by Ali Parker
He responded immediately, the ding on her phone causing her to jump.
Drake: What if risking something meant gaining everything? Come to me and let's talk.
Sicily: No talking. I'm coming to work out. Play racquetball with me.
Drake: You like getting spanked?
Sicily: Only in the bedroom.
Drake: That's not fair. Vixen.
Sicily: What if...
She laughed and dropped the phone in her purse before pulling out onto the quiet streets outside of their neighborhood. It was nice not to fight traffic or hordes of people. Now if she could get her name cleared from being the town villain, she'd be good. Good thing she knew a senior counsel defense attorney.
"I wonder if he takes payment for services in any currency other than dollars." She laughed and parked at the gym, putting her nefarious thoughts away. She needed to be careful where he was concerned. The texts were enough teasing for one day. Maybe...
Nervousness rose up in her as she approached the door, but she pushed past it. A playful friendship would be the starting point. She would have to work on not assuming everything he said had some hidden meaning to it, but she would. She could start that part of the journey immediately.
He glanced up from the front desk as she walked in, the smile on his handsome face almost melting her.
"I thought you might be teasing me."
"About playing today?"
"About the bedroom." He winked and picked up the phone next to him. "Vi. You're needed at the front."
"Now look," she moved toward him and pressed her arms to the desk between them, "you have to go easy on me. It's been years since I've played."
"Not happening. I don't know how to go easy. I'm a hard hitting, competitive bastard. I thought you knew this." He smiled and nodded toward his office. "I'll grab us some racquets."
Violet waved as she walked up. "Those yoga pants are to die for. Where did you get them?"
"Back in New York. They were a bitch to get on. I had to get help." Sicily laughed and turned in time to catch Drake's eyes roll across her.
"Well worth the effort. I'll volunteer my help anytime." He licked at his lips absently and ducked into this office.
"Um, wow." Violet leaned against the counter. "Are you guys dating now?"
"No. Just friends." Sicily rubbed at her neck as heat rolled over her. Maybe flirting with him wasn't such a good idea. She could be subtle about it, but he had gone from zero to full blast in twenty seconds.
"I want a friendship like that." She turned and laughed. "Be careful with his heart, please. He hasn't been flirty with a woman in this place in all the years I've known him. Something’s up and if you hurt him..."
"You'll come after me?" Sicily lifted her eyebrow as she forced a smile. She couldn’t shake Violet's comment. Drake hadn't been flirty with anyone in the gym in the last five years? That seemed like a stretch.
"Gently so, but yes. Now... go kick his ass and take away his bragging rights please..."
Drake walked up and rolled his eyes. "Please. I haven't lost a game, any game, since I was a kid. This is just a friendly game so I can get some exercise and Sicily can fill me in on her day."
Sicily laughed and walked away, looking over her shoulder and once again caught him checking her out. "Come on and stop staring at my pants. I know they're tight."
He moved up beside her. "Nope. You don't get to do that. For the next hour I'm going to bless you by telling you everything I'm thinking and feeling. You don't get to assign words to my expressions or actions. Sound good?"
"Do I really want to hear what you're thinking in your head?" She laughed and he opened the door to the racquetball court.
"Probably not, but my thoughts are much better than what you're giving me credit for." He shrugged and dropped the racquets before pulling his keys and cards from his pockets. He tugged his shirt over his head and Sicily turned to face the wall in front of her.
"So what were you thinking a minute ago about my fat ass in these horribly tight yoga pants?" Her voice was much too high and tight. The sight of him half naked almost did her in.
He spoke softly, his mouth so close to her ear that his warm breath skittered across her skin. "I was thinking that the pants look beautiful on you, but they pull in too many of your assets. If I could just see you in your natural state to assess how magnificent you really are, things would be easier."
"In my panties?" She jerked her head around and took a step back. "Your serve."
"Ladies first." He winked and handed her the ball. "Not your panties... jeez."
She let out a long breath and held up her racquet, getting ready for his attack.
"In your shower." He hit the ball and she moved toward it, her heart racing before her first step was taken.
Chapter 14
She was beyond fine as she stood there in front of him, wanting to play ball, but more concerned with how she looked than anything else. His plan was to be totally open and honest with her. She wanted in? She was getting in... as far and as fast as she would allow herself to.
He wasn't playing entirely fair as he flung his saucy comments at her, but nothing was ever fair in love and war. She hit the ball hard, surprising him and pulling him out of his meanderings.
"And what would you be doing in the shower while checking out my assets?" Her voice carried behind her, her pretty face and resulting expressions from the conversation hidden to him.
"Washing your back, of course." He hit the ball again – hard.
She moved toward the front wall, letting the small blue ball ricochet off the back wall. It came right to her. With a gentle tap, it hit the front wall and rolled.
Her point. Fuck.
He had to change the subject. Getting her naked in the shower wasn't a topic of conversation he could maintain and keep his head on straight. His cock had taken note of her the minute she had come into the gym, and was at a full erection now, the big ass thing poking him in the stomach as if in reminder. He adjusted himself and let out a soft puff of air.
