The Player (4 page)

He did, but he’d come back. She seemed relieved to see him walking in the door. And he wanted her more than anything. But only if she wanted him just as badly. And yeah, he had an early practice tomorrow, so it was best to just head on home. But he kept hope alive up until their final kiss goodnight. Right up until she opened the car door to get out. He caught movement from a lower apartment blind, like someone was watching them. As he scrubbed at his beard in frustration, he had to press the auto seat controls for more leg room because his groin was painfully tight against his jeans. The feeling wasn’t comfortable. Harlow gave him a wave to show she was safely inside, and just like that she was gone.

Kyle put his key in the ignition, wondering out loud why the hell he was even bothering. Shit, if he were on the field this would’ve been a penalty play. He just couldn’t get any traction with this woman, no matter how hard he tried. And he wasn’t used to being put off. From the first time he’d seen her furiously working behind the bar, concentrating on keeping her customers drink orders flowing in an orderly manner, he’d been a goner. The funny part was, Harlow acted like didn’t even know how gorgeous she was. That was another thing that attracted him to her. Her unassuming nature. Harlow possessed just the right amount of humility along with her beauty to make her even sexier in his eyes. That’s why he couldn’t just stand on the sidelines and wait for an opening. If he did that, there was always a chance someone else would intercept. But he couldn’t just go directly down the middle, because while Harlow acted friendly and open, her emotions were guarded. There would be too many blockers to actually move forward and gain yardage. Trick plays wouldn’t work with her either. She’d see right through them. Finesse was not the way to this woman’s heart. No, he’d have to keep throwing out short passes that chipped away at her defensive nature. It would take longer, but in the end he was sure it was worth it. Gripping the steering wheel, he put his foot on the gas in order to pull off.
Hell, maybe this was one instance where he’d have to throw the damn playbook away.

5

Behind the safety of closed doors, Harlow breathed a sigh of relief.
That man just didn’t know.
One more minute in his car and she’d be going down on him like he was a hotdog without a bun. It wasn’t like her to be this wild over a guy, but how long had it been? Two? Three? No, four years of abstinence after another go-round with Ozzy. They’d tried it again for the sake of their daughter, but it didn’t last. There were things she needed from him that never materialized and his demands on her just didn’t mesh.
Give up her bar and grill?
Never. That would mean she’d be the little woman sitting at home while Ozzy did what he wanted and with who he wanted. It hurt to admit it, but she was no longer that devoted fan waiting on him to acknowledge her in the crowd.

The sound of the intercom demanding Harlow’s attention made her just about jump out of her skin.

“Harlow, it’s Kyle. Let me come up. Please, I really need to see you.” His voice was filled with raw need, making her weak enough to do as he asked.

She buzzed him in, counting the seconds, the minutes until Kyle made it up to her place, terrified of the intense feelings he brought out in her. Instead of hearing the elevator ding, his footsteps were getting closer and closer as the stairs carried him to his destination. Harlow barely got the door open when she was swept into his chest, his lips crushing hers, a hand shoved up her skirt, forcing her thigh over his hip.

With Kyle grinding against her, the friction made Harlow come in wave upon crashing wave that left her weak. They sank to the floor, his body heavy and hot against hers as she squirmed under him, using her hips to rise and to rub, trying to show exactly what she wanted. There was no reason not to take this man inside her, no excuse on earth not to let him rock her deep and oh so hard. This was no time to whimper. Her voice came out guttural and low in its single minded determination. “Just do it Kyle.
Take me
.”

At the same time his zipper came down her dress was yanked over her stomach. Cool air competed with the warmth of his body, and the sensation of one of her arms sliding against the hardwood floor while the other scratched against an area rug made it all the more erotic. Adding how coarse his palms were on her skin, kneading and massaging her breasts until her tips were hard and pointed, Harlow split her legs as wide as possible so that he settled into her vee comfortably. Disoriented from Kyle’s ravishing her body as if he had to taste every living inch of her, she resorted to begging.

“Please . . . just-please,” she whispered. “I need this.
I need you.”

The only thing standing in the way of him entering her were those damn stretch panties meant to hold her jiggle to a minimum. “Never again,” he whispered, sliding them over her thighs and down her legs. “Don’t ever confine the best looking backside known to man with these things.”

