Losing it bro code book.., p.12
Losing It (Bro Code Book 1), page 12
“Kristen.” He caught her hair between his fingers, not quite holding her against him but definitely keeping her close.
She moved her mouth over him. Tasting him and exploring how deep she could take him.
She lost track of time, was only focused on exploring him and pleasing him. His groans thrilled her, assured her she must’ve been doing something right.
He made a choked noise and pushed her away quickly.
She fell back on her heels, dumbfounded. “What—”
Blake groaned, gripping himself as he came.
Fascinated at the moment, she watched him finish. When he slumped back and gasped, she moved to stand and disappeared to the bathroom to grab him a damp towel.
“Thank you.” He accepted it with a grimace, making quick time cleaning himself up. “I didn’t want to surprise you with all that on your first time out.”
With a husky laugh, she murmured, “Thank you. I’m not sure I would’ve been ready for it yet. I just figured there’d be more warning.”
“Sometimes there is.” He sighed. “Sometimes there isn’t.”
What a weird sensation that must’ve been. “I’m going to grab a robe. Our food should be here soon.”
By the time she’d finished donning a robe and tying it around her waist, Blake was dressed from the waist down.
Which was such a sexy image. His naked chest and abs seemed carved with all the deep muscular ridges and grooves.
The knock on the door a short while later signaled the arrival of their food. By the time she signed the receipt and shut the hotel room door, Blake had wheeled the cart holding their breakfasts over to the bed.
“What do you think?”
She glanced at him and gave a small smile. “Breakfast in bed? Sounds amazing.”
“Even better with a movie.”
They settled into the bed with their trays of food in front of them.
Blake grabbed the remote on the night table and flipped on the TV.
“Chick flick?” He paused on a sappy romance.
No, she didn’t want to watch a romantic movie right now, when she literally had to remind herself every few minutes that her time with him was strictly about sex.
She shook her head and lifted the lid off her breakfast. “No, keep surfing.”
A few channels later an action movie from the early 2000s popped up.
“I love this one.” She pushed the remote out of his hand before he could change it again.
“Really now?” He gave her a sideways glance before lifting the lid off his food. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?” She took a bite of bacon.
“That you were screwing with me at the movies the other night.”
She paused as the memory hit her. “Oh, I’d forgotten about that. I blame too much beer.”
“Hmm. Are you sure you weren’t just bitter I hit the brakes on your seduction plan?”
“Oh, I was bitter as hell. I mean look what you denied me that night.” She patted his abs. “Good thing you eventually caved.”
He didn’t laugh, though, and if anything, his expression grew grimmer.
Interesting. What went through that mind of his? Was he thinking about how close she’d been to sleeping with Reggie?
“Yeah, a good thing for us, but I’m pretty sure your brother would kick my ass on the spot if he found out.”
Her stomach sank.
Of course. This wasn’t about Reggie. They were right back to who her brother was.
It’s fine, Kristen.
Mission accomplished on ditching the virginity status at least. Still, every bite of her food tasted a bit more bitter now.
“Well. It’s a good thing my brother will never know, right?” She forced a smile and picked up a piece of bacon, taking a bite. “It was just one night and will forever be our little secret.”
*
One night.
Blake’s gut clenched. She’d said it so casually—and in past tense.
The last few days had been spiraling toward what had happened between them. And now that was it? Everything just over and done?
He wasn’t ready to end it just yet. Hell, it’d just started.
While taking a bite of omelet, he played with ideas in his head on how to convince her to see him again.
“So, what did you say to Reggie to get him to abandon our date?” she asked lightly. “Did he take it okay? I still feel kind of bad.”
“I told him that you were interested in me first but I’d had cold feet.”
He glanced over at her when she went silent. Her cheeks were flushed.
“And he just took your word for it?”
No, Reggie had argued and been pissed off, but eventually he’d agreed to back off. “Yeah, for the most part.”
“I guess that explains his text.”
Tension coiled through Blake’s muscles. “He texted you?”
“Yeah. He sent one late last night and apologized. Said hopefully he’d done the right thing.”
Sounded about right. Reggie was just living up to his nice guy image.
“Did you reply?”
“Not yet.” She bit her lip. “It felt a little weird. And I feel kind of bad. I’ll send him a quick text later.”
“He’ll be okay if you don’t.”
“I swear you men are like dogs pissing on a tree to mark your territory.” She stabbed a bite of food. “Okay, you need to try my French toast. It’s gross and super greasy.”
He shot her an incredulous look. “Why would I try French toast that you just said was gross?”
“Come on, I want to make sure it’s not just me who thinks it’s terrible.”
When she slid the fork toward him, he opened his mouth and accepted the bite against his better judgment.
“Okay,” he muttered after swallowing. “That is disgusting. Like someone mopped up a grease pit with bread.”
“Cool. So not just me, then.” She moved on to the egg he’d made her order.
