Vérité (19 page)

“Yeah, it is.”

He handed me my water, and I brought the cool bottle to my cheek in an effort to cool my blush as I grunted in disgust.

Tiberius slanted an amused glance at me. “You girls don’t run around with each other’s bras?”

“Uh, no. And that’s not a bra,” I said with a shudder. “That’s a jock strap.”

“I prefer cock sling.”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “You wear one of those?”

“Nah, not usually. I go with the compression shorts, but Mel is real protective of that area. Overly protective.” He took a sip of his beer, then wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me close. The music had changed to something less pulsing, more rhythm and blues. “Enough about Jamel’s junk.”

He moved us as one to the beat, his leg coming in between mine, but this time it was so much more seductive. My arms stretched high to wind around his neck. With Tiberius singing softly in my ear, we danced like that for another three songs, the world falling away in one fell swoop.

“You ready to go?” The eyes he pinned on me were anything but innocent, his dimple nowhere in sight.

Taking in his change of mood, I nodded and said, “Yes,” but it came out hoarse with lust.

He took my hand and guided me through the crowd toward the door.

Jamel and Lamar had settled down and were drinking in the kitchen. “Ya’ll leaving?” they hollered after us. “’Bye, T-Rex.”

My cheeks burned with the blush that crept back onto my cheeks.
God, these guys.

I didn’t ask if Ty was walking me home. Not wanting the night to end, barely tired anymore—unsure if it was the coffee or just being in his arms—I wanted to freeze-frame the moment. When he started walking on the path toward his townhouse, I didn’t say a word, just followed. He had his arm thrown over my shoulders, and I felt like a peanut next to him.

It was a shame I didn’t believe in superheroes; Tiberius could have been my own personal Superman.

“You okay with this?” Tiberius asked as we stopped in front of his place.

I nodded.

“Say it, Rex.”

“Yes.”

When we walked inside, I stopped in the foyer and asked, “Where’s Trey? I didn’t see him at the party.”

“He went back to Cleveland. Keep it on the down low. Coach’d be pissed.”

We stood in the hallway, staring into each other’s eyes, both of us afraid to make a move. Tiberius lifted one large hand and ran it down the side of my face, reaching back to release my ponytail and allowing my hair to fall in blond waves around my face.

Taking his time, he swept the errant pieces behind my ears before he bent low to kiss me. This time his kiss wasn’t gentle. His mouth was urgent and bruising on mine, as if he’d been lost in the desert and I was his first taste of water in a long while.

He walked us back toward the wall, caging me in, never letting go of my lips. His tongue swept through my mouth as his hand traveled down my side, finding purchase on my hip. My hands wound their way around his neck as I stood on tiptoe before he picked me up and carried me into his room, still not breaking the kiss.

Once inside his bedroom, he broke away. “This okay?”

I nodded and then added a breathless, “Yes.”

Turning, I walked toward the bed and crawled onto the mattress, eventually kneeling on the edge. Tiberius stood in front of me, my face finally even with his broad chest.

“Beautiful,” he mumbled as he slipped off my leather jacket and slid the straps of my tank top off. Once my neck and shoulders were bare, he leaned forward and placed kisses all along them, then teased the top of my breasts with his warm breath and smooth tongue.

My senses came alive. Woodsy deodorant and musky male scent swirled in the air around me. Everything was much more vibrant—his navy shirt looked like the midnight sky, and the pale pink of my tank shimmered in the moonlight streaming through the window. My fingers tingled to touch and my skin hummed with need. My belly roared with want and hunger, but not for food.

I brought my hands to the hem of his shirt, interrupting Tiberius’s trailing kisses long enough for me to fling it over his head. He followed suit and pulled my tank off, unhooking my bra to release my breasts. Finally, we were skin-to-skin, his heart beating against mine.

“Like ya, Rex,” he whispered, and I smiled against his lips. “Told you it’s gotta mean something.”

I smiled again, this time nodding my head.

Tiberius stopped kissing me and lifted my chin, bringing us eye to eye as our hearts beat in sync.

“I like you too, Ty, but I don’t get why me?”

“’Cause you’re not into me for my jump shot or my jersey. ’Cause you got the best smile when you let it come out. ’Cause you’re kick-ass fast in your running shoes. ’Cause you’re tough and sweet, but don’t even know it,” he mumbled all along my cheek before he started kissing me earnestly again.

We went toppling onto the bed, his body tumbling over mine. He caught his weight on one forearm and brought his other hand to cup my cheek. Intrigued, I raised my head and licked along his flat nipple, tracing his tattoo with my tongue.

“I’m not sure that’s what my school had in mind for their crest,” he said with a smirk, but I didn’t stop, just continued my exploration, my tongue finding a narrow ridge along his abs. I followed it down south until Tiberius yanked me back up.

“Huh-uh, Rex. You’re not taking over.”

I wiggled up and around until I could see his expression. The confident alpha of moments before was gone. Apparently, I’d embarrassed him.

“I’m not taking over, Ty. I just wanted to touch . . . explore you.”

“Well, you don’t get to bring the whole
I seduced a teacher
thing into the bedroom with me,” he said, tiny specks of coal flashing through his blue eyes.

“Okay.”

I wanted to reach up and press my mouth against his, but I waited for him to cave and lean in. He took my lips in a gentle kiss, and we started over. Momentum built quickly between us, and Tiberius ran his hand along my side. His palm came to cover my breast, his thumb drawing circles around my nipple. I reached around his back and smoothed my hands over the hard planes, taut with tension.