Using his head to hold her legs open, Kyle searched for the condom that was somewhere in his back pocket. He kissed the inside of her thighs, toying with her clit by rubbing his nose against it, flicking his tongue on the nub so that she’d come once more. Between that and the scruff of his light beard brushing against the inner flesh of her thighs, Harlow smashed his head even deeper. He worked quickly to roll on the condom, leaving her body briefly to make certain it was on right. Then the same strong shoulders she’d laughed at earlier in the evening tightly bunched up as he rose, those blue eyes staring down at her as if marveling how lucky he was, holding the blunt tip of his sex at her opening, until he finally struck. He went balls deep, causing Harlow’s eyes to flutter in ecstasy. She saw colors and not clarity, losing the realization that she was writhing on her own floor. All she knew was that her body was responding to mind blowing sex, because it was finally happening, she was finally joined with the man she was oh so ready for. Making love would come later, if ever. Right now all she wanted was to fuck, and Kyle was more than willing to grant her wish. The sights, smells and sound of sex filled the room with both of them groaning, heavy grunts, squeaks along the floor and Kyle cursing when it got too good for him to hold back. He came in a searing climax that he couldn’t control. One moment his body was iron hard, the next his muscles were lax, empty of energy just like he was empty of seed. The urgency of their coming together gave them both reason to reflect on what just happened. When Kyle finally spoke, he asked where her bedroom was, removing one of her legs from the back of his shoulder and the other from his waist.

“Straight ahead,” she told him, covering herself with her hands, feeling utterly exposed under the bright lights of her own living room.

“Don’t do that. Don’t be ashamed. I’m gonna carry you to the bedroom. We’ve got the rest of the night and then some.” True to his word, he scooped his arms under her. When they got to her bedroom Harlow was deposited gently on the mattress.

“Can you stay the night?” She really wanted him to stay. But maybe he had somewhere else he had to be. Maybe he was needed at home, because some other woman was waiting for him.

“I didn’t bring another condom,” he admitted, feeling like a knucklehead. “Shows you just how long I’ve been out of the dating game.”

Propped up on her pillows, Harlow shrugged out of the dress pooled at her neck, wondering where her bra ended up. “I’ve got some here.” When his brow rose, she stuttered out an explanation. “I’ve only been with three men in my life. My husband . . . the guy after him, and now you.”

“And here I thought I was a monk,” he joked.

“Please don’t – don’t laugh at me. It’s just how I was raised. I know its old-fashioned, but it-it’s . . . I just knew I couldn’t take an open marriage.”

“Is that what Ozzy wanted?”

“It goes with the territory, especially for the type of rapper he is. Being thought of as some kind sex machine is part of his image. Only there’s fans who can’t see beyond Ozzy the rapper and Ozzy the family man.”

“But you could.”

She nodded. “I don’t want to talk about Ozzy. I want to talk about you. And-and me.”

Kyle leaned over and gave her a kiss. When they parted, her mouth was still searching for his while he’d moved on to her breasts, lighting a fire in her once more. The way her arousal blazed white hot, Harlow was sure they were going to go down in flames.

6

“Woman, you’re killing me,” Kyle moaned, loving how Harlow kept clinching so that her hold on his shaft tightened.

With her fingers threaded in his hair, she kissed the side of his neck. “This is the last time, I promise.”

“You promise?
So you really think you’re in control here?”

Harlow gave him a direct, no-nonsense glare. “I know I am.”

His eyes fluttered shut as she caressed his face, planting a kiss on his forehead, his cheeks and even his dimpled chin. When he gave her a chuckle of satisfaction, just that simple act made her happier than a full out orgasm. Her butt straddled his thighs, her legs bent at the knees, almost criss-crossed behind his back while he throbbed deep inside her. Scooting even closer to him, the warmth of her soft, fleecy triangle rubbed against his groin. When she tossed her head back in ecstasy, his mouth clamped on her neck, pulling her even closer to him as he sucked and licked along the slender column, all the way down to her shoulders. Her shudders matched his rising groans as they found a rhythm that gave them both what they craved.

It was almost seven o’clock in the morning. Neither one had been to sleep, but it wasn’t due to lack of trying. There was just something about lying next to each other that got them going, until before they knew it, another condom wrapper was being torn open.

“So,” Harlow said, tracing a gentle fingertip over Kyle’s lower jaw. “How many of your brothers have a dimple right here” ─ she pressed the deep groove that was smack in the middle of his chin ─ “like yours?”

With his eyes closed, Kyle gave her a sleepy chuckle before answering. “I’m the only one.”

Feeling wonderfully sated but still frisky enough to make love again, Harlow molded her body to his. “Ooh . . . so who do look like, your mother or your father?”

“Neither.”

“You’re a combination of both, huh?”

“No, I look like the guy my mother had an affair with while my dad was overseas.” When her finger caress stilled, he opened one eye to gauge her expression.

“I’m - oh Kyle, I'm so sorry.” Harlow’s voice was filled with concern and her big brown eyes shone with pity. “I shouldn’t be prying.”

