by KB Winters
I giggled at his finger waggle at my fish. “Don’t worry about them. Hell, I eat sushi in here sometimes.”
Cody grimaced. “Sadist.”
I laughed and nodded. “It is pretty sick.”
“You wanna go out for some tonight? Ya know, out of sight of your slippery roomies over here.”
“I actually have a—”
The doorbell rang.
“A pizza.”
“Aha. Living it up without me. Good thing I brought a bottle of red. Why don’t you stick that in the fridge? I’ll get the pie.” He reached behind him and fished out a battered looking leather wallet.
“Oh, no! I couldn’t—”
“Chels, chill. I got it.”
He started back to the door before I could stop him. I shook my head, wondering how he managed to always swoop in and dominate a situation with hardly any effort. A few well timed, sexy grins, dark looks and I was freakin’ putty in his hands.
I stashed the wine in the back of the fridge to get it chilled and then poured two glasses of iced tea. I added a couple of lemon slices and carried them back into the living room just as Cody was bringing in the pizza box.
He glanced up at me and smirked. “I think your pizza boy was bummed to find out you have a boyfriend. He nearly shit a brick when I opened the door.”
“He probably wasn’t expecting to see Cody Wright answer the door,” I argued, glossing over that boyfriend comment. For the time being.
Cody shook his head. “Nah, he wanted to see you answer the door, looking like that.”
I froze in place, captured in his intent gaze. “Plates!” I said, ambling to get back to the safety of the kitchen. I exhaled slowly at the cabinet and pulled out two plates. “Keep it together, Chels. He’s just a guy…”
Right.
That was a load of bullshit and I knew it.
I took the plates out to the living room, passed them off to Cody, and then backed up for the base of the stairs. “I’m going to go get redressed…or changed…”
Cody smirked up at me as I started to ascend the stairs. “If my vote counts for anything, I’d prefer undressed.”
“Good thing it doesn’t,” I replied, shaking my head.
I got to my room, shut—and locked—the door and tore out of my camisole. I shucked off the slacks and my square toed flats. “Look like a fucking librarian,” I said, kicking off the last shoe. “Better than a stripper,” I added, catching a glance of my lacey bra in the mirror. What would happen if I just went down there like this? I blinked. I knew exactly what would happen. And that idea sent a new flood of heat through me.
“Okay, Chels, nothing has to happen. If you don’t want it—” I snorted.
Right. Again.
I contemplated changing to a nude t-shirt bra and a pair of cotton briefs that couldn’t possibly be considered sexy, but at the last minute, ditched the bra altogether, pulled on an athletic top with a built in bra and a pair of black leggings. I piled my hair up into a messy bun and applied a layer of clear lip gloss. There. Basic. Nothing to see. I wasn’t trying too hard.
Perfect.
I jogged back down the stairs and watched Cody’s eyes as they went down my body and then back up. “Damn, woman. How do you make me so fuckin’ hard just looking at you?”
Okay, so that plan didn’t go as expected.
“I think you’re hard from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Of course, that’s mostly because you’re so into yourself.”
Cody laughed but slapped a hand to his chest like I’d stabbed him through the heart. “Ouch!”
“You’re fine.” I slapped his thigh to get him to drop his feet from my coffee table and then took a spot on the couch beside him. Close enough to reach the box of pizza but not too close to where we would brush elbows. Cody grinned at me and crossed one ankle to the opposite knee. He balanced his plate in the nest it created and I saw he’d already piled half the pizza onto his plate. “Hungry?” I asked, throwing my chin at the direction of his plate.
He grinned. “Carb loading. I’m planning on burning some serious calories tonight.”
I rolled my eyes. “You going to the gym after this?”
He laughed and took a bite off his first slice. “You love this. Admit it. The banter and the insults. It’s fun.”
“Is that why you’re here? To argue with me and get me all riled up?”
“Riled up, yes. Arguments could be skipped unless they lead to crazy, hot make up sex on the staircase or something.”
“Not gonna happen. You can share my pizza and we can have a glass of wine but that’s it. This isn’t a date.”
