The Player Next Door (10 page)

No. Yes. Maybe. Taunting never worked on her. She lived too much in her own world to allow silly tricks like that to influence her choices. And yet suddenly she was feeling competitive. She wanted to prove to him that she could do so simple a thing. At least she could do it longer than he could.

So she lifted her chin. “Fine,” she whispered. “Have it your way. I won’t lie to you. I’ll look you in the eye the whole time. And when the whole experience sucks, I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

He grinned as if she’d just given him a championship trophy. “Game on.” And then he scooped her up in his good arm. Or at least he tried to. Mostly he was pulling her tight against him while she was busy squeaking in alarm. She instinctively grabbed his shoulders. His broad, strong, muscular shoulders. Nice. But she’d broken eye contact.

Shit.

“That doesn’t count,” she said. “You surprised me.”

He adjusted her easily in his grip such that they were eye to eye. “Fair enough,” he said. “Now is the bed clear or is there bad stuff under all those clothes? I can’t see around the boxes.”

Right. Looking around, she remembered her bedroom was a disaster. Half-unpacked boxes everywhere, the clothes her sister had forced on her were on the bed, and God only knew what else was strewn about the floor. “Um, the bed’s clear. Just clothes.”

“Do you mind if we wrinkle them?”

She grinned at the idea of exactly what her sister would say to that. “Not in the least.”

“Excellent. And you need to look at me, remember?”

Damn it. “You weren’t looking at me,” she said defensively.

“I was making sure not to accidentally shove you against that box of…spoons?”

“My aunt’s collection. I’m packing it up for Goodwill. They’re supposed to be valuable but I’m not sure I have the patience to sell them.”

He set her gently back against the bed. She was the one who collapsed onto the mattress while he dropped to his knees before her. He was so tall that even kneeling on the floor he almost looked her eye to eye. Then before she could say more, he stroked his thumb across her jaw. “Are you nervous, Tori?”

She never got nervous. It just wasn’t in her nature. But now that he mentioned it… “I’ve never had a sex challenge before.”

He grinned. “Me either. So it’s okay if we fail.”

She stiffened. “I have no intention of failing.” It was pure bravado, but his grin widened. There was little light in here except for the moonlight that spilled in from the window and the eco bulbs in the hallway. It lit the room well enough, but the shadows on his face seemed to emphasize his expression. It made his smile brighter and his eyes luminous.

“So kiss me.”

She leaned in, but then she started to close her eyes. “I can’t do it with my eyes open.”

“Right.” His expression grew mischievous. “Then how about you watch me?”

He stroked her arms, his fingers so light, she wondered if she was imagining the soft brush of his skin against hers. But the heat that began to simmer just beneath her skin was proof enough. He was watching her eyes as he did it. Their gazes caught and held even as he slipped his thumbs across her belly. Her knees weakened and her breath grew short. Her nipples were painfully tight and he hadn’t even gone near them yet. Oh wow. She was burning up.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he said and it took a moment for her to realize that her eyes had been drifting shut.

“Then let me touch you.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but grabbed hold of his shirt and tugged. Good thing he ducked for her because he was too tall for her to do it sitting. And then his chest was right there before her, crisp hairs darkening the center and highlighting the line down to his groin.

“Up here,” he said. And again, she had to think a moment before she remembered to look into his eyes.

“You gotta let me look at you,” she said.

He shook his head.

“Then you can’t look either.”

A flash of chagrin crossed his features, but then he shook his head again. “See me with your fingertips.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Mike. This doesn’t make sense.”

“I haven’t got anything you haven’t seen before.” Then his grin widened. “Though as a rule I am rather impressive.”

“So let me
—
”

He leaned forward, unhooking her bra with quick fingers. “If I can’t look, then you can’t either.”

“So look.”

“I’d rather feel.”

