by Ali Parker
"Expecting someone?" Bethany called after me.
"Yeah. Dana." I walked to the door, forcing myself not to jog. I was terrified of losing her again, but I had to explain myself. She needed to know what the hell was going on.
I opened the door and lost my breath. She stood there, looking like a sex kitten in a pretty blue dress, her legs going on for what seemed like forever. The dainty sandals she wore were all wrong for winter, but looked so good on her. My body roared to life.
"Um, hi?" She moved toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist and lifting to her toes. "You're my boyfriend right? A one, Dr. Kendal Tarrington? Best looking thing this side of the Mississippi?"
I didn't say anything, but instead ran my fingers through her hair and leaned over to consume her sweet mouth. A soft moan left her and I was lost. It was a damn good thing for her that everyone else was in the house behind us. Otherwise I would have carried her down the hall and eaten her for dinner.
"Wow." She pulled back and reached up to touch the side of my face. "You okay?"
"Oh yeah. Much better now." I leaned down and kissed her a few more times. "Fuck, you turn me on."
"Well, keep it in your pants." She smiled. "Let's go hang out with your friends and I'll fake a stomach ache in a little while so we can leave."
"I like the sound of that." I cupped my hand over hers and pulled it from my face, kissing her fingers a few times. "You doing okay?"
"Just cold." She gave me a look, and I realized that I was blocking the way into the house.
"Sorry, baby." I moved back and watched her walk past me. It took me a few minute to adjust my erection, but she stole the attention from everyone in the kitchen anyway. How could she not? She was magnificent, caring, gorgeous, smart. I was in trouble. I'd be on my damn knees before her with a ring before too long if I wasn't careful.
Slow your roll. You gotta get through this shit with Heather. It isn't just your job. It's your life.
One more fuck up, and I was sure to dive into a pit I couldn't get out of on my own. To the University, Dana would be a massive fuck up. Dating another student?
Sadness swam through my center as I watched her own the room. Matt laughed and glanced over at me, shaking his head.
"How the hell did you score this beautiful girl?"
"No clue. I'd say that I was lucky-"
Damon walked in. "But we all know that's a damn lie."
We laughed and Damon motioned for me to join him outside. I shook Kent's hand and gave Karen a quick hug before walking into the chilly night with him.
"She's gotta know what's going on." He opened the top to the grill. "Just tell her."
"I can't." I ran my hand over my chest and turned toward the house. "I want her so fucking bad right now. Something about having her wrapped around me gives me a moment to believe everything is going to be okay."
"Then go take her. We’ve got thirty minutes. Stop being a puss and get in there."
"You just dragged me out here, fucker." I glanced back and smiled.
"I'm going to get you out of this. I promise. Go spend time with your girl seeing that you can't really do it anywhere else."
"Thirty minutes?" I walked toward the house as my cock stood at attention. "That's not nearly long enough."
"I'm calling bullshit," Damon called after me, but I ignored him. The insane life he and I had lived in college left us brothers by choice for the rest of our lives. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, and I knew the feeling was mutual.
If he said he could get me out of my hell. He could.
The sound of Dana laughing stole my heart. I paused by the entrance to the kitchen and let my eyes move down the back of her. She was telling a story about some crazy old woman at the hospital and Bethany, Kent, Karen and Matt were gathered around her, laughing. They moved away as Karen started giving out orders, and I had my chance.
I moved up behind Dana, wrapped my arms around her and leaned down, brushing my lips up the side of her neck.
"Meet me in the bathroom, third door on the right. Now." I licked her ear. "I need you so fucking bad."
She shivered in my arms, but when I turned to leave, I had no doubt that she would follow. I could see the love entangled lust in her eyes when I first opened the front door.
I couldn't mess this up. I just couldn't.
Chapter 14
Dana
Chill bumps covered my exposed skin, and I stifled a moan. My mind had been playing horrible tricks on me the last day or so. After not getting to see him on Sunday or Monday, and then having my older sister basically confess that of course she was still in love with him. I was a hot ass mess.
