Finding Trust (Centre Games)

by Natalie Gayle

  Rihanna was still trying to get her head around his announcement when she noticed the checkout girl eying him appreciatively.

  “Wow, are you having a party with all this food? I love parties,” the checkout girl asked less than innocently. She was probably about twenty and looked as if she had been up most of the night, probably doing just that—partying.

  Her overdone make-up and over the top flirty little glances were really starting to annoy Rihanna. Her first thought was that the girl recognised Brayden from Steel. But on closer observation, that didn’t seem to be the case. Checkout Miss clearly appreciated Brayden for the very male he was and was doing her best to be noticed. God, some bitches were just unbelievable. Some part of her just wanted to shout, “Hands off—he’s mine.”

  “Nope, just filling the fridge,” Brayden replied pleasantly but also intending to cut off any unwanted invitations.

  He’d finished loading the groceries onto the bench and was about to get the trolley to fill it with the scanned items when he reached out and pulled Rihanna to him and brushed his lips against hers for a light but promising kiss, before taking the trolley and filling it with bags.

  Her knees slightly buckled and she felt the electricity zing over her skin at the touch of his lips.

  Checkout Miss gave her a sour look, obviously witnessing the kiss. Rihanna couldn’t resist, so she timed it perfectly so that Bray was turned slightly away from her, putting the bags in the trolley. She whispered but more mouthed, “Hands off; he’s all mine!” and moved through the checkout to stand beside Brayden and the trolley again. To emphasise just how much he was hers, she put her arm around his waist and moved into his side.

  Checkout Miss turned away, clearly annoyed, and finished off scanning the remaining items. Rihanna took great pleasure in snuggling closer to Bray when the next two items Checkout Miss scanned were the two offending boxes of condoms. Rihanna gave the girl a huge knowing smile as Brayden nuzzled her neck.

  Finally Checkout Miss announced, “That’ll be three hundred and eighty-five dollars and forty cents.”

  Bray wordlessly slipped his card in the machine, punched in his pin number and removed the card when the sale was approved.

  The girl robotically called, “Have a good day.”

  “Oh, we will,” he replied.

  They started towards the butcher shop when he spoke quietly in her ear. “All yours, Minky, and don’t you forget it.”

  Had he heard? Horror filled her at his words. Oh shit, he must have seen her talking to Checkout Miss. God, busted being a bitch after two days. She inwardly kicked herself at her stupidity. How old was she, twelve?

  His words, although alarming, didn’t fail to excite her even further. The man was just too much of a turn-on. What was she going to do when this all ended and she went back to her world?

  Thinking more about it as she walked with him—what did he really mean when he told her he was all hers? They had only known each other for two days. Sure, that had quickly escalated to some very hot sex. Which was fantastic, but a little concerning just how much she was attracted to him.

  They stopped at the butcher’s and Bray placed his order, talking to the man over the counter. He piled the bags containing the meat on to the already laden trolley and they moved towards the exit.

  “That has to be it, Bray. This trolley is done.”

  “You’re right, Rih. We’re done here. Let’s head home.”

  He put his arm casually around her waist when they were on the even ground and helped her manoeuvre the trolley over the gutters back to the SUV. They reached the rear tailgate of the car when he tested her.

  “Come here, Rihanna—now.” He reached out a hand and she immediately took it and walked into his arms, her body on high alert in wait for the danger that his command had signified. He pressed her back against the tailgate.

  Her head was looking back and forth from behind his shoulders, clearly trying to determine where the danger was coming from. Her heart raced. Adrenaline began to spike up through her.

  “It’s okay, baby. Just testing your reactions,” he said and slid his face to the side of hers so he could access her ear and neck.

  “Brayden, don’t scare me like that.” Her voice failed to disguise her annoyance. She went to push him away and then changed her mind; regardless of how or why she got here, she really didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  His right hand came up to her chin and lightly urged it downwards, opening her mouth. He took a final glance around, confident that there was no danger and fitted his mouth to hers. His tongue immediately swept into her, tasting the sweetness of her mouth that he was fast becoming accustomed to. He licked up the inside of her bottom lip and teased it with his teeth.

  Rihanna had fast moved from being on high alert to highly aroused. The touch of his lips and naughty tongue had not failed to ignite her passion. She was melting into him as he gently pulled away.

  “I think we’d better finish this at home.” He was clearly as affected by the kiss as she was. “You turn me on so much, Rihanna, I could take you right here. The scent of your arousal drives me mad.”

  He was leading her towards the passenger door when she stiffened at his words. Brayden managed to get her seated safely in the car with the door closed.

  “Fuck,” he muttered as he rounded the tailgate. How could he have made a slip-up like that? He’d just admitted he could smell her arousal and his face hadn’t been anywhere near her pussy. Double fuck. There was no getting out of this one. Not only was she clearly embarrassed but now he had given her more evidence as to his not entirely human being.

  He’d just have to ride this one by the seat of his pants.

  He climbed behind the wheel and glanced sideways at Rihanna.

  Yep, just as he thought.

  She hadn’t missed his slip-up and now she was totally freaking, thinking she smelt bad. She smelt anything but to his super sensitive nose. Way to go, dickhead, he mentally chastised himself.

