Guarding His Heart

by Synithia Williams

  This was not a no-biggie situation. When she’d met his younger kids, that had been accidental. She wasn’t the woman he was sleeping with when that happened. She’d just been the photographer talking to his grandmother. That could easily be written off.

  This. This was completely different. Purposefully hanging out with his daughter when they were officially a couple was a legit introduction. This was real relationship stuff.

  Kevin put his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the back of the house. “I already told her about the meeting. She’s excited for me to go. I told her you were coming, and she actually wants to meet you.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? You were coming over and her mom’s flight is delayed. There’s a good chance she would have met you anyway.” He said it in that same no-biggie tone she’d used earlier.

  Kevin took her straight to the kitchen where a tall, young girl poured soda into a glass filled with ice. She looked up and grinned when she saw them. There were braces on her teeth. Her curly hair was pulled up in a giant puff on the top of her head. She had Kevin’s smile and complexion.

  “Asia, this is Jasmine,” Kevin introduced them. His voice was expectant. His body a little stiff.

  Jasmine lifted a hand and waved awkwardly. “Hey, Asia.”

  Asia’s grin widened. “Oh my God, you two are so cute! Dad, you didn’t tell me she had blue hair. I want blue hair!”

  Kevin’s body relaxed. “No blue hair until your mom agrees with it.”

  Asia huffed, but then her smile came back out with full brightness. “Fine. Hey, Jasmine, want to go to the mall while Dad’s at his meeting?”

  “Uh...sure,” Jasmine stammered a little, stunned by Asia’s quick acquiescence to hanging with her dad’s new girlfriend. Did Kevin introduce a lot of his girlfriends to his kids? Was she reading into things? “Anything you’re looking for in particular?”

  “Not really. I usually shop online and hate the mall, but they’re having this big promotion at Sephora. Free lip gloss with each purchase. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.”

  “I’m cool with that.” She looked at Kevin. “That cool with you?”

  He nodded. “Fine with me. Grab something to eat while you’re out. When I’m done with this meeting, I’ll see where you two are at and we can hook up and do something until Sabrina gets back.”

  He crossed the kitchen and kissed Asia on the top of her head. “Don’t talk Jasmine’s ear off.”

  “I’ll try not to,” Asia said in a voice that said she’d do the opposite.

  Kevin laughed and picked up a set of keys. He crossed to Jasmine and kissed her cheek. “I’ll try and make this quick.”

  “No rush. We’ll be fine.” Her tone was cheerful, even though her heart hammered and she felt thrown off balance.

  “Thank you so much for this,” he said. Appreciation was a warm caress in his voice.

  She smiled her you’re welcome. He kissed her again and then was gone. Jasmine glanced back at Asia. “So...”

  Asia held up a hand. “Hey, just one thing. My dad deserves to be happy. I want him to be happy and I think you make him happy. Are you really into him or are you just trying to take advantage of him?”

  The bluntness threw Jasmine for a second. Any thought to tell Asia to mind her business was washed away by the protectiveness in the girl’s voice. She obviously didn’t want anyone to hurt her dad.

  “I care about your dad. A lot.”

  Asia nodded. The bright smile returned. “Good. He needs that. Even though I don’t think he thinks he does.” She picked up her glass and walked toward the door. “I’m going to get my stuff and we can go. I can’t wait to hear all about you. My dad’s got a girlfriend. Finally!” Asia lifted her shoulders and squealed before prancing out of the kitchen.

  Jasmine forced her mouth to close. Guess that answered the question about girlfriends meeting his kids. She bit her lower lip to hold back the grin. She was Kevin’s girlfriend.

  * * *

  Kevin hated when people whistled a tune. The sound of whistling usually made his neck tighten, made him want to tell the offender to find another way to express their giddiness. He could never think of anything good enough to warrant whistling. That was until today. He whistled his own cheery tune as he entered his condo.