"Have you heard anything from the station yet?" He moved up as she looked up and smiled. Her eyes were filled with competitiveness and it caused something inside of him to tighten.
Mine. I need her to be mine.
She hit the ball and moved out of his way as he jogged toward it, hitting it back easily.
"I haven't heard back from them. I figure I will soon." She moved up beside him, hitting the ball again and brushing her arm by his. "Thank you for coming as my legal defense. I'll pay you for your time."
"Just go with me to dinner soon."
"That sounds incestuous."
"Nah. It's just food. It's when I ask you to get in the shower with me... then it'll get a little sticky." He hit the ball hard again and she faltered, their conversation finally seeming to bother her. She missed and it was his point. He let out a victory holler as she dropped her racket and turned on him, walking with anger in her gaze.
It was about to get interesting.
"You did that shit on purpose. That wasn't fair, Drake." The saucy Italian woman had curves like something out of eighteenth century porn, her dark silky hair and warm brown eyes doing the rest of the trick.
Drake reached for her, turning them both and pinning her against the wall as he moved in like a snake on the attack. The kiss was hard and filled with every ounce of passion he had for her. She pushed against him at first, but melted the minute his tongue slipped into her mouth.
The moan that left her undid him completely. He ran his hands from her face, over her shoulders, and down to her hips before grabbing her luscious ass and picking her up. He pressed her to the wall and ground into her before breaking the kiss.
"No, baby. This is unfair." He rolled his hips again and sucked her lip into his mouth as she watched him with hooded eyes. "My cock's been swollen since we met. I'm at the end of my rope on how to get you to see me as anything but an asshole."
She closed her eyes and rocked
against him, the soft massage of her center against him leaving him willing to do anything to get inside of her – first her body... then her heart.
A loud knock on the glass behind him caused him to turn. He kept her pinned against the wall and smiled at Vi as she gave them a 'what the fuck?' look.
Sicily's laugh caused his heart to melt as he turned back to her.
"Come to dinner with me. Nothing more if you don't want it." He moved back and she slid down the front of his body. He took her hand and rubbed it over the front of his pants as her eyes widened. "I want a night with you. A lot of nights with you, but until you’re ready, I'll wait. I just know what I want. Do you?"
"Let's finish our game and we'll start with dinner. I don't know how much more we get to after that, but I'll go another date with you." She turned and walked to pick up her racket as he growled softly. The day was turning out good, but he wanted it to be better.
Had the damn room been four solid walls, there would have been no stopping him. Stripping her down and making love to her up against one of the walls of his gym would be a fantasy come true.
He needed to talk to her about Martin, and playing an aggressive sport during the conversation seemed a better idea than busting up their date with the drama.
"Hey... I wanted to come see you last night, but when you didn't respond to my text, I figured it was better to just lay off."
She glanced around and nodded toward his hands. "Serve the ball. I was a little overwhelmed by your willingness to be so open. You don't seem like an open kinda guy."
"I'm not usually." He tossed the ball up and hit it, starting the game back up. "I want to work on becoming more than friends, so openness is part of the deal, right?"
"Yes. I'm going to work on it, too. Why did you want to come over last night? Got a new luffa you wanted to try out?" She laughed as she hit the ball against a side corner.
He rebounded after it, barely reaching it in time as he grumbled. "Tease."
He turned to catch the beautiful expression on her face. His heart fluttered and he knew he was lost. She better fall in love with him or he might have to pick up and start life again, somewhere else. Getting rejected by her and having to hang out in their friend group for the next thousand years wasn't going to fly. Seeing her with another guy certainly wasn't going to work. He'd fuck a dude up in a heartbeat for touching his girl. He should just inform her that she was stuck whether she liked it or not.
Too much. Slow your roll.
"I actually wanted to come by because I had an interesting conversation with Martin." He turned to his left and backhanded the ball.
"You went by the bakery?" She hit it back and jogged to stand next to him. The soft bounce of her breasts caused his cock to twitch again.
"Yeah. I brought you flowers and wanted to apologize for whatever you thought I meant to do at the station. I was only there to support you." He shrugged, trying to ignore the sweet smell of her perfume or soap as it wafted by him every so often.
"Flowers?" She smiled and hit the ball harder as if the idea of flowers pissed her off.
"Yeah. He told me that Judy is his grandmother." Drake hit the ball and stopped short as Sicily turned to him, her mouth dropping open. The ball popped her in the back of her shoulder and she flinched, reaching for it and letting out a yelp.
"Oh, baby. Shit." He moved toward her and forced her to turn as she growled about his timing being crappy. A smile lifted his lips as he tugged the top of her shirt down a little. "That's gonna leave a bruise."
She pulled from him and turned. "Like Judy across the street? Margaret's daughter?"
"Yeah. Exactly. Margaret's his aunt."
"What? That's fucked up." She sighed and pressed her hand to her head. "I've left him to run the shop a million times in the last few weeks. He could be burning the place down as we speak."
Her words caused Drake to pause. "Wait a minute. Paul said your sweater was in Judy's during the fire, right?"
