Rookie Moves (A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 2)

by Shelly Alexander

  Her fingers curl into my shoulders, and she steps into me, touching her cheek to mine. Pressing her full, lush tits to my chest.

  Lust riots through me, and my grip on her hips tightens.

  She brushes her nose against my shoulder and pulls in a deep breath. “You’re wearing Body Heat. One of my favorites.” Ava knows the Checkmate products better than Leo, Oz, or me.

  “Give the girl an A.” I pull back and nod to my jacket where a square outline is barely visible. “There’s something in the inside pocket for you.”

  She searches and withdraws the velvet jewelry box. “What’s this?”

  “Your birthday present, Rookie. Did you think I’d show up empty-handed?”

  “You weren’t empty-handed. You brought flowers.” She smooths her fingers across the soft fabric.

  “Go on. Open it.”

  The lid creaks as she eases it up. A sweet gasp slips through her lips when she sees the stack of bangle bracelets. The distant city lights glint off the handcrafted gold.

  “They’re gorgeous, Dex. You shouldn’t have.”

  That’s what I love about Ava. She’s bossy and bold, but she’s so down to earth and unassuming at the same time. She obviously had no expectations that her guests would show up bearing expensive gifts.

  I take the bracelets out and toss the box onto the table. Then I slide them onto her wrist.

  “I don’t know what to say.” She fingers them.

  Ava Foxx doesn’t know what to say. Huh.

  I realize my hands somehow found their way back inside the jacket and are resting on her hips again.

  She kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Rookie.” My chest swells because of how much she obviously likes the gift.

  She pulls her lip between her teeth like she’s contemplating something.

  “What is it?” Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she doesn’t like the bracelets. Maybe she hates bracelets. “You don’t like them.” It’s not a question because I’m sure I’ve screwed up.

  She laughs. “I love them.” She pretends to rap her knuckles against the side of my head. It’s her way of telling Oz, Leo, and me that we’re being dense.

  “Then what?”

  She steps into me again and presses her cheek to mine. “Since you’re going to be my date Saturday night, maybe we should get more comfortable with each other,” she whispers against my ear.

  “We’re already comfortable with each other.” There’s no one I’m more comfortable with than Ava, except Oz and Leo. Ava and I are together a lot. We meet every morning for coffee before work, a habit we formed a few years ago when Ava was building our website. Checkmate was her first big client, and since I oversee our retail studios, I volunteered to work closely with her to ensure it conveyed our message and branding.

  We grew so close during that time that we never gave up the morning ritual. It’s not something we advertise. We don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, especially Ava’s overprotective brother, who would likely try to kick my ass if he thought I was making moves on his sister. So we meet at a coffee shop pretty close to Checkmate headquarters but far enough away that we won’t bump into my employees or my business partners.

  It’s dark on the balcony, but her huffy exhale tells me she’s just rolled her eyes. I smile because I love that sassiness.

  She pulls back to look at me, and moonlight glistens against her big, blue eyes. “We’re comfortable with each other as friends, not like a couple who are dating.” Her long, slender fingers are still curled into my shoulders. They’re strong from a profession that requires endless hours working on a computer. Those skillful fingers apply just enough pressure to tell me she’s not planning to let go.

  And I’m so fucking glad.

  So I slide one hand around to the small of her back and mold my palm against her. A current seeps through her dress and skates up my arm.

  I swear, she draws in a sharp breath and holds it.

  When I don’t respond she asks, “Do you feel as comfortable with me as you do a woman you’re sleeping with?” Her soft words are mingled with the scent of scotch, and they whisper over my cheeks.

  Long, loose curls hang around her shoulders, and I want to brush them back and taste her neck. Feather soft, slow kisses along her jaw until I reach her ear where I’d breathe hot, filthy promises. She’d shiver, I’m sure of it. Maybe she’d tilt her head to one side to give me better access, which would tell me she wanted more dirty talk. Dirty talk is my specialty. And I’d give her all she wanted until she shattered without even getting her naked.

