Authors: Andrea Jackson
“Did you tell her?” he asked as soon as she walked in the door.
“No,” Crystal admitted, twisting her mouth. “I wanted to, but we had a huge fight. She hates me, Key.” She bit her lip in an effort to hold back her tears.
“Listen, honey. I don’t want to talk about her. She’s got nothing to do with you and me.”
When he took her into his arms again, Crystal gave in to him with a sigh.
He just didn’t understand how much Shonté had been through. Crystal brooded on the fact that she had sworn her secrecy to Shonté. She didn’t believe Key would remain indifferent if he knew Shonté’s past. With sad clarity, Crystal knew she had to bear the consequences of that secret, along with Shonté.
As if to pull her mind from distraction, Key kissed her with deep thoroughness. She clung to him, her desire igniting. But Key pulled back with a sigh.
He held her chin in a delicate caress and spoke with gentle seduction. “I gotta finish up some work, baby, before I can give you my full attention.”
Crystal gazed at him wide-eyed, gathering her wits.
Oh, lord, I’m so hooked on this man.
She didn’t think she was as crazy as she had been with Gary, but she’d have to be careful not to make Key think she was some mindless, sex hungry junkie.
She curled up beside him on the couch to watch a video of the weekend’s game. He filled out paperwork and wrote notes as he studied the playback. She had to admit that being with him brought out the best in her. He made her see beauty in just about everything. And after every meeting, he left her wanting more. But she had the feeling he was still holding some essence back from her. Maybe it was his background; his early traumatic years had taught him to hold back. She’d just have to accept that if she wanted to be with him. For once she wasn’t going to be logical or rational.
They had Chinese food delivered and settled back to eat as Key finished up his work.
“So your team isn’t going to the championship bowl this year?” Crystal asked. Last night while she tried to sleep in the empty apartment, she’d realized there was another obstacle in the way of their relationship. If only it could be just the two of them in a world of their own.
Key gathered trash from the large coffee table into a plastic bag. “No. This weekend was our last game of the season. But the kids are fine with that. You know I encouraged a lot of them to sign up for the Big Brother program at the beginning of the year. We’re going to have a big party with their little brothers at the skating rink in two weeks. You can come if you want.”
Crystal smiled at the man who was her friend and lover as he rejoined her on the couch. “I’m so proud of you, Key.”
He squirmed in embarrassment. “What do you mean?”
She moved closer on the couch to put her arms around his shoulders. “You care about those kids so much. Not just their athletic ability, but their character too. Have I ever told you what a wonderful role model you are?”
He shrugged, his mouth twitching in self-deprecatory emotion. “It’s not a big deal. I just want to pass on the break I got when Mom and Pop adopted me. Some of my players wouldn’t be where they are now if somebody hadn’t intervened to keep them in school and on track. Now they get a chance to pay it forward.”
“I still think you’re the most incredible man at Hope University.” She snuggled against him, overwhelmed once more by the depth of her feelings for Key.
“I’m glad somebody thinks so,” he murmured.
She looked up with swift concern. “What’s wrong, Key?”
“Nothing serious. Dave—Coach Welch—found out I was involved with Marcus and his girlfriend.”
“Oh, no, Key. Are you in trouble?”
“No, it was just a warning. As a smaller school we’re usually under the radar of the NCAA. But I don’t want to blow the chance for Marcus to get his scholarship.”
“Did you tell him about this?”
“Yeah, he understands. He’s good enough to get a scholarship somewhere else, but I’d like to see him at Hope. I want him to be educated, not used. I know what can happen if you lose your ability to play for some reason. I’ll keep in touch with him. And Jalessa seems to be tight with Shonté.”
“I wonder when she finds the time,” she muttered.
“Didn’t you know she’s been working with Jalessa?”
Perplexed, Crystal gave him a blank stare.
Key seemed surprised. “She’s gone with Jalessa to programs at that center in Raleigh several times.”
“I…didn’t know,” Crystal murmured. Shonté working with the teen mothers? What was that about? And why hadn’t she told Crystal? Another door seemed to close between Crystal and Shonté, giving Crystal another prick of betrayal. She didn’t even know her friend anymore.
