Sacking the Quarterback (7 page)

She felt another release roaring down
on her, knew any second she would explode and hopefully take him
over the edge with her. But she didn’t want it to end, either. She
loved the feel of his touch on her skin and knew one night wasn’t
going to be enough.

Taylor closed her eyes, trying to stop
the train of thought. One night. That’s all it could be.

“
Open your eyes,” he said
gruffly.

She obeyed, finding his stare. He
adjusted himself, lifting himself on his knees more and widening
his kneeling stance as he held that stare, his intense gaze
stripping her more bare than her nudity did.

Rhett leaned in and captured her lips
in a searing kiss as he thrashed inside her pussy. He swallowed her
moans as she began to come, an eruption that tore her to shreds
with each and every wave. He pounded her channel, filling her over
and over again with his thick cock. Her walls clenched around his
shaft, and she felt his body tense. Rhett ripped his mouth away and
groaned loudly as a blast of heat filled her womb. She could feel
the hot seed filling the condom as he milked himself into her
body.

He continued to pump his hips, more
languidly as the seconds passed. Finally he stilled and pushed her
bangs away from her sweaty forehead and began dropping little
kisses all over her face and lips.

Stunned by his sweet response, she lay
there and let him continue. This was a one-night kind of mistake
she’d willingly walked into. But she’d hold on to the fantasy a
little bit longer if she could. In the weeks to come, his
attentiveness would give her something to remember.

Rhett rolled over to his back, taking
her with him. He readjusted the sheet to make sure she was covered
before holding her tightly to him. Her ear rested just over his
heart and the steady beating tempted her to drift into sleep again,
but she couldn’t do that. There was too much work to be done, and
she’d already spent too much time there.

Taylor listened to his even breathing,
awkwardly wondering when she should ask him about leaving. She took
too long and those long, deep breaths soon turned to soft snores.
Closing her eyes, she made the decision she had to.

She waited until he was deeper into
sleep before sliding from the bed. Once she got out without waking
him, she tiptoed into the sunroom and put her clothing back on,
borrowing the two pieces he’d given her, for her trek home. When
she was dressed, she stopped at the end of the bed and looked at
him for a long while, trying to burn the image in her head. Rhett
looked so inviting lying there, his arm extended, the one she’d
rested her head upon.

Shaking herself, she headed out of the
room and down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. As
soon as she was outside the door, her feet traveled the remembered
path she’d ran so often as her old neighbor had chased her back to
her parents’ property. This time, she couldn’t help but be sad at
what she’d left behind, knowing she’d never be back.

* * * *

Rhett awoke with a start, the bed
empty beside him. The room smelled of sex, and his body throbbed
with the remembered touch of Taylor’s hands and body. He’d not
expected to wake up alone and didn’t care for it at all. Where had
she run off to?

He rubbed a hand over his face and got
up, heading for the sunroom. Digging in his jeans pocket, he found
his cell phone. Ten a.m. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d
slept the morning away. Once he got his jeans back on, he wandered
through the house, looking for her. Room after empty room, he found
nothing, his concern mounting.

Had she just simply walked home?
Without a word?

Rhett stormed back upstairs, angry at
her for leaving like that. He didn’t know how long she’d been gone
or if she’d even made it safely home. After putting the rest of his
clothes on, he headed out, climbing into his truck. The engine
roared to life, and he gunned the engine a few times, liking the
sound. It matched his irritation.

Minutes later, he was heading down the
dusty lane and then pulled out onto the main road. It didn’t take
long to make it to the end of the Ashbys’ lane. When he pulled
before their old farmhouse, he saw the car Taylor had been about to
get into last night. She’d been gone long enough to walk home, get
a ride back to the bar, and bring her car home. Had she been so
ready to flee after they were done?

Rhett marched up to the front door,
ready to give Taylor a piece of his mind. As soon as his knuckles
hit wood, the door flung open and an aproned Mrs. Ashby was
standing there with open arms. She enveloped him in a quick bear
hug.

“
About time you came to say
hello!” she cried.

Rhett felt bad. She wasn’t the reason
for his visit, but he kept his mouth closed. No reason to tell her
he’d just fucked her daughter and wanted to make sure she was okay.
He was fairly certain that would get him a boot out the door, not
an invite inside.

“
Come in, come in,” she
said, backing up into the foyer.

Rhett followed her into the kitchen.
He could smell wonderful scents and his mouth watered. He hadn’t
had a slice of her pie in ages, but it was suddenly the only thing
he could think about.

“
You just missed Jim, but
I’ll let him know you stopped by. It’s so nice to see you, but you
do know Jennings doesn’t live here, right? He bought the old Foster
place down the road. You know where that is?”

Rhett looked to the back stairs where
he heard footsteps. Taylor was up there, his gut told him so. Was
she hovering at the head of the stairs listening? Was she laughing,
wondering if he’d implicate himself—because if he asked about her
and if she made it home, her mother would probably know he was the
reason she’d been out all night.

“
Yeah, I know where that
is. I’ll stop by to see him later. I actually stopped by to tell
you I’m your new neighbor. I bought the Lutz farm next door.” Rhett
chuckled at his own quick thinking, not yet giving anything
away.

Mrs. Ashby’s smile widened. “Our
neighbor? That’s wonderful, Rhett. About time someone took care of
that property.”

A buzzer went off, and Mrs. Ashby
headed for the stove and pulled out two gorgeous apple pies. The
scent made his mouth water.

“
Can I offer you a cup of
coffee? Maybe a slice of pie? I know it’s early, but you look
hungry. I’ve got two others I already took out of the oven that
should be cool enough to slice.”

Rhett smiled. “You read my mind, Mrs.
Ashby. I haven’t had pie like yours in years.”

