by Ali Parker
"I don't need to anymore. He got rid of me today." Tears burned my eyes more from embarrassment than from losing Cameron. I should have lied and let the night keep going the way it was, but it felt too wrong to keep up the facade. Besides, it was better to let Kendal know that I wasn't really worthy of whatever the hell he was up to. At least Cameron didn't think I was. I wasn't so sure where I stood on the matter anymore.
"Hey," he whispered and reached across the table to wipe one of my tears with the back of his fingers. "He's a fucking idiot and this is his loss."
"Maybe." I shrugged and picked up my beer. "I'm okay. Seriously."
"You like to dance?"
"What? No." I glanced out toward the dance floor to see three people on it. It was an Italian restaurant. People didn't dance in the middle of a-
"Come on, beautiful. Let's go jitterbug." He pulled me off the stool and kept my hand tightly in his as we walked on the floor.
"Kendal. No. I don't know how to do this."
"Me either. Just follow my lead and we'll be good." He laughed and spun me around the floor. Pretty soon I didn't care who was watching or how well we were doing. I was lost to him and the feel of his strong hands gripping various parts of my body.
Worthy or not, I wanted anything he might offer.
Chapter 13
Kendal
"I'm stuffed." I leaned back from the table and took note of her barely eating one piece of pizza while I'd put away four. "You don't like it?"
"No. I do. I'm just watching what I eat, you know, trying to be a little more health conscious." She picked up her half-eaten piece and took a small bite.
"Why? Do you have high blood pressure or something?" I picked up my fourth beer and drained it. The desire to get up and dance some more swelled inside of me, but I denied it attention. Dancing with a full stomach sounded about as good as fucking the pretty girl across from me against a wall with too much in my stomach. Though, I had no doubt that if she were up for it, I'd make all of it work.
"No. I just..." She glanced around and shrugged.
"Hey. Look at me." I reached across the table and ran my hand over her forearm as I let my eyes move across her in a way that she would know how beautiful I thought she was. Who the fuck told her differently.
"What?" She gave me a tight expression as if protecting herself.
"Eat the other half of this pizza and enjoy yourself. You're fucking hot and whoever told you that you weren't is a damn idiot."
"Why would you think-?"
"Did someone?" I shouldn't have pushed her. I was getting a little too comfortable and my guard was coming down. I almost felt sorry for her for having to deal with me.
"Yes, but he was right." She set the pizza down and pushed the plate away. "I'm honestly full. Two beers was past my limit."
"He wasn't right. I promise." I reached across the table and picked up her pizza. "You're going to make me eat all of this by myself and throw up later. I hate wasting food."
She reached across the table and snatched it from me. "Give me that. You're such a pain when you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk." I glanced up at the ceiling and laughed. "I feel good for the first time in weeks, but I'm not drunk. I'd be professing my undying love to you and every other woman in this place if I was wasted."
"Oh no. A lovie type drunk, hmmm?" She took a big bite and closed her eyes, moaning softly.
"Very much so." I licked the tips of my fingers and imagined her quivering beneath me. So perfect and soft. She might hate her curves, but I wanted to sink my fingers, my tongue, my dick into all of them.
Fuck. I was diving off the deep end.
"You okay?" She took another bite and dropped the crust on her plate.
"Yep. I'm just a little too relaxed." I forced a laugh and got up. "You wanna go walk down to the park at the end of the street? It's a beautiful night outside."
"Yeah, absolutely." She wiped her mouth, took a quick sip of her beer and took my hand.
I led us through the restaurant, out into the street, before releasing her hand. She moved up beside me and smiled shyly.
"What?"
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug.
"You, that's what. That day you saved me from Terri, the man-eater, I knew we would be friends." I moved us off the main path toward the grassy knoll where the park was.
"That was like a few days ago." She laughed softly.
"And? When you know, you just know." I released her and sat down in one of the two swings moving back and forth with the pressure of the wind.
