Played by Love (New Adult Romance): A #Played Novella (4 page)

He didn’t seem to mind, his tongue flicking between her lips, lightly teasing. She unbuttoned his shirt and spread her hands over his hard, smooth chest, raising goose bumps.

Melting into his kisses, she claimed his lips, her tongue demanding his, heated and deep.

He responded with a groan and played his warm, slippery tongue around hers, lashing her lips and ramming into her mouth, devouring her with sweeping strokes.

A rumble of desire rose from deep within Ella’s belly and she rubbed herself against his length, her breasts dragging across his chest.

Her movements unleashed Jaden’s restraint. He dipped his hungry mouth to her breasts and suckled through her clothes, driving Ella into a frenzy of need and want.

Lifting her arms, she yanked her top off and Jaden lowered the shoulder straps of her bra.

“What would you like me to do there, dear Ella? Tell me.” His voice deepened sinfully.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

“Louder, I can’t hear you. And what else?”

“Kiss me and suck on them.” Oh, it felt too weird to express. “I’m not really that you know …”

“Shhh … no explanation needed, I respect you totally. It’s okay if you’re horny.” The chiseled lines of his sexy mouth curved and a dimple appeared under his eye. He fluttered a kiss on her lips and moved downward, licking a silky trail down her neck, his tongue dragging tingles of delight.

Her fingers dug into his hair, guiding him down to the valley between her breasts. He palmed them, pushing them to his smoothly shaven jaw. She sighed and jostled his mouth closer, and when he wrapped his hot, slick tongue around her nipple, she moaned, pressing herself harder against him.

He skimmed her waist with his hand and tucked his fingers into her shorts. Ella quickly undid the snap and lowered the zipper, allowing his strong, sturdy fingers to probe and nudge. Meanwhile, his mouth worked her breasts into pert, upright mounds, and Ella didn’t know which sensation to enjoy more.

She unbuckled his belt and fumbled with his zipper. Jaden raised his hips and slid his jeans off. The head of his cock poked from his boxers, causing Ella’s panties to moisten. Without asking, she tugged his boxers down, freeing his huge erection.

Gulp. She should have expected it given the size of his hands. Her hand hovered over it, hesitant to touch, but Jaden cupped his hand around hers and helped her move, stretching the velvety skin over the hard smooth rod.

“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered.

Jaden groaned and blew on her nipple. “You feel pretty good yourself. Tell me what you want me to do next.”

A shivery chill of delight prickled her skin. No man had ever asked her to choose. It was like being at a dessert buffet. She could fulfil her wildest fantasies, if only she were bold enough to ask.

“I might be more comfortable on the bed.”

“Really? I thought you’d like to ride me here. Like this.” He tilted the chair back and forth, rocking her, while the wheels rolled beneath them.

“That’s for later, advanced techniques.”

“Are you a beginner?” His eyebrow twisted in a puzzled shape.

“Not a beginner, but most of the guys I’ve been with were the hump-em-and-dump-em types. You know, brutes.”

“Which I’m not.”

“Nope, I read that players are not good lovers because all they care about is themselves.”

“I’m definitely not a player.” Jaden grabbed her by the waist and lifted her. He swung her around, laying her onto his bed where she shimmied her shorts down to her knees.

“Help me with the shoes?” She loosened her hip-hop high-tops and he pulled them off.

“You still haven’t said what you want next.” Jaden enunciated clearly, as if he were practicing English in a language lab.

“Lie down next to me and rub your hands all over my body,” she said, breathlessly.

“Just all over?” The bed sank where his weight pressed in. “Any particular spot?”

“Between my legs, please.” She beckoned to him with her fingers and pulled his body over hers.

His weight was comforting, protective, not smothering like the slobs she had before, and his body was hairless, like he’d had a wax job. Except it was natural. She couldn’t get enough of the silky feel over hard, knotted muscle, the beauty of his fine body.

Ella shuddered at all the possibilities a guy with such a body could do her. First things first, she wanted him the regular, all-American way, missionary style. Then, and only then, could she loosen up to enjoy all the exotic delights Jaden offered.

His hands caressed her, long strokes down her back and squeezing her behind. His mouth found hers again, and he kissed her slowly, lusciously, as if he had all the time in the world. She held onto his cock, moving the moist head against her belly and around her pubic area.

“Touch me down there, Jaden,” she muttered, her breathing heavier, more urgent, searching for relief.

