Strike (12 page)

“You wanted to do ‘naughty things’ to me?” Spencer interrupts.

“Yeah, I did, but as I was
trying
to say, this ‘Jones’ guy, he’s got some work to do. He’s gotta prove to me I’m not disposable. I … I can’t be treated like that again.”

He frowns, a deep line forming between his brows. “Okay,” he says, his focus shifting to the photo frame beside me on the wall. It holds his attention for a little too long. I wonder if he’s trying to figure out how to prove it to me.

“Are you working every day this week?” I ask.

He looks down at me, and runs his index finger softly over my jaw. “Yeah, I’ve got some time to make up, and I need to fit in the gym as well.”

“I’ve got a pretty easy week. How about you come over tomorrow night when you finish work, and I’ll cook us dinner? We’ll hang out, talk, and watch a movie or something. Spend some time with me.”

“’Kay. You’ve twisted my arm.” He smirks and then leans in, his hot breath creating a trail of treacherous goosebumps over my body as he nibbles at my neck. “You gonna let me stay a night, then?” he whispers into my ear. He positions his head back in front of me, so I get to experience the full effect of his puppy-dog eyes begging me to say yes.

“Sure, but just to snuggle.”

His genuine smile assures me he’ll do just that. Whether I’ll be able to handle
just snuggling
is another question entirely.

“If it’s not too much trouble, can I stay tonight? With the beer with dinner, and the wine, I’ve probably drunk more than I should. I could take a taxi, but I’ll need my car tomorrow. I’ve got a full schedule and have to be in early.”

Am I ready for tonight? Is it too soon? What’s the difference? We’re not sleeping together … yet. He’s got work to do before we’re in that place. Let’s see if he’s ready to put the whole “snuggling” thing to the test.

“Sure. Come on. I’ll get you a shirt to wear to bed.” I tug him down the hallway, towards my room.

“But I always sleep in the nude,” he informs me. Instantly, the picture of a proud, gloriously naked Spencer is in my head.
Crap.

“Not if you wanna sleep in my bed. You have to at least wear whatever you’ve got on under those jeans, and one of my over-sized T-shirts, or else you sleep on the couch.” I hope he’s not going commando, because he might hold me to what I just said.

“Deal. As long as it’s not pink. I have my pride.”

“You’ll wear what I give you, and you’ll like it.” I put my hands on my hips to let him know I’m not messing around. I should pick out a pink one, just because I can. I bet he’d wear it too.

Spencer clears his throat, but I can tell he wants to laugh his arse off. He knows I’m the one calling the shots. Can’t say I don’t love it.

“Whatever you say, beautiful,” he says. He sits on the edge of my bed, and takes off his shoes.

I dig through my wardrobe, and take out a powder blue T-shirt. I think I bought it overseas, because it’s got some imported beer logo on it. I usually wear it to bed because it’s so damn comfy. It’s more like a nighty than a T-shirt, so it should fit him.

I throw it at him, and he holds it up. He nods, and then starts unbuttoning his shirt. I snap my head back around to stare in my wardrobe. I do
not
need the visual of his naked chest. Not if I’m sticking to snuggling.

I pull out a black singlet top, and some blue three-quarter length pyjama bottoms. On a mission, I rush out of the room to get changed in the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth.

When I return, Spencer has my T-shirt on, but he’s under the covers. His jeans and shirt are folded neatly over my chair.

“You know that grin on your face is ridiculous,” I say, slipping under the freshly washed sheets to face him. I hadn’t changed them thinking I’d have company tonight, but I’m glad I did.

He waggles his eyebrows. “Ridiculously pretty?”

I roll my eyes back into my head. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“Are you gonna kiss me goodnight?” Spencer says, his fingers crisscrossing between mine.

“I’ve got a better idea. Do you wanna make out like teenagers?” I press my lips together tight, and hope he doesn’t think I’m backward for suggesting it.

“Hell yeah,” he says. His lips brush over mine, but I pull away. I don’t want him to think it’s an open ticket to sex.

“And then we snuggle,” I warn.

“Yes, April.
Then
we snuggle.”

