Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“He’s lost everything, Naz. He has two kids with a good woman, but she left when he spiraled again. She had just been through too much. She’s with another guy now, and Cliff is finally getting access to the kids again. He’s piecing things back together.”
“I reached out a few times in the past, but he was never receptive.” I take both her hands in mine. “But if there’s anything I can ever do to help, let me know.”
“Maybe give up on this idea of us going out,” she says softly, half-hopefully.
“We shouldn’t have to.” I tighten my grip on her fingers and shake my head, holding her eyes with mine. “I get why then it was bad timing, but maybe now…it could be right.”
She sucks her teeth but makes no move to pull her hands away. “It’s not worth the drama it’ll cause if Cliff finds out.”
“Not worth it to who?” I ask, stepping closer, filling the small space between her knees. With one finger, I lift her chin, caressing the tiny indentation bisecting the delicate surface. “I’d like to at least see if it could be worth it to me.”
Even now, this close, the pull between us is strong, vital. I lean forward, never dropping her eyes from mine, giving her plenty of time to pull away, to push me away, if she chooses.
She doesn’t choose.
The shorter the distance between our lips, the closer I get, the shorter her breaths come, shallow pants that lift her breasts and coast past her full lips. I’m so close now, we exchange a ragged sigh, my mouth hovering over hers.
“I’mma kiss you now,” I whisper. “Unless you tell me not to.”
Her silence stretches between us, and her lashes drop to cover the emotions swimming in her eyes—curiosity, lust, need.
Guilt.
I press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth, nibble at the full curve of her bottom lip, lick the delicately drawn bow at the top. She gasps, her mouth opening the smallest bit. I take immediate advantage, licking into her, seeking and finding the sweet, slick interior. She moans, and I suck on her tongue, at first gentle, and then incited by the whimpers slipping from her throat, harder.
I cup her face between my hands, thumbing the smooth skin of her cheeks. The cadence of the kiss changes, intensifies as our movements become more hurried, more desperate. I slide my palms down her neck, over her shoulders and back.
“You feel good,” I mutter against her lips.
I kiss across her cheek and behind her ear, drawing in the clean scent tucked into the cove for me there. “You smell good.”
I trail kisses down her throat, taking the satiny skin between my lips and nipping lightly with my teeth. “You taste good.”
She arches her neck back, offering herself to me.
“I’d like to spend some time with you,” I whisper in her ear. “The date we never got before.”
She stiffens, pulling back and closing her eyes, her lips still swollen from my bites and kisses. “Naz, I can’t.”
“Takira, don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not being ridiculous.” Shaking her head, she hops off the table, pushes past me, and grabs her shoes, hooking the heels over one hand. “I’m choosing my brother.”
She walks away swiftly, but it takes no time to catch her. With legs as long as mine, one of my steps equals two of hers. I take her by the elbow at the base of the stairs, turning her to face me.
“That’s not the real choice, Takira. Not me or him. It’s just you and me. He’s a grown man who’s experienced incredible disappointment and made a lot of mistakes. I sympathize with that, but he can’t expect you to pay for them. That’s not fair.”
“It doesn’t make sense, his anger at you,” she says, tugging her elbow free. “His grudge against you isn’t fair, but you’re a trigger for him, and he almost died. Didn’t you hear me?”
“I heard you say he’s been clean for a long time and has a new job.”
“Exactly, and I don’t want jeopardize that because you’re an itch I never got to scratch.”
“Oh, we’re gonna scratch, Kira.”
My words come out soft and certain in a way she may not recognize, but I do. It’s the tone I’ve heard from myself when I want something badly, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it. I willed myself to reach beyond my skill the night I subbed for Cliff. I pushed myself all through college so I would shine hidden among brighter, better talents. It’s what I required of myself to go from a second-round draft pick to an all-star who, against all odds, won a ring in the League when most never do.
At my words, low and determined, she pauses, one bare foot on the step, and considers me over her shoulder. She doesn’t want me? Fine. But she didn’t kiss me like a woman who didn’t want me back.