Ask For It

by Selena Blake

  When Ricky had uttered the word catch, all she could think of was what a catch Trevor Wyatt was. Even retired from the spotlight and no longer wearing those skin tight, ass hugging—She stopped that train of thought and blew out a sigh. Yeah, a woman would be crazy not to want him.

  Every time Ricky had said football she remembered the magazine photo of Trevor, butt naked save for the nerf football he held in front of his naughty bits. Well, that and the devil-may-care smile.

  It was probably one of the most famous photos the animals rights group had ever published…with good reason.

  Finally done with the interview, she headed out to the street. Clutching her phone in one hand, she hailed a cab with the other. A courier whizzed by and JJ jumped back, clutching her chest. Crazy New Yorker. Her phone beeped and she momentarily gave up the task of flagging down a taxi as she checked the text message.

  GOT THE PAINT FOR YOUR DECK. WILL HEAD OVER TOMORROW BEFORE THE GAME TO GET IT DONE. - G

  Greg was the best. Her brother worked hard to help them both make money at this whole house flipping thing. She liked to think she had good taste and put together a cozy home. The buyers of their last four places had confirmed that. But Greg was the muscle. And he wasn’t afraid of hitting his thumb with a hammer.

  She hit the empty bubble at the bottom of the screen to reply.

  THANKS. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT. ORDERED THE KNOBS FOR THE KITCHEN ON MONDAY. SHOULD BE THERE SOON.

  They liked to wait until as close to their date of putting the property on the market before freshening up the exterior paint. Since the inside had been painted weeks ago, the deck was the last item on the To Paint list.

  A yellow cab pulled to the curb and she hopped inside just as her phone beeped again.

  K. LET ME KNOW WHEN THEY GET THERE AND I’LL HELP YOU INSTALL.

  Once they’d installed the knobs all that was left to do was stage the condo and put it on the market. That was always the nerve wracking part. They’d been really lucky so far and she hoped their luck would hold.

  She exited the text messaging app and clicked on the phone icon. How many hours had it been since Trevor had stood with her in front of the shoe store and flagged down a cab? As it had pulled to the curb, he’d reached for her phone and programmed his number into it. That felt like a lifetime ago.

  The fact that when she scrolled down to the T’s in her contact list, Trevor Wyatt’s personal number was there…it was surreal. Despite the fact that she’d interviewed dozens of pro athletes, he was the one who made her star struck.

  She clicked his number and the phone dialed it.

  “I thought you’d never get done,” he said by way of greeting.

  “Me either.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “In the back of the cab. You?”

  “At the store. Closed up properly.”

  She giggled and lowered her voice. “You mean you don’t normally flip the lock in the middle of the afternoon and sneak women into the back room?”

  “You’re the first.”

  Gracious he knew how to stroke a woman’s ego…among other things.

  “Did you eat?” he asked.

  “No. You?”

  “Nope. I know the perfect place.” He rattled off an address and she relayed it to the driver.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” came the deep reply that made her stomach quiver.

  True to his word, Trevor was waiting for her in the very back booth of the charming Italian restaurant. It was tucked away and authentic looking. Not packed or posh, but quiet and the hostess was friendly. She didn’t even stare at Trevor as she escorted JJ to his table.

  He rose as they approached. “Thanks, Dani.”

  JJ started to slide into the booth across from him but he shot out a hand. “Come sit next to me.”

  She smiled as she scooted across the old vinyl. “I don’t know,” she murmured as he slid in next to her, his arm brushing hers. “You might try to take advantage of me.”

  “Always.”

  His cocky response did amazing things to her insides. Warm, tingly and wet already? That was a record for her.

  “What’s good here?” she asked.

  “Everything. Especially the stuff that’s not on the menu.”

  He put his arm on the back of the seat, amplifying the cozy atmosphere. She glanced up from the laminated menu, straight into those intense blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for the last five years.

  “Mr. Wyatt, are you making a pass?”

  “I’m the receiver baby. And while I’m sure you’re delicious, I was talking about Antonio’s secret meatballs. I can’t tell you what’s in them, but they are to die for.”

  “That’s what I want then. I’m a big fan of meatballs.”

  He groaned and his arm slipped down to her waist, pulling her up against him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t adore the feel of all those muscles.

  “You feel so good against me,” he whispered in her ear.

  “You know how to make a woman melt.”

  “Don’t melt yet, gorgeous. I want to get you back to your hotel where I can make you melt all over my tongue,” he whispered in her ear, sending a shiver over her shoulders. The hand curling over her hip emphasized his words and she trembled against him. If he kept talking like that—

  Thank God their waitress showed up. She was hungry, and not just for food. But that would have to do for now. “Ice water, please.”

  “Same for me,” Trevor said.

  “Do you know what you want or do you need another minute?”

  Trevor turned to her and lifted an eyebrow.

  “I’ve heard I should ask for Antonio’s secret meatballs,” she told the waitress.

  “Would you like a salad with that?”

