by Renée Dahlia
‘Sure,’ The Palace waved his arms, ‘sounds like a plan. We don’t have any more training this season.’
‘Isn’t that your cousin’s place?’ Rachel asked quietly, as the team gathered their crap and started to move.
Jacob stared at her with a furrow between his eyebrows, ‘How did you know?’
‘It’s where I met Allira … before I moved in. She said she sometimes works there for your cousin, filling in when he needs it.’
‘Does she? Where does she find the time?’
Rachel’s lips quirked up, ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person.’
‘Come on, let’s go.’ The Palace started walking off with the rest of the team, leaving her and Jacob standing alone on the grass outside the public stand.
‘Are you alright to walk that far? You didn’t respond to my text after the game.’
Jacob’s eyebrow lifted, and his mouth quirked upwards. ‘I thought you didn’t want a relationship?’
She growled under her breath and punched him lightly on the shoulder. ‘I don’t.’
‘So why do you care?’
‘What’s wrong with a bit of caring?’ Her cheeks prickled with heat and she tried to brazen her way through with a bit of snark. ‘Would you rather no one gave a shit?’
He laughed, his head tilting back exposing his throat to her, and she knew the prickles of heat had everything to do with wanting him, and nothing to do with embarrassment. When would her body listen to her fucking head, and stop betraying her with all this need for him?
‘Thanks for caring. I had a scan this morning before the races. It’s a minor ligament tear, no surgery necessary, just a few months of rest and physio.’
She nodded, her eyes glued to one of the buttons on his shirt. ‘I’m glad it’s nothing major.’
‘Thanks. We knew it was a risk before I took the field—’ He half-shrugged one shoulder, ‘I took a knock on the wrong angle, and it went from a twinge to torn. It’s a shame it happened so early in the game, and I missed most of it.’
‘Yeah.’ She dragged her eyes upwards to meet his. ‘I was watching.’
He shrugged one shoulder, ‘It’s not like we might have won if I’d stayed on the field. We were outplayed by a better team.’
‘Still sucks though. I know you had your heart set on a grand final.’
‘Thanks. I guess there is always next year. Hold on, you watched the game?’
Rachel folded her arms, ‘Well, Allira was watching, and since I live in the same house … Anyway, Allira hated seeing you on the sideline with ice on your knee.’
‘Yeah, she rang.’
‘What? No snarky comment about her being allowed to care for you?’
He smiled, ‘She’s my sister and a doctor. Of course, she’s going to care.’
‘But I’m not allowed to, unless we make this non-relationship official?’ The grass had almost emptied, apart from a few emu pickers going over the betting tickets dropped on the ground to see if they could find a winner. She used to do that when she was a kid, and her dad was still in the members chatting after the races. The big days were the best, when people got drunk and accidentally threw away winning tickets. All it took was a decent memory of the winners to scan the tickets scattered on the ground before the cleaning staff came out to sweep up all the mess.
‘Yes. Are you coming with us?’
‘May as well.’
‘Don’t you want to celebrate with the owners?’ he asked.
‘I dropped by the winner’s lounge after the protest was dismissed. Shelley, she’s the trainer of Darnation, said the owner is overseas, and she was going home with the horse so wouldn’t be around afterwards.’
‘So you are free?’
‘Free as a fucking bird, mate.’ Rachel meant her statement to remind him that she didn’t want a relationship, except he stared at her with amusement in his dark eyes. ‘What?’
‘Define relationship for me.’
She twisted her mouth and stared at him. ‘Why should I? You can read a dictionary.’
‘Because I’m wondering where you draw the line between friendship and relationship.’
‘Are you shitting me?’ Surely, he didn’t want to go down that road. Her blood pumped in her veins and her muscles tensed like a barrier rogue spying the starting gates. All the explosive fast twitch muscles ready to fire and gallop away to freedom. Jacob roared with laughter, the sound at odds with her own response.
‘What? What’s so funny?’ Her hands clenched into fists and she almost bounced on her toes, ready to fight him.