“And then we sleep. Okay?”

“
Yes,
April. Then we sleep.”

“Do you snore?”

“Of course not,” he scoffs.

“Mmm. I’ll be the judge of that.”

****

* SPENCER *

It’s time to stop. I could do this all night—exploring April’s sweet mouth, every lick, every stroke of our tongues—but my dick can’t handle it. He’s a cranky fuck, and he knows what he wants. He’s just not getting it. And he won’t until I can show April that I can be the man she deserves.

April makes one of her cute little moans into my mouth, reminding me of when she came the other night. God damn.

“We’d better stop, April.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. Mmm, that was hot.” She runs her fingers over her now swollen lips. Yeah, I guess I ravished the hell out her.

I breathe out loudly, trying to calm down my racing heart. “Do you want me to kiss you goodnight?” I ask, and smirk at her.

She laughs, and runs her hand through my hair. “I think we just about covered that, Spencer.”

“Just one more.”

“Okay then, make it quick.”

Third-grade Spencer works his magic with a quick stone-mouth peck to her lips that barely even makes that ‘kiss’ noise.

April laughs softly, and squeezes me into a hug. “No wonder there was two of them fighting over you.”

****

Tuesday

I don’t know how I stopped myself from groping her in my sleep.
Small fucking miracle
. At least I don’t think I did. I’d made her snuggle up to me, spoon-like, because I was pretty damn sure I didn’t trust myself to spoon
her
. Snuggling is all fun and games until someone gets a boner. Waking up with my morning glory perched against April’s firm arse, pyjamas or no pyjamas, would have driven me to the point of despair.

Sitting dressed on the edge of her bed, I watch April, if only for moment. She’s so peaceful. So perfect. It’s a shame to wake her, but I could never leave without saying goodbye.

“Hey … I’ve gotta go,” I whisper, tucking her unruly bed hair behind her ear. Even all mussed up she’s adorable.

April stretches out her legs, and yawns as her eyelids flutter open. “What time is it?” she asks, her voice croaky. She rubs her eyes and stretches her arms above her head, giving me a first-class viewing of her hard nipples beneath her singlet. Damn, she’s not wearing a bra. Why didn’t I pick up on that last night? Actually, it’s fucking lucky I didn’t.

“It’s a bit after five.”

April leans up on her elbows, and stretches her neck back, pushing her tits out to me. Fuck. I’ve gotta get out of here before my hands take over and I maul her senseless.

“Do you want me to make you something for breakfast?” she asks, blinking her long lashes at me as she wakes up that little bit more.

“No. Thanks, though. I’ve got a breakfast meeting, so it’s covered. You go back to sleep. No point both of us being up this bloody early.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you tonight, April.”

“I’m glad you came over,” she says, and my heart does this funny little dance in my chest. I’m getting somewhere with her. I just wish this day would hurry the fuck up and be over with so I can be right back here.
Where I wanna be
.

“Me too. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“No problem. Maybe you should bring some things … you know, work clothes, save you some time in the mornings.”

“Are you saying I can stay here more than one night then?”

“You behaved last night, so I can’t see why not. That’s if you wanna stay.”

I roll my eyes. As if I wouldn’t want to. I’d consider giving up my left nut for another chance. “I’ll see you tonight … and I’ll bring
stuff
.” I kiss her softly, and tuck the covers under her chin. I don’t need a hard-on at breakfast, and those perky please-take-me-in-your-mouth nipples are still toying with my mind.

“See ya,” she whispers.

“Bye.”

This time, I walk out of April’s apartment without any reservations.

****

* APRIL *

After Spencer left I couldn’t get back to sleep. I’d woken up horny as hell, desperately wanting to go back to my sexy dream. In the dream, Spencer was going down on me, and I swear if he didn’t wake me up to leave I would have come in my sleep. I’d lain in bed for what felt like hours after he left, but the ache between my legs hadn’t waned. I’d thought about making myself come about a hundred times, but I’d guessed that Spencer probably didn’t have time to do it, rushing off to work, so I thought I’d hold off. If he didn’t do it, then neither would I. I thought about texting him and asking him if he jerked off this morning, but thought that might move us into territory I wasn’t sure I was ready for. But if he were going to be spending more time here, it wouldn’t be long before we were there.