Kyle rolled over so that they were face to face. “Don’t be sorry. I didn’t find out until my pretend dad died. By that time I was in high school so it didn’t bother me.”

“What?”
 

“I’m not kidding. I met the guy right after the funeral. She moved him in, and when I tried to physically throw him out she finally told me the truth. So I left home and never looked back until Willa came to see me.”

“Who’s Willa?”

“My older sister. She sort of took over being a surrogate mother for our two younger brothers, because my mother was-” Just like that he stopped, his brow furrowing as he mumbled something about talking too much.

 So once again he’d shut the damn door right in front of her.
 Just when he was about to open up, he closed down. “Oh-okay,” she said, wishing she hadn’t opened that door in the first place. When she tried to slide out of bed his arms quickly wrapped around her waist, stopping her. Pulling Harlow into his chest, Kyle murmured something she couldn’t quite make out into her hair. Since he kept repeating it, she strained to listen.

“Don’t leave yet.” His voice was nothing but a mumble, as if he were fighting to keep his eyes open. “Stay with me.”

If he wanted to spoon then Harlow figured a trip to the bathroom could wait until he fell asleep. It felt so good to have a man at her backside again. The heat from his long, hard body was a pleasure. What she didn’t miss was the snoring, and Kyle was loud, if not louder than her ex had ever been. Giggling to herself, Harlow debated if she should look for her phone to take a video as proof. That way they could have a good laugh about it later on. Deciding against it, she removed the arm gripping her waistline as gently as she could. After that she slowly inched out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

He’d said to wake him around ten a.m., but Kyle was out like a light. Finally Harlow put on some coffee and turned up her sound system, hoping that the downstairs neighbor wouldn’t be upset. She didn’t know much about the guy. Only that he was in a wheelchair, and before he’d moved in there had been lots of construction done on the place. The man kept to himself, but she’d made a mental note to introduce herself one of these days. Now that Torii would be taking her apartment Harlow decided not to bother him.

Carrying two cups of strong, black coffee into her bedroom, Harlow was surprised to hear the shower running and even more surprised to hear how energized Kyle sounded. “Care to join me?!” he hollered.

“No!” she yelled right back at him. “I don’t want to get my hair wet again. I already took a shower before you woke up.”

“What if I come out there and carry you over my shoulders?!”

“Here na, betta not, yuh bad bwoy!!”

He didn’t know what she just said, but he sure liked the way she said it. He stood directly under the sprayer, letting water blast away the suds on his face and his chest. Once he opened his eyes the warm colors in her bathroom came into view. He figured she really liked that shade of coral. And brown, and gold, since it was also a big part of her bedroom. Her style of decorating had big splashes of bold tones and then subdued shades, like the hemp baskets that housed extra wash cloths and potpourri. Water trickled down his muscular thighs, washing away suds that revealed an ugly gash from a prior surgery. One of his knees rebelled when he put his full weight on it. At thirty-three, Kyle’s body was bruised and battered from the game of football.

Stepping out of the shower, he did a little snooping in her medicine cabinet just to be sure there wasn’t anything in there a man might have left. All he saw were lotions and little samples of shampoos and hair products for a female. After toweling off and wrapping it around his waist, Kyle left the mugginess of the bathroom.

That’s where Harlow ambushed him, yanking off his towel.

“Hey, bring that back!” His half-hearted protest didn’t fool her, not after he jutted out his hips so that she could see he was getting hard.

“We don’t have time,” she laughed, because his dirty dancing was more comical than sexy. “You said you have to be at the stadium-”

“Not until one p.m.”

“Oh, so we’ve got lots of time.” She backed up, wadding the towel into a ball. “Want to teach me how to play football?”

“I might know a little something about touch football, but you’ll have to kneel if you wanna learn.”

She got down on all fours. Kyle tilted his head, not really wanting to correct Harlow since her bare ass was front and center. That wholesome, juicy goodness was perfectly angled for all sorts of things. He walked directly behind her, reaching down to hook his right arm under her waist. “I’m just putting you in the correct stance. Keep your fingers on the floor and your legs bent, one slightly in front of the other so that you can stay balanced.”

“Like this?”

“Drop your shoulders a little more. You should be able to see between your legs so that you know the ball is tossed straight to me.”

Lowering her head like he’d suggested, Harlow’s line of sight included his hairy lower legs, cupped hands waiting to receive the ball, and his penis gently waving hello.
Uh . . . HELL- Lo. The longer she stared, his penis answered by lengthening until it curled upwards, nudging at the entrance to her vagina. Kyle’s dick was rude, impatient, demanding, forceful, a selfish prick that only wanted one thing. Her pussy.

