She usually didn’t wear tight shit like that, and I really didn’t care, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t admire the view while she was.
The little rips in the front of the legs exposed small patches of her skin, and it made me want to dip my fingers into those tears to feel the silkiness of her skin.
“Dude, that’s my sister you’re looking at like that,” Braeden said in my ear.
I glanced at him and grinned. “She’s fucking hot.”
He made a face and drank some beer. “Sister,” he reminded me.
I looked back at her and grinned. “She’s a terrible dancer.”
Braeden laughed. “The worst.”
I watched as Ivy tried to teach her how to move. She got a little better, but once Ivy pulled away, Rim seemed lost again.
“Hey, she look thinner to you?” Braeden asked.
I gave him a sidelong glance. He shrugged. “Her clothes are tight. I noticed.”
Her shirt was tight. It molded to her small frame just as well as the jeans did. I was surprised Ivy managed to get her to wear it. But now that B said something, she did look a little thinner.
I felt like shit for not noticing sooner. I picked up my untouched beer and took a drink. Had I been too preoccupied to notice she wasn’t as okay as she let on? Was I missing some of the signs that she was worrying?
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Braeden said. “She’s fine. Maybe she just looks smaller ‘cause she ain’t drowning in clothes.”
“Maybe,” I echoed, but I was already wondering if I missed something.
B and I watched as the girls got picked up by some random guys. Rimmel looked more lost than ever.
“You better go show that girl how to dance before someone else volunteers,” Braeden said.
Hells no.
I pushed away from the table and made my way toward Rimmel. I could feel her wavering about being where she was. I saw her watching her friends like she had no idea people even danced that way. Clearly, she was out of her element.
Sometimes I forgot how innocent Rimmel really was. Since really learning about her, I got to see her inner strength, her determination. She never took my shit and she was comfortable enough with me that she was no longer timid.
But this wasn’t just her and me.
It served as a good reminder for me that even though she was one way with me, deep down she was something else when she was in situations that were foreign to her.
Her innocence was something that drew me to her from the start, and also the way she was so honest with it. She never tried to pretend she was anything other than who she was.
I fucking loved that about her.
And it made me want to shelter her. It made me want to protect that innocence.
I caught her around the waist just as she was about to flee. My arm wrapped around her lower waist, right across her hips, and I pulled her firmly against me.
She gasped and started to pull away, and I chuckled. The sound of my laugh was familiar, and she stopped struggling and peeked over her shoulder around a curtain of dark hair.
“Wanna dance?”
“I’m terrible at dancing.”
“I think you just need the right teacher,” I whispered in her ear.
She arched against me, and I wished I had use of both my arms. This damn sling was really cramping my style. I used my free arm to keep her pinned against me and slid the fingers of my other hand beneath her shirt so they rested against her bare skin.
Because she was so much shorter than me, I had to bend at the knees and sort of hunch in around her. I brought my face down so it was near the side of her head and the silky smooth strands of her hair flirted with my cheek.
I’d been kind of lazy about shaving lately because of my whole limited mobility, and the scruff of my beard caught in the strands like it was Velcro.
With my body wrapped around hers, I started moving my hips, holding her against me, and practically lifting her off the ground.
“Move with me, babe,” I whispered in her ear.
A long exhale moved through her body, and she relaxed into me until she was nearly boneless. My cock hardened as her ass moved against me. Her hand wrapped around the side of my hip and grabbed my ass.
I buried my face in her hair as we moved together, my fingers brushing against her bare skin, and she arched against me farther.
Need and desire swamped me. It hung over us like a cloud. I’d danced like this with lots of girls. I’d practically had sex in the middle of a dance floor. This was sort of tame…
But it had never turned me on more.
The song faded out, and I found myself irritated it didn’t go on forever. I wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
Instead of another song starting right up, the DJ came on over the mic. “We got football royalty in the house tonight.”
A bunch of people howled.
“And it looks like the Alpha and his mate are on the dance floor… this song’s for you, guys.”
Rimmel tilted her head back and peered up and me from beneath her glasses. “Us?”
Gently, I spun her away so she faced me. I loved the way her hair floated out around her with the little twirl. “Who else?” I growled and pulled her close.
People around us clapped as a slow song about sex started pumping through the club. It was the first slow song I’d heard play all night.
“People are watching,” Rimmel whispered.
“Well, let’s give ‘em something to talk about.”
I slid my thigh between her legs and brought her so her chest was against mine. Her thighs tightened around my leg and her fingers curled in the front of my T-shirt. Her body seemed to take over and started to move to the sexy music. I don’t know if she realized it or not, but she was dancing just then, and it was sexy as hell.
As she got a little braver, one of her hands slid around my waist and into the back pocket of my jeans. I groaned a little in my throat as she gyrated against my thigh and made a purring sound.
I straightened up a little more, bringing her body with mine as she rocked against me. Her forehead fell against my chest, and she held on. I felt the tension in her body, felt the need and the desire.
