“You must be Seth,” I replied, turning around to shake his hand.
“Yes, I am, Baby Doll,” he declared but instead of shaking my hand, he bent down dramatically and kissed it. I didn’t miss the deep, warning of a growl. Seth mustn’t have either, because when he righted himself, he was grinning ear to ear.
“Let’s eat,” Marley announced with a clap. “Are you right to bring the meat over, Stud Muffin?”
“What was that? You want my sausage, Sugar Tits?”
“I always want your sausage, Big Dick Rick.”
“I’ll give you some sausage alright, Baby Cakes.”
“Alright! Enough! Geez, we’ve got company. Can’t you two keep it in your pants for more than two minutes?” Bryce snapped.
I must admit it was hilarious watching their back and forth. Seth and Bryce had both fallen silent and their faces were a matching beet-red colour. Obviously, this wasn’t the first time their parents had put on their little show, and even if they weren’t enjoying it, I sure as shit was.
“Two minutes you say?” Noel asked as he set the overflowing platter of meat in the centre of the table, slapped his wife on the arse with a loud whack and dropped into the chair beside her.
“For the love of God, please,” Seth begged.
“Doesn’t sound like much fun does it Tinsel Tits?” Noel asked, shooting a wink in my direction.
“Hell no. Obviously the fun police are in town. Fine. We’ll behave. But only until dessert is served,” Marley conceded. “Emma, grab a chair, sweetheart.”
Dropping into the chair opposite Marley, I squeaked when beside me the two brothers broke out in a fight resulting in the chair being pulled back and forth before being upended into the pool behind us.
“Boys!” Marley chastised as they both stood there staring at the wooden chair now lying on its side on the bottom of the pool.
“Sorry, Mum,” they chanted in unison, and I was sure it wasn’t the first time they’d done that.
“Bryce, go inside and grab another chair. Seth, sit down.”
“Yes, Mum.” Again, in unison. I freaking loved it. All my hesitations and reservations about gate crashing their family lunch had vanished and now I never wanted to leave. I may just have to marry Bryce just for his family.
By the time Bryce returned, Seth had made himself comfortable at my side and was busy filling his plate. I could tell by the murderous look on his face he wasn’t exactly impressed with the seating arrangements but given there was already one seat taking a swim, he remained silent.
“So, Emma, what do you do?” Noel asked, passing me a bowl filled with some kind of rice salad.
“I’m a horticulturist.”
“A horto what?” Seth asked.
“A horticulturist. Basically, I’m a gardener with an expensive degree,” I offered, giving them the way I’d heard it described a million times before. “I work in the Botanic Gardens most of the time, but sometimes I’m at various parks around town.”
“And you live here in Melbourne?” Marley enquired. I didn’t miss the way her gaze drifted from me to Bryce and back again. I’d be willing to bet she was already naming our children.
“Actually, I live in Sydney.”
“And Bryce lives in Adelaide.”
“Yep,” Bryce added, stuffing a forkful of steak into his mouth.
For the next ten minutes Marley bombarded me with questions about my favourite flower, plants and regaled me with her gardening woes. I promised to look at her flailing gardenias when we were finished, but only on the proviso she shared with me her potato salad recipe. I hadn’t even tasted it but watching Bryce’s face as I asked for the recipe was a dig too good to resist.
“So, Seth.” I turned to face the teen. At his shoulders he was as wide as his brother, just a scrawnier, string bean version. “Are you a footballer too?”
“When you say football, do you mean that stupid aerial ping pong sport or real football?” he replied, and I heard the gravelly warning slip from Bryce’s mouth.
“Guess that answers my question.” I smiled as I took a sip of the crisp white wine Marley had shared with me.
“Seth is into soccer,” Noel offered.
“Geez, Dad! What am I? Eight?”
“Well based on how you act…”
“I’m not ‘into soccer’,” he retorted using air quotes. “I play soccer,” he corrected.
“Are you any good?” I taunted, wondering just how deep the similarities between brothers ran.
