Fair Game: A Football Romance (35 page)

“July 26
th
.”

“No way?” I say.

She shrugs, and that small movement of her body has me hardening inside her.

“Why?” she asks, bending down to lay her head on my chest. She’s got to be exhausted, but I’m not done with her. If I can keep her busy all night, she might be too tired to drive all the way to San Diego tomorrow and she’ll have to stay another night.

“Because I’m born in July too.”

“Really, what day?” she asks.

“July 26
th
.”

She lifts up, and the knot of hair on her head bobs forward.

“We share a birthday?”

“Yep, guess so.”

“Hmm,” she says, pursing her lips together and looking thoughtful.

“What’s the hmm for?” I ask.

“Two Leos. Who’s going to wear the crown?”

“What crown?”

“Leo is the sign of royalty. If we’re both royal, who will be the boss?”

“That’s easy, me.”

She laughs and kisses me on the mouth, kindling the fire that’s still smoldering from our last go round.

“You are a little bossy. I’ll give you, that but it doesn’t make you the boss.”

“Are royal Leos also known for their sassy mouths and argumentative natures?”

“Maybe. You should really brush up on your astrology, Major.”

I grab her around the waist and flip her onto her back pinning her arms against the mattress.

“Whoa!” She laughs.

“I don’t need astrology to know I’m the boss,” I say, moving close to her face until our foreheads are touching.

Her eyes narrow. “Prove it,” she says, thrusting her hips.

That little challenge is all it takes. I’m fully hard again and about to prove to this woman that the Marine Corps didn’t give me the title of Major for nothing.

She’s surprised when I slide out of her, and she whimpers. I press a finger on her lips. “No noise.”

I back off the bed and go to into my closet to put on a robe. When I come out, she’s sitting up cross-legged in the middle of the bed, looking confused.

“I’ll be right back. Stay there.”

“Major, wait, what about my mother?”

“What about her?”

She glances down at the bulge in my robe and back to my face. “She can’t see you like that.”

“Relax, Violet. I’m very quiet. She’ll never know I’m there.”

“Where? Where are you going?” she asks in a panic, but I don’t respond. I unlock the door and leave, closing it without making a sound. I hear her curse, and I chuckle as I make my way silently down the stairs and through the house to the garage.

Lilly is sound asleep on the couch when I walk through the living room. None of her belongings are laying out. Everything is exactly the way I keep it other than her duffle bag on the floor next to the couch. Hmm, a fellow neat freak. That’s very convenient.

In the garage, I open a tiny drawer on the workbench and remove a key that unlocks a drawer under the workbench. It’s a large, shallow drawer with no handle. You’d never know it was there unless you looked closely and saw the keyhole. I slide it open and remove a silky blue length of rope. I close the drawer, lock it, and replace the key. When I turn to go back inside the house, Lilly is standing in the door, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing the rope in my hand.

“I may seem very liberal and nonchalant about sex and men, Major Steele, but if you hurt my daughter, believe me, my face will be one you’ll wish you could forget.”

“I have no intention of hurting Violet, Lilly.”

“Maybe so, but even the best intentions go bad sometimes.”

“I understand your concern, but I assure you I’m not going to hurt her in any way,” I say, and she eyes the rope again.

She doesn’t say another word. She just pushes off the frame and turns to walk back down the dark hall to my living room. I turn off the lights and follow her. She’s back on the couch, in the same position as when I came downstairs, eyes shut. It’s almost like she was never awake, like the brief meeting of the minds that just happened in my garage never occurred.

Upstairs, Violet is still in bed, but she’s pulled down the comforter and moved the throw pillows onto my chair. I wonder if she remembered that’s where I like them or if it was coincidental that she put them in the same place that I did last night. She is lying on her side, facing the center of the bed, with her palms pressed together under her cheek.

I go to the closet to hang up my robe and lock the bedroom door on the way back to bed with the rope.

“I talked to your mother.”

“I knew she would be awake. God, what did she say?”

I hold up the rope. “She said not to hurt you or I’ll regret it.”

She raises her eyebrows high, and her pretty mouth falls open.

“I told her that would never happen.”

“Then what’s with the rope?”

“Lay on your stomach, and I’ll show you.”

After a moment of thought, she slowly rolls onto her stomach and hugs the pillow.

I pull the comforter and sheet down, folding it neatly at the end of the bed, and she shivers.

“Cold?” I say, moving to the foot of the bed. She lifts her head, trying to follow me.

“A little.”

“Relax. I’ll warm you up.”

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Tying you up,” I say and crawl up the bed, straddling her ass.

“Were you planning on asking me if you could do that?”