‘It’s a bit of an overreaction for a simple question. Or are you worried that we are in a relationship and no amount of denying it will change that?’
‘What the everlasting fuck, Jacob? Are you trying to piss me off?’
He chuckled. ‘Is it working? No, seriously. I mean, we’ve kissed, you care about my health, we are about to go out together, isn’t that a relationship? Or do you kiss all your friends?’
She dragged in a deep breath. ‘Fine. I see why you are persisting with this line of inquisition.’ Had he moved from asking her for a fuck without a relationship, to pondering if they were already there?
‘Inquisition?’
‘What the hell else do you call it? Pleasant conversation in the park over tea?’
He laughed again, shaking his head. ‘You keep saying that you don’t want a relationship. I want to know exactly what it is you don’t want.’
‘Why?’ All her rage disappeared, replaced by a strange curiosity that made goose flesh rise on her arms.
‘By my measure, we’ve already kissed. We know each other’s phone numbers, and you’ve shown you care about me. All of that points to—’
‘—a relationship.’ Her breath eased out of her, and her stiff spine softened. Shit. He was right.
‘Unless you kiss all your friends?’
She ignored the heart of his question, ‘You think we are friends?’
‘Aren’t we?’ He held his palms up in front of himself.
‘I suppose we are.’ She rubbed her forehead, ‘You know, I hadn’t thought about it like that. You are the brother of my housemate, not a friend, or whatever. One kiss doesn’t make a relationship.’
‘Semantics. I think it marks the potential beginning of a relationship.’
She rolled her head on her shoulders, cracking her neck. ‘Why does this matter now?’
‘I like to know where I stand.’
‘I told you. I need space, and if my bloody body would listen to my head, we wouldn’t be having this fucking conversation.’
He grinned, reaching out to stroke one finger down her cheek. Zings of sensation rushed over her skin, like the flickering flames at the edge of a fire.
‘I like how you get all sweary when you are flustered.’
She stepped back, swallowing. ‘That’s a pretty weird kink.’
‘How about we forget about the pub, go back to my place, and you can swear all the dirty words at me?’ His chuckle took the edge off his proposition, even as her whole body hummed at the idea. Fuck yeah. His satisfied smile made her gasp. Had she said that out loud?
‘Rachel,’ he cupped her chin. ‘Somehow you manage to look hungry and appalled, all at the same time.’
‘Fuck you. This is a dumb idea.’ She stared down at the ground. Every time he touched her, she knew he’d be amazing in bed. She wanted him, even as her brain reminded her she didn’t want anyone.
‘Say yes. Come with me,’ he said, his dark eyes confident as he made a quiet statement. Not a question, not a demand. Just a simple comment that called to her cocky confidence—sensible, be damned. She’d always taken risks.
She drew in a deep breath, ‘Yes. Yes, let’s get this over with, and then I can get you out of my damned head.’
‘I’m not forcing you. If you don’t want to, we can go to the pub, or we can go our separate ways.’
She walked away from him, pacing in a t
en-metre circle, just like a dressage warmup. To take a risk—her preferred method—or to walk away and never know. Fuck it. She didn’t know why she was fighting herself so hard on this one.
‘Yes.’ She turned to face him. ‘Yes. Take me home.’ She’d won big today already, she may as well celebrate in style with someone who really wanted her, and who made her feel truly alive.
‘And?’
‘And fuck me until we both come hard enough to see the fucking universe.’
His face lit up with a smile. ‘Hell, yes.’
Chapter 11
As Jacob turned the key in his front door, doubt set in, making his stomach churn a little. What was he doing asking a sassy white girl home? Yeah, she might have ancestors from way back. It shouldn’t matter, yet, somehow, he cared for her more than any other woman he’d ever had sex with. It mattered what his mother thought of her. His father’s opinion of Rachel meant something. And he didn’t know what they’d make of her, with her outrageous mouth and risk-taking, body on the line, job. And the brittleness hidden deep under her confidence. No one before her had ever given him this concern, it had never even crossed his mind to wonder what his parents might think. The key turned with a loud click. He really ought to put some WD-40 on it. And that’s when he knew.
