The Games We Play (Sizzle & Burn Book 2)

by Linda Verji

  Finally, he broke the kiss but it was only so he could touch his lips to her nose, then her cheeks, her chin, her neck, the space between her breasts… He stopped again, but it was only so he could shrug out of his jacket and toss it away. Kneeling on the carpeted floor, he dragged her forward so he could latch onto her breasts again. One then the other, flick, nip and suckle… After one last taste he moved on, kissing his way down her torso, her navel…

  He should’ve stopped there – right there – but he ached to see what was beneath those green panties, ached to taste it. Once he leaned forward and inhaled her sweet scent, he was left with no choice. He just had to see.

  Just one look. Just one taste, he swore. Just one more minute. His hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they reached for the edges of her panties.

  April lifted. He pulled.

  Then she was naked… completely naked.

  Every muscle in Roman’s body tautened, all his blood rushed to his cock and his breath locked in his throat. His breathing heavy, he took in the bounty before him. Brown, clean shaven and already wet for him. He’d never seen anything prettier, sexier, or more alluring. And he wanted to see more. His hands slid beneath her thighs, pulled her legs apart, spread her so he could get a better look.

  “Damn,” he breathed when she opened up like a flower for him. The bared flesh inside was smooth, delicate, light brown and glazed with her honey. Hypnotized by the erotic display, he moved forward, bent until his mouth touched her smooth delicate folds.

  “Oh.” April jerked. But he tightened his grip on her thighs, kept her still and open for him as he ran his tongue along her already open slit. Ah! So this is what heaven tasted like? Her taste was sweet, tart, tangy and so right. He lapped her up like she was the sweetest of honeys, drank her like she was milk sent from the gods. Then he flicked his tongue over her swollen clit.

  “Rom… oh… ah.” Her breath coming in pants, April half rose to her elbows as if to see what he was doing. When he rolled her nub with his tongue, she closed her eyes and purred. When he swept his tongue to her slit and stabbed at the tight opening, she whimpered and fell back on the couch.

  Her purrs and whimpers were like an aphrodisiac, heightening his own desire until his cock was as hard as steel and pressing hard against his pants. But he didn’t let up. He flattened his tongue and licked her clean, then urged her to drip some more honey for him by toying with her clit and probing her slit. He wanted her to remember him when she slept tonight, remember how much pleasure he’d given her and realize that he was the only man who could do that for her.

  By the time he added his finger to the game, April was already trembling and twisting on the couch as if on the verge of breaking down. When he pushed his finger into her, she tensed. When he stroked in, her pussy muscles pulsated around his fingers, her clit trembled on his tongue, her thighs began to shake. One more stroke in and he took her right over the edge.

  “Aaah!” With a low groan, she exploded. Her twitching walls clung to his finger as she found her release. After one last sweep of his tongue to get a final taste of her, he kissed his way back up her body. Her eyes were closed and arms draped over on the couch in boneless exhaustion. Smiling, Roman sat beside her.

  “You okay?” he asked as he brought her to straddle his lap.

  “Mm.” She nodded as she tucked her forehead to the crook of his neck.

  “How was that?” he asked as he stroked her hair.

  “Really, really good.” Her breath whispered over his neck.

  “Good.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. Though his cock was stiff as a board beneath her and begging for release, Roman knew that his minute was up. This was as far as he could go tonight if he wanted to remain faithful to his oath. However, having her naked body draped over his was more temptation than he expected. He couldn’t help smoothing his hands over her naked back or pulling in deep breaths of her intoxicating womanly scent or pressing little kisses to her temple and her cheek.

  He was just soothing her back from her orgasm, he told himself as he ran the tips of his fingers over her silky smooth skin. When she lifted her face and pressed her lips to his, he assured himself that this was just a goodbye kiss, something to tide him over until he could finally have her. But when April hardened her mouth against his and deepened the kiss into something darker, something more sensuous, he had to stop it.