Bet she was thanking him now.
“You need to let me make you French toast. I don’t mean to brag, but it’s pretty amazing.”
“Well, you do mean to brag because that’s exactly what you’re doing,” she teased and then glanced over at him through her lashes. “But I’m game. When are you thinking?”
His dread at not seeing her after today disappeared. It seemed like she wanted to extend this little fling as much as he did.
“When do you fly home?”
“Sunday night.”
“That’s right.” He nodded and did the math in his head. “I’m free anytime except for tomorrow.” Which sure as hell didn’t leave them much time.
“I’m having brunch with my parents tomorrow afternoon anyway. But maybe Friday night?”
“Sounds good.”
He’d forgotten her family lived out here. That she had roots here, even if she didn’t talk about it much. Which means if the right job came along, would she move back here?
What would happen if she did? Would something serious develop between them? Would he want it to?
The answer wasn’t immediately clear, and it left him unsettled.
“Oh, I love this part.” She gestured to the movie they were half watching. “Bruce Willis is such a badass here.”
Blake tried to turn his attention back to the movie as he finished his breakfast.
An hour later, the movie had ended, and they were cuddled up together with the food trays set aside.
Blake glanced at the clock and did the math on how long she probably had until check out. Not much.
He turned off the TV and rolled to face her, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Don’t suppose you asked for a late check out?”
“I probably should’ve, but I honestly didn’t know how this morning-after stuff would go.”
If she’d woken up next to Reggie. The thought slid through Blake’s mind, and he pushed it away. Thank God it hadn’t been Reggie.
“Do you have any plans today?”
“Not a thing.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Tori has class. Though you and I originally talked about going hiking.”
They had.
“Do you want to hike?”
“Well, really, I want to have sex again.”
Her bluntness had him choking on a laugh.
“But not right now,” she added quickly. “I want to give, ahem, my lady parts some down time, if you know what I mean. They’re not used to quite so much—or any—action.”
Oh, he knew. And if she hadn’t gotten him off a couple hours ago, he’d probably be dying to go again. But later would be good.
She paused. “Though I’m not really up for hiking Rattlesnake Ridge, but we could do something small. Or head over to one of the beaches.”
“Carkeek?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes lit up at the mention of the beach park in Seattle. “That would be fun. I haven’t been in years.”
Her phone buzzed, and she reached over to grab it off the table next to the bed. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the screen. She didn’t bother to reply to whoever had texted, just setting the phone back on the table, screen down.
“Something important?”
“What?” She shook her head quickly and didn’t meet his gaze. “No…it’s nothing.”
Blake’s phone buzzed next, and he gave her a quizzical look. That was a little weird. He snagged it to check who had texted.
James.
“I’m guessing we just got the same text from your brother.” He grimaced. “The invite over for another barbecue Friday night?”
“Oh. Yeah. That’s probably it.”
“It’d mean canceling our French toast plans.”
“Or just having a midnight snack of it, after you blow my mind again.”
The suggestive smile she gave him had his pulse jumping. “I like that idea.”
She climbed out of bed. “Well, if we want to go to the beach, we should probably get ready.”
He watched her walk over to her backpack and tug clothes out from it.
“I need a shower. Be out in a few, okay?” She’d almost made it to the bathroom but paused and rushed back to scoop up the phone. “Okay, now I’m going.”
The door closed behind her a second later, and he laid back on the pillows, folding his hands above his head.
Was that weird? The way she’d brought her phone to the bathroom? Was there something she didn’t want him to see? Or maybe just standard phone addiction?
Standard phone addiction, asshole.
He closed his eyes to catch another cat nap while she showered.
Chapter Fourteen
Kristen had just taken off the robe when her phone buzzed in the robe pocket.
Crap.
She plucked the phone free, hoping like hell it wasn’t Paul again. When he’d sent that text while she’d been in bed next to Blake, she’d damn near gone into a panic.
A glance down showed it wasn’t him, though, but her brother. That same invite to James’s house Friday that Blake had gotten.
She opened the text and sent a quick, Sounds good.
While her messages were open, she glanced again at the one from Paul, and her stomach clenched.
Hey. Saw the pic of you on Instagram. Damn, Krissy, you clean up nice. When do you get back? We should meet up. I miss your face and have been thinking about our conversation the other day… Maybe you were right.
She went to reply, but her fingers hovered above the buttons without moving.
What the hell was wrong with her? That was a flirtatious text from Paul. He’d basically stated he wanted to give dating a try. It was everything she’d been hoping to see in a text from him.
But right now? How freaking annoying. She was currently in Blake mode, not Paul mode. She was in Seattle, not Vegas. And why did it take a pic of her dressed up to the hilt, with guys in the background, for him to take notice?
With a clench of her jaw, she set the phone on the counter and went to shower.
*
“So how did you make it to twenty-two without doing the nasty?”
