CHAPTER ELEVEN
Saturday, April 14th
Bryce knocked on Daphne’s door and heard a curse. Taking a step back, he let out a breath and hoped it wasn’t a sign of how their day was going to go. He had a couple of things planned and didn’t want another shitastrophy weekend.
The door swung open and Selah stood in front of him in a pair of tiny panties and a threadbare T-shirt. Looking down at his running shoes, he cleared his throat. “Mornin’, is Daphne home?”
“No fucking idea, I was asleep.”
“Is her purse on the hook next to the bookcase?”
“You’re a pain in the ass.” Twirling around, she stomped into the apartment.
Lifting his eyes briefly, he shook his head. “Thanks for checking.” The sound of her feet slapping against the floors alerted him to her return.
“Purse is here, keys are gone, and so is her change purse. Check the laundry room.”
Tipping his head, he stepped back. “Got it.” He turned around just as the door was slammed. “Charming,” he mumbled as he walked down the hallway and headed for the stairs. How those two had turned out so differently despite all the genetics they shared was a mystery.
As he trudged across the courtyard, he thought about the comments Daphne had made about her family and hoped she would share more. Curiosity and a need to understand her was burning in his gut, and the sooner she trusted him with her story, the better.
He rounded the corner and saw her in the laundry room, bending over as she pulled clothes out of the dryer. Grinning, he appreciated the view and felt desire roll across his body. Funny how seeing one woman in barely nothing had absolutely no effect on him and seeing another in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt had him panting like a dog.
“Hey there.” Her head popped up and she gave him one of her smiles that hit him directly in the heart.
Happiness.
Pure and simple.
That’s what her smile gave him.
“What are you doing down here?”
“Stopped by your place and your sister told me where to find you.”
Closing the dryer, she lifted her basket and set it on the table. “I bet she growled her answer because she was coming in as I woke up this morning.”
“Yeah, that’s a fair description.” Taking her hand, he tugged her close and wrapped her in a hug. “Good morning.”
“You said that already when you texted me earlier.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.
“But now I’m saying it in person.”
“I like your person, Bryce.”
Leaning back, he looked down and grinned. “You do?”
“Yep. You’re affectionate and I love the way you’re always showing me with your words and actions that you like me. Makes me comfortable in reciprocating and showing you affection too.”
“You give me all the affection you have.” He tipped her face up, kissing her sweet lips as he slid his hands to her tapered waist. Feeding on her luscious mouth, she let him and opened as she met his tongue thrust for thrust. A wave of desire rocketed through his body as she moved against him, her soft sighs and moans lost inside his mouth.
Breathing her air, he inhaled her as he grabbed her ass and pressed her body into him, so she could feel his hunger.
Breaking the kiss, she gasped for air. “Public.”
He heard her words and had no idea what she was trying to tell him. His lust-fogged mind couldn’t process much other than his need to keep kissing her. “What?”
“We’re in public.”
He let out a laugh and nodded. “That we are.” He let her go and stepped back. “Lost it for a second.”
“Me too.” Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she let out a big breath as she stepped up to the table and started folding her laundry. “I had fun last night. Not only was the food great, but I enjoyed getting to know everyone. I really like Brooke and Frisco and look forward to seeing them again.”
“Great, because Frisco told me that Brooke wants to hang out with you too. What did you think of the tacos? Were they good enough for us to keep the place on our list?”
“I thought they were great and we should definitely go back.”
“Maybe we should try at least one new place a week, so we can come up with our favorite.”
“That’s a great idea. Do you still want to have lunch together?”
Leaning against the table, he crossed one leg over the other and let out a long breath. “I want to spend every minute I can with you and I’m hoping to dominate your time until Monday morning.”
She stopped mid-fold and laughed. “Don’t you have friends and things to do?”
“Sure, but I plan on avoiding it and them if you’re available.”
“After I’m done with this, I have the rest of the day free and would love to hang out.”
Lifting a lilac G-string out of the pile, he grinned. “Love the panties.”
She took them out of his hand and laughed. “I like nice undies, and since I wear a uniform, it makes me feel like all my femininity hasn’t been completely stripped away.”
“Now, when I see you at the base, I’m going to be wondering what color you’re wearing and pray for the day when I get to see you slip them on every morning.” Lifting a rose-colored lace bra, he nodded. “Or when I have the privilege of slipping this off your body at night.”
“That is some high-octane flirting; what are you trying to do to me?”
He leaned over, lifted his eyebrow, and said against her ear, “I want you to fall for me.”
“I already have, I’m just taking my time and getting to know you.”
Satisfaction thrummed in his veins as she pressed her face into his neck. “Well then, I guess there isn’t another thing I need to be happy.” Her warm lips pressed against his skin and he felt it all the way to his toes.
Before he could do anything about it, the sound of voices came down the hall and she pulled away. He let out a long breath and blindly watched her fold her laundry as a small smile played across her mouth. “I was thinking we could go over to Belmont Park and hang out on the boardwalk.”
“That sounds perfect. I haven’t been there since I was a teenager and would love to go on some rides.”
“Great!”
“I’m done here, so I just need to drop this off and grab a jacket and I’ll be ready.”
He lifted the basket and then took her hand. “Are you a roller coaster girl or a merry-go-round girl?”
“I don’t know anymore. I haven’t been on one since I was a kid, so I’m not sure what I’d enjoy more.” She followed him out of the laundry room and asked, “What about you?”
“Since I jump out of airplanes at thirty-thousand feet, I bet you already know the answer.”
“Of course, how silly.” They walked up the stairs and she swung their hands back and forth. “Is having an adventurous partner important to you?”
“I have about fifty down at the base, so no, I don’t think it’s something I need from the woman in my life.”
“Let’s say we were on a vacation and there was an opportunity to do cliff-diving, would you be bummed if I wasn’t interested?”
“Would you stop me from trying it?”
“No, I’d just stand at the top and say prayers so you’d survive.”
“Can I expect a kiss when I survive?”
“Of course.”
“Can’t ask for more than that.” They stopped in front of her door and he set the basket down. “What made you ask me that question?”
“I was watching this show, Married at First Sight and it’s got me thinking about what makes a relationship work and what breaks it. Experts put two strangers together and they marry and then live together for eight weeks.”
“That sounds completely bizarre.”
“Not if you think about the success rate of arranged marriages.”
“Okay, that’s a good point. What else have you learned from this show?”
“People think they know what they want, but when they’re given exactly what they asked for, they’re still not sure.”
“What do you want in a partner?”
“I’m not sure because I haven’t dated a ton. I had only one serious boyfriend, so I don’t have a lot of data.”
“Considering your job is gathering and disseminating information, I can see how that would be important to you. Does that mean you plan on dating a lot of different men over the next couple of years?”
“I probably should, but honestly, I like the one standing in front of me so I’m going to stick with him for a while and see what happens.”
Acting as cool as he could, he grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
Smirking, she picked up her laundry basket and pulled her keys out of her pocket. “Way to be cool, Bryce.”
“That’s me, coolest guy you’ll ever meet.”
“Okay, cool guy, I’ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
“Copy that.” He waited until she walked inside and then headed over to his apartment, whistling the whole way. Today was going to mark the beginning of their relationship, and he was going to do everything he could to see that they had more than a fair chance of succeeding.