Friends & Lovers Trilogy (24 page)

She took his mouth again and kissed him with
a fierceness that threatened to break her own control. Her hands
began to roam under his shirt, each feel of his muscular body
fueled her frenzy and she reached down, eager to get his shirt
off.

He sat up a bit, so she could get the shirt
over again, then fell back against the headboard roughly, his
breath coming out in gasps, as his hands clenched the blanket
beneath them.

Nicole felt the blush begin to rise as she
thought about what she was going to do next.

Nicole reached back and unclasped her bra,
then slowly pealed it from her body. She looked down briefly,
self-consciously, but when she looked up, Kent nodded his
encouragement.

His hungry gaze devoured the site of her
full breasts before him. The look on his face took Nicole to the
brink of something she had never experienced before, and as he
watched her, she brought her hands up to caress her breasts.

She cupped each breast, running her hands
along them.

Kent closed his eyes briefly, as if trying
to gain composure, before they flew open again, to watch her
delicate fingers as she pinched her nipples into tight little
nubs.

He groaned then, and shifted uncomfortably
on the bed, licking his lips, unable to tear his gaze away from the
site before him.

Nicole’s long blonde hair spilled out over
her shoulders. She was on her knees, rubbing her breasts, and
watching him watch her.

The site of her beautifully aroused face,
and her body clad only in the sweetest pair of pink panties, as she
turned them both on, was enough to make him lose his mind.

The blanket was bunched up in his hands and
it took every ounce of control he had not to say, “Fuck it” and
bury himself in her.

Nicole leaned in, rubbing her breasts
against his bare chest, as she straddled him.

Kent froze at the contact, as she began to
rock back and forth on top of him, her mouth working its way up his
chest.

He thought he might whimper.

“
Nic.”

She turned her hot eyes on him.

“
Touch yourself for
me.”

She licked her lips, brought her hands up to
her breasts and fondled them softly.

Kent watched her and said softly,
“Lower.”

Her eyes looked momentarily confused, then
unsure as his words penetrated the haze that covered her mind. She
faltered briefly, but was fueled on by the heat of his gaze.

Kent bit his lip and nodded as her hand
began to slowly make a trail towards those pink panties.

The sight of her delicate fingers at the top
of her panties almost did him in.

Overcome by need unlike anything he’d ever
know, Kent watched as Nicole bucked against her hand and came apart
in front of him.

Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, and
her face was full of pleasure.

Nicole was breathing heavily as she slowly
still, brought her head down and opened her eyes. She smiled shyly
at him and leaned in to kiss him with her swollen lips.

When their bodies touched, she realized that
he was still rock hard. His hands were red and taunt as he
struggled to keep his hands where he’d promised, but he’d never
been so close to the insanity he felt at that moment.

“
Touch me,” he said softly,
his voice strained.

Nicole paused momentarily, before she moved
her shaky hands to the front of his pants and undid the button of
his jeans. She unzipped them slowly, the hiss that exited his mouth
matching the hiss of his zipper.

She looked up at him again, for affirmation,
then eased her hands into the opening in his boxer briefs.

Kent’s breath caught as her smooth hand
touched his pulsing shaft. Her touch was gentle and unsure, the
combination of which drove Kent crazy. Surprisingly, it didn’t take
long for his release. Kent was amazed at the pleasure he
experienced at her touch, but was relieved to finally be
satiated.

They both laid back, struggling to catch
their breath, both of them smiling, before Kent reached out and
pulled Nicole to him. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed
her, before running his hands up and down her body.

“
God, I really wanted to
touch you.” Kent admitted as he smiled against her lips.

“
I trust you, Kent. You
don’t have to be afraid with me,” Nicole said as she lay back down
and rested her head against his chest, his arms cradling
her.

Kent didn’t say anything, he just ran his
hands through her silky hair, as he realized that he’d never felt
about anyone, the way he felt about Nicole. He couldn’t help but
worry that someone like him had no right to be with someone as pure
as her.

Chapter Fifteen

When Kent woke up the next morning, he could
still smell Nicole’s shampoo on his pillow. He inhaled deeply and
smiled, moving his hand along the sheet and opening his eyes when
he realized he was alone.

He turned to lie on his back and stretched
as his eyes began to focus and he became fully awake.

He heard sounds coming from the kitchen, and
started to catch the faint smell of bacon drifting from beneath his
bedroom door.

He swung his long legs over the side of his
bed and ran his hands through his hair to try and tame it a bit
before reaching for his jeans and pulling them up over his
body.

He opened the door and paused, taking in the
site of Nicole working in his kitchen. Her hair was pulled back
into a ponytail, and she was wearing the t-shirt he had given her
to sleep in last night.

It came to just above her knees.

She was fresh-faced and singing along to a
song on the radio that was playing softly in the kitchen.

She looked amazing.

He walked up behind her and kissed her
softly on the exposed side of her neck.

Nicole paused and turned into him, allowing
him to take her in his arms, and turned her face upwards for a
kiss.

Kent bent and kissed her softly, closing his
eyes briefly to enjoy the sensation of her lips against his.

“
Good morning,” He said
against her lips and he pulled slowly away. Reveling in the feel of
her lush body pressed against his.

“
Morning,” she replied with
a smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”

She turned back to the pans on the stove,
flipping the bacon and scattering shredded cheese over the
scrambled eggs.

“
Starving,” He responded,
nuzzling her neck one more time before moving to the coffee maker.
“This looks great.”

He poured himself some coffee, then leaned
against the counter, watching Nicole plate their breakfast as he
drank it black.

“
Can I help you with
anything?” He offered.

“
You can help me carry the
stuff to the table,” she replied, gesturing towards the condiments
she had available on the counter.

They took everything over to the table, then
sat down to enjoy their breakfast.

