Romance in Color

by Synithia Williams

  “You wish,” she said, but she was smiling too.

  He advanced. She backpedaled, and then she hit the rope.

  “Trapped,” he mouthed.

  “Never,” she whispered.

  She sidestepped, but he surrounded her. So close he could feel the heat radiating off her skin. She exhaled and the dip at the base of her throat fluttered.

  Damn. He was getting hard in a boxing ring.

  “You sure you can handle me?” he asked.

  “Absolutely.” She batted her lashes, licked her full lips, and hooked him in the jaw. But it was softer than the other blows, and she was laughing. “God, you’re bad at this.”

  He pushed into her with his body, pinning her against the ropes. “But I’m really good at other things.”

  Her pretty eyes widened. “Really? Like what things?”

  He dropped his mouth closer to her ear. “How ‘bout we get out of here so I can show you?”

  Chapter Eight

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” MJ’s question lifted above the sound of shower spray and Jillian singing some god-awful song about “getting busy with good booty.”

  Tanya should’ve known what happened in the ring would lead to questions, but damn. That man so close had her brain short-circuiting. Big and bold. Sweaty and sexy. And giving it back to her as good as she’d given it to him. She could only imagine the sex.

  Her soapy hands froze inches from her breasts. “I know what I’m doing,” she said. “As long as I keep a healthy dose of skepticism and expect him to leave without staying in touch after he goes, then it’s all good. I’m prepared. And it’s no different than a one-night stand.”

  Jillian stopped singing. “So you’re only going to do it once? Boo! What a waste.”

  Tanya was so obsessed with Cam now that they’d gone a few rounds in the ring, she had to agree. “Fine, one-month stand. No strings. No messy feelings. Just some fun and then we walk away. I’m going to call the shots every step of the way.”

  The pipes in the stall beside her squealed until the water was silenced.

  “You better make sure he’s clear on those terms,” MJ said.

  Tanya listened to the metal rings scrape the rod and imagined MJ stepping out of the shower with concern twisting her face. She was a good friend. Protective. Tanya felt the same way about her. That was why she hadn’t been overly excited about MJ getting serious with Tag. Girl, what’s wrong with the booty call? she’d asked. But MJ had wanted more, and Tanya wanted her to be happy, so she’d accepted it. That’s what this was now wasn’t it? MJ accepting it.

  Tanya poked her head around the plastic curtain. “Hey!”

  MJ looked at her.

  “I get you. I see what you’re saying. I’ll be careful. I promise.” And then she puckered up and blew her a kiss. “Thanks for having my back.”

  “I have your back too,” Jillian said.

  “Yeah, to push it right into trouble.” Tanya laughed and ducked beneath the warm spray.

  “No, not trouble—fun! You can’t tell me you wouldn’t be grateful if I dragged that fine hunk of man in here and shoved him into the shower with you. I’d even guard the locker room door while you got busy, because I have your back. See?”

  Oh, she saw. Her hands dropped over her curves, and her nipples hardened. That would be a shower to remember.

  More squealing from the stall on her opposite side until the water silenced. “Do you want me to go get him?” Jillian asked.

  “No.” She laughed. “This isn’t high school. I know how to arrange my own booty calls, thank you.” She killed the water, wrapped a towel around her, and pushed the curtain aside.

  Jillian sucked in an exaggerated breath and held her hands to her heart. “So proud. My baby’s all grown up.” Then she turned to MJ and tossed her a cocky grin. “You know, she learned that from me.” Back to singing that stupid song … getting busy with good booty. She held onto her towel as she grooved toward the wall of mirrors, her tattoo of a murderous Cinderella strangling her Prince Charming prominently on display. “Happily ever after” was boring according to Jillian.

  Tanya just didn’t think happily ever after existed.

  MJ’s engagement ring flashed as she wound her long brown hair into a bun. In that case, she hoped she was wrong.