“Hmm. I brought flowers, wine, we’re alone and eating dinner. Kinda feels like a date to me.”
“I didn’t accept the flowers. The wine was a gift. And I didn’t invite you to dinner. You invited yourself. So, if anything, this is a pity date.”
“Damn. Cold, baby. Very cold.”
I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the roses in a vase on the dining room table. “Oh, how nice, you raided my closet to find a vase.”
He laughed. “Yeah, top secret stuff. Spatulas, measuring cups, and cookie sheets, oh my! Scandal!”
I shoved his arm making him miss his next bite. “Don’t be a jerk.”
“It’s kinda my thing.” He shrugged and then stuffed the rest of the slice in his mouth.
“Why is that?” I asked, leaning back and angling my body towards his.
“What do you mean?” he asked once he swallowed and washed it down with a swig of iced tea.
“Why play the jerk all the time? I have this inkling, and hey, maybe it’s way off base, but I think there’s a better version of you somewhere in there,” I said, leveling my finger at his chest.
He worked his jaw for a minute. “Being the loud mouthed jerk is easier than being who I really am.”
“Why’s that?” I leaned forward, prepared to hang on his every word. The energy in the room had shifted and I was wrapped up in Cody once again. This time for a completely different reason.
Cody set his plate down and wiped his fingers on one of the napkins that the delivery boy had dropped off with the box of pizza. “You really want to talk about this? I can find things that are a lot more fun.”
“I really want to know, Cody. Please.”
He glanced away and then dragged his eyes back to mine. “I’m the jerk because it makes it easier to let shit roll off of me. My dad was a pro baseball player too. I grew up in this world. I’ve seen the inside, the guts of this industry, and if I can tell you one thing—the less you give a shit, the better off you’ll be.” He paused and glanced down at his hands. When he brought his eyes back up to mine, they were dark, like emeralds set ablaze. “No one can hurt you if you don’t give a shit. If you let on like the whole thing is a joke, then people leave you alone after a while because they know they can’t get under your skin.”
“Like the first night we met. At the bar when those fans were being rude.”
Cody nodded and his jaw flexed. “Exactly. Easier to let it go, laugh it off ten minutes later, and never let anyone see that it bothers you.”
“But it does?”
He considered me for a long moment and then offered a shrug. “Sometimes. Yeah. People can be pretty damn cruel.”
I nodded, processing through everything he said for another lingering moment before a new question popped into my head. “What about with me, then? You think that I’d judge you like that?”
“Nah,” he leaned back and his familiar smile returned. “With you it’s just because I like watching you get all passionate and edgy. Turns me on.”
I chucked a throw pillow at him. He blocked it, deflecting it over the back of the couch. “Nice try. All right, your turn, spill your guts.”
“There’s not much to tell you,” I said, my smile fading as the mood shifted again. “I really am just a workaholic, bookworm who spends far too much time in her own head.”
&n
bsp; “So, no perilous story of heartbreak?”
I shook my head. “No. My last relationship was over before it started. I didn’t want it to be over, but once I was out, I realized it was a dodged bullet.”
Cody nodded. “All right, so then why the resistance? What are you afraid of?”
I blinked and then dropped my gaze to my hands. They worked together in my lap. “Of wasting my life.”
“Fair enough. Don’t we all have that fear?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Sometimes I feel like I’m alone on that one. Everyone else is off doing whatever it is they want and they take it day by day. I tend to get tangled up in the big picture.”
Cody nodded thoughtfully, as though he’d just discovered a huge missing piece to the puzzle. “And that means that getting tangled up with me is a bad thing because it takes your eye off the prize.”
It wasn’t so much a question as a statement. I nodded anyway. “I guess so.”
“Chelsea Brooks, you are a complicated and delicious woman.”
A laugh bubbled up from my throat. “Is that so?”
“Yes ma’am. So, what would you say if I told you that it looks like you have the big picture pretty well handled for the night?” I followed his gaze to the completed presentation board. I couldn’t argue. I’d done everything I needed to do and had already planned to take the rest of the night off. It couldn’t hurt if I let Cody distract me for a few hours…
Could it?
