Текст книги "Playing for Keeps"

Автор книги: R. L. Mathewson

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Chapter 13

“Would you two cut the shit? We’re here to have a guy’s night out not a pissing contest,” Brad said to the two men glaring at each other. He looked heavenward and sighed, “This is fucking ridiculous.”

“He’s the one being an asshole,” Mitch said, shoving Jason.

Jason shoved him back, harder, sending his friend into a parked pickup truck. He pointed a finger at Mitch. “Stay the fuck away from her.”

“Oh, fuck off you, you sanctimonious asshole. You don’t want her, but you don’t want anyone else to have her. She’s not your property!”

Jason felt his jaw clench tighter.

“What are you going to do when she starts dating some other guy? Huh, tough guy?” Mitch pushed him. “Someday soon this little friendship of yours won’t be enough for her and she’ll go to another guy and you won’t have her anymore. Have you thought of that, yet?” Mitch snorted. “She’s a beautiful, funny, sweet woman. A lot of guys would give their right nut for a girl like her!”

Jason felt all the blood drain out of his face. He stood there as the reality of Mitch’s words hit him hard. One day it would be another man Haley would talk to, watch games with, or just sit in absolute peaceful silence while they worked or ate, and worst of all it would be another man holding Haley in his arms at night.

“Fuck….,” he gasped.

“Oh great, you broke him! Are you happy now?” Brad demanded. “Come on, buddy, we’ll get you fixed up with a cold beer and a plate of hot wings. How does that sound? Does that sound good?”

Numbly, Jason nodded.

Brad scowled at Mitch who looked profoundly shocked by Jason’s reaction. No doubt the man probably expected a good shoving match and a few outbursts. Jason going suddenly quiet was absolutely frightening.

“I hope you’re happy!” Brad yelled at Mitch. "You broke him!"

“I was just pissed….I didn’t know….I…” He shrugged helplessly as he helped Brad steer a very numb Jason into the bar. “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought you didn’t think I was good enough for her. Shit. I didn’t realize that-“

His words were cut off when Brad shook his head. Mitch looked at Jason and nodded. The man clearly wasn’t ready to hear any of this. Jason wasn’t aware his friends were talking. He couldn’t focus past the idea of another man touching Haley.

His Haley.

“Please stop!” a woman screamed as they pushed a still frighteningly quiet Jason inside.

They spotted a familiar looking tall woman being held back by two women who were trying to calm her down while they looked nervously at a small group of men. Suddenly the group parted.

All three men stood in shock as Haley hit, well sort of slapped with her fists in a windmill type fashion, a large man who looked more pissed with her assault than actually hurt.

“You don’t ever touch her again!” Haley yelled as she continued her weird ass assault.

“Shut up, bitch!” the man said, shoving Haley away. She stumbled backwards and hit the floor, hard.

Jason saw red as everything around him blurred into a haze as he focused on the man that just put his hands on Haley. Without a word he stalked over to the son of a bitch and punched him in the face, sending him slamming back into the bar.

The man bent over in agony, cupping his nose. “You broke my nose, asshole!”

“If you ever lay another finger on her I will kill you. Do you understand me?” he promised with barely restrained fury.

The man tried to glare, and winced. Finally he nodded.

“Good,” he said slowly, turning around. “Whoa!” he gasped as his little grasshopper ran into him as she attempted to renew her cute little attack.

“Haley!” he said, trying to snap her out of it. She ignored him, trying to swing at the guy or whatever the hell she was doing. With an exasperated sigh he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the door.

“You’re lucky, Ted! Next time I will kick. Your. Ass!” she yelled.

Jason gave her bottom a patronizing pat. “I’m sure you have him quaking in his drawers, my little grasshopper. No need to scare him.”

She grabbed the waist of his jeans to help push herself up so that she could glare at the bastard. “Ass whooping! Next time I’m not holding back!”

“Tell him to watch his back!” Mitch suggested, laughing.

Jason nearly rolled his eyes when Haley did just that. He released a weary breath. “Let’s get you home before you have the man wetting himself.”