"I guess you're right." She sat down beside me and pushed off. Her dress fluttered up her thighs and gave me a quick glimpse of white panties before she yelped and slapped her hand over her legs. "Sorry."
"Don't be." I pushed off and leaned back, feeling so fucking free for a few minutes. My sister was dying in a hospital, my best friend's life seemed ruined and mine was soon to follow, but for a few hours, I could just be carefree and let everything go. "Did you love him?"
"Who?" Her hair flew behind her and caught my attention.
"Cameron." I reached out and let it run past my fingers as she flew by me.
"I don't know. I wanted to, but we're so different. He's reserved and quiet, picky and likes everything in order."
"And you're messy?" I laughed as she slowed down and gave me a look.
"No, but I like to live. My mother was fine with fingerprints in the dust on the furniture. It meant we were living instead of cleaning."
"Very true. I like things put up, but I'm not anal about it, or I don't think I am." I pushed off harder. "So if he was reserved and quiet, are you outgoing and wild?"
"I wish I could tell you. After two years of being told what I'm not, it's hard to say what I am." Her voice lost the joy it held only moments before.
I slowed down and reached out, latching on to one of the chains that held her swing in place. She jerked to a stop and I pulled her toward me, causing my legs to spread as her knees pressed to my groin.
"I say you’re brave, empathetic, stunning and as wild as you wanna be."
"You think I'm stunning?" She glanced down where her knees pressed tightly against me and took a shallow breath.
"Hell yeah I do." I reached out and ran my fingers through her hair as I memorized the soft curve of her lips, the regal slope of her nose. "Beyond beautiful."
"You're just being sweet." She laughed, brushing my comment off. "It's the beer."
I gripped the side of her head as warning bells sounded deep inside of me.
"No, it's just you." I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to hers as she whimpered. Every cell in my body woke up with a raging need like I hadn't felt since Ana was trapped beneath me.
She mumbled something against my lips just before I pressed my tongue deep into her mouth and lapped at her with indecent intent. I wanted her thoughts to force her into the naughtiest places where nothing existed but her cries for more and me giving it to her.
Her fingers ran through my hair, and it was my turn to groan.
I broke the kiss, but gave her another one quickly as she panted softly against my mouth.
"Kendal," she whispered. "I'm not like those other girls."
"I know. I'm counting on that." I kissed her again, taking my time to explore her soft lips, wet tongue. The strong pulls on my tongue as she sucked me deeper into her mouth left my body close to exploding. I pulled back and reached down to grip her thighs.
"Shit. It's been so damn long." I let my head drop as I tried to catch my breath. My body had gone beyond betraying me as cool and collected. My erection was thick and solid, stretched down my thigh like something from a porn movie. I reached down and tried to adjust myself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it this far."
"Stop." She reached out and gripped my hands. "I don't want anyone but the carefree guy who's letting himself breathe tonight. So what if you're turned on. I am too."
I pulled he
r in for one more kiss before standing and bringing her with me. It was hard as fuck not to let my hands explore, gripping and squeezing her hips and the top of her ass, but I held back. Public displays of affection had never been my thing, and I wasn't planning on changing that anytime soon.
"Come on, we should get you home." I touched her lips, brushing my finger across them softly. "Before I take our friendship to a place that would destroy any hopes of return."
She laughed and moved back, saving me from myself.
I was grateful.
"The pizza was great, by the way. You were right. Best place in the whole damn city." She walked toward the parking lot, pausing only briefly as I caught up with her.
"I'm usually right, but don't tell anyone about it. They'll expect me to start acting right too, and that's just out." I reached for her hand. "I'm sorry if I took that too far back there. I haven't been with anyone in two years." No fucking way was I telling her that Terri was the last girl I'd boned in an effort to shut the girl up from asking and getting a bit of release in the process. Women were strange, but I couldn't fault them too much for the offer of pleasure. Maybe I was just a bastard for taking them up on it.