  “Well, Dex?” Her words are low and timid, like she’s afraid I won’t give her the answer she’s hoping for. “Do you?”

  “’Course.” Not exactly. I haven’t felt anywhere near as comfortable with the women I’ve dated as I feel with Ava. Which is why I haven’t dated much lately, no matter what the gossip rags say.

  Some of the tension in her body eases, and she leans into me. “Then we should get more familiar with each other…” She swallows and looks toward Central Park. “You know…” She turns her attention to a button on my shirt. “We should look like a real couple.”

  I guess I am obtuse. Obviously, she’s trying to tell me something, but I’m not catching on.

  Her sigh is as big as Central Park.

  “Why don’t we make this easier on both of us?” I lace my fingers at the small of her back and pull her closer. “Tell me exactly what it is you’re trying to say.” I can’t hide the smile in my voice. Ava doesn’t beat around the bush. She usually takes a stick and whacks the fucking bush until there’s no leaves left on it. So I find her sudden shyness not only amusing, but sexy as hell.

  “Well, this is a good start. You’re holding me like we’re a couple.” Nerves tremor through her last few words. “I want us to look real next weekend, so, um…” She gives me a one-shoulder shrug and fingers the button on my shirt that has suddenly become so fascinating. “Maybe we should kiss.”

  I go rigid and drop my hands to my sides. The moment I lose that intimate contact, my fingers tingle to touch her again.

  “That’s not a good idea, Ava.” All amusement is gone from my tone. We’d be treading on dangerous ground. Mostly because I already know how much I’d like it and wouldn’t want to stop.

  “Come on, Dex.” She doesn’t step back, and we’re still so close, I could do exactly what she’s asking and take her mouth with mine.

  “Why don’t you want to bring a real date, Ava?” I scrub a hand down my face. “There’s what—eight million people in New York? Close to half of them have to be men.” My geekster status roars back to life as I start doing the stats in my head. “Out of those, a large segment are single and—”

  She puts a cupped hand over my mouth. “If you don’t want to be my date, just say so. But you know as well as I do that Leo scares off every guy I meet. On the rare occasions that I’ve dated a guy more than once or twice, I kept it a secret.”

  Jealousy burns through me like wildfire at the thought of her with another man. I have no right to feel that way, though.

  “If pictures of this reunion show up on social media, and I’m with a guy Leo has never met, he’ll hunt him down, give him the third degree, have him followed, and probably try to pay the NSA to listen in on our phone calls.”

  True. Leo means well, but there’s such a thing as overkill. He excels at it, especially when it comes to his sister.

  But still…

  My fingers encircle her slender wrist, and I pull her hand away from my mouth. She lets her palm fall to my chest, and my hand covers hers. “What about Leo? I’m sure he’d be glad to go with you.” I’m kind of desperate now because all I can think of is how much I really do want to kiss this girl I’ve wanted for so long.

  “Really? You want me to take my brother as my date?” My jacket tents at her side where she’s put a hand on her hip.

  She’s got a point. A good one, actually, but goddamn
. I need to find a way out of this. Leo will kill me if he catches me kissing his hot-as-hell sister.

  “Leo’s got commitments next weekend and can’t go. Thank God, by the way, because he still treats me like a kid. I mentioned taking you, and he thinks it’s a good idea,” she says, squelching any hope I had of using the Leo-will-go-psycho card.

  “Dex, please.” Her voice goes silky soft.

  She’s begging me, and the sound pulls on the strings of my heart. It also makes my cock ache with need because of the fantasies it inspires.

  Before I can respond, she says, “Please, please, please. Take me.”

  My throat closes. Swear to God, I think my vision even blurs. I adjust my glasses to make sure I’ve still got them on.

  Oh, I want to take you, Rookie. Right here. Right now. Up against the wall. Or on the patio table. I’m good with it either way.

  I try to focus on what she really means. “Of course I’ll take you.” I try not to choke when I say it, because my dirty mind is spiraling in every direction. Imagining her beneath me. Her bare, firm legs wrapped around my waist as I hover over her, teasing her pussy with my rock-hard prick. She’s dripping wet and begging me to fuck her. I clear my throat and add, “To the reunion.”

