Pick Six Read online

  “I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

  “What in the hell are you going to introduce me as?” I questioned, and he lifted one thick, muscular shoulder up into a shrug.

  “What do you think I should introduce you as?”

  “Nuh-uh.” I tapped his big bicep with my index finger. “Do not try to turn this around on me. I asked you first.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.” He offered a toothy grin. “Thatch and Cassie aren’t the type to get too caught up in labels. Hell, they started off their relationship pranking each other, and Cassie pretty much hated Thatch.”

  I figured this was his typical brush-off when any woman asked him to put a label on what they were. I couldn’t really blame him, though. It’s not like I had a label for us either.

  That old lady smacked her lips together again, and I glanced around Sean to see her staring right at us, her arms crossed over her chest. Her husband was still oblivious, but I had a feeling it was the hearing aids shoved inside his big ears more than anything else.

  This old bat really needed a lesson in humility.

  Now, that’s an idea…

  “I think you should just be honest, baby,” I cooed, and Sean’s brow furrowed.

  “Be honest?”

  “Yeah,” I said in a fake foreign accent that sounded more Eastern European than anything else. I let my voice carry a little too far considering we were standing right beside each other. “I think you should just tell your sister what you are to me. My American mail-order groom.”

  The old lady gasped, and I had to swallow my smile.

  Sean caught on quickly, glancing over his shoulder to find our audience.

  “Nice one,” he muttered, and I just grinned wider.

  “I’m so glad I found you on the interwebs, baby. And I’m so glad you accepted my hand in marriage. And to think, I almost didn’t send that email,” I said, keeping up the fake accent. I stood up on my tippy-toes to wrap an arm around his shoulder and stare deep into his eyes. “I’m so happy I did. These last twenty-four hours have been the best in my life. Especially…” I dropped my voice to a whisper, but it was a fucking loud whisper. “All of the s-e-x.”

  Another gasp from the old lady and I had to bite my lip to fight my laughter.

  “We are going to be so happy together when we go back to my homeland. You’re going to be the happiest husband in all the lands. Our village is small, but my father is very rich. He has the biggest hut, and he will shower you with gifts of gold and goats and wine.”

  “Gold and goats?” he asked, playing right along with me.

  I nodded. “And wine. Lots and lots of wine.”

  I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “I can’t believe you were a virgin,” I added quietly, but don’t worry, my voice was still loud for my audience. “And oh my gosh, my family and our village will be so glad to hear you have a big penis. That is very important to them.”

  Sean nearly choked on his own saliva, but that only fueled me further.

  “Although, they will be a little disappointed that you’re circumcised. You’ll probably get fewer goats because of that.”

  I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek again, and he looked down at me with a wide grin. He wrapped an arm around my back and playfully pinched my ass.

  “Remind me later to pay you back for that,” he whispered discreetly into my ear.

  I quirked a brow. “Pay back?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded and leaned in real close to add, “I’m going to show you exactly what this big, circumcised cock is capable of after dinner.”

  Oh boy.

  The elevator dinged its arrival, and Sean pressed a gentle hand to the small of my back and led me inside.

  And on the ride down, I continued to make a show out of whispering things about our fake nuptials—the ceremony in the river, the penis exam he’ll have to undergo before the wedding, and a whole bunch of other shit that mostly revolved around goats.

  By the time we reached the lobby level, the older couple practically had to pick their jaws up off the floor just to exit the elevator.

  “You’re a little minx,” he said once the old lady and her husband were out of earshot. “That woman is probably going to pull me aside and ask me if I feel safe or need her to contact the authorities.” He pinched my ass again, and a half giggle, half groan escaped my lips as I rubbed at the smarting skin.

  I retaliated with a discreet elbow into his abdomen.

  “Ow, fuck,” he muttered through soft chuckles. “For a tiny person, you sure pack some power.”

  A big smile covered my lips. “Serves you right.”

