To Hold and to Heal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (2 page)

She was painfully aware of his hand on her back. It felt like a torch through the thin fabric of her dress. His left hand moved up, above the fabric to the exposed skin of her shoulder blades, steadying her.

             
She glanced up, catching his green eyes on fire. It looked like he would devour her at any moment and God help her she wanted him to. He ran his fingers of his left hand down her back and she shivered as her breathing quickened and the rest of the world fell away.

Vaguely, she was aware of the bartender returning to serve the group that had just arrived, but it all seemed so distant. There was only this man and his heat. There was also something oddly familiar about him.

             
“Have we met before? You don't look like an Al,” she mumbled. Her voice sounded heavy in her own ears.

             
“No, never. And you’re not fooling me for a minute. I don’t think you're an Ann,” he replied, his own voice husky as he leaned forward, closing the distance between them, drawing her even closer.

             
The touch of his lips was a shock. They brushed hers softly, questioning, testing. She pushed against him, letting her arms wrap around his neck, filling what little space was left between their bodies with her breasts and belly. He gripped her back tighter, parting her lips with his own, his tongue slipping into her mouth, tasting of bourbon, coaxing hers into action. She returned his kiss, losing herself to the pleasure of his touch. Her body flooded with warmth and she felt her own wetness begin to seep into her panties as his hand traveled from her lower back to cup her ample bottom.

             
“Hey! You totally ditched me, Nice!” A voice yelled over the noise of the crowd. 

In the back of her mind she thought she recognized it, that it meant something, but she was lost in his energy.

“Hey! Oh!”

             
Nice turned and there was Peggy grinning widely at them. Nice looked back at Al and pushed hard away from him. He dropped his arms immediately, a hurt expression on his face. She stumbled backwards into the man who had originally pushed her. Al reached for her to keep her from falling, catching her arm just in time. Once she was steady, he immediately let go.

             
“Looks like someone's had too much the drink!” The man laughed as he took his drink off the bar and walked away.

             
“Peggy lets go!” Nice half shouted, walking quickly over to her friend.

             
Peggy twisted her face into a confused expression. “Why? We’re having fun. Did that guy do something? I'll call security!”

             
Nice gripped Peggy's arm. “No, it's fine, he was a perfect gentleman. I've just had too much to drink. I need to go home and lie down.” She turned back to Al, who was still standing at the bar, his hand slightly raised as if to reach out to stop her. “Come on, Peg. Let's go,” she said as she half dragged Peggy toward the exit.

             
Once outside she stopped and took deep gulping breaths. The air was hot and heavy around them.

             
“Mind telling me what the fuck that was all about in there? Because if that guy tried something. . .” Peggy started.

             
“No, he didn't try anything. I just need to get home. I told you, I've had too much to drink.” She started walking toward the car.

             
“That's not what it looked like to me. You two looked mighty cozy in there. I thought for a second that my little Nice was going to actually be nice to someone if you know what I mean. . .” Peggy said, following close behind her.

             
“I just tripped. That's all. I told you. Too. Much. To. Drink. That's all there was.” Someone shouted behind her. Calling a name.

             
“Just tripped right into that kiss huh?” Peggy teased. “Wish I could trip into somebody that sexy.”

             
Nice recognized the name being called out, but couldn't place it. She really HAD drank too much. “Yeah, I don't know. . .” she trailed off as the man called out the name again.
Ann.
Right, that's me,
she thought to herself.

             
She turned to face the sound. Al was walking towards her, cane in hand, a pronounced limp on his left leg. He waved her clutch purse in the air. She looked back at Peggy who frowned at her. “Maybe you have had too much to drink. You never forget your purse.”

             
“I told you!” Nice replied, hurrying toward Al across the parking lot.

             
He stopped and waited for her to meet him. As she approached he held out the purse. The tiny green sequined bag looked ridiculous in his massive hand. “You left this on the bar.” His voice still had the same husky timbre but his eyes were hidden in shadow.
God help me,
she thought,
I can't walk away from those eyes again.

             
“Thank you,” she said softly taking it from his hand. “Can't believe I left this,” she laughed nervously.

             
He nodded and smiled weakly. “Have a good night, Ann. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean-”

             
“No!” Realizing her voice sounded much harsher than she intended she repeated, softer, “No, it wasn't you. I just,” she paused thinking for a moment. “I just can't do this. Whatever this is, I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm drunk. Good luck with whatever it is you're here for and thanks for bringing my purse out to me.”

             
He nodded. She moved to walk away when he reached for her, his hands clasping her arm gently. She turned and found herself stepping into his arms, back into his warmth and scent. His grip was loose on her as he bent and quickly kissed her cheek, the stubble of his chin rubbing against her skin, sending tingles through her body, flooding her with desire.

             
“Thank you for talking to me,” he whispered to her.

             
She nodded, her tongue felt too big for her own mouth and there were no words. She knew she should move away but there was something about him, something keeping her still. Something that felt safe in him. He stepped back.

             
She shivered and looked back at Peggy for a moment. His hand was still resting on her arm, his fingertips burning.

             
Peggy grinned and gave her the thumbs up. She turned back to Al and threw her middle finger up at the laughing girl behind her. “You’re leaving tomorrow right?”

