Part 10 (1/2)
Brody mumbled something. ”Ignore my sister's third degree, Shannon. She's an overachieving lawyer who likes to hara.s.s people.”
Letting out a breath of relief that Bridgett was his sister, Shay began to slice up the vegetables for stir-fry.
Bridgett laughed. ”I thought maybe we could grab some dinner, but I can see you've already got plans.”
”I bought enough for two,” Shay said before realizing her mistake.
Brody narrowed his eyes at her.
”Interesting,” Bridgett repeated. ”You're not eating with him?”
”Um, no, not tonight.” She looked anxiously at Brody for rescue, but he was no help. ”I have a cla.s.s to teach at the pool,” she lied.
Bridgett studied them both before deliberately placing her mug on the bar. ”All right out with it. Tell me he's at least paying you to cook for him, Shay?”
”Uhh . . .” Shay stammered.
”None of your business,” Brody growled at his sister.
”And please, don't tell me the commodity he's offering is s.e.x, because, ick, he's my little brother and the thought of that just disgusts me.” She shuddered. ”What's more, you're not his usual type. I suspect there's actually more than a bubble between your ears. So what's he got on you?”
”Dammit, Bridgett, leave her alone! Keep your nose out of my business.”
Bridgett ignored her brother, peppering Shay instead. ”My brother is Tom Sawyer incarnate. He can persuade people to do whatever he wants just by batting his eyelashes. But I know you're not his girlfriend. So what are you doing in his kitchen cooking his meals? And what the heck do you need a personal chef for anyway, Brody? You never cared how nutritious your food was before. What gives?”
”She is too my girlfriend!”
Shay's heart was beating out of her chest at the vehemence of Brody's declaration. Heck, she almost believed him. But she knew he wanted to distract his sister from her other line of questioning: the one about his diet.
”No way, Brody. You've been in this kitchen five minutes and you've both been dancing around the room as if you're afraid of being in the same s.p.a.ce together. Furthermore, you call her Shannon when”-she did a pa.s.sable imitation of Shay-”everyone calls her Shay. Isn't that right, Shay?”
”Sorry, Nancy Grace, you're not right this time.” Charging across the room at Shay, he pinned her against the fridge. ”Play along,” he said before his mouth took hers in a savage kiss.
Shay had no time to react. Brody was kissing her so deeply it was almost if he wanted to lay claim to every part of her. Trapped between his hard hot body and the cool stainless steel of the refrigerator, her own body had no trouble playing along. Trailing her hands over his pecs, she swiped her tongue against his. He groaned deep in his throat as his arousal pressed against her lower belly. Shay's own sensitive parts throbbed and she brought her hips closer to his. Her fingers were on his scalp now, a piece of her own wild hair catching in the stubble of his five o'clock shadow as their kiss became more urgent.
”Okay! That's enough. You're grossing me out here.” Bridgett's voice permeated their pa.s.sionate fog. ”Please don't make me spray you two down with the kitchen faucet hose.”
Brody broke the kiss, but he didn't move away, which Shay was thankful for. She wasn't sure she could stand if he released her. Touching his forehead to hers, they both took a moment to regulate their breathing. She couldn't read his eyes-they were contemplating the floor at the moment-but she had a nice view of his full lips wearing a satisfied smile. His fingertips had found their way beneath her sweats.h.i.+rt and they were drawing lazy circles on her skin just above her hips. Shay knew it was all an act but she couldn't help dreaming of what might happen if his sister wasn't standing five feet away.
”You've only proved that the two of you are hot for each other like a pair of rabbits, but I'm not sticking around for any more evidence.”
Bridgett had apparently found her shoes because she was tapping across the floor toward the door.
”But Brody, my purpose for getting together tonight was to warn you about the litany of single women awaiting you at Tricia's wedding.”
Brody groaned, moving his head off Shay's to bang it on the refrigerator door. The move gave Shay's lips access to his neck and she had to bite the inside of her check to keep from kissing him there. Or possibly licking him.
