What You Need(32)
“I’m not a total dumbass, Lennox. I didn’t drive my 7-series BMW here and I’m hardly dressed like a corporate executive.”
True. He wore loose nylon athletic shorts, a T-shirt and a warm-up jacket. His jaw was covered in dark scruff. In my mind he still managed to look powerful. But I couldn’t admit that, so I went with the other issue. “These kids are street-smart, Mr. Lund. None of them will believe we’re involved.”
“By all means, Miss Greene. Let’s test that theory.”
The next thing I knew, his hands were on my hips and he lowered his face to my neck. He settled his warm lips on the pulse point of my throat and then glided his mouth up and down before he eased back to look at me.
I swayed against him, my fingers digging into his biceps.
Kiley laughed. “Yeah, they’ll believe it. Let’s get back. Remember, no last names. Also remember they’re kids, so giving us—and each other—shit is their way. Roll with it but always err on the side of less is more. If you find yourselves in a situation out of your comfort zone, let me know.”
No way would I admit that I was already out of my comfort zone.
Without waiting for our response, Kiley walked off.
Brady kept his hand in the small of my back as we followed her. He put his mouth on my ear. “Don’t mess up and call me Mr. Lund, Lennox.”
“Why are you here? Office gossip indicates that you work six—sometimes seven—days a week.”
“I’m here because volunteering for causes is what Lunds do, according to my mother. And it was either this or humiliate myself at a bachelor auction.”
“Why would you humiliate yourself? You’d probably raise thousands of dollars.”
He chuckled. “You flatter me. I’m the nerdy bean counter, too analytical for most women’s taste, and I’m also a workaholic, so, statistically speaking, I wouldn’t be the top draw.”
I stopped, forcing him to stop too. “Are you serious or is this some self-deprecating attempt to get me to say something else complimentary about you?”
“I’m serious.” In a nervous, fidgety movement, he adjusted the Vikings baseball cap on his head. “I prefer to work behind the scenes rather than in the spotlight.”
That didn’t surprise me. His family name was synonymous with power in the Twin Cities, and he maintained a lower profile than any of his siblings and cousins. But this show of uncertainty did surprise me. The man defined confident.
Didn’t he?
Brady curled his hand around the side of my face, his gaze firmly on the left side of my mouth. Then his thumb slid over to stroke my bottom lip. “This lip ring . . . Christ, do you have any idea how much I want to suck on it?”
The sexy way he growled that sent slow, delicious heat unfurling in my belly.
“Before the end of the day, Lennox, I’ll know what that metal feels like on my tongue.”
A tingle shot from his gentle stroking motion on my mouth straight between my thighs.
“Come on, you two—let’s get a jump on this,” Kiley shouted.
One of the kids said something and they all laughed.
Brady smiled. “Let’s do this thang.”
That phrase sounded all sorts of wrong coming from him, but it charmed me.
We stopped outside the half circle where Kiley held court.
“Intros. Everyone, this is Brady. He’s a volunteer. He’s also attached to Lennox, so they’re both off-limits.”
A chorus of boos broke out.
Kiley pointed to each kid and introduced them. DeMarius “DeMan,” Willa aka Red, Feisty Maria, Juice. The chubby white kid’s name was Owen, dreadlocks had the un-PC name Tonto, the skinny black kid’s name was Quay, his sister was Needra.
“Who’s doin’ what?” Tonto demanded. “I came to play ball and we ain’t got enough for one team.”
“Who all wants to play ball?” Kiley asked.
Tonto, Juice, DeMan, Quay, Red and Brady’s hands all shot up.
“Six total. Play three on three,” Kiki suggested.
“She’s a damn girl,” DeMan complained about Red.
“A girl who can outshoot you,” she shot back.
“Prove it.”
Kiley signaled for time-out. She looked at Brady. “You’re team captain one.” Then she looked at DeMan. “You’re team captain two. You were here first, so you pick first.”
“Juice.”
They high-fived.
Brady pointed at Red. “You.”
She seemed surprised, but pleased.
DeMan picked Tonto, which left Quay on Brady’s team.
“We’ll leave you to it. When you’re done, come over to the wall.”
The rest of us followed Kiley to the picnic table. She pointed at the brick building. “While dirty words have their place, it’s not on the side of a building. We’re gonna fix that today. So I see two options. One, we paint over the entire side, or we redo the words and incorporate them into some kind of design.