  He pulled out of the car park and headed the SUV towards home. He had opened his mouth to speak when she beat him to it.

  “I’m sorry you can smell me. I’ll shower when we get back to your place,” she rushed out. Before he had a chance to comment, she rushed on, “I’m so embarrassed.” He noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was hanging her head almost in shame. His driving gave her the opportunity not to meet his eyes.

  He had to take control and quickly. He needed to cover his monumental faux pas but he also needed to take back the ground that his ill-controlled comment had stripped from them both. His words, unless corrected, would drive her further into her shell. He loved her free and wanton, not constrained by shackles in her own mind.

  “First off, you’re not going to have a shower. I want you reeking of arousal, and I’ll just have to get you there again if you shower.” Bray reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Secondly, don’t you dare think you smell bad. You absolutely don’t. I happened to have a very sensitive nose and tend to notice scents that other people don’t so I would be very surprised if anyone else notices. Even if they did, they would be aroused, not repulsed. Just like I am.”

  Rihanna seemed to relax a little at that.

  “You don’t have to try to make me feel better.”

  He pulled her hand across the console and pressed it firmly to his crotch. His hard length was undeniable and he lifted his hips off the seat to press tighter into her hand. “I think that says it all. I want you so bad right now. You’ve driven me to distraction the whole time we’ve been out.”

  “Bray, you’re obviously very comfortable with all this and you’re quite ‘out there.’” She paused, consoling herself before she went on. “As you’ve no doubt gathered, I’m not anywhere near as uninhibited as you.”

  “I know, sweetheart . And I know that I’ve made you feel uncomfortable a few times. But you have to admit the chemistry between us is off the charts and once you let yourself go, you we
re unbelievably sexy. You may never be as uninhibited as me. All I ask is that you approach everything we do with an open mind and heart. What we have between us stays between us. I’d never do anything to hurt you but occasionally I may make you a little uncomfortable. I won’t apologise for that if it means what’s between us is hotter and stronger.” He paused, drawing breath. “I hope you’ll get more comfortable with it all as you get to know me better. I just want us to be totally open to each other. You can trust me to take care of you in every way, Rih.”

  Well, that little speech certainly gave her something to think about. He gently moved her hand away from his erection and back across to her side of the SUV.

  “Babe, I need to give you your hand back. I can’t concentrate on the road with your hand on me like that.” He turned his head briefly and flashed her a dazzling smile.

  She turned the corners of her mouth up in a somewhat earnest smile. “I’ll try, Brayden. I want what’s between us to work as well. You might have to be a bit patient with me, though.”

  “That’s all I ask, Minky. I’ll try to give you a little more warning if I can.”

  At his comment, she burst out laughing. “Thanks, I think!”

  Soon they approached the gates of his property, were through and parked safely in the garage. Rihanna immediately hopped out of the car and was opening the rear tailgate, getting bags out. Brayden helped, taking more than his fair share. He seemed to carry in three times as much as she did.

  He finally had all the bags on the bench and was working at putting away the cold items in the fridge. Rihanna had her back to him in the butler’s pantry, taking items out of the bags and placing them on the bench ready to be put away in their correct spots. Brayden was organised and seemed to have a spot for everything.

  She hadn’t heard him come in and tensed when his arms went around her from behind. He could move silently when he wanted to. She immediately relaxed and continued what she was doing.

  “How’re you feeling?” he said in barely a whisper.

  “Good,” she returned, not giving much thought to her response.

  “Just good, hey? Well, we’ll have to do something about that.” As he spoke, his right hand trailed down her rib cage and cupped her mound through the front of her shorts. His left hand caught her left nipple between his thumb and finger, giving her a sharp squeeze. She immediately sucked in a breath and half moaned at the sensation his movement caused.

  “So I ask again—how do you feel?” His voice was still low and quiet but demanding a truthful answer.

  She hesitated, wondering what to say and then threw caution to the wind. “Hot, needy, aching for you.”

  Her answer pleased him immensely. He gave her a tight squeeze in his arms and then half sucked, half nipped her right earlobe.

  “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” he asked gently, not wanting to be smug or too heavy handed with her.

  “No,” she answered strongly.

  “Go strip off and wait for me on my bed.” His open suggestion shocked her, and then he knew she was torn between immediately obeying and worrying about what they “should” be doing rather than what they both wanted to do.

  There would be time enough for doing the right thing later.

  That’s precisely why he had taken it upon himself to make sure she had a little holiday from responsibility.

  “But what about the groceries?”

  “What about them? They’ll still be here when we’re finished.” He turned her towards the door and motioned her through. “Go on.” He patted her butt playfully as she walked off.

  She spun around, attempting to give him a wilting look at his pat.

  “Oh Rihanna, that look just turns me on even more.”

  Deciding that he was impossible, she headed off to his bedroom.

  Rihanna quickly stripped off her clothes and lay on the bed. The beautiful quilt cover was cool on her back. She relaxed back onto the pillows, feeling very vulnerable and exposed, even though she was doing exactly as he asked. Logic dictated that this was how he wanted her, as he’d asked her to be like this. Bray was clearly expecting her to be naked on his bed, spread out and ready for him. So why was it she felt so “out there”?