Nicole smiled at him over the rim of her
coffee; the look in his eye caused his heart to thump loudly in his
chest.

He took a few bites and grinned back at
her.

“
Delicious!”

“
I’m glad you like it,” she
admitted.

They ate in a comfortable silence, until
Nicole said tentatively, “Kent?”

”
Something on your mind,
Nic?”

“
Well, I know it’s kinda
soon, but I got a text from my mother this morning,” She began,
then stopped mid-sentence to gauge his reaction. He nodded
slightly, indicating she should go on. “Her forty-fifth birthday is
next weekend, and she’s throwing herself her usual self-indulgent
party. She wants me to come, and since I haven’t been back home
since I walked out and moved here, I feel like I should at least
show up. You know, to see if I can salvage our
relationship.”

“
Yeah, I get it,” Kent
replied. “You should go and celebrate with your
parents.”

“
The thing is… I was
wondering if maybe you’d like to go with me.” This she said with a
shrug of her shoulders and a hopeful smile.

Kent felt his stomach begin to knot as her
request sunk in. He didn’t do well with parents, and from
everything he’d heard about hers, he doubted that he was the type
of guy they had in mind for their celestial daughter.

“
I don’t know, Nic,” He
replied, trying to figure out how he could get out of this without
upsetting her. Lord knew he hated the thought of spending time with
his own parents, let alone meeting hers.

“
Please?” Nicole pleaded.
“I wouldn’t ask, but I’m, terrified of going by myself. I haven’t
seen my parents since I ruined their dreams for me, and I’m sure
that she will invite Jake in an effort to get us back together. I’d
be able to handle it a lot better if you were there with
me.”

His stomach turned at the
mention of her ex, and he was torn between the fact that he
really,
really
,
didn’t want to go, and the possibility of her parents or ex
upsetting her.

“
I don’t know that my being
there will make things easier for you, Nic.” Kent
reasoned.

“
It will, truly.” Nicole
promised.

Kent could only imagine the kind of people
that would be at her mother’s party… The kind of people that would
have looked at him and his family with pity and contempt.

As uncomfortable as he knew he would be at
the party, he looked at her sweet face, so full of hope, and
couldn’t bring himself to deny her request.

“
Okay,” Kent said
reluctantly, smiling when she let out a squeal of delight. “But
we’re just going there for the party and coming back. I don’t want
to stay for the entire weekend.”

“
No problem,” Nicole
agreed, jumping up from her chair and settling on his lap. “Thank
you so much! This means the world to me.”

She peppered his face with kisses, causing
him to chuckle, then grasped his face in her hands and deepened the
kiss.

His arms came up around her, holding her
tightly to him, as the need began to build within him.

Nicole pulled back slightly, smiling down at
him, her hands caressing the hair at the nape of his neck.

“
I’m going to owe you big
time for this,” She said with a devious grin.

“
I’m sure I can think of a
few ways you can repay me,” Kent countered. He lifted her easily as
he stood, and carried her back to his bed, as she nibbled softly on
his ear.

Chapter Sixteen

Nicole turned to wave at Kent as he drove
away. She opened the front door and was surprised to be met by a
blast of music.

She looked around when she walked in, and
was surprised to see the living room furniture pushed up against
the wall and Roni dancing fluidly around the room.

Nicole stopped and watched, unaware that the
door was still open, or that she’d dropped her purse to the
ground.

Roni was an amazing dancer.

Nicole was swept away by the emotion of the
music and the gracefulness of Roni’s movement.

She was speechless.

When the music ended, Nicole eyes filled.
She was so moved that she sniffed, as her nose began to run,
causing Roni to turn to where she stood.

“
Hey,” Roni said,
breathless. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“
My gosh, Roni, you’re
amazing,” Nicole gushed. “How come you never mentioned that you
were a dancer?”

Roni picked up a towel from the table and
wiped her brow as she walked past Nicole to shut the front
door.

“
I haven’t danced in a few
years,” Roni admitted. “Hank wanted me to stop, so I did. I
realized how much I missed it, and decided to give it another
try.”

Roni sat on one of their chairs at the
table, drawing her knees up against her chest, and looked at Nicole
with a smile of pure pleasure.

“
It was even better than I
remembered!”

Nicole pulled out a chair and sat down
facing Roni.

“
You’re very
talented.”

“
Thanks,” Roni replied as
she took a drink from her water bottle. “I’d always dreamed of
become a professional dancer, but then I met Hank in high
school.”

“
What happened?” Nicole
asked encouragingly.

“
I fell in love,” Roni said
mockingly. “I was stupid… I don’t know what Kent has told you about
our childhood, but it wasn’t ideal. When Hank started talking to me
in high school, I was swept away. I couldn’t believe that he
actually liked me.”

Roni paused and took another drink, as if
she needed a moment before she could finish her story.

“
Kent has always been there
for me, but I knew he was leaving right after graduation. He wanted
me to go with him, but once I met Hank, I couldn’t imagine leaving
him behind. Kent wasn’t happy about it, but he respected my
decision, so he went off to school, and I stayed back with Hank.
Once I graduated, my parents said I had to get out of the house, so
Hank and I got married and moved into a little trailer in Detroit.
Just a JP deal. He made me quit dancing almost immediately. He said
it was too much money and it took me away from him and the house,
so I quit. I really wish I hadn’t.” Some of the joy left Roni’s
face, and she started to peel the label off of her water
bottle.

“
What happened?” Nicole
asked, curious, but reluctant to pry.

“
Let’s just say he wasn’t
the man that I thought he was. We were together for about three
years, then I finally worked up the courage to call Kent and tell
him what was going on. He came to get me right away. I thought he
was going to kill Hank when he got there, but I didn’t want them to
fight, I just wanted to leave.”