Open Play (Passion Players), page 28
Ayanna was in immediate trouble when her eyes absorbed the softly lit contours of his body. His hair was out of its ponytail. She hadn’t seen it loose since the first day she’d arrived, when he’d helped her retrieve her clementine. It was longer now, the ends sweeping lightly over the curves of his collarbones, and it fit him so well. Too well.
She sat on the bed, her mouth dry, and she tried to find words to fit the moment, but she came up empty. Speaking was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to reconnect her lips with his, to feel him and taste him as his tongue moved with hers.
Shane checked on her, only to catch her devouring him with her eyes. Though he hesitated, he was breathing heavily, and desire was clearly present across his beautiful features.
Thunder clapped again, and Ayanna pounced backward on the bed. Shane’s agile body made it to the bed in two strides, and instead of sitting down next to her, he curled up behind her. Her chest rose and fell in anticipation, and when his hands encircled her waist and pulled her to lie close to him, she didn’t resist.
“It only took a storm and a heart full of fear to get you into my bed?” he said against her ear.
“Doesn’t hurt that the storm raging outside has me all discombobulated,” she said.
The low rumble of his laugh vibrated the bed and echoed hauntingly in the electricity-free house. “I should thank the elements, then,” he said.
She rolled over to face him, the vision of him stretched out on the bed one she’d gladly stare at all night. Yet much had been on her mind over the last week, as she’d been left only with her own doubting thoughts, without him to contradict them. “I haven’t seen much of you since the wedding,” she said.
He traced the outline of her face with his fingertips, sending a chain reaction down her spine. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured to do anything you didn’t want to do. Weddings have a way of making things feel more possible that might not otherwise exist.”
She wiggled her body closer to his until their legs touched and their feet rubbed together in a game of footsie. “And you think I feel that way?”
“No, but I did,” he sighed. “There’s been lots to consider, Ayanna. I’ve wrestled with this for some time now because ever since I met you, I’ve realized it might be time for this pact I have with Eoghan to expire.”
“What you and Eoghan have been through is a big deal. I honor your friendship, I really do. The way you’ve supported him reminds me of me and Charlotte, but after learning about this pact, I’ve felt . . .” She paused. “I’ll just come right out and say it. It’s unfair, Shane, especially to you.”
“It took me a long while to see that what I feel can’t be determined by an agreement I should have never made.”
“Shane—”
“Hear me, love.” His hand rested on her chin.
“Okay.” She quieted all the impulsive responses building in her throat.
“I figured we’d talk eventually, but I didn’t want to see the regret in your eyes if for any reason . . .” He trailed off, and she knew his next words were too important for him to swallow this time.
She propped herself on one elbow. “Say it. I’m listening, Shane.” She stroked the soft hair that framed the candle-highlighted contours of his face.
“If for any reason you changed your mind and didn’t want me,” he said.
He ripped her heart right out of her rib cage, and her throat constricted with emotion. “I do want you, Shane. I’ve always wanted you.” She’d broken her own rules for him, and on a much deeper level, no matter how hard she tried to negotiate with her feelings, they had other plans.
He wore his struggle between the loyal friend and the lover on his face. She should stop this to save him from this dilemma, regardless of what she thought about it, but all the discipline she’d acquired over the years was completely useless against his intense blue eyes.
“It’s not easy for me, Ayanna, but . . .” He sighed. “But with you . . .”
She slid her hand down his arm and gripped his hand to put it on her waist. Her hand cupped his cheek and caressed his beard, scratching her fingers through the hair and smoothing over it. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He hauled her to him, enveloping her in a bear hug, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him. She hoped she made him feel at least half as safe as she felt in his arms.
“Love and attraction come naturally to people who are meant to be together,” he whispered in her ear.
“That’s from the wedding ceremony.” Her heart pounded.
“This feels natural, you, me, Ayanna. It always has.”
“For me too, Shane.” She never wanted that feeling to end.
