Chapter 10
Connor
Connor had been fine as they teased her, but as soon as his last joke landed and the conversation died off, he had to come to terms with the fact he’d chosen the wrong outfit.
He tried to forget Daisy’s audiobook. But it was impossible.
How often did she listen to that kind of stuff?
Why did it auto-connect in a company vehicle?
What did she do while listening to her erotica?
He was most hung up on the last question.
It was also the question that put him in such a ridiculous predicament.
Connor needed to adjust himself, but that would be obvious to everyone in the car.
He shifted in his seat and folded his hands in his lap.
His gray sweatpants did nothing to hide his raging hard-on.
At least he had the forethought to wear underwear.
He didn’t always bother with sweats. They were only half an hour into the drive.
Surely he’d be able to get himself under control before they got to their destination.
He needed to think of something unsexy. What was unsexy?
The problem was the word unsexy. Instead of imagining something disgusting, he kept thinking, ‘unsexy, unsexy, unsexy,’ which basically translated to ‘sexy, sexy, sexy,’ and conjured the most pornographic mental images his brain could comprehend.
And they all featured the woman sitting close enough for him to touch.
Daisy, with her hair wild and lips bruised, looking up at him from where she sat on her knees.
Daisy, in fishnet stockings and sky-high heels, bent over the kitchen island in her apartment.
Daisy, naked, her tits bouncing and head thrown back in pleasure as she rode his dick.
Fuck. He needed his brain to chill, right the fuck now.
He’d never come untouched, but if he didn’t stop his train of thought soon, he might experience it.
His anxiety had never come in handy before, but thinking through the worst-case scenario allowed him to get himself under control.
What would happen? He would come in his pants, it would show through, and he’d have no way to cover that up.
He’d have to exit the car with his shame on full display.
His teammates would never let him live it down.
He’d have to retire early. Daisy would never be able to look him in the face again.
Thank fuck. Nothing like the precipice of a panic attack to kill a boner.
He kept it together for the remainder of the drive. Daisy’s cell phone led them to a beautiful little cabin in the woods. As they unloaded the car, Connor couldn’t help but voice his concerns to Daisy. He lowered his voice, hoping to keep Valentine and Hazy out of it. “This seems dangerous.”
Daisy grabbed a duffel bag from the trunk and slung it over her shoulder. She frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
He stole her bag from her and added it to his own load. Her obliviousness made him concerned about how well she protected herself day-to-day.
“You’re an unarmed woman fifteen miles outside the nearest town with three large men you don’t know well.”
She smiled at him, and it lit his soul on fire, as it did every time she directed positive attention his way. This girl could be addictive. “Who says I’m unarmed?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you armed?”
She gathered the last few grocery bags and closed the trunk. “Well, no. But I could be.”
“What if we wanted to hurt you? It would be too easy.”
“Do you want to hurt me?”
“No, Daisy. Of course I don’t fucking want to hurt you.”
“Then I’m probably safe.”
“Nobody is going to admit they intend to hurt you. That would be insane.”
Daisy used her free hand to point out some security cameras to him.
“Connor. I’m going to be fine. My family owns this place.
They know where I am and who I’m with. My best friend and my brother both have access to my location.
The property has security cameras. You guys are public figures; if you did pull something, my friends would be smearing your names so far across the internet you would never come back from it.
And I trust all of you not to do anything stupid. ”
He could see her point, but remained uneasy.
It should be way too early in their acquaintance for her to trust them enough to join them alone at a cabin in the woods.
But he didn’t push farther. His experience with Sarah told him that if he pushed too far, she would assume he thought her incapable of making her own decisions.
She’d tasked them with choosing bedrooms while she set up dinner.
Connor had tried to argue, but she told him he would be in the way.
Instead, he followed after Hazy and Lover, who carried the luggage.
Lover dropped his bag in a room with a twin bed and shuffled down the hallway with the remaining duffle.
Hazy dropped his bag onto the bed in the next room.
They gave themselves a quick tour as they went.
There were two rooms left upstairs. They opened the next door to a bathroom. Hopefully, the last room had bunk beds.
It did not. The cabin had three beds. There were four people. Obviously, Daisy would get her own.
Well, he had thought it obvious. But Hazy and Lover seemed unfazed as they dumped both remaining bags in the room with a king bed. He restrained himself from smacking the closest man upside the head.
“Uh-uh. Don’t even think it. We aren’t putting her in that position. She’s the only woman, and she barely knows us. She should not have to ask for her own bed.”
Connor wanted to wipe the smirk off Hazy’s face. “Damn, Dad. Don’t worry about it. We’ll bunk in here. You can have the twin and leave the other room for Daisy. We haven’t unpacked. We can switch the bags.”
“Good.” For some reason, Connor had anticipated an argument. He let his hackles down. “Switch them now, please.”
When they got downstairs to get their next task from Daisy, they found her searching the grocery bags she’d brought in. She looked up from her task, relief crossing her features.
“Can one of you go check if there’s pizza sauce in the car? Maybe it rolled under the seat?”
Lover grabbed the car keys off the table. “No problem. Be right back.”
“Awesome, thanks! You two, wash your hands. You can help me grate some cheese and prep the toppings.” She seemed at home in the kitchen.
While she rolled out pizza dough, Connor got to work grating a huge block of mozzarella. Hazy had dumped a pound of Italian sausage into a frying pan when Lover came inside empty-handed.
“No pizza sauce. Backup plan?”
Daisy looked skyward and groaned. “Have any of you ever stretched pizza dough?”
Hazy watched over her shoulder as she stretched a piece of dough and laid it flat on the counter. “Not like that. I could use a rolling pin.”
