Chapter 21

GRACE

PRESENT DAY

“Have you guys ever been here?” Elodie asked as we all sat down at a booth. “The chicken and waffles are divine.”

“I’ve been here once,” said Brady, “but it was a long time ago.”

“Didn’t you come here after you’d hooked up with that Russian model?” Mac said, grinning.

Elodie elbowed her fiancé, and he winced. “Grace, don’t listen to him,” she said.

I shrugged. “I know Brady has been a man whore. It’s okay.”

Mac laughed, especially when Brady looked embarrassed.

“I haven’t slept with that many women,” Brady groused, staring at the menu now.

“Oh, come on, you and I both know you’ve been even more prolific than me.” Mac then remembered I was still there. “Uh, but that’s all in the past. Completely forgotten.”

Elodie rolled her eyes. “Men are idiots,” she said to me.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I replied.

Brady had suggested that we go on a double date with Mac and Elodie. Part of me had been excited, while the other part of me knew this was just another ploy to keep Brady from touching me.

He couldn’t pull me into some dark alley to feel me up if his best friends were around. It was like having chaperones, except they weren’t your overly strict aunt Linda who liked to remind you to save room for Jesus.

Elodie had suggested her favorite diner, to which we’d all readily agreed.

After we’d ordered, Elodie said to me, “How’s it going with you two so far?”

Brady and I exchanged glances. “Good. I think?” I replied.

Brady frowned. “You think?”

“I mean, this is only our second date.”

“What did you do for your first date?” Mac asked.

“We got sushi, and Brady complained about sitting on the floor,” I said.

Brady snorted. “You try sitting at those low tables and see how you feel.”

Right then, a few women came up to our booth, their expressions agog. They were clearly Blades fans, and they had their phones ready.

“Can we get a selfie?” they asked Mac and Brady.

“Not right now,” said Elodie, firmly but gently. “The guys aren’t working tonight.”

The girls looked annoyed, but they didn’t push their luck. They finally went back to their seats, but not without whispering in each other’s ears.

“You know they’re probably going to post on social media that you’re a jerk,” said Mac.

Elodie shrugged. “Whatever. You don’t always have to say yes to fans. You’re out to dinner right now.”

“Elodie was still polite to them,” I said.

“Oh, I know,” said Mac, sighing, “but I know what happens when you piss people off. Sometimes it’s easier to just say yes and avoid the bad press.”

“Since when did you care about bad press?” Elodie asked, frowning.

Mac’s expression turned serious. “When I started dating you, babe. People can say whatever they want, but when they say shit about you ...” He grimaced. “It fucking sucks.”

“Hey, whatever. It’s okay to say no,” said Elodie. Her gaze turned toward me. “But I will say, dating a famous person has a lot of baggage that comes with it. It doesn’t help when fans get offended when their favorite celebrity starts dating somebody.”

I bit my lip. Since Brady and I weren’t officially dating, I hadn’t had anybody talking about me online. Nobody even knew that I existed.

“I won’t let people fuck with you,” Brady said to me. He squeezed my hand under the table.

“You can’t really control that, unfortunately,” said Elodie.

“But you can always change the narrative. You just have to stay on top of it. If something blows up, get it under control as soon as possible,” said Mac.

I couldn’t help but think about Brady going to the Scarlet Rope. He’d said he didn’t care if people found out, but was that true? And what if fans found out we’d been there together?

I realized I hadn’t been as careful as I should be. I felt a little sick to my stomach.

“And women are always throwing themselves at these guys,” Elodie was saying as she rolled her eyes. “It’s insane. I’ll be standing right there, and women will try to get you to go home with them.”

Mac looked embarrassed. “I never say yes.”

“I’m not worried about you. But it’s just so brazen.” Elodie shook her head. She said to me, “Anyway, I don’t know if this is helping you feel good about dating Brady. But you should know the downsides, too.”

“I think I’m more worried about how people will react when they find out I’m the coach’s daughter,” I admitted.

Mac and Elodie glanced at each other.

“How are you going to deal with that, exactly?” Mac asked.

Brady answered for me. “One day at a time,” he said firmly. “And we don’t owe anybody an explanation.”

“Maybe, but you might think about how you’ll frame the story. Turn it into a star-crossed lovers romance that people will think is romantic instead of, you know, nepotistic,” said Elodie.

“I was already on the team,” said Brady, frowning. “How is this nepotism?”

“My man, people will find a reason,” said Mac, shaking his head. “Believe me.”

“Well, whatever does happen, you guys were already friends, so that helps a lot. Mac and I have already gone through a bunch of shit, but we got through it because our relationship was worth fighting for,” said Elodie.