“Did she really just ask me if I was any good?” Seth asked the table, pretending to look offended.
“She has a name,” Bryce growled. I giggled. Seth had an uncanny knack for riling his brother up. I knew we’d end up as great friends if the planets aligned.
“Seth, behave and answer Emma’s question.”
Seth turned to me and took hold of my hand that was sitting on the tablecloth. “Why yes, Emma. I’m actually quite good at soccer as you call it. I play football, not aerial Ping-Pong for both the local and state teams.” It was official. Seth was a smartarse, but I adored him. He was my sort of people. The sort that don’t take life or themselves too seriously.
“That’s cool,” I replied, untangling his fingers from mine. “I know a few football players in Sydney.”
“You do?” Bryce asked, shocked. I don’t know why he was surprised. Other than the fact I lived in the harbour city; he knew absolutely zero about me.
“Yeah. One of my best friends is Sienna Conti. Her brother Luca…”
“Luca Conti?” Seth exclaimed as he started bouncing in his seat. “The Luca Conti? The Australian footballer who’s played all over the world and in world cups, at the Olympics and everything?”
“Yep.”
“Holy shit! Bryce if you don’t hurry up and marry this chick, I’m gonna!”
The whole table dissolved into a fit of laughter. Well, the whole table but Captain Cranky Pants himself who sat at the head of the table staring at me stoically.
After promising to come back soon and even more promises to hook Seth up with Luca, Bryce was bundling me into the back of the Uber still with his knickers in a knot. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that my shameless flirting with his brother had poked the bear. It probably didn’t help that as we were getting in the back of the car, Seth had already friended me online and we’d swapped numbers.
The ride to the hotel was silent. I chewed on my bottom lip while Bryce stared out the window, silently stewing but obviously dying to say something. The moment we stepped into the elevator and the doors shut, Bryce pinned me to the cold steel wall with an intimidating stare. “Have fun?”
“Yeah, I really did. Thanks for taking me,” I replied politely, not rising to his bait.
“You seemed to get along well with my brother,” Bryce noted. Even though I knew exactly what he was trying to do, one thing Bryce Masters had yet to learn about me, was that two could play at this game.
“Seth’s a great guy.”
“Looked like you two had fun together.”
I couldn’t help it. It was just too easy. Trying to keep my face neutral, I shrugged. “He’s cute.”
“Cute? You think my brother is cute?” he practically snarled.
“Careful, Bryce, you sound jealous,” I teased, holding back how hot I thought it was.
Bryce’s eye twitched, and I knew he was getting close to snapping. If I were a well-behaved lady, something I definitely wasn’t, much to my father’s dismay, I’d have apologised and backed down. But it just wasn’t my style. Instead, I kept pushing, wondering how much he could take.
“He’s really cute. What girl wouldn’t want a piece of him? Seth’s everything a girl could want really. Tall, lean, funny. He’s good to his mother. And he’s an athlete…” It was all I managed to get out before his resistance shattered spectacularly and his mouth slammed down over mine.
I didn’t hear the ping of the elevator when we reached our floor.
I didn’t remember wrapping my legs around his hips.
I don’t remember rubbing up against him like a hussy.
When my back hit the wall, I moaned wantonly.
Grinding his hard length against my stomach, Bryce left me under no illusions that he knew exactly what to do with all he was packing, and right now he was determined to prove a point. A point I couldn’t wait to see him prove.
When he broke our kiss and nipped at my ear lobe, I almost saw stars. At least I would’ve if he’d kept going for another couple of seconds. Arsehole stopped though. I was so close, and he left me hanging. Well, two could play at that game.
“Still think Seth’s cute?” he rumbled into my neck.
“Seth who?” I murmured, reaching down and shamelessly squeezing the bulge pressing against my stomach.
“Fuck, woman! We need to get inside. I need to get those pants off you and spread out on the nearest surface. I’m starving.”
