Girls' Night Out (Bad Boys) (20 page)

“What are we celebrating?”

“Us. You’re the best thing I almost plowed down. Every time I visit LAX, I’ll be thankful for crowds and flight delays.”

“To LAX and us,” she said and tapped his glass.

He set his glass down and took hold of her. Lifting her sweater, he removed it slowly. “Baby, I want to memorize your body tonight.” He knelt in front of her, kissing her stomach and pressing his face into her abdomen. He skimmed his mouth over to her hip bone and sucked a spot that made her shudder while pulling open her belt. “Give me your foot. We’re gonna need to get these boots off first.”

Brett removed her boots and socks as she leaned over his shoulder, running her hands down his body.

“You sure know what to do in bed,” she murmured, massaging her hands over his back, her tits caressing his skin. “Should I be careful about your shoulder?”

“Touch me all you want. I expect the same skin rights with you.” He tugged on her zipper and pulled on the waist of her jeans, watching them fold down toward the floor. She stepped out of them, wearing only her bra and panties. “Take off the bra for me.”

He sat back on his haunches, captivated as she turned around, slipped off the straps and unhooked the back of her bra, leaning over enough to give him a teasing eyeful of her cleavage. He groaned from his painfully throbbing hard-on inside his boxers. He held his breath in anticipation when Cory swung around and took off her bra.

“What about the panties?” she asked. “On or off?”

“Definitely off.”

“Like this?” Cory shimmied out of her last stitch of clothing, bending and arduously removing her thong and running her hands down from her waist, all the way down her legs, then back up again. Her curved ass had him drooling.

He wanted her to turn and come back to him. “Baby, face me.”

She lifted her hands and undid her hair, dropping the pins onto the nightstand. She whipped her head around, and made her hair settle gracefully over her shoulders. He’d never had a woman do a striptease like this before. She turned slowly toward him, then made her way to stand directly in front of him. Brett inhaled the scent of her, then straightened and guided her over to the bed. He dropped his boxers, relishing the way her blue eyes darkened as she let her gaze travel down the front of his body.

Once in bed, he turned her over and began rubbing his hands over her supple skin, massaging her neck, and running his fingers through her hair and over her scalp.

“This feels sensational. But you promised. Tell me what your day is like,” she said.

“So stubborn,” he whispered. “I’ve got a few scenarios but the most common is I’m up by six. Breakfast, then out the door. Train the whole day.”

Cory pushed up on her elbows, shaking her head. “Not the abbreviated version. I want details. What do you eat?”

“Lie down and open your legs,” he said. He rubbed hands down her spine, following the dip by her waist, and back up again. He pressed his fingertips over the curves along her back, hovering and massaging at points. He moved, climbing in between her legs, slipping his fingers near the juncture where her thighs met her hips.

“I’m waiting,” she groaned.

“For breakfast,” he inhaled, pushing his palms up and over her ass, taking hold of her by the waist, and pulling her down a few inches to him. He fought from driving his cock into her, and focused on her question. “I have eggs, cereal, protein shake and fruit. Coffee. Black. Strong.”

“Better,” she whispered. “And then?”

“You’ve a beautiful pair of legs.” He placed his hands on her thighs, spreading his fingers over the backs of her legs and started kneading her hamstrings. Her legs were tight and he’d learned fast tonight that she could dance at the saloon. So could her sister-in-law. Those two tore up the dance floor. Then he’d been informed about the dance studio owned by Gillian and didn’t have to ponder Cory’s level of expertise. She shared that not only had she been a student, she also helped at the dance studio before leaving for college.

“Tell me,” Cory moaned and made to close her legs. ”Or else!”

He held her legs open. Damn, he was so hard, and holding back required his full concentration. “We’ve special team meetings in the morning. But if I’ve got an injury, I stop by the trainer and get wrapped. Figure out what treatments I’ll need to prepare for the upcoming game. Our coach is hardcore and runs through schemes or plans. We have another team meeting with all the players. Each player is given their parts and we’ve got to memorize the plays.”

“Sounds like it’s a play and you guys are actors.”

“Some days, it’s just as much work inside the head as it is body. A guy with his head screwed on backwards gets slammed. Hurt.”

