Broken Record

by K. A. Linde

  “The last four years, people have recognized me everywhere I go because of basketball. Is that weird?”

  “No,” she said automatically.

  “And somehow, it’s different?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “I guess not. But…it’s something that you chose.”

  “I chose basketball, not the lack of privacy. Neither of us chose that.”

  “I’m just not used to people not caring when I get recognized. I get self-conscious about it. Makes me feel…other.” She shrugged helplessly. “Sorry.”

  Something smoldered in Lucas’s eyes. “Don’t do that.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Apologize for who you are.”

  Lucas left his scotch on the counter as he came around to where she was seated. He tilted her chin up so that their eyes could meet. Her heart skipped a beat at the fire in that gaze. The unrelenting focus. She swallowed, and heat traveled down her body again.

  His hands slipped up into her hair. “You’re perfect just the way you are. And damn anyone who says otherwise.”

  It was those words that made her lean into his strong hands. That made her close her eyes and nuzzle against him. A sliver of herself broke open for him. Things had been so fucking hard with Lucas for so fucking long. But here, like this, always made sense. They had lived the crazy political life together practically since birth. And there was no part of her that he didn’t already know.

  He tilted her chin up. “Look at me, Savi.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared up into those rich blue orbs, still amazed they had made it to this moment. Where what they were doing wasn’t illicit. Wasn’t going to hurt the other in some monumental way.

  “Just be here with me tonight.”

  She cracked a smile. “I’m here. With you.”

  “You’re mine,” he commanded, bending down until their lips nearly touched.

  “Yes,” she breathed. She arched up toward him, trying to grasp that kiss.

  But he held still. All calm control. Even as his fingers fisted in her hair and his breaths came out sharp and crisp. “Tell me that you’re mine.”

  Her breath hitched. “I’m yours, Lucas Atwood. I’m yours.”

  He sighed and then dropped his mouth onto hers. His tongue dipped into her mouth, tasting her sweetness. She groaned against him as he unrelentingly explored her mouth.

  It hadn’t been since the summer before college that they were together like this. With no barriers holding them back. And nothing between them but hot desire. And then it had been new and scary. Also, quick and hurried and furious. This was something else altogether now.

  His large hands slid out of her hair and down her shoulders, taking care to touch every inch of her body. He splayed them out against her ribs, dipping his thumbs under the curves of her breasts. She gasped into his mouth at the feel of him, but he just continued downward. To her narrow waist and over her hips.

  Then, he spread her legs in her short black dress, pressing them further apart until he was seated between them. Another low moan escaped her at the feel of him now pushed firm into her stomach. She could tell exactly what her words had done to him. How letting him claim her made him hard as a rock in his expensive suit pants. Her fingers groped for the button of those pants, aching to release him from the enclosure. But he was ahead of her and finally let his hands fall to her ass, where he effortlessly lifted her off of the barstool.

  She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, grinding into his body. A grunt left his lips now as he hoisted her into the air. Their kiss broke, and for a second, her dark eyes were trapped by his. By the lustful gaze reflecting back at her as she slid her wanton body against his dick, begging for release.

  “Fuck,” he growled. His fingers dug into her ass, trying to still her.

  “Yes,” she purred.

  “I was going to go slow,” he told her as he walked her backward to his bedroom. “I had plans to relearn every inch of your body. Make you come at least twice before I buried my cock inside you.”

  She whimpered. He kicked the door open.

  “Now, I just fucking need you, Savi.”

  “I need you,” she said back. “It’s been…so long.”

  “Too long.”

  He tossed her backward onto his bed, and she barely had time to register that he hadn’t let anyone touch this room. That all of this still felt like him. Like the Lucas she had always known with the comfort of his old trappings and memorabilia. This was lived in and loved. So similar to the room she had spent long days in when she was younger. But more grown-up now and decidedly more masculine.

  His fingers were deftly working the buttons of his shirt. He got fed up halfway through and wrenched the thing over his head, tossing it to the ground without care. She forgot the bedroom entirely and zeroed in on that body. She’d seen every inch of those rippling abdominals and bulging biceps and the Adonis lines that led down to the other part of him that was currently bulging. But she hadn’t really looked. Not like she was now, practically salivating.

  “Dear God,” she muttered. “How much have you been working out?”

  He flicked the button on his trousers and dragged the zipper to the base. “All the fucking time. It’s my job now.”

  She licked her lips. “It’s appreciated.”

  He laughed, a short, breathy thing. Then, he let his pants fall to the floor next to his shirt. He was just wearing a pair of black boxer briefs that did nothing to contain him.

  Savannah slid forward off the bed and hooked her fingers into the top of the briefs. He exhaled at her movement, at her surety. Then, she released his dick and saw the full length of it bob out of its restraint. Her mouth watered. They’d never had the time for this before. She was so wet that she hardly felt like they had time for much of anything but fitting his perfect cock inside of her and making them both come for days. But she knew that she wanted to know his body as he wanted to know hers. Not just in words and looks and everyday movements conveyed over years. But like this and in earnest.

