Reye's Gold (23 page)

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “And hold you in my
hands, my mouth, and your favorite spot,” she said,
drawing out her words. “Good night, Stephen. Sweet
dreams.”

He laughed. “Good night, Reye.”

* * *

Early the next morning, Stephen found his mother sitting in her home office, drinking her coffee, the news
paper and various magazines surrounding her. She was
dressed to impress, as always. One of the morning shows
played on the TV. She muted it when she heard him enter.

“Morning, Mom. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s gone to the golf course, getting his usual early
morning start,” she said.

“I’m going back to Austin today. Some friends of
mine are playing in a soccer tournament this weekend,
and I’m going to join them.” It was not quite the truth,
but close enough.

Her face showed disappointment, but it was
smoothed over quickly with a smile. “But you’ve only
been here a few days. You have more than two weeks left.
Can’t you stay longer?”

“I would, but I can relax better at my place. I may
come back later, before the semester starts up again.
Anyway, my car is already packed. I’ll call you when I get
to Austin,” he said, ending the discussion.

“It’s Reye, isn’t it?”

“What?” He stopped in his tracks, taking a second to
recover from the shock. “No, Mom. Reye is a friend I
helped out with school,” he said, his voice firm.

“Let me at least walk you to the door. I see that you’ve
made up your mind,” she said. She stood and followed
him out the front door and watched him get into his car.

“Bye, Mom. Tell Dad goodbye for me,” he said.

“I will. Remember to call me when you arrive, or I’ll just worry.”

“Will do,” he said. Giving her a final wave, he drove
away.

* * *

“Losing sucks,” Reye said to Sam. “What kind of coach
are you, anyway? We should vote you off the island.” Sam
laughed at her antics. They’d lost the first two of three
games scheduled for today, and Reye always took any
opportunity to tease her brother about his failings.

“It’s your fault. You’re not living up to your potential,” Sam replied. “Mr. Defender needs to get back and lift your spirits. When will he be back, anyway?”

Reye shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she
said. She didn’t want to talk about Stephen just then.

“When’s our next game?” she asked Sam to change
the subject.

“This evening at seven, so rest up. If we lose this one
we are out of the tournament.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” she said, and gave him a mock
salute. “I’ll be there.”

She sat on the bench and watched him leave, not in
any hurry to get home. She was lonesome. Taking her
time, she removed her shoes, socks, and shin guards and
replaced them with running shoes. She pulled on her
sweats. She loaded up her bag and walked in the direction
of the parking lot. Where had she parked? Turning to the
right, she spotted her truck and stopped dead. Stephen
stood there, leaning with his back against her truck’s door,
looking beyond good. She felt her eyes start to water and her stomach flutter.
Get a grip, Reye
, she thought to her
self. But he’d traveled back earlier than she expected, or
had hoped.
For me
, she thought. He looked great, jeans
r
iding low on lean hips, a t-shirt with some type of writing
on it, and baseball cap pulled low over a gorgeous face.
God, she loved him. She wouldn’t admit it to him, but the
surprise of seeing him solidified that knowledge in her.

He was standing there, watching her, all tall, lean,
golden, hers. She imagined her smile was wide enough to
drive a truck through, and he returned it. She hurriedly
walked over to him, stopping directly in front of him.
Both of them wore huge smiles on their faces now, his
wicked and full of promises, promises she knew he could
and would keep. His arms went around her waist and he tugged her to him. She lifted her head, lips slightly parted,
ready to meet his. She’d missed him more than she could
say, so she tried to convey her feelings with her kiss. She
opened for him and he marched in, like always, owning
her. She loved his command. She didn’t know how long
they stood there and kissed; she was only aware of him.

He shifted away from her lips, pulling her to him for
a hug, wrapping her tightly in his arms. “Did you guys
win?” he asked in her ear.

“No, we lost both games. One more game left to play,
and I don’t want to play anymore now that you’re here.
When did you get back?”

“Mid-morning, but I stopped by my apartment to
check in before I came here.”

She moved in to kiss him again, feeling like an addict. She loved the feel of his mouth, warm as her tongue met
his. She felt herself melting more, and felt his answering
response against her stomach. “Where are you going now?”

“With you. Where else?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Not for food,” he said.

“I’ll meet you at my house?”

He released her and moved so that she could get into
her truck. She let down her window. “Where did you park?”

“About two cars over. You go ahead. I’ll be right
behind you.” He stepped back to let her drive away.

* * *

Reye rushed home, hitting the door at a run. She
wanted to take a shower before Stephen arrived. Who
would have thought he would come back early for her?
This had to mean something, right? She meant some
thing to him? It was more than just sex? She turned on
the shower and stripped out of her soccer gear. She
hopped in and cleaned up, probably breaking some kind
of record for the world’s fastest shower. She stepped out,
dried off as she walked into her bedroom, and grabbed
shorts and a t-shirt. She wouldn’t have anything on for long, so it really didn’t matter.