Skillful fingers parted her folds and found her clit, feathering it with a light, paper-thin touch. A million tingles fluttered like butterfly wings. Ella let out the breath she held, her muscles relaxing. Jaden was no brute who crushed a woman’s delicate parts. Behind his muscles was an incredibly sensitive man.

His finger found a rhythm matching the movements of her hips and a rapping beat stirred her mind as she sought her release. Jaden’s mouth on hers cooled and heated her. His cock against her leg reassuring, a promise of greater delights.

Colors merged behind her eyelids, and her sense of smell heightened, taking in the musky warmth of a man’s bed, the minty sweetness of his breath, the dark undertones of his arousal. Ella held onto the threads of pleasure, bucking and jerking her hips, silently urging Jaden to increase the pressure.

He seemed to understand, to know instinctively what she wanted. When he inserted his finger into her, bending and curving to hit her pleasure spot, she could barely hold back.

A torrent of passion slammed her with feverish chills, and a spike shot up from her crotch to caress her brain with a mind altering orgasm.

Shrill alarm bells screamed at high pitch, accompanying her screams of pleasure.

Jaden jumped from the bed and threw her clothes at her. “I smell smoke. We have to get out of here.”

“No way. That’s your robotic arm pulling the alarm.” Ella’s body shivered hot and cold. Talk about coming off the top of an volcanic explosion and tossed into a pool of ice water.

Jaden tilted his head back, laughing as he shut off the siren and flashing lights. “Sound activated alarm. You, Ella Kennedy, are one hot, hawt, HOT chick.”

“Oh yeah?” She turned it back on and pounced on him. “Prepare to shout, loud and proud.”

“So, are you two, like, in a relationship?” Tricia slurped her bowl of ramen noodles.

Ella lay on her bed in the dorm room with a bag of buttered popcorn. “I asked him to Cosplay-Con in Las Vegas.”

A tingling shiver quivered around her shoulders at the thought of being in a relationship with Jaden. Nothing had been said, but by the way he acted, attentive and gallant, he was definitely smitten.

“Wow, you did?” Tricia squealed. “What did he say?”

“He checked the dates and said sure, he had a convention, some kind of sports medicine thing-a-ma-jig, at the same time, but he said he’ll hang with me when he’s free.”

“Oh, cool. He can’t miss the dance opening night. What’s he going as?”

Ella crunched on a particularly salty piece of corn and spat it out. “He said I could surprise him. Of course I took the opportunity to measure him everywhere.”

“Oh, really? Everywhere? And how does he measure?”

Ella’s mouth watered at the recollection of wrapping Jaden with a tape measure. “More than enough. Stop bugging me about details.”

“What? I thought white girls love to share.”

“Now who’s stereotyping?” Ella laughed, kicking her heels on the bed. “How come you didn’t tell me he was raised by white parents? Adopted from Korea when he was a baby?”

She’d dug up this tiny detail by doing a reverse lookup on the phone number he marked ‘home’ and found his parents’ business. They owned a huge spread in Woodside, just over the Bay. His father was the CEO of an offshore manufacturer and his mother ran an exotic bird hatchery. Online photo albums showed Jaden growing up among colorful macaws and cockatoos.

“I wanted to laugh at you,” Tricia said. “Twisting your tongue to say, ‘I want to have sex’ in Korean every morning.”

“Well, it worked.” Ella wiggled her hips. “And since you wanted to know, Jaden’s an awesome lover. He knows exactly what I want and gives it to me, over and over. What stamina for a guy who spends his time in front of a computer.”

“I wonder why?” Tricia hid her mouth and laughed. “Does he do a lot of aerobic exercise?”

“How did you know? He works out with the soccer team, but only because his mom wants him to be an orthopedic surgeon after herself.”

Yeah, right. There wasn’t a ‘Jaden Song’ anywhere near the soccer team, but the hot goalie happened to be Jaden Sloup. The man masquerading as a Korean nerd was actually a jock.

“And you’re okay with that? I mean, you wouldn’t want him to pick up any ‘jock habits.’” Tricia asked, her voice inflecting disbelief.

“He won’t. He’s way too intelligent. Besides, he’s proved to be one of the good guys.” Her shoulders tingled just thinking about how he always cuddled and caressed her after making love. And since he didn’t know she knew, he tried all the harder to be a good boy.

