16. Chapter Fifteen
Kace”s father sitting next to him in a bar in Canada feels surreal. Kace hadn”t lied to Bri about how rare it is to have Victor up for home games because of the costs, and he can”t get over the surprise. Because of Bri.
After hearing how Bri”s family treats her, he can”t help but appreciate the man who refuses to take a dime of Kace”s money, even for travel and tickets. His father never asks for anything, and it shocks Kace to see how much he takes for granted.
”So... you and Bri Waters?”
Kace can”t stop the wide smile on his face. She”d given herself completely to him, and he craves more. Aches. More of everything. He still can”t get over how simply being near her feels electric and magnetic. ”Yeah.”
”What are your intentions with my girl?”
Hisgirl? ”Isn”t that supposed to be the question her father asks, not mine? And, just a reminder, I”m your kid, Dad. Not her.”
”She doesn”t have a father. Not one worth wasting time on, anyway,” he says. ”What are your plans for her, Kace?”
Narrowing his eyes, he stares at his father. ”Excuse me?”
”You were pretty serious about Sasha. I”m not unhappy with the way the situation unfolded, but this seems like a quick turnaround.”
He nods, and he lowers his voice to avoid being overheard. ”It started as something else.”
”What does that mean?”
Looking at the water in front of him, he hates admitting this to his father, of all people. The only other person he”s told is Brett. ”It started out as fake.”
”Fake?”
”You”ve heard about that whole shitstorm with her ex, right?”
Victor shakes her head. ”No. Who was she dating?”
”Some asshole named Easton Duffy. He”s a country singer.”
”Oh, him? He”s bad.”
If only he knew the full realm of just how many things this man is bad at. ”He cheated on Bri and got caught. Publicly. It was right before her tour started, and it was all anyone talked about. I went to the first concert with Brett, which was supposed to be for Sasha, and things kind of spun from there.”
”Spun?”
He sighs. ”Our reps thought it would be good for both of us to create speculation about our relationship. For her, it would change up the bullshit around her ex, especially when it came out about his new girl”s pregnancy, and for me, it”d bring attention to the team and increase attendance.”
”Kace...” he says, and he knows the fatherly warning that”s sure to follow.
He nods. ”It sounds terrible. I know. But then I got to know her, and I really like her. In fact, I”m pretty sure she”s everything I never knew I needed. She”s refreshingly honest but insecure, mixed with a genuine nature I”ve never found in another person. She”s a confusing but captivating woman.”
”That”s how your mother was, too. Tough as nails but soft as butter. But you need to be careful with Bri, son.”
”Why? Is she gonna rip my heart out and stomp on it? Because that doesn”t seem like her style.”
Shaking his head, Victor sighs. ”No, she won”t be the one breaking hearts. And she doesn”t deserve that. I got to see the beautiful person she is inside, and she really likes you. Might even love you, Kace. If you hurt her, I”m worried she”ll lose her faith in people. If you”re not serious about making this something more than whatever it started as, please let her know. And maybe let her go. Don”t be reckless with her heart.”
”Reckless? Dad, I”d jump in front of a bus for her. I”ve never felt this way before. I don”t know how to describe it, but when we”re together, we can do nothing and have it feel like everything. We talk about things I don”t share with others, and I miss her when she”s not around. The only other woman I”ve ever missed before is Mom.”
”You didn”t miss Sasha?” Victor tilts his head and raises his eyebrows. It”s more I knew it than shocked.
Kace holds his hands up. ”Okay, physically, sure. I mean, when you have someone willing to hop into bed with you, of course you want them on some level when they aren”t around. Especially when you”re committed. With Bri, I just miss being near her. Talking to her. I”ve never met a nicer soul, but man, can she put people in their place when she needs to. You should have seen what she did for a poor father in Texas while also cutting the manager off at the knees. Seriously... it”s the greatest way to describe the contradiction that is Bri Waters.”
”What happened?”
”Long story short, she covered a birthday girl”s party at a steakhouse because her father had gift cards that didn”t work and expired coupons. We learned it”s the first thing she”s wanted to do since her mom passed, and Bri made everyone”s day. The manager was an ass, and she basically told him to stop being a crap human before calling the owner and getting him fired.”
