Romance Rivals Page 6

  “Really, let me know how much to pay you and I will,” I said.

  “Nah, I won’t charge ya. Just keep some nice conversation going so I don’t fall asleep under here,” he said, chuckling.

  “I can do that.”

  “Oh! How’s the canned-food drive thing going?”

  “Uh, good. I take it Keith’s been talking about it?”

  “Non-fucking-stop.”

  I giggled. “Well, we turned in all of our cans a couple of days ago.”

  “You think you won?” he asked.

  “Oh, hell yeah.”

  But I wasn’t as confident in that as I usually was.

  Hutch laughed. “Why in the world do you take such pride in busting that man’s balls so much?”

  I furrowed my brow. “That’s not what this is.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Look, Keith threw himself into the competition. I didn’t invite him to do it. He didn’t start doing it until I did.”

  “I mean, he only did that damn thing to get closer to you.”

  Hutch eased himself from underneath the sink as my face fell.

  “I don’t believe you,” I said.

  He turned on the kitchen faucet and water started pouring out of it.

  “All right, where’s the bathroom?” Hutch asked.

  “A competition is a stupid way to get my attention. Especially since he knows how competitive I get,” I said.

  “Well, Keith can be a stupid guy sometimes.”

  I giggled and Hutch smiled at me.

  “Come on. I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”

  He fixed up my bathroom in silence, and by the time he was done, the sink and the shower had beautiful pressure coming out of both faucets. Hutch gathered up his tools and I made my way for my purse, determined to pay the man for his work.

  “Keep your money. I don’t want it,” Hutch said.

  “Let me do something to repay you. Buy you food. Get you groceries. Something,” I said.

  “You know how you can repay me for this?”

  “How?”

  “Give Keith another chance.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Give the man another go at things. Because one day, he’s going to surprise you. You're going to turn around, and you’re going to wonder how the hell you ever did your life without him.”

  I snickered. “Well, thanks for the help. Though, the advice could use some work.”

  “It’s your life. If you want to spend it alone, that’s on you. But I can tell you one thing. That man is tripping all over himself just to get you to like him instead of hate him. Because if you ask me? He’s never hated you. He’s only ever wanted to be your equal.”

  And as Hutch left my apartment, I wondered if he was right.

  I wondered if I had made a grave mistake.

  CHAPTER 17

  KEITH

  It was the night of the awards ceremony for the canned food drive, and I was nervous. The final piece of my desperate plan was in place, and it was the last trick up my sleeve I had. I stood at a bistro table close to the buffet in the restaurant the school had rented out for the affair. And as I stood there, I scanned the room.

  If Alison didn’t show up to this, then my plan had no shot at working.

  She walked through the doors at the last second, and my jaw hit the floor. Holy fuck, the woman looked stunning. She was in a black cocktail dress that hugged her waist and dipped dangerously low on her bosom. Her hips swayed deeply as she walked in her black heels, with little red bows on the top of them.

  Red bows that matched her crimson lips.

  If you’re out there, God, I could really use a wingman right about now.

  I waited until she grabbed a plate, then quickly slipped into the line with her. I waited and bided my time until she saw me, and then I offered her a kind smile. She didn’t return it, but she didn’t scramble away from me, either.

  Perfect.

  “Looking forward to the award ceremony?” I asked.

  She smiled sweetly. “I sure am. Though, I’m wondering if they’re going to give out blue ribbons or not.”

  I chuckled. “You and those ribbons.”

  She shrugged. “They make me feel important.”

  The smile faded from my face as her words dawned on me. Was that why she loved them so much? Winning all the time? Because it was the only thing that made her feel important.

  “Would you like to join me at my table?” I asked.

  “Keith, I don’t know if—”

  “Just for old time’s sake. No other reason.”

  She looked over at me, and I could have sworn there was hurt in her eyes.

  “Sure. For old time’s sake,” she said.

  We finished getting our food, then made our way over to my table. We sat down beside one another, eating silently as her perfume wafted around my head. I’d never get enough of it. The damn thing was her trademark scent, other than the beauty of the fountain between her legs.

  Focus, Keith. Fucking focus.

  “Hello, and good evening, everyone,” the director said.

  The two of us stopped eating as the director of the food pantry began speaking.

  “I want to thank everyone for all of the effort put into this drive. I never expected us to be abundantly blessed with all that was brought in over the past couple of weeks. But this year? We broke the record for the number of cans received!”

  Everyone clapped and whooped as the director smiled.

  “And it’s all thanks to one woman,” the director said.

  The spotlight swung around and landed right onto Alison. I looked over at her and watched as utter joy filled her eyes. I smiled as the director announced Alison as this year’s winner, with over twenty thousand cans donated.

  Alison looked practically dazed with euphoria.

  “Congratulations,” I said, grinning.

  She looked over at me. “I mean, I know I had a lot of cans. But that’s almost double my estima—”

  I smiled brightly at her as her face fell. She looked at me and shook her head, her mouth dropping open in shock.

  “Go get your award, beautiful,” I said, chuckling.