He drew in a deep breath, sucking fresh cold spring night air down into his lungs. Since when did sex-for-fun become so fucking complicated? He and Rachel were just two people wanting a fun romp in the sack, temporary pleasure, not worth any internal interrogation.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, ignoring the croak in his voice. She’d probably think it was desire, if he was lucky.
‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘That doesn’t sound enthusiastic.’ Jacob’s stomach sank, the churn increasing, and the taste of fermented apples becoming stronger in his mouth.
‘That’s the crux of it, isn’t it?’ She bit her bottom lip, leaving a small indent. ‘My body obviously wants you. My head is not so sure.’
‘I’m only interested if you are keen.’ He’d never been one to force someone to do something they didn’t want to do.
She poked him on the chest, ‘You see, that’s part of the problem. You say shit like that, and it makes me want to jump you. How dare you sound so goddamned fucking safe?’
His blood surged at the image of her astride him, riding him with her toned muscles and small, round breasts bouncing as she pumped up and down. He raised one eyebrow, trying to maintain distance when all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her, and get started.
‘Would you like to come in?’ He pushed the door open and waved his hand to indicate that she should go first. A blush painted her cheeks a delightful rose with each freckle standing out. The end of his tongue tingled, he wanted to lick each one and taste her skin. The memory of her honey and wattle taste washed through his mouth, filling it with a weird hint of expectation, thanks to their previous kiss. A kiss he wanted more of. More of her. His mouth dried, and he leaned towards her as he waited for her to decide to enter his house.
‘Do you live here alone?’ She tilted her head as she asked a question that made him blink.
‘Yes. Why? … Do you plan on being noisy enough to disturb a housemate?’
She grinned, her tongue flicking out to lick her lips, ‘You really need to stop blurting out all your thoughts.’
He swallowed, not feeling the lazy smile he painted on his face. ‘I have nothing to hide.’
‘And I’d like to see it all.’ She walked perkily past him, a bundle of energy in each stride. He pulled the door shut with a satisfying bang and clicked the lock as he turned to follow her down the hallway of his semi-detached house. A long hallway ran down the shared brick wall with the neighbour, with two bedrooms off to the side, before opening out into a lounge and open-plan kitchen–dining area. The previous owner had done one of those modern extension renovations, replacing the whole back of the house with big glass sliding doors that looked out onto the small inner-city courtyard. It was the perfect house for him, with room for a guest if his parents ever came into the city to visit, and small enough that it didn’t require much cleaning. He’d rather have space and a view, than the tiny enclosed courtyard, however, that type of thing was out of his budget, even with his decent footy pay cheque. He could go home to his parent’s farm whenever he craved space.
‘This place is sweet. Did you do the extension? It looks great.’ Rachel dumped her bag on the kitchen counter and leaned against the breakfast bar.
‘Thanks. The previous owner did the work.’
‘It’s nice. Really spacious for a semi.’
He tried not to tap his foot impatiently. ‘Do you want a drink or something?’
‘No thanks.’ She glanced around his house.
‘Look, it’s okay if this feels awkward and you want to leave again. I’m not some evil dickhead who wants to get laid at all costs. I can wait.’
Her face scrunched up, and he took a half-step backwards worried that she believed that about him. A roar of laughter burst through the room, and he found himself falling as Rachel leaped at him, her arms thrown up around his neck. He staggered back against the wall, using it to keep them both upright, as her body singed his with sudden heat, a flash burn all down his chest, abs, and lower to his erection, now lodged perfectly at the top of her stomach. He wanted to shift his hips, to rub himself against her with delicious friction. Their height difference would make it so easy to slide her down a little and fuck her breasts. Hell couldn’t be hotter than this.
