by Emma Hillman
“No! Nick!”
“I already told you, babe. I know your body now. Chill.”
Easy for him to say! He was stronger than her in any case, and she watched desperately as her cover slid down to the floor, pulling at their feet in a heavy white mass. Damn it! She threw him a dark look, well she threw his reflection a look, but it was supposed to have the same effect. Except he just grinned at her and moved closer, his chest cradling her back. Their bodies were now so near that all you could see was the difference in the color of their skins. One tanned and golden, and the other, rather creamy white.
She closed her eyes at the obvious display of flesh, really not wanting to look at herself like this. And certainly not compare herself to him. He was just so damn gorgeous. His arms were muscled, his legs were just wow. And don’t let her get started on his butt!
“Leah, open your eyes, baby,” he whispered in her right ear, his arms closing around her midriff. Her big midriff, that is. She shook her head in denial and tugged on his hands, intent on getting far, far away from that mirror. “Please. I want to show you something.” His warm breath hit her neck and she shivered, her skin starting to buzz as she felt his obvious arousal on her back. He was watching her, standing there naked, and he was still aroused. The image wasn’t repulsing him, rather it seemed to have the opposite effect. His voice had been gravely with lust and his hands on her stomach had begun moving, his fingers drawing small circles on her skin. She gulped hard and opened her eyes, her gaze instantly locking with his. The brilliant smile he gave her made everything worthwhile for a second, until she remembered the mirror. Until she looked at her reflection and moaned with disgust. “Shush,” he soothed her, his hands moving up to palm her breasts. “Look at yourself.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” she replied dejectively.
“I love your breasts,” he murmured in her hair, his hands cupping them and weighing them with apparent relish.
“They droop,” she informed him churlishly.
He grinned slightly and bent his knees, so that he could lay a tender kiss on the back of her neck. “That’s ‘cause they’re big. Men love big breasts.”
“I…I know.” She glanced at him quickly and he spotted the curiosity in her clear eyes.
Smiling, he moved his fingers over her breasts, softly tweaking them until she responded by pressing herself against him; her hips moving in a way that made her butt caress his arousal. He gritted his teeth and let his fingers glide down her stomach, whispering, “So soft.” before nudging her head with his.
She looked at him wonderingly and smiled when she spotted the lust in his eyes.
That was it. He had managed to get her where he wanted her. When she wanted him, when she knew he wanted her, she let go of her defences and embraced his caresses willingly. Very willingly, he mused, his cock twitching against her butt.
She moaned as his hand found her curls, pushing her body even closer to his. Damn, he wanted her. He had to have her, and the sooner the better. His skin felt taut, his muscles bunched as he thought of how he was going to take her, standing there bent towards that mirror. Watching her come, watching her breasts flush with excitement.
Leaving her soft skin, his left hand pressed her face towards him until their mouths met; until their tongues touched and caressed each other. His fingers trailed down to her core, the kiss growing more urgent, his caresses growing bolder. They started grinding against each other, but it soon became too much. He had to be inside her, feel her heat wrapped around him. Tight.
They made love, standing there in front of the bathroom mirror, their groans echoing against the ceramic tiles. But her eyes were opened and she finally understood the joy of being in that particular position: watching Nick’s eyes darken to a midnight blue as pleasure swept through him and he let go, screaming his release, his eyes locked with hers.
Chapter Nine
Leah recalled that scene as she stood in front of the produce section in her local grocery store. They’d flown back to Miami days ago but she had yet to see Nick. Every time the café’s door opened, she looked up, eager to spot his cheeky grin. But it was never him. Oh, he’d left her a message to say he was going on an expedition with his tutor, but surely those didn’t last days? Did they? Shoot. She bit her lower lip, as she realized she should have asked him more questions about his life.
