by S. Herrera
For the rest of the drive, I think about what that means. I've always known that Sawyer was weird about commitment, but I guess there was always this part of me that believed that might change over time. That being with the right person, with me, would make it all seem a little less scary.
I remind myself that our relationship is still pretty new, and we have time to figure out where it will go. But I can easily see a future with Sawyer, even one that doesn’t look quite like I thought it would.
“Here we are,” Everly says as we drive through Baltimore, passing the M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Ravens. When we get about a half mile further down the road is when Knox slows down, and we marvel at the Oriole Park at Camden Yard.
This is where Wren will be playing tomorrow. Where Knox could have played had life gone a little differently for him, and the longing in his eyes while he stares says he is thinking the same thing.
“Light’s green, babe.” Everly places her hand on his, breaking him from his trance. He smiles deeply at her then accelerates through the light to the next block where our hotel is.
“The way that he looks at her is so… It reminds me of how they say the grumpy one always falls for the sunshine one. Except that Everly’s more like a sunshiny hurricane.” Sawyer whispers, only loud enough for me to hear.
I watch her as she watches them. If only she could see the way I look at her, the way I study every detail about her. She’s wild like a summer storm that comes out of nowhere and sweeps you in. That’s a kind of wild I never want to tame, the kind that sets your soul on fire. I just want to be the calm to her storm.
Knox pulls up to the doors of the hotel and we are soon greeted by the valet and a bellboy. I unbuckle Emmy, grabbing her and her diaper bag out of the car while everyone else grabs the rest of our bags.
Charlotte goes inside to check in and I follow her, taking Emmy into the air-conditioned lobby. She starts fussing and throwing her little body around, most likely because she wants me to put her down, but I know better than that. I bounce her on my hips as we check everything out. Showing her the plants towering near the chairs as I dig out some snacks, trying to keep her from totally melting down.
“Okay everyone, I’ve got keys. We’re on the fourteenth floor.” Charlotte says holding up three room keys as the rest of them walk up to where we are.
Emerson and I lead the way to the elevators because it’s time to let this little one loose and I’m ready to get comfy. She giggles when the car comes to an abrupt stop on our floor. The kind that leaves your belly feeling as though it might leap from your stomach.
Walking down the hallway we come to a door and Charlotte unlocks the door, motioning for us to enter. I follow her instruction and walk into the room. It’s a suite with a small kitchen and dining area off to one side. Two couches, a tv, and a chair take up the rest of the room. I plop down on one of the couches, watching as the others to make their way into the room and take a seat.
“Okay, rooms. This one is for Knox, Everly, and Emerson.” She says, encircling the room with her hand before pointing to the left. “The room next door on that side is mine and the other is for Wyatt and Sawyer.” Charlotte hands over the keys while my brother stutters in protest.
“Oh no. This couch turns into a sofa bed, she can sleep in here.” My brother insists, furiously pointing at the couch he is sitting on.
Everly laughs at her husband, and the look on his face is priceless as Wyatt gathers up two bags, his and mine, walking out to take them next door to our room. I follow his lead, placing Emerson into Knox’s arms before pinching his cheeks and reminding him that I’m an adult and Wyatt is my boyfriend.
As I cross the threshold into the hallway his voice stops me in my tracks. “Meet back here in about an hour and we’ll head out for dinner.”
“You got it, big brother.” I shoot back, walking down the hall to find Wyatt holding the door open for me.
I brush past him, grazing my hand slowly across his chest. His hand snakes out, grabbing ahold of mine and bringing it to his lips. He steps into the room letting the door click closed behind him as he presses soft kisses to each one of my knuckles. Tugging me into his chest, he wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to the top of my head this time.
“Not being able to touch you and hold you has been driving me crazy.” My brow furrows at the words he speaks into my hair.
“Why haven’t you been able to touch me?” I pull back just far enough to see his face when he answers.
“Your brother.”
“What about him?”
“It’s just weird around him. Even though he and I haven’t always been friends, this still feels a lot like going after a friend’s little sister. Not to mention all the other drama we’ve been through.” The strong, independent woman inside of me wants to be mad and remind him that I am a big girl. My brother is not my keeper, and I’m not helpless.
But I won’t because he means well.
“Don’t forget who went after who.” Lifting on my toes I nip at his lip, dragging it gently between my teeth before adding, “We have an hour before we meet them for dinner.”
Surprisingly, he takes a step back from me, putting space between us. “Not here.”
I look around realizing we are standing just inside our room. “Okay, we can go to the bed, then.” Turning around, I pull my t-shirt over my head and toss it across the room. I’m left wearing only a barely there lacey bralette and matching lacey underwear as I shimmy out of my workout leggings.
I peer over my shoulder to find Wyatt rooted in the same spot I left him. “What are you waiting for?”
“Umm. I meant not here, in the room. With them next door.”
At his words, I turn fully to face him with a hand resting on my hip. “Seriously?”
His eyes travel down my body and back up slowly before he swallows. “Yep.”
I don’t even try to fight the smile that takes over my face at his reaction. Because it does not match his one-word response at all. He’s letting his morals get the best of him. And I love it.
