Bumbled Love by Lila Rose

Chapter Eleven

Dustin

A groan of pain woke me the next morning. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I heard it again, and then there were feet shuffling. Smiling, I sat up from the couch to see Brooke round the corner. Half her hair stuck to her face, makeup smeared across her usually fresh skin, and the jersey she wore looked wrinkled.

“Rough night, buttercup?”

A scream tore through the house as she spun my way, clutching her heart. Her eyes were already round but rounded even more when she spotted me standing from the couch. “Dustin.”

“Morning, darlin’.” I winked, thinking of my drunk Brooke the previous night. How affectionate she was, how sweet and so damn funny. But, of course, my dick remembered the words she muttered about touching herself when she listened to my voice messages. I’d nearly lost my mind and taken her mouth, but I knew if I had, it would have led to a show for the Diamond MC, and I wasn’t willing for anyone to see Brooke naked but me.

“Dustin.” She backed up a step.

“That’s right.”

“You’re… here.”

“Yes.” I grinned.

“Oh my God.” She covered her face with her hands and ran for the hallway. Only with her hands over her face, she overshot it and slammed into the wall. I winced as I moved over to her and took her in my arms. I tried to pry her hands away from her face, but she shook her head.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. Please, go and let me die.”

Chuckling, I kissed her forehead and rubbed her back. “Not leaving, darlin’. Why are you all shy now, hmm? You certainly weren’t last night.”

Her hands went to my tee and gripped. She shook me a little. “That was drunk Brooke. Drunk Brooke is… too much. I’m more myself now.”

“I like both sides.”

She groaned and dropped her forehead to my chest. I rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m so sorry for drinking so much and ruining our night.”

“Brooke, you didn’t ruin it. Honestly, I had a blast, and it was great to see you relax and let your hair down. You’re a very cute drunk.”

“What did I do?”

“You can’t remember it?”

She shrugged. “Bits and pieces.”

Smiling, I kissed the top of her head. “How about you go shower while I get some food going and we’ll talk about it?”

“A shower sounds good.”

“All right.”

“But it means moving.”

Chuckling, I offered, “I could help you in the shower—”

“I’m off.” She slipped around me and went back down the hall. Smiling, I walked into the kitchen and had a look to see what I could cook. I already knew she wanted to take things slow from last night when she told me as she got into bed. Even though I was hot as sin—her words, not mine—and she was ready to ride me all night long—yeah, that one drove me crazy—she thought I was special and wanted this to last. That we had to be patient and work each other out because she knew we’d annoy each other at times but staying strong through those arguments was what’s important.

A scream chilled me to the bones. I ran down the hall and tried to open the door where I heard Brooke ranting, “No, no, no, no.”

“Brooke, what’s wrong? Open the door. I can help.”

The door swung open, and she pointed at her face. “You saw me like this? I can’t take that shit back. Now you know I’m a zombie in the mornings on my good days. Hungover… it’s a whole new level.” She gestured to her whole body.

Biting my bottom lip to try to contain my grin, I cupped her cheek. “You look cute. Nothing to worry about, darlin’.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you… okay? Like in the head?”

An abrupt laugh left me and I tugged her into my arms. “I’m more than okay. There’s nothing that could turn me off you.”

“You make no sense.”

“Why?”

Her head shook against me. “Nothing. I’ll go shower.” With her head ducked, she turned and shut the door to the bathroom again. “Dustin,” she said behind the door.

“Darlin’?”

“Thank you.”

“I’m not sure what for, but you’re welcome.”

“For taking care of me last night and… for accepting me as is.”

My chest inflated with how big my heart felt. I pressed my fingers to the door. “I would always accept you, Brooke Baker. I was a fucking fool to begin with, but I see it now. We do have something to work on between us and I look forward to seeing where it goes.”

She groaned. “You can’t be all cute and sweet when I can’t kiss you.”

Grinning, I rested my forehead on the door. “You can kiss me, darlin’.”

“After, when I’m not breathing morning-breath fire.”

Snorting, I tapped two fingers on the door and straightened. “All right.”

In the kitchen, I found eggs and bacon and knew it’d be a good hangover fix. Honestly, I was glad I got to see Brooke drunk. It showed me what was on the inside of her. There were mean drunks, idiot drunks, and cute drunks like Brooke, who loved everything and everyone. Though she didn’t show everyone the same amount of attention as much as she did me, and hell, it made me like her that much more.

I was sure luck shone down on me the day I got my head out of my ass and actually saw Brooke. I still wanted to kick myself for making that mistake in the first place. I wished I’d seen it right from the start.

Brooke was so much more than I’d thought from the first time I’d met her at the bar when she talked about her anal beads. She was kind, caring, and, I’d learned over our phone calls, easy to talk to. I felt I could share so much with her.