Behind him, I heard someone clearing their throat and I let my feet drop to the floor. Spying the middle-aged woman pushing her cleaning cart along the hallway, I felt my cheeks burn. I might not have been naked and screaming Bryce’s name but another couple of minutes and I was making no promises.
“I’ve gotta go meet my girls,” I admitted, not feeling excited about the prospect at all. Which sucked. That’s what I was here for. It’s why I was in Melbourne. I’d come to hang with my girls, not get tangled in the sheets with the hottest guy I’d ever seen.
“You have to?” Bryce panted against my neck.
“Ah huh. But if you’re a good boy…”
“You want me to be a good boy? Aren’t bad boys more fun?”
“Last night I snuck into your bed. Maybe tonight, you could sneak into mine,” I suggested.
“Is that an invitation?”
“No.” I kissed him aggressively. “But this is,” I said as I slid my spare room key into his front pocket before leaving him with one final squeeze of the monster in his pants and slipping through the door.
CHAPTER FIVE
BRYCE
I’d jacked off twice, taken a couple of cold showers and I was still pacing my hotel room like a caged tiger. The room key Emma had slipped in my pocket was sitting on the cheap wooden desk, mocking me.
Not able to take it anymore, I changed into my workout clothes, headed out of the building and into the early evening air. A run along the river was exactly what I needed to get some of this tension out of my body, although I could think of much more pleasurable ways. I’d considered calling Emma and letting her know how blue my balls were because of her little tease, but I didn’t have her number. I could’ve got it from Seth, but hell would freeze over before I asked him. So instead, I’d run my frustrations out of my body.
Ignoring the elevator, I took the steps three at a time heading for the lobby. As I went to push open the door, someone pulled from the other side and I ended up skidding across the cold, unforgiving floor, bruising not only my arse but my ego.
“As graceful as ever, Masters,” a deep voice commented before a huge hand was thrust in my face.
Reaching up, I took hold and was hoisted to my feet. Not many people towered over me, but the smug-looking shithead staring down at me had a good couple of inches on me. Bloody Hunter Mitchell. His left eye was a lovely shade of purple and black, probably from the hit he’d taken last week. From the looks of it he was lucky he was riding the bench this week. A splinter in his arse was better than taking a hit he wouldn’t see coming.
“You’re so pretty, Mitchell,” I retorted as I found my feet.
“You’re one to talk.”
Hunter was the ruckman for the Sydney team. He was hard and tough, but he wasn’t a dirty player. We’d hit each other a few times, but after bouncing off him and ending up winded with a cracked rib, he was one of the opposition players I’d prefer to steer clear of on the field. Off the field though, was a different story. We weren’t great mates, but we got along when we’d run into each other at random functions over the years.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, Hunter instantly looking caught out.
“Well, um…” Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to dodge my question. Obviously, it was one I wasn’t supposed to ask.
Before I had a chance to make him squirm even further, the elevator dinged its arrival in the lobby followed by high pitched, hysterical laughter. Turning towards the noise, my jaw hit the floor. Stepping out of the car were four of the sexiest women I’d ever laid eyes on. Even though all four were drop-dead stunners, one was clearly a standout. I thought she looked incredible with her face scrubbed bare of makeup, but all done up, she was simply breathtaking.
She was wearing a short navy dress, one that showed off those long, lean legs I’d had wrapped around me only hours before. Legs I could still feel squeezing me. Holding me hard against her. Then there were the shoes. Sky-high, ruby-red ankle boots with a pointed toe that looked like they could do some serious damage.
“Fuck me sideways.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Hunter muttered beside me. I’d completely forgotten he was even there. And when I looked up at him, the urge to give him a matching black eye raced through my body. Emma was mine, and Hunter was like a dog staring at her. Panting and drooling.
Before his face could get well acquainted with my fist, a screech echoed off the high ceilings, causing heads to turn and look at us barely moments before a pixie leapt off her feet, throwing herself at Hunter. Thank fuck he caught her. I’d seen him drop easier passes before, but it would’ve hurt like hell if he dropped this one.
