Bring Me You

by Ryleigh Andrews

  She turned to look at Ethan and her heart stopped. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay here and continue to chat with the sexy quarterback.

  Be honest, Mia, you want to see if Ethan might ask you out.

  When would she ever get an opportunity like this again? Probably never. “Gimme a few,” she replied, stalling for some time. Luke smiled at her with understanding in his eyes.

  “I’ll get our coats and meet you in the foyer in ten minutes. Okay?”

  “Sure,” she smiled. Luke winked at Ethan and headed to the coat check. Mia watched as Luke walked away from the room, and then turned her attention back to Ethan, a smile lighting up his extremely handsome face, unsettling her in a very good way. She realized she could go from admiration to full-blown crush in plus or minus thirty seconds. The feeling exhilarated her yet scared her because he could so easily reject her. Who was a fan of being rejected? Definitely not Mia Devereux.

  “Mia, I’d really like to see you again,” Ethan said hopefully, lightly taking a hold of her hand. Again, she felt the touch course like electricity through her arm and the rest of her body. She could definitely get used to that feeling.

  “You do?” she asked, surprised at his words and his touch, yet so very happy.

  His smile grew. “Yes, I do. Would it be possible to see you tomorrow?”

  Mia did an internal dance of joy at his words. Ethan Christopher just asked her out!

  “Um … I think so. I’m having an early lunch with Luke, but I am free after that. Would that work?”

  He nodded. “Where are you staying?”

  “Why do you want to know?” she asked a little suspiciously.

  “I need to know where to pick you up,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Oh,” she said sheepishly and then rattled off her hotel and room number.

  Ethan rose from the sofa and offered his hand to assist her. She smiled at him, thankful for his Southern upbringing. Sliding her hand into his, he helped her from the sofa. His firm but gentle grip made her feel safe. With her free hand, she quickly smoothed her dress before they moved on. He didn’t let go as he made a path through the mess of standing people. Mia spotted Luke in the center of the foyer, waiting with her coat draped over his arm.

  Ethan released her hand when they reached Luke. She looked up at his tall body, swallowing the rush of desire she had for this gorgeous quarterback. He smiled at her, his eyes on her lips, and she felt like she had just been kissed. She saw hunger in his eyes or was that just the reflection of her eyes? Mia sighed, desperately wanting the real thing. She chided herself—she had been sex-deprived for far too long.

  “Mia, I’ll see you at six o’clock.”

  “Can’t wait.” She took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. His own hand lingered and slowly released her fingers. “It’s been wonderful, Ethan. See you tomorrow.”

  Luke

  The moon was full and bright, with an occasional wispy cloud gliding by. The night air was cool. Luke glanced over at Mia and saw that she was shivering. Figuring she was cold, he turned up the car’s heat.

  She was unusually quiet on the ride back to the hotel and barely uttered a word. Luke attempted many times to start any kind of conversation, but she was in her own world. She mumbled a response, be it negative or positive, he could not tell. After a few tries, he stopped and just concentrated on driving. He knew something was on her mind. At the very minimum, he thought, she would get on his case about his disappearance at this evening’s party. But not one word.

  Even though he had not been by her side, he had kept track of her. She seemed to have a good time with Ethan tonight. Ethan was a great guy and if Luke was going to set up his best friend with anyone, it was going to be with someone pretty amazing. She deserved that. Luke saw the laughter and enjoyment on her face over the course of the night. He knew she would like him and Ethan didn’t throw him any nasty glares or looks. He actually looked pretty disappointed when Luke told Mia he was ready to go.

  Luke had been setting up blind dates for Ethan for awhile now because the man was a freaking workhorse and didn’t make time to date. Not one of those dates was ever a success. Ethan almost said no to meeting Mia because of that track record. But somehow Luke had convinced Ethan to go along with it. From the looks of it, things had gone pretty well.

  Once again, Luke glanced over at Mia. He could see her reflection in the glass thanks to the full moon. She looked deep in thought. Again, he wondered what was going on in her pretty little head.