  “You didn’t,” she breathed.

  “I do what I want. I’m a grown man. Now, go.”

  “Alison Blake! Come join me on stage and receive this wondrous award you are more than due,” the director said.

  Everyone clapped as she stood. She kept her eyes locked on me in disbelief until the very last possible second. I clapped as she walked up there, receiving her trophy that was laced with those blue ribbons I’d always associated with her.

  Then, the director offered her an envelope.

  “Because of your more-than-generous efforts, we also want to give you a weekend stay on Catalina Island for two. Professor Blake, your generosity left us breathless. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. From the food pantry to you, just thank you for all you’ve done.”

  Everyone stood and clapped, including myself. I watched as her dazed expression caught my stare, and she slowly shook her head. She shook the director’s hand and gave her a quick hug, then made her way back to the table.

  Back to my side, where our food was growing cold.

  “What did you do?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “You didn’t—your cans—”

  “Would you like to get out of here?” I asked, grinning.

  Her jaw fell open as her eyes danced between mine.

  “Yes. Actually, I would,” she said breathlessly.

  “Then, meet me back at my place after this is all said and done. Okay?”

  Maybe my plan would work after all.

  CHAPTER 18

  ALISON

  I drove to Keith’s home in a daze. I didn’t even touch the food I’d gotten from the buffet. I kept glancing at the trophy and the ribbon. That envel
ope that held a wondrous weekend getaway for me and one other person inside. There was no way I collected over twenty thousand canned goods. Not by my counts. I had always been an accurate person. I was a mathematics professor, for fuck’s sake!

  The only explanation was that Keith collected those cans in my name, despite the sign on the barrels.

  I didn’t get it. Did he beat me? I mean, we’d never know now. Didn’t he want to know? Why the hell would he do something like that if it wasn’t to win? Was he fucking with me? Trying to show me that even though I won, he was some sort of better person because he was decent? I was decent! I was a good person!

  I didn’t know what to think.

  I parked my car and headed straight for his front door. I knocked furiously, my entire body trembling. I wanted answers. I wanted to know what the hell had just happened. I didn’t stop knocking until the door fell open, with Keith standing there in front of me.

  “Care to come in?” he asked.

  “No,” I said.

  I watched him nod slowly before he stepped out onto the porch.

  “What in the world happened tonight?” I asked.

  “You mean, you don’t already know?” he asked.

  “Stop being coy and explain yourself.”

  He sighed. “I had to find a way to get your attention.”

  “What?”

  “Your attention, Alison. I had to find a way to get it. So we could move past the awkwardness of, well, our entire past.”

  “Why would you—I don’t—”

  “I figured a good, old-fashioned competition would do the trick.”

  I had so many questions spinning around in my mind.

  “But why?” I asked.

  “I thought I just answered that,” Keith said.

  “Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you. Why do you want my attention? Why did you give me those cans? Why not keep them for yourself and try to win, for real?”

  “Is there a preference for the order in which—”

  “Keith!”

  “Because I would have lost the only thing that mattered to me, Alison!”

  My breath caught in my throat.

  “Because I would have lost the only damn thing that really matters to me. I would have lost you in the process, and no competition is worth that kind of a toll, Alison. Don’t you get it?” he asked.

  He… wanted me?

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, woman,” he groaned.

  His hands cupped my cheeks and brought me in for a kiss. But not just any kiss—it was passionate and fierce. His tongue pressed through my lips, not asking for permission. My hands shot out as he wrapped his arms around my waist, cloaking my back with his muscles. And when his tongue slid across the roof of my mouth, a soft moan inched up the back of my throat.

  My arms settled around his body as his lips drew back.

  “I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you again,” he murmured.

  “What?” I whispered.

  He kissed me again, his body pulling me into his house.

  “I love your energy.”

  Kiss.

  “Your spirit.”

  Kiss kiss.

  “And you’re the only one who can keep up with me. In anything.”

  He crashed his lips against mine, using my back to close his front door. I felt his reach for the lock. It flipped, and the sound sent shivers down my spine. I gripped the fabric of his shirt, moaning down his throat as his knee pressed between my thighs.

  Then, his forehead fell to mine.

  “You’re perfect for me, Alison Blake,” he whispered against my lips.

  I fisted his shirt and ripped it over his head. I heard buttons popping and stitches tearing as we stripped one another down, right there in his foyer. We stumbled up his steps, kissing and caressing one another. I ripped his belt from his pants and pushed the fabric down his legs. He unhooked my bra with a sly expertise, freeing my breasts from their confines. His hands gripped my ass cheeks, picking me up and carrying me down the small upstairs hallway.

  I didn’t stop kissing him until my back hit his mattress, his body hovering over mine.

  “You’re perfect in every single way for me,” he groaned.

  Then, his face fell into the valley of my breasts.

  CHAPTER 19

  KEITH

  Her curves surrounded me as I lost myself in her. In her softness. In her warmth. In the moans of her lips and the undulations of her hips. I kissed and sucked on her breasts, pulling her nipple between my teeth. I lapped at her puckered peaks as my hands traveled her waist, down to those hips I loved fisting in the palms of my hands. Her fingers tangled up into my hair. Her thick thighs parted, releasing the only scent that could ever be beautiful enough to overpower her perfume.

