Rebound (10 page)

“Ever wonder why she’s making the effort to maintain contact if she’s so happy without you?”

Steve shrugged. “We’re friends. I don’t want to lose touch.” He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it, even from a distance.

“You could go there during the off-season, explore this thing between you two.”

Steve had thought about it, considered suggesting it to her, but it seemed too risky. At the end of those months, he would still have to walk away, more invested than ever. “She works crazy hours, nights, weekends. We wouldn’t have any time together.”  

“Maybe she’s burying herself in work for a reason, huh? If you were there…”

Steve held his hand up to silence his friend. He couldn’t build a future on maybes and what ifs. “I know you’re trying to help and I appreciate it, but it’s not gonna happen for us, man. I just need to accept that so I can get on with my life.”

Chase slapped him on the back. “Good luck with that, buddy.” 

Brooklyn started her rental car, getting ready to pull out of Steve’s driveway, when a black limo eased up to the front door. Her heart thumped in her chest. She hadn’t seen him since the night she told him she was leaving.

She watched him get out of the car. He looked so handsome in a black suit and silk tie. Her only thought was of touching him, kissing him, losing herself… until he helped a woman out of the car, a beautiful brunette in a black strapless dress and mile-high heels.

He looked toward her car and she cursed herself for not making her getaway sooner. Now it was too late to escape without being seen. He said a few words to his date and started to walk in her direction.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car.

He stopped in mid-step, staring at her.

She could feel the tension of the past months melt away at the promise of feeling his strong arms around her again. She needed him tonight; she’d worry about the consequences tomorrow. She smiled. “Hi, Steve, bet you’re surprised to see me, huh?” She looked past him to the woman standing in the drive, watching them with open interest. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your date.”

He took the final steps toward her, framing her face with his hands. He bent to kiss her, heedless of their audience. “God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered, touching his forehead to hers.

She reached up, wrapping her arms around his hard biceps. “I’ve missed you too, so damn much. I couldn’t come home without seeing you.”

“Why are you here?” he asked, kissing her again.

“The sale on my house is closing. I had to pack up.”

He dropped his head, refusing to meet her eyes. “Right, you’re here because of your house. I thought maybe…” He shook his head. “Forget it; it doesn’t matter why you’re here. I’m just glad you are.”

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, stroking his back. “Does that mean you’re going to invite me in? Or is your date not over yet?”

He grinned. “Trust me, it’s over. Just give me a minute, okay?”

“Sure.” She reached into the car as he walked toward the waiting limo. She had an overnight bag with her. She’d planned to spend the night at her parents’ house and catch a flight in the morning. She didn’t want to be presumptuous, assuming he would invite her to spend the night, so she left the overnight bag in the car, grabbing only her purse.

He walked back to meet her as the limo pulled out of the circular drive. “Where are your things?”

She smiled. “I didn’t want to assume anything. I mean, I don’t know where things stand between us, whether you’re seeing someone, or…” The thought that he might be involved with someone else killed her, but she wasn’t willing to admit that to him.

“No, there’s no one in my life right now,” he said quietly.

She didn’t know if that constituted an invitation, so she hung back, waiting.

“How about you?” he asked. “Are you seeing anyone?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been dating some. We have to attend a lot of events, so…”

He reached out to grab her, hauling her against his chest. “You don’t know what it does to me, thinking about you with someone else,” he whispered, threading his fingers through her hair.

“Are you…” He closed his eyes. “Are you sleeping with anyone else?”

“No, no.” She wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling his head down to meet hers for a long, lingering kiss. “There’s no one else. You?”

“No, God no.” He kissed her lips, over and over again. “I haven’t even been able to think about making love to anyone else since you left.”

She reached inside his jacket, feeling the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of his shirt. “I know sleeping together won’t change anything. It’ll probably just make this harder, but I really need you tonight, Steve.”

“I need you too, sweetheart.” He threaded his fingers through hers, leading her to a huge set of hand-carved mahogany doors.

His city house was a sprawling stone and stucco bungalow on several manicured acres in the midst of an estate subdivision of similar homes. Perfect for the family she suspected would one day fill it, completing his life. She pushed that thought out of her head. She didn’t want to think about the kids he would have with someone else or the wife who would share his secrets. She wanted to enjoy the here and now, one more night in the arms of the man she loved.

There was no other way to describe the way she felt about him. She thought about him all the time, reaching for the phone half a dozen times a day, to share a triumph or vent about a problem. In a few short months, he had become her rock, her safe place to land in a world of uncertainty. She loved her job with a passion that exceeded anything she’d ever felt working as a defense attorney. No question, she had found her place in the world. She just wished it didn’t have to be so far away from him. 

He unlocked and opened the door, drawing her into the foyer as he punched his code into the keypad on the wall. He flipped a light switch, illuminating the foyer as he kicked his shoes off.

