Internship with the Devil (Shut Up and Kiss Me Book 1)

by Jaqueline Snowe

  My drink and croissant were sitting on the table, and the barista yelled out, “Grace!” I refused to look at him. I grabbed the stuff, smiling as best I could, and turned to leave. As luck would have it, I had to walk past him to the exit. With my eyes faced down, I tried to make a clean escape. But, nope. He saw me. He had to say my name in that tone that made me want to wiggle my toes.

  “Grace? Hey.” He had no right using that soft tone on me. His blue eyes sparkled, and the smile I loved formed on his lips. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  I clenched my teeth together as the blonde stepped forward to talk to the barista. I managed a nod and a quick smile before stepping to the side, but he was quick. He matched my movements, his brows furrowing as his stare deepened at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said in a clipped tone. “Just trying to get to work. See you later,” I said way too quickly and practically ran out of the café. Jesus.

  Once I got into my car, I could feel him watching me through the window. I had no reason to believe the sincerity in his eyes was real. He looked happy to see me. Truly happy. But, he could’ve gotten lucky last night, so that was why he was happy.

  I sped to work and grabbed the to-do list he normally placed on his door and chose the assignment the furthest away from his office. I couldn’t face him. Not yet. I needed to work off the hangover from hell and mask my emotions. So, I cleaned. I iced. I cleaned again. I swept and scrubbed equipment. I taped ankles and cleaned wounds all without seeing Brock directly. He was there, I could feel him watching me, but I made it to lunch before having to look at him head on. Players were leaving the field, and the afternoon would be spent watching film and counter acting plays the opposing team would use. We were both left on the field picking up coolers when he walked toward me. I took a long, exaggerated breath and found my professional side. I couldn’t react. He was my boss.

  “Everything going okay?” He frowned, standing a little too close. “I realized I never asked how your class was last night.”

  “I’m good. Yeah, my class was the same as usual,” I said, hoping my voice sounded normal. Logan watched in the distance, and I sent him a mental signal to come over. I wanted the buffer. I couldn’t contain my feelings, and I had to, now, more than ever. The awkward pause hurt; we had never experienced an awkward pause before.

  “Good. Good. You, uh, sure you’re okay?” He cleared his throat, stepping closer to me. “I know you, Grace, and you aren’t your normal self. You haven’t made fun of me or done something goofy yet.” He smiled, those blue eyes warming me.

  I ignored his charm and pinched my nose. “I’m hungover. That’s all.” My voice came out raspy again, the evidence helping prove my case. “Late night last night.”

  “Really?” He frowned deeper this time. His gaze traveled to my mouth for a split second before returning to my eyes. “What did you do?”

  “Grace!” Logan’s voice chose the perfect time to yell at me. I jumped, making my head pound. “How you doing, girl?”

  “Gah, not so loud, you clown.” I shoved him, putting my hands back on my head. “My head feels like a trainwreck.”

  “I imagine it does. What time did you guys get home last night? I’m sorry I didn’t leave with you guys.” He grinned sheepishly. “I tried again with the girl, but no luck.”

  “You’re fine. Gil and Fritz were a handful enough. I was the most sober, or I guess the least drunk, and I feel like death.” I ignored Brock and the way his entire body tensed the more Logan and I talked. Logan’s friends grouped up with us for an hour or two the night before and were a blast. They partied all the time, so they probably weren’t hungover like me and Gil.

  “Yeah. Fritz was plastered.” He laughed and looked at Brock. “Dude, you missed a killer night. Why didn’t you come out?”

  “I had someone visiting.” He frowned, meeting my eyes again. “Sounds like a good night?”

  “Yeah,” I said, Logan’s head tilting just enough to know he noticed something. “Hating myself today though.”

  “You’ll be fine, Gracie.” Logan laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. “Have you heard from your professor yet? Any job information?”

  “Job information?” Brock’s tone turned annoyed. “What job? Grace?”

