Dating the Player, page 3
That annoyed me. “What exactly is a guy like me?”
I knew what she meant and she was, for the most part, right.
Which is what annoyed me. I hated being predictable.
Rolling her eyes, she handed the TSA agent her boarding pass and license and didn’t say anything else.
The TSA guard recognized me, and after he shook my hand and clapped my shoulder, grinning, and offering me a playoff prediction, we were ushered aside to a VIP line where we didn’t have to wait. I was used to it, and knew there was no point in protesting, but Eloise looked a little dazed.
As we walked to our gate, I saw a few kids taking pictures of me.
“Does this happen to you all the time?” Eloise asked.
“A lot of the time.”
“It’s very weird and precisely the reason I thought you would take a private jet.”
“Being recognized doesn’t bother me. It’s part of the job. And I may have a lot of money, but if I blew it on shit like private jets, someday it might be gone and I don’t want that.”
“That’s very practical.”
“I’m a practical guy,” I told her.
The look she gave me made me laugh. “What? Are you judging me, Kitty? Because I feel judged.” It was noon and my stomach was starting to rumble. I spotted a kiosk. “Hey, do you want a soft pretzel? Those things are awesome.”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay, wait here.”
“Dak.” Eloise gave me a stern look and held out her hand. “Phone, please.”
She was really taking this shit serious. “What if I say no?” I could go five minutes without my phone. I just didn’t like being told what to do.
Eloise paled. But she lifted her chin and looked determined. “I guess I’ll just have to take it from you, then.”
Oh, now this was interesting.
“It’s in my pocket,” I told her. “Go for it.”
Eloise swallowed visibly. “Front pocket or back pocket?”
I gave her a low, dirty smile. “Front.”
“Can’t you just hand it to me?”
“Nope. You want it, you have to take it.” I lifted my hands up. “I won’t stop you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Which side?”
“If you look, you’ll be able to tell which pocket my phone is in.” She’d also see my cock. There was no way she’d miss it.
Eloise squinted one eye mostly closed and bit her lip, glancing down at my crotch with the open eye.
“Oh my God!” she said, when she caught sight of my cock.
Now that was what I wanted to hear.
We were standing by a pillar next to our gate and I was well aware of the fact that any number of people could probably see, even though I was facing Eloise and the pillar. Hey, she needed to learn there was really no way to go totally under the radar, phone or no phone. We weren’t living in a vacuum, and if I didn’t post something, someone else would post something about me.
Like her digging in my pocket trying to take my phone away.
“Is something wrong?” I asked her when she didn’t do anything, just stared at my dick.
“No, no, not at all. I just wasn’t expecting…” Her gaze quickly shifted to my pockets. “Never mind. There it is.”
“Told you.” I was amused by her hesitation. She reached out like she was about to stick her hands into an open sewer, not my pants.
She actually closed her eyes before sliding her hand inside my right pocket and tugging my phone out as quickly as possible. My cock got harder. She had no idea how adorable she was with her lids squeezed shut and her teeth digging into her plump bottom lip. I knew she wasn’t going to touch my cock, but my cock didn’t want to give up hope.
The phone got caught on the stitching of my jeans and she tugged harder, eyes flying open. Finally, it was free and she gave a huge sigh of relief. “Got it.”
“Did you enjoy that as much as I did?” I asked her.
She stepped back, resting my phone against her tits, her cheeks pink. “Dak.”
“Yeah?” She had no idea how kissable she looked right now.
“Go get your pretzel.”
“Sounds like a plan, Kitty.” I got two, just in case.
Eloise was sitting by our gate, my phone between her thighs and her purse on her knees. I wondered if she realized how close to her pussy my phone was or if she had just done it absentmindedly.
“I got you a pretzel anyway,” I said, sitting down next to her.
“I told you I didn’t want one. You wasted your money.”
“See, when I don’t spend fifty grand on a private plane, I can waste a couple of bucks on a pretzel.” I bit off a chunk. Then I pulled a smaller piece off and held it up to her mouth. “Just try it.”
“No, thank you.” She shook her head, though it was clear she eyed the pretzel with naked longing. I could practically see the drool forming.
“You’ll love it, I promise.”
“Dak, I can’t.” She shook her head again, rapidly. “I’m on a low-carb diet,” she said, sounding desperate.
“Just open your mouth, Kitty.” I can’t stand it when women don’t eat because of some bullshit standards of beauty.
For a second I thought she was going to protest again. But then she just sighed and opened her mouth. I put the pretzel bite between her lips, lingering longer than necessary. She glanced over at me, her amber eyes filled with lust, for the pretzel or me or both, I wasn’t sure. I just knew she was driving me crazy.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” I dropped my hand.
“Amazing,” she said, still chewing. “I’m going to gain five pounds this weekend, aren’t I?”
“Maybe. Who cares? You have a gorgeous body.” I dropped my gaze to her tits. Then to her thighs. “Can I have my phone back?”
“False flattery will get you nowhere.” Though she did pull my phone out from between her thighs and hand it to me.
My phone was warm. I shoved it back in my pocket. “That was not false flattery. Don’t you know me well enough to know I don’t say anything I don’t mean?”