“You’re lucky, punk!” she yelled, making him grin. She was so damn cute.

****************

Haley grunted and kicked the covers off of them.

“Are you going to whoop the sheet’s ass as well? Should I run to safety?” Jason asked, biting back a huge smile that was threatening to take over.

“It’s hot!” she said in a cute little whiny voice. “And stop making fun of me. I totally kicked ass tonight,” she said with a sniff. “They might even ban me from the bar after tonight.”

He blinked. “For what?”

She flopped on her back away from him. “What do you mean for what? I started a brawl!”

“Really? When?”

“What do you mean when? You were there. You saw me kicking some ass!”

“That thing you were doing with your hands?” She nodded. “I thought you were having a seizure of some kind.”

She gasped and gave him a playful shove. “Jerk! I totally kicked his ass and I could kick your ass.”

He looked at her for a moment before he burst out laughing. The entire bed shook as he laughed, probably harder than he’d ever laughed in his entire life. Tears streamed down his face as he gripped his side as a cramp started.

“Hey! Stop laughing at me! I’m a major threat damn it!” her serious tone had him laughing harder. Damn, she was really killing him here. “Keep it up and I’m going to kick your ass with my fists of fury!”

Somehow he managed to laugh harder. He really didn’t think it was possible, but he did.

“That’s it!” Haley snapped. She sat up and quickly straddled his hips and grabbed his arms. She tried to pin his arms by his side of his head. His laughter became more controlled as he quickly turned the tables on her and rolled over, pinning her beneath him. He didn’t bother pinning down her hands. Really, what was the point? He’d seen her in action after all.

“Alright, my little grasshopper, kick my ass. I’m ready,” he said, grinning. He made sure to keep his hips raised. No point in torturing himself, especially since she was only wearing a tiny camisole and pink cotton panties.

She began pushing at his chest, trying to shove him off. When that didn’t work she tried to kick him and he thought she may have tried to give him a good old fashion Indian burn on his arm.

It was just sad.

“Come on, my little grasshopper, I’m ready any time you are. Show me some of that fury.”

Haley shoved and pulled harder, but still he didn’t move.

“Seriously, I’m ready whenever you are,” he said, smiling down at her.

She groaned loudly as she increased her attempts. Still she couldn’t budge him.

He couldn’t stop himself from taunting her. She was just so damn cute. “Aw, is my little grasshopper getting tired? Where’s all that fury gone? Come on let’s see those moves-“

She cut his words off with a kiss, surprising the hell out of him. It was a quick gentle brush of her lips over his, but it knocked him on his ass. Haley dropped her head back on the pillow staring at him while she worried her bottom lip nervously.

Jason hovered over her, panting for breath that had nothing to do with laughter. That kiss….. That innocent, sweet kiss hit him harder than every make out session he’d ever had in his life.

“Jason?” Haley’s broken whisper brought his attention back to her lips.

This was over. He was going to climb out of bed, apologize to her, walk her back to her house and put some distance between them. He was no good for her. He treated woman like shit and had no clue how to treat someone as special as Haley. She deserved a man who would make her his entire world. A man who would take care of her, hold her and love her. And he was not that man.

“Haley, I-“

His words broke off in a groan as Haley’s mouth covered his again. She brushed her lips against his enticingly. His entire body went rigid as he forced himself not to respond. He couldn’t do this to her. As much as it would hurt both of them he couldn’t give in to her. His body shook with the need to kiss her back and lower his body onto hers, but somehow he found the strength to fight it.

**************

He wasn’t kissing her back.

There, she had her answer. She just had to go and kiss him to find out. She couldn’t just ask him like a normal person. Now, she not only probably just wrecked everything between them, but she was also horribly embarrassed. Peachy. Just freakin’ peachy.

She felt the tears burn in her eyes. He was not going to see her cry. She absolutely refused to let him see how much this hurt her.

