9. Brooke
9
brOOKE
“Y ou didn’t have to come early!” Nova throws out her arms to me as the door swings wide when I arrive.
“I didn’t come to help. I came to drink your wine.”
And possibly to avoid being home and running into my tall, gorgeous roommate who’s supposed to get back any minute from his road trip.
Nova’s sister, Mari, is queen of parties. Tonight is supposed to be a low-key celebration of Clay and Nova’s new house.
The huge estate house is already decorated for the upcoming holiday. It’s six bedrooms with even more bathrooms. Nova grew up on the road, so she never takes for granted having a place to put down roots and host friends and family.
“You look incredible,” she says as she shows me some of the improvements they’ve made in their kitchen.
“Thanks.” I glance down at my short black dress and suede booties. “I got a few pieces to try from this brand Vivaro .”
“Oooh. They made the dress?”
“They made what’s underneath.”
I turn and unzip the back so she can see the aqua bra underneath from the box of products arrived this morning.
I remember how it looked when I put it on earlier and inspected the results in the mirror. I tamed my curls to add to the sleek look. “I need to take it for a full test drive before I commit.”
“It’s hot. What else did they send?”
“Two sets of workout bras and tights. I wasn’t going to wear cropped leggings to your party, so here we are.”
“If you do agree to work with them, you’ll need a photographer. I’m officially offering my services.”
“You’re a lifesaver! And you do have the best eye.”
“Pink?” a low voice calls from the door.
“In here!” Nova replies.
Clay appears from the hallway as I zip my dress back up. To his credit he doesn’t look too disappointed when he clocks that I’m here. “Thought company wasn’t coming for another hour.”
“Come on. I’m not company.” I wave a hand.
“Good. Then I can ask you to leave and come back when I’m done with my wife.”
Nova laughs. “That can wait.”
“Not what you said on the phone last night.” He crosses to his wife and brushes a kiss across her lips.
Damn. They’re so freaking cute it hurts to watch them.
When Clay pulls back, my friend is beaming. “How was the flight?”
“Rookie’s been watching these animal tricks reels. We made him plug in his headphones, but now all we can hear is him laughing.” Clay changes gears smoothly. “Miles had a good game.”
I look between him and Nova. “Why are you telling me?”
“He’s playing better than I’ve seen him play. Doesn’t happen without making a change.” He reaches for a water and grabs his bag to take upstairs.
The fact that Clay’s here means Miles is getting home anytime.
I try to put it out of my head as we finish preparing.
* * *
An hour later, the open concept great room and kitchen is full of a couple dozen Kodiaks, family, and friends.
“The team is heading into the midseason tournament,” Chloe’s saying to me, Nova and Sierra. “It’s good for the press and the fans to stay excited through the holidays. The winning team and players get a bonus.”
“How are their chances?” Sierra asks.
“Better than they were a few weeks ago,” Chloe admits. “Especially after last night.”
My gaze drags toward the sound of the door just as Miles walks in.
He’s in jeans and a blue button-down that matches his eyes and pulls across his broad shoulders and the muscles of his chest. His hair is styled straight up. I want to brush a hand across the top to see how it’d feel, or what he’d do if I did.
My brother comes in after him.
“The man of the hour!” Atlas calls, clapping Miles on the back.
It’s a few minutes before Miles wanders over to our group, a beer in hand.
“Nice place.” He looks around, admiring.
“Thanks, Miles.” Nova’s eyes soften.
“I remember how stressed Clay was before the wedding,” Miles says. “Trying to get the perfect house.”
“I can’t imagine him doing that,” Chloe says, shaking her head.
“I can,” Sierra counters. “He bought half the bar to help out my dad. It’s always the ones who act tough that have a soft heart underneath.”
Miles and I share a smile.
“Brooke! You have to show the girls your Vivaro .”
“Her what?” Sierra and Chloe chorus, exchanging a look.
“It’s this line of sexy underwear Brooke’s going to partner with.”
I feel Miles’s eyes on me.
“I’ve heard of them,” Chloe says. “Don’t they make yoga clothes?”
“They’re branching out,” I confirm.
“And they sent you free lingerie? Sweet, maybe I need to be an influencer,” Sierra decides before Chloe asks her a question about how to mix a drink, and Nova’s called away by her husband.
“So you’re going to be a lingerie model now.”
The teasing in Miles’s voice makes me angle my head. “I haven’t decided. You think I could hack it?”
His gaze skims down my figure. “I think you’d break the internet.”
I love the way he looks at me. As if I’m at the center of every fantasy he’s ever had.
My palms are sweating. I drop my clutch and when I bend to pick it up, something shiny falls out.
Miles beats me to retrieving it.
