Damned If I Do

by M. J. Schiller

  "No, switch leaps and layouts."

  I whistled. "Those sound painful."

  Elise giggled.

  "Only if you don't do them the right way, right, E?" Sam put in.

  "Right."

  "Don't tell your brothers," I said in a loud whisper, leaning into Elise, "but I've always liked women's gymnastics. The way those women can contort themselves..."

  Sam put her napkin on the table. "I can put my foot behind my head."

  "No way," I scoffed.

  She proceeded to, in the middle of this white tablecloth, silver tureen restaurant, lift her foot and latch it behind her neck in what looked to be a god-awful, painful position, though watching it thrilled me to no end.

  I cleared my throat. "Wow."

  "Ryan can do it, too," Elise added exuberantly.

  I looked at him in shock. "Seriously?"

  He smiled a little sheepishly, the first time I'd ever seen him come even close to a smile. "Yeah. But I'm not doing it here." He waved at Sam. "Mom, put that thing down." We all laughed. Maybe I got somewhere with the kid.

  I spent the day lounging around the house with them, playing computer games until close to two. Sam told me her ex, Bill, was coming to get the kids to take them to a Cubs game.

  "Well, I better go," I said reluctantly.

  "Oh, you're leaving?" Elise sounded disappointed. She'd loved me since our first game of jump rope that afternoon.

  "Yeah, honey." I tweaked her chin. "I have a game to ref in St. Louis. Where's that picture you drew for me?"

  "It's still in my room. I'll go get it." She skipped off with her usual cheer. That girl could have fun at a mortuary.

  "Can't you stay any longer?" Sam whined.

  "No. I've gotta go. And besides, I don't want to be here when your piece-of-crap-ex arrives. Knowing what he did to you, I might do something to him I would regret." Then, realizing I'd talked the boys' father down, I tried to back pedal. "No offense guys. I didn't mean to call your dad a piece of crap."

  "None taken," Jake answered without looking up from his math homework.

  "He is a piece of crap," Ryan added, similarly engaged in writing a paper.

  The way they said it so flippantly, without even thought, tickled me for some reason, and I burst into laughter.

  Jake and Ryan lifted their heads and looked at each other, exchanging a grin. Ryan had warmed to me a little throughout the course of the day. He really enjoyed the all-you-can-eat brunch I took them to. I guess the best way to win over a teenager was to appeal to his stomach. Sam walked me to the door, but before we headed out, Ryan called out my name. It was the first time he said it.

  I looked over and he had one leg looped around the back of his neck.

  "Well I'll be damned."

  Tucker

  Twenty minutes later I lay on my stomach on my bed with a towel under me while Dani slathered antibiotic cream over my naked ass, or part of it anyway. The pain had practically gone away. Or at least turned to a low throbbing. That is, until Dani began messing with it.

  "Quite a way to end our first date," I mumbled from the pillow, finding myself getting drowsy.

  "This wasn't our first date, the hockey game was," she said, referring to the Avalanche game we caught in Denver.

  "That didn't count. We didn't know we were going out then."

  She stopped rubbing and raised an eyebrow. "There are rules?"

  "Of course there are rules."

  She shook her head. "Maybe you're more like Darren than I thought," she muttered, bending to examine my wound better.

  I smiled, feeling satisfied by the comment for some reason. My arms were crossed under the pillow my head rested on. A stab of pain roused me, and I sucked in air.

  "Did that hurt?"

  I wanted to allay her fear. "Nah. But it's cold." I could see her out of the corner of my eye, and I strained to keep my vision zeroed in on her beautiful face.

  She smiled. "Sorry about that."

  "Yeah. Sure you are." I chuckled. A few moments ticked away. "How does it look?"

  "Well... it did break the skin a little, but it didn't bleed much." She grimaced. "You've got some pretty nasty bruising though."

  "Huh. Must be quite a sight."

  "It is." She grabbed my uninjured cheek and squeezed it. It stirred me up, and I had to rock back and forth a little to readjust myself. She chuckled, then turned serious again as she continued to assess the wound. "Are you sure you shouldn't see a doctor?"

  "Positive. I've been bit before, and we're doing everything they would be doing."