“Excuse me,” she mumbled softly, breaking away and pushing at his chest. He didn’t fight her this time. He moved off her. She was so close to breaking down. She jumped off the bed and headed for the bedroom door. She didn’t care about her clothes or anything else at the moment. She just needed to get out of there.

“Haley!” Jason called after her. “Let’s talk about this!”

The last thing she wanted to do was talk about this. She ran out his door and across the yard to her door. Barely able to see through the tears that were now flowing freely down her face as she searched for her hidden key beneath the front step and went into her house.

She locked the front door and ran to her room to lock her window and pull her curtains shut, knowing Jason would just come through the window for her and try to joke his way out of this. She didn’t want to joke about this. This hurt! Her heart was broken and she just lost the best friend she ever had over her own stupidity.

A sob broke free and then another until she was sobbing uncontrollably. She dropped onto the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands as she let it out. She was too tired to fight it anymore.

Warm breath tickled her hands the same time strong fingers gently pulled her hands down. She averted her face so she wouldn’t have to face him kneeling in front of her. She just couldn’t.

“Will you look at me?” he asked softly.

She bit her lip and shook her head.

“I’m not……Haley, I’m just not good enough for you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Haley shrugged, wanting him to get to the point quickly and leave. At the moment she didn’t trust herself to open her mouth, afraid she’d just embarrassed herself more.

“You’re too good for me, my little grasshopper,” he said softly as he laid his forehead in the crook of her neck. “You could do so much better than me without even trying, Haley. So much better.”

His voice dropped as he continued and he sounded like he was in pain, but still she said nothing. “You’re kind, smart, funny, you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met and you’re sweet. God, are you sweet.” His hands slid up her sides and gently rubbed up and down.

His breath came quicker against her skin and Haley wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and hold him one more time, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t stand for him to push her away again.

“Do you know how sweet you are, my little grasshopper?” his voice was hoarse as his hands moved lower to her hips and slid back up until his thumbs brushed beneath her breasts and then down again. He pressed a kiss to her neck almost as if he couldn’t help himself. A pained groan escaped him when he did it.

“I should walk out of here and never come back and let you go on and meet some nice guy who will give you everything in life you deserve.” He pressed another kiss to her neck and she barely bit back a moan. His hands slid down her sides and this time when they moved back up they were beneath her shirt.

Large warm hands slid up her sides only to stop right beneath her breasts. They hesitated there for a second before continuing their journey downward. He continued to kiss her neck almost desperately. The next time his hands moved up he ran his thumbs along the underside of her breasts and groaned.

Haley’s head dropped back while her hands fisted in the comforter. She still hadn’t spoken, but for other reasons now. She was afraid if she spoke she would break through to him and he would realize what he was doing and leave her. Heaven help her, but he had her too desperate to chance it.

“I need to leave.” He pressed an open mouthed kiss to her neck and gently sucked while his hands moved further up only to teasingly brush over her hard nipples. They moaned in unison. “It's the right thing to do……the um,….the um……” His hands made another swipe this time gently squeezing before moving back down.

“I um, I shouldn’t want you…..I shouldn’t…..I care for you so much, my little grasshopper. That’s why I should…..I should," he groaned loud and low, "you’re so sweet.”

She decided enough was enough. He obviously wanted her as much as she wanted him, well she hoped he did at least. Taking a deep fortifying breath she leaned back, dislodging his mouth from her neck. He looked dazed as he tried to figure out what just happened.

Haley held his eyes as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Hoping she wasn’t wrong about him, she pulled it up and off and tossed it to the floor.

Jason froze. His hands stilled on her hips as his jaw clenched tightly. He locked eyes with her and she had to bite back a smile as he struggled not to look down. He lost that battle several times.

He sucked in a reverent breath as he allowed his eyes to linger on her breasts. He mumbled something about not being a saint before looking back up. He studied her face for a long moment.

“You know you could do better than me, right?”

She rolled her eyes and gave him a watery smile. “Well, duh.”

“As long as we’re on the same page,” he mumbled before his mouth came down on hers.