”Good for her!” Victor says as the tab comes. Kace reaches for it, but Victor snatches it up first. ”I”m getting the star treatment while I”m here. The least I can do is pay for dinner.”
Kace knows better than to argue, and they leave to go back to Victor”s hotel. He walks him to the door before it registers Bri told him she”s in the same hotel.
”Have a good night, Dad. And a safe flight tomorrow.”
Victor smirks. ”Like I won”t be seeing you in the morning.” He walks into his room and shuts the door. Kace swears he hears laughter on the other side.
Without hesitation, he walks to the front lobby. ”Hi, I”m Kace Lyons. Can I talk with Bri Waters” security team?”
”Kace Lyons?” the woman says. ”I was told to give you this card to get you onto the floor. The elevator to the penthouse suite is right over there.”
A keycard? Hurrying to the elevator, he scans the card and presses the PH button, his excitement growing with every floor that passes on the impossibly slow ride. Finally, the doors open, and he all but runs to her door to knock.
All he wants is to see Bri. See her, kiss her, touch her. His skin feels as though it”s been lit on fire, and she”s the only one to put out the flames. Or fan the flames.
Finally, the door opens, and Bri stands with a robe on and a smile. ”Did you have a good dinner with your dad?”
”I did. I don”t even know how to thank you for this. It was one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done,” Kace says and steps into the room to shut the door. ”And I have no idea how you got him to agree to any of this, but thank you.”
”There”s one way I can think of that you can thank me.”
”What”s that?”
”Have your dessert with me.”
The last thing Kace wants is more food, but Bri unties her robe to hang open and show nothing beneath it. That kind of dessert. ”Fuck me.”
”That”s kind of what my plan was,” she says. ”This time, though, it doesn”t have to be so sweet and loving. I want to feel like you can”t get enough of me.”
Picking her up, he presses her against the wall like he had earlier, and claims her mouth. Her fingers tangle in his hair while his hands roam all along her body, feeling as much skin as he possibly can. Lifting her higher, he lowers his head to nibble her hard nipples, and her heat presses against his t-shirt.
”I hoped you understood my message when I told you where your dad was staying,” she pants and tugs at his t-shirt.
Kace sets her on the ground to quickly undress, and he takes her back into his arms, his cock ready and positioned at her entrance. ”I almost didn”t, but I wanted to come and thank you.”
She wiggles in his arms, trying to slide onto him, but he holds her where she is. Her eyes look up into his, and she pouts. ”Kace... please. Please.”
”Hearing you beg drives me wild,” he mutters and slams into her.
She mewls, and he stops for a moment, thinking he hurt her. ”Why”d you stop?” she pants.
”God, you”re sexy.”
His need for her takes over, and he thrusts, pounding into her fast and hard. The pleasurable sounds she makes bring him to the edge, and before he can stop it, he has to pull out as he comes on the floor.
”Fuck, Bri, I”m sorry.”
”It”s okay-”
Whipping them around, he lays her on the counter and kneels between her legs. The movement takes her by surprise, cutting off whatever platitude she planned to give him, and he sucks her swollen need. Other men might be content getting theirs and not helping their woman cross the finish line, but he”s never been that. In fact, he tries to make sure she finishes first.
”Oh, Kace,” she pants and tilts her hips as he slides two fingers inside. It”s not how he”d like to make her moan, but it”ll do until he”s ready for round two.
It takes only a few more minutes before she claws at his free hand on her belly while pulsing around his fingers. And just like that, he”s alive again, ready to go.
”Wow,” she pants, her breasts exposed to the ceiling with her legs on his shoulders. ”I gotta say, I”m okay with this tit for tat arrangement we have going.”
Standing up, he smiles at her. ”Normally, I don”t come before you, but having you answer the door and offer me up dessert like that was too much. But I will never finish without taking you with me one way or another, baby.”
Bri smiles and looks down to his waist. ”I think we should go to the bedroom this time. I”d like to see your version of a quickie.”
Kace laughs. ”My version?”
”Every time with Easton was quick. And he never made sure I finished. At all. I want to know what you offer, because I have a feeling it”s spectacular.”
”Bedroom?”
She points behind her, and he picks her up, noticing how much she seems to enjoy being lifted into his arms. Being lighter than what he benches, it”s not hard tossing her around like a sack of potatoes, and if it makes her happy, he”s more than willing to accommodate.