Mac looked down at his fiancée, love pouring out of his expression. It was so intense that I almost looked away.

I wondered if Brady would ever look at me like that. Sure, he wanted me, but would he ever love me? And not just as a guy who’d been around my family for years and cared about us all in a general sense.

Our food arrived right then, diverting my attention. We all focused on our food. And I had to admit, it was amazing. I hadn’t had fried chicken like this in ages.

When I moaned and licked my fingers, Brady gave me a heated look. I just licked my fingers a second time to remind him of what he could be enjoying tonight if he wanted.

“Stop it,” Brady growled under his breath.

I grinned. “Make me.”

“Hey, you two, get a room,” joked Mac.

“Please tell that to Brady, because he won’t get us one,” I complained.

Elodie raised her eyebrows. “Wait, are you saying—”

“We’re not talking about this,” interjected Brady. He gave me a warning look. “Besides, I’m trying to be a gentleman. Is that such a bad thing?”

“I thought you just said you weren’t talking about this,” I pointed out.

Mac laughed. “Oh, man, you’re in for it, Brady.”

“You want to be a gentleman, but that doesn’t mean you have to deny yourself or me,” I added, speaking to Brady.

“I want to protect you.” Brady looked frustrated.

“I wish you wouldn’t, then,” I said quietly.

Mac quickly changed the subject to discussing the Blades upcoming match. Elodie and I listened and sometimes rolled our eyes at each other when the guys got heated about a teammate or ref they hated.

“That asshole in Vancouver always gives me penalties,” Mac complained, “even when I haven’t done a goddamn thing. I didn’t even touch Murphy that last game. And I fucking wanted to.”

“I know, I know,” said Brady, shaking his head. “Aren’t Canadians supposed to be nice? Because that guy is an asshole. He loves to put you in the box.”

“Maybe he has a penalty box kink,” Elodie said, tapping her chin.

I laughed. “Don’t give these guys any ideas.”

The dinner ended with us hugging and saying goodbye while promising to do this again. When Elodie hugged me, she whispered in my ear, “Brady is a good guy. I know he’ll do right by you.”

But as I drove Brady to his place—he’d needed me to drive tonight since his car was in the shop until tomorrow—I wondered at Elodie’s words.

Not that I didn’t believe Brady wasn’t a good guy. He was. I already knew that. But I didn’t know if he would do right by me.

How could he, when he refused to touch me no matter how much I begged? Sometimes I felt like a china doll he was afraid to break.

It also didn’t help that Brady looked extra hot tonight. He’d worn a fitted tee and jeans, nothing fancy, but the T-shirt showed off his physique. He also sported a five-o’clock shadow that I wanted to run my palms along.

God, I was desperate for this man. I could feel myself getting wet just imagining him touching me.

Would he at least kiss me tonight? He’d said he would when he’d made up those silly rules. Two minutes for the kiss on date number two.

After I’d parked in front of Brady’s apartment, I got out of the car to follow him inside.

“Babe, I told you to go home,” Brady protested.

I steeled myself. “I’m not going home. Not yet.”

He looked frustrated. Raking his fingers through his hair, he sighed. “This is a terrible idea.”

“You didn’t even kiss me.” Now, I sounded petulant, but I didn’t care.

His eyes darkened. “This is just about a kiss?” He pulled me into his arms, pressing my body against him. “Because I was always going to kiss you good night.”

Before he could kiss me, though, I extricated myself from his grasp. “Not out here. Inside.”

He swore. I ignored him. When we got to his door, he tried one last time to tell me to go home, but I refused.

“You were put on this earth to drive me insane, weren’t you?” Brady asked, almost to himself.

I felt giddy with excitement, but also nervousness. I’d had an idea of what I wanted to do tonight, but I wasn’t sure I would work up the nerve.

I’d given one other guy a blow job before. It had been ... lackluster, to say the least. I hadn’t known what I was doing, and he hadn’t provided much in the way of instruction. When I’d struggled to finish him off, he’d sighed and had said I could stop.

But I wanted to try with Brady. Brady would make sure we both had an amazing time. And I wanted to show him that I could give him pleasure just like he’d given me with the spankings and the kisses.

“I want to blow you,” I blurted.

Brady froze in his tracks. “What?”

“You heard me.” I stood up straighter. “Where do you want to do it? In your bedroom?”

Brady was still gaping at me. “Christ, Grace, where did this come from?”

I decided that if this was going to happen, it would be right here. I dropped to my knees and began to unbuckle his belt, looking up at him the entire time.

His pupils widened as I undid his belt and slowly unzipped his fly. I rubbed my other hand over his erection, which I could feel growing against my palm.