Chapter 14

None of the fantasies he had about his little grasshopper came close to the real thing. Her lips were full and warm against his as he moved over them in a hungry kiss.

He gave her a chance. Hell, he’d let her run out of his house in nothing more than her panties and a skimpy shirt. He’d have to talk to her about her flashing ways, but later…much later. Right now he was busy running his hands over the most perfect breasts in creation. They were big, but not too big. They were just perfect for his hands.

She moaned and he attacked, sliding his tongue into that warm heaven she called a mouth. Her tongue came out to play and slid against his, making him growl into her mouth.

Her hands slid up his chest, sending ripples of pleasure throughout his body. He’d dreamed of her touching him. He loved the way she ran her fingers through his hair at night when they held each other. He'd fantasized about her running her fingers over the rest of his body.

With one last deep kiss he moved his mouth down along her jaw and ran his tongue down her neck between her breasts. His hands never stopped their administrations. He gripped one breast and held it for his mouth as an offering. He ran his tongue around one large hard nipple, earning the most erotic moan he’d ever heard from a woman before he sucked it between his lips. He released the nipple with a loud pop and turned his attention to the next one.

After a moment his hands slid back down her stomach where he gripped her panties. She didn’t hesitate in lifting her hips. His little grasshopper was a good girl. He pulled the panties off while he kissed his way down. When they were gone he gently pushed her back onto the bed and moved his mouth to one inner thigh and then to the next.

“I wonder if you’re as sweet as I imagined, Haley,” he said, kissing her thigh before pushing her legs further apart. Even in the dimly lit room he could see her sex clearly. The pink lips were puffy with arousal and her short trimmed curls were soaked, making him lick his lips in anticipation.

He pressed a teasing kiss close to her juncture. “Are you sweet, Haley? Hmmm?”

Her answer was a whimper.

“I bet you’re sweeter than honey,” he murmured as he leaned in and ran his tongue between the swollen pink lips in one long lick. His eyes closed as he moaned deeply. Sweeter. Much sweeter than he imagined. Haley’s hips shot off the edge of the bed, but he was ready for that. He grabbed her feet and placed them on his shoulders.

Using his thumbs, he spread her open and nearly came from the sight. Using his thumb he spread the warm clear liquid over the tiny nub.

Haley moaned.

"You like that?" he asked in a husky voice. "Then you'll love this."

He ran the tip of his tongue around the little nub, careful not to touch it. Haley squirmed beneath his hands trying to find relief. He slid two fingers inside of her, but switched to one when he realized how tight she was. He was glad he wasn't the only one who hadn't had sex in a while. He wanted her desperate for him.

Finally he ran his tongue over her sensitive little nub, earning a moan so he did it again and again while slowly sliding his finger in and out of her. He had to close his eyes. He was so close to coming and she hadn't even touched him yet. He prayed he wouldn't embarrass himself tonight. He planned on being inside of her most of the night.

Her sheath tightened around his fingers like a vice. He sucked her clit between his lips while flicking his tongue over it.

"Jason....Jason....," she moaned his name softly. "Jason!" she screamed his name as her body throbbed hard around his finger.

He waited until she lay boneless on the bed panting before pulling away and slowly licking his lips and fingers clean. He leaned over and kissed her.

"Condom," he said through clenched teeth. He was on the edge of coming. He'd never been more turned on in his life. He wanted to fuck her in every imaginable position and some he was sure were physically impossible, but he was willing to give them all a try.

He felt Haley still beneath him. It was so quick that he almost didn't notice it. Before he could ask what was wrong she pushed him off. Shit. She was still pissed about earlier.

"Haley, I– fuck" he groaned loudly, well yelled really, as Haley in one swift move yanked his boxers down and took him in her hot wet mouth. He braced his hands on her shoulders while she worked him. She took the tip of his cock into her mouth with a well practiced move that nearly had his eyes crossing.

She cupped his sack with one hand, rolling it around her hand and making him groan and buck. He forced himself to be still so he wouldn't hurt her. She met his eyes when she slowly took him in and went past the point any other woman had ever managed.