“How do you remember it all?” She glanced back over her shoulder, her brows drawn together.

“We run through the schemes on the field with a practice squad. A football team is huge. It’s excruciatingly slow and the whole practice is filmed. A player messes up, it isn’t missed. After lunch we have another meeting and watch the film.” He shook his head. “The whole thing gets dissected. It can get pretty tense.”

The coaches laid it on harsh if things didn’t go smoothly. Christ, he’d had his head handed to him the first year in the pros, until his sports agent had the intelligence to ask for required workplace accommodations for people with disabilities. It was a federal law—ADA—and that required someone to take notes for him and the use of a laptop. It hadn’t been easy to admit he needed help, but once he’d gotten the resources, his whole world changed. Other players came to him, asking for help on where to go for the same type of assistance.

“You’re in class as much as I am,” she said.

His head snapped upward. “I seriously doubt that. You’re at one of the best schools in the world.”

“We’re both learning schematics and how they work, both in a class and then in play. Sounds tremendously alike. Minus the throwing of a football and getting tackled.”

“I bet you’d do a bang-up job with a break away, or barreling through a defensive line.” He curled his fingers around her calves and he worked his fingers down her legs, massaging her skin and muscles all the way down to her ankles.

“Do you actually get time on the field to play ball?”

“For a couple of hours. It’s supposed to be ninety minutes, but that can run over. I end up in the weight room, then shower and I’m done.”

“You’ve got your whole night ahead.”

“Sure,” he chuckled. “If that includes bags of ice. Injuries have to heal. If not, they keep me off the field or get worse. I don’t need either headache. The newspapers make it seem like I’m out all the time. It’s why Fridays can get crazy. Playing ball is more than the lights and fans, it’s stressful in a heartbeat.”

“It’s hard to know what to believe from the outside looking in.” Cory shifted to her hip, watching him massage her feet. He pressed his thumbs against her arches and felt for pressure points he’d learned. “You’ve got a couple of knots…here.” He pressed and she moaned.

“You’ve a real gift,” she whispered. “How’d you learn to do that?”

“Heck, I’ve been in rehab working with physical therapists for years. Our bodies are roadmaps where we hold tension. I’ve a friend who I trust when I’m hurt. One of those long relationships. I ask questions.”

Her expression tightened. “Well, you’ve done me a favor. I feel wonderful.” She pulled her foot from his grasp and sat up, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up next to her. “You’re thinking something. I’ve told you about my life. Be honest with me.”

“Brett, I want to be honest with you, but I also don’t want to come off an imbecile.”

“Trust me. Tell me what you’re uptight about.”

She shook her head, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. “How about if I show you what I’m thinking?”

“First,” he took hold of her and pinned her to the bed. He lifted her arms over her head so she couldn’t move. “You’d better answer my question. I’ve got ways to make you talk.” He lowered his head, pressing his mouth to her neck and began to kiss, then suck a spot.

“Please,” she moaned.

CHAPTER 16

The words were crouched at the very tip of her tongue, about to fly free. Curlicues, business card, heart, and Tuesday. Oh yeah, don’t forget Raquel.
Abort! No. No.

Don’t tell him, she kept thinking. You’ll sound all shades of stupid and tack on being a jealous shrew. Any man who says he wants to hear a woman’s thoughts—honestly doesn’t. Seriously, you know if you spill, a naked harpy isn’t sexy the day after. This is your last night with him, don’t end it on a freakish note.

He lifted up his head and his intense gaze caught her breath. “What have you got to say for yourself?”

She shook her head, her eyes fluttering. “It’s just I’m on edge. Tomorrow we’re leaving and I don’t know what to think.”

Brett narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t I believe that’s what got you ready to claw my hide?”

“Because you want me to say something to feed your colossal ego,” she said. “Let me go.”

She tried another route and prayed he’d let the matter drop. She twisted and tried to pull her arms from his grasp, employing the tactic of something, anything, to distract him. Far too easily, he recaptured her wrists, hoisting her arms even farther toward the headboard, leaving her shaky and exposed.

Her last chance. She “mistakenly” bumped her hip against his hard-on. Not once but at least half a dozen times while thrashing her legs around his.

