Blocked (22 page)

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Ford stretched his arm out to shake her hand and pulled her up to a standing position, wrapping her in a hug instead.

Charming characters, these Brand men are.

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about you, but the most memorable fact is that you and your siblings are all named after calendar months.”

April saw, out of the corner of her eyes, that Decker glared at his brother.

“What?” Ford questioned animatedly. “Come on, that’s awesome!”

Decker stepped beside her and wrapped his muscled arm around her torso. “Babe, it really is unusual.” He pressed a kiss into the top of her head. “I happen to love it.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” she grunted sarcastically. “Can you imagine if
your
parents were into theme-naming their kids?” She looked from Decker to Ford. “You could have been Decker and Painter or, better yet, Hyundai and Ford.” Both pairs of brown eyes widened at her statement. “Not so awesome now, is it?”

She felt Decker’s body pulse with controlled amusement, but there was not an ounce of control in Ford’s uninhibited cackling. Turned out his charm was in fact contagious, because the three of them were howling like lunatics and gasping for breath by the time Eli and Charlie joined them for lunch. Once the meal was over, the kids hopped on the swings while April, Decker, and Ford chatted and joked for a bit longer.

“I like her,” Ford declared as he crumbled up his lunch trash and wiped the grass from his jeans. His gaze met hers when he added, “Keep her around, big brother. We both know that gorgeous, smart,
and
funny is a rare find.”

“Trust me, I know”—Decker laced his fingers through April’s—“and I plan to keep her by my side.”

Decker’s words sent shivers down April’s spine and curled her toes. The man was a shot of whisky—potent and warming to the insides—that left her tingling in all the right places. She squeezed his hand, hoping he understood that by his side was exactly where she wanted to be.

Once Ford had left the park and the picnic was packed up, April and Decker quickly collected the children and strolled to their cars. It was Saturday night, and they were finally going out on a date, just the two of them.

“I’ll see you tonight, big guy.” Excitement oozed from each of her pores as she stood outside of her idling Acura with Eli strapped into the air-conditioned car, listening to music.

Flames licked Decker’s chocolate-brown eyes. “I can’t fucking wait to have you all to myself, April. I need to feel you come apart in my hands.”

Seeing his big body tremble made her insides turn to mush. “I’d like to finally get my hands on you.” Her brows bobbed suggestively. “Or better yet, my mouth.”

“Fuuuck.”

Quickly calculating the best plan for the evening, April suggested they once again meet at the restaurant. “We both have babysitters, Deck, so if for some reason an emergency occurs, I’d like to have my car, and you should have yours.”

He reluctantly agreed. They shared a quick kiss and went their separate ways.

Chapter Fifteen

(For real…this is all of Chapter Fifteen)

Super Heroes and Mime Sex

HER GREEN EYES shimmered, revealing mutual desire as she lifted the glass of merlot to her full lips, parting them to take another small sip. Christ, those lips, so soft and sweet… Decker could practically taste them as he tried to convince himself to look away from what shouldn’t have been such an ethereal sight. It seemed as though everything April Maddox did was sexy as hell and erotic as sin. He couldn’t fool himself into thinking otherwise therefore, why bother missing any part of her beautiful show? With his gaze focused squarely on the delectable vision next to him, he inhaled—there was no ignoring the erection pulsing behind the zipper in his slacks. Everything the woman said or did affected him, and he’d venture to guess she was not clueless to her role in his torture. No, he could see the hunger in her eyes, the mutual ache of sexual desire. She was wanton. As the glass touched her mouth and the deep burgundy liquid ran up the tapered bowl of the wineglass, caressing her glossy painted lips, Decker’s mind automatically fixated on apples. When he claimed her lips after dinner, would they still taste like the apple gloss he enjoyed earlier that evening; or would the sweet grapes of the wine touch his tongue and flavor their kiss? Not that it mattered, as long as he got to own her mouth for a few minutes. Got to taste the essence of the woman who was quickly changing the very foundation on which he’d built his life. She could taste like wood filler and he’d relish it. A man could easily become addicted to those lips, as well as those mind-bending kisses—lord knows he had, and it’d only been two real dates. Well, this being their third…

“Decker?” Just the sound of his name in her honey-smooth voice had his heart beating faster and his length hardening to an aching throb. “Deck, is everything okay?” April lowered her glass to the table, shifting her lithe body smoothly in the U-shaped booth.

