Hustle

by Chelle Bliss

  He opens his eyes and peers down at me. He sees his come dripping from my hand and not neatly deposited in my mouth like a porn star who deep-throats for a living. “That was…”

  He doesn’t finish the statement. He doesn’t have to for me to know I rocked his world. The way his body moved and he gasped for air, I know the orgasm tore through him like a hurricane.

  There’s a knock on the door, and I jump to my feet like the Karate Kid. I take in a very naked Vinnie with his cock that still looks ready for action, which should be impossible.

  “Put your pants on,” I tell him as I grab the napkins off the coffee table and wipe my hands.

  There’s a second knock. “Bianca, come on. Open up. I know you’re home,” Luis says, always having the worst timing.

  I don’t have to look in the mirror to know I look like a deer in headlights. “Fuck,” I hiss and push Vinnie toward the bedroom as soon as he scoops his pants off the floor. “He can’t see you here.”

  Vinnie looks at me over his shoulder, laughing because I’m panicked and almost insane. “Why?”

  “He’ll kill you.” I push harder against his back, but he’s like moving a brick wall.

  “You overreact, baby.”

  “Bianca,” Luis says louder. “I can see the lights on in your place.” That goddamn little slit under the door will be the death of me—or Vinnie, if Luis finds him here.

  “Coming!” I yell.

  “Yes, yes, I did.” Vinnie laughs.

  I smack his ass as he finally steps foot in my bedroom. “Do not come out. Do you understand?”

  “So, what do I do?” He looks around my super girlie bedroom that looks like a unicorn threw up all over it.

  “Just relax. Lie down. Take a nap. I don’t care. Just don’t come out.”

  Vinnie laughs as he sits down on the edge of my bed, naked and holding his pants. “I’m sure I can keep myself busy in here.”

  I don’t have time to think about all the sexy things in my drawers or the fact that the hot-ass pro baller is in my bedroom, naked and waiting. I close the bedroom door and run through the living room, stubbing my toe on the coffee table.

  I screech in pain and grab my foot, bouncing on the other foot as I make it to the door. “This better be good,” I say as I open the door to Luis and a woman I’ve never seen before.

  “Hey, sis.” Luis smiles. “This is Karen.”

  Karen looks like every other floozy he’s ever been with. Teased hair, tits hanging out, red lipstick, and nothing but trouble. That’s my brother’s type. It’s entirely okay for him to whore himself around, but God forbid, I actually want to be with a man, and my brother completely overreacts.

  “Hey, Karen.” I plaster on a fake smile and somehow resist the urge to punch Luis in the face.

  Karen giggles and pops her gum. “Hi. I’m such a huge fan.”

  The urge to roll my eyes is almost overwhelming, but I hold my shit together. “Oh. Thank you so much. That’s really kind of you.”

  I’m thankful for every reader and fan, but right now, the last thing I want to do is chitchat about my writing with my brother’s flavor of the night while Vinnie’s come dries between my fingers.

  Luis walks by me with Karen under his arm and enters my apartment without an invitation. “Do you have company?” he asks, turning to face me.

  I shake my head. “I was just really hungry. It’s my Netflix and chill night.”

  Luis’s eyebrows draw downward. “Your what?”

  “I order food and binge television.”

  “Bianca, you’re too young to sit at home and watch television on a Friday night. Live a little already.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and cock my head. “I am living. I like my life. Are you here to shit on it, or did you come here for a reason?”

  “I wanted to invite you out with us tonight. We’re going to the new club down the street. Figured I’d stop in and ask if you’d like to join us.”

  “Sweetheart,” Karen says, sliding her arm around his middle. “I have to use the little girls’ room.”

  Luis ticks his head backward. “Down the hall,” he says to her. She giggles as Luis pinches her ass. “Go ahead, doll.”

  I glare at my brother as Karen heads toward the bathroom. “I can’t believe you just dropped by like this with some girl.”

  “She’s not some girl. She’s Karen.” Luis runs his fingers through his dark, floppy hair. “Isn’t she great?”