He joined his mouth with hers, matching her desperation for the ultimate closeness. The rough hair of his beard bruised her lips as he licked into her mouth and then soothed her skin with traveling kisses. All the while his large hand explored the length of her body before settling on the soft flesh of her breasts.
“And maybe,” he said between kisses, “I can give you a reason to like storms a little bit more.”
She moaned, trying to perform the impossible task of pressing her body even closer to his. The feel of him had become her own personal drug that both calmed and invigorated her. He scared her shitless, yet there was no safer place for her than in his arms.
He twirled her into his body, and the length of her back hit the wall of his muscled torso. He cupped her breast from behind, squeezing and kneading, his thumb teasing her nipple through her thin summer dress. He wrapped his legs around her like he’d never let her go, and she felt the imprint of his hardening shaft on the crack of her ass.
“Is this okay, Ayanna?”
“More than okay.” She reached for his roaming hand and clamshelled it at her center. The truth was she’d wanted to give herself to him for months, but he’d been an expensive gamble that could cost her everything, from the life she knew to her sanity. Now, here with him, she bet it all.
“Jesus, Ayanna. I want to do everything to you, with you,” he said, fondling her through her cotton underwear.
His words sent her soaring.
“You’re soft and perfect like I knew you’d be.” He pulled his fingers out of her death grip, and his fingers crept into the top side of her panties. Ayanna opened so wide that her leg rested on Shane’s thigh, brazenly exposing herself to the room as she hooked the top of her foot over his calf. He rubbed the soft skin of her pussy, and her hips moved in strained small circles as her hunger for him spread through her.
“I need you, Shane.” She was hot and eager, and she puppeted his hand to slip inside her slit with hers.
Shane kissed and bit her neck as two of his fingers and one of hers stretched her canal. She welcomed the growing intensity. Even in bed they worked together.
“Your gash is soaking wet, Ayanna,” Shane said, and without another word, he removed his hand and flipped her on her stomach. He pushed feverishly at her panties, as did she, to get them off. Kneeling behind her, Shane gripped her hips. He propped her ass up, and his teeth teased with gentle bites over the thickest parts of her. She stretched and arched, calling him to what felt good and where she wished he’d go. He spread her legs before burying his head between her thighs. Her dress gathered around her breasts.
“Oh fuck, Shane. Yes.” She clutched the pillows and squealed into them as he ate her out from behind. As he lapped at her love juices, he caressed her from her lower back, down her ass, and to the backs of her legs.
“I’m going to drink all of you,” he moaned, his words vibrating against her clit. “Every fucking drop.”
Her knees dug into the mattress as her hips quivered at the feel of his tongue against her heat. Each gentle caress he graced her with strummed at her heartstrings, and in these moments, she let him into her very being, where she’d hold him forever no matter what happened.
He slid his fingers into her. It was more than two. The combination of the pressure on her G-spot and his flickering tongue and mouth on her lips and clit sent her soaring. The throb of her approaching orgasm ached as his other hand squeezed. “Shane,” she called, and she was undone. “I’m gonna come. Don’t stop.”
He obliged her with quickening speed, and Ayanna’s arrival burst through her body as she rocked back and forth like a jockey on a horse. The air in the room was warm from their body heat, and the sound of rain whipping against the windows was as tumultuous as the orgasm spasming through her body. Shane held her to his mouth and bathed her with tender, intimate touches until she screamed at his relentless sucking, and she trembled as the sensation of release fluttered throughout her lower belly. She had enjoyed sex before, but this? Never like this. Never with Shane. Was this what it felt like to truly give all of herself to love?
Shane pulled her up enough to lift her dress over her head and tossed it aside. With her back to him, she couldn’t see him and craned her neck to get a dim glance at the intense desire on his face. “Was that nice, flower?” he asked.
“Yes.” She gave him her mouth. She didn’t know when he removed his briefs, but the full measure of his engorged cock poked against her ass. She wanted every inch inside her. Even more than that—she needed it.