Rhett soon had a cup and a plate set
before him at their big kitchen island. He shoveled a spoonful into
his mouth as Mrs. Ashby stood across from him, her own mug of
coffee refilled. She took a sip, watching him closely.

“
How long before you ask
about Taylor?”

Rhett looked up from his pie, his
mouth frozen in mid-chew. He finished his bite and swallowed, not
really sure what to say. “Ma’am?”

“
I saw her walking that old
path home this morning, and I’d already heard you’d bought the
place. Jim had to take Taylor to go pick up her car on his way into
town, so we know she spent the night up there with you.”

Rhett knew there was no reason to lie.
“Yes, ma’am.”

“
Now Taylor is a grown
woman and I don’t judge her choices and I don’t know your
intentions. But I won’t sit quietly by while you use my baby to get
over your ex,” she said. “I’d expect more out of one of Jennings’
best friends.”

“
That’s not what it was. At
least, I don’t think that’s what it was,” Rhett said, leaning
across the table and staring at Mrs. Ashby. “You know I wouldn’t
knowingly hurt your daughter.”

Mrs. Ashby nodded and sipped her
coffee. “Not knowingly. But you’ve just been through the ringer.
Don’t take my daughter through it with you.”

“
I’m not—” Rhett put his
fork down, suddenly no longer hungry. Was that what he was going to
end up doing? He didn’t want to hurt Taylor, but the thought of not
seeing her again made him feel awful empty. Rhett suddenly felt
very selfish. He lowered his fork and pushed the plate away. He’d
told himself that he couldn’t drag her through the mud with him and
now he was hearing the same thing. It wasn’t fair to either of them
to pursue her anymore.

“
Thank you for the
hospitality, ma’am. I only stopped by because Taylor left while I
was asleep and I wanted to make sure she’d gotten home safely. I
was only concerned.” He stood and pushed his hands in his pants
pockets. “Please tell her I had a wonderful evening and I wish her
the best.”

A creak sounded in the ceiling
sounded, and he knew she’d gotten his message. Her mother was
right. There was no way he could drag her through whatever hell the
next few months had in store for him.

* * * *

Taylor watched Rhett walk away from
her bedroom window. He climbed into his truck, revved the engine
and roared out of her life as quickly as he’d roared into it last
night. His leaving was for the best. Their time was supposed to be
quick, one night of fun with no strings. Neither had said the
words, but Taylor had felt it was implied. No point dragging it
out. He was gone, and she could move on.

She tugged the towel around her body
tighter. After her shower, she could no longer smell his scent on
her body. Luckily she still felt deliciously sore in all the right
places. She smiled. She’d have to remember every little stretch and
pull to sustain her. Graduation was just months away, and she
needed focus to get her through. Her thesis was nearly complete,
and she just needed a little more time before she could walk the
stage and walk out of Dixon.

Taylor didn’t need a man like Rhett to
make her rethink her plans. What was done was done, and she was
moving on.

So why had she wanted to run down the
stairs the whole time he was there?

Chapter Six

Three weeks of backbreaking labor and
Rhett was finally starting to see a little progress on the house.
The place was still mostly tore up for now. They’d torn down a
couple of walls and reconfigured some spaces, but they were working
hard to preserve the home’s original style. He was almost done
refinishing the new ensuite for his master bedroom, enlarging the
space by taking space from another bedroom. He could hear noise
downstairs—the contractor and his team were working on the kitchen
and downstairs bathroom.

He could’ve done the majority of the
work himself, but Rhett had hired them because he wanted the house
completely done well before he went back to training camp. He was
still fully involved, mostly because he’d needed to do something
physical.

He needed to occupy his body and mind
to keep him from walking the trail leading him next
door.

He laid the last set of tiles on the
floor and stood up to look at his handiwork. Backing away, he
walked into something solid. Rhett turned to see Jennings standing
there. The next thing he saw was a fist to his face.

Sprawling on the newly laid tiles, he
lifted a hand to his bloody lip and checked to see if there were
any teeth loose. Luckily, there weren’t. “Took you long enough. I
more than deserved that.”

Jennings glared at him. “When I first
heard the rumors, I let it go. You’re both grown adults, so no
point in getting pissed off and beating the shit out of a friend.
But then when you’ve been seen out with three different women since
then, I take a little offense knowing my sister was the first notch
on your return to Dixon bedpost. How could you do that to
her?”

“
Three different women?”
Rhett stood, shaking his head. “I haven’t been out with anyone
since your sister.”

“
Maria? Ashleigh? What
about Jasmine?”

Rhett sighed. This was the
bad part about small town life. The rumor mill was slanderous at
best, and everyone knew your business. Bad thing was, sometimes
they
knew
things
incorrectly. “I went for drinks last week at Tom’s Place, trying to
steer clear of Taylor. Maria was there and got handsy. I left.
Alone. A couple of nights later, I had dinner at Max’s Grill.
Ashleigh was there eating alone and she invited me to join her. We
ate, we chatted, and then I went home. Alone. Last night, I went to
the bowling alley with Jasmine—along with her brother Judd and
Mike. We bowled a few games, had a few beers, talked about old
times, and I went home. Alone.”

Jennings growled and walked out into
the bedroom, his hands in tight fists. The nervous anger was
rolling off him. “I really want to believe you, Rhett. But my
sister? You don’t do that shit, man.”

“
It just happened. We got
caught up in the moment, and it just happened. I would never treat
her like a notch in my bedpost. Your friendship means too much, and
I know I crossed a line being with her, but it just
was.”

“
Well, make sure it
doesn’t
just happen
again.” Jennings crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t
want to have to kill you.”