  She covered it with a bandage. "You've been bit before and still stared down those brutes?"

  I smiled smugly. "And for my next act, I'll dance with a pair of venomous vipers."

  She leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "I'm so turned on."

  I chuckled but yanked the towel around me and rolled over. "What I need is a glass of wine. Best medicine possible."

  "But you dropped it. Remember?"

  I slid off the bed and stood. I dropped my towel with my back to her and stepped into my underwear. I reached into my bag and straightened with a bottle in my hand. "I always come prepared." I twisted my head and winked at her. "Boy Scout and all that."

  She stood and came behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Now I'm really turned on." She took the bottle and waltzed off.

  "You keep saying that, woman, and I'll haul you into that bed over there and we'll see what this dog-bitten booty can do."

  "Do you have an opener?"

  "No. But I'm praying there's one in that wet bar." I pulled my jeans on and zipped them, but didn't bother with the shirt.

  She had already crossed to the bar. "Glasses." She clinked them together as she drew them out. "An-n-nd—" she spun around, brandishing her find, "—a cork screw."

  "Yes!" I shuffled over to her. "I'll take care of it."

  "I can do it. You should just rest."

  I frowned, and she lifted her hands in a sign of surrender.

  "Okay, okay. Macho man."

  I wrestled the cork out and poured the glorious red liquid into the glasses. Wine never tasted so good. I sighed and turned to bring Dani's her. She was curled up on a couch, which was in a wider area near the sleigh bed. I handed her the glass, then strode to the fireplace across from it and set mine on the mantel.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Building a fire." I lifted the grate away and crouched, taking some logs from a crate nearby and plopping them on the andirons.

  "Oh, no. Don't bother. We don't need one."

  "At the price I paid for these rooms, I'm going to enjoy all the amenities," I mumbled.

  "Oh. Was it expensive?"

  I closed my eyes. I didn't mean to let that slip. "No. I'm kidding." I crammed some newspaper the owners handily provided under the logs, lit a match, and set it ablaze. "They've got everything right here for us. It's no problem." I waited to make sure it caught, then dragged the grate in place and went to sit next to her. We sipped our wine, staring into the flames. I put my arm around her and she snuggled in. "Now, this is the life." I kissed her head and stroked her hair. She smelled good. Something crisp and earthy. Apple?

  "How does the leg feel?"

  "What leg?"

  She chuckled, pushing off a little so she could look at me. "Thank you for the way you handled the dog situation."

  I laughed. "What? By offering my butt cheek."

  She patted my chest. "You know. You protected me."

  I lifted some strands of hair from her face. The contrast of her fair complexion, ruby red lips, and dark hair was stunning. My heart once again rose in my throat. "I would always protect you, Danielle."

  She set her glass on the table behind the couch and reached for mine. I quickly took a gulp, then handed it to her. When both glasses were secured, she draped herself across my lap, lowering her weight cautiously. "Is that okay?"

  I couldn't speak, but nodded.

  "I think
it's time to reward my hero." She held my face in her hands and brought her lips to mine. As she kissed me, she slipped her left hand behind my neck, and the other slid to my chest, skimming across my skin to my arm and stroking me there. After a bit, she pulled back. "Can I ask you a question?"

  "Sure." I can't guarantee I can answer it right now, since there is no oxygen in my brain, but I'll do my best.

  She separated more and ran her hand over my chest again and out to my arm. "How do you stay in such good shape? You have to work long hours. Where do you find the time? And what do you do to get these results?"

  She wanted to know about my workout routine? Now? "Uum. Yeah. I've never had much time for the gym, so I go at things the old fashioned way. I have a workout bench, weights, and a pull-up bar in the basement, but I mostly do a lot of pushups, sit-ups, and squats. Sometimes, in the evenings, I'll take a run. And sometimes—it sounds corny, but it really is good exercise, especially for the abs—I chop wood."

  "Chop wood?"

  "Yeah." I think it helps with my sexual frustration, too. I chop a LOT of wood.

  She examined my bicep. "Well, it works for you."

