“Parts of it,” I say, coy. “But probably not the parts you want to read about. Dax, what about you? There’s nothing embarrassing you can divulge about your friend, here?”
Dax sweeps his gaze to Barrett and then back to me. When I think he’s going to spill the tea about a rowdy college party, he surprises me by saying, “Barrett’s a good boyfriend.”
Our four-top table falls silent. I shift my attention to Barrett. “Is that true, Fox?”
“I don’t know, Kitty Cat. Is it?”
“I don’t know. Is that what we’re doing? The boyfriend/girlfriend thing?”
He downs a gulp of beer, licks those tempting lips, and then gives me a curt nod. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Becca repeats. “You guys are too much! I’m witnessing history. This is amazing.”
“Speaking of history,” Barrett interrupts, “Catarina and I have homework to do.”
“It was great to meet you both,” I tell the Vaughns as Barrett helps me stand. He’s in a hurry all of a sudden.
“Details in your column, please,” Becca says sweetly.
“Don’t be a stranger.” Dax stands and shakes Barrett’s hand, then eyes me. “Either of you.”
“We’ll be back but we’ve had a long day. Gotta get this girl home to bed.”
“Aww,” Becca coos, smoothing a hand over her round stomach.
“I expect a baby announcement,” Barrett tells her. “Text. Video. Something.”
“You got it, Uncle Barrett,” she says.
“Ready for me to put you to bed?” Barrett mutters into my ear as he guides me to the door. Every part of me below the belt zings to life.
Am I ever.
Chapter 27
Catarina
“You promised!” I remind Barrett as he peppers kisses down my neck. We’re on his sofa, where he maneuvered me before promptly sealing his lips over mine.
“I lied.”
I reroute his head, my hands on either side of his face. I tighten my hold, squishing his cheeks and put a smacking kiss on the center of his lips. “It’d mean so much to me.”
He expels a put-upon sigh, pulls my hands away, and kisses each of my palms. “Fine. But I’m doing it with a boner.” He gestures to his pants. “And this thing isn’t going away anytime soon.”
“I vow to take good care of it after.” I mime crossing my heart.
His eyes sear right through my clothes. “Now it’s not going away ever.”
We left Dax and Becca and came back to Barrett’s place like we’d planned. He’s been staying with me lately, so I decided to give him a break and let him be in his own space tonight. Neither of us are interested in sleeping alone any longer. I did on Tuesday, and it sucked.
He clears his throat. I grab a pillow from the couch and curl up with it. Then he opens his mouth and sings a Michael Bublé song as I melt into a puddle of longing.
He sings to me without theatrics, sweetly brushing my hair from my eyes during the chorus. When he finishes serenading me with that golden voice, he concludes with, “That’s it.”
“You’re exceptionally talented. Why the football aspirations? You should start a band.”
“Had a band,” he says. “We weren’t that good.”
“You and Burke sounded good to me.”
“No offense, but you’re a journalist, not a record producer. That’s like me saying I decided to be a writer because I wrote a few columns.”
“You could.”
“No, thanks. Some struggles are fun—like training and practicing nonstop for a big game. Other struggles are not. Like willing your brain to read words the right way instead of shaking up the letters like a game of Boggle.”
“I love Boggle.”
“You would.” He ends our banter by kissing me. My eyes sink shut and aren’t quick about reopening. “You’re tired.”
“I’m okay.”
“Go to bed, Kitty Cat.”
“But your boner.” I push my bottom lip forward. “I promised.”
His laugh shakes his shoulders. He rubs one hand over my bare thigh, then tugs the edge of my shorts. “It’s been a long day. Grab some Zs and I’ll join you in a few.”
“But—”
“We can turn each other inside out in the morning. You’re not going anywhere except to my bed.”
Isn’t that the truth? I don’t want to be anywhere but Barrett’s bed. Or my bed if he’s in it. Or at work where he’s sitting across the office from me.
“As someone who recently bombed in the relationship department, it’s hard to believe I’d enter another one this soon.”
“Preaching to the choir, honey,” he agrees.
“Dax said you were a good boyfriend. How does he know? Did you used to date him or something?”
That earns me a smile.
“He knows I delivered my share of flowers and candy to Beth. Talked my way back into her life a number of times. We always found our way back out. I’m not blameless. I did a lot of dumb shit.”
“I can’t imagine you doing anything shortsighted, Fox.”
“Don’t sass me or you’ll earn a slap on that firm ass.” His eyebrows lift when my jaw drops. “Ever get kinky in the bedroom, Kitty Cat? A little slap and tickle?”
I’m sure my cheeks are turning pink. My face feels warm. “North wasn’t much of a slap-and-tickle kind of guy.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing you’re not that kind of girl, either.”
I curl my fingers into the pillow against my chest. “Is that...what you want?”
“I want you,” he says. “Whatever involves you is what I want.”
He rewards me with another kiss, then against them whispers. “I’ll wake you in the morning. You’ll like how I do it. Go to bed.”
Barrett
I stroke my fingers down Catarina’s body and she rolls to her back, eyes still shut. Sleep has a tight hold on to her.
“Kitty Cat,” I whisper.
“Mmph,” is all I get in return.
It’s early. The birds are up. The sun isn’t, but I promised to wake her. Like I kept my promise to sing to her, I’m keeping this one as well.
I lift the sheet and take off her underwear. She slides her long legs together, tempting me to take my time at her knees again. But I have something better in mind. I lift her T-shirt, kiss the tip of each nipple, and meet her eyes when she opens them.
“Hi,” she croaks in a sleep-warmed voice.
“Wake and shake, honey.”
“What?”
“I’m going to give you an orgasm or three. I’ll know you’re done when you’re shaking.”
Her smile is crooked and fucking adorable. “Sounds good to me.”
“Shirt off. You’re on nipple duty. I’ll be busy down here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I like that.” I toss her legs over my shoulders and settle in. Licking, teasing, suckling. She tugs her nipples and then moves her hands to my head, guiding me to the perfect spot.