Playing For Keeps (11 page)

He said something else in Spanish, but it was so sensual sounding that her thighs opened slightly in response, and as in involuntary as the movement was, it gave him the access that he needed. She stood up abruptly, almost knocking the chair over in her haste, and excused herself, quickly flushing in embarrassment at the surprised looks that she received before, rushing for the bathroom.

Once she made it there, she locked the door. One look in the mirror made her wince. Her skin was reddened. After turning on the cold water, she splashed her face and patted it dry. The results were a lot better. She jumped as someone knocked on the door.

“Keirra, are you okay?”

She sighed in relief when she realized that it was Kristen. Her relief grew when she opened the door and saw Kayla there as well. She pulled them both inside the bathroom, closed the door, and locked it once more.

Kristen frowned. “What is wrong with you?”

Keirra looked at her sisters in shock. “Eric was feeling me up under the table.”

Seconds later, Kayla and Kristen fell over each other in laughter. She narrowed her eyes, and her sisters tried not to laugh as hard but failed miserably.

Keirra folded her arms over her chest. “I should have known you two would find this funny.”

They held their hands up as they tried to straighten their faces and control their laughter.

“I’m sorry, but if you could see your face right now.” Kayla gasped.

“I can,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

Her sour expression was fitting considering the circumstances. After walking over to the commode, she sat down and crossed her legs. She knew it had been a bad idea to invite Eric, but her sister has insisted, and now she was locked in the bathroom with her sisters. Could it truly get any worse than this?

Kristen came forward first. “Come on, Keirra. You act like it is a crime to share physical contact with a person that you are attracted to.”

Keirra almost pouted. “I’m not attracted to Eric.”

“Are you certain? Those gorgeous brown eyes; silky black hair; straight teeth, nice, firm butt—”

“
Hey!
”

Kayla smiled knowingly, and Keirra realized that her older sister loved that she had the ability to get her riled up.

“Just trying to make sure you take a good look at what you have in front of you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You guys are awful to make fun of me like this.”

Kristen patted her shoulder. “Cheer up. No one ever said it was easy falling in love, but it sure is fun for those watching.”

Keirra looked at her sister and wondered if she had lost her mind. “That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. Just in case you didn’t know, the whole process is supposed to be fun for everyone if it is going to count.”

Kristen stood over her with her arms crossed. “How would you know that?”

Keirra had to keep from cursing when she realized that she’d been had again. There was no way she could pretend to be an expert at love. She gave her sisters an evil look and received a smile from both of them in return. It was times like these when she wouldn’t mind been a single child.

“You like him, and when you admit it things will be a lot easier.”

With that said, Kristen turned and left the bathroom with Kayla following her. It took Keirra a few minutes to compose herself.

How dare Kristen insinuate that she liked Eric more than what she was letting on. Even if it was true to a certain degree, she didn’t want it broadcasted to the entire world. Liking Eric more than she already did could be dangerous. Falling for an officer of the law broke her number one rule. She might be willing to take the risk of getting to know Eric, but falling in love with him was something that she wouldn’t do, something that she couldn’t allow herself to do.

Taking a deep breath, she exited the bathroom. She headed back to the kitchen and took her seat making sure to move her chair a good foot away from Eric for good measure. When she resumed eating, she was thankful for the ability to eat in peace for the rest of the meal. Unfortunately, when the meal was over, Keirra remembered that she would have to take Eric home. She didn’t know why she let her sisters bait her into doing things she knew could backfire.

Right now, she just wanted to get Eric to his home and get to her own so that she could get in bed.

She was tired after tonight’s events. They left the house right behind Kayla.

“See you at the house,” Kayla called out the window as she drove off.

Keirra got inside of her own car and started the ignition while waiting for Eric to get in. As soon as he had, she backed out of the driveway. After driving a block, she hit him in the arm then resumed driving.

“That was for your behavior tonight.”

He chuckled. “I thought that I handled myself pretty well.”

“You would,” she grumbled. She really had been shocked by his behavior.

The last thing she had expected from Eric was for him to grope her under the dinner table. A kiss maybe, but feeling her up, no. She pulled up in front of Eric’s house, and he looked over at her.

“Will you come inside for a minute?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You can’t be serious.”

He chuckled. “I have something that I want to show you.”

She shook her head. If he thought that she was going to fall for that line, he was in for a surprise.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I am sure that you do.”

He held his hand up in Scout’s honor. “Irene sent some pictures from Saturday to me by e-mail, and I printed them out.”

She sighed heavily knowing that she should head home, but she really did want to see the photos. If this was a trick, he was going to pay. She turned off the engine and stepped out of her car. He led the way up the walkway. As soon as she stepped inside, she smiled. His house was very nice. It was also very Eric. The house spoke of warmth and the sense of wanting to come in and relax.

“I will be back in a second.”

He left the room, and she did a slow circle taking everything in as she went. A second later Eric returned. Maybe he had been telling the truth because he had a package of photos he handed to her.

She took a seat on the sofa and opened the package. The photos were nice. What amazed her was she did fit in with his family.

She had a genuine smile on her face in every picture, and she was also by a member of the Brooks family in each photo telling her how much she really fit into the family. Something she never thought she would see . . . feel. The next thing she noticed was the last of the pictures seemed to be of just her and Eric. They looked really good together. It surprised her to see the happiness on her face was authentic. It was a little frightening. What scared her a little more was he was staring at her intensely in a few of the pictures. It was easy for her to interpret his look. He wanted her, and he cared for her, and it was evident in the pictures. She placed them back in the package. As much as she fought pursuing anything with him, she knew she hadn’t made a mistake.