"I'll be right back," I stuttered and turned, hoping to catch up with him. Did he say second or third? Right or left.
I yelped as he reached out and grabbed me from an open door. "Kendal." I swatted at his chest as he laughed and closed the door.
The bathroom around us was elegant. Beautiful.
"Sorry, baby. I didn't want you to pass me by." He slid his hands down my sides and squeezed my hips before pulling me in close. "I missed you."
"Why didn't I get to see you yesterday?" I lifted to my toes and brushed my lips by his, loving the taste of lust on his tongue.
He didn't respond, but deepened the kiss, leaving me weak to whatever he wanted from me. "We only have twenty-eight minutes and I hate rushing these things."
I laughed. "We have all night. We're not having sex in this bathroom. I'm not a wild-"
"Yeah, you are. I know you like to play proper like a good girl usually does." He stood up and walked around me, dragging his fingers over my lower back as he moved. "You pull it off well, but the woman covered in soapy water with her beautiful ass in the air moaning for me to go deeper is the one I want to spend twenty-seven minutes with."
Nerves danced in my belly, but I forced them down and turned to face him. "And what if she doesn't really exist?"
"I know she does." He licked his lips and ran his eyes down my body before reaching out and gripping my waist. "Up on the counter."
I reached back and pressed my hands to the cold counter as he lifted me and sat me on the edge. "What are you doing, Kendal?"
"Loving you when I want to." He slid his hands up my thighs, forcing my dress to go with him. "Where I want to."
I reached out and gripped his shoulders, not too sure of myself. "What if someone hears us? Did you bring a condom?"
He tugged my dress up enough to leave a tiny pink triangle showing between my thighs. "Hush. Just lean back and give me some room, angel."
I whimpered as he ran his thumb over my center. His eyes moved back up to mine and he slipped his fingers underneath my panties, spreading me open and pressing in a little.
"Kendal. We can do this later t-"
"Shhh..." He moved down to his knees and pulled me closer to the edge before tugging my panties to the side. Leaning in, he breathed in deeply. "Fuck, I love the way you smell."
"Oh shit." I gripped the counter as he rolled his tongue through my folds, teasing me with strong flicks and the hope that he would force a finger deep inside of me.
"Wrap your pretty legs around my shoulders." He glanced up and smiled. "Relax. It's just me. I'm going to be down here a lot. I love the way you look. The way you smell and taste." He leaned in and pressed his mouth to me, sucking softly and then harder.
I wasn't going to last long. Cameron refused to go down on me, and Kendal had been my first time a few weeks back. I wasn't used to it, didn't know what to expect. The naughty part of me wanted to reach down and hold myself open for him, but I wasn't sure how he would take it.
"So soft and wet, Dana." He pressed two fingers into me, driving me over the edge with nothing more than a few deep pumps. "That's it. I feel you tightening. Let go."
I let my head drop back as electricity raced across my stomach. The moan I let out would have been embarrassing if I could make sense of anything. All I could hear, feel, see was him in front
of me, lapping at my body.
"Again," he commanded and flicked his tongue over my clit.
"Harder," I whispered and arched my back.
He complied, and I had a hard time holding myself up. The room spun around me as the sound of him licking and sucking at my flesh filled the air.
"I'm going to fuck you so good when I get you home, Dana. You're in for a long night, baby." He pressed his mouth to my center and I almost came off the counter as a cry ripped from my lips, my body shaking, my mind dizzy.
He stood and gave me a naughty grin. "Fuck, that was hot."
"I love it." I reached up and gripped the back of his neck, pulling him down into a long kiss. "I love you." I needed him to know.
He pulled back and ran his hand over his erection. "You turn me on so much. Did you know that? Everything about you."
I worked to get my panties back into place and reached for him as someone knocked on the bathroom door. The sound of it almost scared the hell out of me.
