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  Blinking at her, he stammered, “I—”

  She grabbed his face and kissing him into silence.

  Nolen rose to his bended knees, pulling her up with him and sitting her on his lap facing him as he reached beneath her, holding her, firmly controlling her movements. Kissing his neck, she fought to gain control. He demanded more and more from her body as she rose and fell on top of his upward turned cock, and she gave him more in return, unaware that even now he struggled with the possibility that he’d fail her in the end.

  Portia braced her hands against Ricky’s chest on the living room floor as she rocked back and forth in his lap, feeling him deep within her. Ricky held on to her, moaning softly. Throwing back the wild hair that covered her face; she arched her back, smiling as he cried out for mercy. She knew that she was betraying her friendship with Sydney, but her own self-destructive needs kept her from caring.

  Looking down at him through her hair, she saw his satisfaction cover his face, as he became hers. She rotated her hips slowly, and then picked up the pace. The delight of finally having the man she’d desired from the sidelines for years was more pleasurable than the orgasm that gripped her. Lowering her face to keep up with her rhythm, she gave him the kiss that sealed their fate.

  Todd opened his eyes and noticed Trish lie next to him, sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel.

  When he scooped her up in his arms, she woke, smiling groggily at him. She put her arm around his neck and rested her head against his chest as he carried her to his bedroom. She was as light as a feather, and having her in his arms was comforting. Laying her on the bed, he kissed her forehead just before she rolled over and fell asleep again. He removed her hiking boots, then her socks. Tempted to undress her, he chose not to. Instead, he climbed into bed with her and pulled her against to him. She scooted back, mumbling something that he could barely hear. He’d had many women in his life, but he had never experienced tenderness until now. Kissing the back of her silky head, he closed his eyes and smiled.

  They lay in each other’s arms on the living room floor. Ricky stared up at the ceiling while she wrapped her arm and leg around his body. “She’ll never forgive me for this,” he said sadly.

  “What about what she did to you?”

  “It’s not the same thing as me sleeping with her best friend.”

  “What about me? You and I were getting close before she moved in here. You took one look at her and conveniently forgot about me. And I was the bigger person, and just let it go. While you babied her, pampered her, and ignored me.” Portia rose up on her elbow and flung her long hair away from her face. “She’s always telling us that she’s a big girl, that she wants to live her own life. Well what happened between us is a part of life.

  To be honest you have too much passion to waste on someone who doesn’t want it.”

  “Portia, do you even care about your friends?” Ricky said in disgust.

  “I love them, but I love me more!” she said, lowering her face to kiss him.

  Feeling empty without the girl he loved, Ricky yielded to Portia’s desire, knowing that he could never have Sydney again.

  Nolen lowered Sydney back onto the bed. She dug her nails into his skin as she clung to him, exhausted.

  Slick with sweat, Sydney exhaled, grateful that she’d survived it all.

  “You’re amazing.” he said.

  “Amazingly tired,” she breathed, giggling.

  He laughed, releasing her and rolling over onto his back. “I want it to be like this with us always.” Sydney looked over at him. “Now wait a minute. We’ll need to have nights when we get some sleep!”

  “Yeah, but tonight isn’t one of them!” he said, reaching for her.

  Sydney fought him off and scooted away, laughing. “Nolen! Stop!” He kept after her, and they wrestled in the sheets until they couldn’t fight anymore.

  “One more time and that’s it,” he said, pulling off the condom and tossing it aside to the floor to be disposed of later.

  “Touch me again, and I’ll tie your cock in a knot!” she said, grabbing his semi-erect penis. Feeling him get hard again in her hands, she shook her head. “Something is wrong with you. You can’t be human!”

  “Call me Superman, babe.”

  Chapter 11

  Late Night Snack

  Trish opened her eyes and realized that she wasn’t on the sofa in their shared apartment. Straining to see in the dark, her head pounding from the wine, she tried to make sense of where she was.

