Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11) Page 7

  His gaze was fixed outside, but that’s not what he was looking at. He was firmly implanted in his imagination, where Harmony had dropped to her knees, her hands taking hold of his cock just as he had hold of it now. As he began to stroke, so would she, only her hands were smaller and softer than his.

  She’d sift his shaft through both hands, looking up at him as she tilted his cock toward her lips. And when her sweet pink tongue darted out to lick at the crest, he groaned.

  “Yes, suck it,” he whispered to himself, caught up in the fantasy of her mouth covering his cockhead.

  He stroked the shaft, fisting it in his hand and drawing it through, imagining it disappearing in the warm recesses of Harmony’s mouth. He shuddered at the visuals of her lips compressing over his flesh, of her tongue darting over his cockhead.

  He could go all night doing this, fantasizing about her sucking him. But dammit, he could already feel his balls tighten, could already feel them quiver in anticipation of his climax.

  He reached over on the table for a tissue and held it in one hand while he pumped his shaft harder and faster in his fist, wishing Harmony were here. He’d want her to watch him get off. Hell, he’d want to watch her get off. Now that’d be something he’d enjoy. Her, naked and spread-eagled on his sofa, her sex open to his view while she pumped her fingers inside and teased her clit. God, he wanted to see her naked so damn badly.

  “Fuck.” The visuals were all too much. He let loose a stream of come into the tissue, his hips pumping hard as he groaned and shuddered through an orgasm that was filled with images of Harmony crying out while she came, too.

  Spent, he crumpled up the tissue, pulled up his pants and went into the bathroom. He flipped on the light, flushed the tissue and stared at himself in the mirror while he washed his hands.

  “You could have had her, dumbass. Instead of jacking off into a goddamn tissue, you could have been inside of Harmony.”

  Except for that number-one rule—she was Drake’s sister.

  He stared down at the sink and shook his head. Yeah, he’d gotten off, but he felt no more satisfied now than he’d been before.

  With a disgusted sigh, he turned off the bathroom light and left the room.

  Harmony got ready for bed, already anticipating the awesome night’s sleep she was going to have now that Barrett had installed the shutters for her.

  She washed her face, brushed her teeth and turned off the lights, smiling as the room was bathed in utter darkness. As she stared up at the ceiling, she thought about tonight.

  She had put on a brave, aggressive front for Barrett tonight, making sure to show off her confident side. But inside, when she’d touched him, she’d been a quivering pile of gooey marshmallow just waiting for him to touch her back.

  And when he hadn’t, her confidence had taken a hit.

  But she wasn’t the type of woman to take one setback and give up. Because Barrett had definitely been interested. Hard as granite interested. Just the thought of him getting hard over her made her wet.

  God, the man was so damn stubborn, though. He could have been in her bed tonight. Instead, now she lay here, frustrated, every nerve ending taut with tension.

  She slid a hand inside her top to fondle her breasts, imagining what it might have been like tonight if Barrett had pushed her against the wall and kissed her.

  She could feel his lips on hers, soft and firm, taking command, rubbing his hard cock against her pussy as his tongue warred with hers.

  With a whimper, she tucked her other hand inside her panties to cup her sex. She gasped and rubbed her clit, visualizing how it would have gone down tonight had Barrett stayed.

  He was a demanding, powerful man, the kind who would take what he wanted from a woman. She could well imagine him drawing her underwear down and putting his mouth on her pussy, licking and sucking her until she came.

  The visuals slammed into her as she quickly rubbed her clit. She was so wet, so hot, and when she came, she moaned his name, begging him to fuck her over and over. Her climax was a crazy release, and one she welcomed. One she’d desperately needed.

  She rested her hips on the bed and let herself float down from that amazing high.

  “Dammit, Barrett,” she said to the ceiling. “We could have had such a hot time tonight.”

  With a little pressure, she could wear him down.

  She respected him wanting to honor his friendship with Drake, even though his loyalty was a bit misplaced. If she’d been seventeen or something, then definitely.

  But she was no child, and Drake was already overprotective enough about every aspect of her life. She would not let her brother call the shots over her romantic life.

  She wanted Barrett.

  She intended to have him.

  With renewed confidence, she turned on her side and closed her eyes.

  Nine

  Harmony and Jeff both told Barrett the crew would show up today to start demo on his house, and he wanted to be there to watch. Plus, Harmony had called and made an appointment with him for this morning to meet about some design stuff.

  What he hadn’t expected was for Harmony to be at his house. When he parked his SUV on the street, she was outside in the driveway talking to Jeff. She was holding a stainless steel cup in her hand and waving it around as she talked. Obviously an animated conversation was going on, and she wasn’t happy about something.

  He grabbed his cup of coffee out of the car and headed their way.

  “These delays are costing the homeowners money, Jeff.”

  “I agree, Harmony, but there’s nothing I can do if they keep changing their mind about finishes every third day. First they wanted black granite for the countertops. Now they’ve decided on marble. So we have to cool our heels and wait for the marble to come in, which, by the way, is back-ordered. I had no choice. I had to send the crew on to another job. Everything else in the house is on hold until we can install the counters.”

