39. There Are Things I Could Eat
I knowit”s silly to avoid Brant here at work. The team already knows. Oh God, do they know. But that”s what makes this so awkward. I was so scared to show anything in front of them that I went overboard once I finally knew I could trust them. The beers didn”t help either. I should have never done half the things I did at the cookout. Seriously? Treating Brant”s face like a popsicle as he carried me into the house? If I could have called off sick for the rest of the season, I would have done it.
The guys have been wonderful though. Not one of them has said a word about that night. They”ve all been even sweeter than normal. So sweet it made me suspicious at first. I don”t usually trust people who are too nice, but after a few days without a single comment or a laugh behind my back, I relaxed. Until tonight.
I should have never ignored Brant. He didn”t do anything to deserve that, but I was just so freaked out about what I did. Tonight is the night I show him how sorry I am. Just as soon as I can get out of here. I power down the ultrasound machine, put away the massage guns, and record my notes about Nikita”s injury from the puck he took to the forearm in the final period. Luckily, there”s no damage. It”s just going to be sore for a couple of days. And then I”m out the door to pick up Silver and go to Brant”s house. When I get to the staff parking lot, I see his SUV is already gone. He must be looking forward to tonight even more than I am.
When I get there, the front door is open a crack. I push it open and drop Silver”s leash once we”re inside. ”You know, you could just leave the door unlocked. It would accomplish the same thing.”
”But then you might knock, and I wouldn”t get to make my dramatic entrance,” he answers from somewhere near the kitchen.
”What dramatic—Oh.” He walks around the corner, wearing nothing but an apron. A very small apron that does very little to hide his muscular chest and not much more to hide his lower bits.
Silver trots up to Brant, expecting pets and treats, completely oblivious to the fact that the hottest man in Utah is standing almost naked in front of us. Brant pulls a few small treats from his apron pocket and then bends over to rub behind the giant softie”s ears. The way Silver”s eyes roll back at the touch, it”s like he”s in paradise. If I take just a few more steps to my left, I”ll get the perfect view under that apron and join him in heaven.
Brant shifts to the side as I walk. ”I know what you”re trying to do, but there will be none of that until after dinner, young lady.”
”You honestly expect me to not even peek a little while you march around here practically naked?”
”Yes. Now have a seat at the dining room table, and I”ll be right out with the first course.” He turns, showing me his very naked, very exquisite backside. Holy lord, I have never seen anything so perfect. A perfect upper body forming the perfect V down to his perfect ass perched on those perfect thighs. Those thighs. He slaps his ass and gives me a quick look over his shoulder before he disappears into the kitchen, and I”m not sure I can make it the ten steps to the table without dissolving from lust.
By the time I drop onto the chair, I”m panting. I won’t make it through this night. Before I can catch my breath, Brant walks toward me carrying an upside down cake pan. Silver is dancing around his feet, not taking his eyes off that pan. I”m not taking my eyes off the way that apron swings with each step.
”I don”t have one of those fancy silver lid things, so I had to make do,” he says as he sets… whatever this is in front of me. I reluctantly shift my focus.
”A cloche?”
”I don”t even know what it”s called, so I”ll trust you. Anyway, I hope you”re ready for the culinary experience of a lifetime.”
Eating is the last thing on my mind right now. Lifting that toilet paper square of an apron? Feeling those hands on my body? Having him between my thighs? That”s what I”m ready for. But I nod and look up at him. He”s obviously put a lot of effort into this—including having someone else cook for him, because there”s no way he had time after the game—so I don”t want to disappoint him. But if he expects me to last longer than three courses, he”ll just have to be disappointed.
Brant puts a hand on either side of the inverted cake pan and stares at me with a smile until I nod. Ready. To hurry through this and get to the good part. He lifts the makeshift lid with as much flourish as one can when lifting a cake pan.
”Chicken nuggets?” I ask.
His hand goes to his chest. ”The lady insults me. Not just chicken nuggets. Wendy”s spicy nuggets. Complete with every dipping sauce possible. Except sweet and sour. They were out of that one.”
”The first course is Wendy”s spicy nuggets? What”s the second course? Big Macs?”
”It”s a Frosty. There are only two courses, and I put the second one in the freezer. I was kind of hoping we could have that course later.”
Later sounds brilliant. ”So the apron?”
”I hoped it would make me look sexy.” I give a noncommittal shrug even though he could wear a life-size Wendy”s sack and still be the sexiest man I”ve ever seen. ”And it”s quick to take off. That”s the reason I got fast food too. I wanted to be fast because this week has been killing me. Do you know what it”s like to see you every day and not be able to touch you? Not even be able to talk to you about the ways I want to touch you?”
