Chapter 20
THE BANG PREDICTION
Aubrey
We’re back in the suite a little after eleven. The stars wink in the night sky, the quiet of the Pacific Northwest surrounding us. One by one, we take turns getting ready for bed.
The men insist on ladies first, so once I brush my teeth and slip into my sleep shirt and shorts, I return to the room while Ledger roots around in his suitcase and Dev heads to the bathroom.
I slide into bed. Adjust myself under the crisp covers. Paddle my feet to loosen the tight sheets some more. Arrange the pillows. Tug up the duvet.
What now? Do I read like I do at home? I don’t need the light on since I brought my Kindle, but will it bug them if I’m lying in the middle of the big bed reading the latest book club pick? I do want to know what happens next in The UnGentleman.
Dev emerges from the bathroom, but he hasn’t changed into sleep clothes yet. Maybe he just brushed his teeth. He trades with Ledger, then grabs some clothes and toiletries from his suitcase, along with a Kindle.
He sets it on the nightstand on top of the postcards he picked up at the store. “Gotta read before bed. Hope you don’t mind.”
I don’t even try to hide my smile. “I insist on it,” I say, then I hop out of bed and grab my Kindle from my purse.
I’m back under the covers as Ledger returns from the bathroom, wearing basketball shorts and a gray T-shirt. With a nod, Dev heads back into the bathroom, and the sound of the shower turning on reaches me.
As Ledger comes over to the big bed, there’s a mischievous look in his eyes. Before he can say something, a lightbulb goes off in my head. “You want that side?” I ask, pointing to Dev’s nightstand.
Ledger’s eyes sparkle. “Yeah, and since Dev’s in the shower, I don’t even have to call shotgun.”
“Go for it,” I say, his partner in crime.
Ledger goes to the other side and gets into bed before he moves Dev’s things.
Then, he grabs the Kindle and stretches all the way across me to set it on the other nightstand.
His chest is inches from my face. His body is over mine, and I’m staring at the breadth of his muscles, the size of his biceps, the cords in his neck, all while water patters rhythmically from the room nearby.
This is such an unusual bird’s eye view of the man.
I don’t mind it one bit. I hold my breath so I don’t…gasp.
When Ledger moves back, I watch him again, retreating over me. And for a second, he stops, pressing a hand into the mattress on one side of me.
“You have…” His eyes travel over my face, then he tips his chin at me. “An eyelash.”
“I have many,” I say, but I know what he means. I lift my hand, gently brushing at my cheek.
He gives me a faint smile before he pushes up on an elbow and ever so tenderly brushes it off my cheek, then blows on it.
My heart squeezes. “Did you make a wish?”
“I did,” he says, then gives me another soft smile that turns into another yawn.
I wonder what he wished for, but suspect he’s reached the end of sharing tonight, so I don’t push. Instead, I try to give him what he needs—not pushing, not asking.
“Good night, Ledger,” I say, tugging up the covers and playfully tucking him in as the shower forms our soundtrack.
He grumbles. “I’ll just kick them off.”
“I have no doubt,” I say.
He sighs, a contented, sleepy sound as he settles into the pillow, then looks back at me once more. “Good night, Aubrey.”
It’s a soft wish against the quiet night.
But it’s his gaze, even in the dim light of the room, that tugs on something inside me. That same impulsive part of me that was compelled to kiss him on the cheek last night in the parking lot.
Maybe it’ll ease the tension of sharing a bed.
Or maybe I’m just an impulsive girl. I lean over and give in to the urge. But he must have shifted as I moved, because my lips don’t touch his scratchy cheek. They dust against his lips instead.
His lush, hungry, masculine lips.
“Oh!”
The surprised sound comes from me. He doesn’t move. I don’t either. Instead, I linger for one, two, three delicious seconds on his mouth. In that shadow of a kiss, I feel a pull toward him. The sense that he needs something. That I could be the one to give it. It’s there, unspoken between us.
Finally I break the silence. “I didn’t mean to.” It comes out staccato, and it’s probably a lie.
His expression is stony till his lips quirk up. “I wouldn’t stop you,” he says, and on that tempting note, he turns around, shuts off his light, and, like it’s his superpower, he’s asleep in ten seconds.
I’m not tired at all. Replaying what just happened, I open a book and try to read the next chapter of The UnGentleman. The hero is either a bodyguard or a billionaire or a billionaire bodyguard, and the heroine could be his childhood sweetheart or his red-hot enemy.
I can’t focus on the words. I’m too busy running my finger along my bottom lip, reliving that teasing touch.
An accidental one but sexy nonetheless. Only…Was it accidental?
I close my eyes, but I don’t stop the trail of my fingertips until I hear a door swing open. My eyes fly open, too, and I drop my hand. My Kindle tumbles from my other hand and smacks the covers.
Dev arches a brow. I gulp, and I mean to look away, except…I can’t. The man is shirtless again, his hair wet, a lone droplet of water traveling down his massive chest, roaming along his abs.
I take a longer look than I did in the diner parking lot.
He doesn’t have any ink. That’s a surprise.
He seems like the kind of guy who’d ink dogs, or cats, or a line from his favorite book on that muscular canvas.
Instead, his chest sports a fine covering of light brown hair, the kind I could run my nails through.
The kind I want to run them through—there’s just something about polished pink nails trailing through golden brown, wiry chest hair that gets me going.
Like Dev gets me going. He’s wearing only a loose pair of gym shorts, and it would be a gold medal feat if I could take my eyes off the freshly showered athlete as he walks to the bed.
He gives the sleeping arrangements on his side of the bed a final once-over, then glances at Ledger’s side. “Bet he thinks he stole my spot.”
“Well, he did,” I point out.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
Does it involve you wanting to pound me into the mattress after your friend and I just kissed?
