“She absolutely needs to do both,” agreed Finn without hesitation. “And if the two of you are as close as you say, I’m sure she’ll get over her snit sooner than later and everything will go back to normal.”
He kissed her cheek with a tenderness that was completely out of character for him. But none of the women he’d been with in the past had ever evoked this sort of emotion from him, and certainly none of them had ever displayed the type of vulnerability Delilah had just done. He wanted nothing more than to protect her and make sure no one had the opportunity to hurt her ever again - especially her asswipe of a father. He could definitely understand why her older sister constantly felt the need to look out for Delilah, for despite the confident, capable image she presented most of the time, he could still see traces of the sad, grief-stricken young girl she must have been, suffering the loss of both parents simultaneously - her mother to suicide and her father to another woman.
“Do you and your sister keep in close touch with your father?” he asked.
“No.” Delilah’s reply was swift and stern. “Though it’s more a case of him trying to forget the fact that he has two daughters from a marriage that he tore to pieces. He married his bimbo - as you so charmingly referred to her as - about a month before she had their son. Eventually they moved to Florida, had another son, and Desi and I pretty much have nothing to do with them. Desi and I tried at first, made an effort to be friends with our father’s new wife, but she made it pretty clear that she wanted us out of their lives. So we’re down to exchanging birthday and Christmas cards, and not much more.”
“I’m sorry,” murmured Finn, kissing her other cheek. “I guess when you come from a big, happy family like mine you just take it for granted that everyone else you know has a similar sort of background. I feel a little guilty now to think of my parents and siblings and the rest of the extended family, especially since I tend to take them for granted sometimes. I get back to see them a few times a year, and fly my dad or one of my brothers out to attend some football games with me, but I should make more of an effort. My parents aren’t getting any younger, though neither one of them would ever admit that.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about,” assured Delilah. “It’s wonderful that you have such a nice family. But you’re right, you should see them more often. Even if that means more lectures from your mother on your lifestyle.”
He grinned at her teasing comment. “Nah. I told you already that she’s pretty much given up on me. But she loves me just the same, even if I’m her wild child. Just like your sister loves you, even though you might have pissed her off the other day. By the way, thanks for sticking up for me.” He hesitated before venturing, “About all those tabloid stories, Delilah. While a lot of them are at least partially true, I hope you don’t - ”
“I don’t,” she interrupted, placing a hand over his mouth. “I’ve never been one to read those trashy magazines or celebrity gossip. And even if every single one of those stories is true, I still prefer to form my own opinions about people, Finn.” Her hand cupped his cheek, her voice now whisper soft. “And the man I’ve come to know these last few weeks is funny and considerate and just a really nice person. A man who loves his parents and his family, and feels guilty that he doesn’t see them as much as he should. A man who cares enough about making a good impression on his new neighbor that he asks his friend to help him pick out the right outfit to wear on a date. It’s hard to equate the wild and crazy playboy that the tabloids all make you out to be with the man I’ve spent time with. So as far as I’m concerned, I have zero interest in reading any of those stories, because they all happened before I met you. And everyone deserves a fresh start, a second chance. So prove them all wrong, Finn. Prove to my sister that she doesn’t have to worry about me being with you. And that she doesn’t have to keep sending me links to those stupid stories.”
“Delilah,” he groaned, too moved by her passionate declaration to speak at the moment. Instead, he threaded a hand into her hair, holding her head still for his kiss - a kiss that took instant fire and quickly threatened to grow wildly out of control.
She turned slightly until she was straddling his lap, causing her satiny robe to gap open and bare her thighs nearly up to the crotch. Still kissing her like a starving man, Finn somehow managed to untie the belt of her robe, then shoved the two sides apart until her breasts were fully exposed. Delilah gasped in mingled alarm and arousal as he cupped a breast in each hand, then lifted one round globe up high enough for his tongue to flick the nipple.
“Finn,” she whispered urgently. “S-someone will see us.”
