Secrets & Admirers Page 9

  “The place even smells distinct to you.” His observation made sense considering the candles, most of which I made, and incense I burned constantly. “That was a compliment, by the way.” He bumped my shoulder playfully as we made our way back to the kitchen. Briggs was a completely different person alone, and it was a person I could like; playful and flirtatious.

  “I didn’t take it otherwise. Hungry?” Briggs sat on the barstool when I gestured toward my little table, watching me set out everything to serve dinner. I plated the food and joined him, waiting for him to take a bite. Once he did, his eyes closed while he chewed and I laughed. He nodded an eager approval, and I dove into mine. We chatted about my screwed-up life in Washington and his mother for a while. She had raised them nearly alone while their father was deployed several times and then retired into being a truck driver before he died. I got the impression that Beck and Briggs were not very secure in the relationship with their late father, but he was a little vague about that part. I understood where he was coming from. I told him about my mother and unknown father. Briggs admitted to avoiding relationships after a tough breakup and then asked me about my notebook stalker.

  “He isn’t a stalker, but either way, I can’t keep it up.” The thought only saddened me a little. Briggs sitting across from me, smiling and talking, lessened the pain from losing a potential friend. “I need something tangible, something real. Mystery man may feel a connection with me, but I can’t know without meeting someone. I have no idea what he looks like, not that I need a super model, but physical attraction is a real thing.” I looked at the delicious man across from me and watched him smile, scooting his plate back and ruffling his hair. The sharp lines of his face darkened a little before he moved his attention back to me. He was insanely attractive, so his reaction seemed unwarranted.

  “You certainly seem to know what you want. It’s a shame he’s going to miss out on all you have to offer.” Briggs had a point and it made me feel better about letting B go. “You are an exemplary cook to say the least.” We stared at each other for a moment, a thick energy filling the kitchen, before I grabbed his plate and retreated to the sink. Surely, he felt it too. My phone started ringing from the table near the door, but I planned on ignoring it. “I’ll get it.” He jumped up to get it for me and I rinsed the plates.

  The dinner had been innocent enough, but I found myself getting frustrated at the innocence. Had I misread him? Had he just accepted my invitation to prove a point to Beck? Was I that wrong about his signals? Apparently, I was projecting my sexual frustration and weird obsession on the poor guy. Briggs seemed to like me fine, but my lack of experience with men, and my obvious need to get laid had made me see things that weren’t there. I had on lust goggles and they messed with my ability to read signals.

  I turned to grab a towel just in time to run into Briggs and send my phone to the floor. It clattered to the ground but neither of us moved for it or even looked at it. Briggs had me transfixed, and the hunger in his eyes told me I hadn’t misread a damn thing. Energy buzzed between us, around us, and the gap separating us imploded, though it seemed as if neither of us moved. His arms circled my waist, my fingers trailed hesitantly into his hair at the nape of his neck, and our faces were a breath away as I raised to my toes, needing to be closer. I could feel his pulse thundering under my hand on his neck and mine kept time with his, tearing through me as soon he touched me. His breath tickled my lips lightly and we just stared. Then I moved. The spice from our dinner, the crisp scent of his aftershave, and the gentle way his mouth took mine overwhelmed me. Then Briggs became yet another person, parting my lips with his tongue, searching for mine. His tongue stroked mine as he moved us back into the sink. He pulled the clip from my hair, gripping my locks in his fingers, and kissing me hungrily, possessively until I pulled back to catch my breath, and to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. His face was hard and he was struggling to catch his breath, too.

  Our lack of connection didn’t last long. His mouth went for mine again and I let it. He nibbled my bottom lip, dragging it between his teeth, and I moaned into his mouth, making him grip me tighter. Hands trailed over me, grazing all of me as quickly like he wasn’t sure where to touch next. I needed it, needed him more than I had realized, and Briggs needed me. The charged sensation surrounding us followed us to the living room as he dragged me backward to the futon and pulled me so I straddled his lap.