  He tore his lips from hers and rasped. “Stop, stop.”

  April’s eyelids lifted to reveal her eyes, glazed and dark with untamed passion. Her arms tightened around his neck as she asked, “Why?”

  He swallowed. “I have to go home.”

  She frowned. “Now?”

  “Yeah. Now.” He nodded as his hands came around her waist. “I think we’ve gone far enough.”

  “No, we haven’t.” She paused as her dark eyes locked on his. “I want more.”

  His heart skipped a beat and his mouth went dry. “No.”

  “Yes,” she insisted as she subtly ground her naked pussy over his clothed cock, leaving no doubt as to what she wanted more of.

  It would’ve been a bald-faced lie to say that he didn’t want the same thing. But he couldn’t. They couldn’t… This time they were supposed to go slow. He shook his head. “No, you’re not ready.”

  “Says who?” Her eyebrows shot up as her hands skated down his chest.

  “We should wait a little more,” Roman insisted, desperately trying to battle the temptation that she so wantonly wielded.

  “I don’t want to wait.” She caught the edges of his t-shirt and dragged it up his stomach. “Take this off.”

  “No.” He dragged the t-shirt back down. He wasn’t doing this… not now. It was too soon. His cock throbbed its protest as did the rest of his body.

  April studied him for a moment then called, “Roman Teller?”

  “Yeah?”

  She dragged the t-shirt back up his stomach. “Arms up.”

  “What?”

  “Put your arms up.”

  “No.” But he lifted his arms up anyway. “We shouldn’t do this now. We should wait.”

  “Okay,” she agreed even as she dragged his t-shirt up his torso.

  The t-shirt’s neck caught when it got to his head, and without conscious thought Roman found himself helping her out. “I’ll do it myself.”

  Once his t-shirt was gone, she reached for his belt.

  Clearly his protests that this was too soon were not working on her. Time to try something new.

  “I don’t even have any protection,” he hedged as he watched her expertly unclasp his belt then draw the edges to the sides.

  “I do.” She grabbed his zipper.

  “April, don’t,” he protested verbally but did nothing to stop her from dragging his zipper down or clambering off his lap so she could get rid of his pants. When she straddled his lap again, he squeezed her waist. “We can’t do this. We should wait.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, but her hooded eyes were on the swollen length pressing against his navy boxer-briefs. He almost jumped out of his skin when she set her hand over him.

  “Don’t,” he pleaded even as he lifted slightly upwards and pressed his cock into her warm hand. She ignored his words and obeyed his actions; her fingers curled over his length.

  “Ugh!” Roman groaned and closed his eyes. Her hand was warm and firm as it measured and caressed him. It sent intense sensation and heat stabbing through him. His eyes flew open when he felt her reach inside his boxer-briefs and pull him out. His eyes fixed on her face, watched her in wide-eyed awe as she wrapped her fingers fully around him. Oh, jeez! The unfamiliar and illicit contact between her hand and his naked shaft was enough to make his head spin.

  “Stop,” he groaned.

  “You stop,” she whispered as her eyes rose to meet his. “Stop playing hard to get.”

  Staring at him intently, she slowly fisted her fingers down to the root of his cock then slowly brought them back again. Hell and damna
tion! He jerked in her grip, wordlessly urged her to do it again. Slowly firmly, she stroked him, again and again until he was light headed with pleasure and need.

  All his protests withered away at that practiced touch of her hand, all his reasons for wanting to delay sex disappeared like chaff in the wind, until only one thing remained. Need. He needed April. He needed her more than he’d ever needed anything. He needed her more than he needed air.

  He surrendered. “Where’s the rubber?”

  If he had any willpower left, her slow, seductive smile would’ve charred it. “My bedroom.”

  With one smooth move, he stood with her in his arms. Roman had no idea how fast he walked or how he got them from her to living room to her bedroom, but the next moment, he was dropping her on the bed. While he kicked off his underwear, she reached for the bedside drawer. By the time he lowered himself next to her on the bed, she was holding a pack, ready for him.

