Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,3
incredulity, as though Reese couldn’t possibly hold out on him for a lengthy period of time.
Reese sat up straight, met Brantley’s gaze. “Maybe weeks.”
The look on the other man’s face was absolutely fucking priceless, and seeing it made Reese feel a tad bit better.
But only a tad.
“Where the hell’s the parlor?” Reese muttered, snatching his phone on the way to the door.
*
“Maybe weeks, my ass,” Brantley muttered, walking into the bathroom and flipping on the shower.
He didn’t bother with hot water, knowing cold would have to do the trick since the last thing he wanted was to go downstairs sporting a hard-on. Interacting with these women was awkward enough; no way would he add an internal struggle to the matter.
“Weeks,” he snorted indignantly, stepping into the tiled enclosure. “I’d like to see him try.”
After dunking his head beneath the spray, Brantley glanced down at his cock. For grins, he circled it with his fist, stroked firmly.
Okay. Not so bad.
He exhaled slowly, reaching for a sense of calm.
Closing his eyes, he took himself back in time to that moment when Reese had been kneeling between his legs, those full lips gliding effortlessly over him. Up, down, slow, easy. God, he fucking loved Reese’s mouth. The hesitancy mixed with the eagerness… He wasn’t sure Reese was even aware of it, but Brantley was, and he fucking loved that about the man. Yes, Reese was still unsure of himself in many ways, despite the fact he could so easily rock Brantley’s world—sometimes with merely a look—but that only made their encounters even hotter.
For long seconds, he was lost in the fantasy, almost able to imagine Reese’s mouth was still on him, so hot, so—
Up and at ’em.
Aw, fuck. The fantasy was obliterated by the sound of Maude’s voice in his head. Always interrupting.
“For fuck’s sake,” he growled, releasing his cock as the damn thing deflated.
Although there was some discomfort from the lack of satisfaction, Brantley found he could keep the soft-on going as long as he thought about Maude, so he finished with the shower, dressed, and made a quick call to the pilot to confirm their flight back to Texas. As far as he was concerned, they’d wasted enough time here in Mississippi hoping Juliet Prince might emerge. The theory being the woman would come out of hiding to see her daughter at some point during the holidays, so they were keeping a close eye on things now.
Clearly she wasn’t ready to poke her head out of the sand just yet. But Brantley had made a promise to his cousin Travis, and he fully intended to follow through until they found the vile woman who’d kidnapped Travis’s daughter a few months back. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen right now. The woman was underground—rightfully so, since she was wanted by the FBI—and if he had to guess, she would remain in hiding for some time. At least if she was smart, anyway.
As for him and Reese, it was time to get back. They had holidays to celebrate, then it was back to the grindstone. Or it would be, right after he had breakfast with Maude and her mother, whose name appeared to be simply Mother.
When Brantley made his way downstairs a short time later, he found everyone had vacated the parlor in lieu of the fancy formal dining room with its heavy gold drapes and gilded-frame photos of people Brantley assumed were relatives. Now that he thought about it, it was creepy to have all those eyes tracking him.
And to think, these people had meals in there often.
He could hear the soft murmur of voices and the clang of silverware and wondered if he’d get a slap on the wrist from Maude for being late.
Running a hand down his shirt, he pulled himself together and resigned himself to joining them.
The chatter ceased almost immediately, all eyes shifting to him as he stepped down into the room.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Maude greeted cheerfully, peering up at him with a glint in her eye before patting the chair to her right. “Please, join us.”
If only he had another option.
It was slightly awkward that the chair she’d allocated for him was at the head of the table. Okay, a little more than slightly, but he solved that problem by taking the seat directly across from her, the one beside Reese.
“Mornin’.” He acknowledged each person with a smile and a nod, pulling out the chair and easing into it.