Say You're Mine (The Gallaghers Book 1) by Layla Hagen (comprehension books .txt) 📕

he was. Wearing rugged, washed-out jeans and a black tank top, he just exuded sex appeal. There was a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin, and his hair was sticking out in every direction.

“Wait, let me fan myself before you give me a kiss,” I said, making a big deal out of flailing my hands around my face. “You’re so hot that I can feel the heat all the way over here.”

He grinned. “Extra sassy, I see.”

He stalked right up to me, pulling me flat against him.

“And you’re extra sweaty,” I murmured.

“I wanted to come right back to you after the rehearsal.”

“Awww, so these sexy and sweaty vibes are all for me?”

He kissed me the next second, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. It was sexy as hell, kissing him like this. His body was still vibrating with energy from being on stage, and I was absorbing every ounce of it. He pinned me against the wall, kissing me with so much urgency that I hummed against his mouth.

“Mmm...” I pouted when he let go of me. His eyes were bright and happy. I loved how alight he was while playing music, and even afterward.

“I’m going to shower,” he said. “Want to order room service in the meantime? I’m starving.”

“Sure. But only if I get to watch you when you shower.”

He bit my lower lip lightly. “You’re welcome to join me.”

I shook my head, trying not to show how much I wanted to do just that. My whole body was aching for him. My nipples were hard, pressing against my bra cups.

“No exerting yourself this afternoon, remember?”

He looked straight at me, eyes hot and determined. “I’m not tired at all.”

“Yeah, I think you’re still high on adrenaline. You’ll crash soon.”

“But you can take advantage of me in the meantime.”

“Don’t say that twice or I’ll take you up on it. Come on. Hop in the shower.”

I ordered lunch fast, not wanting to miss a minute of his time in the shower. Watching the water douse all those muscles was making it even harder for me to keep my hands to myself. I kept my distance though, leaning against the sink. I could avoid any “accidental” groping this way.

“Come on, you know you want to touch me,” he taunted.

“Oh, I do. But one squeeze of that ass, one lick on that cock, and I’m on a slippery slope.”

His eyes flashed, and his mouth parted as he exhaled sharply. I was definitely being extra sassy, but I didn’t plan to act on it because he needed his strength tonight. If I stayed here though, there was no way I could resist touching this sexy man, so I left the bathroom.

***

During lunch, he asked about my sessions, and I brought him up to date. The adrenaline seemed to melt away right in front of my eyes. After lunch, he immediately fell asleep. Sasha wasn’t kidding about the guys needing recovery time. I’d honestly never seen him sleep like this.

I, however, was wide awake. I didn’t want to move around the suite because I risked waking him up, so I opened the Kindle app on my phone and read the first three chapters of a thriller right until it was time to wake Brayden up.

I swear he hadn’t moved an inch. He was still sleeping in the same position as when he lay down: on his belly, hugging the pillow under his head.

Hmmm... I wondered how creative I could be with my wake-up techniques. I peppered small kisses on his left bicep, moving my mouth from his elbow all the way to his shoulder. He began to stir. I continued exploring him, kissing his shoulder blades, then down his back in a straight line on his spine. I had the slight suspicion that he was already awake and was taunting me. I lingered at the small of his back before moving my mouth up, slowly kissing his bicep again, watching the flutter of his eyelids. He was definitely awake, just keeping his eyes closed!

I pulled my mouth away, to see what he’d do. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes. Before I had a chance to react, he pulled me flush against him. Laughing, I cuddled against his chest.

“I knew you were awake. Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“I was enjoying you.”

“It’s time to get out of bed.”

He tightened his arm around my waist so there was no wiggling away. As if I wanted to.

“Not yet. I set my alarm clock,” he said.

“Damn. So my wake-up technique wasn’t needed at all.”

“It’s always welcome. Best damn way to wake up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I soaked up all that warmth and the feeling of his hard body against me right until the alarm went off and he leaped out of bed. I pouted at the sight of his boxers. With the bedsheet covering him to the waist, he’d looked naked. I’d forgotten he was wearing them, and I was ready to feast my eyes on his sexy ass.

“Can we make sleeping naked a rule?” I asked.

“By all means. You can start right now.”

I grinned. “But I’m not sleeping.”

“Still. Leading by example and all that.” With a wink, he disappeared into the bathroom. For all our teasing, there was actually no time for shenanigans. Brayden was on a strict schedule. From the moment the alarm clock rang until he left the hotel room, only twenty minutes passed.

I was so excited about tonight that I couldn’t focus 100 percent during my three afternoon appointments. I kept checking the time.

The second I disconnected the last call, I went into a frenzy. I was wearing an outfit that Sasha had preapproved. She’d insisted I had to wear something that would look good on camera because we would get photographed for sure.

I’d told her that was fine as long as the outfit was comfortable. So we’d reached a compromise. I was wearing cropped jeans and a red top with spaghetti straps. The outfit was complete with black