by T. L. Quinn
“What’s the most number of times you’ve slept with the same person?” I ask.
He narrows his eyes. “In one night?”
I shove his shoulder. “No you dork. On separate occasions.”
He looks down like he’s trying to think of someone, but he can’t think of anyone. I gasp and then smile even bigger at him. “No! Seriously? Never?”
He gives a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know. Maybe. I can’t remember.”
I laugh again. “How do you figure out what they like then?”
He looks at me like I’m stupid. “I don’t care.”
“Asshole.” I joke.
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “I didn’t see you complaining.”
“Maybe it could have been better.” I challenge him.
He laughs, but then his eyes darken as he crawls over to me. “Please. I can read your every whimper and moan.” He rumbles as he runs his mouth up my neck, and fuck if I don’t whimper and moan.
Chip walks back to where our towels are laid out. Sawyer is over here whispering dirty things in my ear and kissing up my shoulder and neck. Chip makes a disgusted face. “Will you two stop?”
Sawyer lays back down on his back and laughs. “What’s that now? The fifth girl who’s turned you down?”
He lets out a frustrated noise. “C’mon, let’s get dinner. I don’t have a chance when all the girls keep ogling your naked chest.”
I laugh and run my fingers down Sawyer’s abs. “We ogle him when he’s fully clothed too.”
Sawyer smiles at me. “You’re being weirdly nice today.”
I laugh. “Your body is the only reason I’m here.” I joke.
He smirks back. “That’s all I want you here for.”
Chip looks at us funny. “Your weird honesty thing you got going on is really fucked up.”
Sawyer laughs as he stands and throws his t-shirt back on. He reaches his hand down for me to grab. “I could use some food too.”
We head over to this beautiful restaurant that has all their tables out by the water. There is a DJ playing music, and people are already dancing as the sun starts setting. “Wow!” I say. “This place is amazing.”
Chip smiles. “This is always our go to place whenever I’m in town. You wouldn’t know from what you’ve seen today, but we are a great team with the ladies.”
I cringe. “Please tell me you guys drove separately and Sawyer didn’t bring his girls back to your car.”
Chip wraps his arm over my shoulder. “What did I tell you sis? You’re the only girl he’s ever brought back to his place. He made me bring mine to a hotel. Fucker.”
Sawyer stares back at him. “I’d make you stay at a hotel too if you didn’t always just show up at my door unannounced.”
Chip grins. “That’s why I do it.”
We head over to our table, and we have food and drinks. Chip tries flirting with the waitress, but she just laughs him off. I haven’t had this much fun in I don’t know how long. Everything feels so easy, but that scares me too. Nothing is ever easy.
The night air brings a chill, so we move over to some couches by a firepit to have more drinks. Sawyer wraps his arm around me, and I cozy up next to him. I smile at them both. “So I want to see some of this wingman work in action. How’d you guys do it?”
Sawyer raises his eyebrows at me. “Pick any girl here. I can make any of them interested in Chip.”
I smirk back. “Oh that confident are we?”
He smiles. “Yes.”
I scan the patio and find a pretty, leggy brunette with a few other girls. I nod toward her. “Her. Red dress.”
Chip looks up to the sky and does a thank you motion. “God bless you Blake.” He says to me.
I laugh. “You’re that confident as well?”
He smiles. “It runs in the family.”
I laugh. “So how exactly does this work? Do I need to go hide somewhere?”
Sawyer stands. “Nah, you can wait here with Chip.”
I watch him as he makes his way over to the bar. I turn back toward Chip, and he has a serious face staring back at me. I lift my eyebrows in question. “What’s that look for?”
His usual joking tone is gone. “He likes you.”
I laugh. “Who? Sawyer?”
Chip still doesn’t smile. “Yes Sawyer. You can’t keep playing this game with him. He’s going to get hurt.”