“Nope.”

“So this is happening against my will?”

I lean forward and take her arms out from under the pillow and whisper into her ear, “I don’t know, is it?”

“No.”

“No, it’s not against your will, or no, it’s not happening?”

“It’s not against my will,” she says, relaxing her arms.

“Good girl.”

I place her wrists behind her and let the rope unfurl onto her skin. She inhales a sharp breath, and I lean forward to kiss the small of her back.

“Relax. Do you trust me, Violet?”

“Yes,” she says on an exhale.

I lay the rope over her wrists and pass it back and forth, making a cuff of rope five or six inches wide before looping in under and back to tie a loose knot. I slide my fingers between the rope and her skin to be sure it’s not cutting off circulation.

“Is this okay?”

“Mm hmm.”

I love how the rope looks against her skin.

I reach up and grab my pillow and fold it in half. I slide my arm under her waist, lift her up, and push it under her stomach.

“You look so fucking sexy like this,” I say, trailing my fingers over the curve of her ass and down her thigh. “Are you comfortable?”

She’s breathing hard now. The muscles in her upper back flex with every breath she takes.

“Yes.”

I sit back on my heels and admire my work. She would look so good tied up with intricate knots and patterns, but I don’t want to push her too far tonight. I slide my hands up her thighs and palm her ass cheeks, spreading her open wide. I dip my fingers into her wet core and spread it up and down her seam, and she lifts up higher onto her knees. I take advantage of the position and lean in to lick her, holding her in place with my hands on her ass.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” I hear her chanting over and over as I kiss and suck and stroke. She’s trembling when I slide my tongue over the pucker of her ass, sending her into orbit. Her body writhes and convulses, and she turns her face into the mattress when she screams my name. I rise onto my knees and slide into her while she’s still pulsing with her orgasm and begin to work her up for another. With my hands spread over her ass, I massage her slit and watch my cock slide in and out of her. The sound of our bodies and her muffled moans echo in the room, and I wish I could record it and listen to it later.

I’m close, and I can feel her building again, nearing that place between reality and ecstasy.

“Who’s the boss, Violet?”

“You are, Major, you are,” she cries as she comes for the third time tonight. Four more thrusts, and I’m exploding inside her, biting my lip to keep from yelling.

‘Fuck, Vie, you feel so good.”

She collapses forward, and I go with her, being careful not to put all my weight on her. When we have both come down from our orgasmic high, I rise and pull the rope, loosening the knot. When the loops are loose enough, she starts to wiggle her fingers and I slip the rope off her wrists.

We fall onto our sides facing each other, and I glance at the clock on the bedside table that seems like it’s ticking louder than usual. It’s late, she’s worn out, and I just want to hold her.

“Spoon, and then a bath,” I say.

“Yes, sir,” she says, saluting me playfully.

“I like the sound of that.”

“Don’t get too used to it.”

Chapter Twelve

Violet

Seductive Fuckery

I knew what he was doing and it worked. I’m beyond exhausted. Every muscle in my body aches and my joints feel unhinged, but I wouldn’t change a second of our night together.

Mom and I talked about going home today if the roads were all clear, but I’m pretty sure I’d be worthless on the road and she doesn’t like to drive long distances. So that leaves me tangled in Major’s sheets, too tired to get up and tell my mother I’m too tired to get up.

When I reach out to get my phone, Major’s arms tighten around me. We never made it past spooning last night. We talked for a couple of hours, slept for an hour, and made love again and again. I lost count of my orgasms after six. It seemed pointless to keep track when no man will ever come close to beating him.

When we finally did decide enough is enough, the birds were singing outside and I could hear the distant sound of a lawnmower starting up.

“What are you doing?” His voice is muffled in my hair and gravelly from lack of sleep.

“I was going to text my mother and tell her that I can’t get out of bed and she needs to find something to do today.”

His head pops up. “In my house?”

“Well, that is where she is, isn’t it? I mean, you were the last one to see her.”

He groans and rolls away from me onto his back.

“You didn’t think about that when you were wearing me out last night, did you?”

I turn onto my stomach and prop up on my elbows to look at him. His arm is thrown over his eyes, and he sighs.

“No. I did not. We can’t leave your mother down there with nothing to do, and I need to get over to base, and I’m sure you want to go to the hospital and check on your friends.”

I slide my arms out in front of me and face plant into the pillow. He’s right. He has to work and I need to see how Mattie and Belle are doing, but I’m so tired.

I turn my head to the side so I can speak. My hair is covering my face and my arm is stretched out, so I talk under my armpit.