  She got like this sometimes but he never knew why. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it, at least not that he could figure out. He just figured it was a woman thing, not very politically correct, he knew, but that was the only explanation he had because she would never talk about it.

  He pulled up to the entrance of the hotel, putting his Range Rover in park. Placing both of his hands on the steering wheel, he leaned forward, resting his head on his hands and looked over at her, patiently waiting for her to say something, anything.

  “Come up with me, Luke. Please?” she finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes still looking out the window. Slowly, she turned her head towards him. She seemed scared but he didn’t know why.

  “Mia …” he started, conflicted. After the talk they had over the New Year holiday, he was pretty convinced that they would be moving on in their relationship. No more friends with benefits. But here she was, asking him to her room.

  “Please, Luke. Don’t make me beg,” she interrupted his thoughts, her eyes locked on his.

  He remained quiet for a few moments. In all the time he knew her, he had not figured her out. She always threw him unexpected curve balls. Despite saying she didn’t want to beg, her lovely eyes were doing it for her and he couldn’t deny their plea. He sat up and nodded his head. She gave him a sad smile that made him want to hold her until the sadness disappeared.

  He parked his car in the parking garage and they silently walked back to the hotel, side by side. He didn’t touch her but was close enough to her that if she wanted to she could easily reach out for him. Luke pressed the button for the elevator, and as the doors opened, he gestured for her to enter. He regarded her with somber curiosity. Someday, maybe, he might understand her, but only if she let him. Mia was one of the nicest people he knew, but also one of the most guarded.

  They arrived at her room and she let them in with the electronic key. She walked into the living area, removing her coat along the way. Carefully placing it on the arm of the couch, she sat down and removed her heels. He watched as her fingers went under her dress, slowly pulling down her thigh-high stockings. The desire to be the one doing that hadn’t gone away, to feel the smoothness of her legs, to observe her as her eyes glazed over while he touched her.

  After all these years, her beauty still amazed him, her creamy face framed by her long, wavy hair, the color of the finest dark chocolate with eyes that matched. Eyes that always shined with mischief, happiness or, in this case, sadness.

  Luke didn’t move. He just stared at her, letting her make the call tonight. He could deny her nothing. That’s why he was up here. He loved her. He needed her and, from the very beginning, he felt she needed him just as much. There was a time when he thought she would be the woman with whom he would spend the rest of his life. Strange how life deals the cards sometimes.

  She placed her stockings beside her shoes and regarded him. She looked so tired and expectant. Mia slowly rose from the chair and offered her hand to him.

  Luke still needed her, but someone needed him more than her—his daughter, Kaitlyn. When he found out that he was a father, he had considered not doing anything about it, and staying with Mia … for like three seconds. But he could never make his daughter feel abandoned and have her wonder why her father wasn’t around. He knew that feeling all too well, being adopted.

  Plus he knew Mia needed more than what he could give her. Hell, she deserved more than seeing him for a weekend eve
ry few months. He couldn’t ask her to give up her music.

  But before he ever had a chance to break up with Mia, she beat him to it, saying she couldn’t be the reason he was not with his daughter. Luke hurt so badly when she ended it. He hated leaving Mia when he moved to Indy but had been so thankful that she hadn’t shut him out when he went to be with Kaitlyn.

  He took her hand and let her lead him to the bed. Mia released his hand and began to turn down the bed. Out of habit, he began to undress. He felt her eyes on him as he removed his shoes, his black leather belt and the contents of his pockets. He placed the items and his money clip on the desk and began to unbutton his shirt. She moved to him and surprised him when she placed her hand upon his fingers, stopping him—confusing him.

  His eyes locked on hers as she finished unbuttoning his shirt, the brush of her finger tips sending small shocks of electricity through his chest. He would not be turned on by this. He would be a good guy. He had to remember this was his best friend, not one of his one night stands.

