Page 34

DAVINA

I followed Deke out of Chester’s condo, and he led the way to the elevators.

“Where are you going?” I asked, glancing back at the door before looking at him.

“You’ll see.” The elevator chimed, the doors parted, and Deke disappeared inside.

After shooting off a quick text to my sister to let her know I would be back, I rounded the corner to get into the elevator with him. Deke pressed the button to go up, and when the doors pulled together, I drew in a breath, realizing we were alone. Again.

He shifted closer to me, and the back of his hand brushed mine. It was the faintest feeling, yet it sent goose bumps up my arms. I cleared my throat, relieved that the elevator had stopped to let us off.

Deke stepped out first, pushed a door open, and led the way outside. My heels clicked on the cement as I followed his lead, and suddenly he was bathed in blue light.

We were on the rooftop, where a turquoise pool radiated its light on every surface. White lounge chairs were lined neatly around it, with buttoned gray-and-white umbrellas between them. Three canopied cabanas were on the opposite side of the pool, along with a vacant bar only steps away.

Deke drained his drink and set the glass down on a nearby table before walking toward the canopies. I brought my drink close to my chest, taking careful steps after him.

I watched as he pushed one of the curtains of the canopy away to reveal a cushioned bed inside. When he pinned the curtain back, he asked, “Wanna sit?”

I fought a smile, finished my drink, set the glass down, then kicked out of my heels. I sat on the edge of the canopy bed, letting my feet rest on the step below. Deke followed suit and kicked out of his shoes before sitting next to me.

He tipped his chin, looking toward the gold-lit skyscrapers and the dark, endless ocean ahead. Chester’s condo was in the heart of the city. I heard cars driving on the street below and the ocean roaring in the distance. Paired with the drink I had, the sounds were a soothing combination.

“This is nice,” I sighed.

“Yeah?” He glanced at me. “Figured you’d like it.”

“I do. But I’m still mad at you for setting me up to come here in the first place,” I told him, fighting a grin.

He released a belly-deep laugh, then ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “How else was I going to see you again?”

I faltered when his eyes fell to my lips before slowly dragging back up to connect with mine. “You’d have seen me again one day,” I managed to say. “We work together, remember?”

“Yeah, well, tonight feels better. One day could’ve been months from now.” He faced forward again, the skin around his eyes softening. “So be real with me, D. Why did sending my number make you wanna stop talking to me?”

I swallowed and lowered my line of vision to the ground. “I told you. I got really busy with work.” The lie slipped straight through my teeth.

As if he sensed that lie, he said, “I don’t believe you.”

“Why not? You aren’t the only person with a crazy schedule, Deke.” I dared myself to look up at him, and his face was serious. The rippling waters reflected off his warm eyes like jewels, and my breath caught a bit. His jawline was defined beneath the scruff, his lips supple and freshly damp from his tongue.

“No bullshit, remember?” His voice was lower, breathier.

I dropped my head again, staring at my hands now. I rubbed the wedding band and the cushion-cut ring that still occupied my finger.

“Okay. You’re right. No bullshit.”

He sat up taller, waiting for me to speak again.

“It’s just ... I was talking to Tish, and she mentioned a few things about how you treat me and the attention you’ve shown me recently, and I tried to think nothing of it, because I was okay with us being friends and staying in touch. But then you sent your number, and to me, that felt like a step above friends, if that makes sense. Because we would’ve been talking even more, and texts would’ve transitioned to calls, and I don’t want you having the wrong idea, Deke. I mean, I really like talking to you. You’re a great human with a great heart, and any woman would kill to have that, but I don’t want you pouring all your attention into a woman who is in fucking shambles. It’d be a waste of your time, and you deserve better than to be someone else’s leftovers.” I paused. “Plus, I’m not looking to be with anyone else right now ... in a serious way. I just don’t think it would be a smart move for me.”

He looked me up and down. “You call wearing this little black dress and the one you had on at lunch being in shambles?” he asked, completely disregarding my last statement.

I bubbled out a laugh and playfully slapped his arm. “Stop doing that.”

He threw his hands in the air. “Doing what?”

“Deflecting and being so damn charming.”

“Ah. So you think I’m charming? That’s gotta count for something, right?”

I fought a smile as I took a sweep of the rooftop again. “How did you even know this pool was up here?”

“Every rich White man like Chester has a rooftop pool in a seaside condo they own. Plus, I looked up the address before we got here. Saw it on the website.”

I threw my head back to laugh at that. “You sound like my sister. She was so excited to come here just to capture everything on her Insta stories.”

“Shit, can’t say I blame her? It’s a nice place. Not really my style, though.”

“What is your style?”

“Something more low key and chill. I have a penthouse in Atlanta. I’m hardly ever bothered there. You should see it sometime. My roommate would love you.”

“You have a roommate?” I asked, avoiding a frown. This was news to me. Was he talking about Giselle? I mean, not that it mattered ... but I was curious.

“Yeah. His name’s Zeke, and he looks serious as hell at first glance, but he’s goofy and playful. He also has four paws and is a Doberman.”

“Oh my goodness, Deke! You are so corny!” I laughed, and he chuckled.

When silence fell between us again, it was welcoming. Comforting.

He was sitting close to me, his hand resting on the edge of the canopy where mine was. One lift of my pinkie, and I would be touching him.

What was it about him that made me want to touch him? I couldn’t figure it out, but it wasn’t good to want so much from someone I didn’t want to get serious with.