  Pre-cum dotted the head of his cock as she wrapped her hand around the base of his dick. She leaned forward and licked it off of the tip. His entire body shuddered in surrender at that. She thought for an instant he was going to scoop her up and bury himself inside her, right then and there. But then she took him in her mouth. His head dropped back, and a rumble filled his chest.

  She rolled her tongue around the tip of him. Then, she slid forward and forward and forward. Her jaw opening wide, her reflexes softening so she could take him further. Still, she didn’t fit him in entirely, and she was about to withdraw when she felt his fingers push into her hair.

  A moan left her lips, and his cock lengthened even further. He didn’t exactly hold her in place, but she didn’t move either. As if he wanted to have her there, exactly there, for a moment longer. To feel her wrapped all the way around him.

  Then, he pulled his cock out of her mouth. She protested, but he didn’t respond. Just pushed her back onto the bed and slid his hands under her dress. She stilled as he reached the edges of her black thong. He dragged it back down her legs, leaving her bare from the waist down.

  “Lucas,” she groaned as his fingers inched back up her naked flesh. So primed and ready for him. “I wanted to make you come.”

  “Together,” he assured her as he found the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. She hadn’t bothered with a bra. “And then again.”

  She grinned. “Awfully sure of yourself.”

  He arched an eyebrow as he walked to the side table and withdrew a condom. “Should I not be?”

  “Let me.” She held her hand out.

  He passed her the condom without a word. She tore open the material in haste and fit the small band of latex to the head of him before rolling it on him inch by inch. She could see he wanted to hurry her and be done with it. But he let her finish before crawling onto the bed after her.

  “I find everything you do t
o be incredibly sexy,” he told her as he hovered over her on the bed.

  Her mind was on his fingers inching their way up her right inner thigh. “I find that incredibly sexy.”

  “This?” he asked, stroking a finger through her silken folds and coating it with her wetness.

  She squirmed. “Uh-huh.”

  He trailed that finger up to her exposed clit, already peeking out and waiting for him. He stroked her in a slow, even circle until she was writhing underneath him.

  “Fuck, Lucas.” She reached for his hips, trying to drag his dick closer. To get that release she so desperately craved.

  “We’ll see if you’re ready for me,” he teased.

  Then, he slipped one finger inside her. She tilted her head back at the feel of one long, thick finger probing her, spreading her wider for him. A second finger followed, finding her pussy just as inviting as the first.

  “Please,” she murmured. “I…can’t…wait…any longer.”

  He chuckled softly against her lips, leisurely stroking her in and out, rubbing his thumb against her clit as she bucked against him. “You don’t want to come first?”

  “You said…together.”

  “Always together,” he agreed.

  He withdrew his fingers, only to fit the tip of his cock against her waiting opening. She tilted her hips up, hoping to draw him in. But he took his time, something he had never done before. Once the tip went in, a growl left his body, and then he thrust with abandon. He pushed all the way inside until their hips smacked against each other, and she cried out in a small bit of pain but so much more pleasure.

  “Oh fuck, Savi,” he said.

  He braced himself with one hand against the bed and grasped her hip with the other before he pulled out and began to drive into her. Thrusting in and in and in as if this was all he ever wanted to do.

  She reached up and pulled him down to her. Their lips and tongues and teeth met with a ferocity that was unmatched. A passion that had never fully dimmed and only resurfaced with a desperate, aching need. A moment that was unlike any of the others that had come before it. A fresh coupling. A new beginning.

  “So close,” she groaned into his mouth as her hips met his time and time again.

  “Come for me, love,” he breathed.

  And then he bottomed out in her pussy, and her body gave one good shudder before exploding into a million stars. She cried out, her core tightening in rolling waves. Then Lucas hit his climax and came with a tremor and then perfect stillness. As if he’d turned to stone, except for the cum he was releasing into her.

  Once the spell was broken, he dropped forward over her, panting breathlessly. Sweat beaded between them. And he kissed her swollen lips.

  “You’re perfect.”

  She smiled lazily. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  He snorted and nipped at her neck. Slowly, he slid off of her and went to rid himself of the condom. When he returned, he flopped down onto the bed next to her.

  “Let’s do that again,” he said with total seriousness.

  She laughed anyway. “You know I normally don’t put out on the first date.”

  He pinched her side. “Liar.”

  “Hey!”

  “You’re so easy to tease.”

  She huffed, not at all upset, and let him draw her into his chest.

  He ran his fingers back through her hair, and she nearly fell asleep before he spoke again, “How do you feel about black-tie events?”

  “Um…good?” she croaked.

  “Come with me to one?”

  “What for?”

  “The team is throwing a fundraiser before the season starts. We’re all supposed to be there.” He kissed her forehead. “You could be my plus-one.”

  She rose up onto her elbow and looked down into his eyes. “That sounds serious.”

  “I want us to be serious,” he said without blinking. “I want everything.”

  A pleased look crossed her face. “Then, I’ll go. Tell me I have time to go shopping.”

  He laughed and rolled her back over, pinning her between his strong arms. “You have time to go shopping.” His eyes roamed to her breasts. “Now, let me reacquaint myself with the rest of your body. I don’t want you to feel like I’m slacking.”

