Enlightened Hearts: Mastered Hearts Series Book Two

by Nicole, Angela

  Rubbing his hand over the spot, he asks me how many spanks I should get for not wearing anything under my dress. “Ten,” I say, confident that I can take it. He doesn’t sound so sure.

  “You sure about that, sweetheart? This is your first time, isn’t it?” he asks with a tone that lets me know what he expects the answer to be.

  I wiggle my ass as if that would be my response, but Daniel isn’t satisfied. “I need to hear you say it, Nicole. And if you tease me like that again, I’ll add more to it.”

  “Yes, it’s my first time. I want nine more, Daniel. I can take it.” Should I tell him I’m getting wetter by the second?

  “If you need me to stop, you tell me to stop. Do you understand, Nicole?”

  “Yes, I understand.” Please just hurry, I think to myself.

  As soon as my response comes out of my mouth, Daniel’s hand is on my ass again. This time, he spanks me four times in rapid succession. “Oh shit, Daniel.”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Oh God, no. It’s making me want you inside me faster.”

  Her ass is a nice, light shade of pink. I went easy because it’s her first time. “I’m going to save those last five for another time, Nicole. I can’t wait another minute to have you under me.”

  I gently pull her up off my legs, and in one quick movement, she is under me on my bed. She lets out a laugh. “Hmm, this is a nice view. The only problem is, you have too many clothes on, while I’m completely naked.”

  She’s absolutely right. Sitting up, I straddle her body between my legs. Tossing my shirt off earns me a smile from Nicole.

  “You are perfect, Daniel,” she says with a husky voice. It’s sexy as shit.

  Needing to free myself from my jeans, I move to the end of the bed. I don’t think I’ve ever stripped so fast in my life. I must look like an idiot, dancing around, trying to get my pants off, because Nicole bites her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

  Back on the bed, I lean over her and whisper in her ear, “Do you want those other five now?” She moans into my neck. I love how she lets me know what she wants just by her noises.

  Taking my time, I kiss her from her neck down to the valley between her breasts. She arches her back, as if offering them to me. Who am I to deny her what she wants?

  Gently, I roll my tongue over her nipple. She grabs me by the back of the head, encouraging me on. I roll her other nipple between my fingers. Her breathing is becoming faster, as if she could come just from this.

  “Please, Daniel. I can’t wait much longer.”

  “I need you to come first, sweetheart, because once I’m inside you, I don’t think I’ll last long.”

  “I want us to go together,” she says, and it’s almost my undoing. Reaching over to my bedside table, I quickly find a condom and roll it on. Nicole doesn’t take her eyes off me the whole time. She almost looks as if she is going to cry.

  “You OK?” I ask, needing to make sure she wants this.

  “Yes, I’m OK. But we probably should’ve talked about this before. I’m clean. I’ve been tested recently and I haven’t been with anyone since. I want to feel you without a barrier.”

  “I’m clean too. I haven’t been with anyone since my last check-up. I would love to feel you without this condom, but what about pregnancy?”

  I can’t tell him that I’m infertile right now, so I say something that isn’t completely a lie. “I’m protected, Daniel.”

  Watching him stroke himself is a complete turn on. He nods and appears to accept my declaration. After taking the condom off, he kisses me ferociously.

  Taking each of my hands in his, he places them above my head, but he never let’s go. He enters me in one quick movement. I think it surprises us both, because each of us gasps at the same time.

  Daniel looks me in the eyes. I know he is asking me if I’m OK. I love that he is so worried about making sure that I haven’t changed my mind, but it’s starting to drive me a little crazy. It seems like we just get going, and he does a check-in. In order to let him know that I love everything he is doing to me and that I’m not a fragile flower, I say what I feel. “Fuck me, Daniel, and don’t stop until we’re screaming each other’s names.”