Stealing a piece of cooked bacon, I readied the eggs. Hopefully, she wasn’t one of the women who took forever in the bathroom or her food would go cold. I quickly placed some bread in the toaster and then stretched since I hadn’t had the best of sleep on the couch. Still, it was worth it to see Brooke in the morning. I also stayed to make sure she wasn’t sick through the night, and even though she asked and begged a little, I didn’t sleep in her bed, knowing she would have got the shock of her life in the morning.

A phone rang. I turned to see Brooke’s lighting up on the kitchen table, where she had dropped it the night before. Shifting over after I turned the eggs, I saw Reagan’s name on the screen.

Would Brooke mind if I answered? No doubt she would have told Reagan we were dating, right?

Picking it up, I lifted my shoulder and put it to my ear as I went back to cooking. “Hi, Reagan, it’s Dustin. Brooke’s just in the shower.”

Silence.

The toast popped up and I got them out. “Reagan?”

More silence. Finally a noise, kind of like an unsteady breath, followed. A wheeze.

Then I heard Carter’s voice in the background. “Ree, what are you doing?” There was a pause and then “Hello?”

“Carter, it’s Dustin. I answered Brooke’s phone.”

Carter started laughing. “That’s why my girlfriend has a red, shocked face. Wait… why are you at her house so early? Dustin, what the fuck, man? You can’t just stay the night on the first date.”

Snorting, I shook my head and plated up the food. “Says the man who moved into his woman’s house before they were even together?”

“That was different. It was her parents’ idea.”

“You just got lucky. But relax, I stayed on the couch. Brooke had a few too many at the compound, so I stayed the night to keep an eye on her.”

“Aww, that’s so nice,” I heard Reagan coo. “Get Brooke to call me when she can.”

“Will do, and hey, we should go on a double date soon.”

“Yes!” was Reagan’s response.

“Looks like we will.” Carter chuckled. “Talk soon, yeah?”

“You got it, Coach.” I placed Brooke’s phone back on the table and went to prepare some coffees. I still couldn’t believe Carter wasn’t on the team and instead was taking up a coaching position. I knew I had a few years left in me yet before my body had enough, and I still enjoyed football to want to keep going, but after that time, I still didn’t have a clue in what I wanted to do. It was something I needed to work out soon.

Hands landed on my waist, and breasts were pressed into my back.

As I turned, Brooke’s hand slid with my body and stayed on my hips. “Feeling better?”

“Much.” Her hair was damp, her face makeup free, and I saw the splatter of freckles across her nose. She wore some shorts and a tee with a band on it. She looked perfect.

“Good. Breakfast is ready, but I’m going to need that morning kiss now.”

Her eyes darkened. “I could do that.” As she went to her toes, I dipped, our mouths touching. Another followed before I wrapped my arms around Brooke’s shoulders and our grips tightened while we kissed each other.

Lightning struck through my system. Kissing Brooke was like a charge to the body, and I never wanted it to end. Only there were things we still needed. Like oxygen.

With a heavy breath, I rested my forehead to Brooke’s. A small laugh escaped her. “I could get used to kisses like that.”

“I know the feeling.” Straightening, I smiled down at her. “Let’s eat.”

She nodded and moved over to the table. I quickly finished the coffees and brought hers over. “Thank you again for staying. Though, you didn’t have to.”

“I know. I wanted to.” We ate in silence for a little while and I settled into the comfort of it. I didn’t feel the need to fill it with random shit. I liked watching her. I liked eating with her and smiling when our eyes connected.

Christ, I was lost in her.

Brooke managed to eat over half before she pushed her plate away and picked up her coffee. “It was lovely, but I’m stuffed. Must have been all the drinking last night.”

Smirking, I nodded as I took a sip of my coffee. “Did I get your coffee right?”

“You did. How did you remember?”

“At Nana Bev’s when she complained how you have no sugar in it, but at least you have cream.”

“You remember that?”

“I do. I also remember you telling me last night that you touch yourself when you listen to my voice messages.”

Coffee sprayed the table from her mouth. Her eyes rounded, and I worried they’d pop out of her head. “I did not.”

Grinning, I leaned into the table. “You did.”

Brooke covered her eyes with her hand. “Dear God, what else did I say?” She removed her hand to wave it in front of her. “Actually, no, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. No. Yes. I mean… at least you didn’t run away after it. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“It is.” I smiled.

Suddenly she paled.

“Did you remember something?”

Brooke winced. “Did I…” She blew out a breath. “Did I keep sniffing you?”

Chuckling, I nodded. “Yep.”

She groaned. “And you’re still here.”

“How could I be offended by you liking the way I smell? It also didn’t bother me when you told me I’d be the lucky one where you’d hump my leg.” She groaned again and covered her face. “Or, when you and Courtney got into an argument over who had the better eye color between State and me.” She shook her head. “You may have tried to adopt Lucas, Saint’s brother. However, Wreck, his partner, wouldn’t let you.”

“Please, no more.”

“But my favorite was when you told me that one day you were going to marry me.”