  “Heaven forbid,” she murmured as his lips closed over her nipple, and she forgot all sense.

  21

  WAGs

  It had been official before. But now, it felt official.

  Lucas and Savannah were a couple.

  It was overwhelming, standing in the glittering ballroom with some of the tallest people she had ever met while cameras flashed blindingly. And it took a lot to make her feel overwhelmed. Growing up with her father as a politician had taken away most of her fear of these situations.

  But that was politics. This was something else entirely.

  This was professional basketball.

  A world that she had realized, after mere seconds, she clearly did not fit into.

  She should have made Lucas ask around about attire. Or done some research herself. She was kicking herself for not using those four years of journalism to help her prepare for this. What a waste.

  She’d heard black tie and thought, like any other normal human being, black tie. Cool, careful, sophisticated. Sleek ballgowns, coifed hair, soft lips. A politician’s black tie. Not, apparently, the black tie for the wives and girlfriends of professional basketball players.

  “Are you fidgeting?” Lucas asked with a quirk of his lips.

  “No,” she said, stopping at once.

  “I don’t know this look.” He arched an eyebrow. “Penny for your thoughts?”

  She grinned at their catch phrase and then sighed. “I’m dressed like a politician’s daughter.”

  “You are a politician’s daughter.”

  “Well, yes. But no one told me I was supposed to dress…like that.” She gestured to the extravagantly decorated women around the room. Each of them in a dress to outdo the Kardashians. Low necklines, cutout bodices, mile-high slits, and every delicate neck, wrist, and ear dripping jewels.

  Lucas followed her gaze. His eyes slipped over the women of his now colleagues before coming back to her. “You look perfect, Savi.”

  She laughed. “You have to say that. And anyway, it’s easier for you. You pull out a tux and fit in perfectly.”

  Though she noticed that, actually, he was dressed differently than many of the other players. Several of them were in extravagant nude suits or brightly colored jackets, short pants with loafers and no socks, multicolored, patterned bow ties. Dear Lord, they were not in Kansas anymore.

  “It’s just not stuffy in here. Let your hair down,” he said with a wink.

  Of course, her hair was not down. Not at all.

  He laughed at the look of despair on her face. “Who knew Savannah Maxwell would be undone so easily?”

  She glared at him harder. “I am not undone. I’m…adaptable.”

  “You are adaptable. You’ll be fine. I’m going to make a circuit for the team.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go make friends.”

  She straightened her back as he walked away. This was no different than any other ballroom she’d had to face. No different than the press rooms in college. Or even her office at The Washington Post. She was made from stronger stuff. She could endure this as well as anything else. Especially if it was for Lucas, who seemed to be glowing in the limelight of his upcoming rookie season of professional basketball. And she truly did want to see him that happy.

  She’d seen nothing but that happiness the last two weeks they spent together. In fact, they spent nearly every minute together that wasn’t captured by her work or his workouts. Even Liz had complained that she hardly saw her now, but she said it with a lift of her lips like she knew this newfound bliss had been hard-earned. Dylan had found it fabulous and told her to get as much dick as she could. Savannah still blushed, thinking of that conversation…even if she had been doin
g just that.

  “Excuse me?” a woman said behind her.

  She whirled around and found a stunning blonde woman in the skimpiest, tightest, most revealing dress she had ever seen. And in high heels, she barely grazed Savannah’s chin.

  “Yes?”

  “You’re Savannah, right?”

  “I…am?” It came out more of a question than a comment.

  “Great! Kam said that Lucas’s girlfriend would be here with him. I made him ask around what your name was and what you looked like. You know how men are,” she went on. “They never ask the right questions. And then we’re left floundering.”

  Savannah laughed. She liked this woman despite herself. “I completely get that. And you…are?”

  “Oh my Lord, Jesus take the wheel. I’m Tiffani, Kam’s wife.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Savannah said, racking her brain for who Kam was.

  Tiffani must have recognized the look. “What am I thinking? No one else calls him Kam but me. Kamari Simpson.”

  “Oh!” Savannah squeaked.

  She should have put two and two together. He was the star of the team. He’d moved to DC three years ago for double the money and turned the team around. But what Savannah really knew about him was that he’d played for Duke…against Brady…and thus was the enemy.

  Once a Tar Heel, always a Tar Heel.

  “A Blue Devil,” she said with a wrinkled nose.

  Tiffani cackled. “And don’t we all still give him shit for it? I was born and raised in Lexington. I still never let him live down the year he beat Kentucky in the Final Four.”

  Savannah burst into laughter. Oh yes, she was going to get along with Tiffani just fine.

  “Anyway, let me go introduce you to the girls,” Tiffani said, taking Savannah by the arm as if she didn’t barely scrape five feet tall.

  Savannah squirreled away the names of all the wives and girlfriends she had been introduced to. She was used to having to remember specific details about people with barely any time to jot them down for an article. Her memory had to be snappy, and soon, she stood with the strikingly beautiful group of women, including Amber, Jacqui, Kelley, Leticia, and Cookie. Apparently, Cookie wasn’t a nickname either.