Chapter Twenty-Two

The following Friday, with the first official week of classes completed, Mark had a good feeling about this school year. The students he met so far were smart and enthusiastic, both good indicators of a successful semester.

He rounded the corner to his apartment building, sun beating down on him. The cool breeze promised fall would arrive soon, though the forecast suggested otherwise. His building came into view, and he stopped short at the person sitting on the front steps. Dark hair with long bangs covered her face, head tilted down to a phone in her hands. He couldn’t be sure, not from the distance or the angle of her face, but it sure as hell reminded him of Shaina.

Today he’d thought of her only a few times, the excitement of the new school year taking up necessary space in his head. And now he conjured up her image in front of his building. Foolish, it was probably someone out for a walk who happened to stop at his building for a phone rest. Wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.

That settled it, he needed to get out more, meet more people. Date. With any luck, someone would give him a chance, allow for a slow build, a leisurely time of getting to know each other, waiting to see if any magic happened.

He shifted his bag on his shoulder and continued his path, though the closer he got, the more his brain tried to convince him it was Shaina, until he stood a few feet from her and couldn’t deny it any longer. It really was her. No mirage or wishful thinking necessary.

Why?

She glanced up, but forward, so she didn’t notice him. One jean-covered knee bounced, her blue sneakers rising and falling. He didn’t know if her casual attire was part of what she wore for work or something she changed into. He wanted to know. Especially as her plain lilac top had a deep V in the front, and he really wanted that to be for him.

He resumed moving, and she glanced his way. Their eyes locked, and a tentative smile crossed her face. That smile hit him deep inside. She stood, brushing her rear, and it was all he could do not to assist her.

The odds of him finding a date now? Zero. Not with how strong his reaction remained to the one person he shouldn’t want.

“Hey,” she said once he got close.

“I wasn’t expecting you here, did I miss something?”

Her eyes narrowed, and that answered one of the many questions currently circling his brain: he had gone back to talking softer. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“No, you didn’t miss anything.” She twisted her hands together. “I didn’t have your phone number, or even email, so this was the best way to contact you.” She glanced around. “I also didn’t know your schedule, so I kinda took a risk at unexpected wait time.” A nervous laugh escaped her. She rushed on before he could interject. “It occurred to me that we should continue our side competition and figure out who the winner is between us prior to the final round, just in case that doesn’t help our tiebreaker.”

Tiebreaker? He raised an eyebrow. Last he checked, he was in the lead.

“And maybe that extra time would help us get this”—she waved a hand between them—“out of our systems.”

A danger bell rang in his head—he already felt too close to falling over the cliff. She’d be using him for sex, like Aimee Flynn had. The only difference being he’d know from the start. His libido claimed he could handle it and stuffed his concerns into a drawer.

“You have a point on the second one, but I’m already beating you.” He moved around her, heading for the front door with his key.

“The scavenger hunt was a tie,” she said, coming up behind him.

It wasn’t, but he’d let that slide. He turned to face her as he opened the door. “But I got an extra win, part of the reason you feel the need to get me out of your system.”

Her face screwed up tight and dammit, he still found her irresistible. He opened the door wide, and she entered, body brushing his, because maybe he didn’t give her enough room or maybe she wanted to. Hard to tell. She remained quiet as he rounded the corner to his first-level unit and unlocked the door.

She kissed him once the door closed, before he could put his bag down, in a reverse move from their last time. He let his bag drop to the floor, as did she with her purse, and wrapped his arms around her. God, she felt good, the feel of her body, her scent surrounding him. Better when she rubbed against him. A fire ignited deep inside, one he’d tried to put out, but much like the burning bush, refused to extinguish.

This was the furthest thing from getting over her, but he refused to listen to that tiny notion of logic.

“So are we ignoring that extra win, because you’ll have to fight me for it.” He was full of shit. He’d give her anything she wanted if this led where he hoped it did.

She tugged at his dress shirt. “Maybe I need a chance to catch up.”

