Brett is frustratingly silent so I go on. “Brett, please. I don’t want to get fired, I really need this job.”
“They won’t fire you,” he says, finally slowing as we break through the mass of bodies and reach the exit. “The fans are going to eat that shit up.”
“Did you just do that as a promo for your upcoming fight?” I ask, expecting him to answer yes so that everything will make sense.
But Brett shakes his head no
“What the fuck is going on? What was all that about?” I ask before Brett pulls me around a corner and pushes me gently up against the wall.
Was Brett serious when he told Charlie I’m his? Is Brett claiming me?
Hands touching the wall on either side of my head, he leans forward, using his arms to cage me in. I swallow back panic as he towers over me, trapping me against the wall.
God, when did he get so big, I wonder as my eyes roam over his massive body. He’s grown like a foot… everywhere.
“Are you back for good?” Brett asks but his eyes aren’t looking at my face. They seem to be looking at me everywhere but there.
I look down between the space between us, trying to see what he sees. It’s funny how I got so comfortable and distracted by my surroundings that I forgot I’m wearing a tiny bikini that covers me about as much as my usual underwear.
“Yes,” I squeeze out of my tight throat. The air feels like it’s thickened, it’s so much harder to breathe. And the way Brett keeps looking at me fills me with both a sense of excitement and a paralyzing fear.
If he touches me I feel like I might break. I don’t even think he knows how much power he has over me. He was my first love, my first everything.
And I’ve never been able to get over him.
It was my fault, all my fault. I ran from him. I let my parents choose my mistakes for me, too afraid to make my own. And in the end, all I got out of it was a whole lot of misery and a broken heart that won’t heal. The achy breaky thing has had years.
“Why?” Brett asks and his left hand leaves the wall to softly stroke my cheek.
His touch is soft and light but it feels like all at once the little nerve endings in my body are roaring to life.
Thankfully, I don’t break but I’m very aware. Aware of his heat and just how close to me he is. Aware that wall is cool against my back but Brett’s chest emanates warmth.
It takes every ounce of self-preservation I have to keep from closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. “California didn’t work out for me.”
“Good,” Brett says and then suddenly he’s kissing me.
Good? Does he think it’s good that I’m back or good that I failed, I wonder just before shock and realization sets in.
Brett is kissing me. He’s fucking kissing me. His soft lips are pressing against my lips and he’s groaning deep inside his throat.
I throw my arms around his neck and immediately begin to kiss him back. He tastes just as I remembered, so sweet, so warm, so him. My little moan melds with his groan.
His warm chest brushes against my breasts and he presses harder, pulling back deeper as if he’s drinking from my mouth. I feel the tip of his tongue and the flare of warmth inside my belly is so hot I relax against him, afraid I just might melt in his arms.
It’s all so familiar, the taste of him, the feel of him, and the yummy way he smells. But it’s also all so new. He’s harder, firmer and more aggressive as his tongue seeks entrance into my mouth.
“Mandy, open for me,” he demands against my lips and when I don’t immediately obey the command he growls.
I’m just so dazed, my body is tingly and my thoughts are fuzzy, it takes me a long second to realize what he wants.
Brett’s teeth sink into my bottom lip and my mouth opens as I gasp. His tongue thrusts inside me, conquering me with just one touch. Our tongues tangle, falling into that desperate, hungry dance of our youth.
Heads slanting, hands grabbing, it’s almost as if we’re fighting against each other. I feel almost feral with my want.
“Brett?” someone says, and it’s obviously not me because I’m too busy attacking him with my lips.
Brett’s knee nudges its way between my knees. My heels scrape against the floor as my thighs spread. He grabs the sides of my face and bends me back with the force of his kiss.