  Harmony took a deep breath, then nodded. “You’re right. You’re right. I’ll talk to them.”

  “Great. And when you do that? Tell them if they change one more thing in the house, it’s going to set back the final date for move in.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks for being so patient about this.”

  Jeff shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

  She finally noticed Barrett standing there and turned to him with a smile. “Good morning. You ready to see your house demolished?”

  He returned her smile while he shook Jeff’s hand. “Hopefully just the inside parts.”

  Jeff laughed. “Promise you we’ll only take the pieces out that are supposed to come out. You’re welcome to wield a sledgehammer if you’d like.”

  “No thanks. I’ll stay out of the way and leave it to the experts.”

  “What?” Harmony said. “This is typically where all the homeowners want to dig in and destroy something.”

  “I’ve done plenty of renovating at my parents’ house. I’ve slung my share of sledgehammers in my lifetime. I’ll pass.”

  “Then come enjoy the destruction,” Jeff said. “But if you change your mind, the sledgehammer is yours.”

  Barrett grinned. “Thanks. Or maybe Harmony will want to take a swing.”

  “Ha.” She held up her cup. “I’ll just sip and observe.”

  “My crew’s already in the house and I’m heading that way,” Jeff said. “Come on in when you’re ready.”

  Jeff disappeared inside, while Barrett cocked his head to the side, taking in Harmony’s black dress with white polka dots, along with her high heels. He tried not to notice her sleek, long legs or the way the dress cut across her breasts.

  Too late. He already noticed.

  “You’re wearing that to a demo?”

  She laughed. “It’s not like I’m going to actually be doing the demo.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be dusty and dirty in there.”

  “Trust me. I know my way around a renovation. I’ll stay out of the dust z
ones.”

  “Maybe you should wait outside. Or better yet, not be here.”

  Her lips quirked. “Trying to get rid of me, Barrett?”

  “Nope. Just trying to look out for that pretty dress you’re wearing.”

  “You noticed my dress.”

  Her smile nearly knocked him out. It was pure sex and promise. Damn her for being so desirable without even trying.

  “I noticed your dress could get dirty. That’s all.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure you did.” She linked her arm through his. “Come on, hot stuff. Let’s go inside and take a look at the magic happening.”

  They walked through the front door and into the main living area, which so far, was unscathed. All the action seemed to be happening in the back of the house, mainly in the kitchen.

  “Come on this way,” Harmony said, leading him into the dining area. “We’ll be out of the way in here, but we can still watch.”

  Jeff had a crew of four in the kitchen, and as Barrett sipped his cup of coffee, he watched them do a total teardown in a matter of a half hour, from removing appliances to ripping out the cabinets and the countertops. Next to come up was the hideous floor.

  “Impressive.”

  Harmony grinned. “I told you Jeff and his team were good.”

  Jeff came over. “We’re about to take this wall down, so you two might want to either back away or make yourselves scarce. It’s going to get dusty in here.”

  “That’s our cue to leave,” she said. “Thanks for the show, Jeff.”

  “Yeah, it was fun to watch,” Barrett said. “Kitchen already looks larger.”

  “This whole place will look bigger in a few days once we take out some walls and flooring and start cutting out for windows.”

  Barrett nodded. “I’ll check back in, but I don’t want to get in your way.”

  “You won’t be in the way,” Jeff said. “It’s your house. Come by anytime.”

  “Thanks.”

  He and Harmony walked outside.

  “Do you want to come to my office so we can go over some design plans?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  He followed her over to her office and pulled in front of a nice storefront that had the name of her company—Evans Interior Design—etched on the front.

  He met her at the door and opened it for her.

  “Thanks.”

  Inside was an explosion of fabrics and tiles and books spread out on a large tabletop.

  “Oh, you’re here.”

  A young woman, probably around the same age as Harmony, approached her. She was petite, with dark hair pulled into a high ponytail and a gorgeous smile that she leveled in his direction.

  “Rosalie, this is Barrett Cassidy. Barrett, this is my assistant, Rosalie Juarez.”

  Rosalie grinned and held out her hand. “I know who you are, Mr. Cassidy. I’m a big fan.”

  “Call me Barrett. Nice to meet you.”

  Rosalie nodded and turned her attention to Harmony. “The countertops are in on the Robinson project. I called the contractor to let them know. Delia Spring also called and is interested in doing a living room redesign. I told her you’d get back to her.”

  Harmony nodded. “Thanks, Rosalie. Can you get back to Delia and make an appointment with her? I think I have time tomorrow morning but double-check my calendar.”

  “Will do.”

  Harmony motioned to Barrett. “Come on back to my office and we’ll go over some design features.”

  Her office was located in the back of the shop. Her desk was neat and tidy, with a laptop and pens and a pad of paper.

  “Have a seat,” she said, closing the door behind them.

  The office had windows on all sides, and was spacious enough even for him. He pulled up a chair and instead of sitting behind the desk, she grabbed her laptop and pulled up the chair next to his.