Apparently, he’d rather feel a lot. He didn’t even wait for her bra to drop away but slid his hands forward to cup her breasts. Big hands on medium breasts meant that she felt as if he were surrounding her. His fingers were endlessly dexterous, manipulating her body in ways that astounded her. He first just lifted them up, then he began to play. Moving and shifting his hands, stroking across her skin or kneading her with fingers that pushed deep into her muscles.

She was nearly frantic for him to touch her nipples, which he finally did a few moments later. He thumbed the peaks first, before twisting them. Her back was arching, her body flushed and the throb in her womb was nothing short of stunning. She’d never been this aroused before. She hadn’t even thought it was possible.

And all the while their eyes held. She knew she was flushed, her lips parted as her breaths grew shallow and quick. But what she saw in his eyes was no less erotic than what his hands were doing. He was focused on her. There was delight in his eyes as he played with her breasts. And a joyous kind of triumph too. She wanted to tease him about his ego, but she hadn’t the focus. And besides, he deserved the credit. He was really good at this.

Her hands were clutching his shoulders, digging in as she held herself up. But now she wanted to do this to him. She wanted to know if she could make him so hungry for her he thought of nothing else. And so she leaned down and fumbled at his jeans. She couldn’t manage the button, but she was able to tug at the belt loops, encouraging him to stand up so she could handle him for real.

“Damn it,” she muttered, her gaze going downward.

“I got it,” he said, as he left her body to grab hold of her hands. That wasn’t at all what she wanted, but he didn’t let go of her hands or stand up either. He just held her.

“Mike?” she said, her gaze going back up to his.

“There you are,” he said. “I’m going to stop everything whenever you look away.”

“I’m going to make sure you’re so involved you forget about my eyes.”

He chuckled and she knew that he had accepted her challenge. Well then. This was a game she intended to win. She waited while he finally stood up and released his jeans. His very impressive erection jutted forward. She saw it in her peripheral vision. Then she lifted away his boxer briefs and pushed everything down. Finally, she could touch him. And wow. There was a lot of him to touch.

Long, thick, and pulsing in her hands. She felt the wetness on the mushroom head, rolled her thumb around in it, and then gently squeezed him. It would take more than her hand to enfold the full length of him, but she didn’t need to touch everything at once. It was enough to grip him and alternate the pressure of her fingers. Especially since she saw his eyes flutter as she did it. And then she tightened her hold and slid down to his base.

She felt the spring of his hair against the back of her hand, but mostly she felt him thrust as she gripped him. His low growl of hunger had her grinning. Though, he hadn’t lost his connection with her gaze.

And while she continued to explore his reactions to her movements, he easily undid her shorts and pushed them and her panties to the floor. Then they both kicked their clothes aside. Which meant they were naked. She had an NBA star right in front her, a man cut so beautifully that Michelangelo couldn’t have sculpted better. And she couldn’t look. She couldn’t feast her sight on every glorious inch of him. So she’d have to do it with her hands.

She touched him. Every part of him that she could reach. Every ripple, every bulging muscle and the sweet valleys in between. She teased his nipples, she feathered her fingers through his hair, and she made sure to keep her eyes on his even when she stretched down to squeeze his sac. She watched as his jaw tightened and his nostrils flared. And she felt it as his large hands slid over her hips to delve between her thighs.

His fingers were long and quick as they thrust between her folds. She was slick and he had the size to rub up and down over everything while she clenched in reaction.

“Can we take this horizontal?” she asked, startled by how breathless she felt.

“Where are the condoms?” His voice had a gravelly sound to it that thrilled her.

“Bedside table.” She gestured with her chin, but didn’t break eye contact.

“Got it.”

He did. He was tall enough to reach into the drawer and find the box. She broke eye contact first. She didn’t remember what else was in there and was pleased to find nothing more than a notepad and the condoms. He had a foil packet out and was rolling it on in record time. She had a moment’s unease when she realized that he had obvious practice with the things. That was both reassuring and disturbing all at once. He probably hadn’t had to have a sex challenge with any of his other women. But he was her rebound lover, she reminded herself. She didn’t care if he’d been with a lot of other women before or after her. It didn’t matter even though the very idea hurt a little.

