by Sosie Frost
Which meant, Peter was fired.
Some people lost their jobs. Others? The voicemail on my phone didn’t offer me my position back.
It gave me Peter’s.
If I wanted it, I could become head photographer. I’d get a big raise, the travel stipend, all the responsibilities and acclaim.
It was hush money, but damn if I wasn’t considering it. I was part of the Rivets’ family, and families stuck together.
No matter how hard-headed the cockiest rookie in the league was.
Or how stupid and stubborn his wife had been.
I changed the channel on the television. It had been years since the Rivets played a game where I wasn’t on the field with them. I missed the crowds, the excitement, the energy.
But…the couch was a good place to ward away the morning sickness. Or maybe it was just nerves? I could do nothing for Lachlan except wear his jersey and cross my fingers as the game started.
I didn’t have to worry.
The first series nearly gave me a heart attack, but he blocked one ferocious looking linebacker and kept the blitz off of Jack.
They gave him the ball in the second series—an easy screen pass that he turned into a seven-yard gain.
The third series was his best. He got open in the middle, dove for the ball, and came up with an impossible first down that led to a rushing touchdown.
And each and every time he touched that ball or flashed on the screen, I teared up. It was mostly the hormones twisting me, but that pride was something I’d never felt before.
For so long, I searched for the amazing—beautiful places in the world, landmarks, natural wonders. I thought I had to search to find the next biggest, greatest thing life could offer.
Turns out, I didn’t have to go that far.
What I felt for Lachlan was nothing I could capture in a picture or keep on my shelf. The best trinket of his was the little bit of him growing inside me.
And it was time he realized that.
The game ended, but it was late when he finally knocked on my door. It didn’t matter the hour. Our conversation was days overdue.
Lachlan greeted me with a tired smile. “Know how they say…a husband and wife should never go to bed angry?”
“Yeah?”
“Please tell me you haven’t slept for three days.”
“Actually…”
That only panicked him. “Christ, Elle, you’re pregnant, you’ve gotta—”
I pulled him inside. “I’ve gotten some sleep.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“It’s been…stressful.”
“That’s also not good for you or the baby.”
“We’re pretty tough. I think we can handle a couple interviews and depositions.”
“I want to be there with you.”
I believed him, but I didn’t answer. He followed me inside, dropping a bag at the foot of the couch.
“They offered me my job back,” I said. “Technically, they gave me Peter’s.”
Lachlan had the same reaction that I did—uncertainty. “Are you going to take it?”
“I don’t know. I might get more tangled in all these scandals. Who knows what other unethical things are happening.”
He went quiet. “We’re a team—you and me, Jack and Cole and the rest of the guys. Cole was right. The Rivets are fucked up. There’s cheating. There’s bounty-hunting. The only way we can heal is if we stick together—cleanse it from the inside.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like Jack talking.”
He shrugged. “You have a lot of reasons to stay with the team.”
“Name one.”
“Me.”
That’s the one I’d hoped for. But I didn’t rush into his arms. Not yet.
“You know…you were right,” I said. “You promised I’d fall for you before the sunset of our third date.”
“I’m irresistible like that.”
“You really should warn a girl.”
“And miss out on all the fun?”
I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear, my smile fading. He wanted the truth, and I didn’t know if I could keep the secret anymore.
“I won’t lie to you,” I said. “I fell for you. Hard. But I’m not a girl who believes in fairy tales or fate or magic. These next few months are going to be insane—not just the investigations, but because of the baby.”
“I’m going to take care of you, Elle.”
“I just…want to make sure this is real.”
“Of course it is.” He pulled me close. “You know we fell in love the first moment we met.”
“If only I could remember it.”
He smiled, teasing me with dimples that I couldn’t resist. “Fortunately for you, I do remember. You came up to me and said something to the effect of…We belong together. Let’s hook up in the hotel room all weekend, meet again in three months, fall in love, have a baby, and live happily-ever-after.”
“Hmm.” I nodded. “That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Well, that was the gist of it.”
“Are you sure you weren’t the one coming onto me?” I asked. “Because I think I remember you saying…I’m gonna chase after you until you agree to date me, and then I’ll charm you, knock you up, and we’ll live a happily-ever-disaster.”
“Sounds more like me.”
“Yeah, that’s about right. Remember what I said after that?”
“Tell me.”
“I told you…If I ever keep secrets from you, it’s not because I don’t trust you, it’s because I’m in love with you and refuse to jeopardize your spot on a team.”
“Oh, yeah.” Lachlan smirked. “You did mention that. Right before you said…I love giving blowjobs. Make sure I give you one a day or I’ll be really cranky.”
“I must have been really drunk to say that.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger. And right after that promise was when I told you…If I ever get mad because you called me out on my bullshit, know that it’s because I’m terrified of failure and disappointing the ones I love.”
“Yep. That memory is clear as a bell.”
