BrickWall_Kobo (11 page)

The open floorplan allowed him to watch her as she headed for an alcove where a long, white bag hung from the top of an open door.

“I have an SUV so I can lay the dress out in the back, and my sewing kit’s in there already.”

“No problem.”

As long as he got to spend time with her, he didn’t care how they got where they were going.

With the dress bag now in her hand, she walked back to him with a wry grin.
“You’re awfully agreeable.
Are you always going to tell me yes?”

“I guess it depends on the question.”
He thought about letting her respond to that but wasn’t sure his cock would behave if she started to tease him.
“You want me to get the door?”

She blinked and nodded.
“Yes.
Please.
The keys are on the table.”

Grabbing the key ring, he opened the door, waited until she walked through, then followed her and locked the door.

Walking behind her down the hall, he marveled at the view.

Jesus, her ass looked perfect, outlined in that tight dress.

“You look amazing.”

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled, sweet and hot.
Christ, he nearly tripped over his own feet.

How the fuck did she do that?
How did she make him feel like a fucking teenager, tongue-tied and horny and clumsy?

“Thank you.
You clean up pretty well, too.
But then I knew that at the party.”

He would’ve continued to simply stare at her gorgeous ass as they walked through the building to her car but that’d be a dick move so he looked up—and found his gaze caught on her breasts as she stopped next to her SUV.

He knew how soft those breasts were because he’d had his hands and mouth all over them two nights ago.

Fuck.

He was going to spend the entire night with a hard-on in front of a couple hundred people he didn’t know.

Fuck.

And…crap.
He’d totally missed what she’d said.
Something about how he cleaned up…

“Uh, thanks.
We dress for games so…yeah, you get used to wearing suits pretty fast.”

“Doesn’t hurt that you look good in it.”

His turn to smile.
He really liked that she wasn’t afraid to flirt but didn’t come off too abrasive.
Basically, he liked everything about her.

A lot of women he’d met after becoming a professional threw themselves at him.
He’d felt more like a conquest than someone they really wanted to get to know.

“I’d say the same about you,” he spoke slowly so she heard every word, “but it wouldn’t do you justice.”

As he clicked the remote to open the car, she threw another smile his way as she hung the dress on a bar she had rigged above the back seat just below the car ceiling.
Then she moved to the back, opened the gate and arranged the bag so it looked like a white waterfall.

“Looks like you’ve done this a few times.”

She huffed out a laugh as she closed the door then took the keys he held out to her.
“Just a few.
You learn the tricks.
My aunt’s been in the business for thirty years.”

As she walked back to the driver’s side, he walked with her then offered her a hand getting into the car.
She looked surprised at first but let him help her in.
He’d seen his dad do this a hundred times for his mom, who only stood five-three.

In those heels and that tight dress, Bliss would’ve had to do some fancy maneuvering to get into that seat.
Besides, he got to put his hands on her.

Win-win.

And the smile she gave him—part heat, part sweet—made his gut clench.

“Thank you.”

Her tone had dialed down a notch, low and a little husky.
And damn, if that didn’t make his balls tighten and his cock throb.

Only another six hours of foreplay.

He nodded but before he moved away, she reached out, stroking her fingers along his jaw.
He froze, his lungs catching at the sizzle along his nerve endings.

When she let them play across his lips, he couldn’t help himself.
He opened and bit lightly on the tip of her index finger.

And watched her eyes narrow and darken and her smile turn a little more wicked.

He flicked the tip with his tongue, heard her suck in a sharp breath, then let her slide her finger away.

“I can see you’re going to be a handful.”

Damn, but her voice made him want to shove her skirt around her hips and put his face between her legs so he could lick her until she came.
He hadn’t gotten around to that the other night.
Tonight, it’d be first on his to-do list.

“I know how to behave in public.”
Then he shrugged.
“But all bets are off later.”

Maybe Bliss should’ve packed an extra pair of panties because, oh my god, the man made her wet.

If she hadn’t needed to be at the church with the dress, she might’ve said fuck it and taken him back to her bed.
Or maybe they would’ve gotten as far as the door.
She could’ve pulled up her dress and dropped her panties and he could’ve undone his belt—

Oh wow.

Sucking in a breath, she pulled her hand away from his mouth, and the tempting scruff on his jaw, and dropped her gaze on the pretense of putting the key in the ignition.

Because she couldn’t think of one sane thing to say, she said, “We should get going.”

Shane didn’t miss a beat.
Stepping back, he made sure her dress was safely out of the way of the door before he closed it.
Her heart gave a serious flutter.

Then he walked around to get in the passenger side, his knees nearly hitting his chin before he adjusted the seat back.

When he buckled himself in, she put the car in gear and headed for the church, trying to ignore the way he took up so much space in her car.

Damn, he was
big
.

Yes, she’d known from being in bed with him two nights ago.
But here, now, enclosed in the car together… He took up so much space, it almost felt like there wasn’t enough air.

