Holding Aces Read online

“How long have you been standing there?”

  “Here? Oh, not long. I was standing in the doorway long enough to see your tight ass pointing north when you started stretching though.”

  “You what?”

  “You heard.”

  I shake my head at him. He’s annoyingly cute and I decide to tell him so.

  “You’re cute, you know that?”

  He moves fast gripping the back of my head with one hand and my waist with the other. “I’ve told you before Arianna, I am not fucking cute,” he speaks against my lips before stealing a kiss and releasing me. It leaves me breathless and I breathe deep to regain my control.

  “You can continue if you like ...” he offers, taking up residence on the closest weight bench. He sits comfortably with one ankle resting on his knee.

  “You come here to watch or you actually gonna work out with me?”

  “I don’t know what I’d take more pleasure in, watching you get all hot and sweaty or actually get hot and sweaty with you.” He rubs his chin with his thumb and forefinger while he thinks about his own statement. I don’t miss the gold glint in his eyes, and I know his mind is veering away from actually working out with me.

  “Train with me on the punch bag.”

  “You want to throw some punches, Stunner? I already know you have a pretty mean right knee,” he jokes.

  “Come on, I’ve never done it, pleeeeeeease ...” I bounce in front of him from one foot to the other, side to side and he laughs.

  “Fine, come with me but don’t blame me if you hurt tomorrow.”

  “Why would I hurt tomorrow?”

  “You wanna work out? Let’s work out ...” He punches a fist into the flat of his hand, making a slapping noise that reverberates around the room and I know he means business.

  Eeek, now I’m a little nervous.

  We gear up in the segregated area of the gym room. I have on padded gloves and he’s holding up a pad in each hand. “Okay, hold your hands up like this,” he demonstrates before continuing, “then strike the pad. Try to catch me off guard.”

  I nod and guard up. I don’t know which direction to go first but I figure I’m right handed so he would expect me to lead with that one, but I don’t know how to throw a punch with my left and it feels awkward when I lift it.

  “Well … are we going to be here all day? Talk about fighting like a girl ...” he teases.

  Fine, he wants to see what I’m made of, then I plan to show him. My right hand flies up, striking the pad with such force it sends his arm flying backwards. His grin tells me that’s exactly what he wanted.

  “Good. Another.”

  I punch left then right, repeating over and over in different patterns to try and catch him out. The thud of the gloves hitting the pads is exhilarating and I find myself trying to hit with more force and more determination each time. I throw my whole shoulder into each strike and each time he just nods, encouraging me to continue.

  A slight pause between sets and I fake wiping my brow with my forearm. He does exactly as I suspect and drops his guard, just a little, and I strike hard and fast. It not only catches him off guard, it knocks him off balance. I see the shock register on his face as he struggles to compose himself, but it’s too late. He hits the mat with a crash.

  I nearly fall over with laughter, laughing so hard that my sides start to hurt and I buckle to my knees. I can’t talk. Every time I think I have it under control, another bout of laughter hits me.

  He looks at me in disbelief. He either can’t believe that I decked him, or he’s pissed that I find it so funny. I fall back on the mat, my stomach tight from the physical exertion as well as the belly laughter. “I’m sorry,” I manage to offer.

  He moves from sitting where he landed on his ass, to straddling me in a blink. I gasp as he surprises me and pins me with his hard stare. “You’re not sorry, that was premeditated.”

  “I am sorry!” I try to convince him.

  “Not only was it premeditated ...” His hard façade slips and his eyes fill with lust. “It was fucking hot.” His lips crush mine and his tongue pushes past my teeth. He’s unapologetic with his assault, claiming my mouth.

  Claiming me.

  I’m a willing participant and it surprises me that I not only want to be claimed, I want to claim him too.

