Hard Hit (IceCats 3)

I see her sitting in her car as I come alongside my house. “I think we should.”

“I know you do,” she says, and I love that I can see a grin spread across her face. “I’m worried there are too many variables stacked against us.”

I walk up by the car, moving the phone from my ear as she looks up at me, surprised. Her eyes are glossy, dark, and she looks beyond torn. I reach for the door, opening it, and then take her hand in mine. When I pull her into my side, she comes willingly as I wrap my arm around her neck, my hand coming up to grab her by the jaw. I direct her face up so she’s in the perfect position for me to kiss her, and then I do just that. She melts into me as I ignore Celeste beating me with her shovel. As I sweep my tongue over Jaylin’s, my heart is skipping in my chest. I can say the words over and over again, but until she listens and believes me, it won’t matter.

So, maybe kissing her will do the trick.

When I pull back, gazing down into her gorgeous face, she lets out a satisfied sigh. She reaches up, cupping my jaw, her thumb running along my lips. “I needed that.”

“I thought so.”

Her lips start to turn up, but then Celeste hits her with the shovel and she bursts out laughing. I smile widely as she takes Celeste from me, kissing her all over her face. “Hey there, sugar. Where did you get a shovel? You playing with Daddy?”

Celeste giggles happily, and I cuddle both of them into my side. I kiss Jaylin’s temple and ask, “Wanna head to the beach?”

Gone is the sadness and even the uncertainty, replaced by genuine bliss.

With just a nod from her, we head to the beach, where we have an incredible afternoon.

Something I decide I want more of.

After putting Celeste down, I find Jaylin in my kitchen, barefoot after a shower. She pours two large glasses of wine, handing me one when I reach her. I wrap my arm around her waist before pulling her into me, and she tips her head up for me to kiss her. She doesn’t even need to ask. I kiss her wildly, full of need, as she molds her body to mine. When I part from her delectable lips, I kiss her nose. “Did you have fun today?”

Her lips come up at one side, and she nods. “I did.”

“Good. Aren’t you glad you came over?”

“I am,” she says as I thread our fingers together.

With our glasses in our hands, I guide her toward the couch and then pull her down in my lap. She giggles on the way down, her ass so perfect against my cock as I kiss her jaw. She taps her glass to mine, and then we both take healthy sips of the delicious wine. She looks down at her glass, running her fingers along the rim of it as I balance my glass on her knee. I watch her, waiting for her to say what she needs to say. There were so many times this afternoon when I thought she was going to explain why she was struggling earlier, or even about the past relationship, but she never said anything. She played, she laughed, and honestly, I’m okay with it.

I run my other hand up her back, massaging her neck as I gaze at the side of her face. She closes her eyes, leaning into my fingers as I rub out a knot or two. When I kiss her cheek, she turns to capture my lips with hers. It isn’t just one kiss. It turns to two and then three before we put our glasses on the table so we can use our hands on each other. I roll her so she is underneath me, angling my hips between her legs to feel her hot center through her lounge pants. I cradle her jaw with my hand, kissing her with such need as her hands come up to cup my hands. We kiss, long and with tenderness. My blood is sizzling with want, and my heart hasn’t slowed down even a bit.

When she pulls back, I open my eyes to meet her gaze. Gone is the passion, and back is the uncertainty from before. I look at her as she stares into my eyes. I wait, and she doesn’t say anything, so I wait some more. Finally, unable to handle the silence and the not kissing, I say, “While I want to know everything, Jay, I want it to be on your terms.”

She swallows hard, her eyes a bit glossy but not enough to form tears. She licks her lips as she gazes into my eyes. “I don’t have an issue with interracial couples. I obviously like both black and white men, but there are people—”