Bending the Rules

by Ali Parker

  "It's about to get much better." Kendal moved up behind me and slid his free hand around my waist, pulling me flush against him. The thickness of his arousal surprised me a little. A thrill of desire rolled around deep inside of me, warming me from the inside out. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to the back of my hair. "I've had a million dreams this week and you were in every one of them."

  I pressed back against him and cupped my hand over his, forcing him to hold me tighter. "What are we doing?"

  "I plan on showing you." He nipped at my ear before moving back.

  Chill bumps raced across my skin and the air seemed so damn hard to breathe all of a sudden.

  "Next!" The attendant in front of me reached for my ticket and lifted her eyebrow at me.

  I stumbled toward her and tried to keep my cool. It was going to be a long weekend, but I for one was more than ready for it. I'd been playing it safe for far too long and my life was a clear reflection of security. Time to up the ante and see what the return might look like.

  If nothing else, pleasure would be my reward.

  Chapter 10

  Kendal

  She smelled so fucking good as I hovered over the top of her in the line. Every inch of my body was on fire for what was to come. Where I didn't want her to think that all I was interested in was sex, I knew without a doubt that we'd have to get past a few times in the sheets to let things calm down between us. A fiery passion I couldn't remember feeling before had me buzzing on a high I more than needed in my life.

  Dana glanced back and gave me a shy smile before walking down toward the gate that led to our flight.

  I handed the woman taking tickets mine and moved up behind my girl again. "It was nice of your friend to give up her seat." I reached out and slid my hand into hers, squeezing softly and pulling her fingers toward my lips so I could take my time kissing each of them.

  "You're not being very subtle." She turned and pressed her chest against mine. Where I would normally frown on a public display of affection, something was different with her. I was greedy to get my hands on her, no matter where we were. Getting to leave town for three days where we could just be ourselves no matter who was watching? Bliss.

  "It's hard when you're so damn fine." I leaned down and brushed my lips by hers. "Eight months, hmmm?"

  "I think one of us is going to have to get an extra job to pay for out of town travel." She laughed, lighting up the hallway around us with her energy. She was the type of fire I could warm myself beside forever. If we could make it through the next year together, we were set.

  What would I be willing to give up for her?

  "I'll pick up the tab." I leaned down and brushed my lips by hers again, reveling in the softness of her kiss. I wanted her lips, her mouth all over me. Was she adventurous in bed? Would she let me explore every inch of her and teach her new things?

  "You look lost in thought." She gave me a cheeky grin as someone cleared their throat loudly behind us. "Oh! Sorry."

  "I was thinking about all the things I shouldn't be." I adjusted my cock, trying to make it less than obvious that I was sporting a hard-on for the pretty girl in front of me. What was I, twelve?

  "That so?" She moved up and glanced over her shoulder, stealing whatever part of my heart I thought remained my own. I'd have to thank Damon a million times when everything was said and done. Without the bastard pushing from his angle and Dana being persistent from hers, we wouldn't have a chance in hell. I'd been protecting myself for too long to let the wall crumble without someone beating against it. Lucky for me, I had two people who cared enough about me to pick up a sledge hammer and go to town, no matter how much I pushed back.

  "Absolutely." I moved up behind her in the plane and took her backpack from her, helping to stow it away before dropping down beside her. The sundress she wore played above her thighs, leaving her long tanned legs on display.

  I reached out and squeezed her knee before sliding my hand up just a tad bit more and clamping down. I crossed my legs in an effort to keep everyone from noticing just how intensely she affected me.

  She turned and leaned toward me, putting her mouth right beside my ear. "What happens if you get caught fucking in the bathroom of a plane?"

  I tensed as images burned across my vision. It was like the guy I'd locked away after college got a few minutes to storm around in his cage without chains strapped across him.

  "I don't know." I reached out and cupped her face tightly. "You wanna find out?"

  Her cheeks turned pink, making the monster inside of me lift his head. I was starved for affection and yet it had been all my own doing.

