To Hold and to Heal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (9 page)

             
“This is different.”

             
“Because you're on the other side of table,” he said, smiling gently, running his thumb over her knuckles. His voice was soft, no hint of malice. Nice's stomach was filling with warmth, replacing the cold that had just been there. Alden's eyes flicked away from her as the server returned with their food. The woman smiled as she put the plates down in front of them.

             
Nice's eyes widened at the plate. Her stomach growling, she dug in. After a few moments she stopped. “Oh! This is really unattractive, isn't it?”

             
Alden was clearly holding back laughter. “No, I like a woman with a healthy appetite. Not one of those phonies who pretend they only eat salad with fat free dressing then clean out the refrigerator when they get home.”

             
He speared a piece of steak off of her plate. “Hey! Don't eat my food! What is with you and that?”

             
He laughed around the piece of meat in his mouth. “It's the only thing I've seen you get really mad about. I like seeing the fire in your eyes when you’re mad.”

             
“You want to make me mad?”

             
“I want to see you feel something,” he replied, eyes locked on her.

             
“Don't do that!” 

             
“What?”

             
“That! That thing. That intense stare thing you keep doing.”

             
He laughed. “I'm not staring at you! I'm just not looking away.”

             
“Well no one else looks at me that way.”

             
He thought for a moment. “Why didn't you stay? That night with me, why didn't you stay the whole night?”

             
She was stilled by his question. “Stay for what? For breakfast? With the man that was only in town for one day? Why did you want me to?”

             
“Why wouldn't I want you to?”

             
She looked at him. “I don't know. Because I wear too much makeup and my dress was trashy?”

             
“I'm pretty sure that you would have wiped off the makeup in the morning,” he said. He quickly ate the last bits of food on his plate. “Let's try something easier.”

             
“What? I'm ruining this,” she said, defeated. This was a mistake. She was too awkward. Alden was calling the server over for the check. She sipped at her water self-consciously. Why had she worn the dress? What was she trying to do?

I should have told him I couldn't see him. What am I even doing here?

             
“Thank you.” Alden was handing the bill folder back to the server. She perked up as he stood. She pushed her chair back and he took her hand, helping her to her feet. “Come on,” he said softly.

             
“I shouldn't, we should just-” she started.

             
“We're going to play some games.”

             
“What?”

             
“Games, lots of them. You're going to relax and I'm going to win you something. Time for you to have some fun.”

             
Alden turned out to be terrible at games. Every game was a bust for him. She snorted with laughter, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. He laughed it off and handed her a roll of tokens. “Here you try it, I'm terribly unlucky.”

             
“You knew you were bad at this so why would you want to do it?” she asked, laughing. The light of the camera flash caught her by surprise.

             
He turned the phone to face her. She was looking at her own laughing face. The girl in the picture was happy and carefree. Not her. “Alden. . .” she started.

             
“Here, take a picture with me,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, holding the phone up to capture them both in the frame. The girl staring back at her was frowning slightly, eyebrows pushed together. “Smile,” he said and then he kissed her cheek. In that moment her expression changed and the girl from the first picture returned. The camera flashed again.

             
“Alden!” she said, laughing, “Stop! I hate having my picture taken.”

             
“One more then. That’s all.” He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close. She fit perfectly in the crook of his neck. “Smile for me. I want a photo to keep.”

             
His hand traced a line down her arm.  His scent filled her nostrils, clean, like soap. The slight chill in the air was gone. There was only his arms, his body against hers. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.

             
“You're beautiful. Take a picture with me.”

             
She looked up at him. “What?”

             
He kissed her forehead. “Look at the camera and take a picture with me.”

             
She turned and smiled, a real smile for a change. It felt natural and easy with him. The camera flashed again, capturing them together, perfect.

             
He laughed and kissed her, pressing his mouth against her protests. “And now that your defenses are lowered, I can finally start winning at these things!” he said, pulling the roll of tokens out of her hand.

             
She rolled her eyes. “I think that you're just really bad. Hand over the tokens before they all go to waste.”

             
He laughed, pushing the tokens deep into his pockets where she couldn’t reach them. “No! I said I was going to win you something, and I will.”

             
“Stuffed animal. Not something. You said stuffed animal.” She reached her hands into his pockets. His breathing hitched in his throat while she dug around for the tokens. She pulled her hand out, victorious.

             
“You're bad at this. I'll win the stuffed animal for myself.”

             
He smiled. “Yes, ma'am!”

***

             
Nice held the teddy bear in crossed arms as Alden unlocked the room. He let her walk in first before he closed the door. She was smiling and happy. “You were terrible,” she said.

             
“Hey, I helped win that!”

             
“You paid for the tokens. You lost at games that everyone wins at.”

             
“I'm pretty sure that was a fluke.”

             
She sat down on the bed while Alden turned on the lamp. She looked up at him. “You're staring at me again.”

