“I don’t know. But I like it. Oh wait. We were talking about how buttoned up you are
–
”
“I’m not ‘buttoned up’!”
He leaned forward and nuzzled her ear. “It’s okay, babe. We can work on that. Anyway. You should come out with us. You know…to keep me out of trouble.”
She opened her mouth for the obvious reply and then the answer came to her, the way to put him in his place. “Okay, fine,” she said. “I’ll come with you to dinner.”
He frowned.
Ha. She studied him, standing there all gorgeous in the late afternoon sun, all tanned muscles, athletic grace, his dark hair gleaming, his sunglasses hiding his beautiful silvery eyes. She wanted to see his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly. “Don’t you want to have dinner with them?”
“Huh?”
“I got the feeling you didn’t want to.”
He went very still. “What makes you say that?”
“You seemed kind of…tense around them. And the way you said, ‘we can make some excuse’ sounded like you
wanted
to make an excuse.”
His mouth tightened. “I’m not tense around them. They’re my friends.”
“Yes. You
were
tense around them.” Maybe it was intuition, she couldn’t really put her finger on it, but when his friends had approached them earlier, she’d felt the subtle tightening of his muscles in the arm he had around her, sensed the tension in his words and his smile.
“I am not. Fine. Forget it. I’ll tell them you’re busy and I’ll go out with them myself.”
“Are they putting that much pressure on you to settle down? Is that what it is?”
He paused. “Um. Yeah.”
“So let’s go then. We’ll show them.”
But he didn’t look happy about that, and she suspected she’d been right—he didn’t want to have dinner with his friends. And he hadn’t wanted to come back to San Amaro. And she was starting to wonder why.
Chapter Thirteen
They’d agreed to meet Matt and Corey at Matt’s brew pub. When they’d done with their duties at the beach, Dylan and Brooke went their separate ways, but he had her address entered into his phone and an arrangement to pick her up at seven o’clock. Kind of like a date.
He returned to the hotel to change. He checked his emails, fooled around on Twitter a little, then showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt. He looked down, making sure it wasn’t a Jackson Cole competitor T-shirt. That wouldn’t impress Brooke.
Why did he care about impressing her? Maybe it was more that he didn’t want to annoy her. Staying on her good side was part of his strategy for this trip. Play along with what she and Jackson Cole wanted him to do. Maintain his sponsorship. Win this competition. And oh yeah, convince Corey and Matt that he was doing fine now.
Brooke lived in a small apartment building a few blocks off the beach. Looked like only about four apartments in the building. He buzzed and she let him in, and he found her apartment on the second floor on the right.
She opened the door before he had a chance to knock, stepped out and closed the door behind her. For some reason he was disappointed. He’d wanted to see inside, to see where she lived. To see if her home was as buttoned up as she was. He smiled, remembering her reaction to him saying that earlier.
“You seem in a good mood,” she said.
“I’m always in a good mood.”
That
was a big fat lie. But she didn’t need to know that. Although she’d already seen him after one of his nightmares. Which reminded him that they’d been in bed together when that had happened. And reminded him of the things they’d done in bed, which made his groin tighten. Goddamn. He studied her as he followed her down the stairs. Maybe this date could end like a “real” date and they could have some of that again…
She too wore jeans, which surprised him. Sexy jeans, low on her slender hips, hugging her thighs and butt. On top she wore a sky-blue loose tank-style shirt with deep cut armholes that left her shoulders and some of her back very bare. He wanted to drag his tongue over those sexy bare shoulders.
“You look hot,” he told her outside her building.
She gave him a look, as if she was trying not to smile. “Thank you. You look nice too.”
“Nice? I look
nice
? Jesus.”
Her smile twitched again. “What do you want to hear?”
“You’re supposed to tell me I look hot too.”
She shook her head as he opened the passenger door of his rental car. “You know damn well you look hot.”
“I do?”
“Oh my God.”
He closed her door with a grin and bounded around to the driver’s side.
When he was in, she said, “Your ego doesn’t need any more stroking.”
“I can always use more stroking. And not just my ego.” He gave a meaningful glance at his lap.
