Page 13 of Pretty

My thighs clenched tightly, and my knees cradled the sides of his head. I bit my bottom lip, licking at the metallic taste of blood, and I shuddered as his tongue coaxed my nectar forward. Soft mewling sounds escaped me, as he continued softly licking my lower lips, soaking up every single drop.

I lay clutching the sheets. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to regain control of my breaths. My hair was all over the place, and some of the tendrils were plastered against my temples, and my forehead was soaked in a sheen of sweat.

He shifted his position with both of his elbows coming to rest on either side of my head. Tender kisses rained on my face, slowly moving to my lips. I savored the taste of myself on him, slightly earthy and musky, but not unpleasant.

“Are you okay?” he whispered against my lips.

“Mm-hmm.” I dragged out the sound.

His down-turned eyes were heavy with desire as he watched me with intensity.

“Good.” Drew grabbed a condom from the nightstand and stroked his massive dick for several long moments, before he covered it and then, finally, painstakingly eased inside of me. “Look at me,” he ordered, as my eyes drooped closed.

Obeying his command, I watched as he lowered himself to kiss me. He bit my lips with just enough force to bring awareness when my eyes closed again. He was determined not to let me shut him out.

His tongue softly stroked the insides of my mouth the way his dick stroked my walls. Eventually, he captured my tongue and sucked it. His movements were gentle and pleasurable. My fingers stroked his hard, muscled back as he lifted slightly, sweeping against my insides.

Drew was a big man, but a well-defined one. He had the body of a professional football player, bulky, strong, and toned with hard-defined muscle. His upper torso was powerful with thick shoulders and a broad chest. He tucked one arm underneath me and lifted me as he lifted himself.

The dancing and the kiss at the art showing had wound down to this. The moment we both knew was coming from the moment I first asked him to kiss me. This was the thing I tried to pretend I wasn’t interested in but knew it was coming.

He spent himself inside of the condom that sheathed him, just as I spasmodically exploded into another orgasmic heap. I was completely expunged of anything, but he continued to softly stroke me. A smile edged itself on my lips, and a soft sigh disturbed the wisps of hair that fell into my face.

Drew rolled off me and pulled me close to nestle in his arms. His fingers softly caressed my shoulder, before he lifted his head and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

My eyes closed, not bothering to deny what it was. My senses kicked into overdrive. I had a one-night stand with a man I didn’t know. All my years of practical behaviors and exemplifying what it meant to be a lady meant nothing. It had all been tossed out the door in a moment of lust. I’d been nothing more than a bitch in heat, needing to get my kitty stroked. Now what?

How did one make gracious exits after something like that? How did those things work? What would my exit look like in the morning after the storm passed? “Thanks for the sex, but now I have to get home”? or “That was great. It’s been forever since I’ve been able to cum by a man dicking me down good, but now the party’s over, and I have to get back to reality”?

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say or do, but I didn’t expect the words that came from his mouth.

“I think the storm is passing, and if nothing else good came out of this weekend, at least you can say you’ve been thoroughly fucked, ma’am.”

I felt the heat take over, and my skin flushed with warmth. It was enough to make me jump out of the bed, scrounge around to find my panties, get dressed, and head home, but I couldn’t. As if he sensed my thoughts, he grabbed my hips and pulled me onto my side, facing him.

“I have no plans for the rest of the weekend, and I’d like to take you out somewhere before we leave the city. Really get to know Pretty, the woman, not the artist or the woman I just had sex with. I want to know Pretty, the person.”

I took a long, hard look at him for the first time. His rectangular face was hard but handsome with high cheekbones. His broad nose set over full, downturned lips were soft and kissable. The deep brown, hooded eyes that were so dark as to appear black were full of constant observation, as though they trusted nothing and no one.

In his black curly hair, there were a few strands of gray that gave him a distinguished appeal. Absentmindedly, I reached up and stroked his jaw. The thick hair covering his jaw, chin, and upper lip was soft. He had a full beard that tickled my thighs. A smile turned his lips up, but those eyes still appeared sad, yet knowing.

He leaned down and kissed me softly and then ran the pad of his thumb over my lips, pushing them in and out, seemingly amused at their plumpness. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I blinked rapidly to break the stupor I found myself in. “I was just mentally reviewing my calendar to recall what I have scheduled.”

I was baffled at his tenderness once we were done. It wasn’t what I expected, nor what I needed. My heart was hardened, and I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable or foolish again. His hand rested lightly at my lower back, drawing small circles. “I hope it includes me,” he murmured, his eyes softly caressing me.

Despite what my heart felt and my mind said, my lips replied, “It does.”

FOUR DAYS LATER

“You good, big homie?” Matt Brown, my former teammate and closest friend I had in the NFL, asked.

“Yeah. Still tripping off this shit—just mad at my damn self for not going with my gut.”

“And not listening to everybody else,” Jason Estes, my best friend since kindergarten, declared.

I slanted my gaze his way and turned up the beer to my lips again. I had flown home to Cherokee Springs to spend some time with my family. As was the custom, my boys instantly migrated to where I was staying. Jason never left Cherokee Springs, and Matt was from here, but like me, he’d moved according to the team he played for. He retired the year before I had, so he had already moved back.