“You’re beautiful, Shane.” She ran her hand over his defined arms and over his muscled chest and abs.
Kissing him, Ayanna maneuvered herself around to face him. His lips made love to her in a kiss so soft she felt a sob building in her chest. “The way you kiss me,” she mumbled against him. She breathed and groaned, this tenderness drugging her, arousing her. She tasted him and herself the deeper his tongue dived into her mouth. “No one has ever kissed me like this. Ever.”
“The way you kiss me,” he teased, and his arm hooked around her waist to steady them both. “I never want you to stop.”
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but their mouth play continued, each lick, suck, and nibble feeling as good as the last.
“You’re the music in my heart, flower. You must know that,” he breathed against her lips, filling her heart with a joy she couldn’t describe. He didn’t need to touch her anyplace else, and if they went on this way, she’d surely come just from this intimate moment with him.
“You mean everything to me, Shane,” she gushed. Ending the earthshaking connection of their kiss nearly broke her heart, but she needed to pleasure him. She rocked her hips to leverage her legs back and pressed loving kisses on his stomach. Her caress progressed all the way down to his pelvis until she positioned herself on her hands and knees before him. His hand glided through her hair as she looked up at him, his hair veiling his face.
“Can I kiss you here?” she asked, knowingly, teasingly.
He raked his other hand through his strawberry-colored strands, revealing his anticipation. “Yes. I’d like that.” His chest heaved, and the tempo of his caress urged her to keep going. “Fuck, I want that more than anything, Ayanna.”
She nuzzled her face into the curls around his stiff cock and to the soft balls below. He smelled and tasted of cedar wood and floral greens from the soap he used. His fragrance further enticed her to action. Her hand gripped him, and she slid him into her mouth, sucking him in with appreciation.
“Fucking hell,” he hissed, and he slid down to the bed. “Take it all, love.”
Ayanna loved his size, even if she needed to expand the limits of her reflexes. Knowing she made him feel a fraction of how good he made her feel gave her all the motivation she needed. She felt his large hands glide down her back, and she arched, sending her ass into the air. As she lapped him from base to tip, he traced the split of her ass. His hand disappeared momentarily, and she peeked to witness him wetting his fingers. His hand returned to her ass, sliding into her crack and finding her hole. She arched farther.
“Mm-hmm,” she affirmed, wiggling her hips in anticipation. She trusted him more than she’d trusted any other man with her body and knew that he’d never physically hurt her. “Please, Shane. I trust you. Please don’t stop.”
Inside he went, slowly, gently. She groaned and lurched against the loving touch. Deeper he caressed. She’d seen his large hand do many things over the past few months. Aid a friend in practice, make her coffee, hold her hand, type an email, and massage his beard, but this particular skill of his finger trumped them all. She envisioned what they must look like. Her perpendicular to him with his dick in her mouth and him bent over her back with his finger in her asshole. A fresh stream of wetness slicked her pussy, and she reached to please herself.
Ayanna was elated to please him this way. Shane palmed her rear, squeezing her flesh with one hand while steadying himself with the other. He entangled his fingers in her curls, her hand followed, and together they pressed gently on the back of her head. She did her best to accommodate his massive size in her mouth and throat. Her aching pussy wanted him, but not until she had satisfied him. Not until she made love to him the way he’d made love to her.
“What you doin’ there?” he huffed and gently stroked her arm as she rubbed her fingers on her clit.
She released his cock with smacking lips. “Your hands are full,” she said. She licked the tip of his cock, and he groaned.
“Do that again,” he commanded.
She did as she was told, lingering, playing.
He caressed her cheek. “I’ll come if you continue.”
“Sounds very good to me.”
“You’re a beautiful little devil.” His soft laugh wrapped her snug and tight like a steamed dumpling.
She went to take him in her mouth again, but when he hoisted her up and flipped her on her back, it was clear he had other plans.
