by Rhonda James
“Who the fuck called you a whore?” he growls protectively, and I’m struck with the overwhelming urge to cry happy tears. I’ve never had someone want to protect me. Not the way he does.
“It’s not important. It’s just…if you’re going to be with me, I want you to be prepared. People are going to see us together and say things. Hurtful things.”
“They better never let me hear them saying that shit. I’ll kick their ass,” he threatens.
“That’s really sweet, but I’m afraid it’s going to happen. You can’t go around kicking everyone’s ass. You’d never stop fighting.” I lean forward and drop a kiss over his heart. “It’s best just to ignore them. That’s what I try to do.”
“I heard another one tonight. Double-D. That one’s not so bad.” He gives both my nipples a gentle pinch, and I squirm against him, feeling the press of his rigid length between us.
“I hate that name,” I seethe.
“Remind me to never call you that, then. Sweetheart, can I just say how much I love your Double-Ds?” As if needing to prove his declaration, he pulls me toward him until a nipple is drawn between his soft lips.
“It sounds different coming from you,” I whisper.
“No. I’m not gonna call you that. You deserve a much better name than that. Something that tells you exactly how I feel about you.” His lips purse together as if he’s thinking really hard to come up with one. Then a wicked smile fills his face and he nips playfully at my bottom lip. “I know what I want to call you.”
“Oh god,” I groan and bury my face in his neck. “With your dirty mind, I can only imagine what you’ve come up with.” I push off his chest and straddle his waist, ready to tickle him if I hate the new label he’s chosen. “Okay, I’m ready. Lay it on me. What are you going to call me?”
He sits up fast, grabbing me by the hips and positioning me over his erect cock. His eyes search mine, holding me there, needing to know it’s okay, and I nod, sensing his urgency.
“I just want to call you mine.”
He holds my gaze, waiting for me to willingly give myself to him. Not just my body. All of me.
It isn’t as if I have a choice. Not really. I mean, how do you resist something as strong as this pull that exists between us? And really, why would I want to? From the moment our bodies connected, I knew Derek was a man who saw what he wanted and went after it with gusto. He could have easily walked away that morning and never looked back on our night together.
But he didn’t.
He may have walked away that day, but he left a little piece of his heart in that room. And I think it was intentional. He knew then that he wanted me, and tonight he finally declared it.
So I’m not going to fight it. I am going to embrace it. Not because I’m lonely and the sex is good.
Well, I am lonely and the sex has been fucking amazing, but those aren’t the only reasons.
I want to embrace it, because for the first time in a long time I have someone in my life that truly cares about me.
And that is reason enough for me.
“Derek, baby.” I kiss first the left side of his mouth, and then move to the right, teasing my opening over his crown as I press my mouth fully to his. Desire pools between my legs, and the tip of his cock is now covered in my juices.
“Laney,” he moans between kisses, “we better grab a—”
“Condom,” I finish, leaning back to allow him access to his nightstand. His fingers work quickly opening the foil package then rolling the condom down his length.
I watch eagerly until I can’t take it any longer and grab him by the shoulders before sinking down the full length of his rigid cock.
I rock against him, loving the way he feels inside me. Marveling at the way my inner walls expand to accept his size. With every movement he makes, the muscles in his back contract beneath my fingertips. I rock faster, my ass slapping against his thighs as I pump up and down.
Our breathing is hot and erratic. He kisses me frantically, curling his hand behind my head to keep our mouths fused together. His tongue twists around mine as we both race toward climax. He lets out a deep growl and drops his mouth to my shoulder. I feel his teeth crush against my flesh as he breaks free inside me, spilling his seed as I whimper and milk his cock of everything he has.
When it’s over, while he’s still buried inside me, I cradle his face between my hands and kiss him tenderly on the mouth before whispering, “I’ve always been yours. I just never knew it until now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
DEREK
It’s been fourteen days since I first called Laney mine, and I can honestly say it’s been the best two weeks of my life.
She’s fun. She’s sexy. She makes me laugh. And she makes me feel needed.
I think that’s what hits me the hardest.
She’s here at school without friends or family. She talks about some woman at work, I think her name is Anita, and it sounds as if this is someone she can trust. I wish she could allow herself to let go and trust me with all of her secrets. I know she told me about her parents, but I can’t shake the feeling there’s something else she’s holding on to. Something she wants to keep to herself.
Or keep hidden from me.
I try not to push her. It’s not my place to force it. She’ll tell me when she’s ready. And if that time never comes, I need to be okay with that. Hell, I guess we all have skeletons in our closet we want to keep hidden away. I know of a few of my own I’d like to bury, but occasionally, they pop up. That’s probably because most of my skeletons are located right here on campus and are living, breathing reminders of my colorful past. I know that must be pretty hard for Laney, but she doesn’t talk about it much. I’m painfully aware that’s one of the reasons she’s been so hesitant to spend time outside of our little bubble. She feels safer there. And to be honest, so do I. I hate to think about what I’ll do if we run into some other guy she’s been with. I’ll probably lose my shit.