“Nah,” he assured her, his fingers replacing his tongue as they tweaked her nipple. “You’ve got so many plants up here, babe, it’s like we’re in a rainforest or something. Relax.”
She moaned, none too softly, as he sucked the nipple between his lips, then repeated the action on her other breast. He yanked his sweater off, his skin suddenly feeling like it was burning up, then groaned as his bare chest made contact with hers. He ran his palm down her taut belly, then delved into the soft nest of her pubic hair, where she was already soaking wet and quivering for his touch.
“Ohhh.”
Her head fell back as his fingers slipped inside her of her body, then found a slow, steady rhythm, pumping in and out of her pussy. Soon enough she was moving in sync with him, rocking her pelvis back and forth with the thrust of his fingers. And when he began to flick the hard little nub of her clit with his thumb, it only took mere seconds after that for her to climax, her tight little core clenching around his fingers, her hands gripping his shoulders for balance.
He swooped her up into his arms as he rose from the chair, her robe falling loosely about her otherwise nude body. Delilah was still breathing unevenly as he tossed her playfully onto her big, opulent bed. He stripped off the jeans he had just pulled on a short while ago, along with his briefs, then paused to study her for a moment before joining her on the bed.
She was stunning, breathtaking, and every other adjective he could think of on such short notice. Her abundant dark hair was spread out over the dark red sheets like brown satin, her perfect little body with those curves in all the right places tempting a man to do all sorts of sinful, wicked things to her. She was way sexier than the 1940’s screen siren he’d compared her to, far more sensual than the poster of the half-naked Vargas Girl his grandfather had once hung in his garage, and flat-out irresistible.
“Goddamn, you are so fucking gorgeous, Delilah,” he told her wonderingly. “This bedroom is the perfect setting for you, because you’d have been the crown jewel of the harem. Only thing is, if I had a woman like you in my harem I wouldn’t want or need any of the others, because none of them could hold a candle to you, babe.”
She smiled up at him. “See? Look at how poetic you can be when you try. I told you there’s a lot more to you than the wild, party-loving player everyone else just assumes you to be.”
He snickered as he crawled up onto the bed beside her, rolling her onto her side and into his arms. “Well, you might believe that, darling Delilah, but I guarantee you that no one else who knows me ever would.”
Delilah wound her arms around his neck. “Who cares what they think?” she whispered, just before pulling his head down to meet her lips.
He was wild for her, his hands roving over every inch of her smooth, pale olive skin, followed by his lips. He trailed a row of kisses down between her breasts to her belly, smiling when she flinched in reaction.
“Ticklish, are we?” he teased, intentionally scratching his fingertips over her stomach, then wincing when she kicked him in the shin. “Okay, enough with the tickling. Now, where was I? Ah, yes, now I remember.”
“Oh, God, Finn!” she cried, as his head disappeared between her thighs, his tongue licking along her slit in one long, slow motion. Her pelvis bucked up off the mattress in reaction, causing him to grip her hips firmly with his hands, pinning her in
place.
He ignored the thrashing of her legs, the thrust of her hips, even the way she threaded her hands into his hair and gripped it tightly as he took his time with her, licking and sucking and stroking her leisurely. He spread her thighs apart, then used his thumbs to pry open her vaginal folds, exposing the dark pink flesh of her inner labia. He ran the flat part of his tongue slowly up from the bottom of her labia to her clitoris, then back down again, repeating this movement numerous times until she was flailing around on the mattress wildly, screaming out his name. Unhurriedly, he flicked the tip of his tongue along the most sensitive area of her clit, pushing up the hood of the tiny nub to give him better access. At the same time he thrust two fingers as deep inside of her as possible, hooking them over her pubic bone, then slowly slid them nearly all the way out, before stroking the ultra-sensitive area near her entrance.
And as vocal as she’d been while he had been going down on her, when she did climax it was done silently, her heels digging into the mattress as her mouth fell open in a soundless “O”. Finn slid back up her body, kissing that lush mouth, and letting her taste herself on his lips.