  I couldn’t wait another second to finally taste her.

  I kissed down her stomach, feeling the excess give way underneath my lips. Her body jumped as I sucked on the skin at her hip bones, her body darting around. Her sounds fought between giggles and groans. She pressed down onto my head, trying to force me to where she really wanted me to be. Trying to control my movements.

  And I’d let her.

  This one time.

  I slipped her thick legs over my shoulders and buried my face into that beautiful pussy. Her lips unfurled for me, like an exotic flower in the middle of the rainforest. I gathered her juices on my tongue, shivering as I tasted her. The saltiness and the twinge of sweet, sliding down my throat and filling my stomach.

  I wanted to pitch a fucking tent between her legs.

  “Keith. Oh, yeah. That’s it. More!”

  Her moans egged me on. The rolling of her hips coated my cheeks in her juices. My tongue flicked and pressed into her clit, sending her legs shivering around my face. She clamped them down onto my cheeks, trapping me there in the center of her heavenly body. I folded her knees to her chest, opening her up and licking her from slit to clit, over and over again, until she was ready to burst.

  “Keith, yes! Don’t fucking stop!”

  My nose nuzzled into her clit as my tongue filled her pussy. And like a bullet, she shot out of the barrel of her gun. Her entire body contracted as her juices fell forth, her body shaking and her moans turning to monosyllabic nonsense. I drank down every drop she had for me. I cleaned her up and flicked her clit with my tongue one last time. She whimpered, gasping for air as I settled her legs back down onto the bed.

  I rushed up and kissed her, feeling her cup my cheeks as she licked her essence off my skin.

  “Oh, Keith,” she whispered.

  “I’m not nearly done with you yet,” I growled.

  I grabbed my cock and inched my way into her. I peeled her hands away from my cheeks, threading our fingers together. I pinned her wrists above her head as our eyes connected, and together we moved. I rolled deeper into her pussy and she rose her hips to meet my every thrust. We melded together as her walls pulsed around me, making way for my thick intrusion. Her jaw unhinged and her eyes rolled back. Her voluptuous breasts filled the divots of my chest. Her stomach was the most wondrous pillow for my abs to lay against, and her legs locked around me, like pillows around my fucking hips.

  “Alison. Fuck. Shit. You have—no clue—what—oh!”

  I couldn’t get enough of her. I’d never be able to. I gave in to my feelings for her, allowing them to overwhelm me. The world stopped turning. My heart seized in my chest. I reached down and kissed her, releasing her hands so I could pull her close.

  “Yes, Keith. Don’t ever stop,” she breathed.

  I rolled faster, pounding against her hips. Her nails raked down my back, pulling growls up my throat. I kissed her everywhere I could. Her neck. Her breasts. Her cheeks. Definitely those pillowy lips of hers. She bucked ravenously against me, her hands clinging to me as her legs began to shake.

  “That’s it. Keith. That’s—right there. I—you—so—Keith!”

  I crashed my lips against hers and buried myself deep insid
e her. I felt her walls clamping down onto me, massaging and pulling and tickling my dick. My balls curled into my body, and I filled her up with thread after thread of hot arousal. I groaned down her throat. I felt her contract and release underneath me, trembling as I collapsed on top of her.

  It took me a second for my world to come into view again, for the foggy darkness of pleasure and delight to lift from my mind. But when it did, I rolled off her cushioned form and pulled her into my arms.

  I held her, catching her leg between mine as her cheek fell to my chest.

  “You took a risk, you know. Competing against me like that,” she said.

  I felt her fingertips tracing mindless images on my abs.

  “I know,” I murmured. “But you really should admit it. You enjoyed facing off with me again. Didn’t you?”

  I chuckled, and it spurred her own moment of laughter, a sound I loved. A sound I hoped never faded from the corners of my mind.

  A sound I always hoped to pull from her in moments like this.

  “You’re right. I did,” she said softly.

  She kissed my chest and it sent goose bumps prickling down my legs.

  “You know, I never thought I’d ever hear you say I was right,” I said, grinning.

  “Well, don’t get your hopes up too much. I hope you’re ready for a girlfriend who can routinely beat you. Because if you are, it means you won’t be hearing it much.”

  I rolled her over as giggles fell from her lips. I pulled my comforter over our bodies, gazing into her gorgeous eyes. I captured her lips in multiple small kisses, feeling my heart explode with delight.

  “Girlfriend, huh?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you’re kinda stuck with me now,” Alison said. “Which gives me more time to beat the pants off you.”

  “Which you can do anytime you wish,” I said, grinning.

  And with one last giggle, I dipped down to her lips to kiss her. To seal our deal, and our future.

  “Stay with me tonight,” I murmured against her lips.

  She cupped the back of my head and brought me in for a hot, passionate, fiery kiss.

  “For as many nights as you want,” she whispered.