“Sadly, I do know that. I’m just not sure if you’re outrageous on purpose or if you just can’t stop yourself.”
I didn’t know Eloise well enough to show her my ass, and tell the truth. That I said and did whatever I wanted because watching my little brother die when he was six years old had fucked me up. I had vowed after seeing Jackson’s young life ripped away from him so soon after it started to not sweat the small stuff. To be who I wanted to be and do what I wanted to do. Hell, do who I wanted to do. Life was too goddamn short.
So I just tore off another piece of pretzel and teased it between Eloise’s lips. “Just take the compliment, Kitty. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Though when her tongue flicked over my finger as she drew the pretzel deeper into her mouth, I wondered if I knew what the fuck I was doing here. There are girls you screw around with and girls you don’t.
“Thank you,” she murmured, her lips still wrapped around my finger.
My dick went hard and I decided I didn’t give a shit about consequences.
I wanted Kitty.
“There’s more where that came from,” I told her.
I wasn’t even sure what the fuck I meant by that, but while I was looking forward to seeing my parents, it was even better with Eloise as company.
Pulling my phone back out of my pocket, I opened it and texted my mother. I had told her Eloise was coming with me, and had vaguely told her that Eloise was something of my assistant.
Can Eloise stay in my room?
There are very few people I ask permission from for anything. My mother is one of them.
Are you engaged to marry her?
No.
Then over my dead body, Dakota. And don’t ask again. Your brother and sister live here, you know.
I knew she would say no. And truthfully, I wouldn’t mess around with a woman at my parents’ anyway. I meant that when I told Jeff.
It was more like I needed my parents to know I had… thoughts about Eloise. I wanted them to meet her through that lens so they could give me their opinion. I kind of wanted to date Eloise, to be totally honest.
Mama.
What?
I could practically hear the suspicion in her text. It made me grin.
Love you.
She sent me an eye-roll emoji, then, “love you 2.”
“Who are you texting?” Eloise asked nervously.
“My mother.” I showed her my phone. My first question was no longer visible on the screen, which was disappointing.
Her mouth formed an “O” as she read the last few exchanges.
“I’m a good boy,” I told her. “I’m not sure why you doubt that.”
“Do you want me to list the things you’ve done and said?”
“Nope.” I scrolled back on my phone and flashed my phone at her briefly, so she could just catch a glimpse of it. “I wonder what’s going on on Twitter?”
“No! No Twitter!”
Eloise made a grab at my phone and I grinned. “Did you hear that? Time for priority boarding. Let’s go.”
I stood up and reached for her hand to help her stand. To my surprise, she took it. Her hand was tiny and delicate in mine and I felt an odd, unexpected connection to her before she pulled away.
The second we got on board, I ordered a whiskey.
I was feeling impulsive and impatient.
I wanted to make something happen.
With Kitty.
Chapter Three
Eloise
My nerves were strung out. I couldn’t figure Dak out. He was being flirtatious. He was being sweet. He was being mischievous.
One minute he was saying things that sounded like complete and utter bullshit. The next he was defending me against mean girls and telling his mother he loved her.
He clearly enjoyed messing with me over his phone.
As I sat in first class on the plane and tried to relax, I couldn’t believe I’d been stupid enough to fall for digging his phone out of his pocket. He’d done it just to rattle me. It had worked.
I had taken one look at that bulge beneath his jeans and almost fainted.
It had looked hard.
Why was it hard?
I had no idea, though it’s my general understanding even a strong breeze can give a man an erection, so I wasn’t going to presume it had anything to do with me.
I had also never realized how sexy someone feeding me food could be. I didn’t want the damn pretzel but with Dak’s enormous fingers sliding it between my lips, it felt erotic as heck. I probably would have eaten the whole thing that way, with damp panties, if the gate agent hadn’t saved me by announcing boarding.
Dak was drinking booze and watching a movie.
I was sipping water and staring straight ahead, glancing over at him every ten seconds to make sure he hadn’t launched a tirade on social media on who knew what.
It was exhausting and I was getting a tension headache. Thank God the flight was only a couple of hours. Dak’s six-foot-five frame took up more than his allotted space. To accommodate the length of his legs, he had his knees spread apart, and his right knee kept bumping mine.
Will’s words at the office ran through my head. He’s fucking with you.
Maybe he was. Hell, he clearly was. But none of that mattered. What was important was I needed to survive this weekend without losing my job.
“Miss, would you like something else to drink?” the flight attendant asked me.
First class at least was fun. It seemed like every five minutes they were offering me something. I’d already eaten a soba noodle salad for lunch. “Uh, no, thank you.” I wanted wine like the devil wants souls, but I dug deep for some willpower.
“Mr. North?” she asked, giving Dak a wide smile. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’ll take another.” He tossed back what was left in his glass.
Oh, boy. “Maybe you’ve had enough?” I asked, my voice rising unnaturally high.
“Nope.” He winked at the flight attendant. “You know I can handle my liquor, right, darlin’?”
She giggled and gave a tinkling laugh. “Of course you can. You are an adult.” She shot me a disapproving look, then smiled at him again. “I’ll be right back.”