Rather than lie on her back like he expects, she crawls on all fours. ”Bri?”
”I want to try a few things,” she says and looks over her shoulder at him. ”Is that okay?”
”Fuck,” he growls and climbs onto the bed to mount her, sliding in with ease.
His left hand reaches around to twist her clit between his index and thumb, making her squeal, as he holds her hips with the right while thrusting into what he worries might be described as harsh. Her body moves back to meet him with every thrust, and it propels him to continue, knowing she likes it as much as he does.
”Bri...” he moans, feeling himself reach the edge at how tight she is in this position.
”I”m coming!” she cries out, squeezing around him as he rubs her furiously.
”Fuck,” he groans and pulls out of her just in time to watch his cum hit her back. ”Stay right there.”
Bri laughs and watches as he hurries to the bathroom to wipe off her back. ”You”re such a gentleman.”
”You”re good now,” Kace says and pulls her into his arms while he falls onto the bed. ”And a gentleman never lets his girl lie with jizz on her back.”
”Oh, is that so?” she laughs. ”For the record, I”m clean and on birth control.”
”I don”t normally go bare.” The worry she”ll think he does this with all the women he”s been with surprises him. What she thinks of him matters more than he realizes.
Rolling in his arms, she props her head up on her elbow. ”How often?”
”Well, honestly, never. Not until tonight.”
”Not even with Sasha? You were together for a while.”
He shakes his head. ”No, never. She was on birth control, but I didn”t want to take the chance.”
”Probably a good idea, considering what happened.”
The fact she fucked another guy? The thought crossed his mind, too. ”Yeah.”
”Kace?”
”Yeah, baby?”
”What do I say tomorrow when they ask me about our relationship and whether or not we”re together?”
Propping his head up, he mirrors her and looks into her eyes. ”What do you want to say?”
”I know what I want to say, but I want to know what you want me to say.”
The idea of anyone still thinking they”re not an item bothers him. ”Tell them we”re together. As far as I”m concerned, we are.”
Her eyes search his, and he hates the doubt in her blue ones. ”Really?”
His lips kiss her shoulder. ”There”s nothing fake about us, baby. You dominate all of my thoughts, and I feel crazy when I don”t talk to you.”
”I feel the same. I was worried it was just me. You know, because you did so well in the bedroom last time that I fell head over heels for you,” she says, a joking smile spreading on her face.
He can”t stop his laughter. Thinking back, that was one of the cheesiest things he could”ve said, but she ends up making him say whatever comes to his head, no matter how stupid he feels later.
”It”s not just you. And you give as good as you get, Bri. Believe that. The last thing I expected was you hopping onto all fours, but fuck if it wasn”t sexy as hell. I”m not sure which was hotter. All fours or opening the door naked.”
”I”d never had great experiences with sex, but you”ve shown me how great it can be. Plus, if I didn”t enjoy it with you, I probably wasn”t going to with anyone.”
The confidence she has in his sexual prowess has him looking over her like a snack he wants to devour. “You know what drives me wild about you?”
”In general, or in the bedroom?”
Kace smirks. ”In the bedroom.”
”Oh, do tell,” she says and wiggles with excitement, completely unbothered by her completely naked body. ”I”ve never been told I drive anyone wild before.”
His fingers trace down her body and circle at her navel before coming back up to tickle her breast. ”You know how to take what you want.”
”Because I answered the door naked under a robe and tempted you in the entryway?”
”Well, that, too, yes. But you met me thrust for thrust just now. Pushed your ass back at me when I slammed into you. And the last time, you pulled your legs up and put them on my shoulders to make you as fucking tight as I”ve ever felt a woman. Fuck, I still think about that at night.”
Bri lifts her head to kiss him. ”I told you, you make me feel strong. And if I”m completely honest, you make me feel safe. Safe to do what I want, no matter how silly it may end up being. You don”t judge me, Kace, and I honestly believe you”d do anything to protect me. To cherish the parts of me that need someone to appreciate.”
”Bri, I would do whatever possible to stop you from ever being hurt if I could.”
”I believe you.”
He kisses her again, needing to be as close as possible to her. Rolling her onto her back, he settles between her legs, his cock sliding into her with ease. This time, he wants to take his time. To show her how much she means to him without saying the words he can”t say just yet. That he loves her and everything about her.