  Frantic need dancing on his nerves, he slicked the rubber over himself then knelt between her legs. There was no need for preliminaries, no need for more games; he gripped the back of her thighs to open her more and lined his shaft with her pussy. Then he pushed in.

  “Oooh…” Their twin groans mingled and merged like their bodies.

  His memory had vastly underestimated the pleasure of being inside April. She was warmer than he remembered, slicker than he recalled, tighter than he thought. Exquisite.

  “April,” he groaned her name as he leaned over to press his lips to hers. Kissing her, he pushed deeper in. Her velvety walls stretched to welcome him, accommodate him until he was completely inside, fully immersed in her heat.

  Damn, he’d missed this.

  DAMN, SHE’D MISSED this.

  The sensation of Roman filling her, possessing her was indescribable, beyond mere pleasure. It left April’s senses awash in a flood of heat, need and desire. Did she regret pushing him to make love to her when he was clearly intent on delaying it? Nope! Not even a bit. She wanted him. She wanted him with a force that was almost painful in its intensity. She couldn’t even imagine having to live with that unfulfilled want for another day.

  “Mm mm,” she moaned against his lips when he tucked himself even deeper inside her. Her toes curled with the pressure as the rest of her body purred in delight. Then he stopped as if to give her time to adjust to his length.

  Roman parted their lips to murmur, “You alright?”

  “I’m alright.” She smiled as she wove her fingers through his hair.

  “Good.” He lowered his mouth to hers for another kiss. This one was soft and tender, yet still filled with need. He withdrew from her slowly, experimentally until only his tip was inside her, then thrust back in.

  “Oh.” She exhaled forcefully at the wild pleasure that instantly raced through her.

  “I missed you so much, baby,” Roman whispered against her lips as he slowly withdrew.

  “I missed you t-” Her breath caught when he thrust in again.

  Roman kissed her jaw then traced a moist path towards her ear with his mouth. Cupping her ass so he could tilt her into his stroke, he whispered, “Do you know how hard it was to keep away from you?”

  “I kn-shiiit,” she gasped when he buried himself so deep inside her it felt like he was in her stomach.

  He took her earlobe between his lips, toyed with it before whispering, “I hate fighting with you.”

  “I hate it t-jeeez.” She closed her eyes and gripped his shoulders at the intense pleasure that raced through her when he hit her with another stroke. She hissed, “ssss… there.”

  “There?” He pumped in again.

  “Yessss… oh my… Roman…” She bit her lip when he bottomed out inside her.

  Dear heavens, this man knew how to please a woman. He was everywhere, surrounding her in every way. His slow, steady, rhythmic strokes felt so, so amazing. As he plunged in over and over again, she gasped and shuddered, felt her mind and senses fragment under his incessant assault. She clutched and clung to him, knowing instinctively that he was the only one who could keep her from falling completely into insanity.

  Abruptly, Roman sat up on his hunches then lifted her upwards to meet him until they were both upright but still intimately connected. Their eyes met and locked. In his gaze, she found tenderness that seared through her and straight to her heart. In his eyes she found memories of them, thousands of intimate moment they’d shared in the last few years. She felt something shift deep inside her then – a deep emotion that could only be one thing. Love.

  It was almost as if he could feel it too because he cupped the back of her neck and brought her head forward until her forehead rested against his. Then he said the words she’d been waiting for for what seemed like all her life.

  “I love you, April,” he mumbled as he stared deeply into her eyes.

  I love you too, she wanted to say but didn’t. There was no doubt that she loved him. She loved him with every inch of her heart, body and soul. She loved him with a passion that was undeniable. But something held her back. Perhaps it was the memory of the pain he’d caused her by keeping her waiting for so long. Perhaps it was the fear that he didn’t really mean it and that this was just another phase in his colorful love life. Instead of saying the words, she leaned forward and kissed him. Though she couldn’t say the words now, she could show him.

