Playing for Kinley (Cruz Brothers Book 1) (35 page)

I nodded. “Yeah. I thought you said you weren’t going to it?” I remembered her saying something about the “bureaucratic fools” who were in charge of it and not wanting to support them.

She nodded, biting her lip. “I wasn’t going to, but I found out a few days ago that I was awarded the Deborah Donaldson Award. One of the most prestigious you can receive as a photographer.”

I leaned forward to hug and kiss her, my face a mask of pride. “That’s awesome, Kin! Congratulations. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because up until about twelve hours ago, I was being possessed by a demon flu virus. And because I wanted to tell you about it in person. I told the committee I wasn’t going to be able to make it, and now they’re asking me to confirm it.”

“And you want to go,” I prompted her, seeing the excitement on her face.

She shot conflicted eyes at me. “Yeah, I do. This award is a huge honor.”

I shrugged. “So, what’s the problem? You’ll go and I’ll be your date.”

She paused and then, “Ryan will be there. And I just figured with last night…”

I put a hand up. “Don’t worry about that. Really. This isn’t about me or him. This is about you and how hard you’ve worked for this. I promise, I won’t cause a scene or anything if I see him.”

Her smile was slow and unsure at first but another kiss from me sealed the deal. “Okay. We have to go shopping,” she announced as she bounced off the bed, springing into action.

“What? Why?”

She gave me a look. “Because it’s black tie and I don’t have a gown. And unless you remembered to pack your tux, I’m guessing you don’t have anything appropriate to wear either.”

I fell back onto the bed, groaning. “Shouldn’t I be rewarded for flying down here in the middle of the night? Not punished.”

She jumped on top of me, making me grunt when she knocked a little air out of me. “I thought I just gave you your reward.”

“That was a very nice start.”

“Well,” she leaned down to whisper into my ear as her hand snaked its way down my body, her fingers eventually finding my stiffening length and wrapping themselves around it. “If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll indulge in a little late-night snack when we get home tonight.”

I instantly sprang into action and went in search of my shoes. “I hope they have forty-two long.”

I quickly headed for the bathroom to the sound of Kinley sighing behind me. “Men.”

Parker

Kinley was positively glowing.

She dazzled in the sleek emerald green strapless gown—the one that I chose—as she moved around the room, mingling with other photographers and gallery owners. She was a bright green light in the sea of boring black frocks, standing out amongst her peers. I stood proudly beside her, listening to dozens of people compliment her work and congratulate her on receiving the award.

She had to give a brief speech later in the evening when she was presented with the award, which she admitted to me she was a little nervous about. But if she worked the audience over like this, endearing them with her smile and charming them with her personality, I had no doubt every person in the room would instantly fall in love with her.

I was lucky that I’d only been recognized a couple of times, too. I politely declined any pictures with eager fans as I said this night was about my girlfriend and not me, but still signed a few autographs without making a big fuss.

Kinley’s mood deflated a little during dinner when she saw that the entrée was sushi, which she detested. Hell, I was the first person she’d ever tried sushi with, so I distinctly remembered how much she hated it. I made sure to scoop pretty much everything that wasn’t sushi from my plate onto hers, which she accepted gratefully.

If I’d known she wouldn’t have been monumentally embarrassed, I would have went out and brought some fast food back in for her if that would have made it better.

I leaned over to her at one point to whisper, “Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?”

A blush crept over her cheeks. “I don’t think so, no.” I’d only told her about four hundred times.

I met her jewel-toned eyes. “Maybe
edible
is a more accurate word.”

She quirked an eyebrow at me. “I thought
I
was going to be the one having the snack later.”

My blood started to pump faster. “Honey, feel free to use your mouth in any way you see fit tonight. Doesn’t mean I still can’t have my own meal afterwards.”

Her blush covered her entire face and you could tell she was starting to get turned on. “Such a dirty mouth, Mr. Cruz.”

I brought my face close to hers and whispered against her lips, “All the better to
eat you
with.”

Her eyes widened and she swallowed slowly. I hoped that meant she was getting a visual of what I’d just described. Because my own imagination was certainly running wild at the moment.

The awards ceremony portion of the evening was approaching and I could see Kinley fidgeting, could tell she was getting nervous about her speech.

“Want me to get you some champagne?” I asked. “Might help calm your nerves a little.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that might be good.”

I looked around but didn’t see one of the servers, so I decided to just get up and go to the bar myself. I’d seen other guests doing it, so I didn’t feel as if it were poor etiquette. “I’ll be right back.”

I ordered a champagne for Kinley from the bartender but declined a drink for myself. While I waited, I saw someone approaching me in my peripheral vision. I turned my head slightly and lo and behold, it was my favorite person in the world.

Ryan.

He stopped beside me, nodded his head, and extended his hand out to me. “Cruz. Nice to see you again.”

I didn’t move an inch to shake the guy’s hand.

The nerve of this asshole.

He dropped his hand, putting both of them in his pants pockets. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened last night. I was out of line.”

Damn straight you were
. But I was beyond caring about him at this point.

I continued to stare at him, unblinking. The man needed to know his place and it was nowhere the hell near my girlfriend. “I’m not going to say it’s okay. Because it’s not.”

He nodded again. “I know. I already apologized to Kinley. It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t,” I said to him, straightening my shoulders. “I’m not sure what your whole plan here was but Kinley’s with me. And if I ever hear that you invited yourself over to her place without permission again, or that you made some sort of move on her, you and I are going to have another conversation. And there won’t be much talking involved.”