She decided to change the sheets on her bed, taking time to spray a little of her favorite perfume on them.
Picking up loose clothes that were lying around her
house, she put them in the hamper. Passing through the
living room she glanced at the books she wouldn’t get
around to reading, but she was more than okay with that.
Her kitchen was clean, but what to do about food? She o
pened the door, looking at the leftovers from her
mother’s Christmas dinner. It would do in a pinch, and there was always delivery. As she stood there, she heard
her doorbell. Beyond happy, she turned to go and let him
in.

After Stephen watched Reye drive off, he’d driven to
a restaurant and picked up dinner, dessert, and pastries
for breakfast. He stopped by the store to grab a bottle of wine and champagne. For some reason he felt like cele
brating. He arrived at Reye’s about twenty minutes later.
He hadn’t unpacked from his trip home, so he grabbed
the food, drinks, and his duffel bag and carried it all to
her door. He rang the doorbell. As if she had been
waiting by the door, it opened quickly. She stood there
with a smile that could light up the night, her eyes twin
kling. “I was beginning to wonder what happened to
you,” she said.

He lifted his arms showing his purchases. “I went for
sustenance . . . for later.”

She took the bags from him and walked into the
kitchen. He followed, eyes trained on her fine backside.
She’d changed into a t-shirt, no shoes, and her old track
shorts that looked like underwear to him. He just loved
her in them.

Placing the bags on the table, she began to pull items
from them. He walked in, standing close behind her,
taking in her scent. Placing his hands low on her hips, he
bent his head to the curve of her shoulder. “You smell
good,” he murmured, placing small kisses on her neck
and ear. She stopped removing the food and twined her
a
rms up and around his neck, anchoring him to her from
the back. His hands slowly found their way to the hem of
her shirt, and lifting it, they moved slowly over her
stomach, sliding over her ribs, upwards to her breasts.
Her body was satin to his touch. His breath caught as his
hands found her breasts.
No bra, good girl,
he thought.
They fit perfectly in his hands and he gave them a tug,
drawing a moan from Reye. He took his time touching
her. She needed to touch too, and turned to face him, her
arms remaining in their position around his neck. He
found her mouth and plundered it, pulling her even
more tightly to him, both lost in each other.

He broke off the kiss leaned his forehead to hers. “I
missed you,” he said. He pulled her shirt over her head and began to feast at her breast. She held on to his head
as if her life depended on it. He paused to tug her shorts
down, and, finding no underwear, his hands strolled
along her ass, smooth and round. He spun her around to
face the table, placing her hands on to the edge to hold
her steady. Looking at her, his mouth watered. She was
all lean, brown muscle. He pulled her body outward from
the table and unzipped his jeans while spreading her legs.
He grabbed on to her hips and pushed in, totally
embedded in her with one thrust. Could she be any more
welcoming, any more wet and snug?

“Give me a second,” he said. Leaning his chest on her
back, he planted kisses on her neck. She pushed back into
him, impatient, and he responded with a growl, his
rhythm starting out slow and gradually increasing in
speed. One of his hands traveled to the front of her body
a
nd wandered between her breasts and her sex, trying to
accommodate both, turning Reye into a pool of liquid.
She moaned continuously; it all felt so damn good.

“Please don’t stop,” she said.

“Are you kidding?” he groaned out, increasing his
tempo, pushing harder into her body. She met him thrust
for thrust.

“Oh, babe, you feel so good.” He was barely aware of
the words that emptied from his mouth. Conscious only
of how she felt, surrounding him, hugging him tightly, and coming. They both moaned as orgasms hit them simultaneously. Stephen gritted his teeth and held Reye as his climax washed through him. He laid his head on her back, trying to breathe, still needing somehow to touch, his mouth kissing her neck and back. His hands
had somehow found their way around to her breasts, and
he now released his hold on them.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said as he lifted her arms from the
table and turned her to face him.

“I really missed you,” he said, capturing her face in
his hand, kissing her softly over and over. “Hungry?” he
asked, and they both laughed.

* * *

Reye talked Stephen into going with her to the next game. She was sitting in his car as he drove them both to the last game of the tournament after they’d both showered and changed into shorts and soccer gear. She would h
ave to talk to Sam about him playing once they arrived at the fields. As they pulled into the parking lot, Reye
spotted Sam. “Let me off here and I’ll go talk to him,”
she said, grabbing her bag. “We’re on field number five.
I’ll meet you there after you park.” She leaned over for a
quick kiss and hopped out.