Chapter 25
Payton
“ R hyland, we need to stop,” I breathe against his lips. “Someone might come looking for us.”
My hands press into his chef’s jacket, but I can’t be sure if I’m trying to pull him closer or push him away. My head and body are at war over getting what I want versus getting caught.
Somehow, in the last two weeks, we’ve kept up the ruse while in public, surviving on stolen glances, secret kisses, and knowing that once we’re home, all bets are off.
It’s been a special kind of foreplay—denying ourselves the pleasure of immediate gratification.
We spend as much time as we can inside the bubble and safety of our home, where we no longer pretend that there is nothing happening between us.
Anyone looking in from the outside while we are home would see a loving family. With every feeding, diaper change, and giggle he gets out of Gabby, I fall harder for this man.
“Just one kiss,” he says before pressing his lips to mine.
Famous last words. I’m pretty sure “just one kiss” was how he lured me into the walk-in fridge five minutes ago—or was it ten? Honestly, I’m not sure. Time always seems to stop when we’re together.
My head hits the shelf behind me as his lips leave mine and begin trailing up my neck, lingering at my hammering pulse point.
His teeth sink down gently into my skin—not hard enough to leave a mark, though.
Biting is a new kink we discovered I enjoy in the bedroom.
It’s primal and claiming. Of course, anywhere that he makes those marks, it’s in a spot that no one else can see.
But while it’s hidden from view from others, we know it’s there.
“Do you know how hard it is to work with you so close and not touch you? Or to look at that counter and not have a hard-on thinking about the way you came apart on my fingers? Every time you walked in there tonight, I wanted to bend you over the counter and slip my dick inside you.”
My breath comes in quick pants as he seals his mouth to mine.
My body wins over my head, and I lose myself in him as his tongue slips into my mouth.
I grind my pelvis against his, and I wonder if we can fuck in record time.
When balancing our new relationship and parenting, we’ve become pretty good at quickies.
We’re being so reckless right now, especially with both my brothers in the same building, but neither of us seems to care.
Rhy’s hand slips under the material of my shirt, about to slip under my bra, when the fridge door opens. Fuck! We quickly separate.
Oh my God, what were we thinking?
“Oh, shit, sorry,” Logan, the other bartender, says, frozen in the doorway. His gaze bounces between the two of us. Did he see anything?
Please don’t look down and notice Rhy’s erection. Thankfully, the jacket sort of covers it.
“It’s no problem. I was just showing Payton some things she could freeze as natural teething rings.” Way to go on the quick recovery, Rhy. I could kiss him right now. No, Payton, no more kissing!
Logan nods, although I don’t know if he actually believes the excuse for us being in the walk-in refrigerator with the door closed.
“Sure, sure. Don’t mind me. I was just coming in to grab some more garnish for the bar.” He clears his throat, refusing to meet my eyes. One might think there’s something super interesting on the floor by the way he’s focusing on it.
Logan quickly grabs the container of citrus and holds it up. “Well, alright, bye.” He hurries out of the space, and I finally let out a breath when the door closes behind him.
I cover my face with my hands and relax against the shelving. “Do you think he knows?”
Rhyland closes the distance between us and removes my hands from my face, clasping them in his. “Do you mean, do I think he saw me feeling up your perfect tits?”
“Oh my God, Rhyland,” I hiss, smacking his chest. “I mean it.”
“So am I. Good thing he wasn’t a few minutes later because he may have found my fingers deep in your pussy.”
I can’t with this man. We need to get out of here before someone else comes in here.
I slip through his fingers, but before I can get too far, Rhyland grabs my hands and pulls me flush against his chest. His erection is prominent in his pants and pressing against my ass.
I bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning.
“Babe, relax, okay? I don’t think he noticed anything.”
“Impressive that he didn’t notice that giant eggplant in your pants.” I grind my ass against it teasingly.
Gripping my jaw, he tilts my head to look up at him over my shoulder. “But tell me one thing.” His voice goes so serious.
“Anything,” I respond, my gaze dropping to his mouth, where his tongue slowly drags against his bottom lip.
He smirks when he catches me. “Will you just tell me how wet you are right now?”
I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a soft groan while rubbing my thighs together. “So wet.” My response tortures us both.
“Good.” Rhyland presses a quick kiss to my lips before walking around me, slightly nudging my shoulder as he passes.
“What?” My eyes whip open to reveal I’m all alone. “That’s it?” I pout, and I can hear his laughter from the kitchen. Asshole.
I wait and count to ten, trying to calm my racing heart.
I don’t think it really matters if we’re spotted walking out of here together, since I could just use Rhyland’s excuse he had come up with on the fly if anyone were to question it.
Thankfully, the coast is clear when I find Rhyland alone, back at the prep station, his apron tied back around his waist as if nothing had just happened.
He glances over his shoulder and winks, causing me to blush as I pass. Okay, maybe he hasn’t forgotten what just happened. With my back to him, I let my defenses down as I head back out to the main dining room. A whack to my ass causes me to jump and yelp.
“What the hell?”