I love that he is such a good guy. Sometimes though, I just want to push his boundaries.
“Suit yourself then.” I saunter up to him, placing a hand on his chest, I reach up on my tippy toes and press a kiss at the corner of his too stunned lips.
As I pass him to move into the bathroom, I make sure to sway my hips a little more than necessary. Just to remind him of what he’s missing out on.
After washing the grime from the long drive off my face, I walk back into the room to find Wyatt standing in front of the French doors that lead out to the balcony. I watch him as I walk over to my bag, sitting on the bed. Rifling through to find something to wear to dinner. But I’m too distracted by him and that t-shirt hugging the muscles in his back and shoulders.
“I can feel you staring at me.” Even though he hasn’t yet turned to face me, I can hear the smile in his voice.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I can see the field from here.” He replies, not really answering my question.
Tugging on a pair of jeans, I walk to where he’s standing and rest my head on his arm. I take in the view that has him so entranced and try again. “What’s on your mind?”
Wyatt looks down at me, cupping my cheek in his hand. “It’s nothing, baby.” He leans down further, pulling my face to his, softly kissing me.
There is something going on with him that he isn’t telling me. But I don’t push him, he will tell me when he’s ready.
When Wyatt and I leave the room to meet everyone for dinner, we find Charlotte and Knox waiting in the hallway.
“Have you guys been waiting long?”
“No, Everly was trying to get Emerson to take a quick nap and fell asleep on the bed with her. She insisted that we still go to dinner without her as long as I bring her back something.” Knox explains, then walks down the hall toward the elevator.
“Where are we eating?” I ask, following
him.
“We figured we could eat here at the hotel restaurant tonight.” Charlotte answers for him pressing the button to take us to the lobby.
“Sounds perfect.” I take Wyatt's hand in mine because as cute as I find his awkwardness when it comes to PDA around my brother, I'm not letting it go on any longer. Wyatt doesn't disappoint, squeezing my hand back in reassurance.
The doors slide open when we reach the lobby floor and on the other side is a family with a couple of small children who push past their parents to get onto the elevator. I laugh and push closer to Wyatt as he weaves around the children to get out.
“Sorry about that.” Their mother apologizes before scolding the children as we walk away.
“That’s going to be your daughter soon,” Charlotte teases bumping into Knox’s shoulder.
He laughs, “If running and pushing past people is the worst Emerson does, I’ll be lucky.” As we approach the hostess, he holds up four fingers to let her know how many are in our party.
“It won’t be her fault,” I say to my brother shrugging, “she has difficult parents.”
Knox eyes me, “You are not wrong.” He smirks before turning his attention to the hostess leading us to a table and handing over menus.
On the walk to the table, I reach out in front of me, smacking Wyatt on his cute as hell, jean covered butt. He whips around, glaring and swatting my hand away. I can’t help but giggle when he pushes me to walk in front of him until we are seated.
We quickly order a round of drinks, Charlotte opting for white wine, my brother for his whiskey, and Wyatt and I ordering beer in a bottle. I don’t need much time with the menu before I’m ready to order, and when the others stack their menus on top of mine at the edge of the table, I know I’m not alone.
The waiter comes by with our drinks, takes our orders and leaves us. We drink and Knox tells us Wren’s stats, like we don’t all keep up with his career. Charlotte beams at the mention of her husband and his accomplishments.
As they discuss Wren, trainers, the draft picks, and everything else baseball, I mindlessly move my hand up and down Wyatt’s thigh. I don’t even notice that I’m doing it until he grabs ahold and pushes it away. Realizing the effect it’s having on him, I start moving my hand again.
This time purposefully.
Teasing.
He pushes my hand away again, shooting me a dirty look as he does.
I cover my mouth with my hand, stifling a laugh. Obviously, I don’t do a good enough job because Knox turns to look at us as though we are children making a scene. And to be fair, we kind of are.
Before he can ask any questions, Everly walks up to our table with a very awake Emmy in her hands. “Guess who woke up just minutes after her dad left the room.”
My brother stands to take their daughter and place a soft kiss to his wife’s lips. “I’m sorry. You should have called me, I would have come back up and grabbed her.”
They both take a seat and Knox waves down the waiter to get a menu for Everly.
“It’s fine. I tried to get her to go back to sleep, and when that didn’t work, we got ready and came down.” She flips through the menu as her daughter excitedly bangs on the table.
Everyone falls back into conversation and cooing at Emmy now that she’s joined the table. I take that opportunity to tease Wyatt again. This time I place my hand on his knee, only dragging it higher every few seconds. Slowly breaking him down.
The look he gives me is filled with heat, desire, and warning.
I can’t wait.
chapter twelve
I wait until I hear the door click behind me, watching her hips sway as she walks into the room. I don’t give her a chance to get very far, closing the space between us with two long strides. With my hand on her shoulder, I spin her around to face me, bending down and grabbing her by the thighs and lifting her up against the nearest wall.
Thankfully, it isn’t the one that connects us to Knox and Everly’s room.
“What’s gotten into you?” The smirk on her face let’s know she knows exactly what’s gotten into me.