I try to shrug it off like it’s no big deal. “Sawyer doesn’t get hurt, and he doesn’t like me. He acts that way with everyone.” I motion toward the group of laughing girls who are all jealous of the girl in the red dress. “See.”
Chip doesn’t even look that way. “It may not seem different to you, but trust me, I know my brother. You have to make the decision if you want this to end or if you want something real because if you keep playing this game of pretend, it’s going to destroy him.”
I look at him angrily. “Him? What about me?”
Chip finally smiles. “So you admit you feel something for him?”
I close my eyes for a second and shake my head. “What? No. I didn’t say that.”
His eyes soften. “Just do me a favor. Don’t let this go past today if you don’t want something more. You got to experience what it’s like to be with the legendary Sawyer, and if that’s all you wanted, then you can move on, but there’s a real man underneath it all. I think you’d really like him if you got the chance to know him.”
My chest tightens around my heart, and my mind begins to race. I know Chip is Sawyer’s brother and it seems like he knows what he’s talking about, but Sawyer never gave me any indication that he wanted more. I have to think about my own heart. I can’t very well just give it away to the man knowing he’ll probably never reciprocate those feelings.
I give Chip a half smile, but then his eyes light up. “Oh fuck yeah, he’s going for the kill shot. Quick look sad.”
His mood change catches me off guard, so instead of looking sad, I laugh. “What?”
He nods over toward Sawyer, and I glance over there. I see the girl in the red dress looking over here with puppy dog eyes. I turn back to Chip. “Do I want to know what’s going on?”
He bites his lip to hide his smile. “What good is going through a horrible childhood if you can’t use it to pick up girls?”
I full on laugh now. “No!” I say jokingly. “You guys seriously use your bad foster home to get laid?”
He leans his head to the side and smirks. “Wouldn’t you?”
I laugh, but then my heart sinks as I realize that’s exactly what Sawyer pulled on me back at the cottage. Now I’m fucking mad for listening to Chip. See, I knew I shouldn’t have started thinking about him that way. This was sex. Nothing more.
“I should have known after you guys pulled that move on me.” I try to say jokingly, but I can tell my voice sounds strained.
Chip raises his eyebrows in surprise, and then he burst out laughing. “Oh fuck no! He did not want you to find out about that! He was so fucking pissed at me. The fucker changed his Netflix password! I have to pay for my own now!”
I laugh. “Why would he be mad about me finding out?”
Chip shrugs. “You’re not the type of girl he wants pity from.”
Before I have a chance to process what he said, Sawyer comes back over. “Amy here was looking for a dance partner. I told her I was with my girl, but you could step in.” He says to Chip.
Chip stands and immediately strikes up a conversation with her. For some reason I think he was getting rejected all day on purpose just so he could have this moment with his brother. Chip is an attractive guy, and with the way he is so easily able to charm this lady, sob story or not, he’d be able to do just fine with the ladies.
Sawyer reaches his hand down to me. “Dance with me.”
I grab it and look at him funny. “Your girl?”
He makes a face like he’s thinking. “Somehow stubborn, sassy girl who says she doesn’t want me but somehow can’t keep her hands off me,
one day hates me and the next has my cock down her throat didn’t quite roll off the tongue as well.”
I laugh as he leads me out to the dance floor. “Well, I’m glad we clarified that.”
He holds me close as we dance to a couple songs. He pulls my back up against his chest, and then he starts kissing his way from my shoulder up my neck. I whip around in his arm and place my lips against his as we sway to the music. He leans his forehead up against mine. “Can we please go home?” He whispers to me.
“What about Chip? He drove us.” I laugh.
Sawyer groans. “He can call an Uber.”
I smile and lean up and kiss his lips again. “Okay.”
Sawyer grabs my hand and practically drags me off the dance floor. He barely stops by Chip. “We’re taking the car. Don’t come back to my place tonight.” He says as we pass by.