  “So … ” She wedged between MJ and Jillian in front of the mirror and lined up her hair products in order of use. “Enough about me and Cam. What I really need is advice about the gym. I have ‘til noon tomorrow. After that, I don’t know if Pop’ll wait much longer to accept the offer to sell.” Her throat sort of collapsed on the last word. “I’m thinking about taking a personal day tomorrow and going to the bank to see if I can get a loan on my own.”

  They both faced her, but she continued to look at them in the mirror.

  “He won’t be happy about you going into debt for him,” Jillian said.

  “No, but once I sign on the dotted line he won’t be able to refuse the money as easily as he can refuse money from Tag or Cam. I’ll have it, and I’ll have to pay it back no matter what. It’ll sort of force his hand.”

  “Sounds risky.” MJ faced the mirror and looked Tanya dead in the eyes. “A lot of risk here, T. You could end up with debt amounting to thirty grand plus interest and still not save the gym. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but please think about this.” She patted her back, and then walked away. “I have to go. I told Tag I wouldn’t be too late.”

  When the door swung shut on MJ, a fully clothed Jillian jumped up on the countertop and shook her head. “That ring around her finger has strangled the fun right out of her. She’s old and married before she’s even old and married. Sad.” She huffed and then she wound her blue-tipped hair around her finger and smiled. “I, on the other hand, think it’s a great idea. In fact, I think you’ve been full of great ideas lately.” She bobbed her brows. “Where are you going after this?”

  Wherever he wanted to go, which was what she’d told him after he’d all but propositioned her in the ring. He had some showing off to do.

  She bit back a smile. “None of your business.”

  “Well, technically it is if you plan to come back to our place. Wouldn’t want our booty calls to collide.”

  Ha! That would be hysterical. She wasn’t sure how Cam would react to Jillian’s usual suspects—pierced, sullen, and androgynous. “Do you need the apartment tonight?”

  “Nope.” She grinned. “All yours.”

  When they finally made it out of the locker room, Cam was leaning against the cement block wall wearing a sinfully clingy T-shirt and baggy sweatpants. He’d showered too. Maybe at the exact time she’d been showering. Her breath caught on the thought of him soapy and naked. Separated by a measly six inches of wall.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said. The rumble in his deep voice revved her engines, and she squeezed her thighs together.

  Jillian sauntered past him, and then she glanced at Tanya. “Don’t forget. I have tickets for Sock Monkey tonight, which is the craziest concert around, so don’t expect me home until late—tomorrow.” She bobbed her brows. “Use the time wisely.”

  Subtle, real subtle.

  Cam chuckled. “That woman is a piece of work.”

  Tanya coughed a laugh. “Ya think?”

  He placed his hand against the wall beside her head. “So about that thing I said in the ring … you still interested in a little demonstration?”

  The smell of his aftershave was making her dizzy. “Hell yeah.”

  “Good.” He leaned in, so close she could taste him in the air. “You know for a minute I was worried. Thought you might’ve changed your mind.”

  Her knees buckled the slightest bit. “Why would you think that?”

  “You took a long time in there.” His gaze flickered to the locker room door. “So long I would’ve come in after you if you’d been alone.”

  She trailed a hand down his front and slipped a fing
er into his waistband. “I could always go back in.”

  “Baby, where you lead, I follow.”

  She pushed her backside against the locker room door and dragged him along by the waistband.

  His shirt was over his head before they were safely inside.

  Gorgeous. Her fingers traced an erotic path along the deep etches of his traps and delts. So gorgeous. A perfect athletic specimen. She knew the dedication required to look like this. All the shoulder presses, lateral raises, and shrugs he had to be doing. A hell of a lot more than he had been doing in high school that was for sure. Because back then, he hadn’t looked like this.

  The past swirled with the present in her head, making her dizzy. Pretend he’s any man. Just some sexy lunk who walked into the gym on the one night she happened to be closing.

  His lips parted, and he moved in for a kiss.

  She dodged it. “This is just sex. No feelings beyond respect for the orgasm and its giver, and if one of us does develop feelings, we take them to the grave. Nobody lays claim. Nobody gets jealous. Either one can walk away without repercussions. We bounce right back to being friends without the benefits.”