“I didn’t know football was this intimate,” she teased. “So are you and Virgil always this close together?”

He slapped her rear ─ lightly of course ─ but enough to send a message. “Virgil’s butt and your butt are worlds apart. Now behave, or you’ll be sorry.”

Harlow was ready and willing to provoke him. “So tell me something, is this what they call Pee Wee football?”

“What’d you say?”

Giggling at her own joke, Harlow wiggled her butt suggestively, answering him with, “It sure feels like Pee Wee”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Gwan, Bring it, big bwoy-”

His first thrust just about knocked Harlow off her feet. Something told her she’d need to get back on her knees as Kyle grasped the front of her hips, readying himself to ram her again. The football lesson was forgotten as he relentless pumped and she fought not to scream in pleasure.
With each penetration Harlow’s breath left her lungs in a red hot rush. There was a wonderful ripple effect from his pounding of her backside, as an orgasm crept up like an explosion on her senses, the numbing spasms going from the roof of her head all the way down to her curling toes. Just when she thought her body couldn’t have another, she was gripped by a new one, and still another, until all she could do was lower her forearms to the floor to cradle her drooping head and shoulders. The onslaught of thrusts got wilder and even more sweetly punishing, building into something that couldn’t be contained, an eruption that had him collapsing onto her back and taking her legs out from under her. Harlow was spread eagle on the floor, heaving to get a breath, her mind racing.

Lifting his weight off her, Kyle turned Harlow over, wondering aloud why she’d become so quiet. “Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head. “We forgot about a condom.”

“I remembered after the fact. If anything happens, I’ll do right by you.”

Relieved, she gave him a big, sloppy kiss on the lips. “I wasn’t sure how to ask you about getting tested for an STD or HIV.”

“I wasn’t talking about-” His smile turned grim. “I was talking about being there if it turns out you’re pregnant.”

Pregnancy? This was supposed to be purely about sex, just the two of them enjoying one another, nothing serious. But he didn’t appear to be the playboy type, no matter if he looked the part. And she was really just a romance junkie, secretly wanting a courtship and a walk down the aisle.
Besides, what was she supposed to do? Not ask him about getting tested? A little voice in her head answered.
Well, yuh coulda done that BEFORE sleeping with the man.
So very true. “Sometimes people get dumber when they get older,” Fefe had once said, referring to Harlow’s father. And since she was Stokely Petteford’s child, the way she’d handled this situation with Kyle was proof of her getting dumber. They were two peas in a pod, two old fashioned klutzes who were stumbling into a relationship.

“Kyle, we’re some kind of pair, aren’t we?”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” he muttered, weaving his fingers between hers.

“What I mean is . . . I like the quiet life. I know with the bar and all, you might think that I need to be around a crowd. But if I didn’t work at the bar, I wouldn’t be there. I want something from all this with you and me, a-and not just sex. I want a committed relationship, and not just because I may or may not be pregnant.” She quickly added, “Which I don’t believe I am, because I’ve got an IUD.”

“Alright, let’s get a few things out of the way. What’s your favorite color?”

“Red.”

“Favorite food?”

“Hmm. That’s hard. Can I have several?”

“I’ll give you a pass on that one. How about when I use your bathroom, do you go ballistic if the toilet seat is left up?”

After a belly laugh, she revealed, “I’m guilty as charged!”

“Here’s my almost final question.
Do you or don’t you give oral sex?”

“I do. But uh, I don’t like to swallow.”

At least she didn’t come right out and say no, he thought. The swallowing part wasn’t a deal breaker.
“What about me going down on you?”

“I’m not a prude. I-I’m willing to be adventurous, within reason. But if I’m not comfortable doing something, I won’t do it.”

He placed an arm around her shoulders. “You just blew my mind, you know that?”

“I did?”

“Yeah. I’m already thinking about you, me, Maddy and . . . your daughter’s name is Reina, right?” she nodded as he kept talking. “Picture all of us in the family room eating buttered popcorn, watching marathon episodes of
The Walking Dead
-”

“Uh, no. No dead people. No almost dead people, none of that. Maddy’s too young! And Reina hates scary movies and TV shows.”

“Never mind the girls joining us. I’ll make a deal with you. If you watch zombie movies with me I’ll watch whatever you want me to.”

“Fuh real? You’d watch my shows, like
Scandal
?”

“I sure will.”

And she was gonna hold him to it.
Now,
why did her bedroom smell like . . .
“The coffee! It’s ice cold now,” she squealed, struggling to get up.

Kyle pulled her back down on his chest. “I’ll make us more coffee. And I’ll make breakfast. Just let me hold you a little longer.”

She wasn’t gonna argue. Cradled tightly in his arms felt just like . . . home.