  My tongue fights against his, a battle of who wants who the most. My hands tangle in his tank, pulling it up past his waist so I can feel all the hard planes that have been taunting me for the last twenty minutes. I trail a hand to the waistband of his track pants and push my way in. His erection is hard, hot and pushing into my palm. He hisses in a breath when I make contact and he glances up at the mirrors lining the wall. It’s only then that I remember that this is not a private gymnasium. It’s a public facility, one of which anyone could walk into at any time.

  “Shit,” I murmur, pulling my hand out of his pants. “We can’t do this here!” I say before trying to wriggle out from underneath him.

  “Why not?”

  “Because anyone could come in at any time. I don’t know about you, but I’m not into exhibitionism,” I bite.

  Amusement flickers in those mesmerizing eyes of his “The only person I want to watch is you, Ari. No one will be walking in until I’ve finished with you.”

  “But it’s a public place. How do you know that?”

  His lips seal mine, trapping my words and almost making me forget what I was protesting about. He breaks the kiss to drag his tongue along my jaw, upwards until he reaches my earlobe. “I’ve locked the world out, Stunner. Those shorts of yours are far too scant for the eyes of anyone else,” he growls softly. “The only person who will be watching when I’m inside you is me.” He pauses to pinch my earlobe with his teeth “And you.”

  The only part that registers is the fact that we’re locked in, and everyone else is locked out.

  Nothing is standing in my way.

  He rolls to his side, then onto his back, pulling me with him so I’m now straddling his hips. His hands push up the side of my waist, taking with them my tank, pushing it up over the curve of my breasts and forcing me to raise my arms. He pulls it off completely and tosses it aside. With a flick of his wrist, he has my bra unhooked and removed, disposing of it the same way he did my tank.

  “Stunning … simply stunning ...” he mutters, running his hands over my chest and cupping my breasts with his hands, trapping my nipples with his thumbs. He squeezes gently at first then harder and I feel a jolt to my core. “Does that make you wet, Ari?” he asks. I nod. “Tell me. Does it make you wet for me, Stunner?”

  “Yes, I’m wet for you ...” I admit.

  “Take off your shorts.” It’s a straight out order.

  No messing.

  No asking.

  Just raw and unapologetic.

  I stand over him, still astride his hips and slide my shorts down kicking them off one leg at a time. He pushes down his pants just far enough to let his erection spring free before I lower myself back down to him, placing my hands aside his head and hovering my body over his. I kiss him gently, teasingly, before becoming more insistent and feeling more empowered by the second. I take his length in my hand and stroke him from base to tip. He groans into my mouth and I feel his cock harden under my touch. I am in control and I like it.

  My lips leave his and I miss them instantly but I know that where I’m about to go next will be just as rewarding. I shock myself at the level of desire I have to taste him. It’s not something that has ever interested me before, but my mouth is watering at the very thought of it. I kiss my way down his chest, following the light dusting of hair down his stomach and coming to the V that tempts my eyes every time it is bared. My tongue snakes out involuntarily and I lick my path to his erection before taking him in my mouth. I open my throat and take him as far as I can go in one move.

  He tastes of sweet and salt, all man and no apologies.

  “Fuck … Ari, that’s … fuck ...” he rasps, his hea
d hitting the matting as he lets it fall back.

  I lick and suck, feeling his muscles bunching and releasing all through his body while he’s trying to hold on to some kind of self-control. Only, he’s not in control here. I am. I know he’s close. I keep an insistent pace until he grasps my shoulders and drops his hips, leaving my mouth momentarily empty.

  “I’m gonna come soon, Stunner, and I want to do it inside of you, please.” His voice is strained.

  I look into his eyes. Soft sincerity mixed with a hungry passion looks back and me, and I know I can’t deny him anything.

  He reaches down into the pocket of his pants which are still around his ankles, and pulls out a condom, handing it to me. I look between the wrapper and him. “I’ve never … I don’t know how ...” I admit.

  “Like this ...” he says softly.

  He rolls it halfway and I feel my pulse accelerate faster watching him touch himself before he gestures for me to complete the action. He screws his eyes up tight when I stroke him gently at first then harder and faster.