  He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Do I need to have my lawyer look over that contract before I sign it? Or can we just seal it with a kiss?”

  She laughed to humor him, but there would be no kissing. She’d have better control over the situation that way.

  “And what if I want to negotiate the terms?” His hands skimmed her hips, then up her waist beneath her shirt. “You know, how often do I get it?”

  “Whenever I want it. No negotiation. That’s the offer. Take it or leave it.”

  He forced her shirt over her head from the inside out, and pulled her hard against his chest. “I’m going to take it. All of it. And when I’m done, you’re going to beg me for more.”

  • • •

  Cam’s words sounded strong, but his fingers shook. She stepped back, giving him a long look at her strong upper body and the zipper-front sports bra squeezing her breasts. He swallowed a groan. Cotton had never looked so good.

  “Mm, mm. Woman, you slay me.” He grabbed hold of the zipper and tugged. Slowly. Anticipation thinned his breaths and hardened his dick. He’d dreamed of this more than a few times after that fumbled night together. The more he’d learned, the more he’d wished he could’ve shared that capable confident man with her. Then maybe she would’ve looked at him with something other than friendly indifference afterwards.

  Her hands skimmed his abs, and he sucked in a breath.

  Friendly indifference was not an acceptable outcome now.

  The zipper split, and her breasts swelled. Damn. He lifted them to his open mouth, and let his tongue tease until her nipple formed a point. She arched her back, forcing more flesh into his mouth, so he sucked. And she moaned. Which pleasantly surprised him. Tanya had never given away her emotions easily. But he seemed to be making short work of the wall tonight.

  His ego swelled along with everything else until he was so hard it hurt.

  She moaned again when he dragged his mouth to her other breast. Her warm hands sprawled across his head, holding him in place. That hot act of possession made him smile as he licked. There was nothing like the sound of pleasing a woman. Second only to the sound of sixty-eight thousand screaming fans.

  He slipped his hands into the waistband of her yoga pants and cupped her ass. Soft and round. Just the way he liked it. His thumbs met with the V of a thong. Excellent.

  “Come here,” he pulled her by the hand deeper into the locker room. The showers seemed like the logical place, but she pawed at his pants as he walked until the elastic band slipped low on his butt and caught on his erection. He turned and drew her against his chest.

  A slow, long, liquefying kiss followed, and when he came up for air, her face was twisted.

  Warning bells sounded in his head. “What?” he asked.

  She exhaled, and her expression relaxed, but an unsettling blank stare remained.

  She was having second thoughts wasn’t she? Damn it.

  “Hey.” He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs and was just about to say he understood her hesitation when she gave him a little shove and dropped him to a wooden bench. His breath caught when the cold surface hit his ass, but the rest of him was hotter than field turf on a hundred-degree day. And getting hotter. Because whatever reservations she’d had a second before seemed to have melted away.

  “Just sex,” she said.

  There’d be no complaints from him.

  She lifted his sweats and boxers over his penis, down his legs and ditched the bra, leaving her breasts to hang heavy while she worked. He reached out to hold them, tease them, make her moan again.

  She lowered on to his lap, ending up with his hardened length in her hands. Her eyes went dark. Her lips parted. But he had the oddest sense that she was holding back.

  Not tonight, sweetheart. He reached between them and used his thumb to stroke her slippery center. Let go. Stop thinking. Because while she was even bolder and stronger than he remembered, the overthinking part hadn’t changed. And right now, he just wanted her to feel.

  He teased her with his fingers and leaned forward for another kiss, but she dodged it with a small smile and a faster pace of her hand. This time, he was the one who moaned, and he rode out each wave of pleasure with a clench to his jaw. Not yet. Not until she had hers.

  “We need a condom,” she said even as her pelvis pushed against his hand. “You know what they say about professional athletes. They get around.”

  It was so abrupt, he stopped and stared at her. “Not this one. Not like that. How ‘bout you?”