  "Uum." The way she said it caused other parts of my body to respond and I squirmed, then brushed the hair from her shoulder. The creamy skin around her collar bone called to me. Shouted to me. I lowered my mouth and kissed it. "You'll have to tell me," I trailed a kiss lower, bringing my hand to the buttons of her blouse, "what else works for me." I unbuttoned a couple of buttons, yanked open a few more and slid the blouse from her shoulder, coming back up to kiss her there, and work my way into her neck, over a black, lacy bra strap. She moaned and I became rock hard.

  "Uum. That works."

  All these stops and starts made me impatient. In Denver. Here. On the phone. I brought my head to her breast and sucked her into my mouth. Through shirt, through bra... I couldn't wait. She arched and grabbed my hair, drawing me in more. Her panting drove me wild. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recalled a promise I made to myself to be a gentleman. Foolish promise.

  "Tucker," she breathed.

  I made some sort of noise in reply and tugged at the blouse some more, but couldn't get it any looser as it was trapped between our bodies. Didn't matter. I glided my hand along her skin, inside her bra and around her breast, pushing that cloth aside at least. I tweaked the nipple between my thumb and finger, then returned to feeling her curves.

  "Tucker." Her voice rose, somewhere between a cry of ecstasy and a warning. I ignored the latter. My mouth roamed between her cleavage, and I rolled my tongue across, flicking it over her nipple before opening my mouth wider to—"Tucker!" That got my attention. I laid my forehead on the side of her breast. So cool.

  "Yes?" I said, sounding unmanly.

  She swung her feet around and her boots hit the floor. I lifted my head and she jerked her blouse together. "I think I need to go to bed."

  Of course you do. As she rose, I grabbed a throw pillow and placed it over my lap. She turned, and I stretched my arms across the top of the couch and looked at her, shaking the hair out of my eyes and forcing a smile. The corners of her mouth crept upward, too. She bent forward and her blouse fell open again. Ouch! I closed my eyes and she put a hand on the outside of each arm, bending to kiss me softly on the forehead.

  "Good night."

  I kept my eyes shut. When I opened them, she was gone. I slumped on my side.

  Danielle

  I woke somewhere around the middle of the night. Scratching noises seeped in from the other room and light slid across the outer floor. Curious, I got out of bed and crept forward. I rounded the corner and Tucker stood behind the couch with his back to me. A small mound of crumpled legal paper lay on one side of the couch and, as I watched, he stretched, yawning and brandishing the pad the paper was presumably torn from in his hand. His other hand came behind his head as he stretched on his toes. His shirt was still off so I got to watch all of those muscles rippling. I think I drooled.

  He whirled around. "Oh." He held his hands out in front of him, then set the pad of paper on the table next to our untouched wine glasses. He rushed around the couch, but did a little hop and winced as he made his way to me. The bite must still be bothering him. "I'm sorry, Danielle. Did you hear me?" He took both of my arms and bent to read my face. His hair was... a mess. A forgotten pen stuck behind his ear. "Come here." He led me to the couch and pulled me down with him. "I'm so sorry. I tried to be quiet."

  My brain still fuzzy with sleep, it took a bit for my mouth to form the words, "What are you doing?"

  "What? Oh, this? Legal crap." He brushed the papers onto the floor for some reason. I guess to give me more room. He turned the lamp off. "Lie down. Go back to sleep."

  "But it must be... two-thirty in the morning?"

  He glanced over his shoulder. "Three-forty-five, actually." He yawned again. His hand brushed along my arm as I lay on my side, leaning into him. Each stroke got progressively longer in a totally mesmerizing kind of way. He kissed the top of my head. "Sh-sh, sh-sh-sh. Go to sleep," he whispered. I focused on the way he caressed me, so soothing...

  I guess I passed out. When I woke, I lay on my side on the couch, a pillow under my head and the comforter from the sleigh bed draped over me. I shot up, looking back at the bed, but it sat empty. Where was he?