“If you want copies let me know,” he stated as he took the photos back.

She nodded. “Yes, I would.”

She stood up and handed the photos back to him. “Thank you for showing those to me.”

“You are welcome.”

It was getting late, and she needed to get home and get ready for work. She headed for the front door. He followed close behind her. She stepped aside as he reached for the door, and opened it.

“Thank you for inviting me tonight. I had a good time.”

“I am glad you did.”

She knew as soon as the words were out of her mouth that she meant them, and when she looked up, she also knew he was going to kiss her. Eric proved her right when he stepped closer to her. His lips came down on hers, and her eyes drifted closed, but the kiss ended before she expected it to.

The amount of desire in his eyes was somewhat frightening.

“I want to take this to the next level. I want to make love to you,” he whispered, his voice raspy with need.

Her mouth dropped open, and she couldn’t close it to save her life. That had been the last thing she had expected to hear from Eric. Shock kept her from protesting as his mouth covered hers again, and the kiss seemed to go on forever until she ended the kiss. She came to her senses and put a little space in between them. Confused didn’t begin to describe how she felt. She knew she needed to think this through, and this was neither the time nor the place. If she took this step with him, there was no going back. She wouldn’t be able to keep the emotions she hid at bay, could no longer hide how much she wanted him. She needed to think about this, but there was no way she would be able to think rationally with him in such close proximity. His effect on her could only be described as intoxicating.

She brought her hands up to his chest, but instead of pushing him away like she should, she just rested them there.

“I don’t think we should do this.”

He brought his hands up to cover hers. “Why not?”

She gave him the best excuse she could think of at the time, even though it was a lousy one. “We haven’t known each other long enough.”

He searched her expression. “Do you really feel that way?”

When she didn’t answer, he let go of her hands and opened the front door wider to give her room to escape. For some reason unknown to her, at least consciously, she didn’t take the escape route.

Instead, she closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before reopening them. He stood there, giving her a way out, and she knew she should take it. Instead, she pushed the door closed and fumbled until she found the lock.

Eric took over for her, making sure his door was locked before sweeping her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. He carried her down the hall to his room. When they made it to his room, he set her on her feet. He made quick work of their clothes making her wonder if she had what it took to satisfy Eric. She had a nice body, and she was sure of it because she did aerobics with Billy Blanks three mornings out of the week. Yet, she still felt nervous. She would find out soon enough.

Before she could blink, they were on the bed, and he was over her. His attention fell to her breasts.

She definitely had enough to please. Instead of going straight for her breasts, he shocked her by bringing his lips down on hers. Another shock came when his hands slid between them and found her hot and moist like he had at the dinner table. This time there was no underwear in the way. A gasp escaped her as he began to increase feelings that she wasn’t familiar with. Desire surged through her, and she clutched at his shoulders.

The pleasure became unbearable, and her hips began to move on their own accord. Her release followed shortly afterward, and she made sounds that would embarrass her later. She was breathing heavily when he moved away from her. Just as she was getting ready to protest, she heard the rattle of a foil packet and knew that he was protecting them. She was thankful for that, and when he came back over her, she smiled. He began to enter her. It felt different from anything she had ever experienced before. She moaned as the pleasure began to build up in her once more. The moan turned into a gasp as Eric slid completely into her. There was brief discomfort, but it was gone before it really registered. He held still and made sure that she was okay before moving again. She tightened around him instinctively, and he gritted his teeth to hold himself in check.

He didn’t have to worry about his control or lack of for long. A few deep strokes later, she climaxed again on a sharp cry of pleasure. The feel of her body rhythmically tightening and relaxing around him pulled him over the edge with her. He whispered her name, and the emotion behind it made her shiver. She was grateful when he summoned enough strength to move to the side instead of crushing her with his weight. His arms went around her, and she marveled at how good it felt to have them around her. Her joy faded a little as she thought about what she would have to do to stay there.

Keirra shifted in her sleep then went still as she brushed into something hairy and solid. Her eyes popped open, and she groaned silently at the soreness she felt. She’d thought last night was a dream.

Now that she realized it hadn’t been, she could feel her heart rate speed up. Had she done something she now regretted? Well if she did, she wasn’t going to have time to think about it because Eric chose that moment to open his eyes. He smiled as his gaze met hers.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she mumbled.

Not thinking, she made the mistake of sitting up. Realizing she was naked, she quickly pulled the covers up over her, even though she knew it was a foolish notion. The man had seen her body already—all of it. Her cheeks heated at the thoughts of what he had done to her naked body.

His hand came up and touched her arm. “Are you okay?”

She dropped her face into her hands and shook her head. Her thoughts were racing in several directions. It was mostly confusion. Was she moving too fast? Should she have taken the emotional risk she had by sleeping with Eric? She already knew the answer to the question before she finished it. Getting involved with an officer went against everything that she wanted, but anything that was going to be said was interrupted by the phone ringing. She watched his muscles ripple as he performed the simple task of reaching for the phone. He spoke into the receiver, chuckled, and looked at her.

“Yes, she is.”

She closed her eyes in horror knowing it was one of her sisters, and worse yet they knew she had spent the entire night with Eric. There was no way she was going to live this down anytime soon. He laughed bringing her back to the current dilemma at hand. How could she get out of bed in the least confrontational way?

“Okay. I will.”

When he hung up the phone, he was still grinning. “That was Kayla making sure you were up.”

Keirra closed her eyes and groaned. Things couldn’t get any worse than this.

“She told me to make sure I send you off with a smile.”

She had been wrong about things not getting worse than they already were. Shaking her head, she swung her legs over the bed. She went to get out of the bed, and Eric reached out and grabbed her.