‘That’s a lie and we both know it. Neither of us can wait. That’s why we are dancing awkwardly around each other in your house.’ Rachel concluded her outstanding statement by pressing her lips against his, giving him no option but to kiss her back as she burned him like a chef throwing alcohol in a hot pan, sending flames shooting up to lick at the air. He seared her in return, wanting to brand her with his taste, as her wattle and honey kiss imprinted on his brain. Their mouths mashed together, desperate, as he delved deep, invading and demanding everything from her. She lashed her tongue across his, drawing a groan from deep inside his torso, and he wrapped his arms around her. One on the base of her neck, the back of his hand tickled by her taut ponytail. Fuck, he needed to free her hair, like now. He stroked his other hand down her back, and grabbed her tight little arse encased in smooth dress pants. She bounced up, notching her knees on his hips, and his hand spread over her arse with his palm crackling with lightning at being so close to her feminine opening. Only her pants between him and where he desperately needed to be.
‘Rachel.’ He growled her name into her mouth, a vibration more than a word, and she lifted her head, releasing him from the kiss for a second.
‘Yeah.’ Her guttural moan sent a shiver down his spine, and he tightened his grip.
‘Come to bed.’
She smiled. ‘Carry me.’ She writhed in his arms, her own hands clutching his neck tighter, her fingertips digging into to his flesh. Damn she was strong—anything he gave her, he knew instinctively she could take it. His already hard cock got impossibly harder. He strode freely down the hallway, his mind overflowing with possibilities. In a smooth motion, he grabbed her hair-tie and freed her hair, tossing the small elastic aside, before threading his hands through her brunette strands that were like silk over his fingers. She mimicked him, her fingers spreading up the back of his skull over his short-clipped hair. He tried to think about doing beep tests, a way to prolong this before he incinerated too quickly, like a flash fire gone almost before it started. His knees hit the edge of his bed, and he winced at the sudden stab of pain from his busted ligament. Well, that was one way to prolong this. He blinked.
‘Are you alright?’
He groaned, ‘Yeah, just knocked my knee. It’s nothing.’
‘Doesn’t look like nothing from the grimace on your face.’ She slid her knees down from his hips, relaxing her grip on his head as she let herself fall onto the bed. She
sat on her heels, bent over so her hair spread across her back, and she wrapped her hand gently around his knee.
‘This one?’
‘Yeah.’ A breathy, needy noise fell out of his mouth as she traced her fingers around the injury, careful not to touch the sore area. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he waited for her verdict, then he gasped as her hands drifted up his thigh, one on the inside tracing the seam of his jeans, and one on the outside, firmer. She gripped his hip with the firm hand, and with her other she cupped him. His head fell back, his breath heavy and harsh. ‘Rachel.’
She rose up, a goddess in a plain white blouse and black dress pants and smiled at him.
‘You like that?’ she asked, as if it wasn’t plainly obvious. He nodded unable to form words as she traced the hard shape of his cock, rigid in his jeans. Free me. Suck me. Goddamn he was going to explode if she did that. He grabbed her hand, removing the temptation, and used it to pull her up, so she knelt tall before him, one arm high above her head.
‘Give me your other hand.’
She complied, and he used his height to stretch her up. He kept one hand holding her hands together and brushed his other hand down one of her arms, and across her shoulder. The crisp softness of her cotton blouse only served to emphasis the strength in her toned arms, and he traced each muscle, watching her eyes flutter and her throat shift as she swallowed. He let himself grin, as she lifted her breasts towards his hand, as desperate for his touch as he was to touch her. He stroked his hand back up her arm to rejoin her hands.
‘Jacob.’ She scolded him.
‘Patience.’ He took her hands in his and drew them down gently in a wide semi-circle to place them on the base of her spine. With one hand, he held her smaller hands in place, leaving her back arched towards him, and one hand free to explore.
‘Let me free.’
‘Not yet.’ He leaned forward so his chest brushed hers, teasing her and she stretched to press her nipples against him. He smiled as he kissed her, inhaling her scent, and dragging his mouth over hers. Her breath panted into him as he slanted his head to deepen the kiss and prolong the scorching tension between them. When they were both breathless, he shifted to nibble along her jaw and down her throat. She wriggled, tugging at her hands.