”There's a list of at least eight eligible bachelorettes although I've warned them about keeping Megan Riley on it because she's only seventeen and that would leave you vulnerable for all things statutory in nature. Consider yourself warned.” The garage door opened. ”It was nice to meet you, Shay. Please don't be a fool and lose your heart over this idiot.”
Eleven.
Brody heard his sister slam out of the kitchen, but he couldn't seem to take his hands off Shannon. Her breath was warm against his neck and he wanted nothing more than to seal his mouth over hers and finish what they'd both started. He didn't even care if they made it to the bedroom; the kitchen floor would work just fine.
”She's gone now.” Her raspy voice caressed his ear. She squirmed against him and Brody couldn't keep the hiss from escaping as his hard-on got unbelievably harder.
He turned his head so his lips rested just beneath the sh.e.l.l of her ear, her pulse beating steadily against his mouth. ”Hold still before you frickin' kill me,” he groaned, breathing in the wildflower scent of her skin.
”We're not having s.e.x, Brody.” Too bad she didn't sound as sure of herself as she had the first time she'd said that to him.
His hand slid up over the bare skin beneath her sweats.h.i.+rt. She s.h.i.+vered as his thumb grazed her pebbled nipple. ”Parts of you are saying otherwise.”
She let out a l.u.s.ty sigh that was nearly his undoing. ”Those parts don't get a vote.”
Apparently her brain was doing a better job ignoring the rest of her body than his was.
Her voice trembled. ”I'm not sleeping with a man who's blackmailing me. One who doesn't trust me.”
And there was the crux of their problem. No matter how great the s.e.xual attraction was, neither trusted the other. Brody had already slept with too many women happy to sell out intimate details to the highest bidder. Shannon knew his most damaging secret. Taking her to bed would just give her more reason to share his secrets when he broke up with her.
”You're right. I don't trust you.” He felt dejected as he said it.
Again, he banged his head against the refrigerator. Slowly slipping his hands out from under her clothing, he patted her sweats.h.i.+rt down. Shannon ceased kneading his lower back, one-by-one slapping her palms against the stainless steel door. Her breathing was still a bit shallow as he stepped away, avoiding all eye contact. Staggering to the sink, Brody sloshed his face with cold water. Definitely not the part of him that needed it, but he'd have to make do under the circ.u.mstances.
When he turned back toward Shannon, she was chopping vegetables again, her hand on the knife trembling slightly. Brody felt like an a.s.s for revving her up like that, but he'd needed to get Bridgett off his case. His sister was way too intelligent. Once she got hold of something, she was like a terrier, not letting go until she discovered what's inside. A lot like the woman standing in front of him.
Shannon chewed on her bottom lip. ”If we caught the snitch, we wouldn't have trust issues anymore.”
Yep, definitely like Bridgett.
Brody grimaced. ”Not this again,” he said, leaning a hip against the countertop.
She looked over her shoulder at him, trepidation in her whiskey eyes. ”I'm serious, Brody. This would be the perfect weekend to try it. I heard Mr. Carter talking with the staff from the league office. All the teams are restricting access to their locker rooms until the blog site is identified. With an away game, that means we could narrow down the suspect pool significantly.”
”If the snitch takes the bait.”
Apparently, that was all the go-ahead she needed. She grabbed a manila envelope out of her book bag. ”There's a store right near campus. All we have to do is pick something out of this catalog . . .”
”Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Brody roared as she waved a color catalog of s.e.x toys in his face like a red flag in front of a charging bull. ”I was this close”-he held up his thumb and forefinger scant millimeters apart-”to jumping your bones a minute ago and now you shove this thing at me. Just what are those two people doing on the cover, anyway?” Forget the cold shower; now he needed a long swim in an icy pond.
Shannon tried to cram the catalog back into the envelope, but Brody grabbed it out of her hands. ”This stuff is disgusting,” he said thumbing through the slick pages featuring c.o.c.k rings, vibrators, and various restraints. His jockey shorts were getting tighter with each page he eyed. He looked up into her mulish face. ”Tell me you didn't go into a store that sells this . . . s.m.u.t?” he demanded.
”And if I did?”
Her answer angered him and excited him at the same time. ”I told you already, I'm not displaying a s.e.x toy in my locker for some snitch and all my teammates to see!”