  Finally, things were going right for him. The meeting with Taylor Sports had gone better than expected. They wanted his outgoing personality, as they’d expressed it, to mix things up on their current basketball broadcast show. Despite being one of the oldest players in the league, they felt Kevin would bring a “youthful point of view” compared to the retired players who’d been champions years ago.

  On-screen interviews were still required, but the job was basically his for the taking. And he was going to take it. The idea of doing something different without having to completely leave the game behind eased the pain of retirement. He felt useful again.

  On top of that, Asia had given Jasmine a glowing review. He’d gotten the text from Sabrina that her plane landed and she and Paris were on the way home. He and Jasmine and Asia had had a late lunch after his meeting, he’d dropped Jasmine back at his place, and then he’d taken taking Asia home. Her shopping trip with Jasmine had been a success—yielding the free lip gloss and apparently a new sparkly eyeliner. She’d given Jasmine a teenager’s highest honor, the label of cool.

  “She’s cool, Dad,” Asia had said before getting out of the car at her mom’s house. “I think you’ll be happy with her.”

  Paris’s group had placed in the math competition, so when Kevin had walked Asia inside, they’d focused on celebrating his daughter’s good news. He’d left after promising to take Paris to the next superhero film coming out the following Friday.

  He hadn’t realized he wanted his kids’ approval. He’d never introduced any of his kids to the women he dated because their approval wasn’t needed. The women he’d seen in the past hadn’t been likely to become anything more than a random hookup with little chance of a deep connection. That’s what he’d thought would happen with him and Jasmine, but over the summer, things had slowly morphed into more than that.

  Was he ready for a serious relationship? No. She still didn’t know about his body breaking down. History proved he couldn’t give the type of commitment expected in a relationship. He’d never failed in his career. Never not gotten something he really wanted. The job offer with Taylor Sports was another example. But he failed at relationships.

  He didn’t want to fail with Jasmine, but what happened a year, two or three years from now when the pain got worse? When the demands of his job took up more of his time?

  What if he grew bored and the excitement of being involved in television lured him away the same way the new fame of being a professional athlete had lured him before? Would Jasmine tell him he wasn’t there for her the same way Hanna had? Would he walk away because he couldn’t handle the pressure to be the perfect partner like he had with Sabrina?

  His whistling ended when he walked into the condo. The sound of jazz drifted from his living area accompanied by Jasmine’s voice humming to the music.

  He shoved thoughts of the future out of his mind. Right now was what mattered. He’d won the job. His kids were happy. He had a beautiful woman waiting for him in his home. To hell with the future.

  Jasmine sat on the floor next to his coffee table, her camera in her hands as she studied the screen. She’d changed into a T-shirt and shorts. The smell of her bodywash, a crisp citrus scent imprinted on his brain, filled the space. She must have showered. Which meant that sweet scent was all over her body, ready for him to explore. His body hardened.

  “What are you working on?” he asked.

  She glanced up from her camera. “Looking at the pictures I took before coming to Atlanta. Asia was interested wh
en I told her about my project. I haven’t gone through them yet to see which ones I’d like to have for the showing.”

  Kevin tugged off his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “How do you like them?”

  “It’s hard to pick my favorites, but I think that’s because I’m so into this project. Every angle captures the history of these places along with the loss of that history over time. It’s sad.”

  “Not anymore,” he said. He sat on the arm of the couch. “You’re bringing that history back to life. That’s a good thing.”

  Her smile punched him in the chest. Damn, coming home and having her smile at him like that after a good day would be better than winning the playoffs. A bad day would be bearable knowing she was there waiting to smile at him.

  “You’re right,” she said. “Which makes picking the best pictures even harder.” She sucked in her lower lip and studied her camera.

  He pulled his jacket off and tossed it on the couch. She slid her lip from between her teeth. It was plump, swollen and wet. Images of slipping her lip between his teeth filled his mind. Running his hands over her curves. Making other parts of her body wet and swollen.