“You didn’t use it.” He holds up the foil packet with the letters XL printed on it, the wrapper glinting in the light.
I lift a shoulder.
Triumph etches on his face. I wait for him to give me shit, but all he says is, “I’m glad.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
I laugh.
He’s flirting with me. I like it.
It feels safer here somehow, surrounded by our friends.
Not like back at the condo we share where anything could happen.
“You still owe me the rest of that photo.” His voice is lower now.
“There was no rest of the photo.”
It’s Miles’s turn to chuckle. “For real? That was my entire motivation for winning. Guess I’ll have to make do with what I saw in the mirror.”
“The mirror,” I echo, confused.
I reach for my phone and pull up the image.
I’d been so intent on Waffles’s adorable face, I didn’t realize I was giving Miles a lot more than I planned.
My teeth wrestle with my lip.
“Don’t tell me that wasn’t the idea.” He arches a brow.
“It was all about the dog,” I vow.
“Well, fuck.” His laugh is fuller this time.
I promised we wouldn’t do this if we moved in together. But damn, resisting him, resisting the pull between us, is taking everything in me.
“Maybe there’s a consolation prize.” I glance past him, then take his wrist and tug him after me into another room filled with easels and stacks of canvases and boxes.
The solarium is dark, lit only with soft fairy lights and the moonlight streaming in through the windows.
Music drifts in from the hallway, plus the sound of our friends laughing. My senses are focused on Miles, and the heat flooding my body.
I want him more than I can remember wanting anything.
“Pop quiz. What’s better than a picture, Garrett?”
I reach for his hand and press it between my legs under my skirt.
He stills, and the world seems to slow down, too.
For a guy who isn’t known for his self-restraint, he’s remarkably composed.
I wouldn’t know how much he wanted me if it wasn’t for the uneven rasp of his breathing. The way his fingers flex on my thigh rather than pulling away.
The tension between us grows until my chest is tight with it. Every part of me is vibrating.
“You sure?” Miles’s voice is rough.
I nod.
He exhales on a groan.
Fuck it.
I can feel the moment he thinks it.
The next second he’s crowding me, leaning in, his forehead pressed to mine while his fingers stroke up the inside of my thigh.
When he brushes over the thin satin, I moan.
It’s the lightest damned touch but it feels so good. My feet step wider apart, as far as the tight skirt will allow.
Still, his massive hand strokes the insides of both thighs every time he moves.
“This is the stuff you just got?” He presses against the fabric.
“Mhmm. I’m test driving it to see if I like it.”
The rub of my panties as he drags them to one side with a finger has pleasure dancing along my nerve endings, chased with anticipation.
“If you need a second opinion…” His thumb strokes across my clit. “It feels fucking fantastic.”
The smoldering desire catches fire and turns into a blaze.
Each slide of his skin over mine where I’m sensitive only makes me want more.
He presses one finger inside, and my head falls back against the wall. I grab his shoulder, my nails digging into the muscles through his shirt.
“That’s it,” he whispers. “Right there.”
It’s arrogant, the idea that one finger is enough to get me off, but the punch line is he’s right. My body clenches around him.
When he eases another finger inside, I inhale sharply.
“Don’t,” I say.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t go slow.”
He drags my skirt up around my waist, hooking my leg around his hips. His lips crush down on mine.
Miles tastes like mint and the faintest hint of vodka. His huge body looms over me. His mouth is demanding.
We’re both physical people, but there’s a new intention to him, an intensity, that reminds me how he got to be in the one percent of human beings who make a living playing games with their bodies.
I arch into him and he drags me toward the climax I’ve been chasing.
I start to moan, and he claps a hand over my mouth. “Damn, I love feeling you come. But unless you want the entire house to hear you,” he murmurs, and I can feel his smile against my throat, “be quiet about it.”
His words and touch and voice send me over the edge.
Pleasure spirals through me, starting deep in my core. I’m shaking with it, every part of me greedy for more.
Miles holds me, coaxing sensation after sensation from my body until I sag against the wall.
He holds me up with an arm behind the small of my back, leaning his forehead against mine as our heart rates recover.
“Can I see the rest of it?”
I have to blink to remember what he means. I reach up to the low neckline of the dress, tugging it down enough to expose the low demi-cups of my bra.
He rubs a hand across his jaw. “I hate it.”
“What?!”
“Yeah. It’s got to go.” He glances over his shoulder before returning to me. “Meet me at the Range Rover in five.”
It takes me a second to appreciate the hunger in his slow grin. “You want to leave?”
“I’ve been on the road all week and just carried five guys to a W against the top team in the league. There’s only one thing I want to do.”
“Sleep?”
He brushes a quick kiss across my mouth that’s as hungry as it is gentle.
“Save my roommate from some bad lingerie.”