Of course, that could just be from the way she couldn’t catch her breath when he was around.

“So is the bride a friend or a client?”

Ridiculously relieved that he’d asked a question she didn’t have to think about, she said, “Both, really.
I mean, she started out as a client but became a really good friend.
She has mobility issues and,”
I have a brother with mental disabilities that I’m not going to mention because you could still turn out to be a dick,
“I told her I’d help her get dressed.”

“What kind of mobility issues?”

The kind caused by a fiancé who got careless and flipped the car he was driving and crushed Faith’s spine.

“She was injured in a car accident and needs a wheelchair.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

The true emotion in his voice hit her somewhere in the middle of her chest.

“It does.
But Faith’s amazing.
They told her she’d probably never walk again but she’s not giving up.
I have no doubt she’ll be able to get rid of that chair.
But for now, she knows she needs it and doesn’t take shit or pity from anyone.”

“She sounds amazing.
Can’t wait to meet her.
Gotta say I noticed you haven’t said anything about the guy she’s marrying.”

She tried not to grimace and barely managed it.

“He’s…fine.”

Shane laughed.
“Damned by faint praise.”

Grimacing, she shot a quick glance at Shane as she stopped for a red light.
“Is it that obvious?”

“That you don’t like the guy?
Yeah, kinda.”

She huffed.
“Well, the feeling’s probably mutual.
I just don’t think he’s good enough for her.
Honestly, I’m not sure anyone’s good enough for Faith.
She’s just one of those people, you know?
She’s almost too good to be true.
But she’s absolutely the nicest person you’ll ever meet.
I just think…”

“He’s not worthy.”

She slid him another look and found him watching her.
God, she really hoped she wasn’t coming off as a self-righteous bitch.
“Yeah.
And please, just tell me to shut up.
I can’t believe I’m bad-mouthing a groom on his wedding day.”

“I don’t want you to shut up.
You can talk all night.
I love the sound of your voice.”

Oh my god, was he really for real?
Every word out of his mouth made her want to pull over, put her car in park, and crawl all over him.

He looked amazing tonight.
That suit fit him like a glove, an extra-large glove.
Suit-porn was
so
a real thing.

Shaking her head, she huffed out a laugh.
“You’re dangerous.”

Luckily, she couldn’t see his smile but she heard it in his quick laugh.
If she’d glanced over at him, she might’ve driven off the road.

“Glad you think so.”
A pause.
“Be nice if the other teams thought so, too.”

She slid him a quick glance.
“Why do you say that?”

His shoulders barely moved in a shrug.
“Just…having a little trouble lately.
I’ve been—” Another pause.
“In a slump.”

“What does that mean?”

She heard him suck in a breath and, when she glanced his way again, saw him shake his head, his beautiful mouth a flat line.

“It means I’m letting my team down.”

She heard his anger and frustration so clearly, she wanted to soothe him in some way but didn’t know him well enough to know how.
But she couldn’t stop herself from trying.

“Is that why you didn’t go home?”

Everything about this man intrigued her and she wanted to know every little thing about him.

Which was foolish.
He wouldn’t be around long enough for her to get to know him that well.
This…whatever they were doing, was just for fun.
He wouldn’t be in Reading forever.

And she certainly wasn’t in the market for an emotional attachment to a guy who could pick up and move across the country at the flick of a coach’s fingers.

That didn’t mean she didn’t want him to talk to her.

After a few, long seconds, he finally said, “A little, yeah.
I just need some time to think.
Get my head straight.”

She almost said, “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” but knew that was bullshit.
Sometimes things weren’t fine and you needed to work through your issues before they got better.
And sometimes they never got better and you just learned to handle them.

So she reached for his hand, resting on his knee, and laced her fingers through his.

“So you thought a Christmas Eve wedding was just the thing to take your mind off your game.”

She glanced his way again, made sure he saw her smile.

But he didn’t return it.
Instead, he stared at her, even after she returned her attention to the road.
She felt his gaze on her.

“Actually, you’re the one taking my mind off my game.
You’re a distraction.
A good one.”

Heat shot through her and she had to suck in air.
“Then I’m glad I asked.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They fell silent then but they were only a few minutes from the church so it didn’t have a chance to get awkward.

By the time they reached the church, they were a few minutes early but Faith’s mom’s car was on the street so she parked behind it.

Shane was waiting for her at the back of her car.

“You want some help?”

She smiled again.
Her ex would’ve watched her struggle with her purse and the dress and her kit before asking her if she’d needed help.

What the hell had she ever seen in Rich?
And why the hell was she even thinking about him now?

Shoving those thoughts aside, she nodded.
“If you don’t mind, could you grab my kit?
And…”

The ultimate test.
She held out her clutch with an apologetic grin.

He didn’t even blink.
Just took it and shoved it under his arm before grabbing her kit.