“How about we sleep for a couple of hours and then go to the hospital? It’s still early, isn’t it?” I ask with desperation in my voice.

“It’s already eight o’clock. We should get going. And, Violet?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re adorable when you’re tired,” he says, moving my hair out of my face. I’m probably a wreck, with swollen lips and bags under my eyes, which is far from adorable.

“You’re just being nice so I’ll get out of your bed.”

“If I had it my way, you’d never leave my bed,” he says, leaning in to kiss the only part of my face showing—my forehead.

“Nice save.”

“Thank you.”

“We don’t have time for a bath now. We’ll have to shower. I’ve gotten over a dozen calls and texts from the base.”

“Oh my God, why didn’t you say something? We would have been all right by ourselves here.”

His flirtatious blue eyes suddenly turn dark and serious. He doesn’t want us here alone. He doesn’t want anyone in his house period.

“It’s all right, I told them I had a family emergency because of the earthquake. I’ve handled everything I can from here, though, so I need to go in.”

“So I’m a family emergency?”

“Something like that.” His voice isn’t so strained and his jaw is relaxed. Tense moment avoided, thank God.

“My mom’s probably already up. She doesn’t sleep well away from home.”

“Then we will make it quick,” he says, smacking my ass.

“Oh!” I yelp. “What’s that for?”

“For doubting that I’m the boss.” He winks and bounds out of bed like he’s had a full ten hours of sleep.

I roll over on my back and flop my arms out to my sides. “You win. You wore me down. You’re the boss, and I’m not going home today. Happy now?”

He pokes his head out of the bathroom door with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Very.”

“Now come and let me take care of you,” he says, crooking his finger toward himself.

“I think you’ve taken care of me plenty. I’m not sure I can even stand up.”

He crosses the bedroom and scoops me up, throwing me over his shoulder, and carries me into his shower. He turns it on with me still over his shoulder, kicking and laughing.

The shower is big. It must be custom, because I’ve never seen such a big shower in a house this size. He slides me down to sit me on the bench while the water warms.

“I’ll be back,” he says, leaving me alone. He’s gone for a while. I’m shivering, so I step under the hot spray of water and let it pound into my sore, well-worked muscles.

He’s taking forever, so I shampoo my hair and wash my body. Still no Major. I leave the water running and step out. There are two big, fluffy towels folded on the counter. I use one to dry my hair and wrap it around my body. I hear him talking on the phone. Work must have pulled him away, so I shut off the water. The bathroom door is half-open and Major is sitting on his bed talking quietly. I’m about to close it all the way, and I don’t consider myself to be an eavesdropper, but his words catch my attention.

“No, sweetheart, it’s not like that. Really, it’s nothing.”

He pauses to listen to the person on the other end of the line.

“Sabrina, I do, but listen, I don’t know what to say. It’s hard to explain.”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t had time, but after tomorrow I will. Let me take you to dinner Saturday night to make up for it?” He pauses again to listen to the caller. “All right, I’ll see you Saturday. I love you too. Goodbye.”

I white knuckle the doorknob and catch my shocked reflection in the mirror.

No. Why? Why would he do this? I was just in this for a one-night stand. He could have left it at that, but he sucked me in and tempted my heart, and now I learn he has someone else. Perfect, just perfect.

I popped my contacts in, braided my wet hair and dressed before Major made it back into the bathroom. He was surprised I hadn’t waited for him until he realized the time. He mistook my desire to escape his presence for good time management, thinking that I was anxious to see my injured friends. I do want to see my friends, but after overhearing his conversation, all I want to do is make a run for it.

When he finished getting ready and Mom was all packed up, I quietly asked her to put our bags in the car. Her expression was serious and questioning, but she didn’t probe. She knows she’ll have the whole drive home to do that.

We pull into the circle drive in front of the main entrance of the Naval Hospital. Mom gets out and politely thanks him for his hospitality.

“I’ll be in my office for a while. You can call me when you’re ready to go home, and I’ll swing by and pick you both up. We can stop for dinner on our way back.”

The back of the SUV opens, and a streak of sunlight pierces the space between Major and me. Mom picks up her leather overnight bag and slings it over her shoulder. Startled, he whips his head around to the back of the car. Mom flashes him a quick smile and grabs my bag as well before she closes the door.

“What’s that all about? I thought you were staying until tomorrow. You’re too tired to drive.” A deep frown line forms between his eyes, his voice is laced with urgency, and I almost feel bad for not warning him that we’re leaving.

Almost.

“I’m sorry, Major, we really need to get home. Mom is worried about her house. She wants to check to see if there’s any damage. I don’t know how bad the earthquake was down there.”

His jaw tightens more with every word I speak.