As they turned toward each other his knee gently brushed her leg, and he watched her questioning gaze descend slowly from his eyes to where his hands gripped his upper thighs. His thumbs all but digging into the cotton of his perfectly pressed pants. April’s perusal paused briefly, the minute she noticed what was practically impossible for him to hide. The audible catch of her breath as it held for a beat, and the slight flush that kissed her cheeks a fraction of a second before she licked her lips and brought her steamy green gaze back to his face, nearly set him ablaze. Yeah, everything would be just fine once he finally got her alone and beneath him. His body vibrated with need for the incredible woman beside him. It had been far too long… too long since he’d felt this way. Had he ever truly felt like this before?

“You look… stiff, Deck.” Her shy smile now charged with a vixen-like confidence he’d never seen on her before.

That look that made him want to sweep the dishes from their table—and to hell with the mess or the prying eyes of the other diners. He wanted to spread her out before him like a main course, and finally see if her whole body tasted as sweet as her damn lips. When she placed her small hand over his and began tracing small circles with her index finger over his sensitized flesh, Decker was pulled from a lustful haze. April Maddox knew exactly what she was saying, knew just how her tiny touches were affecting him.

“I’ve heard massage can help with
that
sort of problem.” Her gaze flitted to his lap then back to his eyes before a smirk curled the ends of her upturned mouth. The innuendo played openly on her beautiful face.

Lifting both of their hands from his thigh, he twisted his wrist to bring her palm to his lips. Decker breathed in her warm, fruity smell then placed a kiss on the soft skin. “You’re a funny lady, you know that?”

He could barely contain the laughter in his voice, and truth was, he didn’t want to. He liked April as a person, her humor, intellect, and warmth set her apart from so many of the other women he’d dated. When his libido wasn’t sucking the blood from his brain and depositing it directly into his balls, he could tell the feeling was mutual.

“Yes, I’m freaking hilarious.” Her brow arched. “In fact, I may be one of the funniest people I know,” she confirmed, a smile stretching across her face as the deep dimples in both cheeks winked, practically begging him to touch them, taunting him to kiss them.

Extending his arm, he cupped her face, stroking the divot in her right cheek. Silk… her skin felt silken beneath his touch and as the backs of his fingers traveled down her neck, reveling in the supple skin, electricity jolted through his body.

“April Maddox,
you
definitely are amusing, but you’re so much more. You’re smart, sweet, and... well…” His gaze traveled from her face to the scooped neckline where the swells of her breasts subtly formed the perfect amount of cleavage. “Let’s face it, you’re fucking gorgeous.”

Watching her chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths as his words resonated sparked a fire in his gut. As her cheeks flushed, his blood heated. Her scent flooded his nostrils as he breathed in slowly while recomposing himself in the leather booth. The moment her pink tongue slid over her plump bottom lip, Decker knew all attempts at being suave were lost. He was lost.
Take her home
, he told himself.
Charlie will never find out
, he promised his troubled conscience, then took the leap he’d wanted to take for months.

Slipping his thumb under her chin and tilting it back, Decker stared into her hooded eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about your mouth, the way it tastes, the things you say—I want you, April. I need you in ways that makes no sense.” Desire clawed its way up his chest demanding its release. “But right now, I don’t give a shit about making sense…”

“Decker.” April sighed, her voice low and husky as her chartreuse eyes practically glowed with anticipation. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Her moaned agreement had his heart pounding double time as he did his best to keep his cool exterior from melting onto the leather booth. She pulled her plush bottom lip between her teeth, and for a brief second, the world faded away. He heard nothing, saw nothing but those lips.