  He wrapped a big, strong arm around my shoulder and started to lead us toward the hotel dining room. “Next time,” he whispered, “You’ll be the mail-order bride.”

  I shook my head and glanced up at him. “Nuh-uh. You can’t just switch up a bit that I created. You have to come up with your own.”

  He chuckled softly. “Come on, you little shit stirrer, let me introduce you to my sister.”

  Like a rock dropped into my stomach, anxiety felt heavy in my gut.

  Meeting his sister and brother-in-law felt like a pretty big fucking step for two people who didn’t even know what they were. But I did my best to push past the discomfort and follow his lead.

  I mean, what was the worst that could happen?

  You could meet his family and love his family and start falling for the one guy you should never fall for.

  Jesus. I shook those crazy thoughts out of my mind and forced a smile to my face as Sean led us toward the table where his sister and brother-in-law sat.

  “Sean!” His sister hopped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her brother. “I should kick you in the fluffing balls for ignoring my text messages, but I’ll let it slide because I’ve missed you, you asshole.”

  He chuckled and disentangled himself from his sister. “Give me a break, Cass. I’ve been a little busy.”

  A mischievous grin crossed her lips as her gaze moved to me. “I can see that.”

  I felt oddly calm underneath her scrutiny. It was calculated and clever, but it wasn’t completely unwelcoming either.

  Besides that, I couldn’t miss the stark contrast between Sean and his extremely beautiful sister. Where she was creamy white skin, he was smooth mocha. But I’d done my research and already knew Sean was actually adopted. Although there were no familial traits in common between the two, it was obvious they shared a close bond.

  Cassie stepped forward and stuck out a hand for me to shake. I took her hand—and the opportunity of being up close to study her further.

  Her features were exaggerated and bold, and the blue of her eyes was startling. Smooth curves and firm lines, her body was unbelievable. And holy shit, is she not wearing a bra?

  “Hell of a game,” a voice boomed, interrupting our introduction. I looked up, up, up to find a giant of a man towering over us, a wide, toothy grin on his lips. “That catch you made in the fourth made ESPN’s top ten.”

  “No shit?” Sean said with a smile, and a half bro-shake, half hug commenced between the two.

  “And who is this beauty?” the incredibly good-looking giant asked, and his wife nodded.

  “That’s exactly what I’m wondering.”

  “Cassie, Thatch, this is Six,” Sean introduced us, and I reached out to take Thatch’s hand and complete the greeting ritual.

  “It’s so nice to meet you.”

  His sister’s smile stayed mischievous as she glanced discreetly at her husband. They both shared some sort of secret look before Thatch gestured for us to sit down.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and ordered for everyone because Cassie was getting hangry.”

  Sean chuckled at that and helped me into my chair.

  “And what did you order?”

  “A little bit of this. A little bit of that.” Thatch shrugged, and Cassie smirked.

  “He pretty much ordered everything off t
he menu,” she offered, and her eyes met mine. “I hope you’re hungry, Six.”

  I nodded. “I can definitely eat.”

  “Six and I were just about to order room service right before you called,” Sean said and wrapped an easy arm around the back of my chair. “She was also having quite the hangry moment.”

  That’s because three hours of sex would make anyone starved.

  I rolled my eyes, but I kept my thoughts to myself.

  “So, Six,” Cassie said from the across the table. “Besides Sean, we have another mutual friend.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded. “Georgia Brooks.”

  “Oh my gosh, I love her! And I owe her so much. She’s pretty much changed my life because of this huge opportunity with the Mavericks.”

  “She’s one of the best,” Cassie responded. “But she took a chance on you for a reason. Your vlogs are hilarious. Both Thatch and I are huge fans.”

  “Really? You know who I am?” My brow rose. When they’d introduced themselves, they’d given absolutely no indication that they knew anything about me.

  “Oh. Yeah,” she said, waving an unbothered hand in front of her face. “We just wanted Sean to feel uncomfortable by having to actually introduce you.”