  She palmed his testicles and circled her thumb on his head. At that point, he hardly cared. Stupid, yeah, but he trusted her.

  “We’re probably safe, but why take chances?” she asked. “Jill has condoms in her locker.”

  Of course she did.

  He watched Tanya cross the room. Bold and bare. Her words echoed in his ears. Why take chances? Unlike some of his teammates who had a revolving-door policy, his practice of not sleeping with anyone he wouldn’t marry had kept him clean over the years. She couldn’t know that, of course, and he didn’t know if she was on the pill. An unexpected pregnancy was not what they needed. But still. Why take chances sounded like it was just another barrier between them. Yeah, and you put it there, Buddy. The hint of mistrust. The fact that she didn’t know who he was now or what he’d been doing outside of football. That was his fault.

  He was hit by the strongest desire to make up for it.

  A gold packet glistened between her fingers as she strode through the locker room without a hint of embarrassment. Confidence was sexier than anything he could think of. She smiled as she returned to her straddled position. “You need help with this?”

  You bet he did, but not yet. He had a feeling her push to rush right to the main event came from more than a worry they’d be walked in on.

  He slipped a finger inside of her, and she moaned. He used his thumb to circle her nub, and the combination of sensations must have been magic, because she closed her eyes, dropped her head back, and rocked against him. Pure satisfaction. And what a show.

  “Come for me, baby,” he said.

  She froze, but he kept sliding his thumb up and down, and soon she was moving again. Bouncing. Like she’d bounced in the ring. Jiggling her breasts inches from his mouth.

  “Come for me,” he said again.

  Her hands gripped his shoulders. Her nails bit into his skin. Her mouth opened, and she whimpered.

  “That’s it.” He brushed the palm of his free hand over her pointed nipple and opened his mouth to breathe. He was dizzy.

  She whimpered again. Louder. Her bouncing became a circling of her hips against his hand. And then her head fell forward and her body bucked against him.

  Score. Adrenaline ripped through his body hot and powerful.

  He opened his mouth to her shoulder and
kissed his way to her neck. “Perfect.”

  “Not bad.” Her soft chuckle vibrated against his lips.

  He heard the rip of the condom packet and felt her hands on his erection. He was ready. So ready. He eased his back to the cold wall behind him and let her take control. Watching her was half the turn-on. But she didn’t seem interested in watching him. She closed her eyes as he entered her. Maybe that should’ve bothered him, but it was hard to care when she started moving.

  Her slow, easy pulses became quick, hard bounces, shaking him to his core. He gripped her waist and drove up and in. Over and over again. Wanting to climax, but never wanting it to end.

  She bit her bottom lip, gripped his shoulders, and snuck the smallest peek. It made him smile, and she surprised him by smiling, too. Finally, those beautiful brown eyes opened wide and locked with his.

  He drove into her again. The increased connection ripped the orgasm from deep inside.

  He emptied everything he had into her. Went soft. She crumpled too, dropping her cheek to his shoulder on an exhale. A million times better than last time, he thought. He smoothed a hand over her bare back to cup her neck and settled in to enjoy the closeness he’d never gotten a chance to experience last time. Under the bleachers hadn’t been the most convenient or comfortable place, and the awkwardness between them hadn’t helped. He couldn’t help but compare. They were more confident now, and he had a bench. He smiled as he kissed her neck.

  He could stay like this forever.

  But all too soon, Tanya stiffened and straightened. “I’d call that redemption,” she said. Then she slid off him with a small smile and gathered her clothes. She disappeared behind a row of lockers.

  Wait. What? Sure, he’d been having similar thoughts, but the way she just threw it out there and then got up and walked away? Damn, she hadn’t been kidding when she’d said just sex.

  Talk about anticlimactic.

  He roughed a hand over his face. What happened here was more than redemption. He didn’t know what to call it, but he knew he wanted to do it again. And again. But if all she felt was vindicated, then he might not get his wish. Nope. That wouldn’t fly. He was Cam “damn” Simmons, the Super Bowl MVP. And she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He’d just have to remind her of that.