  "Maybe on the way back." She leaned in and licked at my mouth as I growled softly.

  "Promise me you'll tell me what you want when we finally get alone. I don't wanna waste time figuring it out and possibly getting it wrong. I wanna know where your treasures are so I can beat against them with a fury that's going to steal your breath." I pulled her toward me and pressed my lips to hers as the delicious burn of desire pulsed down my stomach and settled in my sack.

  "Fuck," she whispered against my lips and gave me another long kiss before moving back and letting out a shaky breath. "I'm not going to survive you."

  "You have to." I gripped her hand and brought it over to rest on my leg. "You're the only woman I see in my future. I have lots of plans for you, but you knew that, didn't you?"

  She closed her eyes and didn't utter a word. She didn't have to. The soft panting coming from her, combined with the vein in the side of her neck pumping blood furiously through her body was enough. I couldn't help but completely adore how much of an effect I had on her. Little did she know, she had the same hold on me.

  *

  "All right, so tell me who this woman is again?" I clasped Dana's hand between mine and held it in my lap as she and I rode in the back of a New York cab with Jackie.

  "She's my best friend from high school. Well, really from elementary. We've known each other all our lives." Dana snuggled against my shoulder and let out a soft sigh.

  Jackie leaned forward and looked back at us. "Did Olivia grow up in Texas or were you raised somewhere else?"

  How close were Dana and Jackie? Not very close from what I could tell. I'd always assumed that girls knew every intimate detail about their friends. Maybe not. Or maybe Dana was a private type?

  "We all grew up in Houston, but my family moved up to Dallas when I started at UT five years ago."

  "Five years?" I smiled as Dana turned to give me a look. "You just like college, or what?"

  "I have a double major." She released my hand and moved more into her own seat. "Business and nursing, though to be honest, I'm not sure that's where my heart is leading me."

  "No?" Jackie pulled out a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth before offering us one. "What are you thinking? Med school?"

  "Maybe." Dana shrugged, and the conversation died as the cabbie pulled over in front of a large elegant-looking cafe.

  "We're here. Twenty-five Elm Street. Cafe Udo." He turned and extended his hand. "Forty-three dollars."

  "Rape." Jackie shook her head and opened the door as I pulled out my card.

  "I got this." Dana tried to push my hand away, but I wouldn't let her.

  "No. You're my girl and this is our weekend away. Don't deny me the opportunity to act like a good southern man and pay for everything." I gave the card to the cab driver and turned to smile at the beautiful woman who was sure to steal every part of me before the weekend was over.

  I signed the receipt as Dana got out and spoke with Jackie for a few minutes. I didn't have a clue where we were headed or what was next on the agenda, but I hoped like hell it was food. I was finally getting my appetite back.

  "All right, well, I'm going to walk down the block to St. Mark's Hospital. Parks said just to meet him there." Jackie pulled Dana into a hug before giving me a smile and a wave and walking off with her backpack strapped to her back.

  "Somethin
g I did?" I wrapped my arm around Dana and offered her a cheeky smile as I tugged my bag over my shoulder.

  "Not at all. She's trying to win the heart of a playboy doctor. I wish I could talk her out of it." Dana nodded toward the cafe. "You want to grab a sandwich before we walk down to Olivia's apartment?"

  "Love to." It felt so damn good to have her pressed to my side. I'd have to memorize the feeling for when things got rough back in Dallas. "I'm finally starting to feel like I'm alive again."

  "That's great news." She wrapped her arm around the back of my waist as we moved into the line inside the cafe. "You've been through a lot."

  "Yes, but thanks to you and Damon, I'm making it through." I leaned down and kissed her, unable to help myself.

  "What was that for?" She smiled up at me.

  "Just because. Get ready for a lot of those. I've been saving them up since the first night you came over to my place." I wagged my eyebrows as she blushed again. It was almost too cute how innocent she was.

  "I remember that night... really well."