He whimpered.

His head dropped back as Haley deep throated him. Never had it felt like this, so good, so complete. His little grasshopper had a secret side to her. A side he very much planned on exploring. He wondered what else she could do and who had taught her. Anger surged through him just thinking about her doing this with any other man and he quickly pushed those thoughts away with Haley's help. She was wonderful.

For several minutes panting and suckling sounds echoed throughout the small bedroom, making it harder for Jason to hold back. He was so damn close. Hell, he could have easily come a hundred times over by now, but he was desperate to keep this going. It felt so good....so fucking good.

Finally he couldn't hold back any longer. He tapped her on the shoulder, the universal sign of warning, and started to pull back when Haley gripped his hip with her free hand and held him in place as she doubled her efforts.

"Haley baby, I'm gonna come!" he moaned the last word loudly as his entire body spasmed as his cock hardened beyond belief and erupted in her sweet little mouth. Haley didn't miss a beat sucking him dry. She was truly wonderful.

Gasping for air, he pulled back sucking in a deep breath as he slid out over her tongue. Lazily he shoved down his underwear and climbed onto the bed over Haley.

She licked her lips, making him groan. He leaned in and kissed her, mixing their flavors. As they kissed they slowly moved up the bed. Once Haley's head hit the pillow Jason laid on his side and gathered her close.

As good as it felt to simply hold her in his arms over these past weeks it felt better to have her in his arms naked. Surprisingly it had nothing to do with sex. He loved feeling her warm skin against his and feeling her heartbeat as it lulled him into a deep sleep.

************

"Shit!" Haley heard Jason yell as something crashed in the other room. From the sound of it he just knocked over her stack of books on the hallway table, again.

She leaned against the kitchen counter, nibbling on a piece toast as she watched Jason stumbling in. His hair was still wet and he was still fumbling with his clothes. His shoes were untied, his pants undone, his shirt was only halfway buttoned up and he was having a hell of a time with his tie.

He glared accusingly at her while he made short work of his clothes. "You didn't wake me up."

She rolled her eyes as she speared a piece of sausage with her fork. "I did wake you up. Three times in fact. Each time you threw something at me and went back to sleep."

Jason gaped at her. "And you gave up? You know our routine, woman. You have to keep at it until I'm forced to get off the bed to find something to throw at you." His eyes narrowed dangerously on the large breakfast in front of her.

"And you've eaten without me?" he asked in shocked outrage. Eating to Jason was sacred, probably because he liked stealing food from her plate when it was still hot.

Any other morning and she would have made sure he got right up. She enjoyed their quiet mornings together before they faced their hormonal charges. But this morning she didn't want to give him a chance to finish what they started last night.

As much as she wanted to, needed to, take that next step with him she was frightened. He was a man with experience and expectations and she was.....well, for the lack of a better word, a chicken.

She was fortunate to be the youngest child in the family not only because her grandparents took her in, but because she was able to see from a very young age how her sisters and older cousins were treated by so-called friends and men. Men came and went out of their lives turning them into slobbering idiots. She'd known more than one woman over the years that thought sex meant love to men only to have their heart broken in the end.

It might seem old fashioned, but she only planned on sleeping with one man in her life, the man she would spend the rest of her life with. She dated over the years and handled her "needs" in other ways but never took the chance on any man she'd dated. Since she never fell in love with them it had been easy, but with Jason it was going to be difficult.

She knew without a doubt that she was in love with him and that he at least cared for her deeply, as deeply as a man like him could. Haley had no delusions about what kind of man Jason had been in the past. He'd never had a serious relationship and never cared for any woman he'd been with. Although he had changed a great deal and even matured over the past couple of months she wasn't one of those delusional women who thought she could change a man.

Jason could very well be the person to get her to break the rule of only one man for life, because she knew without a doubt he would never marry her. He might be able to handle an exclusive relationship with her, but for how long? She knew sooner or later he'd get bored and moved onto the next girl. It would hurt like hell, but she knew it was coming.