  With the last button, her hands fell to her sides. He removed the shirt and carelessly tossed it on the bedside chair. She raised her head, her eyes intent, moving about his face. She entwined her fingers with his and gestured towards the bed.

  Luke didn’t know what she wanted. He just let her lead the way, let her tell him what she wanted, needed and whatever it was, he would provide. He joined her at the foot of the bed. He brushed away the hair from her beautiful oval face. He heard her sigh; the sadness of it broke his heart.

  Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong, sweets? Don’t you think I could help, he thought, searching her eyes.

  Mia scooted further back on the bed, her dress riding higher upon her thigh, the sight of which teased him, called to him. He turned and followed her up the bed. Despite his firm resolve, she aroused him. Definitely not what a best friend was supposed to feel. He’d have to work on that. She was so amazingly beautiful and so very sweet and so in need of what, he didn’t know, but he knew she needed something and he would find out what it was … somehow.

  Luke stopped near her legs, his hand resting on one of her long limbs. She raised a slender hand to him and slowly but firmly pressed him back against the pillows, stunning him. She then placed her hand upon his chest and proceeded to snuggle up against him, her head in the crook of his arm.

  “Mia?” he asked, confused, his fingers caressing her arm.

  “This is all I need, Luke,” she answered quietly and he could have sworn he heard a watery waver in her voice.

  “Mia, what is it? Talk to me. Why won’t you tell me what's bothering you?" He wanted to know—needed to know.

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Luke. Not tonight.”

  He backed down, hearing the despair in her voice. He slid down so his face was even with hers and observed the far-off look in her dewy eyes.

  “We’ll finish this conversation someday.”

  With that he kissed her, hard and fierce and, just as fast, he broke away from her. He quickly unfastened his pants and threw them to the floor, leaving him in only his boxers. He then proceeded to undress her, with quick, detached precision, leaving her only in her underwear. He tossed her clothes with his and then stared intently at her half-naked body. When he got her down to the pink lace strapless bra that barely covered her large breasts, he didn’t feel so detached. Luke blocked the vision of her nipples from his mind. Well, he tried, really he did. But he’d memorized the layout of her body long ago and he was unlikely to ever forget. He would try because he needed her in his life.

  “Goddamn it, Mia,” he muttered, pulling her close to him. He yanked the blankets around them and held her tight against him, feeling her ever present shaking slowly subside.

  “I love you, Luke.”

  The words melted him. He grasped her hand on his chest. “I know. I love you too, you pain in the ass.”

  He felt her lips twitch against his chest before she let out a burst of laughter.

  “You have the nerve to laugh? I have to lie next to your incredibly hot and half-naked body and do nothing! Do you have any idea what you are putting me through? Hmm?” he asked incredulously.

  His outburst did not have the desired effect—it only caused her to laugh even harder. He pushed her head down upon his chest.

  “Go to sleep,” he ordered.

  Her lips touched his chest in a soft kiss. “Thank you, Luke,” she said quietly.

  “You owe me big.”

  “I know,” she said with a yawn, snuggling closer to him. She didn’t really owe him. He’d never collect. He did what he did for her because he knew she’d do the exact same for him.

  Mia

  Mindlessly sliding the clothes back and forth in the hotel closet, Mia stared ahead, unable to decide what to wear on her date. The problem was the sheer amount of clothes she had brought. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to look fucking amazing for Ethan Christopher.

  Or so she told herself.

  Finally, after standing in front of the closet for about fifteen minutes, she decided on a simple black maxi dress. She added a pink belt at the waist to break up all the black. For warmth, she went with a pink cardigan. On her feet, she went with a plain, yet sexy black pump with a hot pink sole.

  Mia loosely pulled back her wavy hair with a barrette because she didn’t have time to straighten it earlier. Making the last few adjustments, she thought back to that morning in bed with Luke. They slept well past noon and instead of going out for lunch, they ordered room service and spent a lazy afternoon reminiscing over the past few months.