  “Oh yeah. She’s perfect,” I say sarcastically.

  Karen screams and Luis turns. My eyes follow the noise, seeing Karen standing in the doorway to my bedroom with her eyes practically coming out of her head like an old cartoon.

  “Who are you?” she asks.

  “Hey,” Vinnie says, and I know shit’s about to go down.

  I glance at my brother, who’s staring at me so hard, I’m shocked death rays aren’t flying out of his eye sockets. “Company?”

  “Just a friend.”

  “Is it that guy you brought to the party?” The vein running down the middle of Luis’s forehead is big and angry, as if it’s about to burst at any moment.

  “Guy?” I laugh. “It’s none of your business.” I look over my brother’s shoulder, finding Karen hasn’t moved. She’s just gawking at a hopefully only half-naked Vinnie. “Next door, Karen.”

  My brother starts toward my bedroom, but I use my body as a human shield. “You better move,” he tells me, like somehow, he’s become my protector and my father.

  “This is my house, Luis.” I hold out my arms, leaving him no way to get around me as we stand at the entrance to the hallway.

  “You better get your ass out here, you punk,” Luis calls out, practically foaming at the mouth.

  “You stay in there!” I yell over my shoulder because the last thing I need is Vinnie and Luis getting into a fight. “You need to take Karen and leave.”

  Luis’s dark eyes narrow. “He’s not right for you. He’s using you, Bianca.”

  I laugh bitterly. “Maybe I’m using him, brother. Ever think of that?”

  Luis straightens, but his glare is still icy cold. “You trust too easy.”

  “I trust no one,” I tell him. The reality of my words hits me. I don’t trust anyone anymore. Not after the way men have treated me in the past.

  Karen comes bouncing out of the bathroom like she’s oblivious to the shitstorm she’s created. “Nice to meet you,” she says to Vinnie as she passes by the bedroom.

  “You too,” he replies, and a small piece of me dies.

  Luis and I are staring each other down as Karen wraps an arm around his back. “I’m ready, Daddy.”

  I almost puke at the nickname. There’s something so wrong with women who call men “Daddy.” In role-playing or BDSM, I can tolerate it, but in real life, standing in front of his family, it’s totally disgusting.

  “Yeah, Daddy, you better go.”

  Luis snakes his arm around Karen’s shoulders, but he hasn’t looked at her yet. He’s too busy giving me the death stare to look down. “He and I are going to have words.”

  “You want to have them now?” Vinnie says from behind me.

  My brother’s hard stare slices to my bedroom, and I know I’ve got to defuse the situation, or you know, remind Luis who’s boss.

  “Get out.” I point toward the doorway, blocking my brother’s ability to get down the hall and try to beat the piss out of Vinnie. I turn toward Vinnie. “Go back into my bedroom and shut up.”

  Vinnie’s eyebrows rise before a smile creeps across his lips. “Yes, ma’am. I like it when you’re bossy.”

  I glare toward the ceiling and mutter a string of curse words. “Go, Luis, and take Karen with you.”

  “We’re still going to have words.”

  I roll my eyes. “Not tonight, big brother.”

  “Leave your sister alone, Daddy. She’s living life. She’s young. Let her have fun. Would you rather she be all alone here tonight?”


  Luis’s hard glare softens, but he doesn’t relax. “No.” He sighs. “But I still don’t like it.”

  “You’re not supposed to. She’s your sister, but damn, man, give her some space. She’s got a hottie in her bedroom. That sounds like a solid Friday night. Do you want to have fun with me, Daddy, or stay here and argue?”

  I want to puke. There’s something about Karen and Luis that activates my gag reflex worse than deep-throating a cock. I cover my mouth and swallow, somehow keeping down the Chinese food.

  “You’re right, beautiful. Let’s get out of here. My sister and I will talk another day.”

  “Oh, goodie. I can hardly wait,” I say behind the hand that’s still covering my mouth.

  Luis stares at me for a few more seconds. “Be smart, Bianca.”

