I savored every velvet glide, every nip, every penetration, each brush, stroke, and caress.
I ached low in my belly, warmth flooding my body.
The tenderness of it all.
He wasn’t what I’d thought he would be at all. I’d figured kissing Brody would be demanding and controlling. Instead, it was come that last ten percent. Tell me you want me as badly as I want you. It pulled at me, pulled at my gut, and at something I’d long ago tucked away in my chest and believed would never again see the light of day.
“Jesus, Lil.” Voice little more than a breath, he slid his hands to my waist, and I arched against the hard line of him. Abs taut, he slid a palm between the small of my back and the wall, his thick arm a cushion against the painted concrete blocks. He tightened that arm and lifted me a couple of inches off the floor.
“Look at me, Liliana.”
My eyelids were heavy, hard to raise. I was lost in sensations. The cool wall against my butt, the warm heavy length of him trapped between us, that rain-and-grass scent of his, the lingering feeling of his mouth on mine. Brody was consuming. Immense around me. I was not a tiny woman—short, yes, but not tiny. Yet, Brody’s size made me feel downright petite. Like I was swallowed up, cocooned inside his scent and body. Safely surrounded by all his strength and grace.
With effort, I focused on his unfathomable face, taking stock of all the little scars I hadn’t noticed before. His lip, chin, a cheekbone. Dark eyes full of a need that bordered on desperate. That’s when I heard the rusty groan of the latch on the metal chest where I kept my heart hidden away.
Brody made a slow roll of his hips against mine, and we swallowed each other’s gasps, disappeared into each other’s mouths. We forgot all the consequences as his hand fisted the fabric of my shirt, and my own found purchase on his shoulders, his biceps, the thick black hair at his nape.
“Mmm,” I moaned.
“Shit,” he whispered, breaking the kiss to press his head to mine.
That was the moment Jet chose to let loose a bark. Both of us startled. I could see the what the hell are we doing on his face as sure as I felt it galloping through my brain.
Slowly, he lowered me until I was on my feet and righted to his full height. We stood like that for a moment, both of us trying to decide if we should keep going or turn back.
In the end, he made the decision for us. Huffing out a heavy exhale, he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead before stepping back.
Okay then.
I tugged at the fabric of my shirt before smoothing my hair down. Brody ran a hand over his face, the other resting on his hip while he expelled a heavy breath. I knew this was the wise decision, but a part of me ached for what might have been.
If he didn’t play football and all that came with it. If we weren’t working together. If I didn’t come with so much baggage.
He said the rumors aren’t true.
“Look, Lily—” His voice was dark and raw.
I cleared my throat. “No, it’s fine. It’s your job on the line, and...” My feelings. “...the mill search, too.”
“Darlin’, if it weren’t for all this bullshit...”
I nodded. “This is the smart play.” I wished my body felt the same. “I’ve got the research in my backpack. You can let CC in to stay with Jet if you want.”
He whistled for CC and she jumped the wall with ease only to lie next to her bestie and go back to sleep. In the break room, I pulled the research, but I could feel him behind me. His presence was larger than life; Brody sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
Trying to steady my nerves, I cleared my throat. “Dividing up the listings made quick work of it. Having Carrie and Everett, Kate, and Melissa and you really helped, too.” I turned to him and wished I hadn’t. He obviously wasn’t dealing with this tension and heat between us any better than I was.
Popping open my laptop, I clicked on the map I made. “I think we should rent a place here. In one of the little towns. They’re in the right area code and within a few miles of the Bulldogs practice facility.
“It helps us that the dogs couldn’t have gotten too far from the mill. The red pins are where dogs have been found. The blue ones are where we located phone numbers we were able to trace back to that general vicinity.”
“Do I even wanna know how you got those?” He leaned over my shoulder and his scent tickled my nose.
“Let’s just say I know a guy.” Who I wasn’t ratting out. “But see how they’re grouped near these two towns?” I tapped the screen. “There’s a ton of unincorporated land there. Developments have sprouted up, so the towns have started to grow to cater to the team, but it’s spotty. My mom and Dick are even building here.” I pointed to a cluster of acreage.
“Backroads and cattle. Looks promising.” His voice made the skin on my shoulders prickle. “For an ad on Craigslist to work, we’ll need to rent a place in the area. Otherwise, it won’t be believable.”
“That was my thought, too. We need to get a look at, and be able to follow, these people. That area is expensive, though. I can talk to my crew to see if they can help field calls and be there when someone is coming to see a dog, but I can’t afford—”
He shook me off. “I’ll take care of the rental. Make it seem legit and handle the expenses. I’ll call my realtor tomorrow. Will we need a dog?”
“I’ll handle that part.” I met his gaze over my shoulder, and it hit me in the gut. “Are you sure about this?”
Thankfully, he took a half step back. “Yep. I take care of my money. There was never a better reason to spend it than this... Anything for the dogs, darlin’. Anything you need.”
What I needed was a stiff margarita.
Because with Brody throwing statements like that around, it would take a damn miracle for me not to get attached.
Chapter Eleven
The douchiest douche bag to ever douche.
Brody
I hit the gym early to blow off some steam before I had to see the team doctor.
Damn. That woman. The way she tasted, the way our tongues tangled in that un-fucking-believable rhythm. I couldn’t get Lily out of my head. And the more I tried, the harder it was.
So, the gym. Because my dick was starting to chafe.
Adjusting my earbuds, I sat, tightened the wraps on my wrists, and settled my hands on the bar, hoisting the weight over my head.
One. Two. Three...
I was a fairly easy-going guy off the field. I didn’t give a damn how the media painted me as long as it didn’t affect how I did my job or lived my life. Yeah, it was annoying, but relatively harmless speculation up until the fantasy suite scandal broke. Speculation I knew I’d rightfully earned at one point in my career. But Lily... I didn’t want her to see me like that now. Like I was the same guy as her dad because we played the same sport.