  "Good. I plan on revisiting it this weekend." I licked at my lips and growled softly.

  She popped my chest and laughed before releasing me. "Behave or we'll never make it through this line."

  "Speaking of..." I pulled at the strap of my bag as it hung over my shoulder. "What are our plans? Are we having dinner with your friend or hanging out with a group tonight or what?"

  "I know that we're having dinner with Olivia and her boyfriend, Luke." Dana's lip turned up in disgust as she mentioned Luke. "But I don't think that's until later tonight."

  "You don't like her boyfriend?" I moved up to the counter and pulled out my wallet.

  "Not in the slightest. I've never met him, but he's turned my friend into a cold-hearted bitch."

  "And she wasn't one before." I let my eyes run across the menu and tried to focus. It was so hard to do anything with Dana standing so close to me. My hungers were competing with one another deep inside of me, and my stomach was sure to lose out sooner than later.

  "Not at all." She ordered a sandwich and moved to the side as I ordered and paid.

  "Does that mean we get a little bit of time together this afternoon before our dinner?" I walked toward the pickup counter where she stood and pulled her into a hug.

  She pressed her hands to my chest and smiled. "It does. I'm thinking a nap sounds good."

  "Is nap code word for a long hard fuck?"

  "Kendal!" She laughed loudly and pressed her forehead against my chest. "You're really corrupt under all those rules and that nice professional pair of glasses you wear, aren't you?"

  "I'm a regular superman stuck in a Clark Kent world." I touched the soft skin under her chin and forced her to look up. "I just wanna be fully me while I'm here."

  "Good. I want that too." She slid her arms up my chest and clasped her hands behind my head. "Our nap can include anything you want it to include."

  "Good answer." I leaned down and kissed her a few times before walking over to pick up our lunches. She had the power to melt me, to unwind all of the tightness inside of me and offer me a different future than the one I'd seen myself in for so long.

  We walked down Elm Street together, my hand tightly around hers, my thoughts dragging me farther and farther into a deep hole of depravity. I released her and pulled out her sandwich.

  "Let's eat while we walk. Something tells me that the minute I get you fully alone... all bets are off."

  "Wow. That's hot." She unwrapped her sandwich and snuck a glance at me as I unwrapped mine and took a huge bite.

  The city was busy as ever, which wasn’t too surprising. It was Friday afternoon in the heart of New York.

  "What don't you like about this Luke guy? Prepare me, please." I licked at my fingers before pulling out the other half of my sandwich and going to town on it too.

  She glanced up from the map on her phone. "He's just not the right guy for Olivia." She shrugged.

  "And why is that?" I was going to have to prod her for the truth.

  "Because he's all about his business and making money. He doesn't love her, and honestly, she doesn't love him. They're just using each other for sex and status. It's... I don't know... gross."

  "I see." I finished up my sandwich as we walked up to a beautiful cream-colored high rise.

  "It's not Olivia at all. She's always been more about love than lust, but this guy has her acting like a completely different person." Dana glanced up. "We're here. Twelfth floor. We just need to check in at the front."

  Lust over love? The age old discussion about which comes before the other. Couldn't they both show up at the same time? That felt far more like the story in my own life, or maybe I was reading more into it than necessary.

  "You coming?" She glanced back and offered me a beautiful smile.

  "Not yet, but hopefully soon."

  "Oh Lord." She shook her head and walked into the building, delighting me in so many ways.

  And I'd almost pushed her away. All because of my fucked up rules.

  Funny how protection has the ability to quickly become a prison instead.

  Chapter 11

  Dana

  The building Olivia lived in was far more grandiose than anything I would have imagined my childhood best friend wanting. We were simply country people, or used to be. Olivia having her reputation ruined our senior year by the boy she thought she would spend the rest of her life with had changed her - dramatically. Not so much that I didn't still enjoy being around her, but enough that the trajectory of her life took a completely different path altogether.

  After checking in at the front desk like one might a hotel, we walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the twelfth floor.

