WREN
“Excuse me, Darlene,” I said to the woman next to me. She’d spent the entire meal explaining the estate’s sordid history. “I’m going to use the ladies’ room before dessert.”
“Don’t be long, darling!” she said cheerily.
Tatum had slipped out of his seat not thirty seconds earlier with the same excuse. I tried to follow without raising suspicion, but Jewel wasn’t a fool. Instead of throwing me to the wolves, she drew the long table of honored guests into a lively debate about which teams in our conference were going to make it to the playoffs. Of course, everyone agreed the Reds would go all the way.
“If you go into a season thinking you’ll do anything but win, you’ve already lost,” Coach Williams said, and the table harrumphed in agreement.
Everyone was preoccupied, so I slipped behind a marble pillar and disappeared down the hallway. I strode down the hallway and pulled my phone out to text Tatum.
Wren: Where’d you go?
A hand darted out from an open door, clapped over my mouth, and dragged me in. I didn’t fight it.
Tatum closed the door behind us and pushed me up against the wall.
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“The coat check room,” he rasped, planting sloppy kisses up the side of my neck. “What are you doing here, Little Bird?” he growled. “We had plans tonight. I was the one bailing on you.”
“They told me this morning that I had to be here,” I said, a smile tugging at my lips. “I heard a rumor you and Seth would be here, too.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” He nibbled on my earlobe and barricaded me against a row of suit jackets with his wall-like chest.
I gasped as he ground against me with tented pants. “I thought it’d be more fun to watch you drool over me in this dress.”
Those capable hands of his slid over my chest, circling my breasts as they went. He scraped his fingers down sheer, iridescent fabric clinging to my skin. A shiver ran up my spine and my nipples pebbled.
“I played an entire football game watching you dance in my end zone, trying not to break my dick off against my athletic cup. And you thought it’d be fun to make me hard for another three hours?”
“Yeah,” I teased, meeting his lustful gaze with playful eyes. “I enjoyed seeing how desperately you wanted me.” I wrapped my hand around the granite erection threatening to rip through his trousers. He groaned and his eyes slammed shut.
“You’re a ruthless woman,” he choked out, then spun me around and shoved me face first against the wall. He kicked my ankles apart and left me teetering on the edge without so much as a touch near my nether regions. “Lift your dress,” he growled.
“Tatum—”
“I said lift your dress, Little Bird.”
Shivers danced across my spine and I fumbled with the flowy hem.
“Quickly. We don’t have time now but trust me—once we get out of here, I’ll play with you until you’re begging me to let you come.”
I shimmied the bunched fabric up to my waist. “Play with me?”
He brushed my hair away and smiled against the back of my neck. “The way a lion would play with a little bird.” His teeth nipped at my skin. “It’s been too long since I’ve had my way with you. I’ll take my time.”
My lungs deflated the heat of desire pooled in my belly. I tried to rub my thighs together, but he wedged his colossal body between my legs and against my back. He slid his fingers between my legs, pushed my panties to the side, and parted my sex.
Tatum let out a low, rumbling groan. “So wet for me already, pretty bird. Have you been sitting across the table like this all night?”
My breath quickened.
He reached around, grabbed my throat, and squeezed—firm and calculated. Safe, but oh so arousing His hand slid up the exposed column of my throat and pinched my cheeks, forcing my head to the side. Lust-filled eyes bore into mine as I watched him over my shoulder. “I asked you a question.”
“Yes,” I gasped and let my body rest against him, completely at his mercy.
Tatum used his grip to direct my head back against his shoulder. He licked around the shell of my ear, leaving a tingling path behind.