They’d spent so much time in bed, conversation had fallen off the wayside. Shivering at the thought, she looked at the unappealing bag of carrots she held and sighed. She was tired of this diet from hell. Eating nothing but veggies and fruit was getting to be boring awfully fast. She’d nearly fallen off the wagon last night, after another day spent without hearing from her boyfriend. She’d stopped at a McDonald’s and had had to physically restrain herself from going to the counter and ordering a Double Cheeseburger. Damn it all! She groaned inwardly and dropped the carrots back where they came from.
She couldn’t deal with this now. She was tired of her life, tired of forcing herself to fit people’s perceptions of what looked good. So, she had big bones. So, what? Nick liked her as she was, didn’t he? He’d forced her to eat all weekend long, as if he’d understood why she claimed she never was hungry. He’d pushed and prodded until she’d shared a pizza, the melt-in-your-mouth cheese tasting so divine after months punishing herself that she’d nearly had an orgasm on the spot. Although it hadn’t been far away as she’d settled on Nick’s lap minutes later, eager to feel him inside her. Around her. Everywhere.
He was very good at making her feel good. Oh yes, he was. Squaring her shoulders, she decided she would trust him from now on. So, maybe he didn’t have the best track record and maybe he was still in love with his best friend’s wife; but he was still her boyfriend and too bad if he didn’t love her. He did like her however, and he wanted to make her feel better. So, she’d try.
What did she have to lose anyway? He was the one man she’d fantasized about since high school and here she was, his girlfriend.
What more could she ask for?
* * * *
Two weeks later and she was a wreck. Nick still hadn’t contacted her and she’d come to the slow and painful realization that she’d been had. He’d asked her to trust him and like the stupid, gullible woman that she was, she had. And look where that had gotten her?
She’d stayed with him that weekend and she’d been very agreeable. Even after the fiasco of that first night, she’d listened to his pleas and found herself in his bed. They’d made love- no, they’d had sex. A lot. Enough for him to forget that the love of his life was pregnant by her husband. Stupid Leah! She’d thought she mattered to him, but obviously she’d just been convenient.
Wiping syrup marks off a table with a vengeance, she ignored the loud conversations around her and forced the tears away. He’d conned her. The damn man had made her feel good about herself for the first time in forever, and that had been enough for her to forget about her principles. She’d been right. It had been too good to be true. How could she have believed that someone like Apollo Hamilton would ever like someone like her? She snorted at the thought and decided right then and there to go back on her diet. No one would ever love her otherwise, her daddy had been right.
“Leah?” A voice said behind her, just as two hands palmed her hips.
She shrieked and whirled around, her soapy mop hitting the man’s chest with a wet thud. “What the hell?”
Nick blinked back at her before looking down at his ruined silk shirt. “Hello to you too, baby.”
She stared back at him in silence, her initial burst of happiness dying as she remembered the past fretful weeks. Sidestepping him, she ignored his attempts to stop her and slid behind the counter. She would focus on the customers and nothing else. If he thought he could come in here and apologize, if he thought she’d fall into his arms and open her legs for him, he had another think coming.
* * * *
He’d been sitting at his usual booth for over two hours now,
and she’d yet to serve him. He watched as she walked around the café, coffee carafe in hand, her eyes stopping on everyone but him. She was ignoring him. He sighed as he rubbed his chin, knowing it was his fault. He’d screwed up. Again.
No wonder she was acting like this. He was a no-good boyfriend; that’s what he was. He should have told her he’d be incommunicado for two weeks, but he’d been so thrown after that weekend that he’d forgotten all about the dive. Until the next morning when his supervisor had called, reminding him about what he needed to take with him. He’d barely had time to leave a message on her cell’s voicemail. He was pretty sure he’d talked about her in bed, rather than the logistics surrounding his trip. His head had been in his pants. He just hadn’t expected her to be so good, to make him feel so good.
They hadn’t had sex that weekend. They’d made love, as unbelievable as that sounded. He’d never thought he could find someone else like Mia, his first love. The one woman who’d been everything to him: friend, lover, confident. Leah was similar in looks, true, but that wasn’t what was important. No, what mattered was what was inside her. He loved how she put herself wholly into everything she did. She never held back. She was a giver, a caretaker.
