The game wrapped up shortly after, and the players milled around exchanging handshakes and discussing strategies for tomorrow’s semi-final game. Thomas Wheeler checked in with me to ensure I’d be there, but the remaining managing partners still gave me a wide berth. It was odd, to say the least, and I didn’t want to admit that Emmy may have had a point all those weeks ago when she’d told me her reputation could be tarnished simply by her choosing to date the likes of me. It was hard to believe people could be so shallow, yet I knew it was one of life’s unfortunate truths.
I’d also been keeping an eye on this Craig guy throughout the afternoon. Emmy had told me he’d turned a corner and was actually being helpful and perfectly professional with her, but I still didn’t trust the guy one bit. If he was even entertaining the thought of backstabbing my woman, let alone hitting on her, I’d set him straight in no time, probably with my fists. Yeah, Emmy was my woman, no doubt in my mind at this point. And I was her man. Well, at least that was the plan. And there was no room for dickwad Craig anywhere in the mix. He’d been more careful in eyeing her today, but there was still something off about him. And he made no attempt to hide his feelings for me, sending daggers my way whenever possible. That was one guy I’d be glad never to see again once this tournament was over.
“You ready?” Emmy asked, sidling up beside me, looking cute as fuck in her uniform. I was hoping for a repeat of last weekend’s events since the only times I’d seen her this week had been in public. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for things to progress to the next level this time. I was very open to any and all naked activities.
I nodded and we waved to a few more people as we headed to my Jeep and got in. Admittedly, it wasn’t the nicest vehicle, but I didn’t have any payments to make on it, so that was good enough for me. And Emmy didn’t appear to mind. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the warm spring air as it swept over her sun-kissed and freckled cheeks. The honk of a horn alerted me to the fact I was sitting still at a freaking green light, and I quickly stepped on the gas. I was going to have to keep my focus on the road and off her if we were going to make it to her place in one piece.
I’d gone out with Brett and a couple guys from my construction job the night before, and they’d mocked me pretty severely about Emmy. I tried to play it cool, of course, but I did a pretty shitty job of it, provoking them to make cougar jokes all evening. They were just a bunch of jealous assholes, though, and none of them were taking a hot, funny, sweet woman back to her place tonight. All they had were their right hands and maybe some half-way decent porn if they were lucky. Although Brett may have scored another date with Ginger, so I couldn’t be sure in his case. He was still a jealous asshole, though, on principle.
“What do you want to do about dinner?” Emmy asked.
That brought a smile to my face. I loved that we’d progressed to the point where it was just assumed we’d be hanging out for the evening. It hadn’t taken nearly as long as I’d expected and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for a job well done. “Why don’t we grill out? It’ll be hot as hell before we know it—may as well enjoy the awesome weather while we’ve got it.”
She nodded and smiled. “I’ve got chicken and we can throw together some sides.”
“Works for me.” I turned the wheel, taking the on ramp to the highway. “Is Jay going to be eating with us?” I asked, knowing that the kid’s presence would dictate both the tone of the evening and the probability of Emmy and I both having to fight for our fair share of food.
“No. Ponch is taking him to a concert in Raleigh tonight. Some band I’ve never heard of but is apparently ‘epic.’” She made air quotes, not that I couldn’t have guessed that word hadn’t originated from her. “I’m the very uncool big sister,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“Crap. I don’t usually hang out with uncool people.”
She gave me the stink eye. “Well, I appreciate you making an exception for me.”
“You’re gonna owe me. I only take payment in naked form, though, just to warn you.”
Of course, she blushed.
“Nice try. ‘Sagittal’ is not a word.”
“Are you officially challenging me? You know what that means if you’re wrong, don’t you?” I asked.
Emmy eyed me and I maintained my best poker face.
The gods had intervened and I’d somehow convinced her to play strip Scrabble with me. Either she was super confident in her Scrabble abilities or she was suddenly down with getting naked in front of me. I suspected it was the former and she figured she’d get an easy look at my naked ass. I didn’t care. Either way, I was in.
The rules are simple. Each player takes a turn. The one whose word scores the least points has to remove an article of clothing. Play continues until the game is over. If a player challenges a word and loses, they have to remove two articles. If they challenge and win, they can put an article back on.
The whole thing started when I made a joke over dinner about strip poker and learned that she’d never played. That was downright un-American, in my opinion. She insisted she sucked at poker, so I suggested Scrabble.
I was down to boxer briefs and one sock. Emmy, who had showered and changed when we got to her house, was left wearing a collared shirt and jeans. In my defense, though, she’d claimed her hair tie and jewelry as articles of clothing, something I thought was bullshit, but I allowed because she smiled at me and distracted me with ice cream. I know, I’m a total sucker.
But things were about to get interesting. She only had four pieces of clothing left before she was bare-assed, and she was about to challenge me.
“Hmm.” She continued to examine my expression before doing an inventory of her remaining clothing. “Nope. It’s not a word,” she declared with confidence. “I’m officially challenging.”