  “As much as I hate to stop you, I want inside you, like now, Ari ...” he orders desperately.

  I rise up on my knees, positioning him at my entrance before lowering myself slowly and taking him in all the way. We both let out a groan and I gasp as waves of pleasure radiate to every part of my body and he begins to move inside me, stretching me as far as I can take it and filling me completely with every thrust of his powerful hips. I rise and fall, matching his relentless pace. Our breathing increases until it’s erratic and coupled with moans of pleasure. I flick my head up and catch a glimpse of us in the mirror right in front of me.

  I’m mesmerized.

  I watch him move inside me. Grinding his hips and pushing as far as he can push. “You like watching us, Ari?” he grates out.

  It’s one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen and I feel myself get wetter with every thrust that I watch in our reflection. I dip my head to kiss him and he moves his head to the side.

  “Watch. I want you to see what I see when I make you come. You’re close aren’t you, Arianna? I can feel you starting to twitch around my cock.”

  He takes both of my hands in his and I place them either side of his head, pinning him and steadying myself as he pushes into me hard. “Look in the mirror and see how sexy you are,” he orders. He drives into me with a force that lifts my knees off the ground, and it triggers tremors through my body.

  I watch in the mirror as my jaw drops, letting strangled cries escape as he pounds into me, drawing out, teasing, then pushing back in, balls deep. My muscles start to contract and I know there’s no going back. Where I felt powerful just a few minutes ago, I now feel powerless to Denham and the fierce orgasm that’s building. He’s taken back the control and I’m too far gone to care. I let my eyes close as sensations threaten to overwhelm my body.

  “So fucking close, so fucking beautiful … open your eyes now, Stunner.”

  Every muscle in my body draws tight for what seems like an eternity, then he thrusts once, twice, and I’m beyond the point of return. Sensations burst through every nerve ending in my body and I throw my head back as my whole body goes into spasm, contracting around him.

  “Fuuuuck,” he hisses as I feel him swell before he comes too, his muscles tightening in spasms as he lets out a groan. I let my head rest on his shoulder and he strokes my hair as we both come back down to earth, small tremors making us both shudder in delicious aftershocks. We stay like that until I start to shiver, our bodies sticky with sweat.

  I reluctantly peel myself off Denham’s chest, then stand up and extend my hand to help him up. He takes it and tugs, pulling me forward so I land back on his hard glistening body. “You’re really something else, Ari,” he mumbles, kissing me hard on the lips and rolling me over so I’m underneath him.

  He hops up quickly, holding out his hand and pulling me up. We move about the room, sorting ourselves out and collecting our clothing that have been strewn around the place, stealing glances at one another and sharing contented grins. I unhook my bra from the handgrips on one of the weight machines and hear Denham snigger.

  “No fair, I have more to get dressed into than you,” I pout.

  “No, Ari. You have more garments, however, the amount of fabric is certainly less. You know that if you work out in here again, you’re going to have to wear something a little less revealing.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, look how short those shorts are, and that tank … it shows your cute belly button. I don’t want the world to see ...” he scuffs at the ground with his foot as his voice trails off.

  “Denham … you can’t tell me what to wear,” I say gently.

  “I know, but I also don’t want to have to beat the crap out of someone for looking at you the wrong way,” he huffs. “I don’t want to tell you what to wear, but I will ask you to please not torment me.” He stands with his hands on his hips, looking at the ground and I can tell this is hard for him to ask. He’s done nothing but push me to find myself, do what makes me happy, so asking me not to do something is a contradiction.

  But I understand.

  I understand because I don’t want anyone ogling him the way I do. The thought of another woman having thoughts about touching his body makes me feel rage from the pit of my stomach. I walk toward him, push my hands through the loop in his arms and wrap around him tight. “I won’t torment you ...” I say, looking up into his eyes. “Not in public anyway.”

  “Good, because it caused me a shitload of trouble to shut this place for the last hour …” He looks sheepish the moment the words escape from his lips.

