13. Anna

Anna

" S ee? I told you these beds could hold two people."

We were side by side on my bed, my laptop open between us. On the small screen, Mulan was learning to fight, struggling to keep up with the guys. I knew she'd succeed in her quest to be a warrior. That's why I loved this cartoon so much. Even the conflict was sweet, and there would always be a happy ending. Unless you were watching Bambi or The Lion King , which I didn't.

"I'll make a man out of you," I sang along in my head. I'd seen this so many times I knew the entire soundtrack by heart.

"Are you singing?" Nadia sent me a teasing look that told me the singing wasn't just in my head. "That's so cute."

I wrinkled my forehead at her in a mock scowl. "Don't you dare tell anyone."

She made a motion as if she was locking her lips and throwing away the key. "Your secret is safe with me, softy."

We were having fun, much more fun than I expected. That hot make-out session last night had fanned the flames of the crush I had on Nadia, but this easy-going watching cartoons in our sweats side of her was making me tip right over the edge into something more. Something that felt like love.

It scared the shit out of me. But I wasn't sure what to do about it.

I'd never had a serious relationship before. At most I'd date a woman for a week, maybe two, then I'd grow tired of her. But I could already tell I wasn't going to grow tired of Nadia. After a week of being roommates and maybe becoming friends, my desire to spend time with her had only grown.

I had a bad feeling I was in trouble because even though I'd never been in love before, I recognized the telltale signs. My heart raced whenever we were close to each other. One look from her made my nipples harden. I'd started to dream about her. And the clearest proof of all: I no longer found Nadia annoying.

Now I found her quirks charming. Endearing.

I was in such big trouble. Pretty soon I'd be I'd be sharing a piece of spaghetti with Nadia before kissing her, like in Lady and the Tramp. Or drawing hearts in my notebook or whatever sappy shit people did when they were in love.

As Mulan and her friends fought the Huns I tried to picture a way that Nadia and I could be together as a couple when we got back to the States. If she was even interested in trying to date, that is. We lived in different states, but then again, we'd both take some time off after the Games to recover, so one of us could do an extended visit with the other one.

"You're getting ahead of yourself," I thought. "You haven't even fucked her and now you're planning the future?"

It was ironic, because there was nothing I hated more than those women who got serious after you slept together once. And here I was doing the same thing after just one kiss.

I glanced over at Nadia and found her watching me, her gaze unreadable.

"What?"

"You're very beautiful," she said softly, like it was a secret. "I don't know why I never noticed that before."

I reached for her hand, bringing her fingers to my mouth and kissing her knuckles.

"Are you flirting with me, Princess?"

She looked the tiniest bit sheepish. "Yeah, I guess I am. I know we said we would keep things professional until after the Games, but I, well I can't seem to get that kiss out of my head."

"I know the feeling," I said wryly. "It's been playing on repeat in my brain since last night."

"Maybe we should do it again, just once, to see if it was as good as we remember or if we were just buzzed. Then we can forget all about it."

For some reason that sounded like the best idea ever. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Grabbing my laptop, I closed the lid and put it on the bedside table so we wouldn't accidentally push it to the floor, then I turned sideways, facing Nadia. She turned to face me as well, our crossed legs a barrier between us, then we leaned forward, met in the middle, and pressed our lips together.

It was like lighting a match in a drought stricken forest. Immediate fire.

Nadia nipped at my bottom lip, demanding entrance, then shoved her tongue between my teeth to explore my mouth. I groaned, gripping her thighs for balance as the kiss turned hotter. More demanding.

My one-time nemesis grabbed my shoulders, giving me a shove that sent me backwards while somehow not disconnecting our mouths. Damn, she was talented. She landed on top of me, her legs bracketing mine as she controlled the kiss with one hand gripping the side of my head.

"Oh my God!" I sighed as Nadia slid her lips down my jaw and up to my ear, taking my lobe between her teeth and biting down hard enough to sting.

Nibbling her way down the side of my neck, she shoved the top of my tee shirt to the side and wrapped her mouth around my collar bone. I'd never considered that to be a particularly sensitive area before, but as she bit her way across it, my arousal ramped up dramatically.

"Don't mark me," I reminded her.

We'd all gotten the "If you're going to have sex while you're here, use a condom and be discreet" speech from the coaches. The last thing they wanted was someone sharing a picture of an athlete's bare ass on social media or someone appearing on international TV with a giant hickey on their neck.

"Don't worry," Nadia said, bringing her mouth back to mine. "I'm a rule follower, remember?"

I was starting to think that was as much an act as her sunshine routine, but I didn't have time to analyze her words right now. I was still trapped between her legs, unable to do much more than roll my hips up to meet hers as she ground against me. I knew I could push her off if I really wanted to – I had five pounds on her, and it was all muscle – but the feeling of being trapped made me so excited I was ready to come just from kissing.

The next time Nadia broke the kiss she flopped to the side, wedging herself between me and the wall on the narrow bed. She dropped her head on my shoulder with a deep sigh.

"Last night wasn't a fluke," she said, sounding almost annoyed.

"No, it sure wasn't."

After she caught her breath, Nadia rolled to her side and propped herself up on her elbow so she could look down at me.

"How the hell are we going to keep our hands off of each other now?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Honestly, I have no idea. I'd sell a kidney to fuck you right now."

"We can't," she reminded me.

"Why not? Everyone else is having sex here, why can't we?"

She looked thoughtful as she considered my words. Her eyes met mine. I could see her debating her words before deciding to be honest.

"You're too much of a distraction, Anna," she finally said. "If I thought we could just fuck each other once and go on our way like nothing happened, I'd be exploring your pussy with my tongue right now."

My vag clenched, clearly on board with this plan.

"But this feels like more to me," she said, her gaze searching. Vulnerable. "Maybe it's our being together all day every day, but I just…well, I don't think one fuck will be enough for us. Am I wrong?"

I shook my head.

"You're not wrong, Nadia. I feel it too, and I think it's true that if we start something here, we'll both be distracted. And we owe it to ourselves and the whole damned country to stay focused. Just promise me one thing."

"What?" she asked.

"After our team wins the gold, and after we all watch Goat take the podium alongside those two Russians, we will come back here and do our best to prove that these stupid uncomfortable cardboard beds really are anti-sex beds."

It wasn't that we weren't going to do our best to get on the podium, but we were both honest about our skills. We were good – some of the best in the world – but Goat and the two Russians who'd be chasing gold with her each had more wins than the rest of our team combined, including the two alternates. Barring disaster, the rest of us were competing for the next seven spots in the top ten.

"Only if you promise me one thing," Nadia responded.

"What?"

"If the sex is as good as we both think it will be, as soon as we're released to leave athlete housing we will find a hotel and have sex in a real bed. One that will withstand every dirty thing I want to do to you."

I held out a hand to shake. "You've got a deal."