So far, she hasn’t attended any of my games, but she’s supposed to stop by practice later today on her way back from the dance studio. I’m looking forward to having my girl there to watch me.
My girl.
I like the sound of that.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve only known Laney a short time. When I’m holding her, and she’s tucked against my side, it feels like she belongs there. As if she’s the piece that’s been missing from my life all along.
It’s a feeling I’m not ready to give up anytime soon.
If ever.
***
The shrill sound of a whistle cuts through the chatter on the ice, signaling that it’s time to switch up our drills. Coach has us focusing on breakouts this afternoon, and we’ve been at it for nearly an hour. Now, we’ll switch over to work on power plays for the remainder of practice. We change up our lines, and during the switch, I scan the stands for any sign of Laney, coming up empty.
At first she was hesitant about coming to practice, and in a way I guess I can understand. We generally attract a certain crowd at practice, and those puck bunnies can be pretty brutal. Cassie had to deal with some shit from them the first few times she came to watch Cage play, and they weren’t even dating at the time.
Out of the corner of my eye I see a cluster of them gathered to the left of where Rivers is guarding the net. Now that he’s single, these girls are falling all over themselves vying for his attention. And that bitch, Stacy, is leading the pack. She doesn’t stand a chance, though. What she fails to realize is that by sleeping with Cage last year, she pretty much made herself untouchable to the rest of his friends. It’s not as if I would have been interested anyhow. Cage had already warned all of us she was a selfish lay.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Cage skates past me as we file into position for our next run through. “She out there?”
“Not yet. She probably got called in to work or something.”
“She’ll come by when she’s ready,” he a
ssures me.
I try and play it off like it’s no big deal. But it sort of rubs me the wrong way. Which totally blows my mind considering just two months ago, I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I guess life is funny that way.
I’m in the middle of a drill when I sense her presence in the arena. I don’t have to turn around to know she’s behind me. It’s like my body has a Laney radar, causing my heart to start beating a little faster. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and a slow grin takes up residence on my tired face. With my fifteen-minute set out of the way, I search the small gathering of students and locate her standing right behind the players’ bench, far removed from the other girls. From my position on the ice, she looks small and seemingly out of place.
I need to rectify that.
I skate over to the bench, dropping my stick and helmet before reaching over the boards and pulling her against my chest for a hug.
“Ew, you’re all sweaty and gross.” Her cute nose wrinkles as she makes a disgusted face.
“I thought you liked me when I’m sweaty,” I tease.
“Naked and sweaty is how I like you. This is stinky and sweaty. Big difference.” With my skates on, she has to tip her head way back to look up at me.
I’m aware all the bunnies are watching our interaction with a great degree of interest. Really, this is the first time we’ve been seen together publicly since we decided to date exclusively.
BTW—Best fucking decision. Ever.
I don’t like the idea of her questioning her right to be here. She has every right to be not only here with me, but out on the fucking ice if I want her out there.
“Come on, you totally want to kiss me right now.” I give her my best smile and spread my arms wide open. Without hesitation, she steps into them, and I pull her up and over the boards for a proper hug. As soon as she’s close to my face, I sniff the air around her.
“What’s wrong? I know I don’t stink,” she says adamantly.
“You smell fruity. Like strawberries.” I sniff again, feeling very hungry all of a sudden. She sticks out her tongue to reveal a red Jolly Rancher sitting in the middle. “Aha, so you like sucking on things, huh?” I wag my brows suggestively.
“Maybe.” Her brow shoots up at my invitation, and my dick springs to life as if he knows we were just talking about him.
I pull her a little closer, which is hard to do in all my gear, and her feet dangle inches from the floor. For a moment, she just hangs there in my arms, offering an amused stare.
“Now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?” she asks, quoting a line from her favorite movie, Pretty Woman. I only know this because she forced me to watch it the other night.
Okay, maybe forced isn’t exactly the right word. I mean, it wasn’t all that bad. After all, Julia Roberts looked smokin’ hot on top of that piano.
Maybe I can talk Laney into wearing lingerie and rolling around on top of a piano while I go down on her. Hmm. There’s a thought.
I make a mental note to ask Cassie where there’s a piano we can use.
“Well, I was thinking about doing this.” I grab onto her ass and finish pulling her up the length of my body. She giggles loudly and locks her ankles around my waist. Her fingers find their way into my hair, which is sweaty and probably feels gross. But she doesn’t let on like anything’s wrong. She loves running her fingers through my hair. I’ll admit I’m a little fond of having her hands there also.
I’m fond of having her hands on me, period.
“And most definitely this.” I steal a taste of her lips, stained red by the candy in her mouth. Her lips are slightly sticky, and her tongue tastes sweet and delicious. I suck harder, pulling it further into my mouth, feeding on her, deepening our kiss as her fingers move through my hair then down to work the muscles in my neck.
Her hips flex back and forth as she rocks her jean-clad core over my abs. Tempting me. The sensual sounds created by her shuddered moans and our tongues tangling have me wishing I wasn’t wearing all this gear.
