And she had. I mean, that dance… Holy fuck, could she move. She’d had me completely under her spell, along with everyone else. And while I hated that she’d performed for anyone but me, I loved seeing her embrace her sensuality and confidence.
Bryn groaned, attempting to sit up. “I can’t sleep in this dress. And my feet and legs are all sandy. I need a shower.”
Since I wasn’t willing to go digging through her stuff for another pair of those skimpy pajamas, and my self-control was already hanging on by a thread, I grabbed a clean T-shirt from my bag and tossed it to her. “Here.”
“Mm.” She held it close, snuggling it as she sniffed the cotton. “It smells like you.”
She held up the shirt, looking at the front. “Wait.” She scrunched up her nose. “Isn’t this your lucky shirt?”
She didn’t wait for my confirmation, merely folded it nicely and placed it gently on the bed. “I can’t wear that. I know how superstitious hockey players are. What if I mess up your mojo?”
She was the reason it was lucky. But she didn’t know that.
“Not possible,” I said. “Now put it on so we can go to sleep.”
She seemed to hesitate, and then she asked, “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
She watched me a moment longer, perhaps waiting for me to change my mind. Then she pulled my shirt on over her dress, her arms disappearing into the sleeves. After performing some complicated-looking maneuver, she stood, wriggling before she flung her dress aside.
I chuckled, mostly to hide my reaction to how good she looked in my shirt. Toned thighs peeking out from beneath the hem. Smooth skin that I was dying to touch. “That was impressive.”
“Bear, I’ve got moves you’ve never seen.” She tried to wink, but it looked more like she had something in her eye. Yeah…she was definitely tipsy.
“Mm.” I crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at her as I tried not to laugh. “Is that so.”
I didn’t doubt it, especially after her performance. But now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that, especially when I was going to share a bed with her. And she was drunk. Drunk—or tired enough—that her eyes were closing while she swayed on her feet. Considering how late we’d stayed up last night and how late it was now, it was probably a combination of the two.
“Take these,” I said, handing her the bottle of water and some pain relievers.
She thanked me, then swallowed them down.
“All right. Time for bed,” I said, pointing at the mattress.
She scrunched up her face. “I don’t want to get sand in the bed.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Come on.” I lifted her into my arms once more.
I carried her to the bathroom and set her down gently on the side of the tub. I started the water, checking the temperature until it was nice and warm.
She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes closed. “Your shirt is comfy. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, biting back a comment about how good it looked on her. “Are you going to be okay in here for a sec if I go change?”
“Mm-hmm.” She hummed, bringing my shirt up to her nose, using it to cover her mouth.
Unable to resist, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll be quick.”
I jogged into the bedroom, stripping down to my boxer briefs before slipping into some athletic shorts. When I returned to the bathroom, she’d turned so her feet were now soaking in the water, and her back was to me. I grabbed one of the complimentary makeup remover wipes from the counter before switching off the water and setting a towel beside her.
I told myself to take a step back, to leave, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I stood behind her, smoothing my hand over her hair. She let her head fall back against my chest as I continued my ministrations, enjoying the way the silky strands flowed through my fingers. Watching her whip it around as part of her “audition” had been hot. But getting to spoil her after a long day, seeing her like this—unguarded and relaxed—was just as alluring, if not more so.
“That feels nice,” she said.
Encouraged to continue, I started massaging her scalp, pleasure unfurling inside me as her shoulders relaxed. When shemoaned, my cock definitely took notice. I had to stop and step back so I wouldn’t poke her in the back with my hard-on.
I cleared my throat. “You should get to bed, and I need to rinse my feet. Are you ready to get out?”