  How hard can it be? No, I’m not talking about my cock. I already know it’s as hard as fucking granite. I mean, a reunion lasts a few hours tops. Since Leo moved Ava to the city to live with him after their parents died, she graduated from a private high school in Gramercy Park. They’d probably have the reunion in their gym. I could pick her up, we’d have a few drinks, I’d put my arm around her to play my part. Then home alone with only my hand and a peek at Tumblr to finish off the night.

  “Yay!” She bounces on her heels, and my eyes are drawn to that remarkable cleavage.

  There’s nothing I’d like more than to see those tits bounce as she rides me to one, two, ten orgasms. I’d sit up as she came and suck each one until the nipples were so hard they matched my dick. She’d cry out because they’d ache with pleasure from my tongue. Then I’d bury my face in them, and eventually, fuck them before the night was over.

  “What time should I pick you up?”

  “Oh, I forgot to mention.” She bites her lip and looks away to scan the skyline.

  Uneasiness settles in the pit of my stomach. Like I said, Ava doesn’t tiptoe around anything. She uses steel-toed boots to stomp right over it.

  “Ava.”

  She blows out an irritated breath. “The homecoming reunion is at my old high school upstate. They’ve asked several successful alumni to attend. I’ve done well in my career, especially for my age, so I’m on their list. But my personal life is a failure because of my numbskull brother bird-dogging me twenty-four-seven. I’m tired of it, Dex, but I can’t very well fix the problem by this weekend.”

  Another good point. Yet the point that’s captured my full attention right now is straining against my fly and throbbing like a motherfucker.

  “All right, we can drive up early Saturday and drive back late Saturday night.” There. Problem solved.

  “Well…” Ava scans the inky sky again.

  Shit. This isn’t going to end well, I can already tell.

  “The festivities are all weekend. We’ll have to spend the weekend upstate.”

  I forget to breathe for a second. I might be thickheaded sometimes, but even I know what this means. I’m going to be alone with Ava all weekend. With no supervision from our inner circle. No one to hold us accountable. And no one to remind me why I shouldn’t fuck the only woman I’ve wanted for the better part of two years.

  Chapter Four

  Hold the fucking phone. My brain is still spinning like the colorful wheel does on my computer when a program refuses to load. Not even the chilled autumn air clears my head as I try to process Ava’s revelation that we’ll be spending an entire weekend alone together upstate.

  She leans into me and says, “Kiss me, Dex.”

  As we stand out on the shadowy balcony, away from the prying eyes of her birthday guests, I scramble for a way out of this impossible situation. I can’t jeopardize my professional relationship with Leo. If the expansion derails, it could be the end of Checkmate. Plus, we’ve just weathered a public relations shit-storm, and things are running smoothly again. Why would I want to rock that boat when the ocean we’re sailing on is smooth as fucking glass right now?

  My gaze feathers over her silky skin, her pleading eyes, her full lips that are parted and ready for me to slip my tongue through and get my very first taste of heaven.

  I can’t say no to her. Hell no, I just can’t. But I have to at least try to talk sense into her so maybe she’ll change her mind.

  “No time like the present to have a heart to heart with your brother so you can find a real date without sneaking around. You’re a grown woman, Ava, and—”

  Her palm molds over my mouth again, effectively shutting me the hell up. Goddammit. She’s definitely the only person that can get away with that.

  “You’re damn right I’m a grown woman, Dex, and it’s about time you noticed.”

  Oh, I’ve noticed. I’m not blind. Or gay. Or a dumbass.

  Okay, fine. I’m not always a dumbass.

  “You’ve always seen me as a little girl.” Her voice is raspy and low. Her lips are pouty. It’s so unlike Ava to sulk, but it’s the sexiest damn thing I’ve seen in months. “Like a kid sister, and I want that to stop.”

  If she’d say this to her thick-headed brother, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I could kiss her any damn time I wanted.