It wasn’t until his pixie shoved her tongue halfway down his throat, that I unclenched my fists dangling at my side and stopped grinding my teeth. It wasn’t my Emma that had him acting like a horny fool. That was just me.
Unable to stop their snickering, the other three sauntered over. I didn’t miss the fact that Emma kept out of arms reach. I didn’t bloody like it either.
“Ah, excuse me, Sienna…do you climb every guy who walks into the lobby?” one of her friends taunted.
Shifting her in his arms like she weighed nothing at all, Hunter reluctantly pulled back, but it looked like her feet wouldn’t be touching the floor any time soon. “Not every guy,” she replied sassily.
“Better fucking not,” Hunter rumbled into her neck.
Knowing we were causing a spectacle, something that had every chance of appearing on the front page of the paper or worse, online, I played the part of the smart guy. The one thinking with his brain not his dick. At least I was trying to. It was fucking hard too.
“And where are you lovely ladies headed out to for the evening?”
“Cocktails and dinner. And hopefully some dancing,” Emma declared.
I swear this woman was going to give me an aneurysm before I’d even had her in my bed. Well, in my bed on purpose. At the mention of her dancing, images instantly filled my head that were certainly not fit for children. Bumping and grinding. Getting all hot and sweaty. Hell no. No freaking way. Not on my watch, missy. I was putting a stop to this.
I nudged Hunter in the ribs, less than gently. He huffed before finally turning to look at me and thankfully remembering he wasn’t alone. “Want to introduce me to your friend?”
“No,” he snapped harshly.
When she slapped his shoulder, I almost laughed out loud. If only the boys could see him now. “Hunter!” she scolded before wriggling in his arms until her feet, or her dangerously high heels kissed the ground. Even in her skyscraper shoes, she didn’t reach Hunter’s shoulder.
As she stepped in front of him, his arms instantly dropped down over her shoulders, keeping her close. I’d been in her position. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t as gentle and Daniels wasn’t staring at me like I was the biggest piece of chocolate cake he’d ever seen and was desperate to devour, but I did know what it felt like to be Hunter’s capt
ive.
“I’m Sienna.”
“Bryce. Not sure why you’re wasting your time on the big oaf here, though.” That earnt me a chorus of snickering.
“Hi, Bryce.”
“So, how do you know Mitchell here?”
“Bryce, don’t be a shit stirrer.” Spinning around to see who I was getting in trouble with, I wasn’t surprised to see Emma standing there, arms folded, perking those magnificent tits right up for me.
“Wait! Do you two know each other too?” a dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty asked a little too loudly for my liking.
“Vanessa, this is Bryce,” Emma offered by way of explanation.
“Bryce? As in, THE Bryce? Bryce you crawled…” Before she could get anything else out, something I was definitely intrigued to hear more about, Emma clamped her hand firmly over her friend’s mouth, silencing her.
Folding my arms over my chest, I rocked back on my heels, all thoughts of running gone from my brain. Actually, not a lot was going on north of my navel right now. Just seeing the sexy red lipstick on Emma’s pouty lips had me imagining all sorts of things I most certainly shouldn’t be. Images of her on her knees in front of me, licking me like I was her favourite flavour of lollipop.
Before my thoughts could get even more filthy, Emma squawked. “Ew! You licked me!”
“Well, don’t put your hand near my mouth,” Vanessa chided before shooting me a wink.
Clearing her throat, the other member of their fearsome and fucktastic foursome stepped forward. She was just as stunning as her friends, if not a little more reserved. “Are we going to stand here drooling in the lobby all night or are we going to find some cocktails?”
“Cocktails or cock?” the pixie asked as her friend’s cheeks burned.
“Sienna,” Hunter growled, squeezing her even tighter, not that I could blame him. There was something about Sienna that would bring a man to his knees. And it wasn’t the skin-tight, low-waist black leather pants either.
“Cocktails. I need a drink,” Vanessa replied.
Played: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Playing Games Book 2) Page 4