Three of Spades (16 page)

Dylan wanted her to feel comfortable, so he placed his hands folded behind his head. He arched his eyebrow in question to what she was going to do next.

Ok
Natalie,
this
is
why
you’ve
been
psyching
yourself
up
for
the
last
twenty
minutes,
so
now’s
your
chance.
She slowly lowered herself so her lips could touch his shoulder. She started on one side, leaving kiss after kiss as she moved from one wonderfully sculpted pectoral muscle to the other. When she completed the journey from left to right, she started to head downward. She kissed and licked down the sculpted lines his finely kept body outlined for her. She kissed each one of his defined abdominal muscles and gave his navel a quick lick with her tongue.

Dylan was grateful his hands were behind his head. This angle gave a fantastic view of Natalie becoming confident in sex. When she reached his waist, she released the button and slowly pulled down the zipper. As each tooth gave away from the zipper, Dylan could feel the blood rushing to the region she was enclosing on. He lifted up so she could easily pull down his jeans and boxer briefs. When she had removed them entirely, she threw them over her shoulder in a completely wanton way and gave him the most innocent of smiles.

Now, with no barrier between her and her intended destination, she looked at his erect cock and knew she wanted to do this. Never letting her eyes move from his, she leaned down and took the first of many licks.

This was it. He was going to die at the hands, or more specifically the mouth, of Natalie Parker, Dylan was absolutely one hundred percent sure. He knew she would explore, but never did he think she would take him into her warm sweet mouth. He watched as she licked and grew bolder, opening her mouth and taking him in. She began to take him further and further in as she applied the perfect amount of suction. Soon, her pace increased and Natalie’s eyes left Dylan. She began to let the enjoyment she was having, take over. Dylan was now the one who was calling out. He moved his hands, needing to anchor himself better. He gripped the headboard, holding on as Natalie continued to take more and more of him. When he was sure he was going to explode, he finally had to stop her incredible assault.

When Dylan yelled for her to stop, Natalie was worried she had done something extremely wrong. But, quickly and with little effort on Dylan’s part, Natalie was placed on her back with Dylan covering her.

“That, Natalie, was amazing,” Dylan said against her lips.

He watched as she licked her own lips with that mesmerizing little pink tongue of hers. Now it was her turn to savor his taste, and what a taste it was.

“But, I have a better way to fly off into oblivion.” Dylan quickly reached over and removed a foil pack from the bedside table. He had it in place when he returned to her. He pushed up the gorgeous soft material so it was gathered at her waist. He entered her then, burying himself in what could only be described as his own paradise.

He moved and she followed, countering every one of his thrusts. Soon, they were both calling out to each other as the erotic battle continued. When Natalie reached her peak and she, herself, gripped the headboard, Dylan plunged once, twice, and finally reached his own climax. He collapsed against her and for the first time in a long time, slept. Whether it was from the exertion of this last mind-blowing orgasm, or from knowing that Natalie would be there when he woke up, Dylan slept like a baby.

When Natalie awoke, she was engulfed in Dylan’s embrace. His soft sleeping breath was tickling the back of her neck. She snuggled further into the warmth of the covers, being sure to take plenty of his body heat as well. Sometime during the night, she lost her nightgown. It could have been the first or the second time they woke and made love, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was quickly going from trying to be mentally unattached to becoming in over her head.

Each time they had sex, Natalie’s heart opened up a little bit more. She knew it would never go anywhere and she knew she was only asking for heartache by considering it. But she could not help but think of what it would be like to wake up to this room, this bed, this man, every day. Would they fill the other bedrooms with little dark haired, dark eyed kids? As soon as she saw in her mind the little boy with Dylan’s looks and charm, she knew she had gone over the line. Knowing she needed to stop her imagination before he completely ruined her, she quietly and without rousing Dylan, slid out of bed and headed to the shower. She hoped he would not mind her helping herself to his things, after all, wasn’t he the one that made the comment of sharing a toothbrush. Not that Natalie could bring herself to do that. She made due with her finger and toothpaste. When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped one of those wonderfully thick towels around her and tiptoed back into the room where her clothes were. She had a new pair of jeans and one of the lovely cashmere sweaters on when Dylan woke up.

