Page 28 of Hat Trick Holidate

Emmaline leans over and whispers to me, “Give her a reward.”

“Like a cookie?”

“No, something more personal. Like she gets to pick out a new toothbrush, or she gets to pick outflowers to go on the entry hall table where everyone can see it.” She pauses. “I need to go.”

My hand catches hers. The sizzling connection ripples through me. “Wait. It’s her bedtime, and I’ve had trouble getting her to sleep.”

Jolie has fallen over the couch, so I pick her up, holding up one finger to Emmaline. “Please wait,” I say in a hushed tone.

When I come back, it’s as if she can sniff out my lies. “That was quick, and I have a date.”

“You don’t. You know it, and I know it.” A rumble rolls through my core. “I’ve dreamed of sliding inside you again. You’re the first woman to leave me in bed.”

She gnaws on her lip, and a red wave crests over her skin, and it’s so fucking sexy.

“Rusti, my fingers, tongue, and cock have been inside you. Don’t get embarrassed now,” I tease, using the fake name she gave me and my friends the night we met.

Her big cartoon-like eyes and slightly parted lips only fuel my hunger. I feel her chest rapidly rising as I tug her closer.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you for eight years. The voluptuous woman who made me feel impossible things. The woman who gave me a fake name,” I whisper over her shimmering lips.

“You must have the wrong girl.” She smirks. “My name is Emmaline.”

“Rustavelli. Rusti. The right girl.”

Excitement surges through me as her hands tremble, sliding up my arms and down my chest. My head falls to capture her mouth in a tentative exploration. She opens forme, and I deepen the kiss. She tastes like fruit and caramel and damn if I don’t feel like I’ve picked the ripest apple.

I press my body into hers as I cup her face, and she moans as my erection knocks on her stomach. He’s been enduring a dry spell.

My fingers tunnel through her hair, and her hands wrap around my neck. I slip my hands under her shirt, and she flinches. “Don’t,” she murmurs into my mouth.

Forehead to forehead, I say, “Let me show you how perfect you are. Make you feel like the woman you are. I’ve fantasized about you for so long. Never thought I would find you, again.”

Her body relaxes, and my thumbs skate over her silky skin. We kiss with the wind nipping and whipping against our faces, yet my body is on fire. Lost in the feeling, I pull the hem of her shirt over her head. My lips drop into the pocket of her shoulder while her head falls back, letting out a hum of approval.

I explore her shoulders while my finger sneaks under her yellow bra strap, and it falls to her arms. Peppering her with white-hot kisses, I work my way down to her breast, and I’m not surprised to see sunflowers on her bra. Because she’s the sun. As hot as the sun. When I drop to my knees and unbutton her jeans, her breath hitches.

“Oh my God.”

Unzipping her jeans one metal tooth at a time, she shimmies just enough that I can push them down to her knees. I blow a hot breath over her lace-covered center, and her fingers pinch my shoulders. Her ragged breathing urges me on. I pull down the lace and circle her center with mytongue. Praise falls from my lips. “So responsive. So wet. So beautiful.” Her nails funnel through my hair.

“Nooooo.”

I’m so lost in this work of art in front of me, I think I’m hearing things. Surely, she wants this as much as I do.

Emmaline tugs me up. “Jolie. Jolie screamed.”

It won’t be the last time that Jolie cockblocks me.

ten

EMMALINE

My legs feellike noodles at the touch of his mouth against me, but when Jolie screams, I immediately jerk him up and pull up my pants. Of all the people in Atlanta, I can’t be with my brother’s teammate, no matter how much I want to. Bryce sprints inside and up the stairs as I follow him to see if I can help.

Jolie lies on the floor, crying. Bryce gets down on the floor and pulls her into his lap. She curls into him and cries.

His tone is soft and comforting as he asks his baby girl, “Did you have a bad dream? I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. It’s you and me, kid.” She wraps her arms around his neck, and he rocks her until her sobs subside.

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