“Are you okay with that?” Key watched her.
Crystal tossed her head in deliberate carelessness. “Does it matter? As you and she have repeatedly told me, it’s her life.”
“That’s right. Anyway,” he paused to adopt a meaningful leer, “you won’t have time to worry about her now, will you?”
She hesitated, amused and intrigued by his tone. “What are you talking about?”
He pulled her legs up into his lap and slid one hand along her thigh. “Don’t you know I plan to ravish you, make you scream with pleasure, beg me to stop even while you beg me for more?”
Her pulse sped up as she looked up into his laughing eyes.
“I love being with you, Key. I don’t want it to ever end.”
Somberness shadowed his expression as his gaze dropped to his hand on her leg. “Do you? Does anything ever last?”
She cupped his cheek in a gentle touch. He lifted his gaze to look at her, trouble floating in the black pools of his eyes.
Her chest constricted, squeezing the breath from her lungs. “I’ll be here as long as you want.” She spoke in a husky whisper, wanting to tell him that she wouldn’t hold on to him when he tired of her, but afraid to reveal the depth of her feelings. Afraid that her heart would be broken.
He smiled crookedly as his fingers spread on her denim-clad thigh. “Then be prepared for a long, long run, baby.”
And knowing that was all she could ask, more than she deserved, she laced her fingers behind his neck and pressed her mouth against his, demanding as much of his body and soul as she could claim at this moment.
He responded with his own insatiable need, pushing her back on the couch, his body half on top of her. Savoring the heady fulfillment of his kisses, she hardly noticed when the zipper of her jeans opened. His one hand pushed them down to possess her hip, then slid up beneath her shirt. With his thumb and forefinger, he teased her nipples through the lace of her bra. She moaned in sweet torment.
Key chuckled, lifting his head. “You like that, don’t you, baby?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then let me show you more.”
He stood upright, taking her hand. Crystal started to scramble up but he halted her by sweeping her up against his body with an arm beneath her shoulders and the other under her knees.
Crystal gave a little squeal of surprise, clinging to him with her arms around his neck. He grinned at her indulgently. She kissed his smiling face, loving his ability to make her feel fragile and cherished. Without effort, he carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. Dizzy and euphoric, she released him to clutch at the bedspread on either side of her. Wide-eyed and breathless, she watched him standing over her.
Without taking his eyes off her, he put his hands to the waistband of his jeans, unsnapped and unzipped with deliberate slowness. Crystal watched in rapt expectation, titillated as his abdomen came into view, then the elastic of his underpants. His pants dropped to the floor, revealing long, dark red briefs that molded to his powerful thighs. His erect penis pushed against the confinement, peeping through the fly of the garment. Grabbing the hem of his tee shirt, he pulled it over his head, exposing the taut line of his chest, a mat of hair darkening to a line that plunged beneath the waistband of his underwear. Crystal wiggled on the bed, licked her lips. Her jeans, already unfastened, slid down to where she could kick them off.
Key bent and placed one hand on either side of her head, sliding his knee between her thighs. Crystal ran her hands over his pecs, shivering with excitement. Slipping the tips of her fingers beneath the elastic of his waistband, she watched his face with anticipation.
With a soft chuckle, he tucked his pelvis deeper into the cradle of her thighs. “Do it,” he whispered, a playful challenge.
Crystal wiggled again, rubbing her body against his hard-muscled one. His legs were like columns of rock, his arms beside her head corded with muscle. His defined chest hovered just above her. She pushed her hands into the tight stretchy underwear, letting her nails rake his tight buttocks. Key shivered and groaned, dropping his chin to his chest.
Crystal gave a soft laugh and cupped his buttocks in enticement. When Key put his mouth on her breast, dampening the fabric shielding it, Crystal arched with delicious sensation, amazed that he could give her such pleasure without even undressing her. He started to grind his erection back and forth along her crotch. She felt the huge bulge against her and widened her legs to take more of him. Her clothing became a frustration. With only her hands to absorb the sultry warmth of his skin, she caressed him with increasing wildness. Blind with need, she took possession of him with her hands and mouth. He surrendered to her demands and she was rewarded when his body rocked as if moved by an earthquake. Crystal got drunk on the heady power of creating this response. Despite his muscle and might, he was helpless against her loving commands. She was his temptress, his siren, his goddess. His soul’s essence. When he exploded, Crystal’s body reacted with a gush of soft fulfillment.