He had wanted her as aroused as possible, as wet and open and ready for him as she could be, given how hard he needed to take her this morning. He snagged a condom from her nightstand drawer, making a mental note to replenish her “stash” sooner than later. Delilah didn’t resist as he lifted her legs to wrap around his hips, but she couldn’t contain a loud gasp as he entered her with one dominant thrust.
“You okay there, babe?” he rasped, stroking her hip soothingly as he let her get used to the feel of him buried inside of her, all the way to the balls.
“Yes,” she panted. “Just - give me a sec, okay?”
He bent and kissed her full on the mouth. “As much time as you need. I could stay just like this for a real long time, maybe even hours. It’s paradise, you know, being inside of your sweet body this way.”
“For me, too,” whispered Delilah, cupping his face between her palms as she kissed him back, their tongues tangling together frantically.
Finn began moving within her then, though he was still careful not to go too deep too fast, always conscious of how small she was and worried that he’d cause her pain or discomfort. But when she breathed in his ear, “Faster”, it was the sign he’d been waiting for to pick up the pace of their lovemaking.
“Whatever the lady wants,” he murmured back, sliding his hands beneath her ass and lifting her slightly off the mattress.
Whatever worries he’d had about hurting her were quickly forgotten as Delilah met him thrust for thrust, her nails once again raking his back as her teeth sunk into his shoulder. But he wasn’t even aware of the slight pain, way too caught up instead in the pleasure he was experiencing with every thrust inside of her hot, tight pussy.
He lifted himself slightly off her body, bracing himself with his hands on the mattress, so that he could gaze down at her rapturous expression. He abruptly altered the frantic pace of their fucking, making his thrusts slow and deliberate instead, and watched her reaction. She gasped softly as he filled her all the way up, the head of his cock butting against the edge of her womb, and then sighed in bliss as he withdrew just as slowly, until only the tip of his penis remained inside of her.
“God, that’s good,” she groaned. “You’re really, really good at this, aren’t you?”
Finn bent low and ran his tongue around her reddened nipple. “We’re good at this together,” he corrected huskily. “And we fit together perfectly, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” She ran her hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “We definitely do.”
At her encouragement, he picked up the tempo of his thrusts once more, ramming into her with enough force to tip her over the edge into a screaming, sobbing climax, her heels digging into his buttocks as her arms wound themselves tightly around his neck. Once again, the tiny convulsions that pulsed around his cock as she came made him, too, catapult into an orgasm, his spine arching as he threw his head back and cried out her name.
Afterwards, he stroked her spine leisurely as they lay on their sides facing each other, while she pressed a kiss to his shoulder.
“I’m afraid I might have left a new set of teeth marks,” she told him impishly. “Sorry about that.”
Finn chuckled, giving her a pinch on the butt. “No, you’re not, you little she-devil. And don’t think I didn’t notice those claws of yours digging into my skin. I wasn’t quite that far gone. Maybe in future it would be better for you to be on top. You’re less liable to do me bodily harm in that position.”
“Next time,” promised Delilah, licking her lips like a very satisfied cat. “But we both need a shower first. And as I recall, one of us has some dishes to wash.”
He grimaced. “I was hoping you’d forget about that part. But fair is fair, I guess. You cooked me an awesome breakfast, the least I can do is clean up the dishes. Guess I’d better get started.”
“Wait.”
She held onto his arm as he would have eased himself from the bed, her dark eyes gleaming and a seductive little smile playing about her kiss-swollen lips.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she purred. “I’ll help you with the dishes if you promise to do that thing with your tongue again while we’re in the shower. You know, when you - ”
“I know,” he interrupted. “And even though you’re letting me off easy here, babe, I’ll take that deal any day. Especially since it will be just as much for my pleasure as it will be for yours.”