  Kevin spread his legs to accommodate his growing erection. “Focus on something else for a while.”

  “Like what?” Jasmine glanced up at him. She must have seen something in his expression because her smoky eyes darkened with desire.

  He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt. Her hungry gaze followed the movement with an intensity that felt like a caress. She lifted a brow and licked that delectable lower lip, accelerating his heart rate with the movement. He loved when she looked at him as if she couldn’t wait to run her tongue over his body.

  “I can think of a few things for you to focus on instead of that camera,” he replied.

  “I think I want to play with the camera a little longer.” She lifted the camera to her eye. Snapped a photo of him.

  Kevin raised a brow. “You’ve got plenty of pictures of me.”

  “None where you look this tempting,” she answered, her voice husky with promise.

  He liked that answer. He slipped out of his shirt. “Tempting, huh? I thought I was pretty tempting the first day we met.”

  “You were very tempting then.” She snapped another picture. “But that was work. This is for fun.”

  Kevin slid from the arm of the chair to the seat. He leaned back and popped the button of his slacks. She sucked in a breath. Raising an eyebrow, he eased down the zipper. The sound vibrated and pulsed through the room, the sultry beat of jazz the perfect backdrop to this game of foreplay.

  He slowly slid a hand into the waistband of his underwear. “How much fun do you want to have?”

  * * *

  Jasmine’s heart pounded harder with each snap of her camera. She’d never forget Kevin’s naked body. The works of art that canvased his skin. The strength and agility apparent in every muscle on his body.

  No, the vision of Kevin naked wasn’t something she expected to fade quickly or easily. This was different.

  For him to be willing to trust her to photograph him in the nude again. No room full of people, no staged shots to show off his athletic ability. Just him, her and the camera. That level of trust made her breasts heavy, her nipples hard and a deep need settle heavily between her thighs.

  “I want to have a lot of fun,” she told him.

  She lifted the camera to her eye. Kevin stood, removed the rest of his clothes, then lowered back on the couch.

  Jasmine’s hands trembled, her breathing as erratic as the saxophone solo in the music. Wild, pulsing and soaring with passion infused in each breath. He was amazingly beautiful. Powerful and sleek in a way that made her want to melt into a pool of estrogen at his feet.

  “You guide the shot, Jasmine,” he said.

  “Act as if I’m not here.”

  “That’s the thing. When you’re not here, I’m thinking of you. Wishing you were here. Then I spend the night thinking about what would happen if you were here.”

  Something tightened in her chest. Those words were a lot more than sweet nothings. They rang with sincerity and the need she felt whenever she was away from him. “Then what do you do when you think of me?”

  The smile on his face was decadent. A smile that made her squirm on the floor and ease forward with her camera to capture the sinful twist of his lips.

  “This.” His voice was rough and tight. Long fingers wrapped around his length. Kevin showed her exactly what he did when she wasn’t there.

  Keeping the camera in her hand became difficult as her palms dampened with sweat. Her body shivered. He was so damn hot. So damn sexy and tempting. Open and raw without a bit of shyness or hesitation in front of her or the camera. Kevin didn’t do anything in halves, including driving her crazy just by touching himself.

  Jasmine put down the camera and crawled across the floor to him. His head was thrown back, eyes closed and lips parted with heavy breaths. She placed her hands on his knees. He didn’t jerk. Just opened his eyes to stare at her and smile as if he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist him and stay on the other side of the room.

  She pushed his hand aside and took over his work. That turned his smug look into one of complete surrender.

  “Damn, Jasmine, I love your hands on me.”

  Her grip on him firmed. When her lips caressed him in a soft kiss, his body went rigid. He sat up, swept her onto her feet and over his shoulder.

  “Kevin! What are you doing?”

  “If you do that, this won’t last long.” His strides were long and determined. They reached the bedroom in a flash and then she was on her back on the bed.