"Paul's the big white cop?"
"Yeah. What if..." Drake pressed his finger to his lips as he turned and scanned the gym, his mind pulling two and two together. "Fuck. What if the boy dropped your sweater in there, and then set fire to the place."
"Why would he want it to burn down?" Sicily moved up to him and crossed her arms. The movement only accentuated her cleavage, causing his cock to twitch yet again.
"Stop looking so fucking sexy. I can't think." He ran his hands through his wet hair and turned, pacing up and down the court as several reasons dawned on him. "Maybe he hates them or maybe he's tired of seeing his grandmother there."
"No. That's silly." Her voice was soft, as if she were hurting. The damn ball hit her hard. He should have warned her. He moved toward her and rubbed her shoulders as she continued to look at the ground.
"Maybe insurance money. Margaret is a greedy bitch and you've taken a lot of business from them. Maybe she wants to close the place by burning it down and pinning it on you. Seems like a viable way to do it. Get her nephew to come work for you, take something of yours after earning your trust, and then set the place on fire and pin it on you."
She glanced up and sniffled, her eyes filled with tears.
His heart broke at the sight of her upset once again.
"We'll figure it all out. I'll prosecute all of them. You hear me? You have nothing to worry about. If Margaret is playing this sick game, but we'll get her." He wiped a few of the tears that rolled over her cheeks and pulled her close.
"It's not Margaret." She sniffled again and finally wrapped her arms around him, the slight tremor rushing through her leaving him more concerned.
"The ball?"
"No. You really think I'm sexy?" she whispered as a tear drilled down her cheek.
Drake let out a sharp laugh and slid his hand up to cup her face. "Are you fucking kidding me? I've been suffering a hard-on since you got into town. I'm supposed to be laying low out here in Maine and you're making me want to scream from the rooftops how I feel."
She smiled and pushed up, brushing her lips across his. "I want to go to dinner tonight."
"Then we will." He leaned down and deepened the kiss, needing to taste her once more before letting her go. The bang on the window behind him was ignored. They could kick him out... he wasn't breaking the moment again.
Chapter 15
They had agreed to catch up with each other later that evening. Sicily drove to the bakery with her windows down and the radio off, needing to think through the new information on Martin. Should it matter? Not really, but seeing that Judy's was lying in a pile of rubble, and Drake had a great theory on the kid’s involvement... it did.
She parked outside the bakery and sat in the car for a minute, trying to let the odd racquetball game between her and Drake dissipate. Things were moving too fast between them, and yet from what he said, he had been trying to get her attention for months. Why he hadn't given up a while back was beyond her. He was eons out of her league anyway.
Martin walked out of the shop and flipped the sign on the front to ‘closed’ as she opened the door and smiled at him. He had been beyond good to her. At least she could start by giving him the benefit of the doubt.
"Hey." She closed her car door and reached up, brushing her freshly showered hair from her face.
His eyes widened a little before a large smile lifted his lips. "Hey yourself, stranger. I was almost worried this morning when you weren't here."
"Yeah. Just needed to work through a few things. The intention was to get in around ten, but it’s lunchtime. Where the morning went, I have no idea."
"It's no big deal. Mr. Carrington called for you. I left a message on your desk."
"Thanks. You off to lunch?" She walked past him and opened the door, flipping the sign back to ‘open’.
"Yeah. You want to come?"
"No. I need to catch up on a few things." She smiled and nodded toward the road. "Stay warm. There's a cold front coming through from what I hear."
She started to question him on Judy being his grandmother, but dropped it. It wasn't the right time with him heading out and the last thing she wanted to do was sound terse to someone who had picked up her slack and had held things up in her absence.
"Of course. Go this afternoon. I got this."
"You sure? You know it's always crazy on Tuesday afternoons because of half price hour at the arcade." He nodded toward the large arcade.
"I'm sure. I need the practice for when you go to college."
"You need a few more people to help you."
"I couldn't agree more. Go find a pretty girl to date and ask her if she wants a job." Sicily laughed, leaving the idea that Martin could be nefarious behind her. There was no way.
"The pretty girl I want to take out already owns the place." He winked and turned, walking to his car. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"You sure will." Sicily turned and walked into her quaint little sugar shop, letting out a sigh. The kid was too much if he thought anything would happen between them. He was seventeen, for starters, and she was in love with the owner of the town’s gym.
"In love?" she asked herself and dropped her purse before reaching for an apron. Had she started to fall in love with Drake? "It's been six months of him moving around the edges of your life. How can you not be in love with him? The man's a god."
"Are you talking about me when I'm not around?" Michael moved to the front counter as she let out a yelp.
"Oh, Michael. You scared the hell out of me. Were you locked in here?"
He moved to the door and reached up, tugging down the small bell that hung over the door. "Nope. Walked in right behind you, though. The bell must be busted. Need to get you a new one."
"Yes, so I don't have a heart attack." She turned and picked up her calendar and order forms before turning her attention toward him. Forgetting all about her monologue was the best plan of attack. Hopefully Michael wouldn't bring it up either.