  “You awake?” a soft, deep voice asked her.

  Rolling over, she saw Todd lying next to her. “Hi,” she said shyly, then looked down, relieved that she still wore her clothes. Relaxing, she smiled into his face. “What time is it?” she asked.

  Todd checked his watch in the dark. “It’s two in the morning.” Trish smiled. “Sorry. It must have been the wine.”

  “Can I get you something more comfortable to sleep in?”

  She looked down at herself in the turtleneck and jeans. “A shirt would be nice.” Todd went to his dresser, and Trish sat up, watching him search through the top drawer. “Hard to find a T-shirt among those designer rags, huh?”

  Todd chuckled. “I have casual clothes.”

  “I’ll bet!”

  Finally he held up a woman’s blue T-shirt.

  “Thank you, lover boy!” Trish said, snatching it and heading for the bathroom.

  “I have some boxers you can put on since it will probably stop at your waist.”

  “It’s ok,” she said, glancing over her shoulder and smiling at him as she hurried down the hall to the bathroom. She felt alive and in control. She’d slept in his bed, and her world hadn’t fallen apart.

  Behind the closed door, she stripped to her pink satin panties and slipped the shirt over her head.

  Pulling her blonde hair through the neck opening and spreading it on her shoulders, she looked at herself in the mirror, wondering whether Todd found her as attractive as the woman who’d worn this shirt before her.

  Banishing the thought, she looked over to the right to see a camera sitting on top of the toilet tank. It was the first professional camera she’d seen in the studio since she’d arrived. Picking it up, she ran her fingers over the large circular lens.

  She returned to the bedroom to find him filling two glasses with more wine. Looking through the lens, she turned the large circular scope, zooming in on him. “Todd?” When he turned around, she took his picture.

  His eyes grew wide as the room burst into a hot, white flash. “What are you doing?” he asked, sternly.

  Trish took another picture, and he threw up his hand. “No, don’t.”

  “Why? Don’t you want to know how I see you?” She snapped another picture.

  Todd lunged for her. Scooping her up, he threw her over his shoulder as she squealed and held on to the camera. She laughed and turned the camera downward, taking pictures of his rump.

  He threw her onto the bed and the camera fell out of her hand as he climbed on top of her. “You’re a little vixen, aren’t you?”

  She wiggled and writhed to escape from underneath him. “I want to take a picture of us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s your medium, and I’d love to do something of us together.” He reached to the left, grabbing the camera strap and pulling it toward them. Rolling off her, he held it up, then scooted closer. Trish grinned as he put his head next to hers and snapped their picture. The flash of light blinded her.

  Todd blinked and frowned, looking up at the camera. “Don’t know how this one will come out,” he said.

  “The timing was a bit off on the flash.”

  “Can we develop them?” Trish asked.

  “It’s two in the morning.”

  “So?” She jumped up and hurried out of the room, and then ran back to make sure that he followed her.

  Sydney woke in the darkness of Nolen’s room. She dropped her head to the left on her pillow i
n search of her lover. She noticed how he lay on his stomach with his head turned away from her. His heavy arm was thrown across her chest, pinning her to the bed. She ran her hand across his arm affectionately. Admittedly, she could do without his loud snoring.

  Lifting his arm, she moved it off her and climbed out of bed naked, her hair tangled and matted to her head. She picked up his black dress shirt and pulled it on, buttoning only two buttons in the middle. The long sleeves covered her hands, but the tail of the shirt barely covered her hips. The floor was cool under her feet, and she made a mental note to bring her furry slippers next time there was a sleepover. Looking back once more at her spoiled man, she smiled before entering the dark hallway.

  She was thirsty and a little hungry, which was enough reason to brave the intricate hallways to search for the kitchen. The penthouse seemed cold and lonely, too large for a family of six, let alone one man.