So, that left her with a very important decision to make. Did she take a chance and give herself to him, hoping her heart wouldn't completely shatter when he moved on, or keep it at the physical level that she was comfortable with?

The only thing stopping her was the regret she knew she would feel a year from now when yet another woman came screaming and banging on her door in the middle of the night.

She watched as Jason finished dressing. The entire time he scowled at her or looked longingly towards the stack of waffles, toast, eggs, bacon and sausage. Of course she cooked this for him, and he knew it on some level, but it was Jason and he took his food seriously. Too seriously, but that was a job for Dr. Phil to work through, not her.

When he finished dressing he threw his bag over his shoulder, grabbed the bottle of syrup and soaked the waffles. He grabbed a fork and the plate and headed for the door, leaving her to roll her eyes and follow him.

While she drove they ate. For every two bites he took he gave her one, which worked for her since it didn't take much to fill her up. Secretly she loved it when they did things like this, especially when he took care of her. It was so sweet. He made sure she was given the best piece of bacon or bite of sausage and always made sure to double dip her bite of waffle into the syrup, knowing how much she liked it.

By the time they pulled into the staff parking lot they had finished and the plate was on the backseat sitting on the large beach towel she put back there for times like this.

They sat there for a moment and watched as buses and cars drove up in front of the building. It occurred to her that she was suddenly nervous. After last night she thought it would be awkward first thing this morning, another reason she left the bed early. Instead they jumped right into their normal relaxed routine. Now that the food was gone and they were sitting here she was really nervous.

Did he regret what they did? Was she about to get the speech that he didn't want anything serious? Would he get pissed when he found out she wouldn't sleep with him like several men before him had? Damn it! What earth shattering thing would he say?

"You've got syrup on your lip."

Okay, not exactly life altering.

She licked her lip. "Is it gone?"

"No."

She wiped her mouth with her fingers. "How about now?"

He sighed. "I see I'm going to have to handle this." He leaned in quickly and brushed his lips against hers. She sucked in a breath as he ran his tongue over her bottom lip.

"So sweet, my little grasshopper," he whispered against her lips. He brushed his lips against hers again. "I know why you left the bed early this morning and why you made sure I had very little time to do anything else but get ready for work."

He pressed another kiss to her lips as he took her hand into his. "I'm sorry for being a jerk last night and almost making the biggest mistake of my life. I was afraid of hurting you. I know what I am and I also know you deserve a guy that can spoil you rotten and take you to all the nice places that you deserve. I-"

"Jason, I don't care about those things," she said softly.

He shook his head stubbornly. "It doesn't mean that you don't deserve them, but if you give me a chance to make up for my past stupidity, and I'm not just talking about with you, I promise that I will do my best to make you happy."

"Jason-"

"I want to try this. You and me, I mean. I know I'll most likely fuck up along the way and you'll want to ring my neck, but I want to try. I'll do my best not to hurt you."

Haley smiled, knowing that was the best she could hope for from him. She appreciated his honesty and knew that if they were going to try to make this work then she had to be honest with him, at least about the extent of their relationship. He might not like being with a woman where sex, well, intercourse wasn't involved.

She gave his hand a small squeeze. "Jason, if we're going to try this then I'd like to take things slow." He frowned. "What I mean is nothing beyond the level we were at last night." She worried her lip between her teeth. "What I mean is no actual sex."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "But, you'll still sleep with me naked and let me do a hundred other naughty things to you?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Yes."

He brushed his lips against hers again and moved back a few inches to look into her eyes. "And you'll still cook for me and call me Master?"

Her lips twitched. "Yes to the cooking and not a chance in hell for the other."

He sighed wearily. "Fine, how about Lord and Master?"

"Uh...no."

"God?"

"Nope."

"My liege?"

"Wait.....no."

He gave her one of his lopsided smiles. "I'll wear you down eventually."

She wasn't so sure he would stick around long enough to make good on that promise, but for the chance to be with him even for a short time she was willing to risk it.