Annoyed that Dak was flirting with the flight attendant instead of me, I turned to the window to gaze out over the clouds. A cup plunked down on my tray. I turned back to see Dak closing his own tray and unbuckling his seat belt.
“Where are you going?” I asked, alarmed.
Dak shot me an amused look. “Out on the wing. Where the hell do you think I’m going? The john.”
“Oh, okay.” I settled back, berating myself for being an idiot.
There was a droplet of whiskey still in Dak’s glass that he’d shifted to my tray. I drank it. It tasted terrible. Shuddering, I looked over at his seat, wanting confirmation his phone was resting there. It wasn’t.
He’d taken his phone to the restroom.
Damn it.
Would he try something?
Of course not. That would be ridiculous.
Then again.
Why didn’t he just leave it with me or on the seat?
He must be planning to tweet.
I jerked in my seat, my knee bumping the tray table, jostling the empty cup. I grabbed it and set it on Dak’s seat and closed my tray. I unbuckled and slid out into the aisle. The flight attendant raised her eyebrows in question at me when I went to the closed restroom door and knocked on it.
I gave her a shrug and a smile. “Dak?”
“Yeah?” Dak’s deep voice came back at me.
“I need your phone.”
“Eloise. Seriously. It’s not a good time. I’m taking a piss.”
I leaned as close to the door as I could without touching it, trying to see if I could hear the tapping sounds of him typing on his phone. “Dak?”
“What?” he growled.
“Are you on your phone?” I made the mistake of glancing to my left. The guy in the first row of first class was staring at me like I was a lunatic.
I felt a little crazy.
“No, I am not on my phone.”
“Are you sure?” I didn’t really believe him. It was taking him an awfully long time.
“Open the door if you don’t believe me.” The distinct sound of the lock being slid open had me pulling back. The vacant sign appeared.
Taking a deep breath, I cracked open the door.
Dak wasn’t on his phone.
He wasn’t peeing either.
He was tucking his very large cock back into his jeans. He glanced at me. “Satisfied I’m not embarrassing myself?”
Oh, those were such loaded words. My cheeks burned. I had seen a lot of thick dick, with shiny pink flesh before it had disappeared into his jeans. “I… I’m sorry. It just was taking a long time…”
He washed his hands and dried them. He looked like he’d had more room in the womb than he did in the restroom. He was hunched over and his hands were the size of the sink itself. “That’s because it’s hard for a guy like me to move around in this sardine can. I think the Mile High Club is complete and utter bullshit.”
I stepped back to let him out of the restroom. I pushed my glasses up on my nose. “I think that term came into play when flights were much roomier in the sixties and early seventies. Air travel was very glamorous in those days. They had bars and second floors and pianos.”
Dak was watching me in amusement. “Kitty. Go back to your seat.”
“Right. Of course.” I was blocking his ability to return to his seat. Embarrassed, I slunk back into my seat and retrieved his empty cup so he could sit down. “Sorry.”
“Next time I’ll leave my phone with you, promise.” He put his seat belt back on and gestured to the flight attendant.
She brought him the drink he’d ordered before going to the restroom. She looked at me like I was a psycho bitch who didn’t deserve Dak. I didn’t even bother to try and explain myself. There really wasn’t a way to explain bursting in on a man in a private moment.
That cock… I shivered.
“Do you want any wine or anything?” Dak asked.
“Actually, yes, I do. Whatever white wine they have, thank you.” I had vowed not to drink but that was before I had seen parts of Dak I should never have seen. I was going to be seeing that for hours, not to mention in my dreams.
“Do you think anyone, I mean besides me, saw anything?” I asked Dak, chewing my fingernail. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“I think your body was blocking anyone’s view. That door is about six inches wide. It’s okay.” He shook his head, a smile playing at his lips. “As for being embarrassed, did you see anything I need to be embarrassed about?”
He had a point there. I shook my head vehemently. “Um, not at all.”
“I’m a shower, not a grower,” he told me. “It’s a hell of an ego boost, let me tell you. No awkward shriveled-dick moments.”
I swallowed the lump that was in my throat. I had no idea what to say to that. “I see. I’m glad to hear it.” I thought I could surmise what shower versus grower was but I vowed to Google it later just to make sure.
“I didn’t realize how serious you take your job. Trust me, next time, I’ll leave the damn phone.”
“See that you do,” I said primly, embarrassed beyond belief.
Dak laughed.
The flight attendant came back with my wine and Dak’s whiskey. She poured carefully for him with a smile. In contrast, she handed me a little plastic bottle of wine and a glass with barely a glance. “Is everything okay?” she asked, her head gesturing slightly toward the restroom. She was clearly dying to know why I had barged, or attempted to barge, in on Dak in the restroom.
“Oh, that?” Dak asked. “Everything’s fine. She was just feeling left out. She’s used to holding it for me.”
“Dak!” I said, outraged and horrified.
“Oh!” The flight attendant looked at us both like we were freaks from Planet Perv. “Glad everything is fine. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“He’s kidding,” I said. “That is not a thing between us. I just didn’t want him to take his phone into the restroom. He’s dropped it before,” I lied.