  Turning the final corner that opened into the large kitchen, she yawned. She felt the wall for a light switch but couldn’t find one, so she resorted to turning on the light built into the hood of the large stainless steel stove. Inside the refrigerator she found all kinds of food, along with large plastic containers that probably contained what was left from their dinner.

  Grabbing a covered dish, she took it to the black-topped island in the middle of the kitchen and pulled up the lid to find the rack of lamb.

  “Ahhh . . . perfect.”

  “Yes, you are,” Nolen said from the entranceway. He stepped out of the shadows bare chested in drawstring flannel pajama pants.

  “What are you doing up?” she asked.

  “Looking for you.”

  Sydney shook her head and broke off a rib of lamb.

  “You’re going to eat it cold?”

  Sydney licked her fingers. “It’s the best way to eat it.”

  He pressed against her from behind, kissing her shoulder.

  Sydney peeled off another piece of cold meat and fed it to him. “Now, how does that taste?”

  “Delicious,” he said, licking her fingers and pressing her against the counter.

  She shook her head. “You should go back to bed.”

  “Not until we have a real meal.” He released her and opened the fridge, pulling out one container and then the next.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Showing you how to have a real late-night snack.”

  “These are some very pretty girls,” Trish said, looking at the pictures hanging up to dry in the low red light of the studio.

  “They’re pretty because of the lens and the lighting. Without their masks, most of them look just like the industry—cold and hard.”

  “Not all of them, Todd.”

  “A lot of them, sweetie.”

  “Not my Portia. She plays tough, but she just wants to make something of herself. Inside, she’s full of love and hope like Sydney and me. That’s what makes our family so solid.” Todd stared at Trish for a moment dumbfounded. Portia may be a lot of things but he doubted she was all rainbows and purple unicorns inside, the way that Trish saw her. He decided to change the subject. “Let’s develop that film,” he said, removing the camera cover and pulling out a roll of coffee-colored film.

  Trish nodded. “I always wanted to see how this was done.”

  “Well, tonight you will.” Todd showed her how to put the film onto the spiral wheel that separated each frame.

  Following his instructions, Trish placed the reel into a lightproof tank so that the chemicals could run across each frame and bring out the image, which became more visible through the developing solution as Todd moved the film over the photographic paper in the stop bath.

  She saw her face appear slowly, next to his. “Wow, that’s cool.”

  “Now we have to clean the developer residue off the film to prevent contaminating the fixer.”

  “Ok.”

  “It will make the image light resistant and permanent on the photographic paper. See, you look beautiful,” he said, studying the photograph.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself,” she said, taking the wand and moving the picture around in the solution. “Where do I hang it?” He pointed, and she clipped it onto the line to dry. “I think it’s perfect,” she said.

  “I think you’re perfect,” Todd responded, reaching for her.

  She put her arms around his neck. “Very perceptive of you!” She giggled as he kissed her, and then she ran her hands through his hair and kissed him back.

  Sydney stared in astonishment at the food Nolen had spread on the counter: whipped cream, strawberries, pineapples, olives, cheese, leftover bruschetta, pasta, jalapeño peppers, jelly, grapes, limes, ketchup, and some unidentifiable items in closed containers. “Who’s going to eat all that?” she asked.

  “We’re going to play a little game.”

  “Game? It’s two in the morning.”

  “Best time for a game,” he said, shrugging and pulling out a dishtowel from a drawer as Sydney watched him skeptically. “Turn around.”

  “Not until you tell me why.”

  “It’s just a little fun. You’ll like it. I promise.”

  She allowed him to blindfold her with a thin linen rag he pulled out of the drawer. Then turn her around to face the island. Placing her hands flat on the countertop, he pressed into her backside, whispering into her ear. “Now, here are the rules. I’ll give you something to taste. If you name the food incorrectly, I get to have my way with you.”

  Sydney frowned. “And if I name the food correctly?”

  “I have my way with you,” he said, nibbling on her ear.

  “Didn’t I see this in a movie or something before?”