  “She didn’t tell you yet, man?” Logan said the worst thing to say because Brock’s jaw hardened. Those eyes shot fire at him. He was fuming. Logan didn’t notice because he just laughed and rambled on. “You’ll make a hell of a teacher, Grace. Let me know if you hear back from him. I need to go watch films. See you guys later.”

  Logan walked away, leaving me with a fuming Brock. I needed to get out of there, fast. My heart beat way too fast, and my palms sweat. To top it off, I was still hungover as hell. “Well, I’m going to go grab some food.”

  “You talked to Logan about being a teacher?” he barked, shooting daggers at Logan as he walked across the field. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “When would I have told you, Brock?” I fired back, my fists clenched. “You were a little busy for me yesterday, boss.” I regretted the words as I said them. I sounded needy. Pathetic.

  Recognition crossed his face. Shit. He knew. I stepped back with my racing heart. My voice shook. “I need to go. Forget it.”

  “Grace.”

  I waved him off. I had no destination in mind, but I walked further from him. I couldn’t leave. No. But being near him was not an option. The storage closest would be safe. Yes. I opened the door and sat on an old box.

  “Hell.” I rubbed my temples. I was mortified. I acted like a child and had no idea what to do. No freaking idea. I closed my eyes but jumped off the box when the door slammed open. “Brock, what the hell?”

  His chest heaved as he locked the closet door. His cerulean blue eyes held so many emotions I shivered. “You don’t get it, Grace.”

  “Get what?” I stood up and crossed my arms. My pulse throbbed in my toes it was so strong.

  He laughed, wiping his hand over his face. “Do you know how long I’ve been holding on? Do you know how hard it’s been?”

  “What are you talking about?” I stammered. Something clogged my throat, making speaking difficult. “What’s been hard?”

  “Fighting this.”

  Then he closed the distance between us. He cupped my face with his large hands and brought his lips to mine. They were better than I imagined, soft and strong, warm, and perfect. Time stopped at that moment. Minutes, seconds, hours disappeared when his mouth was on mine. He tilted my head back, taking his time exploring my mouth with his tongue. My legs turned to noodles when he moaned into my mouth. Oh my god. He tasted like coffee and chocolate. His tongue claimed me. Ruining me. Fixing me all at the same time.

  I groaned, fisting the end of his shirt as he kissed the hell out of me. “Brock—”

  “Shh.” He kissed the spot right below my ear. I shivered. My knees shook. I’d be melted onto the floor in no time. “You’re all I think about. Every second of every day.”

  I moaned when he tightened his grip around my waist and bit down on my ear. He chuckled and continued pressing light kisses down my face. “I…I don’t understand.”

  “It’s been you. Only you.” He lifted my face, so he could look at me. I gulped. “Life has been black and white for me for quite some time. Then you came along and added all these damn colors and thoughts. I want to be with you all the time. You make me happier than I deserve to be. That woman, God, I’m sorry, Grace. She was my sister’s best friend. There’s nothing there, and I didn’t even think how it would come across.” He pressed his lips on my forehead, resting his against mine for a few seconds. “I’ve almost crossed the line a million times, and I’ve waited for this moment so damn long.”

  “Why not make a move then, huh?” I tried pushing at him a bit, needing a little distance to digest his words. His wonderfully warm words that sent tingles all over my body.

  “I had to be sure.”

  “Be sure of what
? That you had feelings or sure that it wouldn’t affect your job? Why keep me at a distance this whole time when we could’ve been more.” My throat dried up, and my voice came out all scratchy.

  He pulled me into his strong arms, gripping the back of my head. “It’s been hard as hell not to do anything about this the past four months. It wasn’t about my job at all, Grace. I know what this internship means to you, and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I did anything to jeopardize it.

  My heart melted. My eyes stung.

  But he kept going, taking pieces of me I would never get back. “I submitted the evaluation. It’s over. We can be together now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I had never been in such a predicament in my entire life. The team lost that night. The sobering mood caused frowns and some tears from the players. They wouldn’t make it to the Rose Bowl. In December, they would play in a less recognized championship game, but I wouldn’t be around by then. I gulped, aware it was my last night in the stadium. I wouldn’t be back on Monday, and it depressed me. I watched the players head into the locker rooms for the last time as I finished icing Q. My eyes stung again.