  He wasn’t gentle as he jerked her clothes off. The urgency of his movements created a sense of frenzy in her. Her hands touched and caressed every part of him she could reach. She knew her touches were driving him just as crazy. His drive to get her naked and against him made her want to take him to the pinnacle of pleasure.

  He nearly pulled the top drawer of his nightstand completely out when he jerked it open and pulled out a condom. The foil wrapping didn’t last. He was covered and pushing into her with the quick agility she’d marveled at in his muscles.

  His fingers dug into her hip as he pinned her down with one hand. The other braced above her head. He drove into her with fierce, determined strokes. “You drive me crazy. Do you feel what you do to me?”

  Feel it? She loved it. She nodded, maybe moaned something and grabbed onto his arms as he pushed her over the edge.

  His hand tightened. He pulled back. Made her whimper at the loss. Plunged deep. “Do you feel that?”

  “Oh God, I love that,” she moaned.

  “You love that, huh?” His voice was a sensual caress to her senses. He repeated the movement. Her body clenched around him. Taking the pleasure.

  “Yes.” Her head pushed back into the mattress.

  He lowered and kissed her ear. The long strokes melding into a slow grind made her toes curl. “Tell me that you love it. Tell me that you want it. Tell me, Jasmine.”

  His body pressed against her sensitive nub as he loved her with full, deep strokes. She wanted him. Couldn’t think about anyone else when they were apart. Couldn’t imagine not talking to him again. Not feeling him against her again. Her body exploded with the force of her orgasm.

  Her nails dug into his back. “Ahh, Kevin, God, I love you!”

  His body shivered, jerked, and he followed her over the edge. Her eyes popped open. The afterglow of being thoroughly made love to by Kevin was erased by what she’d said.

  Holy fucking shit!

  It wasn’t a lie. She loved him.

  Kevin didn’t hold her like he typically did afterward. He pulled away carefully. Avoided eye contact as he rolled off the bed and mumbled, “I’ve got to clean up.”

  Jasmine’s h
eart plummeted to the center of the Earth. She’d committed the ultimate just-having-fun faux pas. She’d told Kevin she loved him when he obviously didn’t love her back.

  Chapter 17

  She loved him.

  That was not how this was supposed to go. At all. The sex was great. Freaking fantastic! The conversation was good. His friends and one of four kids had signed off on her, but they were still just chilling. They weren’t going to put undue expectations on what was happening between them. She wasn’t supposed to say I love you!

  That changed every damn thing.

  Maybe it was in-the-moment sex talk. Instead of saying, I love this, or I love it, she’d accidentally said you.

  Yeah right.

  Was her loving him really a bad thing? He liked her. Cared about her even. He looked forward to seeing her, and, again, the sex was amazing. Maybe her loving him wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  Her loving you means she’s going to want this to be defined. A relationship.

  Love meant forever. Love meant expectations of marriage. Love meant I’m trusting you with my heart so don’t screw up and break the damn thing. He wasn’t ready for that. Just when he was getting used to the idea of maybe doing the let’s try this couple thing, she had to go and say I love you and ruin everything.

  Love! He was a failure at love. No better than his dad.

  Kevin cringed at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. This was bad because now he’d see the look of disappointment and pain in her eyes that he’d seen twice before, and sooner than expected. He was bound to see it when he told her he wasn’t ready for love to enter into what they were doing.

  He hadn’t been able to love Sabrina or Hanna the way they’d wanted to be loved. He’d loved Sabrina with all the fierce emotion that came with a first love, but that hadn’t been enough to make him want to spend the rest of his life with her once he’d gotten out of Silver Springs and seen more of the world. Now he loved her as the mother of his kids, but knew he could never give her what she wanted.

  Then there was Hanna. Hanna who had been the perfect mistress. They’d enjoyed each other’s company without any expectations. Then the pregnancy had come, followed by the twins and he’d figured he’d have to be in love because she was having his children. She’d walked away a year later.