“What’s not fair, sweetheart?” he asked, edging the shape of her lips with his thumb.
She ran her fingernails lightly over his bare chest, traced a tiny circle around his nipple. His chest muscles tightened in response and he dropped his head back, breathing hard.
“You’re the only one who’s naked.”
He brought her head slowly down to his and sucked on her petulant lips. “So what do you want me to do about it?” he murmured.
“Take off my dress,” she commanded.
He took his lips from hers. “With pleasure.”
The mattress bowed beneath him as he got to his knees. When he bent his head and kissed her legs, they were as soft and as smooth as he’d dreamed. His lips glided over and over her upper thighs, exploring.
With his hands, he pulled her legs apart.
With his nose, he pushed the lavender fabric of her dress up and out of the way. He sucked in a breath.
Natalie was full of surprises, for she wore no underwear.
Had she been like that all day? When he’d kissed her in the car? Not knowing the answer excited him even more.
He buried his face in her. She cried out, guiding his mouth from her tight spirals to her moist flesh. She was well prepared. So wet already that he almost lost control. It was too soon for that and he was tempted to pull away. But he didn’t.
Instead he burrowed deeper. He was where he wanted to be at that moment, where she needed him to taste.
So he tasted. And sucked. And drank the juice of her desire for him. Holding on to her by the waist as she writhed and twisted. And he throbbed and grew.
She bolstered herself up on her elbows and sank back into the pillow again as he treated her to another wave of pleasure.
“My dress, remember?” she gasped.
He broke away and lifted the dress up and off her body and onto the floor, where it should have been all along.
He unhooked the front clasp of her bra, got his first look at her breasts, and his mouth went dry. Caramel-colored delight. Her dark nipples tipped up, as if ready to pass his inspection. He kissed each one politely, just a little peck that seemed to drive Natalie wild.
She wriggled her hips sensuously beneath him, clamped her hands on his buttocks and squeezed as if she never wanted to let go.
When she grasped a breast in each hand, ran her thumbs around in circles, teasing him to devour the hardened tips, he held back. Even though it was difficult, he wasn’t taking orders from her this time.
“Lie on your back,” she commanded.
He smiled.
Except that one, he thought, and obliged her.
She scrambled up and sat back on her heels, her breasts round and firm and beautiful.
It was her turn to inspect him, and by her gasp of wonder, he knew he’d passed with flying colors.
He’d never been harder for or wanted any woman as much as he wanted Natalie.
He reached for her and his eyes widened as she lifted one thigh over his waist to sit astride him.
His flesh throbbed painfully as it lay against the crease of her hot buttocks, hard weight cushioned by soft skin.
Suddenly she got up, crouched flat on her heels and braced her hands on his chest. She spread her legs wide and lowered herself slightly. She didn’t have to go far when her moist flesh made contact with his.
He made a guttural sound. “Natalie,” he groaned, reaching to help her.
She stopped his hand before it even made it halfway down his body.
“Shh.” She cooed and put her finger on his lips. “Let me do this, please?”
Quietly. Slowly. And oh, so completely, she sheathed him. Encased him in the moist, warm darkness of her inner flesh. The sweetness he’d tasted within her was now completely his.
He could barely breathe. Every muscle in his body tensed with indescribable pleasure, and his mouth dropped open. He wanted to yell, but there was no sound he could make that could possibly match what he was feeling right now.
And then...she rode him.
Chapter 8
There’s nothing like knowing you’ve completely satiated your man, Natalie thought, gazing down at Derek.
She lay upon him, still holding the towering core of his body within her own, while his muscular legs splayed out beneath her and continued to quake in the aftermath of their passion.
She rocked to and fro gently, selfishly. Milking the moment, not wanting to release him or to stop.
“Still want to jump in a plane and leave?” she whispered into his ear.
“God, no,” he replied, reaching for her breasts. His breathing was agitated, but his tone was deep with satisfaction. “I want more.”
Their bodies still moved, slower and more deliberate now, but everything had changed. Neither of them knew whether it was for better or for worse. And for the moment, neither of them cared.
A sharp knock on the door abruptly ended their embrace.
“Derek,” shouted Wes. “Are you in there?”
“Yeah,” Derek responded in a thick voice.
“Open up,” Wes commanded.
They looked at each other and Natalie reluctantly slid from Derek’s body, then scrambled for the covers. Derek grabbed a pair of white boxers from his suitcase and stepped into them.
He peeked his head out the door. “What’s going on?”
Since the door was only cracked open, all she saw was Wes’s beefy arms waving frantically.
“I spent two hours looking for you all over town, man. Natalie told me you’d gone to see Pops and were upset. Why didn’t you call me or tell me you were back home?”
Derek cracked the door open a little wider. “Does this explain things?”
Natalie squealed and sat up in bed, covering her breasts with the sheets just before Wes leaned to the side and spotted her.