And she’d been his, he mused as he watched her, his eyes never leaving her. Remembering…The way she tasted. The way she felt. The way she’d laughed at one of his stupid jokes. Shit, he had it bad. It was nearly laughable, he thought. Now that he’d finally found the one, she hated him. Typical. He sighed as he crossed his arms over the table and dropped his head onto them.
* * * *
He was still here. Leah bit her lower lip as she stepped out of the restroom to find Nick sitting in his usual booth, his head on the table. Frowning, she moved until she was leaning above him and said, “Nick?” He didn’t reply, didn’t even move. “Nick? Wake up!” She grabbed his shoulder and shook him a little. “Nicky?”
He heard the female voice calling out to him, that nickname only she used. His eyes still closed, caught in a state between sleep and awareness, he mumbled, “Mia? What time is it?”
Leah froze, hurt filling her every fiber. She took a step back, then another, and it was when the tears threatened to spill that she whirled around and flew out of the restaurant. The door banged close behind her, startling Nick so much he sat up, eyes blinking open. He twisted in his seat and watched her silhouette racing down the street. He stood up and swayed, tiredness pulling him down. He’d barely slept for the past two weeks and he’d come straight here after having stopped at his condo to take a shower and change his clothes. He’d wanted only one thing, and that was to see her. Take her in his arms and feel her softness wrap around him. Why had she left like that? Was she really that mad at him?
“Who’s Mia?” The short-order cook came to stand beside him. He had keys in his hands and it was clear he wanted to close the café for the day.
“What?” Nick blinked. How did he know about Mia? Had Leah told him? Did everyone know about his erstwhile obsession with his friend’s wife? Shit!
“You said her name. Guess that’s why Leah left. Bad move, man, very bad move.”
Oh no, he hadn’t? He had. “Fuck.”
“Yup, good luck.” The usually jovial man clasped his shoulder in a meaty grasp before motioning him out of the door. “You’re gonna need it.”
Nick found himself standing on the pavement, his mind in disarray. He’d called her Mia again? The news sunk into his brain and he felt despair crawl inside him. She’d never forgive him. Not this time.
* * * *
“I hate you,” Leah told her TV set.
She might not have returned Nick’s calls or answered the door when he’d come knocking, but she hadn’t been able to think of anything else. He’d hurt her before, but that last one had thrown her for a loop. The worst thing was, it was all her fault. She’d known he loved Mia, but she’d been confident she could make him forget about her. Yeah, right. He’d chosen her because she looked like her, and just that fact should have made her run for the hills. It was time to face it: she’d never be able to compare to Mia.
And even as she’d switched the TV on, unable to stop herself from watching him play in a charity football game, she’d known it was time to let go. He’d been hers for a few days and she should be content with that. Who could say that after all? She’d been in Apollo’s arms and he’d loved it! They’d had sex! Go her!
Shaking her head at her silly thoughts, she grabbed her bottle of nail polish and settled on the floor. She’d give herself a pedicure and listen to the game. She’ll try very hard not to look at him too much, even if the thought of him in a tight football uniform was making her heartbeat accelerate.
Her plan worked, up until the TV commentator announced he’d managed to interview Apollo Hamilton earlier that afternoon. Leah’s head jerked up at the sound of his name and she started as his face appeared on her screen. Her gaze ate him up, from the way his eyes sparkled at the thought of playing again, to the way his mouth fell into an easy smile. God, she missed him. She shook her head and forced herself to concentrate on the interview instead.
“So, Apollo, how does it feel to be back on the field?”
“Amazing.” He smirked at the camera and added, “I don’t regret my decision, I love my life now and what I’ve managed to achieve, but I won’t lie. I do miss it.”
“I watched your training earlier and you look in top form. Are you sure you’re not ready for a comeback?”
Nick laughed. “No, Fred, no more football for me. Today is an exception, because it’s such a good cause.”
“You’ve got that right, Apollo. So what’s new with you? I see no wedding ring?”
