Player(68)

It took me a second to parse not only what she’d said, but the positions I knew of. “I’m…not sure what that is.”

She huffed, her embarrassment swelling. “It’s when a guy…he takes a girl, and he…” She groaned. “I can’t explain it. Google it.”

I shifted, doing my level best to reach for my nightstand without disrupting her. When I checked my phone, a string of messages waited on the lock screen from Ian, pestering me. I scanned them.

Ian asking where I’d been last night, if I’d been with Val. If I’d ditched her yet and found someone new.

Questions. A dozen questions, and the answers were all the same: none of his fucking business.

I ignored them, navigating instead to my browser where I searched for Piledriver sex. On finding an illustration of two people banging, I nodded.

“Oh, right. Yeah, I’ve done that. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes, but her discomfort was crystal clear.

“I’ll show you a better one later.”

That one earned me a real smile.

“So we have until sound check to do whatever we want. The world is our oyster.” I toyed with her hair, fitting my finger into a curl. “What do you want to do?”

“Lie here like slugs all day.”

I chuckled, pulling the coil until it was straight and letting it go. It sprang right back into a perfect curl. “Only if you stay naked and I get to touch you wherever I want.”

She kissed my chest and shifted, setting one hand on my chest and resting her little chin on the back of it. “You’ve got yourself a deal, sir.”

“How about tonight? We could go dancing.”

“I have dinner with my family.”

I frowned.

She frowned, too. “I know. But we have dinner every week. My whole family goes, brothers and all.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

She sighed. I tried ineffectively not to pay any attention to her naked breasts against my ribs.

“Four. Dante, Alex, Max, and Franco.”

“Are they as crazy as Dante?”

“Crazier.”

I laughed.

“Okay, that’s a lie. He’s the eldest and thus the head of the wolf pack. Although I will say that all four of them together is much more terrifying than Dante on his own.” I must have been making a face because she added, “Together, they’re a hurricane.”

“I should go to dinner with you.”

Her face fell. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Sure, your brothers are either a scary natural disaster or a pack of hairy wild animals. Is there any circumstance that dictates whether I’ll get one over the other?”

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “I get it. You’re already regretting the whole boyfriend thing and looking for the sweet relief of beyond. Is that it?”

My jaw flexed. “I want to go because that’s what boyfriends do. Isn’t it? Meet the parents. Charm the mom. Take licks from the dad. And thunder-wolf brothers.”

Val worried her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Sam. I mean, you’ve only been my boyfriend for twelve hours. Are you sure you’re ready to meet my entire family? That’s not something people who are casually dating do, is it?”

“Who said I wanted to be casual?”

A pretty flush rose in her freckled cheeks. “Well, I…I don’t know. I’m still trying to math how I’m here, in bed with you, never mind that you were serious about being my boyfriend.”

“Of course I was serious. One of these days, you’ll trust me.”

Worry passed over her face. “No, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. I’m patient. I’ll earn it.” I slipped a curl between my fingertips. “But just so you know, I don’t really do things a little bit or even halfway.”

“Well, what if…what if things don’t work out? They’ll ask after you. They’ll know you, see us together, and when…if you…if we part ways, I’ll have to answer for it.”

“That was a lot of amendments.”

She sighed. “Sam…”

“I get it. I do.” I brushed her pink cheek with the backs of my knuckles. “But I’m not going anywhere. I’d like to meet your family. I’d like them to know me, to see us together. I’d also like to eat your abuela’s paella.”

“I hope that’s not a metaphor.”

“I don’t know what I find more disturbing—the allusion to your grandma’s lady parts or the comparison of it to a seafood dish,” I said on a laugh. “Maybe I can even convince Dante that I’m not a total piece of shit.”

She snorted a laugh. “I mean, good luck with that. That’s what I’m saying. What if he…I don’t know…gives you a wedgie or something in front of everyone?”

“How about I don’t wear underwear, just in case.”

“Oh my God.”

At least she was smiling.

She watched me with eyes so big and brown, so soft and deep, her lashes impossibly long. “Are you sure? If you really want to come, I won’t say no. Abuelita might actually drop to her knees and thank Saint Anthony for you.”