CHAPTER 13
With a last tender caress, Crystal crawled up in the bed to lie beside him. Panting, he embraced her shoulders with one arm. Grabbing her chin with the other hand, he drew her mouth to his to cover it in a kiss that savored and aroused her.
“Oh, you wanton little hussy,” he breathed, laughter shaking his voice. “You know you’ll pay for that, don’t you?”
“That remains to be seen,” she murmured, fondling his softened crotch.
Key gave her a glare of outrage before falling back with laugh. “Oh yes, you’ll be sorry you said that.” He scrambled off the bed and headed to the bathroom. Crystal rolled over to watch the smooth movements of his body, captivated by the sheer beauty of his physique.
She lay back with a sigh. Heaven. That was the only way to describe being with Key. She didn’t want it to ever end.
She sat up and finished removing her shirt, exposing her lacy bra. Shivering in her sheer panties, she heard the door of the bathroom behind her open. Then Key slid onto the bed against her back, caressing her stomach and kissing her neck.
“You are full of surprises, my little Shortcake,” he murmured in her ear.
She smiled and let her head fall back on his chest. “You inspire me.”
He snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Crystal twisted to face him, entangling her legs with his. “Don’t you believe me?”
He massaged her hands, watching her with wonder. “Seriously, nobody else has ever done that to me.”
“What?” She dipped her eyes to his crotch. “That?”
He shook his head, entwining her fingers in his. “Make me lose control like that.”
Pleasure flooded Crystal all the way through to her marrow. She was speechless with pride, unable to think of any response.
Smiling, Key rocked their interlocked hands together. “But I think I’m ready for round two now.”
Her gaze fluttered downward, wide-eyed. “Already?”
“Um-hm,” he hummed, pulling her closer.
In moments, she was in a state of delirious ecstasy, helpless to resist the thorough invasion of his hands and mouth into the most intimate parts of her body.
When he entered her body, he took his time, driving each stroke as if on a personal mission to see that she drew the most pleasure while he delayed the climax she craved. The balance of pleasure and torment brought her close to insanity, until she thought her body would explode. The universe finally stilled for a moment while they both exploded helplessly. My God, she’d never guessed this was possible. She hadn’t known this joy existed. How had she lived without it?
Sometime later her consciousness returned to normal awareness as she lay panting and shaking on his bed with Key collapsed beside her. She turned to him, surprised to feel tears in her eyes.
Key touched her cheeks in concern. “Are you alright, baby?”
She nodded, embarrassed. “It’s just—
What
was that, Keyandré Emerson?”
He inhaled deeply. “That’s what happens when two people care about each other.”
“But—”
He hugged her with an impatient squeeze. “Do you have to explain it, Taylor? Just let it be. It just is.”
With a sigh, Crystal relaxed and had started to doze off when a sudden thought made her pop upright.
“Key. We have to figure out what we’re going to tell your parents.”
He opened his eyes and spoke with sleepy confusion. “My parents? What are you talking about? I thought we had to tell Shonté.”
She gave him a little shake. “Yes, her, too, but your parents are the important ones.”
He rubbed his face and raised up on his elbows to look at her. “Why do we have to tell them anything? We just started our relationship. It’s not like we’re getting married or something.”
His response irritated and rattled her. She snapped a reply. “I wasn’t asking you to marry me. But Thanksgiving is next weekend.”
Key turned a startled look on her, but immediately clamped down on the emotion as his jaw clenched. “Ohhhhh.”
“I don’t know what they’re going to think of me.” She spoke in a low voice. It wasn’t just that. She didn’t want to think about what would happen when they broke up. Who would they blame?
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“What do
you
want to do?”
He rolled his eyes. “Damn, Crystal baby. You know what I want. This is not a game to me. You’re the one who wants to hide our relationship.”