Chip waves his hand over his head like he heard him and doesn’t give a fuck because he has a hot girl dancing on him. It doesn’t take very long to get back home. Sawyer sets his keys on the table and turns to me and smiles. I was half expecting him to jump me the moment we got back here like he usually does, but he hasn’t made a move yet.
I am not exactly sure what to do since I thought the reason we came back here was to fuck. I sway my dress nervously. “So how do you usually do your little pick up stunt if you don’t have a girl with you?”
Sawyer smirks at me. “The stunts are just for Chip. I don’t use those.”
I laugh. “Oh please. You’re the master of pick up lines.”
He steps closer to me. “No, pick up lines are rehearsed and universal. I just know how to read my audience.”
I smile back. “Oh? Please, do tell. What line would you use on me?”
“Depends on what mood you are in.” He smirks.
“Try me.” I respond.
He steps forward and brushes some hair behind my shoulder. Then he leans down and kisses on my shoulder. “Well, normally you like when guys are mean to you.”
I try to push him back. “I do not!”
He pulls me closer to himself instead and resumes moving his lips over various parts of my body. “Yes, you like to fight. You are so in control all of the time that you want chaos. You want to give up the control. To give in to everything that’s bad for you. It’s why nothing ever happened with Todd. He didn’t know how to lead you.”
I moan as his mouth travels down in between my chest. “And you do?”
Instead of answering, he reaches down and lifts me up and kisses my mouth. I wrap my legs around him, and he sets me down in his bedroom. “Yes.” He says matter of factly.
“How would you handle it not normally then?” I ask.
“Hmm?” He says as he pulls my dress up over my head.
I look back at him as the dress falls to the floor. “You said normally. How would you handle not normally?”
He laughs and then kisses me again. He gently bites on my lower lip. “I’ve wanted you since the first moment I met you.” His voice comes out all gravely and sexy.
“That’s your line?” I joke.
His hands and mouth start exploring different parts of my body. I feel him smile against my stomach. “You remember your dad introducing me to the team. Your attitude that day was fire. You knew I was coming in, and I’m sure you spent extra time pulling together that hot as fuck skirt with those red high heels. You had your hair pulled back to emphasize your no nonsense attitude. You pretended to ignore me, but I could feel every time your eyes were on me. Your dad asked you to show me my office, and I flirted with you so hard. I knew it was useless with the way you were icing me out, but I couldn’t help myself.”
He makes his way back up to my neck, and I sigh. “So you remember what I was wearing. Big deal.” I say even though that seriously turned me on.
He presses his lips gently to mine, and then he pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Except that wasn’t the first time we met.” He smiles softly.
I look up at him confused because even though I knew everything about him before that day, that was definitely the first time we met.
He pushes my hair back behind my ear. “I had to come in the week before my first day to fill out some paperwork. I was about to head up when I saw you walking toward the elevator. Not wanting to miss my opportunity to nail the hot chick from the new office, I held it so you could get in. Except you didn’t even notice me. You barely acknowledged another person was in the elevator with you. Immediately I was intrigued. I mean, you know how things go when you’re in an elevator with this.” He jokes, but then his tone isn’t so light. “You were on the phone with your dad talking about your mom getting released from the hospital.”
I look up into Sawyer’s eyes, and they soften toward me. “I remember being a total dick and wishing you’d hang up so I could make my move, but I stood patiently by. I listened to the whole conversation about how she almost didn’t make it, how she was going into another facility for the millionth time, how you were okay and used to it by now. You remained strong, and your voice never waivered. When we reached the 30th floor, you hung up, and it wasn’t until then that you let a few tears slide down your face. I never felt so connected to another person before. The way you held all the pain inside. You didn’t let your dad know how you were feeling because you wanted to be strong for him. I’d never seen such a strong, beautiful woman before. I wanted to pull you close and hide you away from the world. I wanted you to lose yourself in me. To forget your pain.” His voice drops to barely a whisper. “But then the doors slid open and you were gone.”
