Game For Love: Love Games (Kindle Worlds) (21 page)

He helped her with his shirt, taking over getting it off and to the floor while her attention came to rest upon his jeans. She slid herself back along his thighs so there was room for her hands to start undoing his fly. That done, she eased his jutting penis out of his jeans and underwear. She clasped him and began to stroke his length as she rubbed her breasts against his chest. His coarse chest hair scraped against her tender nipples, eliciting moans from them both.

He had tried to go slow with her, he really had. And, honestly, this was probably the most drawn out their lovemaking had been all week. Good thing, because Declan couldn’t stand it any longer. He rocked to one hip to get a condom out of his wallet, and even that small motion seemed to nearly send Marlee over. She was so ready. He rolled the condom on and took her hand in his, then wrapped her fingers around his cock. “Guide me to you. Put me inside you.”

He left her hand covering him and took both his hands to her face. He lifted her head until they were eye level. A look of sweet anticipation was swathed across Marlee’s oval face. “Open your eyes, Marlee. Look at me while you take me in. Take all of me.”
 

She opened her eyes as she pushed the fabric of her panties aside, not even taking the time to remove them, and lowered herself on to Declan. She gasped at the fullness, the depth. He growled at the tenderness, at the shining light that was behind Marlee’s green-gold eyes.
 

Her glasses had slid down her nose, and Declan reached around from the side of her head and pushed them back into place, then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the top of her nose. Small tears swept down her face and Declan brushed them aside with the pad of his thumb, still holding her face in his hands.
 

She came down hard once again, and Declan raised his hips up to meet her, and they both spiraled out of control. It seemed to go on forever, rippling and shuddering, gasps and moans, neither knowing which sound came from whom, nor did they care.
 

The entire time, they never took their eyes off of each other. It was if they were looking into each other’s souls.

Only them.

Chapter Fifteen

A
s Marlee slowly dressed, she was only vaguely aware of her surroundings. She was still dazed by what she and Declan had just experienced together. Nothing like that had ever happened to her. Her arms seemed to be barely working as she put her bra back on. She was surprised to find that her legs would hold her weight as she stood to gather the rest of her clothes. Her body was liquid, and she felt as though at any minute someone would cut the strings that held her up and she would melt to the floor like the Wicked Witch of the West when doused with water.
 

She continued to dress, but her eyes were drawn to Declan. It seemed as though she was always drawn to Declan.
 

Only me, Marlee.

He was moving around the room, putting himself back together, pulling his shirt over his head, covering up his incredible back and shoulders. As he pulled his jeans tight to refasten them, the denim flexed across his spectacular behind and Marlee nearly swallowed her tongue.
 

It was nothing new, this strong effect having sex with Declan had on her. But it was different this time.
 

Only me
.
 

The sex had gone to another level, and Marlee had been sure that there was no level more intense than the one they’d been at all week. She’d been wrong.
 

This was more than sex. More than just a physical mating. Thoughts and words of definition flicked through her mind, but she had no desire to pinpoint anything right now. Not when she could just stand here and watch Declan.

For the first time in her life, she regretted that she didn’t follow sports. What a treat it would have been to watch Declan Tate in action these past years. The man could move. Her newly found, and very limited, football knowledge jumped to action, and she imagined Declan in those form-hugging tight pants football players wore, moving quickly to evade tacklers.
 

For a big guy (and Marlee now knew that compared to his teammates Declan was tiny, but still, a big guy by normal standards), he could move with the ease and stealth of a panther. Or a Puma. He was in absolute control of his body at all times. Even when they were at their most passionate peak, Marlee sensed that Declan could rein himself in at a moment’s notice. It must have taken him years to gain that self-awareness, and lucky her got to benefit from all that hard work.

For one more day
. The thought came at her out of nowhere but refused to leave. It pulled up a chair and settled in, ready to pipe up the second Marlee would think about Declan in any context beyond Sunday. The guest that would not leave.
 

Party pooper.

Marlee’s eyes followed him, but her thoughts were not on his actions, but on the way his body moved. With purpose.
 

He was like that when they’d have sex—at least in their past sessions, his movements sure and knowing, no extra activity, no fuss, just a goal in sight and the most expedient way of getting there. This time there seemed to be more flourish, more…emotion, but his goal had been as clear cut as before.

What had he called it when he explained football? Oh yes. Moving the ball down the field. That was how he’d summed up his job one night while they had lain in bed exhausted. He had joked about writing his résumé and how his objective for the past sixteen years had been to simply move the ball.

He was gathering up their things at the table and turned the camera off, which broke Marlee from her reverie. She was slipping on the last of her clothes back on, and she checked her watch. Four o’clock.
 

They had planned on quitting early today so they would have lots of time to play and experiment in the kitchen before her family arrived at seven. Declan wanted to make his mother’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe for dessert.
 

They had originally thought they wanted to leave around two, but Marlee wouldn’t have given up the past two hours even if she had to serve her family pizza from the nearest delivery place and a bag of Oreos. In fact, the kids would probably prefer that.

They’d still be okay, time-wise, if they got a move on now.

She went to the table and helped Declan do the same file-transfer-and-erase procedure that they’d done yesterday. As she handed him the flash drive with the red X on it to add their newest file to, she said, a tiny bit testily, “Come on. Let’s get a move on. Let’s see that Tate speed. We’re going to have my family waiting till midnight to eat if we don’t get going.”