She yelped, grabbing onto him. He pressed her gently back and hurried off the bed. She heard the familiar sound of a plastic wrapper as he tore it open, and she watched him fit himself with latex. He climbed between her legs, and she accommodated his body.
He lined himself up for entry. “I need you now, flower,” he said, hovering over her. He was strong and powerful between her thighs, and when he dived deep into her, she wasn’t prepared for the way his cock filled her. “Shane,” she hollered.
He stilled and retreated, but she clutched his hips, shaking her head. “Don’t pull out,” she groaned.
“I’m sorry, I-I didn’t realize . . .” Stress covered his face.
Ayanna tried to iron out the lines on his face with her fingertips. “That’s the same dick I just had in my mouth, right?” she teased.
“Same one.” Breathless, Shane tried to smile, but she could see his worry. “I’ve gone and hurt you, love.”
“No.” She pecked his lips several times. “I just wasn’t expecting . . . you’re larger . . .” She had a hard time explaining herself. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Do you want me to stop?” Shane said. “Fuck, I don’t want to, but I will.”
“No.” She held his face. “You make me feel good, Shane. I don’t want you to ever stop making me feel like this.”
His lips made love to hers so tenderly it hurt. Kissing, soothing, and asking for forgiveness. “I want to see your face when you come this time, Ayanna. Let me see how good I make you feel.”
She moved against him slowly to allow her body to acclimate to the new entry. “Please, baby, make me feel good.” She smiled.
“Straightaway.” He glided in and out, and she relished the feel of every blood-rich vein and ridge of his cock. “You’re so good and tight, Ayanna.”
Her hand smoothed over tense muscles, and his reddening skin glistened with perspiration. He went deeper with each glorious push.
“Come on, baby,” she said, heaving, unable to look away from the blue eyes that locked on her as they moved together.
His thrusts sped up while he stole breathless kisses. “Fuck!” he shouted into her mouth, crushing her with his forearms.
She received every spasm, feeling the heat of his seed as he jerked into the latex shield.
Ayanna was so wet and close to orgasm. She held Shane’s face, kissed him and caressed him with love in every touch. She felt his hands slide between her legs until his fingers found her clit. Even as he rode the wave of his own pleasure, he continued to massage every drop of her pleasure out of her. “Come for me, Ayanna. Let me hear you. I need . . .” He grunted and rubbed her pussy until she writhed underneath him.
“Sh—fu . . . oh fuck, Shane!” Her arrival exploded from every part of her, fracturing her into delicate, sensitive pieces. She rode the crest of each wave washing over her. She fastened her legs around him and dug her fingernails into him. Her body bucked, and she squeezed her thighs as the shock waves reverberated through her from her toes to the crown of her head.
When her body finally settled, Shane was lying on his side facing her, and he pulled her in close. He intertwined his legs with hers and cradled her in his arms.
“I love you, Ayanna.”
“Shane,” she began, but he silenced her with a kiss that curled her toes.
“I have ever since I saw you with the old man before I met you for the match at Aviva,” he said.
Ayanna placed her chin on his chest. “What?” She didn’t want to tell him he sounded delirious, so she listened.
“That day when I met you at the pub. Before I even knew who you were, I saw this beautiful Black woman in rival colors.” Shane touched her nose. “You’re small, Ayanna, but you think you’re big. I saw you guard the old man, on your own, in a sea of people, as if you were a seven-foot-tall gladiator. I loved your heart and the kindness you showed to a stranger. It was only a matter of time before I fell in love with you.”
Ayanna smiled and squeezed him tighter, but she was speechless. Her head swirled, and her heart swelled. She wanted to tell him she felt the same, that he was all she’d ever dreamed of and wanted, that she loved him so much that she lost herself completely in him, and that was exactly why she had to let him go.
“You don’t have to speak your feelings, but . . .” He paused. “I hope one day you will.”