He ran his thumb under the hem of her shirt, needing skin-to-skin contact. “What do you have in mind?”

“Details are undefined. But we come up with more challenges.”

He bent and nipped at her neck. She sucked in a breath. “And when we’re not competing?”

She arched, pressing those tempting breasts to him. “We get this under control.”

Maybe for you. “Works for me.” He’d worry about that pesky detail later, when she wasn’t arching into him. He went back to kissing her, backing her into his living space, toward the couch. Not wanting to hurt her, he turned and fell backward to the cushions, bringing her on top of him.

She grinned against his lips. “Oh, yes, I can go for this.” She sat up, pressing on his erection and pulling a groan out of him, tugging her shirt over her head. She reached behind her, lifting those tempting breasts wrapped in a sheer pink bra, but stilled at the sound.

Meow.

He turned to his petite gray Maine Coon mix, Pepper, staring up at them, shaking her little body.

“Oh, hello there,” Shaina said, holding a hand out for Pepper to sniff. Head bopping, Pepper’s nose twitched as she took in Shaina’s scent. “Do you not bring dates home? She looks petrified.”

Mark lowered a hand and scratched Pepper’s head. “One, I didn’t think we were dating. Two, she’s got cerebellar hypoplasia.”

Shaina looked at him. “Which means?”

“An underdeveloped cerebellum. Essentially, she shakes and her coordination is off. That’s how she is. If she were scared, she’d be under the bed, not standing there, checking out the lady not wearing a shirt.”

Shaina glanced down at herself and laughed. She scratched Pepper’s neck. “Well, you don’t judge, I like that.”

“I take it you aren’t allergic? I should have checked.”

She shook her head. “I’m not. Didn’t know you had a cat.”

He blinked at her, though in reality he should have known. “I told you about her at that rest stop when we saw the cat on the leash, before I knew you couldn’t hear me. I adopted her as a kitten. She’s eleven.”

“So that’s what you were so animated about. Not bad for an old gal.”

“You seem like you have a cat yourself?” That would be an interesting discovery.

“Nope. Fish. They don’t care how little I’m actually home, as long as they get fed. And considering they will forget they’ve eaten after a few minutes, they’re probably plotting a revolt.” She hadn’t stopped scratching the cat. “You’d like to break into their tank, I’m taking it?”

“I doubt it—she won’t even kill an ant, just bats at it.”

“Oh, then perhaps we’ll be okay.” Shaina left the cat and faced Mark. “Now, where were we, and is this going to be a problem for her?”

“Pepper will deal.” He sat up just enough to kiss Shaina, and she melted into him. His hands splayed on her back, all that creamy smooth skin exposed for him. Her lips tasted even better than they had in New Hampshire. “You taste good,” he muttered before he thought better of it, hoping like hell he’d been too soft and she didn’t hear.

She took her sweet lips from him. “You taste good, too. In fact, I might want to revisit that.” Her gaze dropped down, even though her body covered his crotch. A fact he rather enjoyed.

He thrust into her, and her eyes closed in pleasure. “Later. According to your proposition, we’ve got time for that. But it’s been nearly two weeks, and I need to be inside you.”

Shut up, Goldman, stop revealing all your cards. Before he could react, Shaina did, purring. And it definitely wasn’t the cat. “I like that idea.”

Either she hadn’t heard him fully or missed his intensity, because, goodness, he was a wreck. Man overboard, happily jumping with a lead weight to the murky depths below. He’d start researching a twelve-step program to get over her.

Later, though. Much later.

She unbuttoned his shirt, nails scraping his skin as she went, as though he wasn’t already hard and ready. He shrugged out of the shirt, then bumped his hips upward. “We’re going to have to take care of the rest of our clothes.”

Shaina grinned. “I like where this is heading. Condom?”

“Yeah, in my bedroom. Hang on.” He shifted her off him and placed his feet on the floor, a very indignant meow filling the air. Clearly, he’d swiped the cat. “My apologies, your highness,” he said.