  Sean’s glare was only minimally serious.

  “Of course, the fucker didn’t even stutter or anything. It was a little disappointing, to be honest.”

  Cassie’s smile smoothed over Thatch’s words as she brought the conversation back around to the beginning. “Anyway. We can’t wait to see what you’re about to do with this Mavericks series. I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic.”

  “God, I really hope so,” I answered truthfully. No doubt I was working my ass off on this series, but it was a huge deal. And it was hard to push insecurities out the door with something that meant this much and had so much hype built around it.

  She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. “So, what are you two?” she asked, glancing between Sean and me. “Friends? Fucking? Dating?”

  Sean nearly choked on his water. “Jesus, Cass.”

  “What? It’s an honest question.” She just shrugged. “And don’t think I haven’t picked up on the fact that my manwhore brother is actually introducing me to one of his lady friends. Pretty sure that’s never happened.”

  “Sure, it has,” Sean muttered, and both she and her husband shook their heads.

  “Sorry, dude,” Thatch said through a chuckle. “I’ve been around for a while now, and yeah, it’s never happened.”

  Sean glanced at me and then back at his sister.

  He obviously wasn’t sure how to answer her question.

  So, I did what I did best and chimed in with my brand of humor and sarcasm.

  “Oh, we’re definitely not dating. I’m just mentoring him.”

  “Mentoring him?” Cassie asked, and I nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m his sex mentor,” I explained with a straight face. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but so far, he’s shown great progress.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Sean muttered, but both his sister and brother-in-law had already caught on to my lie.

  Thatch slapped one big hand on the table and burst out into laughter.

  And Cassie, well, her smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger.

  “You’re such a little troublemaker.” Sean’s lips crested up in hilarity as he leaned into me. His gaze was soft and affectionate, and I felt myself melting helplessly into it. “No fucking wonder you and my sister are getting along so easily.”

  “Why?” I asked delicately, pretending to be a lady for once. “Your sister doesn’t seem like a menace.”

  His laughter was soul-shaking, rolling through my body in delicious waves, and I felt myself sink. Into the chair, into him—into oblivion.

  God, I like him so much.

  “Oh yeah, T,” Cassie said on a near whisper and looked at her husband. “You’re totally going to lose this bet.”

  “Wait… What bet?” Sean asked, pulled rudely from the trance of my beauty, and Cassie just shrugged.

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “Because it’s about me.”

  She shrugged again. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “You’re such a pain in my ass,” Sean muttered. Cassie’s grin didn’t wane, but her eyes did come to me. They were sweetness and mischief all wrapped up in one, and a shiver ran up my spine. I wasn’t one to feel intimidated, but as a woman of sarcasm and wit, I had a feeling I had a lot to learn at the comedic altar of Cassie Phillips.

  “Preaching to the choir, dude,” Thatch chimed in. “She’s been a pain in my ass since the day I met her crazy ass.”

  “Yeah, but you love my crazy,” she said with a wink, and then proceeded to reach out and twist her husband’s nipple through the material of his shirt.

  “Ow, fuck,” he muttered. “You’re an evil fluffing woman, Cassie Kelly.”

  She laughed and then pointed across the table toward my T-shirt. “Speaking of fluffing, I need to know where you got that shirt. I fluffing yell at my fluffing kids all the fluffing time, and my voice is tired. I feel like maybe, with that shirt, they’d get the message subliminally.”

  “It was just some random shop online.” I smiled. “But I can definitely get the link for you. And, kids?” I asked.

  Cassie’s eyes glazed over as she waved me off. “Two little boys. Light of my lives and my ticket to prison all in one if they don’t stop whipping out their little cocks like they’re some kind of prized gems and pissing everywhere but inside the fluffing toilet.”

  A bark of a laugh bubbled out of me without prompting. Cassie and Thatch smiled.