  Brayden knew that his demand would be playing heavily on her mind. Comfortable that she was in his room following out his strong suggestion, he allowed himself to use his animal speed to put away the rest of the groceries.

  Scratch the strong suggestion, he admitted to himself; he’d issued her with an order. The words, he knew, had made her even hotter. He’d been able to smell her arousal increasing. He could also feel a subtle increase in the energy her body emitted and he could certainly hear her heart rate and breathing skipping up.

  He took a deep cleansing breath to steady his emotions and get himself firmly under control. She was a huge temptation to him, and he was going to enjoy their “alone” time as much as possible. Very soon, his teammates would arrive and he had no idea how Rihanna would react in their presence. Nor did he know how much opportunity there might be in the future to enjoy—just them.

  He moved silently through the house and, as he expected, she’d done exactly what he asked.

  “Thank you, baby,” he said quietly as he went to stand at the base of the bed.

  “What for?” she asked, confused by his question.

  “For trusting me enough to do what I asked. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

  He continued to stare at her nakedness, clearly aroused by what he saw. Brayden reached a hand behind his neck and pulled his T-shirt over his head and off. Rihanna was rewarded with the glorious sight of his amazing shoulders and chest.

  He not only saw but felt her eyes glued to his body, so he trailed his hand slowly down the defined planes of his stomach to the button and fly of his shorts. The button slipped through easily at the flick of his hand and the zipper seemed incredibly noisy as it made its way down.

  He placed a hand on both hips and pushed the material of his shorts down. The long length of his erection sprung back to his belly, making a “thunk.” She didn’t know or care if he had been wearing underwear.

  Her eyes were totally glued to the incredible body of his. Till now, she had just taken shy glances at his body and learnt more by feel than actually studying him. Now he was openly asking her to look. He was standing there, presenting his body for her perusal. Her undivided viewing attention was being demanded. A war raged within her. Rihanna was torn between wanting to look her fill and actually having him know she was openly staring at him. It took a lot of doing on her part but she held her perusal.

  Rihanna was mentally pinching herself to make sure this was real. Never before would she believe that anyone as incredibly handsome and downright hot would be interested in her. For some reason, he seemed to be totally into her. This had never happened to her before. Sure, she had been in relationships but never were they this intense, this quick. Never had she felt so drawn to any other human being.

  “Look all you want, Rih. I love having your eyes on me. In fact, having any part of you on me is downright fantastic.”

  The man did not disappoint. He stood completely still in all his naked glory, his athletic body finely chiselled to the point of perfection. If anything, her eyes on him only seemed to be arousing him more. His eyes held a raw neediness. He showed absolutely none of the self-consciousness she did. It must be a great feeling to be so comfortable in your own skin, she thought.

  Rihanna broke the erotic stare, half gesturing for him to join her on the bed, unable to maintain the connection with him any longer. He’d pushed her hard and she had held up for a couple of minutes. He joined her on the bed by prowling forward, his knee beside hers, his hands holding his weight on either side of her shoulders.

  Rather than seek her mouth for a kiss, he settled his mouth over her right breast and lapped and sucked until her body was arching up off the mattress. Within seconds, she was panting and had moved her hands to his scalp, t
ugging at the thick hair surrounding her fingers.

  He lowered himself, gently resting half of his weight down the right side of her body. His right hand began to stroke waves of pleasure from her left breast to her left knee.

  “Tell me how it feels, baby.” He looked up to meet her eyes. His mouth returned to his ministrations at her breast.

  Rihanna opened her eyes and looked down at his intense blue gaze. She was in the moment. Putting words to what she was feeling was difficult.

  “It’s hard to explain,” she panted. “Too much…but not enough. I want more…but I’m nearly dying from being so aroused.”

  He chuckled lightly around her distended nipple. Giving it one last lick, he moved himself lower, centering his body over hers, his torso and shoulders firmly nudging her legs apart to give him access to her delicious centre.

  Brayden caught her gaze in his again and inhaled deeply. He let out a sound that could only be described as a growl. His eyes closed in pleasure. Whatever he could smell sure seemed to make him happy. She could feel his steely length spasm against the calf of her right leg.

  He rocked back and leaned into her pussy, burying his mouth and nose in her glistening folds. His tongue came out and gave her one long lick from below her channel, through her folds and up over her twitchy clit.

  He pulled his head up from her briefly. “You taste and smell incredible. I could spend days doing this.” The wet state of her arousal was now clearly visible all over his handsome face.

  Her hands had clutched great hanks of the fabric of the quilt cover to ground herself to something. Her hips acted on their own and met his intimate caress, pushing his tongue harder. He repeated the move over and over. Each time, her hips rose from the bed of their own accord.

  Flash point was reached and she ignited, slamming her hips up into his face, his name tearing from her lips. “Brayden, ahhhhhhh…”she finished between gritted teeth. She could form no further words. Her hands released the quilt and almost viciously grabbed his head, trying to push him away from her over-sensitised flesh.