She was shocked. “You know we can’t do that at their house!”
“I know that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t tell them we’re seeing each other.”
She looked away from him, exasperated with her difficulty in explaining. “They’ll make a big deal out of it. Your parents see things like this more seriously than we do.”
Key heaved a gusty sigh. “Fine. We’ll wait till after Thanksgiving to make the big revelation.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
He circled her shoulders and drew her closer to his side, as if she were a rare and delicate prize that he wanted to cherish. Some of the tension went out of her body. She closed her eyes, savoring his texture and scent. Even if this relationship didn’t last, she was glad to have this interlude.
His gaze drifted down to her breasts and it was as if he had touched her.
Heat flickered to life inside her. She leaned forward to touch the tip of her tongue to his lips.
His hands snatched her body closer. He slanted his mouth across hers, hot and exciting. She couldn’t resist him. She didn’t want to, God help her. With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
* * *
Key jerked awake, drenched in sweat, his heart hammering. Geez, he hadn’t had that nightmare in years. A glance at the glowing numbers on the bedside clock told him he’d been asleep less than two hours.
He struggled to calm his breathing. It wasn’t even a nightmare in the ordinary sense. More like a smothering sense of terror, the knowledge that he was alone and hurting. Paralyzed with horror at being alone and at the same time frantic that someone would come and hurt him. Darkness pushed in around him, strangling him.
Key climbed from the bed without disturbing Crystal. He went to the kitchen and got a cold glass of water. Despite the slight chill on his naked skin, he went to stretch out on the couch.
His nightmares were a legacy of the repressed memories from his childhood before the Emersons took him in. He remembered being scared when he’d first came to live with the Emersons. For months, he’d awaken several nights a week in mindless screaming terror.
One of his earliest memories of Vonetta Emerson was her holding him on her lap after a night terror while she murmured soothing sounds into his hair. She’d hug him until he stopped shaking and sobbing. Eventually he’d drift back into sleep, lulled by the delicious night smell of her herbal bath soap and rich night cream.
Just when he started to relax and think that he was finally safe, they’d brought home the infant Shonté and everything changed again, revolving around the darling baby. He’d felt displaced at first, frightened of being abandoned. But he gradually accepted that he was a part of a family now and enjoyed his big brother role. In time, the dreams had dwindled. As he grew older, he learned to hide his infrequent night waking. By the time he finished high school, he wasn’t having them at all. Only after Monica Owens dumped him, they returned for few weeks.
So why now? Key stirred on the couch, shivering from the coolness of the air. Impatient, he stood up and padded back into the bedroom without turning on the light. He paused by the bed, straining to make out details in the nighttime dimness. He saw the shape of Crystal’s body under the blanket and one outstretched arm. He heard the soft purr of her breathing. A sudden intense wave of longing sent a tremor jigging down his naked back. An ache that was not quite physical stabbed him.
Christ, was he afraid of losing her? Had he become dependent on her this quickly? He scrubbed his clammy face with the back of his wrist. This was insane. He and Crystal had been friends for years. Nothing would change that.
He bent over her, his lips brushing her soft cheek, to shake her naked shoulder gently.
“Crystal, baby,” he whispered.
She stirred and mumbled, turning toward him. He was shaken once more by how beautiful she looked sleeping. Such absolute peace and trust on those sweet caramel features.
“Crystal, can you hear me?” he persisted.
She made a disagreeable whining sound. He fought down the instinct to gather her into his arms and keep her safe all night.
He steeled himself again. “Are you spending the night here, Crystal?”
She rubbed her eyes, a deep grumbling sound coming out of her chest. “No, not this time,” she managed to croak. “I have to get up early in the morning.”
Key stepped back, the tightness in his chest deepening. He let her get dressed at her own pace, then insisted on following her home in his vehicle to make sure she got there safely.
Climbing from her car, she hurried to the front door with one blown kiss in his direction before he drove away.
* * *
At work next day, she ran into Trevor as she left the hospital cafeteria. She would have stalked past him except he caught her arm with a laugh.