He tipped his baseball hat in her direction. Her face burned and she nodded back, wanting to crawl under the covers and hide.
“Aw, man. I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, sounding thoroughly embarrassed. “I was just worried, that’s all.”
He elbowed Derek and smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay, bro.”
Wes tipped his baseball cap at Natalie. “Take care of him, okay?”
Derek looked back at her. “She already has, trust me.”
His wicked smile set her imagination on fire and she wanted to jump out of bed and go to him, no matter who was watching.
“Say goodbye, Wes,” he said.
“Hope to see you guys at the game!” Wes shouted just before Derek closed the door in his face.
Derek leaned against the wood and Natalie let the covers fall away.
“Now where were we?” he asked, eyeing her hungrily.
She swung her legs over the bed and got up. Her knees wobbled as she walked toward him.
She clasped her arms around his waist. “Going to the game,” she said, pecking him on the lips. “Your alma mater is playing tonight. Wes told me about it earlier, but I forgot to tell you.”
“I wonder why,” he teased, cupping her bottom and pulling her closer.
She laughed. “I think we should go. It would be good for you to make an appearance.”
His smile disappeared. “I don’t know, Natalie. What if my dad is there? I can’t take another run-in with him. At least not right now.”
She took a step back. “But I thought your brother said he didn’t work at the school anymore.”
“He doesn’t,” he replied. “But you don’t understand. Pops is a huge basketball fan. When I played high school ball, he never missed a game.”
“What about your professional career?”
His frown deepened. “As far as I know, he’s never seen me play in
the NBA.”
“I’m sorry, Derek.”
He placed a finger on her lips. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s not ruin an amazing afternoon by talking about him, okay?”
She hoped what she was about to say wouldn’t upset him.
“But going back to your old school may help you to accept some of the things that happened between you and your dad.”
He looked unconvinced. “I don’t see how.”
“Let’s go and I’ll show you.” She squeezed his hand. “Besides, it’ll be fun,” she added. “I like imagining what you were like when you were younger.”
Derek crossed his arms. “I’ll go on one condition. If my dad shows up, we’re out of there. Agreed?”
She wasn’t going to go back to New York until the reunion was complete. She didn’t know what was wrong with his father this morning, but tonight could be another chance for Derek and his dad to talk things over.
Baby steps, she thought, nodding in agreement.
“How about some pregame excitement?” He winked. “Let’s go have some fun with bubbles.”
He flashed a devious smile and she shrieked as he swooped her up and nestled her in his arms like a bride, kissing her full on the mouth. It had been an unforgettable afternoon that she wished could last forever.
* * *
The parking lot was jam-packed when Derek and Natalie pulled up to Baker’s Falls Academy. When they found a space, they got out of the car and both stared at the black iron gate and stone wall that surrounded the cluster of historic buildings. The school looked like something out of the movies: formidable, foreboding and very, very rich.
Natalie could only imagine what going to a private school must have been like for Derek, who’d grown up in one of the poorest areas of New York City. She found it ironic that years later, he was probably wealthier than most of his classmates.
Deep in her heart, she wished he were happier, too.
“This place is like a whole other world,” she commented.
“Yeah. When my dad first drove us here,” Derek recalled, “I felt like I was Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but without the goofy hat. Know what I mean?”
His voice sounded light and uneasy at the same time. He took her hand in his and they started to walk toward the gymnasium.
She chuckled. “I used to love that show. Were you the only African-American?”
He shook his head. “There were a few of us already here. My brother and I both went here on athletic scholarships, but it didn’t cover everything. My dad still had to work two jobs in order for us to go to school here.”
“That must have been hard on him.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t realize it. Back then, I was just ashamed of him.”
He stopped walking and seemed to debate something in his head. “Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be knowing that your dad is the school janitor?”
His words stung the air and pierced her heart, even though they had nothing to do with her.
She put her hands on her hips. “Why? Because he cared about you?”
He looked at her as though she had two heads. “I lived with the fear that at any moment, while I was walking to class with my friends, we would come around a corner and see my dad with a mop and a bucket in his hand,” he said, ashamed that the old tone of disgust had slipped back into his voice.
“Did that ever happen?”
“Of course. He’d always hang around the basketball courts, too.”
“Maybe that was the only place he felt close to you,” she said quietly.
He ran his hand down his face, as realization set in.
“I sound so selfish, don’t I?”
She said nothing, knowing that he already knew the answer.
“I know this doesn’t excuse my attitude, but that’s how I felt as a kid,” he explained.
“But you’re not a kid anymore. How do you feel about your dad now?”
Derek thought for a moment, then smiled. “Proud.”
He kissed her lightly and they began to walk again.
At the entrance, Derek hesitated. “This place is so full of memories, both good and bad.”
She took his hand. It trembled a bit in her palm. “So let’s go make some new ones together, okay?”