They’d been along the rocky shores of the beach for a half hour or so, having light conversations, when Blake asked the heavy question.
Oh boy.
Kristen sucked in a slow breath of salty air before letting it out again as she decided how to try and answer that without sounding too lame.
“You were on to something when you told me to fall in love first. That’s what I wanted,” she finally admitted. “To be in love the first time.”
Instead of laughing or looking shocked, he just nodded. “I get it.”
“Do you?” They were walking so close her hand brushed his, and she pulled it away, flushing. “I think I’ve always just been a romantic and wanted it to mean something.”
He glanced her way with an apologetic smile. “And you ended up with me.”
The light wind lifted her hair as she glanced up at him. “I have no regrets, Blake. If that’s what you’re implying.”
Maybe it hadn’t been for love, but it had been for pure potent attraction and maybe even a slight crush that seemed to be getting bigger by the minute.
“What made you decide to go for it?”
The guy who I thought I was in love with had a rule against dating virgins.
Yeah. No way would she admit that aloud.
“It was time.” She shoved her hair back over her shoulder. “I was curious and felt like I was missing out.”
“Do you think you were?”
She gave a nearly silent harrumph. “If I’m judging by the last twelve hours, then yeah. I missed out.”
“You’re good for my ego.”
“Your ego is fine without me.”
Their hands brushed again, and this time before she could pull away, he slid his fingers through hers and pulled her to a stop.
He turned her to face him and touched her cheek with his free hand. “We’ve still got some time left for more lessons.”
Her pulse rocketed, and she swallowed hard. “I like the sound of that. There’s a few things on my list I want to try.”
“Yeah?” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her mouth. “Can’t wait.”
She wanted to pull him down into the sand and go at it again. But the fact that it was a cold, public beach made it hard to transition that fantasy into a reality.
So, she’d have to distract them without something else for now. “Do you know how to skip rocks?”
He grimaced. “Do I lose my Pacific Northwest card to admit I’m a total lost cause in learning?”
“Seriously? Come on. I’ll show you.” She tugged him down to the water’s edge.
“Find a flat rock.” She grabbed one and proceeded to send it skipping out over the water in four jumps.
“Well, clearly you’re a rock-skipping goddess.”
“Did you find your rock?”
He held up an almost-flat one.
“Now hold it like this.” He didn’t protest while she placed his fingers around the rock. “It’s all in the wrist.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”
“Stop being dirty for a minute.”
He grunted and flicked his wrist, sending the rock straight beneath the waves to sink to its watery grave.
“Close. Try again.”
They practiced several times, and on the fifth try, his rock skimmed the surface once before sinking.
“I’m calling that a win.” She grabbed his shirt, tugged him forward, and planted a light kiss on his lips. “You’re an excellent student.”
His gaze darkened, and he made a murmur of approval. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
In bed.
Though neither said it aloud, she was pretty sure he tagged those two words on mentally as well. As one did. Like after you read your fortune in a fortune cookie.
“You ready to get out of here?” He turned to face her. “Grab some lunch. Head back to my place.”
“Yeah.” Her heart tripped. “Yeah, that sounds great.”
His lips curled into a smile before he lowered his head to brush his mouth over hers again. This time it lingered, and he darted his tongue past her lips to tease hers.
It was a kiss that turned her muscles to pudding and sent an ache of need through her that almost made her embarrassed for anyone who might’ve been watching.
When he lifted his head, she realized she was clutching his shirt.
“Let’s go.”
This time it was him holding her hand and tugging her after him. They hurried across the beach to the foot path bridge that led over the train tracks.
They’d nearly made it over the bridge to the parking lot when off in the distance, the long horn sounded.
“Wait, here comes a train.” He tugged her back to the center of the bridge, where the train would go directly under them.
She laughed. “What are we, twelve?”
“Double that and add a few years for me.”
She grasped the chain fence and watched the train approach. Blake came up close behind her, grabbing the fence so his hands were on the outside of hers.
“This is fun. Kind of like we’re in the movie Titanic but with trains,” she yelled over the growing noise.
He laughed and yelled back, “Does that mean I get to paint you naked?”
She glanced back at him and gave him a flirtatious look. “I don’t know; can you paint?”
“Finger paint.”
The horn on the train sounded, and she yelped and turned her attention back.
“Here it comes,” Blake called out.
Beneath her feet, the bridge began to vibrate, and the ground rumbled as the train came closer to them. The horn blew, the whine changing pitches as the train finally roared beneath them.
An instant breeze whipped her hair back, and the shaking on the bridge increased.
Adrenaline rushed through her, and she did a half scream, half laugh, leaning back against Blake as car after car on the train passed under them.
It was fun and impulsive, oddly sweet and romantic, and unfortunately over within five minutes. It made her almost reluctant to leave the fence and the intimate position they were in.
By the time they climbed into his truck, there was still a dizzying rush rocking her that might not have had much to do with the train.