I saw anger flash across his face and knew that I’d struck a nerve.
What do you know?
Pretty boy might actually have the balls to stand up to me.
“I was just trying to be there for her,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’ve known her for a while. She trusts me.”

My blood started to boil, my temper fighting to push through the surface. “Yeah? I’ve known her since she was three years old, so don’t for one second think that you know a damn thing about her. And I doubt that after last night she’s going to trust you much from now on. She’s not stupid; she knew what you were doing.”

His nostrils flared and he was breathing deeply. “She deserves better than you.”

I took a step toward him. “What did you say?”

He stepped back only about an inch. “I’m not stupid either. How long will it be before you get bored with her, get tired of having to stay faithful during all those long road trips? How many women will have to throw themselves at you before you actually catch one? That’s when you’ll dump her. You’ll hurt her. You know it’s true.”

If we had been anywhere else—anywhere else on the planet—this son of a bitch would have been on the floor.

But we weren’t and I had to rein in my violent impulses. “I have no idea why you presume to know anything about me or my relationship with Kinley. But I’m telling you right now that you
will
stay away from her. She didn’t want you before I came back into her life and she doesn’t want you now. You need to back off because you really don’t want to piss me off further. The only reason you’re still standing right now is because this is Kinley’s night, and I’m not about to upset her by punching one of her colleagues in the face. Even if the fucker deserves it.”

He didn’t say another word as I collected the glass of champagne and walked back over to Kinley. That had better have been the last time I had to deal with the man because I had no problems pummeling a guy for Kinley.

It wasn’t as if it hadn’t happened before.

##

She’d done beautifully.

She had been both honored and humbled in her speech. Seeing her up there accept her award and address the audience with such grace and charisma, I had forgotten all about my conversation with Ryan. Like her brother, she had a knack for public speaking and made it look easy. I hated that her family hadn’t been there to see her big night, but she’d said since it was so last minute that it was silly to try to get them all there.

The fact that
I
had been there, though—had been the only one there—meant a great deal to both of us, I knew.

Now, we were making our way up the stairs to her place, already in the beginning stages of ripping each other’s clothes off. I was finally able to relax once we were behind her closed, bolted door and wonderfully alone.

“Why is it so hot in here?” I asked, trying to find the zipper to her dress so I could get it the hell off her.

She giggled as her fingers scrambled with my pants button and zipper. “Probably because we’re about to steam this place up.”

It wasn’t a lie. “No, I mean, it feels like the inside of an oven in here.”

She moaned and lost her concentration when my hands went to her breasts and started massaging them. “Um…my, uh…my air conditioner hasn’t been working very well.”

I froze.

“How long has it been broken?” I asked, my voice tight, which she didn’t seem to notice.

“Since, like, Tuesday I think?”

I leaned back a bit at which point she finally opened her eyes and registered my mood. “You were stuck in this apartment with the flu and a broken air conditioner? Jesus, Kinley.” I blew out a frustrated breath and ran my hands through my hair.

She grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my head. “Hey, stop. I was fine. I told you that you would get a reward if you were a good boy. And right now you’re being bad.”

Despite my efforts, the tension eased from my shoulders and I smirked at her. “How bad?”

She eased my jacket off. “
Very
bad.” Then, she was pushing me over to the couch and shoving me down in a sitting position.

I was surprised with how quickly she got my shirt off, leaving me bare-chested before her. I leaned back and closed my eyes to the feel of her lips trailing over my skin, tongue darting out in various spots and sucking, making me draw in sharp breaths.

When she started pulling my pants and underwear down, I raised my hips to help her out, my blood spiking anytime she got near my dick. After the events of the night, my testosterone levels were off the charts and I was a little on edge. When she freed them from around my feet, I suddenly realized that I was the only naked one and that just wouldn’t do.

“I want it off,” I panted, tugging at the material of her dress.

She quickly stood up and released the side zipper, stepping out of it and dropping both it and her bra onto the floor. Her panties were next but when she went to kick off her heels I said, “Leave them on.”

She grinned and knelt on the floor in front of me, right between my spread legs. The way she was staring at my dick and licking her lips, I swear I almost shot right then. There was nothing sexier than a woman looking at you like that, acting as if she was just hungry to have you in her mouth.

But Kinley looking at me like that?

Shit, it was the most erotic kind of foreplay she could have doled out.

“Is that what you want?” I asked her. She didn’t look up at me, just nodded in response. “Take it, then. Suck me, baby.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She licked around the tip, moving up and down and then took the whole head into her mouth. My hips shot up in reflex, pushing me farther into her mouth. She grabbed the base and licked along the shaft, the feel of her hot breath driving me insane.

Then, she took me back into her mouth. And sucked.

Oh my God. My girl has a talented mouth.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done this before. But she must have had some extra motivation tonight because she was swallowing it down as if she had no gag reflex and she wasn’t letting up. I desperately clutched the couch cushions, holding on for dear life when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to contain it any longer.

“Oh, fuck.”

I wasn’t going to last. Watching her head bob up and down on me like that and seeing those luscious fuck-me lips wrapped around me was too damn much. I shot with a fierce roar, letting go inside her mouth, which she drew out by swallowing and moaning against me. The vibrations sent a delicious thrill through my spine and further prolonged my release.

She was smiling up at me when I looked down, her voluminous hair framing her delicate face. Gazing down at her in that state, I just knew I’d never let her go. My love for her really did reach no bounds.

I ran my thumb along those full lips. “I think you’re the one who’s been bad.”

She laughed and we spent the rest of the night being bad together.