He nodded and smiled in agreement. And right now, that was enough for her.
As soon as they opened the door Natalie heard someone shout, “Hey, there’s Derek Lansing!” and the crowd engulfed the couple as they tried to make their way down the hallway to the gym.
Natalie saw heads turn and crane for a look at the handsome NBA pro. Cell phones were out and she imagined some of the kids were texting about the scene in one hundred and twenty characters or less.
She almost laughed aloud at the thought of Derek’s manager, Tony, hearing about the couple from a teenage tweeter, rather than through his own dishonest means. What Tony didn’t know or realize was that Natalie and Derek’s relationship wasn’t manufactured for a media buy.
It was real.
At least in her mind it was. At the moment she had no way of knowing if Derek felt the same way.
Suddenly, Wes appeared from out of nowhere and ushered the couple into the boys’ locker room.
One of the players whistled at Natalie.
“Should I close my eyes?” she asked Derek.
“Not necessary,” he said. “Looks like most of the team is out on the floor.”
He turned to his brother. “What’s going on, Wes? I haven’t seen this place so excited since we won the state championships way back when.”
Wes shrugged. “I guess word got around you were stopping at the game.”
“Let me guess. The messenger was you,” Derek accused good-naturedly.
“It didn’t help that you were jogging all around town earlier,” Wes scoffed, punching Derek in the arm. “Like a giant billboard.”
Derek looked around. “Is Pops here?”
Wes shook his head, then changed the subject.
“What’s the matter, man? It’s not like all this attention is new to you.”
Natalie saw a hurt look cross Wes’s face, and she knew it wasn’t from jealousy. She had a feeling he’d prepared this little homecoming celebration for his big brother, but Derek was so wrapped up in avoiding their father, he hadn’t even noticed.
The two brothers had only been reunited yesterday. She hoped this minor misunderstanding wouldn’t come between them.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Derek clapped Wes on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
The two men smiled and shadow-boxed each other for a few seconds. Another family crisis was averted and all was forgiven.
Wes wiped his brow and checked his watch. “Come on, it’s almost time for tip-off.”
He led them to the gym where a couple of thousand people were gathered. The excitement in the air was palpable. It was so loud in there that Natalie was tempted to put her hands over her ears.
A few seconds later she spotted Janet waving at her frantically. After she told Derek where she was headed, she made her way to the stands where Janet was saving her a seat.
Natalie sat and blew out a breath. “Thanks. I didn’t think I’d make it up here alive. Is it always this crazy in here?”
“Only when Derek Lansing is in town,” Janet responded with a laugh. “Any other Friday night the decibels are fairly manageable.”
Natalie laughed and looked around. They were surrounded by teenagers who were full of the energy and sense of life that comes with not having any real responsibility.
“It feels strange being in a high school.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Manhattan,” Natalie replied
. “When I was younger, I was an ice-skater, so I was mostly homeschooled during my school years, or I had tutors on the road.”
Janet’s face lit up. “I thought I recognized you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I used to take figure skating lessons when I was a child. You were one of my favorite pros.”
“Thanks!” Natalie was astonished and a little embarrassed. She didn’t run into too many people who knew her from the old days. And that was fine by her.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’ve always wanted to know one thing. Why were you called the ‘Ice Queen’?”
She wanted to say that she’d earned the moniker because, as a professional skater, she’d commanded the ice.
But that would have been a lie. During her formative years on the ice, she’d made her share of mistakes. She’d had plenty of triple lutzes, one of the most difficult skating moves, turn into triple klutzes and she’d ended up on her butt.
No, the real reason was that she was so focused on skating, on being the best, that she wouldn’t let anyone get close to her. Not her coach, her teammates or the audience.
Her heart clenched in her chest. Not even her parents, she remembered sadly.
Every relationship had been a threat to her success. So back then, and through the years, she’d tied her emotions up as tight as the laces on her skates.
But everything changed when she’d met Derek.
Her face warmed as she watched him down on the basketball court shooting free throws with the players. Only hours before, the same large hands that handled the ball so expertly now had caressed her body as though it was fine sculpture. Did he know that within his hands, he also held her fragile heart?
Natalie shrugged her shoulders. “It was just a name the media came up with. It didn’t really mean anything.” She opened up her purse and pretended to look for something, hoping that Janet would change the subject.
Just then, the teams and players were announced over the loudspeaker.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we also have tonight with us a special guest, Derek Lansing, power forward for the New York Skylarks. As many of you know, Derek is an alumnus of Baker’s Falls Academy and our fine basketball program. Due to his talent and energy, BFA went the state championships for the first time during his senior year. Right after that, he was a first-round NBA draft pick and his career has skyrocketed ever since. Put your hands together and let’s give a warm BFA welcome home to Derek Lansing!”
Stealing Kisses Page 10