  “I want you to take me seriously.” She hesitates. “And I want you to kiss me like you mean it.” Another pause, her hand still clamped over my mouth.

  We stand as still as statues. Gazes locked. Breaths heavy. Bodies hot.

  The air around us thickens and vibrates with a hum of energy. Desire pulses through me until I can’t think of anything else except fulfilling her request. The lady wants to be kissed. Good friend and nice guy that I am, it’s practically a civic duty to give her what she wants.

  My lips part, and I pull the tip of her finger in. I let my tongue flick over it, then I suck.

  She inhales a sharp breath and holds it.

  I mold my palm over the back of her hand and take turns sucking and licking each of her fingers without breaking eye contact. When I’ve given each finger its due, I bite and tongue my way to the inside of her wrist, where I feather soft kisses.

  A sexy sound escapes her, but she doesn’t speak. Which tells me how much she likes what I’m doing to her because Ava is rarely speechless.

  “Be careful what you ask for, Rookie.” My voice has gone husky, and my hot breath against her tender flesh causes a shudder to race over her. I let my lips curl up as I press an openmouthed kiss to that same spot and hold her gaze with mine.

  The dark, smoky look in her eyes tells me she’s mesmerized. She’s still bundled into my jacket, so I reach up and curl my fingers around the lapel. Gently, I tug her until she’s flush against me. I take my time. Draw out the moment. And never let my stare release hers.

  I smooth the back of one finger across her cheek, down her neck, and stop just short of that magnificent cleavage. Her heart pounds against my touch.

  The bold, brazen Ava I know is gone, replaced with a side of her I’ve never seen. Her expression is open and honest, like she’s baring her soul to me, opening her heart to me like she’s never done for anyone else. It makes me want her all the more, and not just the kiss that I’m sure is about to rock our world. I want all of her.

  I can’t hold back another second. My head dips forward, and she follows my lead, tilting her head back. It happens at the exact same moment, like she’s so in tune to me that she can anticipate my every move.

  Her lips part as my mouth covers hers. A hungry, wanting moan comes from her and drives me on. I angle her head to deepen the kiss, slide my hand around her neck, up her nape, and thread my fingers through her hair.
It’s silky soft and slides over my skin.

  Her tongue flicks across mine, and a shock of lust rushes through me.

  I lace a hand inside the jacket and anchor it around her waist, pulling her tighter. She molds and melts into me to perfection. She slides her hands up my chest and circles her arms around my neck. This time, I moan and slip a thigh between her legs.

  She tastes like fresh morning dew, and I can’t help but think she’s exactly the kind of girl I want to stay curled up with in bed on a cold rainy day. I’d get to know every inch of her body, and when we were done, we’d listen to the thunder and rain pelting the windows as we drifted off to sleep.

  A hint of Macallan lingers on her mouth, and I trace her lips with the tip of my tongue.

  “You’re such a good kisser,” she whispers with her eyes closed.

  I nip at the corner of her mouth. “So are you, Rookie.” If she weren’t one of my closest friends and my business partner’s sister, I’d show her how good I am at so much more. I’d have her up against the wall, her dress hiked up to her waist, and my dick pounding so deep into her that we’d get arrested for disturbing the peace. When I was finished with her, she’d be satisfied, satiated, and so thoroughly fucked she wouldn’t need a man for another year.

  I might sound pretty full of myself, but I wouldn’t have it any other way if I were lucky enough to find myself in that position with Ava. Or any other position she wanted to try.

  Not gonna happen, though.

  Too bad because I could go all night with the hard-on I’ve got right now. I could probably go all weekend with this boner. My dick swells at the thought of having an entire weekend in bed with Ava.

  “No, I’m not,” she whispers as I brush my lips across hers.

  “Not what?” I ask with another graze of our mouths because I’m not following her meaning.

  “Not a good kisser. Or a good lover.” She opens her mouth, and I taste her again.

  “Why would you say that?” I murmur against her lips.

  Her sigh is heavy. Eyes still closed. “Because I’ve never had an orgasm.”