I push the nuggets aside as I rise from the chair and turn to him. His apron is tied with a bow in the front, and I tease a finger along his stomach underneath. ”You want to touch me?” I pinch the end of the apron string between my index finger and thumb and give it a small tug. Not enough to loosen the knot. Just enough for him to feel it.
He nods, and his throat moves up and down.
”But you just played a game. You”ve got to be starving.” I pull harder. The bow comes undone, but I press my body against his before the apron has a chance to swing free. Being this close, this turned on, his citrus and leather scent nearly overwhelms me.
”There are things I could eat.” He leans back just far enough to slide his hands between us. He cups my breasts, and I have to fight to keep my head from rolling back. When he pinches my nipples through the fabric of my shirt and bra, it becomes impossible. ”Maybe I could start up here and work my way down?”
I slip my hand under his apron. He”s already half-hard, and damn, he is… extensive. There”s no way I can take all of him, but that won”t stop me from taking what I can. I wrap my hand around his dick. ”Maybe I”m hungry too.”
His eyes close as I slide my hand down his length, teasing a finger along his underside. He lets out a low groan that rattles something inside me. ”We could both eat.”
”Did you get enough nuggets for that?”
”More than we”ll need.” He glides his hands to my waist and slips them under my team-issued Salt Lake City Sting polo shirt. His fingertips take my breath away as they skate along my bare skin. Goosebumps ripple out from his touch. I lift the shirt above my head, revealing the lacy light pink bra underneath. ”Jesus Christ, Lily. This is more than enough.” He slides his fingers under its band as he kisses the exposed tops of my breasts.
I”m not sure if I should unhook my bra or take off his apron first, so I decide to do both. I reach my left hand around his neck, feeling for the string that will send his apron sliding to the floor. With my right, I grasp for the hooks behind me.
”Want help?”
I nod. His fingers tickle along my band while I pull on his apron string with both hands. Just as he unfastens my bra, I untie the apron string and let go. The apron makes a satisfying swish as it falls, and I finally see him for the first time. My eyes must go wide because he chuckles under his breath. That is not a dick. It”s a medieval stake ready to impale.
”Your turn, pretty girl.” He steps back, but I”m frozen. All I can think about is that. Him. And how much I need to feel him inside me right now. ”Lily? I want to see all of you.”
I swallow, barely aware as I slide the bra down my arms. When my breasts are exposed, Brant reaches out but stops himself before touching me. He looks down. I nod. I slip out of my shoes and unfasten the button at my waist. He looks like he wants to brush my hands aside and rip the pants from me, so I go slow. So slow I hear each individual tooth on the zipper as I unzip it. So slow he groans as I push the tight black pants down just far enough for him to see the waistband of my panties under them. Pale pink like the bra. A matching set because I wanted this night to be special. I stop there and look up at him. ”Do you want more?” I tease.
He growls.
I slip my pants lower. My body quivers in anticipation of what”s to come, but I still force myself to move slowly, even as every nerve in my body cries for relief. At last, Brant drops to his knees and yanks my pants down. He slips his hand between my legs, and even through my underwear, he finds my clit right away. He presses a finger against it, causing it to swell in response. ”You”re so impatient,” I whimper.
He traces a finger around the sensitive nub and then yanks my panties to the side. He forces my legs apart, just far enough to make room for his tongue. His cheeks are like sandpaper on my inner thighs, and if he didn”t move his hands to my ass to hold me up, I would be on the floor. ”Only impatient with you, Jams.”
”I hate that name.” I can barely speak now.
”No you don”t.” He spreads me further and plants his lips around my clit, sucking in, and even his hands are barely enough to hold me now.
I coil my fingers into his hair, desperate for anything to hold on to as he works his mouth on me. ”Brant, it”s my turn. Let me.”
He shakes his head, and the stubble rubbing the tops of my thighs triggers an ignition deep within me. ”I promised to make up for every orgasm you missed out on.” He sucks again, harder this time. Then circles his tongue around my clit. One of his fingers slides between my legs from behind, and he uses it to stroke my sensitive folds while he sucks and licks.
I wish I was strong enough to insist he let me take him first. I want to make him feel exactly what he”s making me feel right now. But my muscles are already beginning to tremble, and I know there”s no holding back. My sharp breath catches in my lungs as my body spasms. My legs clamp tight around him. I”m pulling his hair so hard that the last working part of my brain is amazed it doesn”t yank out. It has to be hurting him. I should let go. I should tell my thighs that his head is not a walnut. But as long as his tongue is worshipping me, I can do none of that. Even the ringing of my phone barely registers.
But when it stops and immediately starts again, more of my brain starts to function. And I recognize the ring tone. ”Chloe.” Brant goes still. Silver whimpers at the sound of her name. ”I need my phone.” Brant leaps to his feet and dashes to the other side of the dining room table for my purse. He slides it across to me, and I take the call just before the voicemail can pick up.
”Chloe?”
”Lily? I need help.”