  He doesn’t say anything, but he does groan in my ear. Daniel sets an unrelenting pace, and I know that I’m not going to last long. His cock is hitting me in my G-spot. Feeling my body start to tense, I whisper in his ear, “You better get there soon if we are going to go over the edge together. I’m almost there, Daniel.”

  “Christ, Nicole, you are so tight and wet. I love being inside of you.”

  It only takes another twenty seconds before he tells me that he’s right there with me. We go over the edge at the same time. It’s perfect, at least for tonight.

  * * *

  After an hour of talking and cuddling, we have sex again. This time, it’s slow and tender. Laying with Daniel at my back, I can’t help but think about what tomorrow will bring. Tonight we made a connection, but tomorrow I return to being Lucy’s teacher.

  “Stop thinking, Nicole,” Daniel says with his chin on my shoulder.

  “I can’t help it,” I respond as I turn over to face him.

  “Apparently, I didn’t satisfy you enough so you’d forget about our little situation.”

  Sitting up on my elbow, I reach over to touch his face. “Daniel, you satisfied me perfectly. You made me feel wanted and sexy at the same time. No one has ever done that for me.”

  “Well then, sweetheart, you should stick with me.” He smiles that damn smile.

  “As perfect as that sounds, it’s just not realistic. Tomorrow, you’ll pick Lucy up and spend time with her. I’ll be doing lesson plans. On Monday, I’ll teach your daughter all about grit and not giving up when things get too difficult. Kinda makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it?”

  “Nicole, tomorrow I’ll go pick up Lucy, yes. We’ll go fishing, talk about how great her teacher is, eat pizza and watch a movie. I’ll call you the minute she goes to sleep, if not before. But if I’m being honest, I’ll think about you every minute.”

  His words make me hopeful for the future, but deep down inside, I know this relationship cannot be. I’m spiraling fast into heartbreak.

  Driving over to pick up Lucy, I replay last night in my head. The sex with Nicole was off the charts. Holding her all night felt right, like she belonged there with me. I know she’s worried about someone at the school finding out, but I think if we keep it between us and our close friends, everything will work out.

  After our talk, she settled down a bit. I won’t lie and say this isn’t going to be difficult. We discussed our options: either we sneak around and see each other, or we remain just friends for now. I think the latter would kill me.

  The day with Lucy goes just as I told Nicole it would. The only change was, Lucy wanted pasta instead of pizza. Perhaps my little girl’s taste buds are growing up.

  I must’ve reached for my phone one hundred times today to call Nicole. Wanting to both give her space and not take time away from Lucy, I refrained.

  Hopes for an early night are dashed when my daughter comes bounding out of her room. She’s in her pajamas, carrying a stuffed dinosaur. “Daddy, can we watch that movie with the flying monkeys?”

  Oh, hell no. “Lucy, last time we watched that, you had nightmares for weeks. I never heard the end of it from your mother.” Now she crawls up into my lap, trying to butter me up.

  “Please, Daddy? I’m not scared anymore. I know those monkeys are really people in Halloween costumes.”

  Halloween costumes?

  This kid cracks me up. Trying to divert the conversation to a safer movie, I ask, “How about the show with the talking fish? I really don’t like the flying monkeys or the witch.”

  Lucy ponders my statement for a minute, as if she really has a choice. “OK, Daddy. I don’t want you to be scared tonight. We can watch the one with the talking fish.”

  We spend the next hour cuddled
on the couch, watching the safer movie. Lucy has her traditional Saturday evening snack of a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. She falls asleep tucked into my side.

  I guess one night of not brushing her teeth before bed won’t hurt her. After getting her settled, I glance at the clock. It’s only eight o’clock, so I pull out my phone and text Nicole.

  Me: You know, I never gave you your other five.

  Nicole: Hmm. My ass is still a little tender. Definitely need a raincheck on that.

  Me: Friday night?

  I see her typing a response, and then she stops. I guess I’m taking a chance of being rejected by her. She starts typing again.

  Nicole: I can’t.

  OK. So, she can’t or won’t? I don’t want to be a douche, so I’ll let her off the hook.

