Brick was uncharacteristically quiet. And somber.It’d been an hour or two since our marathon sexual encounter had ended, where we had definitely burned ourselves out of all energy, and he hadn’t said a thing during the entire lull.After finishing, he’d merely looked into my eyes, pulled out of me, and then hitched up one side of his mouth in masculine accomplishment before crawling back onto the bed with me, where he settled down beside me, gathering me into his arms to simply hold me.Without speaking.It was nice.But weird. So, so weird.I’d never known him to not have something to say before.I glanced toward my alarm clock to check the time, and yeah, it’d been just under two hours since he’d last spoken. Which made me wonder if he regretted what we’d done.That would be my luck. All those times he’d flirted and come on to me, telling me how ready he was for sex, and I had to go and mess it up by forcing him to accept a quickie—er, two...three? quickies—after we were nea
The next Monday, I could still feel an echo of Brick between my thighs.I had to cross my legs an insane number of times because I kept remembering our weekend together and getting a little too worked up for my own good.And when I say weekend, I mean the whole freaking weekend.After I knocked him out of his silent spell, he finally returned to his flirty, nonstop talkative ways, and we spent every bickering, bantering moment we had together. We showered together, ate together, cleaned up my apartment and took down my Black Crimson wall together. And when he wanted to go home for a fresh pair of clothes, we went back to his super-clean, super-nice place together and stayed the night there together.Then, just before falling asleep last night, he admitted that he even liked sleeping together.Like literal sleeping-sleeping.Scooting in closer behind me, he wrapped a possessive arm around my waist, sighed in delight, murmuring, “This is the life,” and he passed out cold against me
I do believe Brick was telling the truth when he said he also liked roleplay sex because the next evening after I got home from work, I answered a knock on my door to find him standing there in a pair of worn blue jeans, tan construction worker boots, a ball cap on backward, a white tank top that was tight enough to reveal every dip and hill of his pecs and six-pack abs, plus a tool belt wrapped low around his hips with a shiny new hammer hanging from one of the loops.“Howdy, ma’am,” he greeted in a silken voice as he leaned one arm against the doorframe to show off the impressive bulge in his biceps as he flashed a knowing smirk. “I’m the new handyman around these here parts, and I was just curious if you needed anything…” Pausing dramatically to arch an eyebrow, he finished strong by setting his hand on the hammer at his waist and saying, “…nailed?”I threw my head back and laughed, completely charmed by all the work he’d put into this character. Then I cleared my throat, looked h
“Hello? Anyone home?”When the call came from the front of my apartment, I jumped, not expecting him so soon, and I hurried to the bed so I could lie down just so. Only to remember—oh!“Lock the door behind you, will you?” I called. I didn’t want just anyone to be able to walk in while I was going to be doing the things I planned on doing to him tonight.“Got it,” Brick called back before adding, “Wait. Why does it sound like your voice is coming from your bedroom? Are you waiting for me in your bedroom?”I grinned and rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you come back here and find out?”Footsteps rushed through the apartment, making me laugh until there he was, poised in the doorway to my bedroom. He hadn’t even bothered to go home and change from his suit or set down the bag full of takeout he’d brought with him.He stared at me a moment, his lips parted in awe before he shook his head slowly. “I thought I told you not to wear anything.”“Did you?” I asked and bit down on a painted fin
I swear, I still had the scent of bacon in my nostrils the next day at work and the words, I knew you were a keeper, floating through my head as I tapped the end of my Montblanc against the top of my desk and tried to concentrate on work.But I couldn't.I had some designs to look over and consider, a new assistant I still needed to hire, and some calls to make with a couple of fabric manufacturers, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the woman I seemed to end up with every night.She’d gotten under my skin.What’s more, I actually liked her there. I liked hanging out with her, even when we weren’t having sex.It was weird.Take last night for example. After supper, I’d put my new hammer to use and installed a couple of hooks on the wall in her living room so I could hang her ax there to display it properly.“How’s this look?” I had asked, lifting my hand from the finished project and backing away slowly, nodding out my own satisfaction as I went.When she’d answered, “Perfect,”
Life was ah-mazing!! It just did not get better than this.I hummed in pleasure to myself as I walked into work, pausing only to take a sip of my to-go cup as I entered my cubicle and nudged my chair with my knee, making the backrest spin around so I could sit.With a refreshed sigh, I plopped down my drink, stashed my purse in my bottom drawer, and started to slip my phone into the top drawer, when an incoming call made me brighten and check to see if it was Brick.I’d literally seen him only an hour ago when he’d left my apartment to head home and change for his own job...right after we’d had morning shower sex together.Remembering those slippery-wet, fond times, I bit my lip, only to release a short huff of disappointment to see it was Kaitlynn instead.But I loved my little blond bombshell of a friend, so I answered, risking another lecture from Carmen if she caught me on my personal line.“Hey,” I started brightly.“Oh my God,” she answered, sounding stunned. “I finally fi
Well, at least I had my curiosity appeased. Brick hadn’t just been enjoying himself until something better came along; he had genuinely liked me. He’d wanted to be with me. And we might’ve actually been forming the greatest match-up ever.If I hadn’t royally messed everything up.It would’ve been a frigging dream come true, too.Brick was a legend, possessing every trait I thought an amazing man should have.I gave a thick swallow as I let myself into my apartment and dropped the keys into my purse before setting the wicker bag blindly on the counter, then wandering aimlessly through my apartment. But every place I went contained a memory of him. Like a cat who’d rubbed his scent on everything around him, Brick had marked his territory.I couldn’t look at the counter in the kitchen, the mattress in the bedroom, the shower in the bathroom, not even the freaking front door without—Dammit. My throat worked convulsively as I perched myself on the couch and pressed my hands into my l
I finally read the entire article.And then I read it again.It was an addictive piece; I’d give Mayhem that. She managed to put this delicious hook into each line that made you need to read the next one. Her words were vivid and colorful, and they covered a lot of detailed information about my work and graffiti art in general. She explained how I would practice beforehand in my garage, where I posted my first piece and why, and she even revealed that I’d vandalized the mayor’s house because of a personal vendetta and that I’d picked the historical museum because of a memorable sexual encounter.But she never revealed my identity, and she refused to spill a single clue that would help anyone else figure out who I was, either. Except that just confused me more.If she was going to go behind my back and write the article, anyway, lying to my face and utterly betraying me in the process, why would she bother to be so protective and careful to keep me anonymous? Even the words she used