  I left his lips to lick down his neck and jaw, tasting him, while he fisted my hair in both hands and groaned. The heat building in me from our shared glances and all my dirty fantasies hit a new height. I had never wanted another person so badly, maybe I never would. He growled when I slid my hands under his shirt, running my fingers over his defined abs. The warmth of his body fused to mine, making my skin tingle. My phone rang again from the kitchen floor as he pulled my dress over my head and buried his face in my bare chest. The dress landed somewhere and the air in the room cooled my overheated skin. Briggs licked and bit every inch of skin he could reach, making the sexiest noises in his chest.

  I tugged his shirt off, forcing him to raise his arms, and he froze, chest heaving and eyes wide. My eyes were locked on his and the guy suddenly looked terrified. I scanned his chest and focused on the massive scar covering him. Briggs just watched my face, studying my reaction. It was obviously a burn, and had long since healed, starting just above his sculpted abs and covering half of his chest up to his shoulder. I let my fingers brush it until he snatched my hand, squeezing my fingers too tight and clenching his jaw. He seemed to be waiting for me to climb off him, push him away, but it wasn’t happening. His eyes stared blankly at my stomach.

  I jerked my hand from his, ran it up his chest and pulled him into me by the neck. A scar wasn’t stopping me, nothing would, I wanted Briggs and I would have every inch of him. His skin was hot against mine and our tongues tangled again when I crashed my mouth to his. One hand grabbed a fist full of my hair while the other cupped my breast, and he smiled wickedly against my mouth when a whimper escaped. My tongue stroked his and I nibbled his lip. When he pinched my nipple, my head fell back and he licked his way up my throat. The man was going to be the end of me, my complete undoing. My entire body was tingling; each touch a jolt of electric current.

  Briggs kissed me again, but slower, less frantic. He ground himself into me, making me whimper and grab his shoulders. Briggs’ hands left me and I immediately felt the loss, but the fact that his pants were about to disappear soothed my impatience. He moved back, slouching slightly, and pinned me with a heady gaze.

  “I need you.” Three simple words from his lips had me so close to an orgasm that I could barely hold it together. His blunt nails dug into my hips as he teased me with his cock. I sighed in anticipation, wanting to beg him for it, needing him inside me.

  “Please.” It came out strained, pleading, and Briggs drove himself into me, hard, without giving me a chance to adjust to him. I cried out, relishing in the pain of being so full and the pleasure of the whole experience. He captured my mouth in a harsh kiss, claiming it, groaning against it.

  The reserved side of him dissipated further as he moved me on top of him, kissing me, taking complete control with my hips. His hands couldn’t decide where to grab me, so they roamed my body while he watched me react. I was not inexperienced, well, maybe a little, but that man did amazing things to my body. It was everything I had been missing. Each touch was like I had never been touched before. He nipped at my neck, biting my ear then licking it to soothe the sting. My head fell back, my nails dug into his shoulders, and my world exploded all too soon. The orgasm rocked through me like nothing I had ever experienced, sending me to another planet, one filled with electric currents that covered every inch of me. It went on for an eternity and I relished every second.

  Briggs was on my heels, snaking his arms around me, and crushing the wind from me when he groaned in my ear, finding his own release. I could feel the pulses of his orgasm in every fiber of my being unt
il he slouched back and I followed him. We were unmoving, and contend while I was leaning against him. We both caight our breath. I felt the little kisses he laid against my neck, but my brain was struggling to process anything properly. My hair was wild, in my face, and covering where Briggs was buried in my neck, but he didn’t seem to notice. Then someone knocked on my door.

  I jumped off him, nearly groaning at the loss, and tossed my dress on. I laughed while he scrambled to the other room, gathering clothes as he went. I could hear him laughing down the hall and giggled to myself. I could feel his release on my legs every time I moved. Good thing I’m on birth control. The banging persisted until I jerked the door open.

  Rae stood in the hall, looking irritated as hell. “I called three times.” My best friend stepped in despite me trying to block the doorway. “Are you all right?” Thankfully, she went toward my kitchen and I could swipe my underwear from the floor before she saw them. I couldn’t even remember how they got there.