  Me: OK, another time, then.

  Frustrated with myself, I throw my phone on the kitchen table. I head off to bed. I knew I shouldn’t have pushed, but I don’t have any patience when it comes to her.

  Flopping onto my bed, I’m pissed that I turned down an opportunity to see Daniel. It took everything I had not to say yes. I want this man, and I want him badly.

  I replayed last night over and over in my mind. Imagining his hands all over me, I had to change my panties more than once. I mean, it’s not like we don’t have chemistry; we do. If that’s all it took, I’d be making dates for every Friday night. If we did this, we wouldn’t be able to go out in public. That’s not the kind of relationship I want. Even if it’s with Daniel.

  For a Saturday night, I’m in bed early. It’s only ten o’clock, and I can’t sleep. I don’t like the way I blew Daniel off. Grabbing my phone off the bedside table, I decide to text him.

  Me: Maybe we could grab some coffee sometime next week.

  There, that was a friendly text. Shaking my head, I sent the man I had sex with last night a text that I’d send my sister. What the hell is wrong with me?

  Five minutes go by, and Daniel hasn’t texted me back yet. He’s probably busy with Lucy. Wait, she should be in bed by now. Checking to make sure that my ringer is turned on, I place the phone next to me in bed.

  Pathetic. I feel like a schoolgirl waiting for a teenage boy to call her.

  An hour later, I’m still staring at the ceiling. Shit. I think I screwed this up. Is there an app to delete a text before someone sees it? Like an undo button; yes, that’s what I need.

  Sometime around one in the morning, I fell asleep, but waking up means I have to face consequences from this weekend. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s six o’clock. I know that Daniel didn’t text me back last night because it would’ve woken me.

  Needing to get some frustration out, I head to the gym across town. Flex is owned by one of Mac’s friends, Dante. When I first moved here, he showed me around the gym and helped me get into a routine. Maybe a few rounds on the punching bag will help.

  After thirty minutes of punching and kicking, I’m ready for some strength training. Going through the exercises that Dante taught me fills up the rest of my hour. OK, so now it’s seven-thirty. Shit. I need to keep busy today.

  On my way home, my phone buzzes. I promise myself that I won’t look at it until I get home and shower. Not knowing if it’s Daniel is killing me, but I don’t want to be disappointed if it isn’t.

  I think I took the quickest shower in history. Grabbing my phone from my bag, I see Daniel’s name. While I’m relived he texted back, I’m now worried about his response, but I check anyway.

  Daniel: I’d like that.

  A few days have gone by since Nicole and I had our coffee date. I tried to keep things loose and fun, but the sexual tension between us was crazy. We did hold hands under the table like teenagers not wanting their parents to catch them. I think the taboo of it all makes it a little more exciting.

  During our date, we realized that we both got invited to Shane’s first birthday party tomorrow. My invitation had Lucy’s name on it too. Nicole tried to back out of going, but I convinced her that it would be good for Lucy to see us as friends. Even though we are more than that.

  I asked to see Nicole tonight, but she was helping Emily set up for tomorrow. As it turns out, Mac needed some help at the bar since one of his workers called out. I’ve filled in a time or two when Mac was in the military, so I’m familiar with the job.

  “Hey, Daniel?” Mac’s voice brings me out of my daydream.

  “What’s up?’

  “I should ask you that. I’ve called your name, like, six times before you answered me. Everything OK? Serena’s not giving you shit, is she?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that.”

  “It’s slow tonight, so why don’t you sit down, have a drink, and let’s talk about whatever has you all weird.”

  Mac’s right. It’s slow for a Friday night. Planting myself at my favorite spot, Mac slides a shot of whiskey down to me.

  “Alright, Daniel, what the fuck?”

  I chuckle because he and I have done this for a long time. Whenever we have women troubles, it’s the same routine. Now that he and Emily are married, I suppose it’ll just be my problems now.

