Briar's Champion (13 page)

“Damn straight—”

“But right now I want a nap,” she said and slid off his cock. She lay down on his bed,
watching
him toss
the condom
in the trash. She enjoyed his perfect body and made room for him to join her. Her head fit well tucked into the crook of his shoulder. Her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep were
of him
.

Epilogue

In the
follow
ing months
Briar became a permanent fixture in his life. Sloan watched her arranging the artwork he’d purchased
from her
g
allery on the kitchen
wall. Rather, he watched her
ass wiggle
as she stretched
to
hang the item in the perfect spot.

“How about here?”

“Looks great
cariña
.”

“You said that last time. Are you giving me an honest opinion or staring at my ass again, Mr. Guiterrez?”

“Both.” She cast him a scathing
glare. He’d only bought the art to show support and have
one of
her
piece
s
to stare at when she wasn’t around. He hadn’t wanted that deep of connection with anyone in a long time.

“Gah, why do I
bother?
” She stepped off the stepladder and
mov
ed aside. “I give up
.
Y
ou decide where to place this.”

“You
’
re sexy when flustered. The abstract piece is good where you have it now. Heck, the first, second and third places were good too.”
Sloan ran a hand over his hair, trying to fathom her reasoning, coming up short in the end.

“You need a crash course in art and the importance of showcasing. The centerpiece of the room or hallway is the main decorative piece.
”

She prattled on while he rubbed the rim of a bottle with the hem of his shirt, before taking a sip. Nothing like a good beer to end an otherwise hectic day.

“You toning me out already?”

“I hear you sexy.” He admired her passi
onate nature in and out of bed.

“Hmmph.” He watched her gauge the wall
,
decid
ing
if
the spot worked. “Now what about that last box?”

“
What box
?
Y
ou unpacked everything
.”
While he’d been content to live among stacked
cardboard
and strewn furniture
, she hadn’t.
Not since they spent more time in
his penthouse than in her apartment
.

“You know
,
the one marked Sam.”

“That’s not going to be unpacked. It’s on the shelf in my closet.”

“We can go through his things together. You
said
I was the only one you trusted
to talk about him
with
, ho
w he protected our country and paid with his life.
Such a man doesn’t belong on a shelf in the dark. His memory belongs in the light with memories that heal in time.
” Briar ran her hands up his chest, and placed a kiss on his lips.

Sloan set the bottle on the table behind him to thread his hands through her hair, deepening the kiss. He parried and molded her body to his. The need for oxygen abated leaving only a burning desire to
taste her, his piece of salvation.

“Stop distracting me…”

“You kissed me first.” He winked and slid his hands around her curvaceous ass.

She swatted his hand away
, forcing him to turn her body
to face him,
with nowhere to go.

“You gonna leave me all worked up like this baby?”
Sloan enjoyed the way her eyes dilated when she was aroused. Yeah
,
she felt the rock hard part of him against her belly.

“Let’s tackle Sam and then…I’ll take care of you…Real good care.” With the final breathy order, she grabbed his cock and palmed the length through his jeans. His dick jerked in response.

“Sex first?”

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, thrice and more shame on me. Every time I bring up Sam you distract me with sex. You’ll not be making first or second base this time.” She pressed a finger to his lips. “But you can have a homerun if you cooperate.”
She gave one long slow stroke to his dick and dropped her hand.

He let out a hiss to gain control of his body and stepped toward his room.
Briar linked her hand in his and padded down the hallway by his side.

He led her into his master bedroom and dropped her hand. Briar sat on the edge of the bed as he went to retrieve Sam’s box.
“You are good at blackmailing.”

“Women’s
prerogative.
”

Sloan ignored the pang of grief within his chest and fought the overwhelming guilt that came with outliving a sibling who never had a chance to have a family or a future.
H
e understood Briar’s need for him to move forward.
However, t
elling her his most personal hell
did
n’t mean
s
he
got
to take charge and fix him. A man was entitled to his own grief.

“I love you Sloan Guiterrez.
I fell in love with you the moment our eyes connected.
We can hardly name our son
or daughter after their heroic uncle
if you can’t see past your hurt and guilt to tell our namesake why your brother was so special.”
Strong with a hint of vulnerable
,
she put him on notice and shocked the shit out of him.

“
You’re, we’re
,
having a baby?”

“Yes. Didn’t I just say so
?
” He
caught the twinkle in her eye as she slid off the bed to meet him, the box resting between them.

“This is why you’ve pushed this so hard.” As he spoke the words, she nodded in confirmation.

“Now that I have your total attention
…” She pointed to the box. “
This isn’t going to unpack itself and I promised you a homer.”

“I want more than
one. I want a lifetime of them with the woman I’ve loved since
first glance
.” Raw emotion constricted his vocal cords.
Instead of answering
right off, she bent down, he followed suit and helped her move
Sam’s memories
to the living room where
empty shelves lining the walls waited for them
.

His eyes fell on familiar objects
as he
opened the lid. The encased in glass baseball with his signature, a gift to his brother when
Sloan ha
d made his first M
ajor
L
eague
B
aseball
tea
m. Pictures of them with their father in the
ir seats,
Sam’s Shadow Box. Briar leaned forward and kissed his lips. She lifted the flag from his ha
nds and carried it to the wall to hang in remembrance. He hung the family pictures on the rungs like she’d shown him at her place.
When h
e was finished,
he placed the glass encased bas
eball on the mantle.
P
ictures of him smiling with his
brother
still
hurt to see.

“One day this won’t hurt so
badly
. I promise you.” Briar
locked
gaze
with him from across the room. He hadn’t said a word out loud. How was it that she read him so well in a short period of time?
As he carried the empty carton to the trash compactor, he
thanked God he wasn’t alone for this.

The transformation of the room
surprised him.
In the few minutes he’d left, Briar
added a few
finishing touches. He leaned back against the door frame with his arms crossed, still processing becoming a father. The thought of new life
promised
a balm for the constant sting of the one taken before his time.

“Why?”

“You know what they say about laughter soothing the soul. You are a strong man who keeps a constant game face on. You let that face falter once
and let me in to see all of you, f
or a fraction of a second
during our walk after seeing the Kansas City Ballet
. I fell for you harder then. The room is complete now. I’m so proud of you Mr. Guiterrez.” Briar licked her bottom lip and
whipped her shirt o
ver
her head
. Sloan groaned low watching her sexy striptease. Her flirty skirt came next, landing in a pool on the floor. Breasts he ached to lick
played peek
-
a
-
boo
behind
the lacy bra barely covering them. “You gonna stand there and stare big boy?”

Sloan pushed off the wall and countered her every step.

“Teasing me woman?”

“
A little tease never hurt no one
?”

“
Such a smart mouth, what am I going to do with you?
” They found each other on opposite sides of the couch.
“Come here.” He u
nbuckled his jeans and sat on the
middle cushion
.
Briar
complied, straddling
his
hips, her heat searing his dick through the fabric. She elicited a moan
as his cock jerked in response. Sloan
flicked the hooks of her bra with one hand and buried his face between her firm globes. Her skin scented
with
the intoxicating
perfume
she wore.