Lachlan smiled. “And then I said…The only thing I want in this life is to provide for my family, because you and our future unborn baby and Bast—who is actually my son, by the way—are the most important people in my life.”
I knocked my forehead against his, unable to hide my smile. “I think that’s the one that made me drop the panties.”
“No. It’s the one that kept them off.”
“I’m sorry, Lachlan.”
He brushed my cheek. “No. It was my fault. I lost my temper. Hell, I didn’t even know I had one.”
“First time for everything.”
“Hopefully the last. I don’t like feeling like that. It’s not me.”
“And who are you?”
“A man who wants to protect you. Honor you. Help you.” His hand brushed low, settling on my tummy. “I’m not just some mistake from Vegas. I want to be the best decision you ever made. I love you, Elle.”
It was the kind of declaration a girl could get used to hearing. I smiled, but Lachlan didn’t let me speak. He grabbed his duffle bag and herded me to the couch.
“I know this is a whirlwind relationship,” he said. “That’s part of the fun. Our marriage isn’t a conventional one.”
“Not by any stretch of the imagination.”
“But, luckily for you, I have a good imagination.”
“That I really remember.”
“It’s time we start this again.” He pointed to the shelves behind me, full of knick-knacks and trinkets. “You need a couple additions to the Lachlan Collection.”
“I do?”
“Yep. And you need to start this marriage right.”
“How?”
He grinned, rifling through the bag before offering me a small package. “We got married, but you didn’t have any of the traditional luck for a bride. So there’s your somethi
ng old.”
“You’re being a little sweet.”
“Ain’t seen nothing yet.”
I tugged on the packaging. The paper fell away, and I held a deck of playing cards, emblazoned with the insignia for the Bellagio in Vegas.
“Something old, from the first day we met,” he said. “Plus we can play strip poker later.”
“Only if you want me to kick your bare butt once I win your clothes.”
“I’ll take that challenge.” He handed me the second package. “This is your something new.”
I shook the box open. A spaghetti spoon wasn’t exactly romantic, but he sexy’ed it up with a curly bow.
“From our first date?” I asked.
“It has a silicon grip. Top of the line utensil right there.”
I giggled. “Now if we could just learn how to cook.”
“We’ll have plenty of time for that, Mrs. Reed.”
I was starting to love the sound of that.
The next package was soft and flexible.
“Something borrowed…” I murmured.
I ripped the paper off and clutched the blue baby blanket to my chest.
I didn’t care if it was hormonal or not. I let the tears come.
“Because I got pregnant on our second date?” I whispered.
“It was Bast’s when he was a baby.” Lachlan touched the blanket with a gentle finger. “I thought maybe our boy would like it as much as he did.”
“Or our girl.”
“Nah. I only make boys.”
“Sample size of one.”
“Call it a hunch.” He reached for the last present. “I’m cheating on this one.”
“You don’t have to do all this.”
“The pack-rat doesn’t want any more presents?”
I giggled, brushing away the tears. “I didn’t say that.”
“Then this is your something blue.”
I tore through the paper. The photograph was framed and lovely—me smiling and cheerful, but Lachlan looked like he swallowed his tongue.
“This is the picture I took when I told you I was pregnant,” I said. “Third date?”
“I think my face turned a good shade of blue there.”
“Maybe a little purple, but I won’t tell.” I cradled the picture. “Lachlan, this is amazing.”
“Wait. I have one more thing for you.” His eyes brightened. “But it doesn’t belong on a shelf.”
He wasn’t.
He couldn’t.
I held my breath.
Lachlan knelt before me on one knee, pulling a velvet box from his pocket.
Two gold wedding bands rested inside the box.
“I love you, Elle.”
I couldn’t speak.
Lachlan stared at me, his voice solemn. “This was never a three date bet for a crazy adrenaline rush. We are meant to be together. You made me realize the man I could be and the father that I was. I need you in my life, and I want to be a part of yours.”
“Lachlan.”
“You said one day I’d realize I wasn’t the center of the universe.”
“And you said you only wanted to be the center of mine.”
“Red, will you stay married to me?”
It was the silliest and best and most romantic question I’d ever heard. I pulled him close and dropped into his arms.
“I love you so much, Lachlan.”
“Is that a yes?”
I picked a ring from the box and slipped a band onto his finger. “Yes, I will stay married to you.”
He kissed my finger before placing the ring on it. “Can I call you my wife without you getting mad?”
“Sure…but you know it’s impolite to talk with your mouth full.”
“You’re absolutely right…”
Lachlan lifted me from the couch. I had no idea where he summoned the strength after a game that probably destroyed every last muscle that had already torn, frayed, bruised, and busted from training camp. He didn’t complain, only raced to drop me on the bed so he could tug off my clothes.
I did the same, but my hands stilled over his dark bruises. He shrugged me away, kissing me, despite his pain.
All the more reason for me to give him a little present of my own.
I didn’t stay on my back. I pushed him to the sheets.
“Elle…what…?”