  “I’m fine, I was just busy.” I was still breathing hard and having trouble standing. My legs were the most delicious amount of sore from the exertion and earth-shattering orgasm.

  “Lost in a book again? Are you sick? Your cheeks are red.” She reached out to put a maternal hand to my forehead but I backed up. Being touched was not what I needed unless Briggs was doing the touching. That man could touch whatever he wanted.

  “Fine. I promise, Rae.” I smiled and she pointed an accusing finger at the two places set at my table. “I had company. I’m an adult, that’s allowed.” Briggs made it clear he wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of Beck knowing about our dinner, and after random sex on the couch, we raised the stakes just a tad.

  “Is it the guy?” Rae made herself comfortable on my barstool.

  “No, can we actually talk about this later? I need to get some things done.” I tried to add a bite to my tone. At my words, she mouthed “is he here” and pointed at the ground. I nodded and she went wide eyed again. With that, Rae practically ran from the house, planting a light kiss on my cheek on the way. Once I locked the door, I went in search of my dirty little, or not so little, secret. He was actually a very sizable secret. I tossed the dress in the dirty clothes on the way to my room and moved my curtain to see him sitting on the bed, laughing his ass off. “I’m taking a shower.” I couldn’t help but laugh with him. He dragged his gaze over my naked body and nodded, his face going serious. I had barely closed the shower curtain when I heard him in the bathroom and Briggs slid in the shower with me. He chuckled when I looked him over, eyes stopping briefly on his erection, and stepped closer to him to run my hand up his chest and around his neck. He cringed when I touched the scar but didn’t try to stop me.

  “Rae?” Briggs slid his hands up my ribcage and around to my back, pushing me into the wall. I nodded before kissing him. “Did you tell on me?”

  “No,” I gasped the word out when he bit my shoulder gently.

  “It would have been okay, but thank you. Again, I live with my asshole of a brother. He’s a monster,” Briggs mumbled the words against my collarbone, and kissed across to the other side. “You saw right through him.” I gasped when he nipped at my breasts, rolling my nipple between his teeth. The hot water fell around us as he brought my leg up around his hips, moving me up the slick wall to get inside me again. He propped me against the ledge that once held soap and pinned me there with one hand on my shoulder and the other gripping my thigh. I clung to his back and kissed him, my tongue roaming his mouth. Briggs obviously wasn’t done with me, and I wasn’t done with him. Maybe I never would be.

  The hot water pelted us as he drove me toward another orgasm, pounding into me relentlessly and hitting all the right spots. I moaned into his mouth when he picked up the pace, sending me back into orbit, and made me ride out my orgasm to the fullest. Briggs looked directly into my eyes once I could open them again and I held his face in my hands. He was so beautiful, so incredibly perfect, and unexpected. I sucked his lip into my mouth, nibbling it. He groaned out my name, trembling against me while I peppered his neck and cheek with kisses. He kissed me once more, catching his breath and letting me down on shaky legs.

  Before I could start actually washing myself, Briggs took charge and squirted a puddle of body wash into his hand. He skipped the cloth, washing me with his hands, and not leaving any part of me untouched. When I couldn’t take anymore, I threw myself into him, kissing him and letting his presence wash over me. His fingers splayed over my wet back, kissing me like a starving man and I was his last meal. I ran my nails through his beard, loving the stubble, the coarse feel of it. I probably seemed like a desperate whore, but it had been so long since anyone had made me feel so desired, so sexy, so anything. I’m not sure Blake ever made me feel at all.

  “You are so fucking gorgeous.” Briggs kissed my forehead, then down my temple to my lips. He kept my body flush with his and I felt him harden against me. “So perfect.” His mouth was on mine again and he took me in a gentler kiss.

  “We should get out before the water gets cold.” I kissed his chin and he grumbled about putting clothes on.

