Page 94 of For the Boys
“You do that again and I’m going to bite your tongue off,” he said.
“You wouldn’t.” She tried to move, but he had every part of her pinned down.
“Try me,” he dared. “I’m a hockey player, honey. I have a mean streak.”
“You don’t have a mean bone in your body,” she said, sticking her tongue out again.
“I’m warning you!”
“And I repeat, you wouldn’t dare.” She giggled as he playfully bit her nose. “If you bit my tongue off, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Lifting her head, she pressed her lips against his. When he deepened the kiss, she bit and pulled on his bottom lip, nudging them apart. She used this as an invitation to slowly lick her way into his mouth. Before she knew what had happened, he had rolled them over so she was on top of him, her knees resting on either side of his torso. She leaned in again, and their tongues danced together. Brent fisted a hand in her hair, pulling her head back enough to expose her neck, which he nipped at. When he went to shove his hands under her sweater, she stopped him.
“I knew you were trying to take advantage of me,” he said, grinning wolfishly at her as she sat back on her heels.
“I definitely was,” she admitted. “But I’ve been looking forward to this hot tub all week. Let me change, and I’ll meet you outside.”
“Sounds good,” he said, standing up from the bed. “I’ll bring the wine out.”
Berkley changed into her black bikini, the most unremarkable swimsuit she owned. Then again, everyone looked good in black. She threw an oversized shirt over her head and stepped out to meet Brent on the patio.
She found him already in the water, the glow from the lights casting an ever-changing kaleidoscope of neon colors across his skin. His shoulders were bare and glinting with moisture, whether sweat or water she didn’t know, and a wine glass dangled from his left hand. Absently, he ran a hand through his hair, dampening the strands, before turning and catching sight of her.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she said back, suddenly nervous.
“Are you going to get in?”
“I’m working on it.” She shivered in the cold, goosebumps rising on her legs and arms.
“You’d be a lot warmer in the water, Berk. C’mon, I don’t bite. Unless you ask nicely.”
She rolled her eyes and whipped her shirt over her head, dropping it on the bench near the door before walking quickly to the hot tub and crawling in.
He grabbed the other glass of wine from the edge of the tub and handed it to her. Accepting it, she took a long drink and sank down into the water next to Brent, sighing at the feel of the water on her muscles.
“Let’s play twenty questions,” she suggested once she was settled.
“Okay. You first.”
“Okay.” Berkley chose a generic one to start. “What do your parents do for a living?”
“My dad actually used to be a lawyer,” he said, and Berkley’s eyebrows shot up, surprised. “And my mom worked as a dental hygienist. They live back in New York. Two very busy careers, I know, but they somehow managed to be at every single one of my hockey games, my brother’s football games, and my sister’s cheerleading and dance competitions through high school.” He paused. “It was probably easier when we were younger and our athletic schedules weren’t as time-consuming, but they made it work. I’ll forever be grateful for that. They’re both retired now, and I get to spoil them, flying them across the country for my games.”
“Wow,” Berkley breathed. “That sounds like it was hectic.”
“Oh trust me, it was. Nate and I were a handful as it was. Adding Mackenzie to the mix only made things crazier.”
“How old are they?”
“Nate is twenty-seven and in the process of finishing med school. Mackenzie is twenty and still has no clue what she wants to do with her life. But we’re letting her figure it out on her own. Unfortunately for her, her older brothers are overachievers, so I can understand feeling a little listless in her position.”
Berkley chuckled. “That’s quite an age difference between you two.”
“Yeah. After Nate and I were born, they thought they were done, but then my mom decided she wanted to try for a girl. I don’t know what would have happened had Kenz ended up being a boy.”
“I couldn’t imagine three of you,” Berkley said with a giggle.