             
He shook his head. “Like I said before, I'm just not looking away.”

             
Plucking the bear from her arms, he sat down next to her, touching her shoulder gently. “Nice,” he said her name, a soft whisper in the air.

             
“Hmm?” 

             
“I don't feel any different.” And then he kissed her.

             
She wrapped her arms around him, spreading her legs to straddle his body as he pulled her into his lap. She could feel him, hard and urgent underneath her. She moved her hips slightly against him and he moaned into her mouth. “Baby. . .” he  mumbled into her.

             
“Baby?” she asked, breathless from his kiss, his hands on her back.

             
He smiled. “Sweetheart, honey, darling, all of those.” Pushing her hair back, he nuzzled her neck. He pushed the thin strap of her dress down and moved his lips over her shoulder. His hands found their way up her skirt, moving it up until it passed over her hips, his fingers seeking out the edge of her panties. Slipping his fingers past the elastic band, exploring the skin underneath.

             
His breath tickled her shoulder. “Do you want this? Do you want me?”

             
She put her hands on the sides of his face, his green eyes were cloudy with desire. His fingers stilled on her body. She pushed his hair up, off of his forehead. “Who wouldn't want you?” She moved to kiss him and he pulled back from her. His green eyes sparkled in the half light.

             
He shook his head. “Do you? Not anyone, just you.”

             
She looked up at him. She could see herself in his eyes. She smiled gently, touching the side of his face. Her fingers ran over his cheeks, finding scars, invisible to her naked eye. She ran her fingers down his neck, feeling the muscles work as he tilted his head and swallowed. She had never wanted anything as much.

Just for tonight. Just for right now.

             
She placed her lips on his and kissed him slowly. “Yes, I do.”

             
She pressed her lips against him, dropping her hands to his chest and then lower until they slipped under his shirt, touching his bare skin. He released her and pulled his shirt off, pulling her mouth back to his as soon as he was free of its confines. She ran her hands up over his chest, finding the scars with her fingers and then her mouth. He sighed as she ran her mouth over him. Her tongue tracing the lines of his injuries.

             
He stopped her, lifting her face to look at him. “You don’t look at me like I’m broken.”

             
“What?” she asked, reaching for him, craving his touch, his warmth.

             
Pulling her up, he met her mouth with his then pushed her hand down over his leg, the one that had been injured in the accident.

             
She shook her head. “I don't understand?”

             
He smiled. “You don't see that, you just see me.”

             
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Of course! Everyone has scars of some kind. Stop talking and kiss me.”

             
He pulled the green dress over her head, and then undid the bra letting it all drop to the floor.  Leaning her back on the bed he took her in, running a hand down her belly then over her breasts. “Beautiful,” he whispered. She looked down at herself, blushing, “You turn such a pretty shade of red when you're embarrassed,” he said, pulling her face to his. He turned with her, covering her with his body. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

             
“I'm not embarrassed. I'm just not used to this.”

             
“To what?” he asked, kissing down her neck.

             
She sighed in pleasure as his mouth found her nipple, sucking softly, flicking his tongue gently over the hard peak. He let go with his mouth, blowing over her nipple, making her shiver. “To what?” he asked again, slowly taking the other nipple into his mouth, giving it the same treatment.

             
She opened her mouth to answer but his fingers slipped down to the wet center of her sex, sending hot shock waves through her body, chasing whatever answers she was about to give away from her. He petted her gently through her soaked panties. She moved to clamp her legs together but he held them open. He shook his head. “Don’t. I want to see you.”

             
She sat up nodding her head in the haze of pleasure. He slipped his fingers under her panties and pulled them off, revealing her to him. She leaned back and let him look. He ran his hands up her inner thighs, listening to her sigh. His fingers slipped between her legs, parting the wet lips of her.

             
She arched her back as his tongue gently lapped at her swollen clit, sending waves of pleasure through her body. She moaned, running her hands through his hair. He slipped his fingers into her making her cry out in pleasure, “Alden, oh!”

             
Her fingers tangled in his hair, pushing his head down. He laughed against her, taking her clit into his mouth, sucking gently while moving his fingers in and out of her body. She wrapped her legs around his neck, his tongue working steady. She moaned loudly, bucking against his fingers, pulling at him, wanting more.

             
He pulled his face away from her, smiling softly, his fingers still inside of her. Nice sat up quickly. “Why did you-”

             
He kissed her. She could taste herself on him. His tongue filled her mouth as he leaned over her, pulled her underneath him. “I can't see you from there.”

             
She scrambled at his belt buckle while he kissed her. He helped her, dropping his pants. He pressed his body against her, meeting her softness with his hard body. His cock rubbed against her warm sex. She leaned back against the bed, letting him slide over her, settling his weight on top of her. “Can I?” he whispered in her ear, rubbing her sex with his own.