I kiss her, hard and dig a hand into her mass of red hair and tug slightly, causing her to gasp against my mouth. Taking the opportunity, I deepen the kiss and am rewarded with her fingers running through my hair, then grasping at my shirt.
I let her pull the shirt over my head. Her legs still wrapped tightly around my waist holding her up against the wall. Slowly, I slide my hands under her tank top, lifting the fabric as they explore higher.
Growing impatient, Sawyer grabs ahold of the shirt and rips it over her head, her bra following immediately after. “No teasing.” Her lips are back on mine for just a moment before I pull back the slightest bit.
“Says the girl who spent most of dinner with her hand caressing my thigh,” I trail my hand up and down her thigh in a teasing motion. “And grabbing my ass every time her brother was looking the other way,” This time I grab a handful of hers.
“Well, clearly it worked in my favor.”
I stare her down and debate internally how important it is that I win this round. I could take a step back, let her legs drop to the ground and walk away. But only an idiot would do that. I’ve finally got her to myself after a long day with all her teasing and flirting. I am no longer worried about Knox getting pissed at me.
I need her.
Softly, I grab her chin, lifting her mouth to mine. “You win.” My lips brush against hers, the words coming out barely louder than a whisper. But she hears them loud and clear.
“Pants off. Now.”
“Your competitiveness know no bounds.” I chuckle as I follow orders, taking a step back as she drops her legs to the ground. I unbutton my pants and kick out of them while she does the same with her own, underwear following quickly behind.
I step back into her and wrap my arms around her waist. Before she can react, I spin her around and walk her back until she reaches the bed.
Sawyer moves back toward the headboard, looking over her shoulder at me with a seductive smile on her lips. She lays back and pats the bed next to her, waiting for me to join her.
Again, I do as she says without question. Climbing onto the bed I crawl up to her, pausing to press a soft trail of kisses from the inside of her ankle to her calf. Satisfaction runs through me when her whole body trembles in response.
I only make it to her inner thigh before she can’t take it anymore. Leaning forward, Sawyer pulls my face to hers. “Kiss me damnit,” she pants as she brings her lips to mine.
I press a quick, searing kiss to her lips before gently pushing her down to rest on the bed and go back to my original task. Moving to her inner thigh, I flash her a devilish grin before coaxing more trembles and moans from her lips as I graze mine up her body.
“Wyatt, please…” Sawyer’s voice is barely a whisper as I settle over her. She wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me closer until there is no space left between us.
I reach over to the edge of the bed to find the condom I threw as I stripped off my pants. Quickly tearing off the wrapper and pushing the condom down my length, a growl escapes my lips when Sawyer wraps her fingers around the thickness. She only pumps her hand a few times before the pressure starts to build, and I know I have to take control or this will be over too fast.
Grabbing her wrist, I bring it over her head to hold her in place, and a rosy glow starts spreading down her body as I brush my lips over her throat. The fluttering movements from earlier begin again, Sawyer desperately pushing against me, her eyes begging me to give her the relief that she wants.
I line up to her center and slowly press my way in. The whimper that comes from her causes me to momentarily lose control, and I push myself in as deeply as I can. Her lips form a perfect O as I give her a second to adjust.
“I swear if you don’t start to move, I will flip you over and take what I want.” Shaking my head, I start to pump in and out, my pace quickening as she digs her nails into my back, sp
urring me on.
Sawyer meets me thrust for thrust, chasing her release. Knowing I am not going to last much longer, I reach down to find her breast, brushing my palm over the tight peaks. Her back arches in response and a loud cry leaves her as she digs her nails into my hips. I feel her tighten around me, finally falling over the edge.
I only push into her twice more before losing myself in her, taking as much as she will give me, consumed by the wildfire that Sawyer creates in me. The intensity of my release overwhelms me, and I take a moment to let the stars clear from my eyes.
A wave of contentment washes over me as I roll off Sawyer and pull her to my side, breathing her scent and tangling our hands together.
“I love winning.” Sawyer pants and I chuckle in response.
I press a kiss to her shoulder. “Sawyer Coleman, you say the most romantic things to me.”
“Coffee.” Sawyer moans, pulling the pillow back over her head. She’s trying to hide from the sunlight coming through the balcony doors that we forgot to pull the curtains on last night.
“Don't forget we're meeting everyone for breakfast in less than an hour.” I lift the pillow and attempt to place light kisses on her neck. Instead, I get a hand pressed to my face.
“Coffee.” She repeats a little more insistently this time.
I laugh, standing from the bed and grab the room key off the dresser. “You better be nicer when I get back with your coffee.” The pillow barely misses my head as I open the door and walk out into the hallway.
At the same time that I shut the door, Knox steps out of their room.
“You making a coffee run too?” I ask as he falls into stride with me toward the end of the hall where the door to the stairwell is.
“Yeah, Emerson is going through sleep regression.” He runs his hand over his face, and if he didn't look so miserable, I would laugh. That, and a sleep deprived Knox might not think clearly of the consequences of homicide.
Knox Coleman is always so put together in his three-piece suits and sports agent demeanor. The side everyone is used to seeing of him. But this side, the dad side…he looks like he got less sleep than I did. And definitely not for the same reason.