“If you don’t, what? Come over? That’s entirely up to you. I would never pressure you if you weren’t ready.”
“Nothing is going to keep me away.” Delilah’s fingers twist in my hair as she pushes up into me. “What if I don’t wait for you? What if I get rid of that ache on my own? You won’t even know.” Her lips tip up in a smug smile. One that tells me the way we are toying with each other is right up her alley and that the punishment holds just as much appeal.
I shift so that I’m straddling Delilah. Two can play this game. I drop my hips down, giving her the pressure right where I know she needs it the most.
“I’ll know. By the time I get you back to my apartment, you’ll be so needy for me that you’ll be dripping. Every brush of your thighs together is going to remind you how empty you are. How badly you need me to fill you up.”
Delilah’s mouth falls open in the most adorable little, “Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Can you be a good girl and wait for me?”
Delilah nods, swallowing as her eyes drop to my lips. But I shake my head.This is going to be so much fun.Pushing up off the pile of pillows, I hold out my hand.
Chapter 21
Dangerous Games
Present
His hand? He’s giving me his hand after the most erotic speech I have ever heard?! I’m tempted to slap it away, but I give in, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I study his face, trying not to get lost in his deep brown eyes.
He’s got that same determination that serves him so well on the field written across his stupidly handsome face, except right now there’s a bit of arrogant mischief there as well. Cruz really expects me to go back to work and then sit through his game afterthat. And now that he’s planted that seed in my head, he knows damn well all I’m going to think about are the things I can’t do.
“You think you’re so clever? This is a dangerous game you’re playing.” My fingers climb up his chest before I push up on my toes and lightly kiss his jaw. I lean in slightly, ensuring my hardened nipples brush against his chest. I might not have a clue how I’m going to torment him, but I’ll figure something out.
“There’s nothing you can do to me that’s going to be worse than having to wait as long as I already have for you,” he says with a cocky grin as he grabs the plate of sandwiches and holds it out to me.
I swipe the turkey and cucumber sandwich, ducking through the opening to hide my bluff and wait as he follows me. Leaving behind the serenity of our lunch date, his large hand warms the small of my back as we stroll through the park.
“Is Poppy coming to the game with you tonight?”
“She said she was yesterday, but I haven’t heard from her today.” Cruz pulls me to his side, making room for a runner to pass. He stiffens beside me unexpectedly, and then I hear the song blaring from the approaching runner’s phone. It’s one I know well—he plays it when he misses his brother.
I step in front of Cruz, my arms going around his neck and pulling him to me. “Cruz, look at me.” He stands there frozen for another second before his arms come around my waist and he rests his chin on my head.
“I haven’t heard it in a while. It took me by surprise. God, I miss him. I can’t believe it’s been three years. And still no answers. No one has come forward with anything to help us figure out what happened before he was found on the beach. No one’s been held responsible. Just a gaping hole in the world where Jarrett used to shine.”
I comb my fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him. I don’t know what it’s like to lose a sibling. Or not have any closure on why they were taken too soon. I know there’s nothing I can say to ease his pain. I’m not even sure that finding out what happened or who was to blame will help. Cruz clutches me tight to his chest, almost like he’s afraid if he lets go, I’ll slip away. “What can I do?”
“Just let me hold you for a minute.” So, I do. Right there on the sidewalk in the park with my sandwich dangling from one hand and the other burrowed into his hair, massaging his scalp. When Cruz’s grip on me loosens, he keeps me tucked tight against his side as we walk back.
“I’m sorry, Delilah,” Cruz tells me when we stop in front of the coffee shop.
“Never apologize for your grief. You have every right to those feelings. I’ll always help you through them, no matter when and where they creep up. The middle of the sidewalk, at the stadium, in a restaurant. It doesn’t matter. I’ll stop and hold you.”
“What would I do without you? For years, you’ve been the unfailing light that guides me from my darkness.” His chin rests against the top of my head before his lips tenderly skim across my forehead. “I’ll see you tonight?”
I nod up at him. “I’ll meet you after the game. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m good now. I just needed a minute. It’s easier when I’m holding onto a reminder of all the good things in my life.” His arms contract around me, looking down at me with softness reserved for me.
Pushing up on my toes, I link my hands behind Cruz’s neck and pull him to me for a kiss before he walks back toward his apartment. Before I’ve even tied the knot on my apron, my phone vibrates with a text.
Cruz:
Don’t think I forgot about what I told you at the park.
Hands off. That pussy is mine.