  Roman hesitated, almost as if he realized that she hadn’t responded to his confession. Thankfully, he didn’t press for a verbal response. He slanted his mouth over hers and took control of the kiss. Using his tongue and lips, he lured her back into heated desire. His hand lowered to her ass, and cupping the firm flesh, he lifted her up then lowered her back on his length. He did it again, and again, and again, until she was riding him.

  “Ah… ah… ah…” She moaned as she rose and descended over his heavy, steely length, taking him deeper and deeper each time. His hands were everywhere; her back, her breasts, her thighs, her ass, urging her to take what she needed from him. Something seductive and dark began to build within her. The hard thrust of his tongue in her mouth matched her rhythm over him, pulled her closer and closer to the edge.

  Then the jerks, spasms and trembles started.

  The world slowed and stilled.

  Her body tautened until every nerve in her body felt like brittle glass on the verge of breaking.

  And that’s when she snapped. Like a freight train, her orgasm hit her. Sharp spasms jerked her whole body as her release dragged her over the edge and into its deep abyss. Like a wave, it crushed into her and rolled her under, drowned her until all she could do was let it take her. Breathless and weak, she slumped against Roman.

  But he wasn’t done. He lowered her back to the bed then came over her. His face was harder than she’d ever seen it, harsher. Lust and desire etched the edges of the already sharp angles and planes as he settled himself deeper inside her. This time his strokes were short, sharp and frantic. The more, he pumped into her, the sharper they got. Faster, faster faster… With a groan, Roman tucked himself deep inside her and came.

  She caressed his shoulders, back and arms as he rested over her, soothing him with her touch and urging him back to her. When he could finally move, he lifted from the bed to go and get rid of the rubber. By the time he came back, she was already half-asleep. He settled beside her and drew her back into his arms.

  “Are you asleep?” he whispered against her hair.

  “Mm,” she mumbled. It felt so good, so comfortable to be held in his arms. His hand smoothing over her back eased her deeper into slumber.

  “April,” he called again.

  “Mm?” Deeper and deeper she slid in until she was barely holding on to wakefulness.

  The last words she heard before she passed into sleep were his whispered, “Will you ever tell me that you love me too?”

  CHAPTER 26

  One month later….

  “Just do it already,” Vina encouraged as she watched April pacing the length of he
r living room.

  April inhaled deeply. “I’m too scared.”

  “I know you’re scared,” Snow, who was seated next to Vina, said softly. “But you need to do this.”

  “Why? Why do I need to do this?” April spun around to face her friends. “Nothing good can come from taking the test. If it’s no, I’ll be disappointed. If it says yes, it will be a disaster.”

  “But if you don’t do it, you’ll only be postponing the inevitable,” Vina reminded her. “It’s already been two weeks since you started worrying. Are you sure you wanted to spend more time wondering whether you’re pregnant or not?”

  No, she didn’t. But taking the test was too scary. One side of her was dying to be pregnant, to be carrying a little boy with her skin and Roman’s eyes. The other side of her was screaming for her not to be pregnant because the moment she was it would be over between her and Roman.

  Yes, it would be over. She had no doubt of that.

  Getting a woman pregnant out of wedlock was his worst nightmare. After his stint with Lexie, the woman who’d pretended to be pregnant so she could trap him, he’d loudly declared that babies were his kryptonite and he was done with them.

  There was no way he’d be happy about a baby with her… especially not this early in their relationship. Sure, he said that he no longer thought of her as a gold-digger but who’s to say that that assumption wouldn’t rear its ugly head again. What if he assumed that she’d deliberately gotten pregnant so he’d marry her? Could she really blame him?

  If she were a bystander, objectively assessing their situation, she’d give herself the side-eye too. A woman chases a man for three years, gets a chance to date him then barely a month later turns up pregnant. If that didn’t scream pre-meditated ‘I’ll get pregnant to trap him’, then April didn’t know what did.