  She soaked up all he told her about Kaitlyn. Mia hadn’t seen the little squirt since last Christmas. She loved hearing his stories about his adorable five-almost-six year old. It made her wish she could spend more time with the young girl.

  She and Luke discussed almost everything, except the conversation they had over the New Year’s holiday. When Mia had realized that omission, she’d happened to glance over at the bedside alarm clock and saw that it was past five. Her panic that Ethan would be there within the hour plus the fact that she’d been sitting on the sofa in her robe, not even close to being ready, overtook her need to discuss her relationship with Luke. She’d see Luke tomorrow for brunch. They could talk then, she told herself.

  Mia crossed the small hallway to the bathroom and rummaged through her jewelry case, finding and putting on a pair of silver bangles. A boisterous knock at her door had her jumping. She looked at the clock and saw the red numbers flash six o’clock. Ethan. His promptness surprised her. She was never prompt. Never. It was a flaw. She accepted it.

  Checking her reflection one last time, Mia proceeded to open the door. She smiled shyly at him as she greeted him.

  “Well, hello there, Mia. Aren't you looking lovely tonight?” he said, his eyes lingering on her.

  “You’re going to make me blush, Ethan,” she said, running her thumb absently against the lock while checking him out. He wore a crisp bluish, purple dress shirt, which brought out the gold in his eyes, along with a pair of perfectly-fitted, ass hugging gray slacks.

  “That’s my intent,” he said, grinning at her. “You ready?”

  “Yes, just let me get my purse.” She hurriedly retrieved her purse and jacket from the bed. Putting a hand to her stomach, she took a steadying breath before returning to Ethan.

  “Here, let me help,” he offered, holding out his hand for her jacket. She placed it in his hands, smiling at the chivalrous gesture. As she slid her arms into the sleeves, she worried her lower lip. She already liked Ethan a little too much and this was just their first date. This could spell major trouble for her heart, she thought as they exited the room and walked silently to the elevator.

  While they waited, Mia eyed Ethan a little closer, fixating on his hair. It looked so soft. She curbed her desire to run her fingers through it to find out for sure. But just barely.

  X-rated thoughts filled her mind. She needed
a distraction quickly before she got herself all worked up.

  “Where are we going for dinner?” she finally thought to ask.

  “A small Italian restaurant that I know. The food is unbelievable.”

  “I’ll just have to take your word on it now, won’t I?” she quipped as the elevator doors opened and they entered.

  He laughed and casually took her hand in his. She turned her head away from him and smiled, as an escaped tendril of hair fell in her face. The simple gesture of holding hands had her heart pounding deliciously inside her chest. She pushed the fallen hair behind her ear and glanced up at him, catching him staring at her.

  “I’m glad you could go out with me tonight,” Ethan said softly.

  “Well, I’m flattered and a bit surprised that you asked,” Mia replied hesitantly. She was still so surprised that this date was happening. He was one of the top athletes in the country, maybe the world, and he wanted to go on a date with her. A wannabe rock star.

  “Who wouldn’t want to go out with you?” he asked, looking at her with an incredulous stare.

  “Lots of men,” she said in all seriousness.

  “I’m glad they all passed because I might never have had this chance.”

  He looked down at her and gave her an odd smile. Mia didn’t know what to make of it. She turned away and stared at the numbers as they beeped off with each floor, a little unnerved, but happily so. If he didn’t stop doing and saying all the right things, she would be head over heels in love with this guy in no time.

  The elevator reached the main floor and they exited and walked to the hotel lobby. The bellman tilted his head in farewell as they passed through the lobby doors to his car—a big, black Ford truck, which surprised her but then again, it didn’t. He might be a world-famous athlete but at his core, he was just a regular guy. Ethan opened the door for her and helped her into the cab. They stayed silent until he pulled out of the lot and onto the road, the bustling evening traffic zipping around them.

  “You pick the music, okay?” he asked, effortlessly speeding up to the flow of traffic.