That was when I let myself grin, causing her smug smile to falter. Not taking my eyes from her, I pulled my phone from my discarded jeans and handed it over to her. “Look it up, Ace.”
She snatched my phone and frantically typed, her eyes glued to the screen. I pinpointed the exact moment she found it. It was the same moment she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. My cock took notice and twitched in my boxer briefs, catching her attention. Her eyes were suddenly not so interested in my phone—instead, they were pretty intent on my junk. Good thing I wasn’t shy.
She released her lip from her teeth and the tip of her pink tongue darted out to lick the bitten spot. Fuck. There was no helping it now—my cock had a mind of his own. I saw her eyes widen a bit and I did my damn best not to smile. She was just this fantastic combination of sophisticated and innocent. It was such a fucking turn-on.
I finally cleared my throat and her eyes snapped up to mine, still wide. “I think you owe me some clothes.”
That caused her head to jerk down, as if she’d forgotten what we’d been doing. Then she went for a pathetically transparent stall tactic. “Where in the heck did you get the word ‘sagittal’ anyway?”
I decided to humor her, for the moment. “I study sports science so I know tons of terms about the human body.”
Her eyebrows popped up. “You do? How did I not know that?”
I shrugged. “Brett’s the only person who knows, and now you.”
She gave me a look like she thought I was insane.
She wasn’t going to let me leave it at that, so I kept talking. “You remember when I told you about that accident I was in? Well, I’d been studying sports science—mostly because it was what my coaches had all studied and partly because I have a knack for that kind of thing.” Emmy just nodded and watched me. “Anyway, once I started coaching at the Academy, I realized if I finished my degree I could have a shot at a real career in coaching.” I shrugged again. “So that’s what I’m doing.”
She cocked her head to the side. “But how do you have time to do that when you work two jobs?”
I grinned, thinking that was hilarious coming from a
workaholic like her. “It’s mostly online so I do it at night and on the weekends. I work it in whenever I need to.”
“Wow,” she said. “I’m impressed. And a little scared now over what other obscure terms you’re going to put on the board.”
I put my hand out in a beckoning gesture. “Speaking of…off with your clothes.”
She pushed my hand aside. “Wait. One more question.”
I sighed, letting her know my patience was reaching its limit. There was naked skin to be seen!
“Why are Brett and I the only ones who know about your classes?”
Shit. That was way too hard to explain. And it probably wouldn’t reflect well on me. I still hadn’t told her about the two-plus years I’d spent as a pathetic cry baby.
I put a finger up. “That is a story for another time.”
She scowled.
“Enough stalling, you little cheater.”
She sighed in resignation. Her brow creased in indecision and I knew I was smirking. After a moment, she stood and unbuttoned her jeans, then slid the zipper down and lowered the denim, all while keeping her eyes averted from mine. But her shirt was long, and when she straightened I realized it covered all the good stuff. I couldn’t even tell what color her panties were! Then I remembered she had to remove two articles of clothing. Ha!
That was when she finally met my eyes again. I was ready for the big reveal, assuming she’d remove her shirt next. But she reached behind her back with both hands, and I was momentarily confused. Until I realized what she was doing.
Damn you, Jennifer Beals! Damn you for teaching women how to remove their bras without taking their shirts off!
When Emmy finally pulled the white lace bra from one of the sleeves of her shirt, she extended her hand out over the coffee table and dropped it right on my rock-hard cock as it tested the fabric of my boxer briefs. Then she sat back down with that damn smug look. “My turn.”
I narrowed my eyes and resisted adjusting myself. “This isn’t over by a long shot.”
She responded by placing her tiles on the board and spelling “quest” over a double word score space.
Dammit. I looked at my tiles and the best I could do was still about ten points shy. I played my tiles and lost my sock.
The next turn, I beat her by putting an s at the end of “quest,” and she lost her panties. While I now knew they were white lace to match her bra—holy fuck, by the way—I still couldn’t see a single part of her with that damn shirt in the way. My dick was clamoring for us to finish this game immediately and I couldn’t have agreed with him more.
But Emmy was taking forever to put her next word down. It took me a minute to realize she was nervous. One of us would be completely naked in a couple minutes and it occurred to me that she might not want that. We’d been laughing and joking, and I knew she was turned on, but naked led to all sorts of things. Things she might not be ready for.
“Hey,” I said quietly. “We can stop now if you want.” I couldn’t quite believe the words coming out of my mouth. That right there is what I call maturity. I hoped she took note of it if she was still somehow caught up with the age difference.
“No,” she said. “I just…I just need a second. Believe it or not, I’m kind of nervous about…you know.”
You know could encompass a hell of a lot of different things, but I got the gist of it. “We can do whatever you want, Emmy. No pressure here,” I reassured.
“I know. I’m just…more of a lights-off kind of girl.”
Well, that wasn’t happening, that was for damn sure. She was fucking gorgeous and I was going to see and touch every single inch of her, even if tonight wasn’t the night.