"What?" She stopped. "Like haven't had a girlfriend?"
"No, that's been six years." I ran my fingers through my hair and scanned the parking lot. A group of nerdy-looking fuckers were standing near the door to the pizza parlor, being loud and rambunctious. It was almost comical. Almost.
"So you haven't slept with anyone in two years?" The tone of her voice caused me to turn my attention back to her.
"No, why?" I tried not to smile, but it was a waste. Looking at her in the moonlight left my heart pounding harder than it should have been. So pretty and delicate.
"I don't know. That just seems crazy to me." She turned as one of the guys yelled something else. "Oh no. That's Cameron. What's he doing here?"
Ice water raced through my veins as we moved into the parking lot and the tallest of the guys turned to face us. I'd let go of Dana's hand a few seconds before, but I honestly contemplated reaching out and taking it back. The bastard needed to be taught a lesson about how to treat a woman.
Yeah, cause you're the asshole to teach it.
"Dana? What the fuck are you... who's this douche?" The guy walked toward us and kept his eyes on Dana, not acknowledging me at all. What a mistake.
"He's a friend, and you-"
He reached out and grabbed her arm. "Whatever. You're coming home with-"
"Hey. Let her go, mother fucker." I gripped his wrist and squeezed hard. I could take all four of them out without blinking an eye. Being raised on the poor side of town taught me more than I would ever need to know.
"Are you kidding me? Go find a blond bombshell to fuck tonight, frat-cock. This woman isn't at all your kind of girl. She puts out once a-"
She slapped him hard in the face as I increased the pressure on his wrist.
"How dare you. How many times did I hit you up for sex only to have you fall asleep with your hand in your pants? Fuck you for being lame." She slapped him again, and I took advantage of the situation as he shifted.
It took a second to kick his feet out from under him, roll his lanky ass over and put my knee in his back. I almost felt sorry for the kid. He couldn't have been twenty-four years old. My six years on him wasn't much from a number perspective, but from living life? I was a man and he was a boy.
"Touch the girl again and you'll lose a few of your teeth, pretty boy." I pressed my hand against his head as he screamed out.
"My face. The rocks are digging into my face." He pushed against the ground. "Aren't you a professor at UT?"
"Go get in the car, Dana." I reached into my pocket with my free hand and tossed her the keys as tears dripped down her pretty face.
"I'm your worst nightmare, asshole. That's what I am." I leaned over and pressed harder as he cried out again. "Don't come near the girl again. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Shit. Please. Don't hurt me."
"I didn't plan to." I smacked him in the back of the head and got up, giving the other three goons with him a stern look. "That's what you get for being a pussy and trying to muscle a woman around."
"Not me man," they muttered and lifted their hands.
"Right. Not you either, asshole." I pushed on his side with my foot.
"You won't see me again. She won't either."
"Good answer." I turned and ran my fingers through my hair as I walked to my car. What a fucked up end to our night. The bastard knew I was a professor at UT. If one thing wasn't going to bust me, another was.
Chapter 14
Dana
"I'm so sorry, Kendal. You didn't have to defend me." I reached over and touched the side of his shoulder. My heart was racing inside my chest, not over the drama, but over the fact that he'd stood up for me. No one had done that before... no one.
"Of course I did." He started the car and gripped my hand before lifting it to his lips and kissing my fingers. "You're a woman and I'm a man. That's what we do. We protect women from assholes like your ex. Let's just pray someone protects you from me."
I pulled my hand from his and let out a shaky breath. "Why would I need protecting from you?"
"Because you're obviously not with your boyfriend anymore, and as much as I wanna keep talking about being good friends, I'm interested in far more than friends should discuss."
He glanced over at me, and the preditorial look in his eyes blistered my insides with desire. I'd only been sexual with a few men over the years, and none of them were worth remembering.
"What do you want then?" I tugged at my seatbelt as the air grew harder to breathe.