  “Sure thing, Daddy.” I nod.

  He grumbles but finally moves as Karen pulls him toward the door. “Don’t worry. We’ll have more fun without her. Remember when I…” She leans over, whispering something in his ear.

  Whatever she says has Luis out the door and gone without another word. After the door slams, Vinnie doesn’t come out, and there’s not a single sound coming from my bedroom.

  “Vinnie, you can come out.”

  “Come here,” he calls out. “I want to show you something.”

  I’m sure he does, and it’s probably about nine inches and hard as a rock.

  As I step into the doorway, I see Vinnie still very naked and holding a pair of nipple clamps that were in my nightstand drawer. “What are these?”

  “They’re nipple clamps.” I shrug.

  “I know that. I mean, do you use them?” He stares at the shiny metal, his cock bobbing and waving at the very thought of those hugging my nipples.

  “Yes.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yes.” I’m not ashamed. I use every toy I write about in my books. How can I describe the sensation something delivers without testing it out on myself first?

  “Ever use them with anybody?”

  I shake my head.

  He motions for me to come to him, but I don’t move. “Come on, baby. Lemme rock your world.”

  “We’re not fucking,” I tell him. I’m not ready to take that step with him. Not yet.

  A wicked smile plays on his lips. “Who said anything about that?” He dangles the nipple clamps from his fingers. “I have an orgasm or two to repay and a drawer full of toys to make it happen.”

  Fuck. This man’s going to be the death of me.

  18

  Vinnie

  “How did you know Tilly was the one?”

  Angelo studies me as he leans against the bar with a toothpick between his lips. “This girl got you questioning your ways?”

  The last few days, I’ve been doing nothing but thinking about Bianca. I’ve never been this way with any girl in my entire life, especially not one I haven’t slept with.

  “I don’t have any ways.”

  Angelo stares at me and raises an eyebrow.

  “Okay. Okay.” I throw up my hands because my brother knows everything there is to know about me. “I like this chick.”

  There’s a hint of a smile on Angelo’s face. “When was the last time you were with someone else?”

  I open my mouth to throw out a date and quickly close it again. I was all ready to fire off an answer, but this is something I really have to think about. “It’s been a while.” I rub the back of my neck and stare down at the bar top. “Shit, it’s been a few months. I’ve been so busy with training camp, I didn’t have time to get laid.”

  “But now you have time?”

  I shake my head. “Not really, but I make time for Bianca.”

  He pulls the toothpick from his lips and smirks. “I think you answered your own question.”

  I stare at him for a minute with my mouth hanging open, letting his words sink in before I finally speak. “Just because I drop by her place doesn’t mean I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with her.”

  He shakes his head slowly and sighs. “Have you ever made time for the other women?”

  The truth of my words puts shit into perspective. I make time for her. I go out of my way to see her on the weekends, even though she isn’t exactly overly thrilled when I don’t give her an option.

  “Well.” I pause and swallow down the reality that my brother may, in fact, be right. I was more of an in-the-moment type of guy, and I had never been into seconds either. “No.”

  He rests his elbows against the bar and leans forward. “You want her dating other men?”

  “Fuck no.” I look at him like he’s insane because he should know me better than that.

  “Point made.” He smiles.

  I walked right into that one. I never once cared about what happened to the women I slept with after the fact. Hell, I didn’t even care if they left my bed and gave someone else sloppy seconds. But the very thought of any man touching Bianca sets my blood on fire.

  “I would break his legs.”

  “Did you lock it down?”

  I stare at him, and he stares back.

  He motions between us. “I remember you being all up in my shit about locking down Tilly, and the same when Lucio was dating Delilah.”

  “Yeah, well. You guys are different,” I grumble.

  Angelo has always been a relationship kind of guy. He started dating Marissa so long ago, I don’t remember a time in my childhood without her. And although it took him a while to move on after her death, he went right into another lasting relationship.