"Hey guys. Dinner is ready!" Matt yelled.
"We're coming," Kendal called out and glanced back at me, whispering the rest. "At least one of us is."
I smiled and moved toward him. Why hadn't he repeated my affection? Was it too early? Had he not heard me? "You wanna a turn."
"You know I do, but not here. We'll take our time together soon." He brushed his fingers down the side of my face. "You were incredible."
"I don't wanna go yet." I pressed my hands to his chest and lifted to my toes. "Tell them I'm not feeling well."
He laughed. "That was our plan for later tonight, I thought."
"It was." I stepped back and fixed my skirt. "I know this isn't the right time, but I met with Ana today. She told me that you were in love with me."
He turned and leaned over the water faucet, splashing his face, leaving me in silence. Awkward silence.
I continued to fill the gap. "It was good to move past things with her. I think we did, at least."
"That's great news, baby." He patted his face with a white hand towel and turned to face me. "And you told your brother’s friend to jump off a cliff? I'd hate to go to jail for killing some poor guy."
I smiled. "I did. And what about you?"
His expression tightened. "What about me?"
I was expecting a different response, but I got somewhere between tense and put off. For some strange reason, it agitated me. Maybe I just needed to be direct with him. He was my lover, my boyfriend and soon to be my best friend. I wanted everything clear between us.
"I'm moving past the shit with my sister for you. I'm thinking about transferring for you. So we can be together before May. That's too long. You know it is." I reached up and brushed my hair back, trying not to lose my nerve. "Are you getting past the rules of the university for me?"
He moved past me and opened the bathroom door. "It's not that easy. I'll explain."
I took his hand when he reached for me, because I wasn't sure what else to do. I'd just opened my legs like a whore in the bathroom for him. Sure, it was all for my own pleasure, but to have him not respond to my admission of love and then say that he wasn't going to reject the University rules for me?
Shit. Maybe Jackie was right. Maybe my sister was right.
"We'll talk about it tonight, okay?" He glanced over his shoulder, his expression meant to reassure me no doubt.
"Of course. It's all good." I pulled my hand from his and walked into the kitchen to find Bethany and Karen laughing about something. I missed my own mom in the moment. "Hi ladies."
"Hey. Where did you run off to?" Bethany reached out and brushed my hair from my face.
"Kendal wanted to chat for a minute. We've both been going through some crazy crap in our own lives." I shrugged and pointed to the carrots that someone stopped chopping midway through the bag. "You need me to finish those?"
"I'd love for you to." Karen smiled over at me. "How long have you and Kendal been dating?"
"A couple of weeks, I guess." I moved over and started to chop the carrots, grateful for something to do. My panties were ruined, my hormones on full alert and my knees week. It was a shitty way to feel in front of almost strangers.
"That's great. He's a wonderful man. His life has been a little bit ridiculous, don't you think, Beth?" Karen moved over toward me and took the chopped veggies I'd completed. "He just needs to find a good woman, but it seems like he already has."
"Yeah. Every time he gets ahead a little, something stupid happens. This latest thing with Heather is just fucking disturbing." Bethany moved up beside me as her mom barked from behind us.
"Language please!"
"Sorry, Mom." Bethany laughed and picked up a bottle of wine. "You want a drink?"
"Um, sure." I needed to get my head out of the conversation Kendal and I had half-ass had in the bathroom. It was stupid. He would tell me that he loved me when he could. He would walk away from the University when it was the responsible time to do it. It didn't have to be him that sacrificed. It could be me. Just me. Right?
"Did he tell you about the latest crap with Heather Turner?"
"The professor at UT that he knew back in college?"
"Yeah." She rolled her eyes and poured a glass of wine before extending it toward me. "I guess him and Damon used to sleep with her together. That's weird."
"I agree." I forced a chuckle and lifted my glass. "I knew she was bothering him a little, but he was supposed to go to the dean about it."
"Well, it's gotten worse. She's claimed that he forced himself on her three times." She finished her glass and filled it up again. "Have you ever heard of anything so stupid?"