Declan should have realized that he’d pushed Marlee as far as she could go without breaking in one day. And he didn’t want her breaking. It was a start. Hell, it was more than a start; she had come apart in his arms while never taking her beautiful eyes from his. And even though she was now embarrassed and double-checking that he had erased their tape from the camera, she smiled at Declan to let him know she hadn’t meant anything by her tone.
 

He could live with that. Hell yeah, he could live with that. And tonight he’d work on her family. Then tomorrow he’d break down the rest of her barriers by watching their tape together.
 

On Sunday, he’d be down to his two-minute drill. That was his specialty. He’d won more games in the last two minutes in his career than he cared to count. They had dubbed him the Comeback Kid, and the nomenclature had stuck even though he was hardly a kid anymore. But Comeback Middle-Aged Man didn’t have much of a ring to it.

They took one last glance around to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything as they headed for the door. Marlee’s eyes came to rest on the upholstered chairs, and Declan’s eyes came to rest on Marlee. She sensed Declan’s gaze and ducked her head in a soft smile, remembering. She met his eyes, and as though it were contagious, her smile passed on to Declan. He placed his hand possessively on her neck and they left the studio.
 

Their
studio. A place where they had shared secrets and intimacies, where they had worked on their professional lives and had dove into the personal realm as well. Where she had trusted him enough to allow their lovemaking to be recorded. Where she had
asked
to have it recorded.

 
It had only been five days, only four of which they’d been there together, and yet it seemed like they had been together for years.

Unwilling to break their contact, they walked down the hallway of the building with his hand on his neck. There was a drop box outside of an advisor’s office where Marlee would place the studio keys now that she was done with them.

The building was quiet, nearly deserted. The students were still on break. The new semester not starting for two more weeks.

She broke from Declan to put the keys in the drop box, and they turned to leave the building. As they walked to the doors, he took Marlee’s hand in his and she gave it a gentle squeeze. She was looking at him, smiling at him, so that she didn’t see the man who was entering the building some ten yards in front of them. The man brushed the snow from his shoulders and recognized Marlee immediately.

“Professor Reeves? Marlee?”
 

The man was bundled up in a long overcoat, but Declan could tell just by the look of him, with a pipe in his mouth and a fedora (with a feather in it, no less!), that this was an academic colleague of Marlee’s. Declan would bet one of his Super Bowl rings that underneath that top coat, the guy’s jacket had suede elbow patches.

Marlee looked up, and as she recognized the approaching man she simultaneously dropped her hand from Declan’s. Oh, she was subtle about it, pretending she needed the hand free to readjust her satchel strap on her shoulder and then pushing her glasses up her nose, but she hadn’t fooled Declan.
 

She didn’t want this man to see her holding hands with him. Who was this guy? A former lover? A
current
lover? The thought pissed Declan off, and he almost snatched her hand back, but he didn’t. He had pushed her far enough for today.
 

Besides, there was no way the Marlee he’d gotten to know so well this week would be currently seeing someone while she and Declan were together. She was definitely the monogamous type. It didn’t even surprise Declan to discover that he was too. At least with Marlee.

“Professor Curtis. How are you?” They had reached one another and the three stood facing each other. Marlee turned her body to form more of a semi-circle rather than standing side by side with Declan. The deft body language was not lost on him.

“I’m fine, thank you. And yourself?” the man answered. The sentiment was directed at Marlee, but he was looking at Declan.

“Fine. Fine.” Her voice was just a touch shrill. Marlee was never shrill. Declan wondered again if this was a former lover. Or maybe it was her boss, come to check up on her in the studio? Good thing the guy hadn’t arrived a half-hour earlier.
 

“What brings you to this building?” His eyes didn’t leave Declan’s.

“I’ve been using the video studio this week, preparing my speech.” She made some kind of movement to start out of the building, but was thwarted by the continued conversation of Professor Curtis.

“That’s right, your tour starts next week, doesn’t it? Well, we’ll certainly miss you around the Communications Department this semester. Think of us back here fighting the cold when you’re at the University of Florida.” He hesitated, seeming to be waiting for something, and then held his hand out to Declan. “Robert Curtis. I’m in the Communications Department with Marlee.”

Declan reached out his hand, but before he could speak his name, Marlee cut him off. “I’m sorry, where are my manners. Professor Curtis, this is Mr. Tate. Mr. Tate, Professor Curtis.”

“Robert, please.” The man shook hands with Declan.

“Declan.”

Professor Curtis, easily in his early sixties, broke into the grin of a little boy meeting his hero. And perhaps he was. “I thought it was you, but for the life of me I couldn’t imagine what you’d be doing on campus. And with Marlee.” Marlee tried to interject, but the professor was now on a roll. “This is so exciting. I’m a huge fan, Declan, huge fan. God, that comeback against Green Bay in ’08? Gutsiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Declan noticed Marlee’s look of shock as her esteemed colleague gushed over meeting him.

“Thanks, Robert. Always great to meet someone who loves the game.”

He meant it as a jab at Marlee, and from her raised eyebrow, he knew she caught it. She ignored him and turned to Robert and tried to explain what to her was the unexplainable—what she and Declan were doing together. “Mr. Tate has been kind enough to help me interject some football terms into my speech. To make it more accessible to the general public.”

As if he were some kid she’d hired to give her jargon advice! He was league MVP, for Christ’s sake! Declan’s eyes narrowed on her at her simplistic summation, but he didn’t know this guy’s relationship to Marlee, and if she wanted to play it cool with him, Declan wasn’t going to blow her cover. He was just about to engage the guy in deeper football talk—he knew all fans loved that—when Marlee started moving toward the door.