Page 17 of Broken Love (Love 2)
"That's where you're wrong," I say, placing tiles on the board, using the E from sideboob. "Read 'em and weep."
"Hickey, damn. That's like twenty-three points. I don't have shit. Oh wait!" she says, putting the word tit on the board.
"That's pretty small."
"Shut up. It's a double word score, so I get eight points."
We keep playing, me adding the words yell and nip and her using the word in and then adding a ples to make nipples out of nip...which gives me an idea.
"Watch this," I say, setting my tiles down with flourish and adding a ties to the end of tit. "Titties. That's seven points and oh, look at this, two double word scores. That makes twenty-one, and I am clearly in the lead."
"Don't be so cocky," she says. "I'm just getting started. How about this? S E X. A double word score, adding twenty points." She pencils in her score and frowns. "You're still winning, sixty-five to forty-nine."
"Ha! Told you!" I lay down an ratd to the X in sex.
"Xratd? Um, no! No way!"
"But I ran out of room on the board. I think it should count."
"No." She glances down at her tiles. "Wait. I shall allow it. I mean, it's only fourteen points, right?"
"That's correct."
She gets all giddy looking, and I can tell she's got something good. She never had a poker face worth a shit. She lays down an oggie under my D.
"That doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"We're playing dirty Scrabble, not animal Scrabble."
"Doggie-style, Cade. I know you know that word. I'm pretty sure that was your favorite position. Remember how you used to spank my ass?"
I gulp. Fuck. I do.
She jumps up. "And that ties us at seventy-nine! I'm going to whip you, Cade." My dick immediately jumps to full attention.
"Oh, really?" I say with a smirk. "Did you bring one?"
Her mouth hangs open. When she shuts it, she looks at me with hurt in her eyes. "We never did that. Have you? Like, with someone else?"
I quickly shake my head. I hate when she looks that way. Especially when her eyes start to get watery and fill with tears. "No, never." I reach out and touch her arm. "I was just teasing."
She swirls her wine in her glass. It's nearly empty again. She notices and refills it, polishing off the bottle.
"Looks like we need more wine," I say, getting up.
"I might need something stronger," I hear her say under her breath as I'm walking to the kitchen. I open a bottle and bring it to the table, put a couple more logs on the fire, and sit back down across the board from her.
"Top," I say, making my next play. "Seven points."
"Score," she says, putting down the tiles. "That's eight."
I lay down my next word.
"Orgasm," she reads, licking her lips. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "That's sixteen. Very good."
"They usually were," I tease, adding to her discomfort. I love watching her squirm. I look around at the candles flickering, the fire, the flush of her cheeks.
She ignores me and lays down two Fs. "Eff! Look at that! Nine points and triple word score for twenty-seven! I'm winning!"
"You're kicking my ass. Did you see that the snow has slowed down? Hopefully that means the power will come back on soon."
She stretches her arms into the air and yawns.
"Wine always makes you sleepy." And adorable. I want to curl her into my arms and do nothing but watch her sleep. Well, after I fuck her. "Are you ready for bed?"
"Yes," she says. "Should we sleep in front of the fireplace?"
"Um, you can," I say. "I'll go in my room. I have quilts, so I will stay warm." No freaking way I can sleep next to her. She's tipsy, and I have no control where she's concerned.
"I guess if I get cold, I'll come out here," she says.
"Sounds good," I tell her. "You get to bed. I'll clean up."
She shuffles down the hallway while I put away the food and rinse the wine glasses in the sink.
Then I go to my room.
Lie in bed.
Stare at the ceiling.
And wonder just how much control I really have.
Palmer
I'm tossing and turning.
Turning and tossing.
There's no way I can go to sleep knowing that Cade is so close.
But he might as well be a million miles away.
I offered to sleep with him in front of the fireplace. Why did he choose his cold bed instead?
I close my eyes and will myself to sleep.
Toss and turn some more.
"This is ridiculous," I say, tossing back the covers. "We're both adults."
Cade
"Fuck it," I say, jumping out of bed.
We meet in the hall.
Stand staring at each other.
Our eyes fixed. Our bodies close.
Naked.
Neither willing to speak.
The silence screams, saying words we don't dare. It relays feelings we pretend we don't still have.
My heart is pounding so loudly, I'm sure she can hear it.
"Put your hands on me, Cade," she w
hispers.
I reach out, my hands starting at her shoulders, sliding down her arms, and then taking both her hands in mine. I give them a little squeeze then place them on my ass with a pat, hoping she will leave them there. I roughly caress her sides up to her neck then lower my lips to hers.
I thought if we got together again I would spend days soaking in her beauty. Hours giving her pleasure, before I would allow it for myself.
But I don't care about that right now.
I pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist, kissing her with a fervor never before felt. Leaning her against the wall, I work my fingers inside of her, our lips never parting, our tongues in a frantic battle.
"Fuck me, Cade. Please," she begs, grabbing my dick and moving it into place. I slide it in, her wetness enveloping me.
The second I do, I'm lost to her, the years fading away.
The passion I feel now is bolder. It's audacious, dauntless. Every touch--every kiss--is familiar, but it's laced with the kind of desperation only true love can bring.
I slam into her as she breathes out my name.
"Oh, Cade. Fuck, baby. Do it harder. You know I can take it."
I curse, grab her ass, and plunge into her over and over until she's on the edge of release, then allow myself to climax.
Palmer
I lean against the wall, breathing heavily and feeling sated, but still aflame with desire.
I weave my fingers into his hair and kiss his shoulder.
"We were always incredible together," he says, carrying me to his four-poster bed.
I stretch out, rubbing my arms against his sheets. "God, how I've missed these sheets," I say. "You even had these in college."
"How would you know that?"
"One time when I visited my brother, you weren't there. I slept in your bed. You had them when we were together, too. They are my favorite sheets ever."
"Do you have them on your bed?"
"I did, but I threw them all away when we broke up--bought the scratchy ones."
"Why?"
"Because every time I got into bed it reminded me of you, Cade. I think there's a reason why I went off the road. I think we were meant to cross paths. To end up here. You marked my soul as yours a long time ago and never let go."
"Making love to you has always been more than sex. It's like the very first time you wrapped my heart in a bungee cord and tethered it to your soul, binding me with a tenacity that no amount of time could break. No one makes me feel like you do. I love you, Palmer," he says, sliding into bed with me. "Still. I never stopped."