I swung over him, my head at his waist and my panties inches from his face. He got the message.
“The last thing I want is my husband straining himself after such a hard game.” I squeezed his cock through his boxers. “Such a big game.”
Lachlan panted as I licked the head of his cock. He ripped my panties to the side and sunk his mouth over my slit. “Yeah. Really…uh…wet game.”
He was bad at this, but I couldn’t fault him. He used his skilled tongue for teasing, not puns. I shuddered as he explored every inch of me—sucking, flicking, slurping until I groaned.
“It was a really tight game…” I stroked him, licking his impossibly hard shaft.
“Hot on the field.”
I took him in my mouth, grinning as he throbbed against my tongue.
Lachlan bucked his hips. “Yeah…made me wanna go deep.”
“All the way?”
Lachlan sucked hard against me. “Fuck me, Red.”
“That’s not a cliché—”
The game was over. He shifted under me, but I didn’t let him up. Not with those bruises, and not when I still had so much to offer him.
I straddled him, touching his chest, his cheek, his lips. He kissed my fingertips, but not another word needed to be said.
We could tease all we wanted, be as dirty as we liked, but this moment was something serious, consecrating.
I pumped him in my hand and took a breath. He held me as I guided that hard cock inside me.
We both groaned. I slid down his pulsing shaft, and I shuddered as our bodies met.
Together.
I had no idea how perfect it could feel.
His hands brushed my curves, settling at my waist. I loved his touch. His gaze. The way he smiled, as if he were simply amazed by me.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“You’re mine.”
“I’m yours.”
“Forever?”
I raised my hand, showing him the wedding band. “Just try to take it off me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. It was hell getting it on there.”
“Well, now you have me.” I bumped my hips. “What do you want to do to me?”
“Get married…” He shrugged. “Already did that.”
I smirked. “Make a baby…whoops.”
“Have a happily-ever-after?”
I grinned. “I don’t believe in fairy-tales.”
“Better start. This one belongs to you.”
I trembled as he hit the perfect spot inside me.
The perfect husband. The perfect life.
A perfect family.
I ground against him, bouncing little by little against that thickness until my eyes closed, lips parted, and my heart raced my desire to see which would burst first.
Lachlan’s held me—not crushing me against him, not forcing me faster or slower, harder or softer, deeper or shallower. He caressed me. Touched me. Cradled me near and dropped his hand to my tummy, still flat and secret.
As much as I had wanted to prove my love to him, it wasn’t necessary. Every beat of my heart, every grace of my fingertips, every shuddered thrill that warmed my core was my love for him.
No words. No promises. No declarations.
Just us.
Connected.
Sharing a bond that seemed so impossible but strengthened with every whisper, every touch, every quiet whimper that forged our own once upon a time.
I gripped him hard, struggling as we both tensed and shifted, shuddered and moaned. A sharp, beautiful, and undeniable pleasure surged through me. The first jet of heat struck me deep.
I blinked throu
gh tears as he pulled me close. The shudders crippled me, and the only word I could breathe, say, think, feel was his name.
Another promise he had made.
And one that would come true again and again.
I slipped from him, curling against his body.
But I knew Lachlan. He wasn’t done, not yet, not even after a full game and explosion of lust and desire and love. He curled my legs over his waist and returned to me, hard, fast, and stealing a kiss.
“It might get a little rough,” he warned.
“You…or life?”
He shrugged, slipping within me once again. “Both.”
I teased him with a touch to his lips. “It doesn’t seem that bad with a husband at my side.”
“And I’ve got a wife and baby to spoil.”
“You know what?” I smiled. “I think we’re gonna be just fine, Charming.”
Lachlan’s Epilogue
I followed Jack to the sidelines after the time-out. We both stared at the clock.
Third down. Five minutes remaining. Ten points behind. Stuck on the Tigers’ thirty-yard line.
“Give it to me, Jack.”
I didn’t take a drink or a breather, and I forgot the last unsuccessful play. My bruises and pain faded. I shouted at my quarterback for the ball, and I didn’t care if half the stadium heard me.
“Give it to me.”
Jack glanced to our offensive coordinator. He’d been running the team while Coach Thompson took a four game suspension for his involvement in the scandal. He left the decision to our quarterback.
“You want it?” Jack asked.
“You fucking know I do.”
“Think you can handle it, rookie?” He grinned. “You ready for it?”
“Fucking. Give. It. To. Me.”
He tossed the playbook to the coordinator and jogged with me to the huddle.
“Your ass better be wide fucking open,” he said.
“And we shouldn’t tell our wives about this conversation.”
“Get my touchdown, we got a deal.”
“If I get us two, will you stop filling my car with popcorn?”
“Gotta impress me first, Charming.”
The whistles blew. We huddled up—the team silent, panting, and sweating. Time ticked down in the most important game of our season. The league had smacked us hard, taking away draft choices and investigating the coaches. But this game—this Monday night in front of the entire country?