  “Forget what you know of this game, mine is much different. Now those are the rules. Do you accept?”

  “Sure.” She grinned.

  “Look at you, cutting the bologna in the pan to fry it better. You’re getting good at this!” Trish teased.

  Todd flipped the bologna and looked at her sitting on the counter near the sink. “You just want one sandwich?” he asked.

  “Yep!”

  “You could live off these,” he chuckled deep in his throat.

  “Sure could!”

  Todd moved the greasy lunchmeat to the bread she had buttered and put it on a plate, she jumped from the counter to get a slice of cheese to throw on top.

  He put the frying pan in the sink, and then turned to see her leaning over the counter to take a big bite of the sandwich. She wore no bra, though he tried not to notice her nipples pushed through the fabric to the front of her shirt. Where the shirt stopped at the curve of her hips, he could see her creamy thighs.

  Trish shoved her sandwich in his face. “Here. Bite!”

  Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t eat late.”

  “Nonsense. Bite it!” she said, pushing it to his lips.

  As Todd took a bite, she grinned. “Good, isn’t it? All the fancy dishes we had growing up, but the best delicacy turns out to be fried bologna! Boy, were we deprived.” Todd laughed. “You’ve got a point.”

  Trish took another bite from her sandwich and swallowed it. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

  “You know why.”

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  “You’re tempting me, walking around like that. Let me get you some boxers.”

  “No. I like it when you stare at me.”

  “You do? Why?”

  “Because I see myself the way you see me. It makes me feel wanted.”

  “Well, you have to know that you’re beautiful.”

  “As beautiful as your models?”

  “More.”

  “Kiss me.”

  “No,” Todd mumbled.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s a temptation for me to want more,” Todd said, staring into her eyes.

  Trish smiled bravely. “So?”

  “We tried this already, remember?” he asked, touching her hair.

  “We
ll, you know what they say.”

  “No. What do they say?”

  “Practice makes perfect,” she said, stepping up to him and kissing him on the mouth.

  Todd slipped his hands under her arms and lifted her from the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he carried her from the kitchen.

  “Now, what’s this?” Nolen asked, slipping something round and salty into Sydney’s mouth.

  “Olive,” she said, smiling.

  Nolen slid his hand through the opening of her shirt and grabbed her nipple, pinching it. She jumped.

  “Your hands are cold.”

  He said nothing, but she could hear him popping open another container. He brought his fingers to her lips, and she sucked something cold and creamy from them. It tasted buttery and garlicky. “Mmmmm,” she moaned, trying to determine what it was.

  Nolen lifted her tangled mane from her neck.

  “Give me some more, Nolen, so I can tell what it is.”

  Instead of putting it in her mouth, he rubbed the cold, creamy sauce on her neck and then sucked it as he pressed her into the counter. She tilted her head to give him more access.

  “You lost,” he said between nibbles.

  “No. It’s alfredo sauce!”

  “Close. It’s saffron sauce.”

  Sydney giggled. “Oh, big difference!”

  Reaching across her again, he brought another object to her mouth. Sydney bit into it and gagged. She spat it out, coughing, and he patted her on the back.

  “Are you crazy?” she shouted.

  He laughed. “Name it.”

  “Give me some water!” she snapped, trying to push him away.

  Nolen whispered in her ear, “What is it?”

  “It’s a jalapeño pepper, damn it. Give me some water!”

  He turned her around, and she tried to pull off the blindfold, but he stopped her hand. “Let me taste,” he said, kissing her and forcing his tongue into her mouth. Sydney squirmed. Her mouth was on fire, but she was forced into allowing the kiss. Nolen put his hands on her face and kissed her deeply. The mouthwatering kiss cooled her burning tongue, and she slid her hand downward to massage his erection. She smiled, biting his bottom lip and trying to pull him free of his drawstring pajama pants, but he broke the kiss. “Nope. It’s my game.”