I turn, placing my hands on my hips, a scowl on my face. Rhyland only laughs as he tucks his towel into his apron.
“Just a sign of affection, babe. Go get ’em, tiger.” He smiles ear to ear, and my knees nearly go weak.
How can I be mad at that smile?
My mind is elsewhere as I exit the kitchen and end up running directly into someone.
“Whoa, Pay.” Archer grips my arms and steadies me. “You okay? You look a little flushed.”
My hands fly to my cheeks as if that could change anything.
Damn you, Rhyland Cole. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. I just came out of the kitchen, and it was a little warm in there with the ovens rolling and all.” More like super hot with that sexy-as-fuck chef working in there. But I keep that thought to myself.
I run my thumbnail across my bottom lip, remembering just how hot it got, when my brother clears his throat. Oh fuck, right, Archer. When I lift my gaze, I find eyes just like mine staring back. Thank fuck mind reading is not a Mosby family trait.
“Well, just be careful, okay? Get your head out of the clouds. I’m just thankful you weren’t carrying a tray of food or anything. I prefer to eat my food, not wear it,” he says before he leaves and walks into his office, shutting the door behind him.
I can tell that something is clearly bothering him. I just wish that he would open up about it. But who the fuck am I to judge about keeping secrets when I’m harboring the biggest secret of all?
An hour later, I’m standing at the bar, waiting for a drink order. Ollie is busy at the other end of the bar, so, of course, Logan is the one who took my order. He sets one beer down on the tray and goes to grab one last glass to fulfill the order.
“Hey, Payton.” Logan glances over toward Ollie, who is busy deep in conversation with one of the regulars. “Don’t worry, I didn’t see a thing.”
My stomach dips as if I just rode down the first drop of a roller coaster. Fuck, he knows. Don’t freak out.
I step closer to the bar and lower my voice. “Logan, please don’t say anything to anyone, especially my brothers. It’s still new for us.”
Logan places his hand on top of mine, not the way Rhy does, but more in a brotherly manner.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything, but maybe just don’t be so reckless at work if you’re keeping this a secret.
Just so you know, Ollie was the one who asked me to get those garnishes.
It could easily have been him walking in there instead of me. Just be careful, okay?”
That’s the second time tonight someone has told me to be careful. Why am I overthinking this so much that there is more behind their words?
“And I don’t think anyone here wants to have another WWE SmackDown in here.”
I know he’s teasing from the smirk on his lips, but he’s absolutely right. I nod in agreement as he places the last drink on the tray, and I head toward my table.
No matter how great it feels, we have to be smarter, or we have to come clean about it to everyone and hope that it all works out.
They’ve both always said all they want is for me to be happy, so it shouldn’t matter who it’s with.
Even if they didn’t agree with it, I’m not willing to give Rhyland up.
It’s just shy of ten thirty when I’m finally getting in the shower. Gabby was extra clingy when we got home, so I didn’t have time to shower off the stench of Tilley’s before now. But after three books, she’s finally out cold.
Logan’s words of needing to tell everyone about Rhyland and me haven’t left the forefront of my mind since that conversation.
The shower curtain opens, and I shriek, reaching for the first thing I can find and throwing it at whoever is there.
“Rhyland? What the hell?”
Rhyland is bent over with his hands on his knees, laughing uncontrollably. “Who else would it have been?”
I rest against the shower wall and allow my heart to stop racing.
He bends down and picks up my weapon of choice.
“Did you throw a rubber ducky at me?” He chuckles, and now that I can relax a little, I join in.
I just shrug because he’s lucky I didn’t grab the removable showerhead and spray him or something.
Rhyland’s eyes roam over my naked body, and heat flares behind them. “Got room for one more?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He wastes no time stripping out of his clothes, revealing his already hard cock. My throat becomes dry and my pussy, well, not so much as I watch him grip his erection and slowly stroke it before joining me.
Adjusting the shower curtain behind him, Rhy closes the distance between us. “Hi,” he sighs, looking down at me, a gentle smile on his face.
“Hi,” I reply. “You’re home early.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, well, now I have someones”—he emphasizes the s , meaning more than one person—“to come home to.”
I push up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to mine. This kiss is savage, neither one of us holding back. I need more. I need to touch him.
Swapping our positions, I press my palm against Rhy’s chest so he’s flush against the shower wall. I never break our eye contact as I drop to my knees.
“Payton,” he gasps when I grip his shaft firmly and stroke him, just how I know he likes.
I slowly draw him into my mouth. I work my mouth and fist in tandem till Rhyland grips my hair.
“Baby, I’m close. I’m about to come down your throat.
” If he thought that was going to deter me, it actually makes me suck harder and faster.
“Oh, fuck.” His body tenses as he comes down my throat. I swallow every drop and make a show of wiping my mouth with my thumb as I stand.
“God, I love you,” he says, and I jerk my head up at him as he finishes his statement. “On your knees, but I also love you from behind. I just need a minute.”
Rhyland takes his time teasing me, washing my hair and my body, paying special attention to my breasts and pussy.
It’s then that I know that no matter the outcome, I am definitely never giving this man up.