“You fight dirty,” he said hoarsely, his eyes searching hers, then crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “Better be prepared to pay the piper.”

“Send me the bill, and I’ll PayPal you.”

“You are really are a firecracker.” He cocked his head. “But I’m learning how to deal with ornery creatures.” He pushed upward, wedging his knee between her legs, then switched his hold on her wrists, taking both of hers in one large palm.

Now he had a free hand and one of her legs caught under his…what could she do?
Think. Dammit.
She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. Her breath had quickened from this little wrestling match. She pulled up her knee, intending to use it as leverage against his chest, and ended up kneeing him in the groin.

“Whoa,” he groaned, cupping his balls.

“I’m so, so, so sorry!” she began, and still he refused to release her arms. “What can I do?”

“Stop struggling like a wildcat.” He looked down at her, arching a brow, and his eyes shot through with pain.

“I don’t want to fight you.” The words came out soft and from deep within her.

Before this weekend, it seemed like she’d spent a lifetime fighting. Being something that other people projected onto her and in a second, with her arms bound and a man heavy enough to pin her down, she teetered—not because he might emotionally crush her, but because she might actually find her way toward being free. This fight had evolved over the years into a talent for chasing her own tail. Letting others wag a carrot at her, she’d reach out for it. To take or bat away, but she still reacted. She needed to just stop.

“Trust me,” he said and let go of her wrists, moving his hands along hers, rubbing her fingertips. He let go, tracing the sides of her body with his fingers as tingling jolts burst into spasms over her skin.

“I do.” She said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She pulled him down, across her body. Brett tucked his head against her neck, and lightly kissed a trail up to her face, then over her cheek until their lips met. She whispered words next to his mouth. “I don’t know what to do, but we don’t have to. Right?”

“So right, baby.” He blinked slowly down at her before he devoured her mouth, her moans, and she let him in, opening to him. She lightly scratched her nails down his back.

He fumbled with his wallet on the nightstand and pulled out a condom. “Gotta put this on.”

She gazed at him handle his cock and felt her muscles tighten at the sight of Brett holding his erection. “I’d love to see you make yourself come.”

“Same,” he said, letting out a quiet laugh. “You’re amazing to watch. What else do you like?”

Cory ran her fingers along the hollows and dips of his shoulders, then up the sides of his neck, and under his jaw. “Your mouth is magical. I love when you suck on me.” She hesitated. “I like it that you possess me. It feels like you own me. Consume me. Is that crazy?”

He leaned over on his forearm next to her body. “It’s not crazy. I do own you when I’m inside you. God, it feels like I could fuck you forever.”

She sucked in a breath and said the words she’d never uttered to another man. “Fuck me now.”

His lips curled. “You’ve a dirty mouth.”

“Only with you.”

“Ah,” he groaned. “Then I’d better give you what you want.” He moved in between her legs, his cock in his hand, and he tapped the head on her clit, rubbing himself down her slippery folds that were swollen and wet from being teased and tormented.

She dug her fingers into his arms. “Tease much?”

“I’m learning.” Brett moved and let go of his cock as it glided across her sex, and he brushed over her sensitive folds with his fingers. Circling around her opening, he bit his lip, and then he slid a finger into her. “How’s this feel?”

“Amazing. Everything you do is mind-blowing.” She moved her hips up and down his fingers, spreading her legs, and holding on to his hand.

He bent his head over her chest, licking a line down from her collarbone to the tip of her nipple. “I love your tits.”

“Love them in your mouth.” She cupped her breast, offering herself to him. Brett blew a stream of air over her nipple until she groaned. When he sucked her pointy peak into his mouth, she melted. Taking his head between her hands, she held him to her, pressing her breast to his mouth.

“I’m so damn hard.” His voice sounded strained, and he looked up to see her bite her lip. “Are you trying to break me?”

“Never.” she said. “Please, get inside me.”

Above her, he pulled her down a few inches, running his hands over her hips, holding open her legs. He pressed himself against her, making her gasp. In one ramming thrust, he plunged his cock inside her body. The glowing pleasure splintered apart into a hundred flashing rays. Closing her eyes, she cried out his name. He didn’t relent in plunging inside her, and jerked her hips to him, moving incredibly deeper.