“That’s not what you said this morning.” The urgency in his voice is gone, replaced by a steely coldness that sends chills up my spine.

“I know, but after I talked to Mom, she thought we should get back sooner than later. She’s going to drive. It’ll be all right.”

My door opens, and Mom sticks her head in. “You coming, honey? We need to check on the kids.” She sounds impatient and borderline rude. Major can tell something’s not right.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” I say and take ahold of my purse strap.

“Thank you for having us. We really appreciate it,” I say.

“Yes, thanks a lot, Major Steele,” Mom calls from the sidewalk.

I begin to step out, and he grabs my arm.

“Violet . . .”

I can hardly stand to look back at him, and when I do, I wish I hadn’t.

His eyes dart past me to my mother and then back to me. He is a hard man to read, but I know he’s hurt and confused, but damn it, so am I.

“What’s going on? Why are you really leaving?”

I hate to lie, but this is a hopeless situation, and lying seems to be the least painful way to go right now.

“Nothing, Mom is just jumpy about the house and I should really make sure my apartment isn’t flooding or crumbling to the ground, ya know?” I say lightly, trying to make my excuse sound more believable. I smile and pat his hand that’s squeezing the hell out of my arm.

His eyes narrow. He knows I’m lying, but he doesn’t call me out on it. Instead, he releases my arm and pulls his hand away slowly, never taking his eyes off mine. I try so hard to hold back tears. I look back at my mom for a moment of relief and then at Major one last time.

“I have to go.” I slide out of the seat and close the door. Mom takes ahold of my arm and leads me through the sliding doors of the hospital, and I immediately scan the lobby for a restroom.

“I’ll be right back,” I say sliding my arm from hers to make a beeline for the restroom. Inside, I step into a stall and let out a strangled cry. I quietly sob into a wad of toilet paper until I hear the door open and my mother’s voice.

“Vie, honey, you okay?”

I dab my eyes and try to sniff without making too much noise but fail miserably. My nose is full of snot, and there’s no way I’ll hide my red, puffy eyes from her anyway. I blow my nose and wipe the last of my eye makeup off, flush the toilet paper, and exit the stall.

“Oh my God, Vie, what the hell happened?”

I step to the sink and splash cold water on my face. When I look into the mirror to dry it off with a paper towel, I look horrible.

“He has someone else. I’m a fool. I thought he was different, but I was wrong as always. I’m still the jerk magnet, and he’s a class A jerk. I want to go home.”

Mom wraps her arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. I bury my face in her neck and breathe in the familiar scent of Chanel No. 5 mixed with coffee. Her unique combination of scents has always calmed my fears in the past, but not today. It’s not normal to feel what I’m feeling for Major after only two days, but that doesn’t make it any less painful or real. I let down my guard, and he penetrated the wall I’d built around my heart to protect it from situations just like this. Well, not just like this. Major was special, or so I thought, and that makes it hurt all the worse.

“You go out to the car and rest for a bit while I go check on Mattie and Belle. If anyone is visiting, I’ll tell them you’re sick and we’re going home today.”

“Thanks, Mom. I feel stupid being so upset when I just met him two days ago.”

She holds me at arm’s length and looks me in the eye. “Honey, it’s not stupid. I fell in love with your father the moment I saw him. I’m not saying you love Major, although I’ve never seen you so happy with a man, but it happens, and I’m sorry that it didn’t work out. Are you sure about this?”

“I heard him talking to her on the phone.”

“It couldn’t have been a friend or family or something. Are you sure you didn’t read something into what you heard?”

“He called her sweetheart, told her he loved her, and offered to take her to dinner this weekend. I don’t think so.”

Her face falls. I think she wanted Major to be the real deal almost as much as I did. She cups my cheek and brushes away a tear. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“I’ll be okay. I just want to go home and forget this week ever happened.”

“Go on then. I won’t be long.” She kisses me on the cheek, and I take my walk of shame through the hospital lobby and across to the parking garage. I hate for people to see me cry. It’s embarrassing, and crying over a man who wasn’t who I thought he was makes it worse. I feel stupid for being heartbroken. In my car, I lay the seat down flat and lock the doors. It’s dark in the parking garage, and the California sun isn’t sweltering yet, so I should be able to get an hour’s sleep before we start for home. I curl up on my side and press my hands together under my cheek as a pillow. As I adjust, trying to get comfortable, I notice a mark on my wrist and hold it out to look closer. It’s red, not terribly but noticeable. I hold out my other wrist and it matches. The rope. I can’t believe that just a few hours ago, I was intoxicated by Major’s charm and seductive fuckery.