“Good Morning. I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Natalie asked, as she admired his gorgeous face with its desperate need for a shave and sleepy eyes. Natalie was sure Dylan was the sexiest man alive.

“No. Why are you up and not in bed with me?” he asked, as he reached out and pulled her onto the bed. When she tumbled onto him, she giggled like a schoolgirl.

“Well, as wonderful as that sounds, I have somewhere to be.”

“Oh, yeah? Where? I mean other than under, over, or in front of me,” Dylan said huskily, as he delved into her neck.

Wow! If only he truly meant such things. Natalie wished, so badly, that he had asked her on a date because he saw her at a bar and was attracted to her and not because she solicited him. But he didn’t and she did. Natalie was just going to enjoy every moment and experience. When he exits and her heart is broken, she will not be defeated by it. Rather, she will wear it proudly as the cost of having these memories.

“I’m going to see my mother today,” Natalie answered, trying to dislodge herself from Dylan’s seeking mouth and hands.

“Ok, let me shower and we are gone,” Dylan said, hating that he could not take her again. Dylan always thought morning wood was a waste if it could not be thrown on an inferno. Natalie, definitely, was a hot little inferno. Just thinking of the things they did last night made Dylan almost lose it right there in his pants. He climbed out of bed and was halfway to the master bath, when Natalie spoke from behind him.

“What do you mean, ‘we are gone’?”

“Well, wasn’t part of this so your mother would ‘see you in a relationship’?” Using his fingers to make imaginary quotation marks in the air, Dylan looked at her stunned face.

Well . . . yes, but to hear him say it and actually go with her was an entirely different thing.

“Oh. Yes. You’re right, I must need coffee.” Natalie lightly played off her blunder.

Dylan walked back over to her and placed a kiss first on her lips and then one swift sweet one on the tip of her nose. She smiled and Dylan knew it was going to be a good day.

The ride into Minkton did not take but ten minutes. This ride was full of conversation. Natalie being chatty, telling Dylan of the memories she had with her mother, post her father’s death. Dylan enjoyed listening to her. She spoke like someone speaking of a hero. It was quite evident that Natalie loved her mother, which just made the information of her mother becoming all of a sudden distant and cold toward Natalie, hard to understand. Dylan, himself, knew what it was like to grow up with a single parent. Granted, his Dad split a long time before Dylan could remember but his mom was always there for him. Before she passed, she made Dylan promise he would settle his preference for variety and find the one. Dylan hated lying to his mother in her final moments, but it was as if she was holding on until he promised that very thing. Remembering that promise, Dylan guessed he could relate to why Natalie was doing what she was. Dylan chuckled to himself, thinking what a kick his mom would have gotten out of Natalie. They would have hit it off right from the beginning; Dylan had no doubt. The two would have talked about him as if he were not even there; he was sure. He missed his mother desperately. He became suddenly saddened by the knowledge that she was never going to meet Natalie, even if she was not an ending but a continuation of his refusal to settle down.

While Dylan’s mind wandered to what his mother was missing, Natalie was growing more nervous with each passing mile. Dylan knew the area well and found the address easily. When they pulled in to the huge complex, they followed the signs to the building that now housed her mother’s home. Dylan pulled the Challenger into a parking spot and cut the engine. When he placed his hand on the door handle, he looked toward Natalie who was unmoving.

“Hey, you okay?”

Feeling as if she was going to lose the small breakfast she ate before leaving Dylan’s, she put a plastic smile on her face and nodded her head.

Dylan grabbed the purchase he made prior to their arrival. Even as Natalie watched him walk toward the lobby, she could not help but think how attractive he was. His tall long form looked wonderful in his casual jeans with his button down shirt. Even under his lightweight coat, there was no denying his unbelievable and sexy body. He walked with his gorgeous dark eyes hidden behind sunglasses but she knew they missed nothing. When they reached the door, Dylan held it open to allow Natalie to enter. After she passed through, he continued to hold it for an elderly couple, walking hand in hand, setting out to enjoy a wonderful private autumn day walk. As the older man passed Dylan, he said in a voice rasped from age, “You’ll be doing this someday, when you are as old as I am, for your girl over there too.” Dylan just nodded his head and gave the elder man a classic smile, rather than explain that he would not be doing any such thing.