  “It’s genetics,” Thatch touted proudly. “I’ve got a superior amount of testosterone.”

  Sean’s smile pulled my gaze, the light in his eyes dancing. I looked to his sister and brother-in-law briefly and then back again, and everything clicked.

  Sean’s cocksure attitude. His easy laughs and smiles. The way he made everyone feel at ease around him.

  He had a team other than the Mavericks behind him, and they were built just like him.

  Mesmerizing.

  Without hesitation, Cassie pulled out her cell phone and proceeded to demand that we exchange phone numbers.

  So, we did.

  Sean’s sister and me.

  And then, Thatch joined in, and by the time three servers brought all ten plates of food that had been ordered for our table, I had everyone’s phone number but Sean’s.

  The mere ridiculousness of it made me giggle.

  But it lasted all of two seconds.

  While Cassie and Thatch argued over who got to eat the rib eye, Sean snagged my phone out of my hands and added his number to my contacts. Then he sent himself a text before handing it back to me.

  I glanced down at the screen and read the text he’d messaged himself from my phone.

  Me: I love your big cock. Put it inside me again after dinner? Pretty please with whipped cream and my cherry-flavored pussy on top?

  Then my phone vibrated with a message.

  Sean: Okay, baby. But only because you asked so nicely.

  I couldn’t not laugh at that.

  Nor could I really be upset.

  Because, yeah, more sex with Sean? Count me in.

  Inside the car I’d borrowed to drive Six to the airport, we’d sat idling in front of the entrance for a good twenty minutes, mostly due to her stubbornness.

  I wanted to walk her in.

  But she wasn’t a fan of that plan.

  “Let me come in with you,” I begged for the fortieth time since we’d left the hotel that morning. The team bus would be coming in just under two hours to bring us back here, to the private plane entrance to fly home ourselves, but I’d been nearly apoplectic at the idea of putting Six in a cab and sending her on her way by herself.

  She was headed home, back to California for a week, and the idea of not seeing h
er until she met us in Dallas for the next game was…unsettling.

  It’d actually taken a special favor from the hotel’s concierge—a big fan, thankfully—to acquire a car to bring her myself.

  If the picture on the backside of the visor was anything to go by, I was pretty sure he’d given me his personal vehicle.

  “No way.”

  “Six—”

  “Sean, no.” She cut me off, turning her small body in the tan leather seat to face me. Her eyes were serious, something rare for Six, as she appealed to my rational side earnestly. “Are you forgetting who you are?”

  “Pretty sure I know exactly who I am,” I argued, turning her words against her. I didn’t want to think about all the other stupid shit. To me, I was Sean Phillips, brother to Cassie and son to Greg and Diane.

  Six rolled her eyes. “To the public, Sean. You’re one of the Mavericks’ best players. You’re utterly recognizable around here.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at her words of praise. Six was never easy on me, and she rarely acknowledged me as anything other than an asshole. Getting a little peek into a side of secret admiration excited me. “I am, huh?”

  “Oh God,” she sighed with a laugh. “Does your ego ever stop needing to be stroked?”

  I waggled my eyebrows, and a wayward hand reached out to love on the meat of her thigh. It was all its decision, though, not mine, and I would hold strongly to my stance in a court of law. “Stroking is always good.”

  “I walked right into that one,” she admitted, turning to look at the busy sidewalk right outside her window. Pittsburgh airport wasn’t as bad as my home airport, Newark International, a major hub in a populated state, but it wasn’t a slouch either. There was an uncomfortable amount of people, and all of the crosswalks bustled with hordes of humanity each time the light switched over to allow for pedestrians.

  The police patrolled the drop-off and pickup stations, and I could guarantee any vehicle that came in or out of here was on a rigorous amount of security film. Hank, the concierge, must have had pretty high confidence that I wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

  I shrugged. “Yep. Pretty much. Now, let me come in with you and help you from walking into other things. Like walls. People. Men’s locker rooms.”