My eyes went wide, and my cheeks heated as I bit my bottom lip before I answered his question. I was embarrassed to admit how long it’d been, but the look he gave me made it clear he wasn’t going to let this go. “I had some toast this morning.”
“Motherfucker,” he bit out, pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb as his nostrils flared. “Are you telling me you’ve been hungry this whole damn time?”
I nodded, and tears filled my eyes. I dropped my head and squeezed them shut, jumping a little when he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around my back to pull me into his chest. “Relax, angel eyes. I’m not mad at you.”
“Okay,” I sniffled into his shirt.
“I’m pissed at myself for not thinking to ask sooner, and at your brother for not taking better care of you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “But don’t worry. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
He led me over to the stools lined up at the counter and got me settled on the one at the end. Then he stalked over to the fridge and pulled out some hummus and carrots. After dumping about half the bag of carrots onto a plate, he spooned up a huge portion of the hummus and brought the plate over to me. “Snack on this while dinner is cooking.” He followed that up by grabbing a chunk of cheddar cheese, cutting half a dozen slices, and plating them up with a row of crackers. “And this.”
When he headed back to the fridge a third time, I figured he’d keep going until there was more food in front of me than I’d have any hope of eating. “Stop. This is plenty. I need to save room for dinner, too.”
“You sure, angel eyes?” he asked, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“Yeah.” I smiled at him as he walked over to where I’d been chopping the zucchini earlier to finish the task. “Hummus is one of my favorites. I could eat it every day.”
“Good.” Some of the tension eased from his body. “I’ll be sure to stock up on it so you’ll always have some.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled before shoving a carrot in my mouth, so I didn’t do something stupid like ask how long he thought he’d want me around.
Saint’s dark eyes were filled with anger as he asked, “Were things bad enough with your brother that he didn’t make sure there was food in the house?”
“Worse, I guess.” I shrugged, my cheeks heating in embarrassment again. “Vince blew through our rent money last month, and I’ve been staying on friends’ couches since then. They’re cool about it, but I already feel like a mooch. So I’ve been careful about what I eat until I could figure out how to save up enough to get my own place.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Saint slammed his palms against the counter hard enough that I would’ve worried about him damaging it if they weren’t made of marble.
“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, Saint. It’s only been a few weeks,” I hurried to explain.
“Michael,” he corrected.
My brow wrinkled in confusion since I wasn’t following the direction our conversation had suddenly turned in. “Pardon?”
“My full name is Michael St. John. Saint is a nickname,” he explained. “But everyone else uses it, and you’re special. I’d like you to use my name instead.”
“Michael,” I repeated softly with a shy smile. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to hearing it from you often.” He brushed a kiss against my cheek. “But for now, let’s table any talk about your brother since he’s my problem. Not yours.”
“Okay.” My eyes practically devoured him as much as my mouth did the snacks while he finished making our meal. He kept our conversation light over dinner, and I was grateful. Today had already been heavy enough, and the distraction of being able to talk about nothing important made me feel more comfortable by the time we were done.
The long day combined with too many restless and uncomfortable nights left me exhausted by the time we finished cleaning up the kitchen. “You ready to head to bed?”
“Yeah.” I yawned so big a tear leaked out of the corner of my eye.
“C’mon.” He tugged on my hand to lead me upstairs.
The bedroom we went into was huge, with a California king bed and decorated in muted, masculine colors. It even smelled like him, all dark and delicious. “Is this your room?”
“Yup.” He nudged me toward the en suite bathroom. “Use whatever you’d like while you get ready for bed. I’ll grab you a different shirt to wear.”
“This one’s fine.” The shirt was more than fine, actually. It was soft and felt as though I was wrapped up in Saint’s embrace. I wanted to keep it forever. Which reminded me of something I should’ve remembered hours ago. “Hey, my backpack is still at the stadium. Could you ask your security guy friend to hold onto it, so I don’t lose everything in there?”
“Will do.” Saint’s response was a low murmur through the door, but it was enough for me to know he had the situation covered.
I found an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet and used his soap and toothpaste. Since I didn’t have my bag, I was stuck with the bottoms from the ring girl uniform instead of panties. At least I could strip out of the top so I would be a little more comfortable. When I was done, I felt super nervous about what was going to happen next. After the explosive chemistry between us in the locker room, I figured I wouldn’t make it through the night with my virginity. But I was wrong. After he finished up in the bathroom, Saint climbed into bed next to me, wrapped me up in his strong arms, and cuddled me to sleep. It made me fall for him even harder.
7
Saint
The warm little bundle in my arms stirred and snuggled in closer. I inhaled deeply, breathing her scent into my lungs. This was the way I intended to wake up every morning for the rest of my life.
Angelique sighed and wiggled her ass a little, making me groan as she rubbed against my morning wood. She froze, and I chuckled, burying my face in her neck. “Ummm, is it always like that in the morning?” she squeaked.
This time, I full-on belly laughed. “All men wake up hard, angel eyes.” I kissed the shell of her ear and whispered the rest, “But I’ve never woken up this hard and swollen in my life.”
I loosened my hold and rolled her onto her back beneath me. Looking deep in her turquoise eyes, I let her see everything I was feeling, instead of masking it like I normally did. “I’ve never felt hunger and passion this deep, Angelique. Not until the second I laid eyes on you.”
Her eyes widened, and her plump lips parted. I licked my lips as I stared down at her, then bent my head to capture her mouth in a sweet, unhurried kiss. Angelique moaned and lifted up a fraction, which brought her tits into contact with my bare chest. Even through the material of my T-shirt, I could feel her taut nipples poking through. Her hands dived into my hair, and I shifted so I was lying on top of her, my body covering hers from head to toe.
I ran my tongue along her lip, and suddenly, she yelped and attempted to push me away. Worried that I’d somehow hurt her, I immediately moved off her, and she jumped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom. “Angelique? What’s wrong?” I asked as I hurried after her.