“Tori,” he said, drawing her gaze back up to his. “We can go slow.”

She laughed. “We’ve already taken triple my usual time. If we go any slower, I’ll fall asleep.” It was a lie. She was wide awake and well revved. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten who she was speaking to. He took her words as another challenge.

“Asleep?” he said with mock affront. Suddenly he was pushing her backward such that she dropped flat on the mattress. Then he crawled up over her, caging her with his arms and legs.

“Tori…” he began, but then didn’t say more. Was he just speaking her name? Probably. But she read so much more into his tone.
This is the woman I want. The person I’m going to make love with. The woman who
—

She reached up and drew his mouth down to hers. Her thoughts were starting to spin to unwanted places. To words that held more than simple desire. She didn’t want to go there. Not with her rebound lover.

He kissed her back with power that left her breathless. All mastery as he thrust inside her mouth, dueled with her tongue, and won in whatever game they were playing. But then he broke the kiss, pulling back as he gazed at her.

He didn’t say a word, and she didn’t either. Her heart was pounding too fast, her mind trying to grab hold of something but finding only his eyes. His steady, solid gaze as he shifted his legs. With slow, deliberate movements, he pushed a knee between hers. She had no problem with letting him settle between her thighs. When he pushed them wider open, she arched into it, lifting her body toward him.

Then she cradled his hips with her legs as he set himself in place. The latex was cold for a moment, but heated rapidly as he pushed gently inside. Not far. Just a little push and she tried to grip him in reaction. A small push from him, a large “yes” from her as she wrapped her legs around him.

“Don’t you want to go faster?” she asked. She was nearly insane with the need to feel him inside her.

His teeth flashed white. “Nope. This is just fine.”

Well maybe for him. She was all but weeping with need. She tightened her legs and angled her pelvis. She did it in just the right way, pulling him inside by another inch. God, he felt good. He already stretched her and she liked the feel of it. Like he was staking claim. Especially since he made a sound deep in his throat when he did it. More primal than a groan, and she arched up to nip at his nose.

His eyes widened in surprise and she flashed him a coy grin. “You weren’t looking at me.”

“I was too.”

“Nope. Your attention had wandered somewhere a little further south.” She wasn’t sure if it was true. She was merely guessing, but he cast her a rueful look.

“Some things are worth appreciating fully.” Then he clearly, specifically, held her gaze as he pushed deeper in.

Her breath caught, and her eyes fluttered, but she held his eyes. Damn that felt good. That felt
full
and she squeezed him just to prove to herself that she could.

“More,” she whispered.

He pushed in and again she squeezed around him. She saw his throat work in reaction, but he didn’t go faster.

“Again.”

He did. This time it wasn’t a smooth slide but more of a jerk. It felt like being pierced slowly and in all the best ways. She arched, trying to force him deeper. She strained and she tightened, but he didn’t move.

Then she felt his hand. He was braced on his good arm, and she didn’t think he’d have the dexterity with his weaker one. Boy, was she wrong. He shifted it around between them. Together, they were so slick that he could rub her clit in smooth heavy strokes.

“Oh God,” she gasped.

She was tightening, her whole body squeezing him. Needing him.

“Please,” she cried. She’d never begged for sex in her life, but she wanted it now. She wanted the heavy slam over and over.

She grabbed at his arm, pulling it back, and for once he complied. She was about to demand more when
—

Slam. He was fully seated. He added a grind and she saw stars behind her eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Finally he began to move like she wanted. Out, then hard in. Again and again, each impact making her cry out. Every time he ground deep against her, sensation rocketed up her spine.

Once more.

Again.

Yes!

She was flying. Her body cascading in pleasure as he became frantic. He slammed against her while she clung to him.

That made it better.

Every slam rocketed her higher. Hotter. Yes! And then…

He growled.

She felt him release. Pulse after pulse as he bucked into her.

And suddenly she was flying again. Tingles. Fireworks. A cascade of
oh yeah!
She experienced it all as she gripped every part of him.