I’d never been so fucking turned on in public like this. I could barely see straight. It was taking everything in me not to drag her out of here and throw her in the backseat of my Hellcat.
Couples around us starting dancing and the crowd closed in. Rimmel was breathing a little heavy when she lifted her head. She released me to push the glasses up off her face and on top her head like a headband.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked, leaning in.
“Making everything else around us blurry. All I want to see right now is you.”
I took her lips.
I owned them.
If there were ever a doubt in anyone’s mind that this girl was solely mine, there wasn’t anymore.
Rimmel wrapped her arms around my waist, and once she realized what she did, she began to pull back, to give my side with the sling a little space.
“Don’t you dare,” I growled and pulled her back. Her arms wound around me again, and I realized I was starved.
I’d been starved for this full-on contact. We’d been so careful of my arm that it limited the way we’d been together.
We were both wound tight. Tighter than I realized. I swept my tongue in her mouth, and the DJ flipped on some kind of light that made the room darker but with flashes of a silver strobe pounding through the room.
It made it harder to pull back.
When I did, she ground against me and looked up with fuzzy eyes. “Romeo,” she whispered and swayed against me once more.
“Give it to me, baby.”
Her eyes widened because she knew what I wanted.
She glanced around from side to side, glancing at all the people in the room. I grabbed her chin and looked at her. “No. Right here. Just us, remember?”
“I can’t.”
I brought my leg up a little more, pressing against her throbbing center with even more pressure. Her teeth sank into her lower lip.
I smiled.
“No one will even notice.” I leaned into her ear. “But I will. And damn, this makes me so hot.”
Her hazel eyes looked up at me with so much trust and love that my heart constricted. Suddenly, I felt guilty, like I was pushing her to do something.
I never wanted to do that.
I’d just been thinking about how much I loved her innocence.
“Hey,” I said and swiped at her lower lip with my thumb. “Forget it. Let’s just go home. We’ll finish this there.”
Her teeth sank into the pad of my thumb, and all thought ceased.
Rimmel’s lips wrapped around the tip of my thumb and then slid down farther. Her mouth was warm and moist, the pressure she applied gentle. It was a good thing she was practically in my lap because I needed something to hide my raging hard-on.
She rocked against my leg and the music overhead built with perfect tension. The lights were erratic, creating shadows and light every few seconds.
Her silent moan vibrated my thumb and then she released it and wrapped a hand around my neck and buried her face in the hollow between my shoulder and jaw.
We kept dancing, I kept the pressure against her core, and she rocked against me with slow, deliberate movements.
I knew when she was about to come. I felt the change come over her body. The slight sudden tension in her muscles and the way her fingernails dug into the back of my neck.
I pulled her even closer as she came apart in my arms. I knew she was trying to keep it together, to not completely show what was really going on. I held her and kept dancing, even after her body stopped trembling.
Holy shit, she’d just had an orgasm in the middle of a crowded room. I’d practically had sex with her fully dressed.
It made me more determined than ever to get her alone and naked.
The song faded out and an upbeat dance number came on. Rimmel pulled away and gazed up to me.
I kissed her on the tip of her nose, then slid the glasses back on her face.
“Have you had enough girls’ night yet?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Thank God. Let’s go.”
I led her off the floor and back to our table where Ivy and Missy were sitting with the guys. Braeden was out on the dance floor with some hot chick.
“We’re going,” Rimmel said to her friends as I moved away to say my good-byes to Trent and the guys.
When I was done, I went back to her side and looked down at the girls. “How you getting home tonight?”
“I drove,” Ivy said.
Missy laughed.
“You can’t drive. You’re drunk,” I told Ivy.
She shook her head. “They’re drunk. I’m not. All I had was a couple shots a few hours ago and this one beer.” She motioned to a half-full beer nearby. “I can handle my liquor and those shots weren’t strong.”
I bent down so I could look at her level in the eyes. She stared back as I searched for any sign she really was drunk and just trying to play it off.
“In a couple hours, I’ll be totally sober and able to drag this one”—she gestured to Missy who was doing another shot—“back to the dorm.”
She glanced behind me at Rim. “Can Missy use your bed tonight?”
“Of course!”
Ivy met my gaze again.
“No shit?” I asked.
“No shit.”
I nodded slowly. I believed her. I think it was the first time we’d been out partying that I hadn’t seen her get totally smashed.
Made me wonder why this time was different.
“If you need something. Call.”
Something passed behind Ivy’s eyes but then was gone. “I will. Thanks.”
I held out my fist and she pounded it out. Then I held it out to Missy so she wouldn’t feel left out. She tried to pound it out but missed.
Ivy laughed. “Call me!” she yelled to Rimmel.
Rimmel smiled and turned to go. Braeden appeared, and she bounced off his chest. He reached out to steady her.