  My stomach clenched at the sadness and anxiety over saying goodbye. I left the locker room area and found myself heading toward Brock’s office for a final something. We didn’t make explicit plans, but he asked if he could give me a ride home, and it would be a lie if I hadn’t thought about that kiss a million times. We hadn’t had time to be together since the supply closet, but now there was an uncertainty in the air.

  Approaching his doorway and seeing Brock leaning against the door to his office with his damn pullover stretched tight across his chest took my breath away. “Hi.”

  “Ready to head out?”

  “Is there anything else we need to do?” I looked around, hoping for something to keep us there. Nerves danced in my stomach. I had never been this nervous in my entire life. He smiled at me.

  “No. Come on, Grace.”

  “Okay.” I gulped, and he placed my hand in his. “Is this okay?”

  “I don’t give a shit. You have no ties here anymore, and I am not your boss.” He kissed the back of my hand, my belly swooping. “I’ve been waiting pretty damn long for this.”

  We walked toward the parking lot, still holding hands, and not one person seemed to pay any attention to us. It was relieving, but my palms sweat because we hadn’t talked about that kiss at all.

  “Wh-what are we doing?”

  “No idea.” He laughed. “What do you want to do?”

  I had no clue. Did we make out like teenagers? Did we go on a date? Did we talk? Did we go at it like rabbits? “Um, well—”

  “Grace, calm down.” He opened his passenger door and lowered his face to mine. “I can see your brain smoking from overthinking. We won’t do anything you don’t want to. I just want to hang out with you without pretending I don’t love you.”

  He shut the door.

  My world spun. What? What did he say? He loved me? No. I gripped the handle of the door and took a long breath. Then, my heart danced. He loved me!

  When he got into the car on his side, I flung myself at him without a care that we were still in the parking lot of the stadium where anyone could see us. He laughed and caught me, placing my legs over his lap. Those blue eyes were my favorite blue. “I didn’t scare you saying that?”

  “No.” I grabbed his stubble-covered chin and kissed him. “Not at all.”

  He tightened his grip on me, digging those fingers into my skin with his eyes burning. I bit my lip the longer he stared. He nipped at it with his teeth, and I giggled. Flirty Brock was my all-time favorite. Our kisses were sloppy and hurried, and I broke our embrace for a second to catch my breath.

  “Say it again, Brock.”

  He traced my bottom lip with his thumb, causing my entire body to tremble. Then he said, “I love you. I fucking love you, Grace. It’s ridiculous, honestly. I didn’t want to.”

  “Yeah?” I grinned ear to ear. “I love you, too.”

  He smiled. His face radiated a joy I never witnessed on him before. “As much as I like you sitting on me, would you like to head back to my house? We can order pizza.”

  My stomach growled. “Busted.”

  “Pizza it is.” He helped me into the passenger seat before putting the car in drive. We held hands for the duration of the drive while we talked about nothing and everything. It didn’t matter. He loved me. I could breathe. A light rain began as we walked up to the back of his house. I laughed.

  “What’s funny?” he asked, giving me a playful smile.

  “The night of that storm? I wanted to rip your clothes off.”

  He stiffened.

  “What?”

  “You have no idea how hard that was. You wore my sweatshirt, and all I could see were your long legs. I had to jerk off twice that night thinking about you.”

  I gasped. “Brock—”

  “Grace, you have no idea how much you affect me. You snuck your damn way into my heart, and you’re all I think about.” He opened the door and locked it as soon as I entered. “Did you think of me while touching yourself at all?”

  I swallowed hard as my back hit the door. His large frame towered over me, but his size and power turned me on. “Y-yes.”

  “What did you think about?” His husky voice had me clenching my legs together. “Did you imagine me touching you?”