“You can’t use a rolling pin, you heathen. It’s pizza dough. It needs to be lovingly worked, not forced into submission.”
Lover smirked at her. “Have a lot of expertise on submission, huh?”
She glared at him. “I will pay you one million dollars to never make an innuendo in my presence again. I haven’t recovered from the audiobook fiasco.”
“Ehh. I already have a million dollars,” Lover said. “There’s more value in the jokes.”
Daisy threw her hands in the air, slapping them on her thighs and leaving flour handprints on her leggings. “Lord, give me the strength. We need pizza sauce. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
She charged for the door, but Hazy stopped her. “Wait,” he said. “Lover and I will go. You stay and do the dough thingy.”
She eyed him up and down. “It’s a company car. I can’t let you drive it.”
Lover winked at her, and Connor once again contemplated violence. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Daisy acquiesced, threw them the keys, and they walked out the door, leaving Daisy and Connor alone in the kitchen.
She faced him and leaned a hip against the counter. “They’re so dumb, but I kind of love them. How do they do that?”
“Beats the fuck out of me.” Connor flipped the block of cheese over in his hand and started grating at a new angle.
They were quiet as they worked side by side, but the silence between them was comfortable. That was a surprising realization. They had never been alone together, and Connor had assumed any moment they shared would be charged.
When they had finished what they could without sauce, Daisy pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge.
“Want some?” she asked.
“Please,” Connor said, and she poured two glasses, handing one to him.
Daisy did the same maneuver he’d seen her do at her house to sit criss-cross in a recliner. The rocking motion as she tried to climb up with a glass of red wine in her hand gave him anxiety.
“Do you always have to stand on a piece of furniture before you sit?” he asked.
Daisy contemplated the question. “Most of the time I stand first.”
“Isn’t that bad for the structural integrity of your furniture?”
Daisy shrugged, sipped her wine, and ignored his concerns, changing the subject. “I met your sister the other day.”
Connor had wondered if she’d bring it up, or if he would have to. Before he could ask why she’d been there, Hazy and Lover barged in.
“We got the sauce!” Hazy held up a jar of store-brand pizza sauce.
“And booze!” Lover added, showing off a bottle of cheap whiskey.
Daisy held her wineglass up in cheers. “Way ahead of you, buddy!”
They made quick work of assembling pizzas, eating dinner, and cleaning up. Connor assumed they were done for the day, but he should’ve known better since it was barely seven pm.
“Alright, boys!” Daisy announced when the last crumb was swept from the kitchen counter. “We’re going out! Go get dressed.”
It was unclear where they were going out to considering the nearest town was a fifteen-minute drive and seemed to have one stoplight and a gas station when they drove through it. Connor didn’t ask questions, glad he had packed clothes for every occasion.
He was the first to be ready and waiting downstairs.
Relief filled him when Connor and Hazy joined him.
They had all chosen a game day outfit. Respectable.
Put together. Attractive. But when Daisy joined them in a short pink sundress that swished about her hips, cowboy boots, and her curly hair framing her face, she put them to shame.
She’d added one of those little flippy things to the end of her eyeliner and painted her lips red.
She burst out laughing when she noticed them all staring at her.
“What the heck are you guys wearing? We’re going out! Not going to a business meeting.”
They shared a confused look. “That’s basically the same thing.” Connor pointed out.
“It is not the same thing. You would wear this to a bar? Or a club? In the city?”
“What?” Lover asked. “Don’t we look hot?”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Of course you look good. You’re men in suits. It’s hard to mess up. You just look so… uptight. That will reflect poorly where we’re going.”
“And where,” Hazy asked, “is that?”
“To a bar. A backwoods-country-tavern style bar.”
“Well, I’m going with what I’m wearing. This is what I brought in case of going out,” Hazy said.
Daisy stepped back to give them a once-over. “At least lose the jackets.”
They took their jackets off and waited for her assessment. She approached Lover and reached for his collar. Her hand hovered for a few seconds before she asked, “May I?”
“Go for it,” he confirmed. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and ruffled his hair before stepping back and studying him again.
Connor clenched his fist and breathed through his jealousy.
“Do you have different shoes?”
“What’s wrong with my shoes?” Lover studied his shiny black dress shoes.
“Nothing is wrong with them. You look like you’re going to a wedding. Or funeral.”
Connor examined his own feet, clad in casual all-star high tops. He patted himself on the back. Fancy dress shoes were the one thing he refused to give in on. You could put him in the fanciest bespoke suit you could find, and he’d still wear Vans or Converse.
Lover sighed. “You don’t get the vision. But yeah. I’ll change my shoes.” He headed up the stairs to change.
Before Daisy could say another word Hazy had already loosened his tie and unbuttoned a button. “Already on it,” he said and continued to artfully mess up his tidy appearance.
After an eternity, she focused on Connor. She bit her bottom lip as she checked him out. “Can I?” she asked as she stepped closer.
Afraid of what might come out if he opened his mouth, he nodded.
She invaded his space, unbuttoning two buttons and letting her fingers linger on a third, seeming to debate the necessity of popping that one open too.
She left it closed and reached up to his hair.
Connor inhaled strawberries and wildflowers and sunshine.
Daisy was summer embodied. She probably tasted like it too.
Her fingers tugged on strands of his hair as she attempted to give him a mussed look.
Fingernails scratched at his scalp. If he wasn’t careful, he’d start purring like a cat.
When she stepped away, he wanted to reel her back in, hold her close. The few touches she’d gifted him weren’t enough. It would never be enough. She grasped his wrist and rolled his sleeves, the light skims of her fingertips across his skin leaving goosebumps in their wake.
She exited his orbit, flushed and breathless, to assess her work. Connor determined then and there that he’d get that reaction again. Soon. And alone.