  “OK, so I did something that put someone I care about in jeopardy, and I’m not even sorry about it.”

  “You mean when you and Nicole had sex a few weeks ago?”

  Nearly choking on my whiskey, I try to get my words out.

  “Let me guess. Nicole told Emily, who told you the story.”

  "Yeah, man. Nicole came over a few days after it happened, all freaked out. I overheard her tell Em that she really likes you, but she’s afraid for herself and Lucy if anyone at the school finds out.”

  Letting out a breath, I rehash the story to get his advice.

  “First I need to know how you feel about her,” Mac says.

  “Nicole is great. She’s funny and sexy. She cares about Lucy so much so that she was willing to call off seeing me.”

  “OK, so the worst thing that could happen is Lucy gets pulled from Nicole’s class, right? She won’t get fired?”

  “No, she won’t get fired, but she doesn’t want Lucy to get moved. She enjoys having her in class, and she’s made a lot of friends.”

  “I’m going to ask you a question, and I don’t want you to freak out.”

  What the hell is Mac going to ask me?

  “OK, what is it?”

  “If you care about Nicole like you say you do, do you think you can wait until Lucy graduates from kindergarten?”

  “Have you met me? When have I ever been patient, man?”

  This gets a laugh out of Mac. “I was never a patient man either until I realized how much Emily and I loved each other. Do you think it was easy being away from her while she was pregnant here without me? It sucked ass. Not to mention the amount of patience it took me to learn to walk and do certain activities after I lost my leg. My point is, Daniel, that those things we treasure most are worth the wait.”

  Helping Emily last night barely took my mind off Daniel. We did accomplish a lot, though. We hung streamers and put up a piñata for the kids. The whole time, I’ve thought about seeing Lucy and Daniel tomorrow. Emily could sense my apprehension because she reassured me several times.

  She said things like, “Daniel and Lucy are lucky to have you in their lives, and you should do what feels right. Lucy would be resilient if she got moved to another class.” I know she meant well, but it didn’t enlighten me as to what I should do.

  Getting ready for the party, I couldn’t help but wish I was walking in with Daniel and Lucy. I wrapped Shane’s present early this morning. It’s difficult shopping for a one-year-old, so I bought him some books that he will enjoy when he gets a little older.

  Since Emily and Mac only live a few houses away, I leave mine at eleven on the dot. Walking up to their house, I notice Daniel’s car is already here. I try to brace myself for the weirdness that I anticipate feeling.

  The weather is perfect for an October day. Noise from the party is c
oming from the back yard, so I enter the gate and walk out back. Of course, the first thing I hear is Lucy’s voice.

  In her excited little voice, she yells, “Miss Russell is here. She’s my teacher.” Lucy runs over to where I’m standing and hugs my legs. How can my heart melt and break at the same time?

  “Hey there, Lucy,” I say as I rub her back with my empty hand.

  She takes a step back so she can see me. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

  Kneeling down in front of her, I tell her the truth, “I’m friends with Shane’s mommy and daddy, so they invited me to the party.” Of course I leave out the part that I’m friends - OK, more than friends with her daddy - because I think that’s something he should tell her.

  “Hey, Nicole,” Daniel says as he comes up behind me.

  Standing back up, I turn to see him. Immediately, my heart starts to race. Daniel Cooper is the epitome of sex on a stick. It never ceases to amaze me that he appears to get sexier each time I see him.

  “Hi, Daniel,” I say cautiously because Lucy is still standing with me.

  “Daddy, how do you know Miss Russell’s first name?”

  Crap. Here we go.

  Daniel kneels down so he is at Lucy’s level. “Lucy, your teacher, Miss Russell and I are friends. We know the same people, so we will see each other once in a while. I call her by her first name because that’s what friends do. You need to call her Miss Russell since she is your teacher. OK?”

  Closing my eyes, I’m waiting for the twenty questions that kindergarteners typically have. What happens next, though, shocks me.

  “OK,” Lucy says as she runs off to play.