  I tossed him a towel when he turned the water off and trailed after me to the bedroom. He was dressed in his boxers by the time I got back from retrieving my phone. I took in his amazing bare chest. The scar made it even sexier, like a beauty mark. Rae had called but also texted, asking about a flea market the next day, and apologizing for interrupting. I sorted through my drawers with Briggs on my bed behind me. “Are you upset?”

  I spun to face him, tugging on a long shirt and pulling my damp hair from my neck. “Of course not.” I joined him on the bed, and he pulled me into him, kissing my head. “Should I be? Are you?”

  “I hope you’re not. That would not be good for my ego. And I’m only mad because I’m being dragged to a flea market with Beck tomorrow.” Briggs laughed, but I groaned and rolled into him. “You too?” I nodded against the soft skin covering solid muscle on his chest. “That wasn’t what I expected when I accepted your dinner invitation.”

  “Well, we did eat dinner, but me neither. Everything about you is a little unexpected.” I tilted my head to see the enigma lying in bed with me. He was so beautiful, chiseled jaw, strong chin, and cared for body. I wanted to ask about the scar, but that was obviously a sore subject, so I waited.

  He scooted so he could face me. “Next time, I’ll cook. Only if you’re sure the notebook fling is over. Beck is all the competition I can handle.” Briggs winked at me. “He must be a coward to not want to talk to you. Is that why you can’t do it?” He kissed me on the nose then the cheek. It was nice to think that maybe I wasn’t the only obsessed party in our tryst. The way he kissed me made me think he had been looking forward to it as long as I had.

  “Cowardice has nothing to do with it. Everyone is different. It’s the lack of a known connection that bothers me. Maybe I’m old school, but I need to feel them to know if there’s a spark. I already wrote him a response to end whatever you would call it. There’s no competition.” Online dating never made sense to me, either—there is something primal about meeting in person and finding compatibility. It seemed like a good idea at first, but Briggs was there, in bed with me.

  “And us? You’re a different frequency for me. Actually, I’m not sure I have a frequency.” And he was new for me. He was so reserved, aloof, but suddenly when we were mid-coitus, he was aggressive and took complete control. Every guy in my past had either not cared at all, or things had ended before they even started.

  I laughed. “We just had sex on my couch and in my shower. I would say that constitutes a connection.” Briggs shook his head, rubbing his nose against mine and admitting to a very long sexual hiatus. We talked in the same position on my bed well into the night. All his guarded behavior was gone, his walls crumbled, and he opened up. Briggs was animated and funny, stepping out of his self-proclaimed comfort zone to let me know him outside dinner and a very pleasant hook-up.

&nb
sp; We finally got to the subject of his scar and he sighed. “We were driving to spring break our freshman year of college, heading to Orlando and ended up in a pretty nasty wreck. I got out and started helping people out of the other cars, ours had rolled, so Beck and a friend were pinned. A fourth car came sliding into ours and gas must have been leaking because my car with Beck in it was in flames in a matter of seconds. I broke the window and dragged Beck out just as the gas tank exploded. Flaming fabric hit me, it fused to my skin. Several grafts later, I have that lovely scar.” I blinked back tears. He saved his cruel brother from an explosion and was left with permanent damage that obviously bothered him. “I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do, so I deal with it. I say I deal with it, but in reality, I just hide it.”

  I slid my hands over the scar softly. “Scars are beautiful. They set us apart, add character to sameness.” Briggs stiffened, clenching his jaw as I stroked his skin. I kissed the edge that met his rippled abs and laid back on his chest. His thundering heart beat slowed and he wrapped me in his arms.

  “That’s easy for you to say. You’re perfect.” Briggs relaxed around me.

  “Not all scars are visible,” I mumbled into his chest, not wanting to go into my own car wreck story with him. He had shared, but I wasn’t ready for that yet. Instead, I changed the subject. “Are you staying?” He nodded, rubbing his beard into my hair and I went back to listening to his breathing. I had no idea how random hook-ups or one-night stands worked, but I didn’t want him to leave. The instant spark I felt with him was a raging fire that completely engulfed me by the end of the night. I was only hoping he felt the same.

  Chapter Fourteen