“Hang on, I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” he said to her. To the other two doctors walking with him, “You guys go on.”
He walked with her out into the corridor, his hand still on her arm.
Crystal looked at it, then up into his face, with unmasked disapproval.
“I get the impression you don’t like me being with your friend,” he said in a teasing tone.
“It’s none of my business.”
“Maybe we could talk about it sometime. We could go out for coffee or for lunch. Call me at my office.” He handed her a business card.
Crystal automatically accepted it, staring at him in disbelief. This man had the most colossal ego she’d ever encountered, or else he was depriving a village of its idiot. She wished that Shonté would walk up now and see him flirting.
An idea hit her at that moment. Her friend wouldn’t listen, but she’d have to believe the evidence of her own eyes.
She lowered her lashes.
“What about my friend Shonté?” she asked in a coy voice.
“What about her?”
“You shouldn’t hit on her friend.”
“This is just coffee. Unless you want it to be something else?” He smirked.
She giggled. “Trevor! I don’t do that.”
“Shonté and I have an understanding. She knows I’m married and don’t plan to leave my wife. We have fun together, that’s all.”
“Trevor, I can’t believe this. I have to admit that I’ve felt an attraction to you but I didn’t think it was right….” She let her voice trail off and fluttered her lashes.
She saw his chest expand and she experienced a swell of delicious power in herself. She couldn’t believe how well this worked! Her heart pounded, but she realized it wasn’t exactly fear. It was a kind of exhilaration. Good grief, the male of the species was amazingly easy to manipulate.
He squeezed her hand. “I had a feeling your disapproval was motivated by a little bit of jealousy.”
She almost burst out laughing, but managed to turn it into a hiccup. Patting her chest, she excused herself. “I really have to get back to my office. Maybe I’ll see you at Shonté’s play this weekend?”
“What play?” he asked.
Rat bastard
, she thought. “She’s starring in the production at the City Theater this weekend.”
“I may be able to stop in,” he said with a careless shrug before he waved and went into the cafeteria.
Walking back to her office, Crystal reviewed all the reasons why this was a great plan and tried out scenarios by which she could accomplish her goal. The thought of Shonté’s anger made Crystal hesitate. But she told herself that Shonté would understand in time.
* * *
Crystal arrived at Shonté’s opening night with jittery expectation. Shonté had been distracted but not unpleasant for the last couple of days as she geared up for the rise of the curtain in their local theater.
Crystal and Key sat in the third row as the red velvet curtain came up. Only one person stood on the stage, centered in a spotlight which gradually expanded to reveal a set depicting a modest kitchen. The woman at the sink scrubbed a pot. Crystal recognized Shonté in makeup and costume. She tensed, her gaze running over her roommate for things that were wrong. She had heard so much about Shonté’s dress rehearsal disasters, she was primed for one tonight.
With a bang, Shonté flung the pot down and lifted her face heavenward. “Damn! I’m never going to scrub a pot again!”
From that moment on, Shont
é mesmerized Crystal, drawing her into the world the actors created on the stage.
Crystal had seen her friend perform many other times. But somehow this time, she recognized that Shonté had climbed to another level. The girl sizzled. Her skin glowed under the stage lights. Beside her, the other actors looked like amateurs or has-beens. They were pleasant to watch, but it was Shonté who held the play. When the final curtain came down, the audience thundered with applause. People stood up and yelled. The curtain came up again to reveal the line of actors holding hands. They took a group bow to a standing ovation. Then Shonté stepped forward and the roar swelled as she laughed and waved. She was in her element, happy and fulfilled. It was a long time before the audience settled down, with Shonté forced to take another bow.
When the lights came up over the audience, Crystal sat motionless in her seat until Key gave her a nudge. “You okay?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “She’s really good, isn’t she?”
Key’s grin stretched even wider, his pride bubbling. “Yeah. I think that’s one of her best performances ever.”
She followed him as they sidled between the rows of seats to the aisle. Once there, she caught his arm to get his attention once more.
“She could be a pro, couldn’t she, Key?”
“I don’t know about all that. I mean there’s a lot of luck involved.”