She looked around at the great room and kitchen, both visible from the entrance. The décor was elegant, but understated, decidedly masculine with dark, rich fabrics and wood. “Your home is beautiful,” she said quietly, removing her boots.

He drew her into the circle of his arms, kissing her lips. “It’s too big, too damn empty.”

“Someday you’ll have a wife and kids to fill it. She’ll be…”

He closed his eyes. “Please don’t. I don’t want to think about that right now. You’re here with me; I just want to enjoy this.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

He peeled her leather blazer off, tossing it on a gilded bench lining one wall. “I don’t want to think about when you have to leave or how long you can stay. I just want to pretend that this can last forever.”

She closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek. She had to tell him how she felt; he needed to know that he was like no one she had ever met. “Steve, I don’t know how or when it happened, but I’ve fallen in love with you.” She bit her lip, her eyes drifting to his chest as she waited for him to say something, anything, to put her out of her misery. Finally, she took a step back, out of his arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Under the circumstances…”

He grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off the ground. “I love you too, so goddamn much. It’s killing me, knowing you’re thousands of miles away, living your life without me.” He buried his face in her hair, her neck. “What the hell are we gonna do?” he whispered.

She shook her head, stroking his hair. “I don’t know.” She pulled his head back so he was forced to look her in the eye. “I can’t think about that right now.”

He picked her up, carrying her down the hall to the master bedroom. He kicked the door open, hitting the light switch with his elbow.

She leaned in, kissing his neck. “It feels like I’ve been waiting forever,” she whispered.

He laid her down on the mattress, kneeling on a bench at the foot of the bed.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He hovered over her, nipping and teasing her full lips until she growled and grabbed his head, forcing her tongue into his mouth. He chuckled before deepening the kiss, stroking her tongue with his as he caressed and squeezed her taut nipples.

She finally broke away, panting into his neck. “God, I want....”

“I know what you want, baby.” He drew her earlobe between his teeth, carefully avoiding the diamond earring decorating her lobe. He traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue before licking a path down her neck. “You want me to suck on your clit like this, don’t you?”

He demonstrated, hungrily sucking on her neck as he ground his hard cock into her pussy.

She fisted the suede duvet in her hands. “You know I do.”

“Stand up and strip for me, nice and slow.”

She sat up, bracing her weight on her forearms. “You go first.”

He chuckled. “I’ll leave that to you. Come on, show me that gorgeous body.”

She smiled, sliding off the bed. She pulled the long-sleeved cotton T-shirt over her head slowly, never taking her eyes off him. Her hands went to the front of her jeans, her fingers fumbling with the button and zipper.

His eyes trailed over her tits, concealed only by a scrap of coral lace.

She closed her eyes, letting her jeans slide down her legs. She reached down to remove her jeans and socks.

“Stand up and turn around,” he said quietly. “I want to look at you.”

She did as he asked, her hands travelling down her thighs, over her flat stomach. “You like?”

He drank in the sight of her, naked except for a coral thong and demi bra. “Take the bra off. I want to see your tits.”

She reached around to release the back closure, slowly slipping the straps over her shoulders as she let it fall to the ground. She hooked a finger inside of her thong, but stopped when he shook his head.

“I want you to leave that on.”

She licked her lips, her eyes drifting closed. “Whatever you want.”

He crooked a finger. “Come here. I want you to take my clothes off.”

She grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.” Walking toward him slowly, her eyes travelled up and down his body. She reached for his tie, loosening it before sliding it from around his neck. She ran the fabric across her nipples, shuddering when the soft fabric grazed the sensitive peaks.

“Open your legs,” he said, taking a step back.

“Why?”

“Just do it.” His voice was rough, barely stronger than a whisper. He waited for her to oblige before he said, “Grip either end of the tie and stroke your pussy with it.”

He watched her fist the silk tie, rubbing it between her legs as the soft fabric abraded her tender flesh.

He waited, watching her climb the peak as his cock swelled in his pants. “Enough, stop.”

She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. “But I’m so close.”

“Your orgasms are mine, baby. When, where, how many, I’ll decide.” She’d come to him tonight because she needed to him to fill a void. He didn’t intend to let her leave until she was satiated.

She whimpered, letting the tie fall to the floor.

“I believe you were helping me out of my clothes.”

She reached for the buttons on his shirt, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “I can smell her perfume on your shirt.”

“We danced a few times.”

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. “Did she turn you on? Did you get aroused dancing with her?”

Tongue in cheek, he responded. “I’m a man, sweetheart. When a woman flattens her tits into my chest, my body responds, like it or not.”

“Did you kiss her?”

He loved that she cared so much. “Sure, we kissed.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

He was playing with her, loving enough minute of her seething jealousy. “Are you telling me you haven’t kissed another man in the past three months?”  

Her eyes fell to his chest. “Well sure, but…”

He gripped her waist. “Who the fuck did you kiss?” The thought of another man sticking his tongue down her throat made him crazy.