"No," I whispered as dread filled me. There was no way Kendal would sleep with this chick. He hated her. An angry fuck? It's not like we were together at all the last two weeks. I couldn't believe it about him. He wasn't that guy.
Or was he?
I'd never met anyone so aggressive and forward in the bedroom, and where I loved it, I could image Heather did too. How hard would she have to push to get him to buckle? A hot guy like him? He wasn't the only one with the looks.
She was beautiful too. The day she'd been spying on us gave me a quick chance to see who she was. Why hadn't I been worried then? Because everything seemed fine.
But it wasn't fine.
He didn't love me or he would have said something in the bathroom. It was the perfect chance to validate it for me.
And he wasn't going to push against the University rules to make sure we were together. Jackie and Ana were right. Men didn't change for the woman they liked. They did it for the ones they loved.
And that wasn't me.
I twisted the knife and cut the tip of my finger, yelping loudly as Karen rushed over.
"You okay, dear?"
"Damn. I'm so sorry." I pulled my hand up and reached for the towel she offered me. "I'm really sorry. I cut my finger pretty bad. And I ruined the carrots." Tears burned my eyes. Where the cut was on purpose, the tears were real. I needed an out. Now.
"I'll get Kendal." Beth walked out.
"Just tell him that I'm okay and just need to run up to the hospital to get a stitch. No big deal." I walked toward the door, grabbing my purse and did not stop.
The sound of Kendal's voice behind me was far enough that I knew I could make it to my car and get out of there before he could reach me. It was childish and stupid, but I was at a loss for how to save myself.
He wasn't going to love me the way I loved him. How could he? I wasn't Ana.
I cried all the way home and called Olivia once I was settled on the couch with a bandage on my hand. She calmed me down and offered for me to come up and visit for the weekend, all expenses paid.
"Can I come tomorrow morning? I wanna get out of here." I glanced around my living room. "I think I've made a mistake. I just want to run from all of it."
"Then come on. My computer is showing a five o'clock flight in the morning. I'll send the ticket through e-mail. Come stay with me. I'll
take care of you."
"Okay. Love you," I mumbled in the phone and walked to my bedroom, closing the door and dropping on the cold bed. The sound of knocking at my front door ten minutes later had my heart racing, but I ignored it. Kendal would get the message sooner or later.
I wasn't willing to be the only one to bend, nor was I capable of being the only one in love.
Chapter 15
Kendal
"Dammit, Dana." I walked around my living room, my kitchen, the back yard. Nothing. Nothing calmed my nerves. She wasn't answering her phone. She wouldn't open the door the night before. What the hell?
Anger burned through me, and I began to question everything.
Maybe she was too young for me. I was thirty-one and Dana was in her mid-twenties. Maybe the difference was too much? A grown-ass woman would have picked up the phone by now. Or returned a call.
Karen had told me that Dana had cut her finger and ran out like she was missing half of it. Why the fuck wouldn't she call and let me know that she was okay?
Surely she knew that I cared. That I wanted to make sure she was good. I would have taken care of her. Waited on her hand and foot.
I growled loudly and walked back into the house, letting the back door slam. "Think!"
What happened? What could have messed up the evening to the point of her running from me?
I ate her out in the bathroom, doted on her as much as humanly possible, and reminded her that she was mine and I was hers. Aggravation overwhelmed me.
Dropping down on the couch, I pressed my face to my hands and let out a long yell. Every cell in my body screamed for me to find her and force her to see me. To hear me.
Why did women have to be so damn difficult?
My phone rang from the kitchen, and I jumped up like my ass was on fire.
"Please let it be her." I picked it up to find someone from UT calling. "Great." I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and pressed the answer button. "Dr. Kendal Tarrington."
"Kendal. It's Mark. We met with Lance and he wants to have a mediation just before lunch today. Can you make it up here? He wants to close this down as quickly as possible."