I feel my heart crack completely open for this man. Fucker! Why did he have to go ahead and pull this shit?
I grab the back of his head and yank his mouth back to mine. Our clothes are gone by the time we reach the bed. He climbs on top of me as his mouth consumes mine. His fingers reach between our bodies, and he feels how ready I am for him. “Take me.” I whisper against his lips.
He lines himself up at my entrance and then slowly pushes his way in. We both gasp when we are joined completely. He moves his hips in and out, but he doesn’t pick up the pace.
His eyes don’t move from my face as he slides in and out of me. He leans down and places gentle kisses on my lips. My whole body begins to burn. I feel every part of him inside me. Every curve, vein, and ripple of his cock as he slowly imprints himself inside of me.
“Sawyer.” I pant, and he leans down and kisses me deeper.
My muscles tighten everywhere, and I’m so wet that it’s running down my legs. He moves just as slow as before, but somehow I am on the brink of my orgasm. He pulls his face back slightly again, and I stare back into his eyes. I’m suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. So much so, that I almost feel like I’m going to cry.
Sawyer looks back into my eyes and cups my face again. “You’re so beautiful.” He whispers.
My whole body convulses around him as I surrender. My head falls back against the bed, and my back arches, pushing my chest forward. Sawyer groans and pumps into me faster until he shoots his cum inside of me.
He collapses on top of me, but he doesn’t pull out. He leaves himself inside of me as he leans forward and kisses my lips. I feel so confused. That didn’t feel like nothing.
He rolls to the side and smiles back at me. I don’t know what to say to him. My emotions are running wild. I want to tell him something dumb like I love him. I blink a couple times to try to snap myself out of it.
“Was that story your line?” I ask. I have to ask. I need to know.
“What?” He looks at me confused.
I stare back. “The elevator story. Was that your line on me?”
I hold my breath waiting for his answer. This is his opportunity to tell me what he’s feeling. If Chip was right, then he’d tell me how he feels. He’d tell me that this was more than sex. After what we just did, I can’t think straight unless I know because what I’m feeling right now toward this man is dangerous if he doesn’t feel the same way.
“Blake…” He trails off.
That's all I need to know. I can’t believe I was so stupid. I give him a half smile. “I have to go.”
I stand quickly and throw my dress over my head. I walk out of his room before he even has the chance to get out of bed. I grab my phone off the counter and order a car to come pick me up.
“Blake.” Sawyer says as he comes out of the room in only his underwear. “C’mon, what’s going on?”
I can’t look at him, so I walk around his house grabbing anything that I brought here. “I just have things to take care of this weekend. I can’t stay here another night.”
“Don’t bullshit me!” He yells.
I whip around and stare at him right in the eye. “Why not? It’s all you do.”
He looks angrily back at me. “We agreed to no more games.”
I squeeze my hands into fists to try to reel in my emotions. “Right. No games. This was just sex. That’s done, so I’m leaving now.”
“Blake.” He tries again.
I close my eyes for a moment. “Give me a reason to stay.” I whisper back.
He opens his mouth to say something, but then he closes it again. My eyes don’t move from his as I wait for him to say something. Anything. He doesn’t though, and my phone dings letting me know my car arrived. “I have to go.” I say and then I run out the door and into the car before he can stop me.
As the car pulls away, I feel the tears running down my cheeks. I knew this was a mistake. Why the fuck didn’t I listen to myself? I never should have gotten involved with him in the first place.
Chapter 15
I barely left my bed on Sunday. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I even ordered food in but noted for the delivery driver to leave the food on my porch so I didn’t have to talk to anyone.
Sawyer called and texted a bunch of times, but I didn’t respond to any of them. Chip was right. It was a bad idea to even hang out Saturday, but I definitely can’t keep seeing him now. I have to cut him off completely. The only reason we need to talk now is for work, and hopefully I can convince my dad to figure something out because I don’t think I can handle working with him. Not now.