18
Cody
Sitting next to Chelsea but not touching her was physically painful. My fingers ached to be against her skin, tangled in her hair, on her lips. I wanted to kiss her. To taste her. To devour her. I’d managed to keep away from her for a week and finally cracked. I took off from my hotel to take a drive and ended up in her neighborhood. The lights were on and I couldn’t stop myself from getting out of my truck and going up the walk.
The fact that she’d let me inside was just shy of a miracle.
“Cody, I…”
I reached for her hand and her words faded off. “Chelsea, I can keep this casual if that’s what you want, but I want you tonight. I fuckin’ need you. Right here. Right now. Life is too damn short, so let’s live it up.”
Her eyes darted between mine, searching frantically for something in my mind. I smiled softly and reached for her. “Come here, baby. Stop thinking so damn much. Just for tonight.”
She sighed and her perfect lips parted. They were slick and warm against mine and I yanked on my internal leash to keep from crushing her against me. Slow, Wright, take it slow.
“Cody,” she breathed as our lips parted.
I ran a finger down the side of her face. “I’m right here, baby girl.”
Her eyes fluttered open as though it were a struggle. She was still trying to keep her head above water and I was about to drag her back under. I moved to set aside her plate and then my own.
“Should I get the wine?” she asked, smiling ruefully at me.
“Hell, yeah. You got a hot tub in this place?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder out the dark sliding doors off the living room.
“I wish,” she snorted. “Those things cost a fortune. I’m not raking in big pro ball bucks, you know.”
I chuckled. “Not until you sell this thing, huh?” I gestured at her presentation materials.
“Right. Although, with the way these townhouses are set up, I wouldn’t have much privacy for the good stuff.” She popped up from the couch and went off to the kitchen. My eyes followed after her, glued to her ass, admiring the way the tight leggings encased the display of her curves and toned muscles in each stride.
It was impossible to keep my thoughts focused. All I could imagine was her ass bared for me as I plowed into her from behind. She’d be holding onto something, screaming my name, and begging me to fuck her harder.
When she reached the kitchen, she glanced back at me. “Are you even listening?”
I nodded, blinking away the vivid daydream. “Hot tub’s out.”
“I said I have a Jacuzzi tub…” she grinned like a satisfied cat and my cock went ramrod straight.
“Jacuzzi tub? Damn! Let’s go.”
She retrieved the bottle of wine from the fridge and I grabbed it from her to pop the cork with the opener she handed to me. When the bottle was open, she grabbed a couple of glasses, and we started for the stairs. I let her go first up the stairs and appreciated the view of her perky ass as she climbed each step.
“Damn, woman. You’re killing me back here.”
Chelsea giggled and swayed her hips all the more. I cupped her cheek and she jumped at the sudden contact. “Oh, jumpy. I like that,” I growled.
“I’ll bet.” She turned and grinned at me over her shoulder.
Damn she was sexy. That smile and those perfect brown eyes. Innocent and naughty all at once.
Chelsea led the way to her bedroom and I nearly said ‘screw it’ to the tub idea and took her straight to the bed. But when I followed Chelsea into the bathroom, I changed my mind. The tub was plenty big enough for two, with jets, and the thought of her naked, wet, and slippery had me reverting back to plan A.
Especially when she stripped her shirt off.
“Light those candles, will you?” she asked, chucking the shirt into the hamper by the sink. She leaned over and started the water, hot and steamy.
My hands fidgeted, wanting to unsnap her bra and get those perfect tits back in my hands, but I did as she asked after setting the bottle of wine on a small table by the tub. There was a book of matches and I swooped into action, lighting each of the candles that had white wax melted down the sides. Long, lingering bubble baths were apparently a regular thing for Chelsea.
I imagined her naked in the tub, running her fingers over her slick, wet body. Had she taken one since we met? I grinned at the thought. There was no way she hadn’t. She’d probably rubbed herself off at least twice while lying there, wishing it was my lips on her sweet little pussy.