I swipe that thought away, smiling innocently as I say, “Sure. I love secrets.”
Dev leans closer, and I catch a whiff of his scent. It goes to my head, with his cedar and suede notes. “I had a hunch he’d do that. But this is the side I really wanted.”
“Strategic.”
“Every good athlete is,” he says, then lifts up the duvet and slides under.
Right next to me.
I hold my breath for a few seconds. Here I am. On my double honeymoon with my brother’s two best friends. It’s just the goalie, the forward, and me in this big bed. This isn’t awkward at all.
Dev dims the light, then cracks open his Kindle too.
I try not to glance at him as I flip through pages about the billionaire who operates a security firm and hires out bodyguards, which makes so much more sense now.
But as I read about his new leggy client, who just showed up in his sleek corner office, I’m hyperaware of the inches between Dev and me.
Of his finger sliding across the screen every fifteen seconds or so.
Of his strong legs under the covers, shifting a little restlessly.
Of the rise and fall of his naked chest.
Am I too close to him? Does he need more space?
“Do you need more room?” I whisper.
He looks my way. “Nope. I’m all good.” He tips his chin toward my e-reader. “Whatcha reading?”
The dreaded question. I’m not ashamed of my tastes, but I also don’t want to explain myself to someone who doesn’t get it. “It’s a book about a billionaire,” I say tactfully.
He arches a playful brow. “Same!”
I jerk my gaze to him, doubtful. “What?”
“Well, it’s not a book. It’s a long piece from a tech site about how a bunch of billionaires hired an economist to help them prep for a future with scarce resources.
He had to train them to realize they can’t just buy everyone off.
He taught them that money doesn’t solve everything, and they might need to trade resources and skills and, you know, treat people with kindness and stuff. ”
That’s not exactly what I’m reading. “Sounds interesting,” I say, evasively.
“Is yours good too?”
“Yes.” I hope he doesn’t ask more questions.
Before I reconnected with Aiden, I was on the dating apps, where I encountered more than a few judgy men who felt entitled to comment on my choice of books.
Why would you read that stuff? Fuck them, but I don’t want to burst the bubble of good feelings I share with these two guys.
If Dev’s book judgy, I’d rather not know.
“Read some to me,” he suggests.
I freeze.
“C’mon, Aubs.”
“It’s a romance novel. For book club,” I say.
That would deter most men, but not Dev. “Cool. Read me a bedtime story,” he demands, setting down his own Kindle and parking his hands behind his head.
The move sends the covers snaking farther down his body, revealing more of the toned, trim abs that make my fingertips tingle to explore every dip and groove.
“I don’t want to wake up Ledger,” I say, even though I’m feeling a little fizzy at Dev’s request.
He throws back the covers and swings his legs out of bed, nodding to the adjacent living room. “Let’s read out there.”
Is he for real? “You really want me to read to you?”
“News flash: I like books.”
“And you heard me that it’s romantic and stuff?” Also, it’s kinda naughty, but I don’t add that little nugget.
“Did you hear the part earlier where I watch Christmas movies? I like this stuff…well, in entertainment form. Important distinction.”
Yes, it is. Especially after what he shared about Eva at dinner.
I’m not tired in the least, so I follow him out to the living room. He parks himself on the couch.
“Ready?” I ask, arching a skeptical brow as I sit next to him.
“Yes. Or I can read to you,” he offers, gesturing for me to give him the device.
A hot hockey player reading a romance book to me? I didn’t turn down the private plane. I’m sure as hell not turning down this adventure. I hand him the Kindle and catch him up to speed on the story. “So, Mariana just came into Hayden’s office, and she’s driving a hard bargain on hiring his firm.”
With a got it nod, Dev clears his throat, then begins.
“And there’s one more thing I want, she tells me, those sharp eyes lasered in on me.
Too bad it won’t be for me to bend her over the desk,” Dev says, and to his credit, there’s not one snarky remark the rest of the scene.
Not as he reads about them arguing, not as the hero and heroine trade dirty glances, and not as the hero talks about all the filthy things he wants to do to her.
When the chapter ends, Dev waggles the e-reader. “How long will it take for them to bang?”
A grin takes over my face. “We place bets in book club on that.”
“Yeah? How do you usually do?”
I blow on my nails. “I’m a pretty good bang predictor.”
He lifts a brow in admiration, then holds my gaze for a long moment—a moment that sends a rush of warmth down my chest, straight to my core. “And what’s your prediction for this one, Aubrey?”
Those tingles spread across my skin. Heat flares brightly inside me. Even though I’m sitting on the couch, my knees feel weak. I try to catch my breath, but it’s hard to breathe with his gaze pinned on me.
“Hard to say,” I finally manage.
He’s quiet, but his green eyes speak volumes. They flash with dirty thoughts till he drags a hand down his face like he needs to recalibrate all his systems.
He mumbles something that sounds like sorry. “We should…”
“Yeah. Go to bed,” I say, feeling both heady and hollow at the same time.
He gestures to the bedroom, making it clear I should go first. I get up, and I’m tempted to look back. But I don’t. I’m pretty sure what I’d see, though—the evidence of his desire tenting his shorts.
It takes him a minute before he makes it into the bedroom again. Once he’s under the covers, he says hoarsely, “Night, Aubrey.”
“Good night, Dev.”
I don’t fall asleep for a long time. But when I wake in the middle of the night, I feel him against me. His big body is pressed against my back, his hard length prodding my ass. His steady breathing coasts over my ear.
He’s asleep.
So is his friend, who’s flat on his stomach, with one hand resting gently on my shoulder.
Sparks shimmy over my chest. Arousal pulses in my core. Wild thoughts flood my brain.
I don’t know how I’m going to survive in this bed with Ellie the Elephant since she takes up so much space.