  JJ glanced at the warm gooey garlic rolls on the table. She should really get the salad and forget about the fantasy-inspired-carbs calling her name from the vat of golden butter. But as far as she was concerned, she was on vacation for the rest of the day and if she had a roll or two plus her dinner…maybe a dessert…nope. No room for veggies.

  “Just the balls please.”

  Trevor groaned again. “Me too,” he croaked up at the waitress. The instant she was gone, he turned back to JJ and slid his right hand between her thighs.

  “Trevor!” she whispered fiercely.

  It might be late, but they were still in public.

  “You can’t talk like that baby. You make me hard and a little crazy.”

  “I think you’ve always been a little crazy,” she replied with a smile.

  “Honey, you have no idea. I’ve been half out of my mind since the moment I met you.”

  JJ froze. What?

  He couldn’t be serious. She turned toward him, the movement causing her legs to part and he quickly took advantage. She growled his name again but didn’t push him away. The good girl in her demanded that she move to the opposite side of the table and put a little space between them. But the emerging bad girl was still dying for release. How quickly could he make her come? With nothing but his fingers?

  And maybe his voice?

  She swallowed back the lust and replayed his words through her mind. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in the feel of his touch, no matter how much she craved it. He’d just dropped a bombshell on her and she needed to know what he meant.

  “Come again?”

  He blew out a silent breath and looked up at the ceiling. Then he shook his head ever so slightly. “Do you say things like that to tease me?” he asked, still not looking at her.

  “Like what?” She felt like she was missing something.

  “I plan to come… again.” He glanced down at her. “And again.” He ducked his head until his lips were almost touching her ear. “And again.”

  Oh…my…

  She squeezed her thighs together and trapped his hand.

  “Ready to get started sweetheart?” His ot
her hand smoothed up her side and gently tugged her hair until her neck was exposed to his lips. “I’m more than ready to pick back up where we left off.”

  Oh heavens, what was he doing to her? She was acting like…well, she didn’t know what exactly. A woman in serious lust, she supposed. But when he spoke to her like that, in that rich honey voice, and touched her…she lost all her reservations.

  Thankfully the waitress brought out two plates heaping with spaghetti, fat meatballs and a delicious smelling red sauce. Otherwise JJ might have done something very unladylike.

  She pounced on the food, thankful to have something to distract her. He chuckled and after several long, tantalizing seconds extracted his hand from between her legs.

  “We’re going to have to get you over this shy thing,” he said, reaching around her for the salt. His arm brushed her breast and she wasn’t sure if it’d been accidental or not. Didn’t matter. Her nipples were standing at attention, practically flagging him down.

  “I’m not shy. We’re in a public place.” She told herself that, but the place was deserted. “You need to go sit over there.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I find you incredibly distracting.”

  “Really?” He leaned in close and caressed her thigh.

  “Trevor,” she said in her firmest tone.

  He threw his head back and laughed. When he had sobered, he glanced around the restaurant. “Would it matter if I told you we have the place to ourselves?”

  “How do you figure that?”

  He shrugged those massive shoulders.

  “Oh my god, you didn’t get them to close for us, did you?” She’d heard of celebrities and star athletes doing such a thing.

  “Sort of.”

  She gave him a well-spit-it-out look.

  “I own the place, all right?”

  “You own…” He owned a restaurant? But…

  “I’ve been eating here since I was a kid. When Antonio needed help, I had the resources to step in.”

  He said it so casually, like it was no big deal…

  “But…you own it?”

  “He can make mean meatballs, but let’s just say he’s not the best with business management.” He smiled and she could tell that he was really fond of Antonio. “I have someone manage the business. He has the cash flow to keep making great food. Win win.”

  Something inside JJ melted. He hadn’t bought the business to make money. He’d bought it to help out a friend.

  “I bet you get free meatballs anytime you want, huh?” She twirled her fork in the pasta.

  “Mmm huh. It’s good to own a restaurant,” he said with a satisfied grin.

  She took her first bite of meatball. So many delicious flavors hit her tongue she groaned. “Lord, that’s good. Like the best meatball I’ve ever eaten. I—”

  She shut up as he forked another bite into her mouth. Eyes locked with his, her lips closed around his fork. No man had ever fed her before and she had to admit, it was really sexy. Especially when she felt a smidgen of sauce slide down her chin and he was right there to gather it with his finger.

  “You’re distracting me again,” she whispered. Not that she minded. Not really. If he kept looking at her like that and touching her so sweetly she would sit here forever.

  “So tell me about you. I know you’re a crack shot writer from Atlanta.”

  “There's not much to tell.”

  Trevor didn't believe that for a minute. She was deflecting. And he wanted to know what made her tick.

  “What do you like to do when you're not writing articles?”

  “Well, there's what I like to do and what I actually do,” she said, stabbing another hunk of meatball. He had to crane his neck to watch her eat but loved the sight of her lips closing over the fork. After five years and more dinner invitations than he could count, she was finally sitting here with him. Eating at his favorite spot in the city. Close enough to touch…

  “Tell me both.”