Chapter Thirteen
“So now that we’ve finally broken down that wall of ice between us - which, by the way, was strictly on your side of the hallway - where do we go from here?”
Delilah took a sip of her margarita and regarded Finn curiously from across the table. “You mean you’re actually giving me a choice in the matter?” she inquired roguishly. “I was under the impression that a love ‘em and leave ‘em sort of guy like you did just that. Or is fuck ‘em and forget ‘em a more accurate description of how you’ve managed your past encounters?”
Finn winced at her joking but all too accurate assessment of his sexual exploits. “Probably the latter,” he admitted reluctantly. “I’ve never pretended to be a relationship kind of guy. Never thought I had it in me to even try to have one. But I’ve already told you, babe, that you’re in a whole different league than any other woman I’ve ever known. I think I realized that from the first time I saw you across the hallway giving me a dirty look.”
She arched a brow at him in disbelief. “Can you blame me for doing that? I mean, you had your latest conquest hanging all over you, you hadn’t shaved or combed your hair, and I assumed you’d just rolled out of bed ten minutes earlier.”
He grinned. “I also wasn’t wearing any underwear if memory serves me correctly. Just thought I should add in that part.”
Delilah tossed a tortilla chip at him, smiling evilly when it plonked him square in the forehead. “Yeah, I actually might have left that little tidbit of information out of this conversation if I were you. Not that it shocks me to learn it, of course. You might as well have had “I’m a Big ‘Ole Manwhore” written across your chest that morning. Not that you needed to advertise the fact, however.”
Finn retrieved the tortilla chip from where it had fallen onto his lap and set it on the table. “It would be sort of pointless for me to deny it, wouldn’t it?” he replied a bit sullenly. “But I swear I can change, Delilah. I already have, in fact. I haven’t had the chance to tell you this - figured it probably wasn’t a good time to bring up the subject while I was trying to score with you - but I haven’t been with anyone else for almost a month now. When I made the decision to try every trick in the book to get you to go out with me, I knew I’d have to change my ways. And I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but last night was the first time I’d had sex in weeks. And, yeah, I realize that amount of time isn’t exactly going to set
any records for celibacy, but it’s definitely the longest I’ve gone without any action in more than twenty years.”
“Aw, poor baby,” she taunted, dunking a fresh tortilla chip into the bowl of salsa. “I’m surprised you were able to hold out so long. Though come to think of it, you did seem a little out of practice last night.”
He burst out laughing at her teasing comment. “More likely a case of being crazed with lust. As much as I’ve dreamed about being with you, I still couldn’t quite believe it was actually happening last night. Though I suppose I’ve got the bite marks and scratches to prove it, huh?”
“Are you still whining about that? Come on, Finn. I don’t profess to know a lot about football, but I’m guessing you took some pretty hard hits over the years. Maybe a cracked rib or two, definitely some bruises. You should have a pretty high pain tolerance.”
Finn squeezed her hand. “Maybe I’ve gotten soft in my retirement. Not in that way, though,” he added hastily. “As you saw for yourself, my, uh, equipment is working just fine. And I wasn’t exactly complaining about the little bites and scratches. I’m actually pretty proud of them. Call them what you will - battle scars, souvenirs, trophies - they’re still proof that last night actually happened. And, babe, you can bite me or claw me anytime you like. You can even whip my ass with that spatula you used yesterday. Anything that gives you pleasure, Delilah, I’m happy to oblige.”
“Hmm.” She took another drink from her perfectly blended margarita. “Well, I’m pretty fond of that particular spatula, so I’d rather not take the chance on breaking it against your ass. And aside from a few love bites or digging my nails into you during the height of passion, I’m not much into administering pain, either. So I think you’re safe. Unless, of course, you piss me off or break my heart, and then all bets are off. I’d find the heaviest, sharpest objects I could get my hands on and throw them at your head. So be warned, Finn. If we’re going to keep seeing each other, there are some definite rules you’ll need to follow.”
The Player Gets Coached Page 18