Leah froze to a standstill. What would he respond to that?
“Actually, Fred, thanks for mentioning it. I have a public announcement to make.”
“Sure, here’s the mike.”
Nick grabbed it and took a deep breath before saying, “Leah, if you’re watching this, I’m sorry.”
“Oh no, what did you do?”
Nick shrugged, his eyes darkening. “You know us, Fred. We, men, always screw up.”
“That bad, uh?”
“Yeah.”
“So, who’s the lucky lady?”
Nick licked his lips and looked once more straight at the camera. “A very special person.”
The moment passed, the interview moving on to football tactics and what Nick thought would happen during the game; but Leah still sat there, her thoughts in jumbles. What the hell had just happened? Nick had apologized on national TV, that’s what, her mind replied. She fell onto her back and stared at the ceiling. He was still thinking of her. He wanted her to forgive him. He’d announced he was taken to everyone on the planet. Her heart missed a beat and her palms got clammy. She had a lot to think about…
Chapter Ten
When the doorman announced he had a visitor, he felt his pulse kick up. Hope would do that to you, as he well knew. He’d been hoping, all these weeks, for a sign of her. Of course, he had no way to know that she’d been watching TV that day, that she’d seen him apologize. But still, someone would have told her surely. Right?
“Who is it, Tim?” he asked, his tone bordering on earnest.
“Lady by the name of Leah, Sir. Should I let her come up?”
Oh god, finally! “Yes! Thanks, Tim.”
“Have a good evening, Sir.”
“You too, you too.” Nick hung up the receiver and stared at the blank wall. He needed to regain his control, be calm and collected, so when she arrived he didn’t pounce on her. He squared his shoulders, took a few deep breaths and opened the front door. He watched the elevator’s doors open, revealing a dress-clad Leah. She was wearing make-up meant to entice: her eyes beckoned, her reddened lips teased. He felt his blood spike and grabbed the doorjamb in one hand, anchoring himself into place. “Hey.” She didn’t reply, just kept on walking towards him slowly. He traced the length of her legs with his eyes, his gaze
moving upwards until it stopped on her cleavage. He felt breath leave him at the sight of the deep décolletage, soft skin and shadows calling out to him. Shit!
“Hey,” she finally said, as she stopped right in front of him, the skirt of her dress swaying against his legs. “I will forgive you, but on one condition.”
He started. “What? I mean, okay. Uh, what condition?”
“That you never confuse me with Mia again. I don’t think I could… that I could take it. I know you love her and that I’ll always be a replacement but I-“
He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her forward, interrupting her. “Don’t say that!”
She blinked. “Why not? It’s true, isn’t it? You love her, you don’t love me, I get that.”
“Leah, come on, I never said that!”
“No, but you implied it.”
“I didn’t!”
“You did!”
Incensed, his right hand shot out and wrapped in her hair. Jerking her to him, his lips found hers and before she knew it, he was licking her lipstick off. His tongue slipped into her mouth, his hands slid down until he was cupping her ass. He brought her on her toes, her chest crushed against his as his embrace tightened. He broke the kiss but it was only to start nibbling on her lower lip. “I haven’t thought of her once over the past weeks. It was just you. Remembering you, yearning for you. Wanting you.”
Her eyes opened at his words, and she pushed on his shoulders so she could at his face. “Is that true?”
“Why would I be lying to you?” he asked, his voice gentle. His question was warranted, she realized with a shock. It’s not like he couldn’t find another girlfriend with a snap of his fingers. He was Apollo and he wanted her. He’d told the whole while world he’d screwed up. He’d pulled her out of her shell…only for her to slam right back in. He’d told her in one of his messages what’d happened after their weekend together, how he’d forgotten all about his two-week trip. How he should have apologized in advance for the lack of communication, but that he’d been so out of it, it’d slipped his mind. At the time, she hadn’t believed him. But maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe she was as much at fault for never trusting him? Her hands tightened into fists, her nails digging into her palms. “Leah?”