His breathing increased. “Grace,” he growled.

“Tell me to stop,” I said, “and I will.”

I waited. He seemed to be fighting an internal battle. But he just nodded, his expression telling me that he’d die if I stopped.

My own heart was pounding with anticipation. I’d wanted to see Brady’s cock for so long. Not just see it, but lick it, taste it, watch it grow and throb as he finally came all over my face.

I rubbed him a little longer through his jeans. My eyes widened when I realized how large he was getting. But I couldn’t stop the gasp when I finally saw his size with my own eyes.

“Lord Almighty,” I whispered. How the hell would I ever get this inside me? He’d split me in two.

“It’ll fit,” he rasped. “Believe me.”

I shook my head, even as I wanted to believe him. Then again, he’d know better than I ever would.

I sat back on my heels, gazing at him, loving the tension thrumming through him as I made him wait for my touch. His cock was hard, veins pulsing on the sides, the tip already excreting precum.

I took hold of his cock and lick the tip of it. He tasted salty. I hummed in my throat as I began to stroke him with my hand while I swirled my tongue around the tip.

I couldn’t tell whether Brady was really enjoying this, though. He was just gazing down at me with those eyes that seemed to burn through me.

“How is it?” I asked, suddenly feeling shy.

He caressed my cheek before taking my hand and squeezing it. “Harder when you stroke me. Yes, like that. You won’t hurt me. And when you do that, try to take me into your mouth.”

I did as he asked. He groaned when I slowly took his length into my mouth until the tip was touching the back of my throat. I forced myself to stay still, not giving in to my gag reflex.

I sucked him until he started groaning and digging his fingers into my hair. I let him go with a pop as I sucked in air.

“Jesus, you’re a natural,” he said, his cheeks flushed. “I’m going to finish soon if you’re not careful.”

“Isn’t that the goal?”

“Not always.” He wiped saliva from my chin. “I never thought I’d see you on your knees for me. It’s sexy as fuck.”

I squeezed the base of his cock and began fucking him with my mouth. I loved the way he swore and moaned. The last—and only—guy I’d given a blow job to had been dead silent.

Brady, though, wasn’t shy. He moved his hips in time with my mouth, until he was hitting so far inside my throat I didn’t know how I was managing it.

“Grace, I’m coming,” he gritted out. “If you need to stop now—”

I kept going. I sucked him so hard that he shouted. Then I felt him shoot into my mouth. He came with seemingly endless pulses. I swallowed his cum, looking up at him as I did so.

He was shaking his head at me. “Dammit, Grace.” He lifted me up and kissed me so hard that it almost felt like he was angry with me.

Or maybe he was just angry with himself.

“Fuck it. We already broke the rules tonight. I’m not going to let you go home without my mouth on you,” he said.

He carried me to his bedroom and laid me on his bed. He stripped off my jeans and panties with alarming speed. If I weren’t so desperate for him, I might’ve been afraid.

He parted my thighs and gazed at my pussy for so long that I squirmed. “What are you staring at?” I asked.

“You’re beautiful.” He parted my pussy lips and groaned. “You’re dripping already. Did sucking my cock turn you on, baby?”

I nodded. He sighed and then leaned down to lick me from taint to clit.

I squealed. I’d never had a guy go down on me before. I’d imagined it, dreamed about it, wondered what it would be like, but nothing could compare with the real thing.

Brady buried his face in my pussy and went to work. He licked and sucked at my clit as he pushed a finger inside me. I writhed, the pleasure nearly unbearable.

“Oh God, I’m going to come too fast,” I complained.

Brady’s eyes crinkled. “Is that a bad thing?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer. He just kept licking and sucking until I couldn’t breathe. When he hooked his finger upward inside me, my eyes flew open at the burst of pleasure.

“Oh my God,” I moaned. I was humping his face to the point that he had to use his arm to keep my hips on the bed.

“Come all over my face,” he commanded. He increased the pressure of his fingers against my G-spot. “Come for me, Grace.”

I didn’t have to be told twice. I came with a scream as my body was wracked by the intensity of my orgasm. Brady growled, holding me down harder as he kept my orgasm going for as long as he could.

I was panting when Brady took me into his arms. I vaguely heard the sound of a phone ringing.

“Ignore it,” Brady said.

But his phone kept ringing, and ringing, and then it started ringing again. Brady swore and pulled his phone from his pocket, answering the call with a gruff, “What is it?”

He was silent for a long moment. I sat up, concerned, watching a variety of expressions move across his face.

After he hung up, he said, “It’s my mom. She’s dying.”