He caught the flush that stole into her cheeks as he started the car and grinned. He shoulder checked and pulled away from the curb. “So,” he said. “A threesome is out of the question, huh?”
She choked. “What?”
“We were talking about it earlier. You seemed opposed to the idea.”
“Uh…” Her fingers curled tighter around the purse she held on her lap. “Well. If I was ever going to be involved with a threesome, it wouldn’t be two girls. It would be two hot guys in my bed, all their attention on me.”
Oh Jesus fucking Christ. Now it was his turn to make a little choked noise.
She shot him an evil grin. “What? Not seeing yourself in bed with another guy?”
Oh hell yeah, he was seeing himself in bed with Matt and Corey, he and Matt both focused on her and her pleasure. Brooke thought she was taunting him because the idea was so out there, but little did she know she was torturing him in a different way. And little did Miss Buttoned Up Assistant Marketing and PR Manager know he’d actually done that.
“Yeah, let’s drop that subject,” he said. “Tell me what’s up next week.”
Back to business. That was nice and safe. They talked about the things she’d scheduled, working around his practices which he was intensifying in preparation for the competition now only two weeks away.
Matt and Corey were already there at a table for four with beers in front of them. Dylan focused on relaxing, because Brooke had been scarily perceptive earlier, noticing that he tensed up around them. Even though things had gotten easier that night when he’d had dinner with them at their place, obviously some uneasiness remained.
So he pulled out his best jokes and stories, teasing Corey, entertaining them all while they ordered beer and then burgers. He asked Matt about new beers he was making, and Brooke got Corey talking about her chocolates, who in turn asked Brooke about her job, and a few hours later he was stoked to realize he’d had a lot of fun with these three people. Like he and Brooke were actually a couple. Which they weren’t. Although he couldn’t seem to stop touching Brooke throughout the meal, leaning closer, brushing her hair back, stroking her arm…
“I have to plan some kind of bachelor party for Matt,” he told Brooke on the way home. “Not sure what to do about that. Any suggestions?”
“Geez. I don’t know much about bachelor parties. When my friend AJ got married, the guys flew to Vegas for a weekend.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to work so much. Seeing as you’ve got me all handcuffed here.”
“Handcuffed. Very funny.”
“Vegas’d be fun, though. Damn. What else?”
“I hope you don’t expect me to tell you where to find strippers.”
“Well, we have to do something raunchy. We can’t just go out for steaks somewhere.”
“I don’t see why not.
You
have stay out of trouble, remember?”
“Shit. Matt’s getting married. We have to do something.”
“Well, either you have it at someone’s home where nobody will know what happens, or you go out for a nice dinner. Or maybe miniature golfing.”
His horrified laugh nearly choked him. “Miniature golfing! I don’t even do real golfing. Golfing is for people who don’t know how to surf.”
“Remember, my brother Errick’s the golf pro at the country club here.”
“Oops. Sorry. Didn’t mean to insult your brother.”
“Don’t worry. He does know how to surf. He’s a pretty good athlete all around. But back to your bachelor party…maybe bowling? Oh wait! I have the perfect idea.”
“What? I’m all ears.”
“There’s an adventure company just outside of town. They take people kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, and they do this high ropes thing. They do it for groups, like corporate team building and stuff. You guys could all go there, and then maybe go for beers somewhere after. As long as you behave.”
“You had to add that in there.” He thought about that. “You know, that’s a pretty cool idea. You have the name of this place?”
“It’s Intrepid Adventures. I know the two guys who own it. Their girlfriend does photography for us. I’ll find the number when we get to my place.”
“That’d be great. Thanks, Brooke.” He paused. “Uh…
their
girlfriend?”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “The three of them live together. Ménage à trois relationship.”
“Seriously?” He gaped at her. “Like, a permanent relationship?”
“Apparently. I don’t know them well enough to talk to them about it, but they don’t hide it.”
“Huh. How about that?” And he thought he’d been shocking her when he’d talked about having a threesome. Not so much.
When they pulled up in front of her building, she said, “Come on in and I’ll find that brochure about Intrepid Adventures.”
“Okay.”
And
he got into her apartment.
Yes!