  Lucio is a different beast. He was a mix of Angelo and me. He had been a playboy at his core, but he had way more feelings for the women he slept with than I ever did. His getting caught up on Delilah and Lulu wasn’t surprising, especially with his hero syndrome.

  “Grow the fuck up,” Angelo says and points at me. “You either lock it down or move the fuck on. Shit or get off the pot, brother. Stop stringing her along.”

  I rock back on my stool. “It’s the other way around. Bianca keeps pushing me away.” I shrug because I can’t figure the girl out. “One minute, we’re bumping and grinding our way to ecstasy. And the next, she’s pushing me out the door.”

  “Ahh.” He laughs. “Getting a taste of your own medicine.” I give him the middle finger, which only makes him laugh harder. “You know what they say?”

  “No.” I cross my arms, suddenly defensive, and purse my lips. “I don’t believe in any of that nonsense.”

  “The girls usually throw themselves at you.”

  “Older women too.” I wink.

  Angelo rolls his eyes. “The first girl to turn her back on you has your head all messed up.”

  “She’s not turning her back on me.”

  He tilts his head. “She’s not?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Have you slept with her?”

  I focus on my fingertips as I tap them against the wooden bar and avoid looking at Angelo. “That’s kind of personal, isn’t it?”

  His laugh echoes in the empty bar. “That’s precious coming from you.”

  “Fine. We haven’t had sex,” I blurt out. “Happy?”

  “The fact that you’re sticking around this long without sleeping with her shows you’re growing up and may actually want more out of the relationship than a quick lay.”

  “Ang.” I lean back and bring my eyes to his. “I’ve never been a quick lay.”

  He grunts before throwing a rag from the countertop in my face. “You still act like a dumbass. That much hasn’t changed.”

  I crumple the damp cloth in my hand. “Seriously, though. I can’t mess this up. We’re neighbors, and I’ll still have to see her every day if I do.”

  “So, you haven’t slept with her because you’re a pussy?”

  I groan. “Of course, fucker. Bianca’s different.”

  He steps backward and leans against the countertop behind him. “You’re a pussy.” He crosses his arms with a satisfied smile o
n his face. “This girl is into romance. She doesn’t want the playboy Vinnie Gallo. She wants to know she isn’t going to land in a tabloid as the latest side piece of the hottest player in Chicago, and I’m not talking about football.”

  “So, some sort of grand gesture?”

  My brain hurts from thinking this hard. I’ve never had to think beyond a smile and a wink before the chick’s clothes would practically fall off and she’d be on her knees sucking me off.

  “A sincere gesture. It doesn’t need to be big, but it has to have meaning.” Angelo glances toward the door. “Go let Carlos in. He’s getting antsy out there and probably scaring the pedestrians.”

  “I’m going to jet. I have to get to the training facility. If I’m late, the coach will have my balls,” I tell him as I walk toward the doorway where Carlos has his face practically smashed against the glass.

  “He’ll have to wait in line behind Bianca.”

  I flip him off, hearing his laughter at the hilarity of my predicament and all the snarky comments he’s able to hurl my way.

  “Hey, kid.” Carlos smiles, and the lines in his face deepen as I open the door for him. “You look a mess.”

  “I’ve never been better. Training camp’s brutal,” I lie.

  I am a mess. I’m used to working my ass off on the field, but working Bianca is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in years. They say nothing worth having in life comes easy, but it shouldn’t be this goddamn hard either.

  “Go make us proud,” he says as he walks by me, needing his morning beer to straighten his drunk old ass out.

  I spend the next thirty minutes while driving to training camp trying to think of all the grand gestures I could make to win over Bianca. Most of them involve money, but I’m not sure something splashy and over the top like whisking her away to Vegas for a weekend would be something a writer on a deadline would like.

  Her career is just as important as mine. I live game to game, and she lives book to book. We are only as good as our next play. The last thing I want is for her to get distracted from finishing her book and missing her deadline. That would kill any future chance of making her my girl faster than treating her like a quick lay.

  I’m not even paying attention to where I’m walking as I make my way down the hallway to the locker room.