             
He nodded. “You don’t have to go home with me. I mean, if you want to of course, but you seemed. . .” she stopped him, pressing her lips against his half opened mouth. His left hand caressed the side of her face before dropping to her lower back and pulling her closer.

             
The kiss was feverish. The press of his body was urgent against her. His chest was a wall against her breasts, the hand on her steady, and still. The questioning from earlier was gone, it was clear what he wanted, what his need was. Nice responded in kind letting her fingers find their way into his hair, surprised at its softness.

             
He ended the kiss, letting it taper off into soft pecks. His forehead leaned against hers, his breathing deep. His hand left her back and went back to her face. His thumb traced her bottom lip. She licked the tip of it as it passed and felt him shudder against her. His mouth was covered in lipstick stains.

             
A car honked twice behind them. She turned just in time to see Peggy driving off. “Figures. . .” she mumbled to herself.

             
Al shot her a questioning look. Nice shrugged. “She didn’t want to give me time to change my mind.”

             
He pushed her back gently with both hands. “Ann,” he said, as if the name was foreign. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to do anything. I can take you straight home.”

             
Nice smiled up at him. His expression was earnest. “I know, but I want to.”

             
He nodded and walked her to his car. She laughed.

             
“What?” he asked, opening the door for her.

             
“An Audi? Really? You’ve got a bum leg and drive an Audi? Compensating much?” As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them.

             
He laughed back. “It’s a rental. I’m only in town one night so I figured, why not have a little fun?”

             
She slid into the leather seat and he closed the door behind her.
That’s right, this is just a little fun,
she thought to herself.
Why not have some fun for a change, Nice?

             
He slid into the driver’s side seemingly having no trouble with the leg or the cane. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Nice stumbled out. “I’m a little nervous. I never do this kind of thing.”

             
He ran his finger tips over her thigh. “It’s alright. I never do this either.”

             
A blast of warm air hit her when he started the car which quickly cooled as the A/C kicked on. The drive to the hotel didn’t take long. They didn’t speak. For all the money he spent renting the car, she noticed he sure was frugal about the room. It was a rundown motel, an off brand Day’s Inn.

             
Almost reading her mind he said, “Yeah I didn’t much care where I slept. Just so long as it was clean. I wasn’t expecting company.”

             
He parked the car and got out. Before he could walk around the car, Nice opened her own door and slid out, pulling her dress down to cover herself. She shut the door behind herself and he took her hand and led her to his room.

             
The room itself was clean, if bare. Just a bed, small desk, and TV. The bathroom was off to the side providing the only light in the small space. The A/C was blasting, making it chilly. She took her heels off, dropping down about three inches. The door clicked closed and she felt his body against her. His arms wrapped around her belly, while he traced the curve of her neck with his lips. 

             
Her sex tingled and flooded as his mouth met her ear. “We don’t have to do this,” he whispered. “Tell me what you want.”

             
He pressed against her back, his own desire readily apparent against her body. He licked the cusp of her ear. She moaned softly as his fingers slid over her breast, finding her nipple, teasing it with tiny strokes.

             
She hadn’t been touched like this in months and her body responded by flooding with desire. She arched her back against him. He groaned as she pressed her ass against his body. “Touch me,” she said, in a small voice, almost half in a whisper. “Just touch me.”

             
He pushed the dress down with one hand and unclasped her bra with the other, letting the garments fall silently to the carpet. She gasped as the sudden cold hit her nipples and then again as the cold air was quickly replaced with the teasing touch of his fingers. He stroked her breasts, drawing the nipples into points.

             
Her fingers fumbled against his pants, finding his belt and undoing it behind her back. He dropped one hand from her breast to between her legs. His fingers ran over the soaked cotton of her panties. She shivered as his fingers traced the line of her slit through the thin fabric.

“Keep going,” he whispered.

             
He caressed her slowly, his arms caging her, keeping her upright. Her legs felt weak as her fingers found their way past the buckle and belt of his pants until there was only him filling her hand. He leaned back against the wall, sill holding her as she stroked him, feeling him harden in her hand. She released him to tug at his shirt. He pulled it off himself exposing his bare chest thickly strung with muscle. Standing on her tip toes she reached up and kissed him.

             
He locked her in his arms, drawing her closer, her bare breast pressing against his. His light chest hairs tickled her. She met his hunger with her own, drawing his mouth down to hers, letting her tongue dance with his. She pulled back from the kiss, half dazed and full of want. She kissed his neck, bit at the soft skin there making him gasp then moved down making a trail with her lips until she was on her knees in front of him.

             
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, you really don-,” he sucked in air as she took his cock into her mouth. She moved slowly, focusing on the head. He was thick and heavy in her mouth. He was dripping and he tasted like salt against her tongue.

             
She could feel his fingers against her hair. She moved down taking more, sucking slowly against him. Gasping, she could feel him fighting not to thrust his hips against her. With a sigh he pulled himself out of her mouth.

“Hey, that isn’t necessary-.” He hauled her up to her feet and pressed his mouth against her. “I want something else.” His voice was husky and deep. “Take off your panties. Now.”