That she would rock just a little lower.
A little faster.
Oh, shit. It suddenly registers we’re not alone. In fact, we have a very captive audience.
We break apart on a collective groan, and a round of applause ensues behind us. Without looking, I flip my teammates the finger and go back to tasting her lips. Thankfully, Coach hasn’t called my ass out for making out with my girl instead of focusing on the drills being run.
A contented sigh falls from her kiss-swollen lips as she pulls back to stare into my eyes.
“Derek?” she asks, her voice dropping low and sounding very seductive. “Where’s my candy?”
I grin broadly, opening my mouth to reveal the red rectangle held captive between my front teeth.
“Thief.” She rolls her eyes and sticks out her pretty, red tongue.
“Tease.” I chuckle, dropping my mouth to steal her lips once again. Our tongues pick right back up where they left off, sucking and swirling until we’re both satisfied and the candy has completely dissolved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
LANEY
GLU won the big game last night against Wisconsin, which meant one thing.
Party at Derek’s.
I am sitting in my car parked in front of his house, ticking off all the reasons I should just throw the car into drive and skip the celebration completely.
I hate parties.
Everyone will stare at me.
Some will even point and make rude comments.
I won’t know anyone.
I probably won’t fit in.
Each of these reasons could justify my innate desire to flee this whole scene. But then I stop to remember how Derek went out of his way to make me comfortable and not rush me where these things are concerned. He’s always patient with me. I know there have been times when I probably frustrated the hell out of him, but he never lets on.
His laid back attitude is just one of the traits I admire about him. I wish I could be as carefree and relaxed as he appears to be about certain things. He probably wishes the same thing for me, but he never expressed it. I often get riled up over something someone may have said or done, and he’ll look over and give me that sexy smile I love, then he kisses me, and before long, I’m lost to his touch, forgetting whatever it was I was angry about.
One by one people pass my car and walk up the steps and through his front door. No one seems to notice me sitting there, yet they still intimidate me. There was a time when I couldn’t care less what people thought of me. I would wake up every morning and go about my day, adorned in the same armor I clothed myself in every day since my mom’s death, pretending as if nothing or no one could ever hurt me again.
Then I met Derek. And something inside me changed.
I soon realized how exhausting that routine had become. I lived and breathed it for so long I became oblivious to the toll it took on my mind and body. I neglected to see the toll it took on my heart.
I met many men since Noah walked out of my life. I dated only a few. But none of them left me feeling the way I felt after first meeting Derek. He was the only one to find a chink in my armor. I guess you could say he grew on me. He already proved he would be there for me. Now it is time I prove the same to him.
I step out of the car and blow out a shaky breath, reminding myself exactly why I am here and why it is so important.
I’m here because Derek wants me by his side.
He thinks it is time I meet his friends. All of them.
He truly cares about me.
He would do the same for me if I asked him.
I take a step forward and do what I should have done twenty minutes ago—I open the door and walk straight through as if I belong.
My eyes survey the scene around me, noting the stares that immediately shoot in my direction. I move through the crowd, and the first face I recognized is Derek’s roommate’s, Brantley Cage. Though we’ve never been formally
introduced, we spoke on the phone once before. I know his face from photos I’ve seen on Derek’s phone and social media pages. When he sees me in the crowd, he comes straight over and offers me a warm welcome.
“Laney! So glad you came.” Clearly not one for a handshake, he pulls me in for a bear hug. “It’s good to finally meet you.”
“Thanks. Great to meet you, too,” I murmur against his t-shirt clad chest. The shirt is cotton, soft against my cheek and warm to the touch, as if it’s just been pulled from the dryer.
“Does Davis know you’re here?” He takes a step back but keeps me at arm’s length, preventing me from escaping.
“Not yet,” I shake my head. “I just got here.”
“Follow me. I’ll help you find him.” He hooks his head in the direction we are headed then loops his arm through mine. As we walk he leans closer and whispers. “He’s been watching the door all night, worried you wouldn’t show. But don’t tell him I told you, or he’ll try to kick my ass.” He winks, flashing me a million-dollar smile I bet drives all the girls crazy. A couple months ago it probably would have worked on me. But that was before I met Derek.
I laugh and draw an X over my chest with my free hand. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Derek appears at my side and drops a kiss on my exposed cheek. “You keeping secrets from me, baby?”
My eyes go wide and I look over at Cage, giving him a we’re so busted look.
“I was just telling her she could find someone better than your sorry ass.” He winks at me again and a giggle escapes past my lips.
“Fuck off, Cape Boy. This one loves Iron Man. Ain’t that right, baby?” He lowers his head to plant a kiss on my waiting lips.
“Absolutely. Go, Tony Stark!” I pump my fist in the air, going along with it even though I have no idea what is going on.
“Dude, I’d like to introduce you to my girl, Laney.” His arm circles my waist possessively, pulling me tighter against his body. “Laney, this guy here is my best friend, Cage”