“Hey, if you don’t want to look at me, feel free to keep your eyes shut. I promise I won’t be offended.” One side of her mouth twitched. “But I’m sure as hell looking at every bit of you—when you’re ready. You’re too stunning to keep the lights off, Emmy.”
She looked up at me, and her eyes turned soft and warm. The anxiety in her features drained away and she just looked at me for what seemed like minutes. I looked back, drinking her in.
Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke. “Gavin, will you kiss me?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cutting Loose with Junior
EMERSON
The words were out of my mouth and nothing could have stopped them. I needed him to kiss me, to touch me. I’d been staring at his face, so open and without a touch of pretense. Gavin had zero ulterior motives or agendas. He didn’t play games. He was kind and funny and sweet. And he was so easy to be with. I felt cherished when I was around him, and I realized in those minutes that Gavin had become precious to me.
I wasn’t in love with him, although being with him made me realize I’d never actually been in love before. My past relationships had been more like arrangements based on convenience and mutual interest more than a sharing of hearts. With Gavin, everything was so different. I felt closer to him in a matter of weeks than I had to any of my past boyfriends—few though they were—after months. No, I wasn’t in love with Gavin Monroe, but I knew in the very center of me that it would be so easy to fall.
If he was surprised or amused by my request, he didn’t show it. He just stood and skirted around the coffee table before dropping to his knees so he was level with me. Without saying a word, he took my face in both hands and held my eyes for a moment. Then he leaned in and placed the sweetest of kisses on my parted lips. Just the simple touch of lips to mine sent my stomach clenching as electricity raced down to my womb.
I lifted my hands to his biceps and up to his shoulders, feeling the uneven skin on one of his arms where scar tissue resided. I had the sudden urge to place kisses along the scars, as if I could erase his past pain. But the feeling of his mouth on mine, his tongue sweeping along my lower lip, had my mind losing focus and my head angling to offer better access. I loved his mouth. It seemed to know mine in a way that made me want to permanently fuse our lips and tongues together. Sure, it might make everyday activities a bit difficult, but it would be worth it to keep these sensations he was provoking in me.
Gavin’s hands slid from my face down my back to press me into him. I was acutely aware that I was naked save for this thin shirt. All he would have to do was lift the flimsy fabric and I’d be completely bared to him—a notion that had intimidated me earlier but was sounding like the best idea in the history of the world now. I moaned into his mouth as his hands continued down to my butt, his fingers brushing the bare skin right below my behind. Goosebumps overtook my skin and I pulled back from the kiss, feeling a mix of pure need and uncharacteristic boldness. I released Gavin and reached down to grasp the bottom of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head until I knelt there completely naked and practically panting. It was a strangely liberating feeling and I had a crazy urge to laugh out loud. That was, until I saw the fire in Gavin’s eyes.
His gaze blazed a trail over my body, taking in every inch of bared skin. I could see the rise and fall of his chest as he took in my breasts with their tightened nipples and continued down to the juncture of my thighs. If he’d hollered and beaten his chest at that moment, I wouldn’t have been surprised. His expression was tense and carnal and I thought his jaw might crack when he forced out the words, “Fuck. Emmy.” For some reason, his dirty mouth turned me way the heck on.
And then he was on me, taking me down to the carpet beside the coffee table. His lips were everywhere at once, covering as much skin as they could and leaving little kisses, nips, and licks in their wake. His hardness pressed against my bare thighs through the cotton of his boxer briefs and I just wanted them off. I craved the feeling of all of his skin against all of mine.
“Gavin,” I said, almost as a plea, as I slid a hand under his waistband. He seemed to understand my intent because he lifted and quickly shucked his boxer briefs, exposing himself entirely.
Now, as we’ve established, I’m not one to share details about…you know. But th
e next time Ari asked, I just might have to set things straight regarding “Junior” being a horrid nickname for Gavin Monroe.
Before I could register much, he was on top of me again, and my legs circled his back of their own accord. I had my head thrown back, and he was kissing my neck. Again, I couldn’t believe that I’d missed out on this for all those years. Why had I wasted my time on men who engaged in sexual activity like they were following an instruction manual?
Gavin groaned into my neck, “God, Emmy. You’re so soft, so sweet.” I swooned and dug my fingernails into his back, causing him to rumble and bite my earlobe. His hot breath sent a shiver down my spine and I felt him press against my center. His hips moved against me and all I wanted was to feel him inside me. But, even in my hazy lustful state, I knew we were missing a step.
“Condom,” I managed to say before kissing the skin of his shoulder.
“Shit,” he responded, and then rose up again. He turned on his knees and fumbled for his jeans. It gave me my first view of his bare ass, and oh my. I kind of wanted to bite it. What was happening to me? I was turning into a horny sex fiend.
Before I could follow through on my ridiculous notion, Gavin was back, condom in hand. He dropped it on the coffee table and sank down to kiss my breasts and tease my nipples while one of his hands caressed down my belly and over my thigh. He used it to part my legs and all I could do was grasp onto his hair, knowing where he was headed.
The Game (Carolina Connections Book 4) Page 20