"I don't know about tomorrow, but tonight I wanna hear you moan." He pursed his lips and turned back toward the front windshield as the leather under his tight grip squealed.
"Shit," I panted softly and turned to look out the window as he drove like a bat out of hell toward my place. I wanted to moan for him a million times, but sleeping with someone outside of a relationship seemed risky. Far more risky than I'd let myself be in the past. It was this damn heart. It got involved too quickly in hopes of having love, or at least building it.
He stopped in the parking lot of my apartment building and put the car in park. "We can end the night here. I don't wanna push you into something you don't want."
I turned to face him, which was a damn mistake. His expression promised pleasure like I'd never experienced before and what his eyes weren't doing to me, the scent of his cologne was working to remedy.
"If you're just looking for a good fuck, that's not me. I mean, I am a good-"
He pressed his fingers to my lips and smiled. "I know what you mean. It's all good. I'm so glad you let me take you out tonight. Seems like we both needed it, or I know I did."
"I did too. I was so embarrassed about Cameron leaving me."
"And now?" He ran his fingers over my cheek and sunk them deep into my hair, tightening his hold on me just enough to cause a moan to rip from my lips.
"And now I'm good with it." I reached out and pressed my fingers to the front of his shirt. "I'm not good enough for you, Kendal."
"Why do you get to decide that?" He moved forward and pulled me toward him at the same time.
"Because you’re established and poised and so fucking hot." I brushed my nose by his when he got close enough.
"Let me take you upstairs and touch every part of you." He nipped at my lips, showing me a side of him I didn't think possible based on the nice guy I'd seen a few times around the hospital. "So much pleasure, Dana."
Indecision raged inside of me. I was being an idiot. Not a few days back I was crying over not having sexcapades like Jackie and here one was being offered to me, and I was mulling over whether it was a good idea or not. I didn't deserve passion in my life, obviously.
"I can't," I whispered and closed my eyes.
"It's okay. I respect that big time. I wish I would say the same, bu
t I'm not as strong as you." He leaned in and brushed his lips by mine. "I'll see you at the hospital soon?"
"Yeah, of course." I moved back as the intense burn of regret drove down the center of my chest.
Do this. You're going to miss out if you don't take him up to your place.
"You want me to walk you up?" He reached for the keys. It was another offer. A subtle one, but still an offer to reconsider.
"Yeah. That would be great." I got out of the car and smoothed my dress down. There was no hiding how turned on I was thanks to my nipples being budded like pebbles at the front of my dress.
"Is Cameron usually that aggressive? I mean, do you have anything to worry about by staying here? I have an extra room at my place. Grab some clothes and you can stay there until you can get the locks changed."
"No, it's okay. He's really laid back. I have no idea what all that shit was about." I walked up the stairs and tried to catch my breath. This time from the excitement pumping through me.
"I don't like it." He stopped behind me and slid his hands onto my shoulders. "Just get some stuff. I'm ten minutes away."
"We're barely more than strangers, Kendal." I walked into the dark apartment as a shiver ran through me. Was I safe? Of course I was. Shit, he'd left me. I didn't leave him.
"We're friends, and we'd be lovers if you'd stop turning me down." He laughed and I couldn't help but smile.
"All right, but I'm not sleeping with you tonight." I walked to the back bedroom, hating myself for saying no again.
"Can we at least make out a little more? I haven't even gotten to-"
"Don't say it, please. I'm already on the fence about saying yes to you."
"That was the wrong thing to say." He stopped in the doorway to my bedroom and flipped on the light.
"Oh yeah? Don't like the truth?" I pulled out a duffel bag and quickly filled it with a few pairs of scrubs and some pajamas before gathering up my bathroom stuff. "Do you think I can get the lock fixed quickly?"
"Oh yeah. That shouldn't be a problem at all. We'll call someone tomorrow." He moved back as I walked past him. "Are you working at the hospital this weekend?"