Pepper stared at him, and as he moved, she scurried away. “Told you she wasn’t scared earlier. She’s easily spooked.”

“I see that.”

He turned and watched as Shaina slid her jeans down her long legs. And it hit him… Shaina was there, in his condo, with him. Not a dream or a fantasy, the real-life, flesh-and-blood, intoxicating version of her.

“You’ll like what you see better when you get that condom.”

Right. Maybe his dick could spare a few blood cells for his brain. He stumbled into his bedroom, shedding his pants and underwear as he went. Then got his shoes and socks off to properly remove the pants and underwear, grateful he fumbled out of view. Naked, he grabbed the condom from his nightstand and put it on before he made it back to the living room, because he had no game, no cool, and if he scared her off, that would solve all their problems.

Only she waited for him on his couch, naked, a wet dream come to life. He paused, soaking her in, the setting sun touching her light skin, needing to preserve this new image, even if he’d probably have to buy a new couch to get over her.

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

She ran a hand down her body. “You like?”

He was practically drooling. He gestured to his dick pointing at her in eager glory. “What do you think?”

She licked her lips. “I think you need to get over here and show me.”

Gladly. She shifted to her back, and he climbed on top of her, settling between her legs. She arched, rubbing her wet warmth against him. He hissed out a breath. “I swear, I have more control than this.”

“I know. You’ve proven it. Now lose that control and get in me.”

He thrust inside the moment she stopped speaking, her gasps of pleasure the only sound he needed. He pulled out and pushed back inside, setting a pace slower than the fast beat of his pulse demanded. But he wanted to cherish, to savor, and she felt too damn good to rush.

She met his pace. He watched the desire take over her face, the way she bit her lip, muffling the sounds. He kissed her.

“No need to be quiet, the walls are thick here.”

She ran her nails down his back. “Then make me get loud.”

That broke him. He wanted her screaming his name, needed to leave a mark on her the way she’d already left one on him. He picked up his pace, hard and fast thrusts, rocking both of them. It wasn’t enough, might never be enough with this woman. He bent, sucking on a nipple, making her cry out. He switched to the other, and she did it again, body wet and welcoming, driving into him, making him lose his goddamn mind.

“Do that again,” she breathed, face strained.

He bent and sucked on her again and again. She tightened around him, shuddered under him, and it pulled him over the cliff, until the orgasm ripped through him and he lay breathing fast in her arms.

“Yes, that was good,” she said around breaths. “Should it be competition with a side of sex, or sex with a side of competition?”

“I like how the sex isn’t the competition.” More than she could know. It gave him hope, even though he knew that hope would lead nowhere with their history.

“We both came, yes? Where’s the competition there?”

He kissed her. “Touché. I vote for sex with a side of competition.” If for no other reason than to keep the facts straight up-front. No room for nasty surprises if he labeled the rules at the start.

She laughed. As he hadn’t left her body yet, she tightened around him, and he hardened all over again.

“Oh, oh, I felt that.” She squirmed, and he placed a hand on her hip to still her.

“I might be able to go again, but condoms are usually a one-time usage. So unless you want to make our parents grandparents…”

She unwound her legs from him. “Nope. Get out.”

He laughed as he did so. “Smart woman.”

After a quick stop in the bathroom, he found her sitting up and not dressed. “It really is a shame fertility doesn’t have an on and off switch.”

“If it did, the government would try to control it, and it wouldn’t be in your gender’s favor.”

“Oh, good point. I’m going to use your bathroom.”

He pointed the way and watched her go, following the sway of her hips. Pepper meowed from her spot in the covered area of the cat tree. “You judging me?”

The cat shook, stretching out her front legs.

“Well, I like her, so get used to it.”

Pepper curled up, not the least bit worried. Meanwhile, deep inside, something had started to shift. He’d be spending time with Shaina beyond the sex, something far too close to dating. And he’d never once kept things casual.

Family outings from here on out were going to be brutal.

He’d deal with that another day, though, because he refused to miss out on these moments with her now.