For now, Ella wasn’t going to let Jaden know she was onto him. Instead, she’d play along and see how long he’d keep up the charade, and boy did she intend to make him sweat at the convention. It was going to be so much fun. Hee, hee.

“I think I’ll have him go as Zack Fair.” She fingered a shiny black piece of cloth she had left over from her last costume. “I’m going to be Lightning.”

Tricia thumped the table. “Humpf, you should be Aerith if he’s Zack, I want to be Lightning.”

“But Lightning’s a blonde.”

“So? Watch me dye my hair.” Tricia threw a pillow at Ella.

“You should be Yuffie. She’s really feminine.” Ella made a googly face at Tricia, knowing she hated to be a girly girl, and that Yuffie was a bad-ass tomboy.

“Yuffie’s not a sissy.” Tricia rose to the bait. “She’s a thief and she’s proud, cocky and tough.”

“Oh yeah? Bet you couldn’t act her if you tried,” Ella jeered. “Besides, her costume’s hot. You know, maybe you’re right. You should be Lightning. She doesn’t have a bare midriff.”

“Fine. I’m not telling you. Top secret.”

“Kind of hard when you’re my roomie,” Ella teased. “But then, I’m going to be staying with Jaden.”

“Good luck getting any sewing done. And see if I drive you to the fabric store.” Tricia huffed, bouncing on her bed with her arms crossed.

“Not a problem. Jaden’s at an away game shadowing the team doctor and he left me his car keys to his Maserati.” Ella extracted a suitcase from the closet. “See you at the convention.”

# # #

“When are you going to tell Ella you’re a jock?” Mark slammed his shoulder into Jaden’s. “Just checking your reflexes.”

Jaden rammed Mark with his hip. “Not for a while.”

“Really? She hasn’t suspected?”

Jaden lifted the barbell and placed it on the bench press rack. “She did ask about the bruises, but I told her you and me are always punching each other. She thinks it’s an Asian guy thing to toughen each other up, kind of like martial arts.”

“She doesn’t know you’re adopted?” Mark slid fifty pound weights onto the bar.

“Nope. Thinks my last name’s Song and wonders why she can’t find anything about me on the Internet. I told her my parents are really strict and didn’t allow me to make social accounts.”

“And you’re so obedient.” Mark punched his arm. “Such a good Asian boy, dutiful and respectful.”

“That’s what she likes about me.” Jaden took his position under the bar with Mark spotting him.

“Heard you’re going with her to Vegas. How are you going to manage being away at the game?”

Jaden balanced the two-hundred-twenty pound bar and lowered it to his chest. “Fancy footwork. She’s not interested in sports medicine, so I’ll gift her a spa massage and treatment during game time.”

“You must be really into her,” Mark said, his hands on the bar, but not helping with the lifting.

Jaden pressed four reps and strained on the fifth. It was hard not to like her. Ella was fun, enthusiastic, and straightforward, never holding anything back.

She even told him about her almost-rape at the hands of a bunch of drunk jocks at a convention. Just because she was dressed as Slave Leia didn’t mean she wanted to be manhandled. His heart twinged at the thought of her helpless and afraid. No wonder she’d panicked when a group of athletes surrounded her outside the costume party where they’d met. If she knew he was one of them …

He’d better not get his hopes up. Once she found out he, too, was an athlete, she’d write him off as a player, a phony, a user.

Puffing with all his might, he pushed the barbell onto the rack and sat up, wiping his face with his shirt. “She’s fun, for now.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark added weight to the bar. “Don’t tell me your parents want you to marry a nice Korean girl.”

“She doesn’t have to be Korean, but I definitely want someone less crazy. Ella wants me to wear a costume to Cosplay-Con.” There, that sounded rational, leaving him a way out of this mess.

Mark lay down on the bench and rubbed his hands. “Yeah, and we know crazy, sexy, dancers who keep their bodies toned and trim enough to wear scanty, revealing warrior princess costumes don’t make good wives.”

“She doesn’t like sports, or jocks, or frat boys. Means she won’t like me when she finds out.”

“You can say that again.” Mark hefted the barbell which now weighed two-hundred-fifty pounds off the bar. “Keeping secrets is bad. Real bad.”

“You’re not going to say anything to Tricia, are you?” Jaden watched his friend carefully as he went through the reps.

“About what? That you’re a jock? She thinks it’s hilarious how Ella, a girl who knows how to build a GNU toolchain, can’t figure out who you really are.”