  “But I’m nineteen,” Lane protested. “Our relationship started months before Vivi was offered the job at Wilson.”

  “And if Vivi was working at Henderson Bank and Trust, there would be absolutely no reason for you two not to enjoy a romantic relationship. But this student/teacher thing is another matter entirely.”

  “We understand that,” Vivi said. “Of course, we understand that.”

  “I don’t understand it,” Lane protested.

  Vivi sent him a sweet smile and bumped him with her shoulder. “Of course I understand it as a teacher. But since our relationship started prior to our current situation, and with Lane being over eighteen, how bad can this possibly be?”