I ignored the thought just as Deke sighed. His head was down, and he was staring at the ground.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

His head tilted enough for his eyes to connect with mine. “You want the truth?”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Always.”

He turned toward me so that his knee was touching mine. I glanced down at where we were touching before dragging my eyes up to his.

“Well, truth is being just friends with you is killing me slowly.” His eyes fell to my lips, and I froze a little.

“Why?” I dared myself to ask. I shouldn’t have asked. This was testing the limits and going against all the things I told him I didn’t want.

“Because from the moment I met you, I wanted you, D. And wanting someone has never felt so complicated.”

“I told you I’m in shambles,” I whispered as his mouth moved closer to mine. “I’m so broken, Deke. You don’t need that.”

“You think you’re the only one here who’s broken?” he rasped, and I instantly thought of his brother, the post I found on Facebook by his mom. “You say you’re in shambles, but that can be fixed.”

He was closer now, his lips only a hair’s breadth away. My heart pounded when he slid a warm hand over my thigh. The frozen parts of me unthawed. My heart pumped faster. His hand was smooth, and he carried it up my hip. My breath hitched as the tip of his nose touched mine.

“But my shambles are like glass,” I whispered.

“That so?” His mouth was right there, the heat of his breath spilling down my chest. His large hand—the same one that palmed basketballs for a living and shot perfect three-pointers—went beneath the hem of my dress and cupped my hip.

“Yes,” I breathed.

“Well, for you, I don’t mind getting cut a few times.”

He inched his face closer. At this point, I could feel those lips—that, or I imagined I was feeling them.

“Can I kiss you now?” he murmured on my mouth.

I nodded way too quickly for my own good, and he gripped my hip tighter. As soon as his lips came down on mine, my whole body charged to life. My heart pounded faster, and a moan filled my throat as he laid me back on the canopy bed to shove my dress higher up my thigh.

He was between my legs in a millisecond, claiming my lips and kissing me so deeply I spiraled. I got lost beneath the solid weight of his body, the scent of his skin and cologne, and when he coaxed my mouth open with his tongue, I felt a clench between my thighs. He tasted like whiskey and citrus. He tasted good .

A deep groan rattled in Deke’s throat as his tongue played with mine. Then he hissed through his teeth after breaking the kiss and looked me in the eyes.

“You good?” he breathed. I was nodding before he’d even asked the whole question. It’d been too long since I was kissed or touched like this. Too long since I’d been dominated by a man who exuded nothing but masculine energy.

Deke came back down for more, slipping his tongue between my lips and eliciting another moan from me. He pushed the hem of my dress farther up to reveal my panties, then glanced down at them. They were black with a white lace trim.

“Fuck,” he rumbled as he pressed himself deeper into me. He was rock hard already, thrusting himself against me. Every shift of his hips caused the friction to build and made me ache.

I circled my arms around the back of his neck and let him lay kisses on the hollow of my throat. He sucked on the soft flesh at the bend of my neck, then said, “I wanna fuck you so bad right now, Davina,” as he pressed the ridge of his dick harder on me. He ground his hips up and down, groaning as he carried his mouth back up to mine and claimed my lips.

This moment was overwhelming in the best way possible. I could feel Deke everywhere —the heat of his breath caressing my cheek when our lips parted, the softness of his full lips as they covered mine. His hips kept grinding so the bulge of his dick could rub against my clit, and I swear I was about to come from the friction alone.

I hated that his jeans and my panties were in the way but was also glad, because if they weren’t, we’d have been fucking like horny teenagers on this canopy.

Just when I felt I was about to roll into an orgasm, Deke snatched his lips away and murmured, “Stay just like that.”

He climbed down my body until his face was between my legs, then he tucked a finger beneath my panties to tug at one side of them.

It was that action alone that made me freeze. But when he said, “I need to taste you,” I sat up.

“Wait,” I breathed, pushing his hand away from my panties.

“What?” he said just as breathily. His eyes swiveled up to mine, glossy and confused as he pulled his hand away. “What’s up?”

“I, um ... I haven’t done any upkeep down there in a while.” Three whole weeks to be exact. I used to get a full bikini wax every month, back when Lew was healthy and our sex life was thriving, but lately I’d been resorting to shaving to make ends meet, and I hadn’t even done that. I didn’t need to, really. Who was I shaving for? No one was going to see what was down there, whether it was bare or a full-blown bush.

But now, someone was going to see, and that someone just so happened to be one of the most famous basketball players in the world. That didn’t feel right. If I were to ever do anything sexual with Deke Bishop, I needed to be ready for it in all ways.

Deke still appeared confused as he looked from my eyes to my panties. “What are you talking about?”

“I haven’t shaved or waxed in a while,” I finally said. “I’ve just been so busy with work, and I mean, I’ve been keeping to myself really, so there was no need to—”

“Wait, wait.” Deke huffed a laugh as he briefly closed his eyes to let it all register. When he opened them again, he asked, “Do you really think I care about that, D?”

I blinked down at him, unsure what to say.

“Let me put it to you this way,” he said, hooking that same finger beneath my panties again. He tugged one side down, and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip as he used that same finger to do the other. “I’ve wanted to taste you from the moment I walked into your office and saw you in those tight peach pants.” He dragged my panties down and removed them with so much ease I was positive he’d performed this action many, many times before. “And I promise you, not a single hair on your body is gonna stop me from eating this pussy.”

I shuddered a breath as he spread my legs farther apart and settled his head between them. He peered up at me with hungry, heated eyes, then dragged his tongue over his full lips.

“Now make me a happy man right now, and feed me.”