“We’re taking off,” I told him. “You coming with us?”
“I’m gonna stay a while,” he said and ruffled Rimmel’s hair. “I’ll give you a chance to put her to bed.” He winked and then went on. “Before I crash on the couch.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said, even though I wanted to be alone with her for a while. “I’m the one that drove here.”
“I love you,” Rimmel told Braeden and leaned in to hug him.
He laughed and wrapped one arm around her. “Yeah. I think it is. Take care of tutor girl before she passes out.”
“You need a girlfriend,” she told him.
He wrinkled his nose. “Why shackle myself to one when I can graze the crop?”
“Because the right one is better than a bunch. You need someone to love you.”
“I thought you loved me?” he said, amused. When he looked up at me, I thought I saw something besides that in his eyes.
I thought I saw a little bit of longing.
“I do. But in a sisterly way. Not the way I love Romeo.”
Braeden grinned. “BBFL.”
What the fuck did that mean and why did they keep saying that to each other?
It was like a secret handshake no one taught me.
“C’mon, Rim. Let Braeden go get his dance on with the ladies.”
I pulled her out of his arm, and she smiled. “I like dancing.”
Didn’t I know it? I was never gonna forget what our first slow dance was like as long as I lived.
“Grab your stuff,” I told her. When she walked off, I turned to B. “You straight?”
“Yeah, it’s cool. I’ll take a cab or have Trent drop me off.”
“You can call me. I’ll come pick you up.”
We pounded it out, and then I led Rimmel out of the club. Outside was freezing, and I wished I had on more than a T-shirt.
The harsh wind seemed to serve as instant sober for Rimmel, and she perked up as we walked toward the Hellcat.
“You drove here?” she asked, just seeming to realize that.
“Yeah.”
“How did you do that with your arm?”
“I just unhook the sling and I’m able to shift. My hand isn’t broken.”
“But it’s movement for your arm!”
“It’s limited movement. I’m careful.”
She didn’t seem too happy with my explanation. “I haven’t been driving much, just yesterday and today. My arm feels good. I promise I’m not doing anything that would jeopardize the healing.”
She didn’t seem too convinced as she climbed into the Hellcat.
As I drove to my place, I noticed she watched me like a hawk, so I took extra care to shift slow and easy.
“See?” I said when I parked in the driveway next to Braeden’s truck.
“I still don’t see why B didn’t drive,” she muttered.
“Because I knew I’d want to leave early to be alone with you.”
“I missed you today.”
I leaned my forehead against hers. “Me too. I’m taking the weekend off from training at the field. I’m gonna stick to you like glue.”
“Training going okay?” she asked like she picked up on the fact everything was not okay.
I ran a finger down the center of her nose. “I don’t want to talk about football.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I don’t want to talk at all.” My voiced dropped low.
She shivered. “Me either.”
I knew I’d have to tell her about the NFL come morning, and I would.
But tonight was just for us.
Chapter Nineteen
Rimmel
I woke up slowly, my mind coming to before my body. My cheek was pillowed on Romeo’s chest and one leg was thrown over his. Down near my ankle, Murphy wa
s curled up in a ball, purring like a broken lawnmower and creating a warm spot for my foot.
I smiled against Romeo.
If someone had told me a few months ago that this would be my life, I would have recommended they seek help for their crazy.
But this was my life now, and I loved it so much.
It didn’t seem to matter how much it was threatened, how much insanity was thrown our way, I always came back to this place of happiness. I always came back to Romeo’s arms.
I prayed to God it would always be this way.
Especially now. Especially now that my family unit was being threatened. My mind shied away from the thought, but it wouldn’t quite go away. I didn’t want to face it, but I knew I was going to have to.
Something was going on with my dad, and it was something I needed to figure out. Beyond everything Valerie said and her folder full of information, my dad was distant. Distracted. And when I told him about being attacked, he apologized like it had been his fault.
I didn’t know what it all meant. But it scared me.
Romeo took a deep breath and his hand slid up my spine. I snuggled into him a little closer, pressing my completely bare body along his beneath the sheet.
The electricity between us last night and then again early this morning was mind blowing. I thought perhaps the longer we were together, the more our spark would fade. I always knew I would love Romeo and his touch was all I’d ever want, but I also kind of expected some of that excitement from new love to wane.
But it hadn’t.
If anything, it was stronger.
And last night on the dance floor… that had been totally erotic.
I’d had an orgasm right there in center of the club. His body against mine. The pulsing beat of the music.
Writers couldn’t even make something like that up in romance books.
Romeo’s hand wrapped around my body and lazily explored my breast where it was pushed against him. My nipple responded, and I closed my eyes and let the sensation ripple through me.
“How you feeling this morning?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“Good,” I replied, stretching against him.
“Hangover?”
“Not too bad. I think all that water you made me drink and then the pain reliever you made me take after the second time we made love really helped.”
#Player Page 11