They found their way to Gloria’s second floor apartment. When they reached the door that read 222, Natalie noticed that the small name plaque still had the previous resident’s name on it. Gaining strength from Dylan’s nearness, she lightly rapped on the door and waited. Natalie’s concern grew from lack of an answer. She was just about to call for help when she heard a muffled horrific cough followed by, “Be there in a minute.”

When the door opened, Natalie did not know what to expect. There stood her mother, who looked worse than Natalie remembered. She stood there, winded from her journey to the door. She wore an old sweatshirt with mismatched bottoms that looked as if a man five times her size had owned them. Her hair was matted on one side and sticking up in all angles on the other. Gloria’s eyes grew twice their size when she saw that Natalie was not alone on her doorstep.

“Natalie. You came. And you brought a man. I’ll be,” Gloria said, first out of shock but then with pretense of keeping up her act.

Feeling as if she just got punched in the stomach from her mother’s remark, Natalie tried to remain bubbly and unaffected. “Hello, Mom. Of course I came, you invited me and I wanted to see how you were settling in. I missed you, Mom.” Natalie leaned in and gave her mother’s pallid cheek a peck, hating how the feel of brittle skin and bone felt beneath her lips.

When Gloria invited them in, Natalie turned and gave Dylan what she hoped was an apologetic and silent expression of encouragement look.

“Mom, I’d like to introduce Dylan Cross. Dylan and I have been seeing each other and I wanted you to meet him,” Natalie said, as she stuck her arm through Dylan’s. She tipped her head up to look at him in what she hoped was an exaggerated expression of how happy and in love she was.

As if nothing were uncomfortable or abnormal about this meeting, Dylan handed Gloria the small bouquet of mixed flowers he had picked up for this very occasion. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Parker. Natalie has told me so much about you.” Dylan smiled with his megawatt, sexy, cock-sure smile.

Gloria wanted to believe Natalie had gone and found someone. Someone who knew how special she was and would treat her the way Gloria wanted her only daughter to be treated. She had to make sure though. She had to know.

“Has she? That’s funny, Mr. Cross, I haven’t heard a damn thing about you from my daughter. But I do know you. After all, one can’t live in Hamden one’s entire life and not know who the trouble makers and the screw anything with the right parts kind of men are.”

Natalie was shocked, horrified, humiliated and angered all at the same time. Knowing she needed to defend Dylan but not being able to get the words out, she was stunned when Dylan didn’t miss a beat. He said with his genuine smile still in place, “I’m sure that is true Ms. Parker, and you are right, my reputation is well known. However, I assure you, I’m just your run of the mill hard working business owner who enjoys the company of a beautiful woman, like our Natalie here.” Dylan leaned in and kissed Natalie’s embarrassed face and hoped he communicated that it would take more than that to rattle him.

Gloria was tickled at the obvious compliment he paid her daughter and the genuine look of affection they shared. It was about time a man saw what Gloria had known was there all the time. But she needed to continue on the path she chose. She knew her time was limited. She could not pass on fearing Natalie would be lonely or worse repeating Gloria’s life of abuse because she didn’t think she deserved better.

Gloria invited them in and gave them the quick tour of the one bedroom space. Natalie unpacked the salad and soup lunch she had brought, knowing the deli where she got it was one of Gloria’s favorite. The conversation was clipped and the atmosphere was equivalent to having a tooth pulled, but Dylan made it bearable. Even when Gloria barked at him or outright insulted his intentions, opinion, or just plain presence, Dylan laughed it off and gave Gloria a truthful and kind compliment or comment.

When Gloria had mentioned that she was tired and wanted to rest, Natalie cleaned up their mess and Dylan bid Gloria goodbye.