Bro Code(37)

I had assumed his place would be nice, but nothing I dreamt up during my three-hour drive quite lived up to this. An apartment with a front desk attendant? I didn’t even know that existed. Between this fancy apartment and his plush job at the law firm, why would he ever leave Chicago? A lump forms in my throat at the thought, but I force it down. No time to deal with the distance thing right now.

“Have you been doing alright?” he asks, leading me into an elevator. “When I talked to your mom, she couldn’t stop talking about how worried she is about you. Said you’re working yourself to the bone at the factory.”

I roll my eyes. Of course, Mom talked to him about the factory.

“She sounded so worked up about it. I figured I’d better get you out of the house and away from work for a bit. Maybe it’ll do both you and your mom some good.”

“So, you invited me here because of my mother? That's hot.”

He laughs.

I try not to sound too defeated, but I could hear the disappointment in my voice. Why had I bothered wearing my sexiest underthings if this was nothing more than a favor for my mom?

The elevator dings and the doors part to reveal a navy blue carpeted hallway gently lit with a warm yellow glow. I follow Barrett to the third apartment door on the left, which he swiftly unlocks.

“Come inside,” he says as I cross through the door, but I hardly have the time to give the place a once over before he closes the door and takes my jaw in his large hands, pulling me into a fiery hot kiss. Maybe my sexy panties weren’t such a bad idea after all.

I part my lips to welcome his tongue, which strokes and twirls around mine. The fact that I went even a week without this is unbelievable. Barrett weaves one hand through my hair while the other latches onto the wool coat I dug out of the garage, keeping me locked tight against his chest. He softly tugs my lower lip with his teeth, releasing me just enough that I can catch half a breath.

“Does that feel like your mother has anything to do with this?”

My smirk matches his. “I guess not,” I whisper.

“You guess?” he says, one eyebrow cocked. “Well then, let’s take the guesswork out of it.”

Barrett presses me against the door, kissing me again and again, each kiss more demanding than the last. Our hands work in a frenzy, shedding layers, leaving behind a trail of boots, coats, gloves, scarves, all tumbling onto his apartment floor. He takes a step back to admire me, dressed casually in a pair of skinny jeans and a fitted, long-sleeved t-shirt. His large hands span my waist, his thumbs pressed to my hips. My body is already tingling.

“I don't want to rush this. We need a time out. Come here.” Taking my hand, he tugs me into the living room where we sit down on the couch.

His place is nice, it's small but cozy with a gray couch and matching ottoman, a rustic wood dining table piled with work papers and his laptop. There are framed photos lining the bookshelf across the room, mostly shots of him and Nick, or other groups of guys doing various outdoor sports. None of a woman, other than his mother, which I think is a good thing.

“A time out?” I ask, raising one brow.

“I just think we should talk. We jumped into this, and…. What?” He's smiling.

I realize my brows are scrunched together, and I'm giving him a confused look. “I'm sorry. I'm not used to guys who want to talk. Please continue.”

He takes my hand, and laces our fingers together. “I'm not a guy, Ava. I'm a man. A man who is very, very interested in taking you to bed, but I happen to think consent is sexy as fuck.”

I swallow and wait for him to continue while my belly tenses with butterflies yet again.

“So, you're going to be the one calling the shots here,” he says meeting my eyes with a serious expression. “I know how much I'm risking by having you here, and I've come to terms with that. But you're risking something, too, and I need to know you're okay with that.”

He's afraid he's going to hurt me, that this is all going to end in disaster.

I'm struck by a flurry of emotions all at once. Suddenly I know that once this forbidden fling ends, I won't bounce back like I usually do after a breakup—by eating double-stuffed cookies and writing in my journal. No, this is something altogether different.

I haven't wanted to admit it, but something much bigger than I ever expected is happening between us, but before I can ponder it further, Barrett leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“Say something, Ava. I'm a big boy, whatever it is, I can handle it.”

I draw a deep breath, fighting to unscramble my thoughts and focus on the man in front of me. The man who wants me. “If you think for one second I'm walking away from this…”

I don't even finish the sentence before his lips crash down on mine.

He kisses me like I've never been kissed before, sucking on my tongue, nipping at my lower lip. I push my fingers into the hair at the back of his neck, my tongue twisting with his.

“Tell me,” he manages.

Another kiss interrupts him.

“What you...”

His mouth hovers over mine.

“Want.”

Barrett pulls back, looking at me.

There is so much fire in that crystal clear blue gaze that it momentarily renders me speechless.

“You.” Is all I manage before he hoists me up from the couch. We only make it so far as the hallway before he sets me down and pins me against the wall. I'm just as crazed with want. I push my hands under his shirt, touching his chest, his abs, any patch of bare skin I can get my hands on.