I thought about Spencer when I made my breakfast. I thought about him while I was in the shower. When I brushed my teeth. Getting dressed.
Especially
when getting dressed. Ah!

My T-shirt that he’d worn last night was neatly folded on the end of the bed. Unable to stop myself, I pick it up and smell it.
Fuck
. His aftershave might as well be pure pheromones. It smells like him, and that deep ache between my legs is back with a vengeance.

I look to the clock. Just after eight-thirty. I smell the shirt again, taking it deep into my lungs.

Fuck, this is gonna be a long day.

****

* SPENCER *

A
PRIL
:
T
HINKING OF YOU

Her text is enough to cause an urgent rush of blood to my pants. Thank Christ I have all of today’s meetings out of the way, and am confined to the walls of my corner office until the end of the day. I have some reporting to finalise and a few calls to make, and then I’m getting the fuck out of here.

I knew I should have jerked off in the shower this morning, but I didn’t want to be rushed. When I do it, I wanna think about April … touching her sweet body, having her hands and mouth all over me, not checking the clock giving myself a deadline to come. There’s no fun or satisfaction in that.

I reply.

M
E
:
B
ELIEVE ME,
I
’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU

CHAPTER SEVEN

* SPENCER *

The door swings open, and April’s brilliant smile kicks me fair in the chest. My voice catches in my throat. What am I trying to say here? Hello would be an ideal fucking start.

April pulls me into her apartment by the front of my T-shirt and crushes her mouth into mine, her soft lips holding me captive. Standing on her tippy-toes, she wraps her arms around my neck, her tongue gently exploring, tasting.
Damn
.

I drop my two bags and slide my hands around her waist, needing to feel her close. “Helluva way to say hi,” I mumble into her mouth, slowing down the kiss.

“Sorry, I just missed you today. Here. Let me help you with your stuff
.
”

I smirk at her as I hand her my suit bag and pick up my other bag. We walk through to the bedroom, and she hangs my suit in her wardrobe. I dump my luggage in the corner.

“What did you do today?” I ask, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Caught up on some paperwork, sent off some shots. Then I got a few things for dinner, and I not long ago got back from Bikram yoga.”

“Bikram yoga? How’s that different to normal yoga?”

“It’s hot yoga. They heat the room to above body temperature, and you work out for ninety minutes. It’s intense. I, um, needed it.”

Mmm. April in tight lycra, in all those poses … Fuck me. And if that wasn’t enough, she was all hot and sweaty. I need to dunk my dick in iced water, because it’s too early in the night to be this hard. Seriously. The effect this girl has on my body.

“You showered already?” I ask, like I need that visual on top of everything else. I sure do like to torture myself.

“Of course I have, you muppet. I don’t smell this sweet after yoga.”

“I would have loved to see you all hot and sweaty.”

She winks. “And one day, you will. Come on. Time to eat.”

****

After another amazing dinner, close to the best Thai green chicken curry I’ve ever had, we retreat to the lounge.

April’s camera is sitting on the table, and I can’t resist picking it up.

“This is a serious-looking camera. Why don’t you show me some of the shots you took at the track the other day?”

April nuzzles in close, and flicks a couple of switches. The first picture flashes on the screen, one of Stone. It’s an epic shot of him whipping the bike. It’s the kind of shot you’d expect to see on the
cover
of a magazine.

“You’re good. Did you get any of me?”

“Yeah, a fair few. Daddy wanted me to get some good action shots of the whole team, so yeah. I got plenty.”

She clicks a button and shot after shot is displayed. She’s really captured the action; the dirt flying, the air beneath our bikes. Each picture has me keen to get back onto the track. 

“These are amazing. No wonder you’ve got plenty of work coming at you.”

She clicks a couple of buttons and turns side on, focusing the camera on my face. The flash blinds me.

“Whatchya doing?” I ask, blinking to restore my vision.