  “You closed the gym? You closed it … that’s why the last person left when I was entering and why no one came in,” I say, more to myself than him.

  “I didn’t know what else to do. I saw you walk out of the changing rooms looking like that, all pert and sexy and I didn’t know how I was going to cope knowing that there would be a truck load of guys turning up to work out any minute with their eyes burning into your ass.”

  “How did you see me?”

  “There are cameras everywhere in this place Ari. Well, not everywhere. Not in the changing rooms, of course, but most entrances and exits are covered by CCTV, plus everywhere that they are legally allowed.”

  “You’re a pinnacle of safety, huh?”

  “This place is my baby, Arianna. Got to keep her running smooth.”

  Can’t argue with that, I suppose.

  I’VE SHOWERED AND DRESSED IN comfortable jeans and a tee. I’ve done away with any makeup I had on and I’ve let my hair fall freely after having it knotted on the top of my head for the most part of the day. Denham surprises me with a steak dinner he has cooked for us. We sit at the table in Denham’s apartment surrounded by candles and gentle music in the background, creating a soft light and a mood to match.

  “So, what will you do tomorrow?” Denham asks.

  “I’m not sure. I only have a few days before I start working and there are lots of things I need to do while I still have time to do them.”

  “Like what?”

  “I ...” I hesitate before I speak, knowing that what I’m about to say might change the relaxed mood. “I think I’d like to see my mom and …”

  “And what?” he asks curiously, placing his knife and fork down on his plate and giving me his full attention, making it a little harder for me to speak.

  “I’m going to see if I can get in touch with Aaron …”

  He picks up his napkin, wipes his mouth, then places it carefully back down. “I don’t want you to,” he says flatly.

  “Please don’t be like that. We’ve talked about this before. I know you don’t want me to, but you know I need to. I just don’t understand everything. I’ve been going over and over it in my head, trying to piece it all together, and I can’t. It all seems so unlike him.”

  “There’s obviously things that you don’t know about your so-called husband. Maybe
he’s put on a front all this time and he’s not the person you think he is,” he states. I don’t miss the clipped way he speaks. “After all, you fooled him pretty well. Don’t you think he could have done the same to you?”

  I get up from the table, my chair scraping on the hardwood floor as I stand. I go to the kitchen, drop my plate in the sink and fumble around in the cabinet to find a glass, then pour a large neat vodka, knocking it back in one. It slides down my throat then burns, making my eyes water. I don’t know why his words have angered me so much, he’s only speaking the truth, but Aaron and I are not the same. I lied to him to protect myself. I had to. I didn’t have a choice. But it seems he lied to me for his own personal gain. It makes me question all the good things I thought about him in the time that I spent with him. It makes me question everything. So much so that I’m not sure if I feel dizzy from the quick vodka I’ve just tossed down my throat or the ball of conflicting thoughts whizzing around my head.

  Denham comes to stand next to me and takes the glass from my hand. He places it gently on the countertop, then turns me into him. His touch calms my racing mind, and I bury my head into his chest as he strokes my hair. “I’m sorry, that was insensitive,” he admits. “I know you didn’t have a choice.”

  “I couldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t have understood. It was too big a secret to let out.”

  “I know,” he soothes.

  “I’m fed up feeling like I’ve been the bad one in all of this. I feel like I’m the one in the wrong because I lied to him about who I was, when the truth is that he has lied too.” I break away from Denham and pace the expanse of the room while things start to slot into place in my head. “But he’s a good person, deep down, you know? He must be in trouble. I knew something wasn’t right.”

  I’m talking aloud but more to myself than Denham. “He was moody. I knew it wasn’t right, and I didn’t do anything. I could have done something. Everything could have been different. Why does he need the money so badly? What kind of trouble could he possibly have gotten himself into?”

  Denham is sitting on the couch, with his elbows propped on his knees, chin resting in his hands as he lets me rant, giving me time. It’s the first time he’s let my mouth run away with me without trying to stop it with a kiss.