As if she sensed his momentary loss of time and space, April gently stroked his jaw until his eyes once again made contact with hers. “And I’ve wanted you since the first second I saw you at the gym.” Her lips curved. “Any man who can bench-press that much weight and not make those silly grunting noises is someone I pay attention to.” Her dimples sunk deeper. “It didn’t hurt that you were easy on the eyes and compassionate to boot. When that older woman tripped and fell getting off of the treadmill, you helped her up and got her ice for her ankle. You were so kind and gentle with her. Kind of like a superhero that day, Decker Brand.”

“Are you saying I’m not a superhero every day, Ms. Maddox?” Dimples, again… it was like playing Skee-Ball and scoring in the coveted top ring. No matter how many times you win, you always feel like a champ. Seeing April’s dimples and knowing they were aimed at him… yeah, totally fucking winning.

With one hand placing whisper soft touches on his throbbing cock, April lifted the cloth napkin from her lap and laid it gently on the table. “Do you wanna get out of here?” Her wide eyes showed she was just as surprised by her brazen actions as he was.

After three dates, hours spent at the gym, and countless dirty chats and texts, maybe April Maddox was dying to get her hands all over him like he was her. Maybe she, too, wanted to feel the length of him pressing into her as they came together for the first time.
Fuck, I want her
.

Decker lifted his hand and signaled for the check.

* * *

WITH THE CHECK paid at lightning speed, Decker placed his large hand on the small of April’s back and led her to the restaurant door. The heat from his palm sent tingles up her spine and moisture between her thighs.

Oh my God. Is this really happening? Holy shit, this is finally happening!
Like one of her preteen students instead of a grown woman, her thoughts flipped-flopped from excited to nervous, from giddy to curious. Had she made the right moves? Brazen had never been her way, but the years she’d spent tucked away inside herself hadn’t brought her happiness either. So at the advice of her friends and siblings, she decided to leap outside of her comfort zone and reach for what she wanted, and she wanted Decker Brand. Due to circumstances beyond their control, their timing seemed to veer on the opposite end of opportune.

There was no questioning the desire they shared—Christ, she felt as though she could drown in its depth—but her past had taught her a bitch of a lesson, and it wasn’t one she’d ever care to repeat. Therefore, she’d taken the tortoise’s route instead of the hare’s. Slow and steady kept her safe but left her horny as all hell. Although that would be remedied shortly because she intended to hop her ass to the finish line no matter what, and she couldn’t wait to collect her reward.

Walking through the small parking lot with his arm draped protectively around her waist sent small jolts of anticipation zipping through her already hyper-aware body. Everything about the man to her left was imprinted into her memory—the way his tall, hard frame gave balance to her knees that just barely kept her upright, his scent, a spicy blend of cedar, pine, and Decker, hung ever so lightly in the spring, just enough to make her mouth water and her heart race. The man was a sensory feast, and she suffered from insatiable hunger.

They stopped in front of her car. They’d agreed to meet at the restaurant because she still felt more comfortable having her own transportation.

“I’ll drive slowly so you can follow me back to my place,” April’s skin bloomed with goose bumps as Decker’s thumb glided up and down her arm as he spoke. “But just in case, please enter my address into your GPS.” Decker shifted closer, his mouth mere inches from her ear. “I don’t wanna lose you tonight, April.” Yep, those seven words had her blood pulsing through her veins while eagerness clenched at her core as she tapped in his address.

“Are you sure you want to take this back to your place, Deck? I mean, I’ve never been there before and… what if Charlie finds out?” She saw a quick flash of something pass over his face. If it was guilt or the thrill of getting caught, April had no idea; but as quickly as the look had come, it was gone.

Decker opened her car door and waited until she was tucked and buckled safely into her seat before speaking. His brow arched as his chocolate eyes glittered. “It’s late, April. Charlie’s been sleeping for a while.” His lips curled up in the half grin that April had named his
gotcha
smirk as his voice dropped to a gravelly pitch. “As much as I look forward to hearing how you sound when you’re screaming my name as you come”—he winked—“tonight, we’re gonna have to go on touch instead.”

“Ahh, so kind of like mime sex,” April teased, squeezing her thighs together. Everything the man said sparked her libido, and she was one flare away from detonation.