  She smiled and reached for her water glass. “I flip houses with my brother Greg. That keeps me pretty busy outside of work. But when I'm not painting or picking out cabinets and counter tops I like reading, hanging out with friends and family. Boring, normal stuff.”

  She flipped houses? He got a quick mental picture of her in a tool belt and nothing else. Damn, that was hot.

  “There's nothing normal or boring about flipping houses. That's really impressive. How many have you flipped?”

  “Four. I bought my first condo because it was really cheap. But it needed a lot of TLC. Greg promised that he could help with it. It took us about nine months to finish and by then, the neighborhood had picked up. Greg found another property close by. We were able to sell the first place pretty quickly.”

  “All condos?”

  “So far.”

  He stretched his arm across the back of the booth again, trying to keep his urges in check. It was hard when her silky blouse gaped open and gave him a glimpse of what lay underneath. He’d had his hands and mouth— Nope. Not going there, Wyatt.

  “What's your biggest horror story?”

  She thought for several seconds.

  “I found a rat in the duct work once.”

  “That's it? I had visions of Hoarders or rotting floor boards or something.”

  “It was dead.”

  “Eww.”

  “Yeah. And Greg wasn't around to get rid of it, so double eww. It’s not like you can flush a rat down the toilet.” She made a cute scrunched-up face that had him laughing so hard his sides hurt.

  Another plus five for the fearless woman.

  “Are you working on one right now? A new condo?”

  She nodded and held up a finger while she finished off another meatball. He was glad that she enjoyed them as much as he did. Somehow he’d known she would.

  “Yeah. It’s almost done. Greg just texted me that he’s got the paint for the deck. I ordered the knobs for the new kitchen cabinets. We’re just about ready to put it on the market.”

  “Wow.”

  “I can’t do it until October though.” She made the cute scrunched-up face again.

  “Do what?”

  “List it. For taxes reasons I live in the apartment for a year so it’s technically my house and I’m not taxed like a business. It usually only takes about six months of work because we don’t do hard reno. Mostly cosmetic stuff. Updating to a more modern style. Greg buys another condo and lives in it. So we fix and sell one every six months.”

  He pushed his empty plate away and propped an elbow on the table so he could watch her. “That’s really smart. Again, I’m impressed.”

  He hadn’t always had the business sense he did these days. It would have been so easy to blow his money if his momma hadn’t sat him down when he’d first signed with the pros.

  “Tell me about your family. Is Greg your only sibling?”

  “No. I have two older brothers.”

  She ate in silence for a few minutes. He could tell she wanted to ask him a question but was holding back. But hell, his life had been open book up until a year ago. What could she possibly want to know about him that she hadn’t read in a newspaper? Or written about herself.

  “Parents?”

  “My mom died four years ago. But my dad still lives in Atlanta. Technically, he’s my step dad and they’re my step brothers, but he’s my real dad, you know?”

  “Yeah.” He definitely understood that. He’d been born in Baltimore and dropped on the doorstep of the local fire department. Two months later his parents had adopted him and moved him to New York City. It didn’t matter that they weren’t his birth parents or that they didn’t even have the same skin color as he did. They were his parents. His real parents.

  For several long moments she fiddled with the pasta, silent and pensive. Then, as if making up her mind about something, she perked up. “Enough about me. I want you to scoot over there and start talking.”

  “What?”

>   “I want to finish my meatballs and I can’t do that if I have to keep answering your questions.” She softened the request with a kiss to his cheek.

  Chuckling, he pushed to his feet and switched sides. “This isn’t so bad. Now I can look at you easier.”

  She finished off another meatball, wiped her mouth and then smiled across the table at him. “I don’t suppose you could get Antonio to give up his secret recipe?” The sexy little eyebrow wiggle almost did him in.

  “Not on your life sweetheart.”

  “Dangit. I’m gonna have to start using my credit card so I can rack up frequent flier miles then. These are worth braving Newark for.”

  JJ’s entire body hummed with anticipation, making her aware of each breath, every step. On her way to the interview she’d stopped by her hotel to drop off her new shoes and slip on the high-heels that made her feel powerful and confident. She’d figured she’d need the boost if she was going to be interviewing one of America’s wealthiest bachelors.

  Right now she was glad she’d made the switch from boring flats to sex-kitten stilettos. She could almost feel Trevor’s gaze on her legs as they strode through the lobby of her hotel and stopped in front of the bank of elevators. Trevor left her side just long enough to press the up button.

  “Second thoughts?” he asked.

  Not when he looked at her like she was something special. Held her like a princess. And talked dirty just enough to set her on fire.

  The elevator doors opened and a man got off, leaving the car empty.

  She shook her head. “Nope.”

  “Good.”

  Hand at her back, Trevor ushered her inside.

  “What floor?” he asked.

  She heard the barely controlled desperation in his voice.

  “Ten.”

  With the button pressed, he turned to her and slid his hands around her waist. She’d had plenty of time to talk herself off the ledge of lust. To think about everything that could go wrong after a night of bliss. She fully expected to hear her mother’s voice in the back of her mind, warning her against a one night stand.