  I got up and traipsed around the corner, avoiding the windows since I only wore my comfy shortie shorts and a ribbed tank. I knew no one could see this high, but I yanked on the hem of my shorts out of habit anyway. As I got close to the doorway, light snoring carried to me, and I caught a glimpse of his feet hanging out of the covers. I stepped into the archway and stared. Curled on his side, he clutched the pad of legal paper to his chest like a security blanket. The pen still peeked from behind his ear, and his hair remained unkempt, sticking out everywhere like stray pieces of hay in a haystack. He had a sheet spread over him, but it didn't quite cover him, and the bed was dwarfed under his frame. Even curled, he hung over the edges. The blanket lay discarded on the floor where I think I dropped it in my haste earlier. A mini yellow mound of paper, similar to the one on the sitting room floor, lay directly below him on the throw rug.

  My heart turned inside out. He was so cute. I went and kneeled beside the bed near his face. I hardly dared to breathe. I feathered a hand over his hair. He stopped breathing. I listened for him to begin again, but he didn't. Panicked, I whispered his name.

  "Hmm..." he mumbled. He didn't open his eyes, but a smile warmed his face. "Danielle? You're not a dream again?"

  I almost laughed and had to bring my hand to my mouth to stifle it. I stroked the side of his face. "No honey. I'm not a dream."

  "Good. Good." He tugged the sheet around him and curled tighter. His breathing became more rhythmic again. I watched him sleep for several seconds. Then his eyes popped open. He flew to a seated position and whacked his head on the ceiling. He groaned and brought a hand to rub what had to be a growing lump.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah. Yeah. What time is it?"

  I grabbed my phone on the bedside table. "Nine-thirty."

  "Nine-thirty. Damn!" he scratched his chest, thinking. "Well, if we run down we can catch breakfast, but it's over by ten."

  I smiled. "I'm not in any hurry."

  His hand stilled, his eyes brightening. "Well, what do you want to do?"

  Instead of speaking, I held up the sheet. He looked confused for a moment, then silently stretched out on his side, scooting to make room for me. I laid next to him, my head on the pillow with his arm under my neck. He immediately bent his arm and pulled me into him, his other arm coming around my shoulder, too. He kissed my neck, sending tremors through me, straight to my core.

  "Mmm... this is better." His voice still held the rough edges of sleep, and combined with the warmth of his breath, it made the shivery sensation linger. "You smell good." He tugged even tighter. We were perfectly fitted together. My tush snuggled against his crotch, my legs curled aro
und his... The bed was pre-heated from his body. I bit my bottom lip. What a body. I ran my fingers along his arm, feeling the dips and twists of his chiseled muscles. He sighed my name. A few peaceful seconds passed, then his top arm shifted and he ran his hand along my side, and to my thigh. He stroked my thigh several times, then brought his hand underneath my shorts, cupping my flesh. I tensed. The sensations he created were wonderful, but... I didn't want to get carried away. He put the tip of his finger underneath the elastic of my panties and followed it around to my front. He backed it out, but kept his palm against the top of my thigh. My heartbeat thumped, but not in my chest. It pulsed between my legs, and I couldn't help but push my rear into him further. I thought a return heartbeat came from his lower regions, and I battled an intense urge to move my hand there. I wanted to feel him so badly. He brushed his fingertips over my pelvic area as he brought his hand under my tank to rest on my stomach. I squeezed my legs together. A fire radiated out from his hand creating a burning desire for more. He nuzzled me, then went still. Right about the time I decided he fell asleep again, he began to move his hands up. He cupped one breast, then the other, sliding along the curves. I thought about his mouth on me the night before. Hot, searching, creating sharp sensations with his teeth as he nibbled tender flesh. I wanted to shout out, but I held it together. Barely. He brought his mouth to my ear.

  "You feel so good." His tongue flicked out and licked my earlobe before he sucked it into his mouth, nipping. And when I thought I'd lose my mind completely he settled back and fell asleep. I sighed in relief. But the more I thought about his touch, the more my body ached for him. I wriggled my butt, hoping to arouse him, but got no response. Was he asleep? I licked my lips and after a beat or two brought them to his arm, kissing to the crook of his elbow where I sunk my teeth in a little. When he didn't respond, I quit, blowing out air and trying to calm myself. I concentrated on my breathing, in and out. But it didn't help as each inhalation brought my breasts closer to his arms, then farther away, doing their own teasing dance. Come on, Dani. Relax. Little by little I let go. His warmth lulled me, and the weight of his arms around me. I felt secure and safe.