Her head lifted with eyes wide as she gasped. “I did not.”

My lips twitched. She had. She also mentioned how she couldn’t wait to have sex with me, but I wasn’t going to bring that up.

“I am so, so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I had an amazing night.”

She shook her head. “Come on, that was terrible for a first date. I’ll never drink again.”

“Our first date was at Nana Bev’s, and you will drink again, since you promised the others at the compound that you’ll be back for the next family night.”

“I can’t face them. I tried to braid Death’s hair.”

Thinking of it had me laughing. “You stopped when I got close.”

Another groan dropped from her lips before she slumped in her seat and hit her head to the table. “I did because I said you were like my new favorite toy that I wanted to play with all the time.”

Grinning, I reached out and patted her arm. “I’ve never been happier to be called a toy.” Seriously, she had nothing to worry about from the night before. Everything she did or said made me like her that much more. I hadn’t laughed as much as I had last night. “Honestly, darlin’, don’t worry about it. I had a great night.”

She lifted her head enough to peek up at me. “You did?”

“I did.”

“I promise the next time will be better.”

“Any time with you is good, darlin’. In time you’ll understand that I don’t care what we do, where we go, as long as I get to spend time with you.”

Her eyes softened. She quickly stood, and I shifted back when she came at me. Within seconds, I had her sitting on my lap, facing me. Her hands cupped the back of my neck and mine went to her waist, even though they itched to grip her ass.

“You can’t say sweet things to me and not expect me to react.”

“I’m liking the way you react, darlin’.”

She leaned in, and against my ear she whispered, “I’m glad you do.” She took my earlobe between her lips and sucked on it.

My cock shot straight to hard, as if it thought it was getting sucked on. My hand tightened on her waist before I wrapped my arms around her and brought her close.

“Fuck, Brooke.” I groaned when she licked the edge of my ear. Slamming my eyes closed, I fought the idea of having her ride me in this position. I struggled against slipping my hands down the back of her shorts and cupping her ass. The way she licked, sucked, and nipped at my ear felt like it was pulling strings right to my dick. It throbbed, jerked, and I wanted to slide into her heat so bad.

You’re so special. We need to take it slow because I want this to last.

Her words from the night before rang through my mind. If this didn’t stop, there would be no slow about it. Opening my eyes, I stood and helped her slowly slide her feet to the floor. She was shocked by the abrupt movement, her eyes wide and worried. When she brushed over my erection, her eyes shifted to understanding and warmth.

Stepping back, I gripped my dick behind my jeans and adjusted. “Sorry, didn’t know my ear was that sensitive.”

She laughed, and a blush hit her cheeks. “Never apologize for that reaction. If I was a guy, I’d have a boner right now.” She took our plates from the table and went to the sink.

Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, not so close that I pressed my dick into her, and asked, “Did you have plans for the day?”

“I didn’t.” She scraped off the leftovers into the garbage disposal and rinsed the plates. “Do you want to watch a movie or something? I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m up for too much.”

“A movie sounds good.” Dipping down, I kissed her neck and shifted to the dishwasher. I loaded the plates and glanced to see Brooke watching me. I cocked a brow. “What?”

“I just never thought I’d see a guy who’s so domesticated.”

“When it came to being a dad, I had to learn quick. Though, I’ll admit I do have a cleaner come in every second week.”

“I knew you couldn’t be that good. To cook, work out, play football, travel, take care of Benjie, and clean.” She shook her head. “Now I know you’re not that perfect, I don’t think we can date, sorry.”

She tried to move by me, but I spun her into my arms so her back was to my front, and at her ear, I told her, “You forgot one. I’m a master in bed also.”

“Sure,” she drew out, but I caught her shiver.

“You’ll see, eventually.”

“I think I remember saying we should go slow. You know I’m also a liar when drunk?”

Laughing, I shook my head and dropped my hands, but couldn’t resist a light tap to her gorgeous ass as I walked by her. “That I don’t believe.”

“Really, ask anyone.”

“No.”

I heard her following. “I’m serious, Dustin. I’m the biggest liar out there when I’m drunk.”

Sitting on the couch, I chuckled at her antics. “You can’t have your way with me, woman.”

“But—”

“No. Now get over here and sit down. I’ll let you cuddle me, but that’s about it.”

“So, no handsies?”

Choking, I shook my head and threw a cushion at her. “Yes. Wait, no! No hand jobs.”

“What about light groping?”

The thought of her with her hands on me had me groaning. “No. I’m a born-again virgin. Treat me as such.”

A giggle escaped her. She sat next to me on the couch, her lips twitching. “Is sitting close okay?”

“I’ll allow it.” I threw my arm around her shoulders.

“Whoa, isn’t that too much for a born-again virgin?”

“Shut it, smartass.” My dick was still half-hard and stuck on the image of a hand job. Even though I enjoyed the banter, I was serious about taking it slow, and I knew she was as well. Especially when a future together was at stake.