  "Wow. This is beautiful." Kendal stood at the back of the glass-wall elevator and glanced down. "Would you ever want to live in a big city like this?"

  "No. Dallas is as big as it gets, and honestly, I'd love to move back to one of the suburbs of Houston eventually. I'm from the country."

  "No... I couldn't tell." He moved up and wrapped me in a warm hug. I loved how often he reached for me now that we were free to be together. I enjoyed affection immensely. It would seem he did too.

  "It's the accent, isn't it?" I pressed against him and reached up to smooth his eyebrow down. It would have been so easy to tell him that I was falling in love with him, but the timing was off. It was too soon by the world's standards and we had a long road ahead of us. Neither of us deserved the burden of love if our relationship wasn't truly meant to be.

  "I love the accent. It's sexy as hell." He brushed his nose by mine and smiled. "Thank you for being there for me at Mandy's funeral, Dana. I'm not sure if I really got across how much that meant to me. I didn't deserve to have you stand beside me after my blow up at the college."

  "It's not about deserving anything." I ran my fingers through his thick hair as my pulse spiked. The dark scent of his cologne had been playing with me all day, but being in a smaller space, it was stronger, thicker. So damn good. "It's about following my heart."

  "I like the sound of that." He leaned down and brushed his lips by mine softly before leaning into a deeper kiss. I welcomed his tongue deep into my mouth and sucked at his offering as he groaned against me. I wasn't sure what the rest of the weekend might hold for us, but I knew the next few hours would be a crash course in pleasure.

  The door opened and I pulled away from him as a bellman cleared his throat and gave us an odd look.

  "Sorry," I mumbled and moved out into the hallway. The code on the door was on my phone from an earlier text from Olivia, and it took me a few seconds longer than it should have because of Kendal's nearness.

  "You said you have an older sister and a brother?" Kendal leaned against the wall and watched me with a preditorial look that did nothing for my racing heart but speed the fucker up.

  "Yeah," I responded breathily before finally getting the door open. "My sister doesn't come around very often, b
ut my brother stays with my mother. It's nice, seeing that my father isn't with us anymore."

  "I'm sorry to hear that." He reached for my backpack. "Which room is ours?"

  I scanned through the text. "First door on the left."

  "I'll put our stuff up." He turned and walked down the hall, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  Were we really going to have sex in the middle of the afternoon? I glanced around at the lofty elitist apartment and groaned. There were so many windows and so much light. There was no way to hide some of the parts of myself that I intended on working on before Kendal saw me fully naked.

  Every insecurity Cameron had burned into my flesh reared its ugly head inside of me. By the time Kendal walked back toward me, I was wide-eyed and panting a little.

  "Hey. What's wrong?" He gripped my shoulders and glanced down at me with concern on his handsome face.

  "I just feel self-conscious."

  "What? Why? You're the most beautiful woman in this whole fucking city." He reached down and plucked my phone from my hand. "And you’re mine, right?"

  "I wanna be," I mumbled as he gripped my hand and half pulled me down the hall.

  "Stop fighting me. I'm spending the afternoon exploring your body whether you like it or not." He glanced over his shoulder and I simply nodded. There was no telling him no, not that I ever wanted to. I was simply scared that he would find something that turned him off or left him cold.

  "I'm just worried about Olivia walking in on us." I walked into the bedroom and let out a yelp as he pressed the door closed and trapped me against it.

  "No, you're not." He ran his nose up the side of my face, breathing in deeply and leaving me covered in goose bumps. "Let go and let me in, Dana. I need you so fucking bad."

  "Me too." Tears burned my eyes as self-hate raced through me. We wanted a weekend away - no - we needed it, and here I was, letting the worst parts of my personality threaten it before it even started.

  "Good girl." He smiled and moved down my body, nipping at my dress until he was on his knees in front of me. "You're so damn perfect. Do you know how many times I imagined feeling you shaking beneath me as I bring you to come over and over and over again?"