“What the hell are you grinning about over there?” Chelsea asked, a laugh bubbling up.
I blew out the last match and waved my hand through the smoke. “I was thinking about you in here, touching those pretty little titties and thinking about me.”
Her eyes went dark, a flash, before she laughed off my suggestion.
“Oh, ho! You have. You’re a dirty girl, Chels. You know that, right?” I took a step toward her, pulling my shirt off with one hand. I chucked it aside and grinned as her eyes immediately roved over my muscled torso.
Fuck, she wanted me, bad. Her panties were probably soaked through.
I decided to find out for myself. I dragged her to me, letting my fingers sink into her soft skin. I slid my hands up her back and unclasped her bra. She let it fall slowly, parting from me only long enough to let it fall to the floor between us.
“Mmmm. I missed these beauties,” I growled, running my thumb over her hard nipples. “Damn, Chels. You’re so fuckin’ sexy.”
Her cheeks flared with heat and I ducked to capture one of the hard nubs between my lips. I raked my teeth over her breast, palming and teasing the other with my hand. It was a perfect fit. The perfect weight.
The candles were some kind of scent that made me think of lying on a beach somewhere. White linens. Chelsea lying naked in the sand, her hair wet and wild.
Chelsea moaned and raked her hands through my hair as I teased her titties with my tongue. The bathroom was steamy from the hot water filling up the tub. I dragged my hands down her sides and returned my mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. I worked at the button on her slacks and pushed the soft material down, over her hips, leaving her panties on for the time being.
She stepped out of the pants and kicked them behind her. Her fingers fumbled with the fly on my jeans. My cock was already hard, desperate for her to hurry the fuck up and get her hands on it. Better yet, that sweet little mouth of hers. Her lips would look damn sexy wrapped around my cock. I’d bury myself up t
o my balls and watch her work every inch of me.
She could take it.
When my jeans hit the floor, Chelsea smiled down at my bulge and snaked a hand into my boxer briefs and stroked down my dick, just like I hoped she would. Her eyes met mine and I damn near lost it right there.
“Yeah, baby. Just like that.”
“Yeah?” she whispered, leaning close. She licked her lips and I groaned.
“Sexy, baby. So fuckin’ sexy.”
I let my hands explore while she worked my cock with her skilled fingers. I grabbed two hands full of her ass and her hand slipped out of my briefs as I pulled her closer to me. Our bodies crushed together, melting in the steamy room. She wrapped her hands around me, tracing her fingertips over the muscles on my back.
“I can’t believe you’re in my bathroom right now,” Chelsea said, grinning up at me.
I chuckled and dropped a kiss to her parted lips. “I can’t believe I haven’t had you in a week.”
Chelsea laughed and released her grip on me long enough to switch off the tap before the tub overflowed. She pried the lid off one of the jars and sprinkled a handful of crystal bath salts into the water. I groaned. “Hey, hey, I don’t wanna leave here smelling like a fuckin’ rose garden, all right?”
Chelsea rolled her eyes. “You won’t. Besides, who said you were leaving? Wine, candlelit bath…this is not the set up for a hit and run, Mr. Wright.”
I laughed and stalked across the bathroom to fill the wine glasses. I handed her one and she took a sip then drank deeply. “Mmm. How do you have such good taste in wine?”
“Google is my friend,” I confessed, sinking down to sit beside her on the edge of the tub. “Now, where were we?”
She stood up and stepped in between my knees. Her panties were nearly the same shade as the wine in her glass. I ran my finger over the silky fabric and watched Chelsea’s eyes close as she shuddered. “Just as I suspected. Wet.”
Her eyes opened, the color dark, like she was intoxicated. “Very wet.”
I hooked my fingers on the waistband and slipped them from her hips. She stepped out of them and I ran my hands up the outsides of her thighs and came to rest, one on each side of her curvy hips, and planted a kiss right above her navel. Her scent drifted up to me and the fire in my belly roared to life all over again.