  “Y-yes.” I shivered as he slow, slow, slowly grabbed the edge of my shirt. His fingers grazed my abdomen, and I groaned.

  “Can I take your shirt off, Grace?” His heated eyes were a shade of blue I had never seen. I nodded. “Thank God.”

  He removed my shirt like he had all the time in the world, and my nerves lost their damn mind. He sucked in a breath as I stood there in a bralette I borrowed from Gilly. “Damn.”

  I giggled but stopped when he traced the outline of my perked nipples. “I’ve dreamed about this for so damn long. This might be embarrassingly quick for me, okay?”

  He slid one of my straps off to the side and bit his fist after he undid it. My pink nipples were directed right at him. He pinched them both, and I slammed my head into the wall. “Shit.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t wait until the bedroom. Come on, I’m a desperate man.” He picked me up, and in a couple short strides, he set me on his bed. “Now this. This is what I’ve been dreaming about for months.”

  “Me?” I whispered.

  “You. In my bed. But I need to see all of you.” He grinned, biting down on his lip. “Goddamn your tits are perfect, Grace.”

  “Yeah? Stop staring, and do something.” I shocked myself at my crassness. It worked though. His jaw set in determination, he slid my pants down my legs. He traced the outline of my soaking wet panties. I jumped. “God.”

  “Does this feel good, baby?” He traced it again and slowly slid his fingers back up to my chest. “I’ll get back to that.”

  He brought his warm tongue to my breasts and teased the shit out of them. His hands were magic all over my body when his mouth did things that set my blood on fire. I bucked, and he bit down. “Your body is so responsive. I love it.”

  “You’re so good; don’t stop,” I pleaded. He stopped and stared at me. A full minute stare. I blushed before his eyes warmed.

  “You’re beautiful. So fucking beautiful. Here.” He kissed my mouth. “Here.” He kissed the spot right above my heart. “And here.” He the edge of my stomach and slid my panties down. “Are you doing okay?”

  “Y-yes. So okay.” My pulse raced in my body.

  “God, you’re soaked. Is that all for me?” He slid a finger inside of me. I moaned into the blanket.

  “Yes. You.”

  “I love that.” He slid a second finger inside. He thrusted in and out. “Does this feel good?”

  I shook, tightening my stomach. “So close.”

  “Open your eyes, Grace. I want to see your eyes when you come.” I obeyed and watched his slack jaw.
He added another finger on my clit and within a minute of a perfected rhythm, an orgasm so strong, so powerful, so everything slammed through me. I cried his name over and over. His eyes burning with need. I rocked against his fingers until it stopped. “Jesus. Christ. That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  I laughed, feeling drunk on him. “I doubt that.”

  He flicked my nipple, and his eyes hardened. “You moaning my name over and over as your pussy comes all around my hand, yeah. Hottest thing ever.”

  I gulped. “Oh.”

  “Yeah.” He put his fingers into his mouth, and I gasped. “You taste so sweet.”

  “Wh-what… why did you do that?” I flushed. It was so crude. So dirty.

  “Grace. I’m going to taste every inch of you tonight. Don’t get shy on me.” His eyes told me the truth. He meant every word.

  I bit my lip, nervous and satisfied and curious. “Okay.”

  “Good answer.” He stood up and took off the rest of his clothes. His cock sprung from tight boxer shorts, and I panted. He. Was. Huge. “Don’t worry. We’ll go slow, okay?”

  “How are you sure?” I gulped, eyeing the length of him. I reached out to touch him, but he turned away. “I want to touch you.”

  “I know, baby. I know.” He positioned himself on top of me and kissed me so tenderly my eyes stung. “I want to spend all night showing you how much I love you. But this first time is going to be quick. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Okay.” I giggled and moaned when his fingers began playing with my folds again. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting you ready. You’re so tight.” He lowered himself down my body, biting my stomach with little kisses. When he reached my center, I tensed. I had never had a guy go down on me before and nerves took over. He read me like a book, stopping and gazing tenderly at me. “What’s going on in your pretty head?”