Page 34 of Forecheck
“Make no mistake, Berkley,” I said quietly in her ear. “I will take you into some dark corner, rip that slit in your dress wider, and fuck you right now. But I don’t think you want that. And I definitely don’t. Because the first time I get you naked? I’m going to spread you out, and I’m going tofeast.Slowly. Until I’m branded on you. Until no part of you remembers what it was like to be touched by anyone other than me.”
My words had the desired effect, and Berkley’s chest rapidly rose and fell, her pert breasts brushing against my upper abdomen in time with each inhale. I expected her to retort, but she only swallowed hard and nodded.
When I gently turned her to face the room, I pulled her back to my chest—not ready to let her go yet, both because I loved touching her, and because she was hiding the evidence of theeffect she had on me—and gently threaded my fingers through hers, placing our hands over her stomach. My pinky dragged a lazy path over her hip bone.
At last, Berkley said, “I’d like that. Very much.”
I smirked down at her, letting go of her hand long enough to step to her side and clasp it with my other one. “It’s yours.”
“Tonight?”
God, this woman. “If that’s what you want.”
“I think it is.”
That stopped me dead in my tracks. “Well, ‘I think’ isn’t good enough,” I said out of the corner of my mouth as my teammates came within earshot. “When I take you for the first time, I want you to be certain. I want you begging for it.”
“I’m practically begging for it now,” she grumbled as we reached the group.
And…fuck. I thought I’d gotten myself under control, but I was thankful my suit jacket hid the worst of my erection.
There were a few of my teammates Berkley had yet to meet, so I made introductions, my cheeks heating as they gave me endless shit about her. Berkley, for her part, took it all in stride. She handled herself so perfectly—honestly better than I’d expected—and it was easy to imagine a thousand more nights just like this one, working some Warriors’ sanctioned event with her on my arm.
Eventually, individual conversations broke out, Berkley chatting with Rat and Grey about their rookie contracts. It was just as well, me being excluded, because all I could think about was her, and trying to make conversation would’ve been a lesson in futility. The way her warm scent wrapped around me, even in this room full of people. I wondered where that scent was strongest: at her wrists or her neck? I wanted to explore every inch of her body, learn how she smelled—and tasted—all over.
Even when she moved away, excusing herself to go to the bathroom, then moving around the room when she returned, simply taking it all in, I somehow knew exactly where she was at all times. Like an invisible string now stretched between us, connecting us in a way no one else would ever see but we could still feel.
“I like her,” Mitch said when he sidled up next to me, both of us staring across the room at Berkley, where she’d stopped to speak with the rep from one of the Warriors’ biggest adult beverage sponsors. “I like her a lot.”
“Me, too,” I said. Actually, I more than liked her.
“I think she’s good for you. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
“Won’t what?” Berkley asked when she joined them.
“Fuck this up,” I answered honestly.
“This?”
“Us,” I amended.
Blush spread over Berkley’s face and crept down her neck. She turned her head away from me, and I gripped her hand.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. This is just…a lot.”
“If it makes you feel better, you’re doing great, and I’m really happy you’re here. It’s nice to have someone at my side.”
Surprise lined her features when she looked at me again. “You’ve never brought a date to one of these things?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I…” I released her hand and awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. “This isn’t really the place for this conversation.”
