Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Anders

Is she serious right now?

A blow job lesson?

I pop a semi just imagining it.

I figured I’d be lucky to see her tits and she’s offering to suck my dick?

“I’ve only done it once,” she says when I don’t respond. “And I don’t think I did it right.”

“Baby, unless you bite, there is literally no way to do it wrong,” I whisper against her ear. “But that doesn’t feel like a reward for you winning a bet. That’s more a reward for me .”

“Yes, but I’m asking you to teach me something which might not be as fun for you.”

I throw back my head and laugh. “I promise you, sweetheart—it is one hundred percent fun if your mouth is on me.”

She chews her bottom lip. “Well, what would you want if you execute every move perfectly?”

That’s a loaded question.

But I know her limits.

That doesn’t mean I can’t push them.

“Look, these really aren’t bets. Let’s call them challenges that have… prizes.”

She looks pensive for a moment, but then nods. “Okay.”

“If I complete my challenge, I get to teach you how to give head. If you complete yours, I get to try to make you come without taking any of your clothes off.”

Her mouth falls open. “A fully dressed orgasm?”

“Yup.”

Her eyes meet mine and I see a surprising mixture of excitement and trepidation as she says, “Deal.”

This is too easy, and I realize it’s because there’s something between us. I’m not talking about a simple attraction, either. There’s a magnetic pull, a sense of trust, and a genuine interest in getting to know each other. It’s been two days but she’s all I’ve thought about since I first saw her sitting on that beach chair.

She’s not like anyone I’ve ever dated, and though we don’t have a lot of time, and she has a ton of boundaries, I’m willing to see where it goes. She’s the first woman since the whole fiasco with my ex that makes me want more than sex. Hell, I’m fully aware that we may never get past second base, and I’m okay with that. We’ll be playing in the Philadelphia area coming up in the next couple of months, so there will be opportunities to see each other again.

And once she starts working remotely, she could come back down here.

I don’t know why I’m so sure it’s going to work out between us, but my gut rarely steers me wrong, and Claudia is special.

“We’re up,” she whispers, grabbing my hand.

“You’ve got this, sweetheart.” I brush my lips across hers. “Remember, we’re here to have fun. Teaching you how to give a blow job is a bonus, not the main attraction.”

“You’re a really nice guy,” she says after a moment.

“Thank you.”

We join Johan, who’s part of our group, and paddle out onto the water. I’m with Scarlett, Johan is with Tawny, and Claudia is with Jones. The waves are pretty tame, but that’s probably a good thing since none of us know what we’re doing. Claudia looks nervous, and Johan falls off the board his first time up, and then it’s my turn.

Shit.

This is harder than it looks, but I’m determined.

Claudia’s on her board, and then on her knees…and then she falls off.

She comes up laughing and gives me a thumb’s up.

“Come on—you have to do better than me!”

So I lift to my knees and try to find my balance as I somehow get to my feet.

Hell, yeah.

I’m doing it.

This is pretty cool.

“Anders!” I hear my name and swivel my head to the right, just in time to see Claudia standing on her board with her hands in the air.

A moment before she topples over.

“Woohoo!” I yell out. “Go, baby!”

“I did it!” she yells as she surfaces.

“I told you, you could do it!” Jones says to her.

I don’t even care about our bet, or challenge, or whatever the hell we’re calling it. It’s nice to see her excited. Especially when she gets back up and does it again.

Scarlett and Tawny have photographers on the beach getting both video and still shots of everyone, and I hope they capture one of Claudia on her ride. I’m going to make sure to blow it up and print it for her, if they do.

She’s so proud of herself and as we come out of the water holding our boards, I notice Hana snapping photos with her phone. I give her the Hawaiian “hang loose” symbol with my hand as one of the assistants comes over to take our boards so the next group can get their turn.

“That was amazing,” Claudia says to me, shaking water out of her eyes.

“You did it,” I say, nodding.

“So did you.”

“It was fun. I’m excited to see the video.”

“There was video?” She grimaces. “I probably look ridiculous.”