The tiny cracks in his fingers—I assumed from dribbling the ball—felt so good coursing along my sensitive skin. I moaned into his mouth, and rather than swallowing my tiny sounds, he let go of my lips and let my purring fill the air.

This time, he was the one to begin traveling south, and I let him have that move. First, he took my nipple with his mouth and sucked hard while he brought his hand up to my other one. The contradiction of his soft and smooth mouth on one breast and his rough hand on the other was driving me to the edge—fast.

“Tiberius,” I whispered.

“S’okay?” he mumbled along my cleavage.

“Yeah, feels good,” I said, my fingertips drawing figure eights on his back. I wanted more, but I didn’t push. The hard truth was there was something to be said for how Tiberius was taking his time; I was just too impatient to admit it.

With my mounting excitement, I lost track of how long he adored my breasts, but I brought myself back to the moment, telling myself to savor whatever this was—this being what Tiberius was doing to me. My senses were already strung out when I felt him unbutton my jeans and slip them down, urging me to lift my hips so he could maneuver them the rest of the way. Kicking my boots off, my pants were gone in one fell swoop. Then, Tiberius let his tongue dip and linger along my belly button before hitting my core.

“Ah,” I let out, revealing too much pleasure, yet not saying enough.

“This okay?” Tiberius asked again.

It was obvious he was afraid to push me beyond my limits. I wasn’t sure if that was because of his lack of experience or something else, maybe his general nurturing nature, but I didn’t have time to ponder it as he flicked his tongue along my clit. When he slowed to a teasing pace, taunting my tiny bud, causing my back to arch off the bed, it was clear he was not lacking any knowledge in knowing what to do down below—with his tongue.

“I’m gonna come. I’m gonna come,” I choked out. Not knowing what he expected or wanted, I now knew without a doubt that he needed to be in charge. Wondering if I should just let go, I desperately reeled in the flood that was ready and waiting to course through my veins.

When he said, “Let go, Rex,” I did on a scream. His name came tumbling off my lips into the dark night, echoing in my head, or maybe I just kept repeating it. I was so loud, they may have even heard me all the way at the party.

Tiberius made his way back up my body, planting kisses along my torso, blowing on my already distended nipples, and nuzzling my neck. I could smell myself on him, and I hoped he didn’t mind.

“Wow,” I breathed out, then snaked my hand down to his waistband and ducked in, grabbing his dick before he could protest. I wrapped my hand around his girth—not able to fit it all the way around—and started teasing and pumping.

“Tingly, stop, babe.”

I froze. “Why?”

“’Cause you don’t have to, that’s why. Tonight was about you, about me taking care of you,” he said before he took my hand and drew it up around his neck. Then he planted a huge kiss on me and swung me over to his side, settling my head on his chest as he asked, “Want to sleep here?”

All I did was nod before drifting off to sleep in Ty’s long wingspan, my head moving with the rise and fall of his chest as the aftereffects of the most insane orgasm soothed me like a lullaby.

The next morning I woke up plastered to Tiberius’s side, my arm thrown over his thick waist, my hair a rat’s nest on top of my head, and my muscles more sore than after running for days.

I didn’t feel like moving or fleeing. A blanket of contentment washed over my tired limbs as I took in his steady breathing, the rise and fall of his broad chest. In front of me was a dream come true, a fairy tale worthy of being in the movies, encapsulated in a weapon. His muscles were like steel, his arms coursing with veins from shooting day after day, his calves bulging from lifting high on his legs. But as I lightly ran my fingers over the smooth skin on his arm, I knew this to be only the outer packaging. Wasn’t that what I’d been seeking my whole life? For someone to see me as more than a blond, blemish-free California socialite?

“Hey.” Tiberius rolled over in bed, pulling me into his arms as he kissed my forehead, then moved down to my mouth.

I batted at him, protesting, “Ugh, my breath.”

He paid no mind to my warning and began kissing me. He kept it closed-mouthed, our lips fusing for the briefest of moments before he pulled back and mumbled, “Morning.”

“Hi.” I nuzzled my head under his chin and placed a kiss on his collarbone, running my tongue along the plane from one side to the other.

“Feels good.”

I looked up and pouted.

“What’s wrong?” A look of panic swept over his typically relaxed features.

“I gotta go. I need to be in the weight room today. Worst day ever.”

He pulled me in tighter, squishing me against him, and ran his lips along my brow. “You gotta work at being strong, T, just like everyone else.”

I was smart enough to get the double meaning to what he was saying, but I didn’t have the strength to get into it with him. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” was all I gave back.

He gave me a quick pinch to the butt and I jumped up from the bed, squealing. I never thought I would ever squeal, and here I was doing it with a guy—in bed.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the weight room after you stop and get changed,” Tiberius said matter-of-factly, leaving me no room for argument.

So I got out of bed and wrapped in the blanket to use the bathroom, and then tossed on last night’s clothes to make the walk of shame.

But for the first time ever, I didn’t really feel ashamed at all.

“T
ingly? Tingleee? Where are you?” I heard Ginny frantically shouting throughout the apartment over the loud spray of the shower.

After turning off the water and tossing a towel around myself, I stuck my head out of the bathroom door and yelled, “What?”

It was Thursday and I had to get to my dreaded economics class. I was already going to be late as it was after taking an extra-long run, which was much needed to soothe the pulsing ache for more with Tiberius. We’d spent every night together since Monday, yet we were still moving at a snail’s pace.