  “We’ll start by going over a few items you’ll need to select. Once I get an idea of your likes and dislikes, we’ll take a look at some of the samples we have out in the showroom.”

  “Sure.” He wasn’t thrilled about being here and having to do this, but Harmony had told him on the phone that she wasn’t going to pick his countertops or his flooring or paint color, so he was going to have to do it.

  Fortunately, she had everything organized, so it went pretty fast. They were out in the showroom within an hour, where he chose the type of granite countertop he wanted, along with the flooring and backsplash—with Harmony’s guidance, of course.

  “I think you’ll be happy with the porcelain tiles,” she said, as she finished making notes in her tablet. “They have the look of hardwoods, but with your pool and all the rain we get, they’ll hold up better.”

  “Agree.”

  “I think we’ll wait on paint color in the kitchen and living area until the floors go down and the appliances and counters are in. It’ll give us a better feel for how the space looks.”

  “You would know best.”

  She smiled up at him. “Why yes, I would.”

  He picked up his phone to check the time. “So are we done here?”

  “Why? Anxious to get away from me?”

  “No, actually, I have a thing to do today.”

  She arched a brow. “A thing?”

  “It’s a team thing. Not really a team thing, since I’m the only one doing it today.”

  “Okay, Barrett, you’re being vague.”

  “Sorry. It’s a community outreach program for at-risk teens. There’s a facility near the stadium that the team supports.”

  “Oh, okay. I know that one well. Drake’s involved with it, too. He’s spoken there a few times. Great program. Are you giving a talk over there today?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Some of the kids are in a summer program, so I’m going to talk with them about sports—and grades. I figure if you talk about sports to them, they might actually listen to how important school and grades are.”

  “That’s fantastic. I’d love to go with you. I know the coordinator there.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. We went to college together. And we can grab some food while we’re out.”

  He liked how she’d inserted the “we’ll eat together, too” part of the day. “Are you sure your schedule will allow that?”

  Her lips curved. “Still trying to get away from me?”

  “No. I just don’t want to make you late for any appointments.”

  “Trust me, Barrett. I know exactly where I’m supposed to be at any given time. I’ve got time for this. Plus, I want to see what you do with these kids.”

  He shrugged, knowing he wasn’t going to get out of bringing her along. “Sure. Let’s go. It’ll be fun.”

  More time with the seductress in her sweet dress, while he tried not to ogle her sexy legs in front of middle school kids.

  Yeah, it’d be about as fun as a hard-on with no relief in sight.

  Ten

  Harmony knew she’d backed Barrett into a corner by inviting herself along to the community center. But she’d actually wanted to go. She hadn’t seen her friend Lachelle in a long time. Both of them had hefty schedules, plus Lachelle had eighteen-month-old twin boys, so trying to get a night out with her friend was nearly impossible these days.

  So when she walked through the doors of the community center, she couldn’t help the smile on her face or the way she leaned into Barrett. She was so excited to see her friend.

  “Lachelle and I were roommates freshman year at Florida State,” she said to Barrett as they waited at the front desk. “We became friends right away, and were inseparable through all our years of college together.”

  Barrett grinned. “Like Drake and me.”

  “Yes. Exactly like that. Though she majored in social work and I did interior design. We didn’t exactly have sports in common like you and Drake did.”

  “Your brother and I didn’t share the same major. Drake did media studies and I did political science. The difference in
our majors had no effect on our friendship. I think Drake and I would have been friends even if we hadn’t had football in common.”

  Harmony adored how much Barrett loved her brother. It was one of the things she admired the most about him. He was loyal to Drake, and Drake hadn’t experienced much in the way of loyalty and friendship growing up. There were the guys in gangs who had claimed to be his friends, who wanted him—no, more like coaxed him—to be a part of what they considered their brotherhood. To someone like Drake, who had been displaced and had grown up fatherless, that kind of male leadership had appealed.

  Mama had told him absolutely not and had told him she’d kick his ass. Fortunately, he’d had football to focus on, to keep him honest and straight. Along with Mama, who had been fierce with her love as well as her discipline.

  Once out of high school and into college, he’d had football, his studies and loyal friends like Barrett to keep him focused.

  She was grateful.

  “He’s lucky to have someone like you in his life.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve always felt like the lucky one.”

  Harmony got an inkling right then of why Barrett was so hesitant to do anything with her. Barrett had to know how protective Drake was over the family, and especially her. Barrett was also protective of his friendship with Drake and wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. And she’d never want to do that, either.

  But he was also going to have to understand she was her own woman, with a life separate from her brother’s.

  It was going to be a dilemma.

  “Harmony.”

  She turned to see Lachelle walking toward her. She didn’t know how her friend did it with everything going on in her life, but she was gorgeous, with her long black hair in dreads and her painted red lips and her long legs encased in a sunny copper dress. She looked as bright and beautiful as she had back in college.

  “Girl, it has been too long,” Harmony said.

  Harmony embraced her friend in a tight hug.