“You looked strong and beautiful and happy,” I say, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I felt strong and beautiful and happy,” she acknowledges. “Partly because of you. I probably wouldn’t have even tried if you hadn’t encouraged me.”

I lean down to kiss her, and her mouth opens for me.

She tastes like salt and sun and sex.

She probably has no idea what that means, but that’s okay. She’s going to learn sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, all I can think about right now is the idea of finding a way to get her off.

Fully dressed.

I can do it, but the question is more when we’ll have a chance.

There are no plans for us to be alone.

She’s been very clear that this is a girls’ trip—her vacation with her bestie. There are opportunities, like today, to do things as a group, but I’m not sure how she’ll react if I ask her for the two of us to do something alone. Hana has been spending time with everyone today, but I’ve seen Aiden chatting her up, and I wonder how Felix is feeling about all that or if his feelings even matter at this point.

Two guys on the same team chasing after the same woman is always problematic.

And despite the fact that Hana has supposedly friend zoned Felix, my gut tells me he’s not going to give up that easily.

“Do you want to stay?” I ask Claudia as I hand her a towel. “Surf some more? Tawny said we can take any of the boards in the shop if we want to try it for a while longer.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes, I do.” She grins at me.

So that’s what we do.

The beach is busy between the special event at the shop and a good portion of the team being here. Once a handful of beachgoers recognize us, it gets even busier, and the shop is full simply because Knights fans want to hang out with us.

On one hand it’s nice, because I appreciate the fans. Without them, I wouldn’t have the incredible life I have.

But at the same time, in this particular instance, it’s bad enough I have to share Claudia with our friends; dividing my time taking pictures with fans is even worse.

She’s a good sport, though, offering to take pictures and not reacting as women flirt with me. They flirt with all the guys, and most of it is harmless, but some women get upset when it happens right under their noses. Not that Claudia and I are in a relationship, but we are out on a date. I’m the first to admit I’ll be annoyed if guys hit on her in front of me when we’re obviously together.

It’s different for me, though. This is part of my life, and any woman that’s going to be with me will have to trust me enough to know that I’ll be polite, I’ll smile and crack jokes, but that’s as far as it’ll go. I’m not the kind of guy who cheats or double dips. If I’m out with a woman, she’s my focus, whether it’s one night or forever.

Why am I already thinking about these kinds of things?

Apparently, I’ve got it bad for her.

“Hey, I’m ordering pizza,” Jordan tells us late in the afternoon. “Mushroom, pepperoni, and extra cheese. Anything else?”

“I’m good,” I say, digging for my wallet. “You want money?”

He waves a hand. “Nah, I’m good. You can buy me a beer next time we go out.”

“I’m starving,” Claudia says as she sinks down onto the big blanket we’ve spread out.

“Why didn’t you say something?” I ask, sinking down next to her.

“We were having fun,” she says. “And you were busy.”

“I’m sorry about that. Once we get recognized, it’s hard to say no.”

“It’s all right. It’s part of it, right? I’ve heard Johan talk about it over the years, trying to find a balance between being good to the fans and having a modicum of privacy.”

“Yeah? Would it bother you? If we were in a relationship?”

“The way women throw themselves at you?” She laughs. “I mean, probably? But I wouldn’t be in a relationship with someone I didn’t trust. Now, getting me to trust you will take time.”

“But assuming we were to that point, where there was trust, where we were in a relationship, you’d be okay with it?”

“Well, I don’t think any of us are ever okay when someone blatantly makes a move on the person you’re in a relationship with, but as long as you have boundaries, I’d have to be okay with it. Otherwise, I couldn’t be with you.”

I might be falling a little in love with her already.

“I mean, you saw how Johan handled it, right?” she continues. “He made it very clear that Sloane is his fiancée, and that he isn’t available. I think it’s up to the man, in this particular case, because you’re the celebrities, to set the boundaries. Just like I would make it clear I’m not available to some guy who approached me at a bar.”

“You’re right.” I nod. “That’s very thoughtful. And I completely agree.”

“Every so often I come up with something thoughtful,” she says.

“I bet it’s more than every so often.”

Our gazes linger, and I’m lost.

What the hell is happening to me?