He followed her inside, breathing in a warm, almost tropical scent. She flicked on a light and dropped her purse on the coffee table in the small living room. He looked around. The lamp created a warm glow that illuminated the beige sofa and two matching chairs piled with red and orange cushions. The coffee table looked like an old farm table with a rough wooden top, the legs cut down to make it the right height. A stack of magazines sat there along with a trio of thick candles and a remote control. He studied the framed black and white photographs on the wall then took a few steps closer. Yep, as he’d thought, some of them were nudes, with low key lighting. Stunning.
Brooke crossed to a desk in the corner, an old oak desk with a modern laptop sitting on it and some papers. She slid over a wicker filing tray and dug through it, pulling out a small glossy brochure. “Here it is.”
She turned and he admired her as she moved back toward him across the small room, the light shining on her hair.
“What?” she asked, catching his eye.
“Nothing. Just thinking how pretty you are.”
“Um. Okay.” She handed him the brochure, and he took it and studied it. He flipped it open and checked out the photographs inside, people climbing rugged rock faces, kayaking on the ocean, and then an image of the high ropes course. “The rock climbing looks cool,” he said. “Matt might like to do that.” He looked up at her. “Thanks.”
“No problem. I just hope they’re not too booked up to do something in the next week.”
“Yeah. I hope so too.” He moved closer to her. She stepped back. He smiled and followed her, reaching out to slide a hand around the back of her neck. He wanted to kiss her. Her lips parted and she gave him a nervous look. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…”
He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers, once, twice, then opened his mouth over hers and captured hers in a long, clinging kiss. Heat sizzled over his skin and arousal stirred inside him. Nice.
She broke away and slipped out of his grasp. “We can’t do that, Dylan.”
He gazed at her with disappointment. “Why not? We’ve already done it.”
“We have a business relationship,” she reminded him.
One corner of his mouth turned down. “I had fun tonight though.”
“It wasn’t a real date,” she said. “I’m just helping you out, remember?”
“Yeah. But…” He shifted closer again and this time she put the couch between them. He ached to touch her, to feel her soft skin beneath him again, her body clasping him, rippling as she came with him inside her… His dick swelled and his skin tingled.
But she shook her head.
“Seriously?” he asked softly, sorrowfully. “You don’t want that? Man, it was so good…”
He caught the flash in her eyes, the way her lips softened. A pulse fluttered at the base of her throat where the skin was thin and sensitive, and when she pushed her hair back, her hand trembled a little. She did want it.
“We can’t,” she said again. “I-I’ll see you Monday. For the meeting with Oceans Alive.”
He stood there for a minute, his heart thudding, wondering how far he should push it. Nah. He gave a short nod. “Okay. See you then.” He turned to leave and she followed at a safe distance as he let himself out. “G’night, Brooke.”
“Thanks for dinner,” she said. “Dylan…”
He paused, a tiny flicker of hope flaring to life, and turned to look at her.
“It
was
fun.”
He gave a crooked smile and nodded, then left.
Damn.
Brooke leaned her forehead against the closed door after Dylan left and focused on breathing. Sweet Jesus, she’d wanted him to stay. Wanted him to take her into her bedroom and…well, take her. His kiss had brought to life all kinds of tingles and flutters and aches, his mouth on hers so warm and delicious. She’d been aroused all evening, sitting there in the restaurant talking and laughing with his friends, eating and drinking beer. They hadn’t had to do much to pretend they were a couple. After being together like they had in Tahiti, it felt comfortable to sit beside him, to touch his hand, to let him lean into her, to meet his eyes and smile and let the heat between them build. He was so damn sexy, the way he looked, the way he smiled, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. And seeing him with his friends, the easy way they interacted, the history he had with Matt, made her heart tumble a little.
He
had
seemed a little…manic. No, that was an exaggeration, but he’d definitely been a bit hyper. He was always energetic and dynamic, but he seemed to be putting on an extra bit of a show. Was that for her? Or for Matt and Corey? She remembered the tension she’d sensed in him earlier that day when they’d appeared. She’d attributed it to them bugging him about finding someone and settling down now that they were doing that, and he’d agreed, but she’d had no hint of that pressure from them during the evening. Of course, that made sense given that Dylan had found someone. Supposedly.