Layer by Layer (Riggings Brothers 1)

“Thank you,” I say as we step into the mudroom.

“This way.” He leads us through the house, and down, and into his bedroom. “This house has two laundry rooms. I only ever use this one since I’m the only one who lives here. I don’t have any detergent in the other one.” He leads us into the closet and through a door that takes us to what has to be the largest laundry room I’ve ever seen.

“Is there a specific way I need to wash any of these?” he asks, unzipping my bag and pulling out my clothes.

“I can do that,” I say, reaching for the bag, but he’s already got it emptied and into the washing machine.

“Can they all be washed together?”

“Yes. Thank you, Royce.”

His reply is a cheeky grin. “Let’s get you out of those clothes, and we can toss them in too.” He places our bags on the island in the laundry room and leads me back to his closet. “T-shirt,” he says, pulling a random shirt off a hanger, “and how about some boxer shorts?” he asks.

“You wear boxer shorts?” I blurt the question and quickly place my hand over my mouth, horrified that the words left my mouth.

A slow, sexy grin tilts his lips. “I own boxer shorts, but I’m more of a boxer brief kind of guy. That is when I wear them.”

I swallow hard. “Ar-Are you wearing them now?”

He smirks. “Nope.”

“Dear God,” I murmur.

His grin could light up all of downtown Nashville. “What about you?”

“M-Me?” I stammer.

“It’s only fair. You know what I have on. Better yet, maybe you should show me.” He taps his finger to his chin as if he’s thinking about his options. “Yes, definitely show me. I’ll go first.”

He reaches for the waistband of his gym shorts, and I hesitate, only a margin of a second before shouting, “No!”

The sound of his deep, rich laughter surrounds us. “Get changed, beautiful. I’ll wait for you out there.” He points over his shoulder before he turns on his heel and leaves me to change. Alone. In his closet that is bigger than my bedroom in my apartment.

I make the world’s fastest wardrobe swap, and toss my clothes into the washer before starting it. I linger in the closet, not sure of what’s waiting for me when I walk out that door. The attraction is thick, and the more time I spend with him, the more I want him. I want his layers, but I also want his hands all over my body. And his mouth, and… well, you get the idea.

With that want, comes the fear of the unknown. Trusting him, letting him in, and then there is the elephant in the room. He’s my boss.

“Sawyer, you okay in there?” Royce calls out.

Time to face the music. “Yes,” I say, stepping out of the closet.

His eyes rake over me, and I feel naked under his gaze. “Come lie with me.” He holds out his hand. I don’t hesitate to take it and follow him to his bed. I open my mouth to ask if this is a good idea but quickly close it. I want him. Whatever that looks like, I’ll deal with the consequences later.Chapter 14RoyceSawyer climbs on my bed, and the sight just about brings me to my knees. My cock is already throbbing painfully at the sight of her in my clothes, and now lying on my bed, thoughts of stripping her out of them is front and center in my mind.

“Royce?” Her voice is soft. Uncertain.

“Just admiring the view,” I tell her with an easy smile. It’s not entirely untrue. She’s a fucking goddess lying on my black and gray comforter. She looks like she belongs there with her blonde hair splayed out.

She pats the bed next to her, and I don’t waste another second, taking this opportunity to get close to her. “You got some sun.” I gently touch the tip of her nose.

“I’m sure I look like Rudolph. I usually do in the summer. I don’t tan that easily, hence the ghost-white legs I’m sporting.”

“You have fair skin,” I say, running my hand over her arm.

“Curse of being a blonde, I guess.”

“Beautiful,” I whisper, lifting a lock of her hair and rubbing the silky strand between my thumb and index finger.

“Careful, Riggins. That’s the second time tonight you’ve used that word. Your sweet side is showing.”

I can’t help but smile at her. “I’m always sweet.” I try to say it without laughing but fail miserably.

“What are you doing here?” she says, changing her voice to sound deep.

“What are you talking about, crazy girl?”

“That’s what you said to me that first day. You’d just walked around the corner from the elevators and said, ‘What are you doing here,’ in your bossy alpha CEO voice.”

“I only have one voice.”