by Heather Long
Then Coop backed off, and I surged up. Sinking into her was like going home, and even though I wanted to take my time, she wrapped her legs around my hips and dragged me in. When my mouth locked on hers, I thrust all the way home.
Hot, tight, and so damn perfect. I groaned as she sucked against my tongue. Of all the times I’d ever imagined having her, rocking into her always exceeded my expectations. I planted one hand to keep my weight from crushing her. Not wanting to jar her wrist either, I kept my thrusts sharper, more contained, but she was already spasming around me.
When she pulled back to cry out, I gritted my teeth. The tension in my spine had gone red hot, and I braced my other hand flat to the bed and met her gaze as she arched up to meet me. The rhythm increased, and with every snap of my hips, it was like the edge rushed up to meet me as my balls seemed to drag up tight. When she dug her nails into my shoulder and Coop uttered a quiet “Fuck…” I came.
The hot pulse spilled out of me, and I snapped forward twice more before everything went rigid. Her inner muscles clamped down, fluttering against me as if milking me for every drop. Sweat slicked my skin, and it was hard to catch my breath.
We all lay there for several long moments as I fought to catch my breath, and then with regret, I eased out of her, carefully. She let out a shuddering cry, and then Coop had her mouth claimed again, another kiss as he tugged her to him.
I stumbled back from the bed on rubbery legs. It took me a minute to deal with the condom, and I went to the bathroom to dispose of it. When I came back, Coop had her rolled on her side and he was drilling into her from behind.
Fuck.
That was hot.
I fell back onto the bed, facing her, and then cupped her chin with one hand while I put her splinted wrist against my side to brace it. Kissing her, I wrapped my tongue around hers as she cried out. Coop had his hand between her thighs even as he rocked his hips, and I tasted her orgasm in her kiss a moment before it struck.
I leaned back to watch them, and I loved seeing her come apart, face flushed and sweat beading along her skin, until Coop went rigid and his groan elongated as it filled the quiet room.
They kissed again, and when Coop let go of her lips, she turned to me and I pulled her close for another kiss. The bed dipped and moved as Coop went to deal with his own condom, but I cradled Frankie to me.
Best good morning kiss ever.
It took some real effort to get moving, and I kept an eye on Frankie as I helped her in the shower. Coop had grabbed one first, then he was ready to help her after. She moved a little awkwardly, and I worried we’d been too rough.
“Stop,” she shushed me at breakfast while sipping a coffee. “I ache, but I like this one.”
Coop chuckled. “Well in that case, what about round three?”
Oh, the body was willing, but the clock worked against.
Her grin lifted some of my concerns. Not pushing her meant also not taking advantage. But the lines of tension in her face were absent, and the shadows that had darkened her eyes since the confrontation with her mother had also eased.
Taking Frankie at her word, I kissed her lightly as we finished getting ready to leave. The cats were fed, and I’d dealt with the litter box while Coop got the trash. I had her backpack and my own. She was riding to school with me, but Coop would bring her home since I had practice after.
In the car, I glanced over to find her smiling at me. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just…that was a lot of fun.”
“Yeah it was,” I agreed with her. “You’re not too sore?” I hadn’t been as gentle as I would have liked there, and Coop seemed to have had the same idea.
“Not too much,” she promised, then slid her hand over my thigh. “You guys really didn’t mind…”
“Hell no, I didn’t mind,” I assured her. “Trust me. It was hot as hell watching him kiss you while I had my mouth on your pussy. It was hotter still to kiss you while he made you come.”
Her face flushed red again, and I grinned.
“You said you had a lot of fun, but is that something you’d be interested in repeating?”
Pressing two fingers to her lips, she said, “I’m definitely leaning in that direction.”
“Good to know.”
The drive was fun after that, and I liked how relaxed she was. Still, the change that came over her when we got to the school was unmistakable. Her shoulders tightened, her lips compressed. Covering her hand, I pulled it back over to rest against my thigh.
The reduction in PDA at school meant we couldn’t offer as much comfort as I’d like, but if she kept this up, I was going to be breaking some rules.
“You know we’re not going to let anyone get near you, right?” I asked as we pulled into the lot.
“It’s not that,” she murmured, though she cast me a wan smile. “But yes, I have noticed the cone of protection you guys are forming, and while I’d normally roll my eyes, I have a hard time doing that when I appreciate it so much.”
Good. “Then what’s wrong, Baby Girl? Tell me so I can go kick its ass.”
She laughed. “You can’t fight all my battles for me, Jake.”
“Who says I can’t? Hmm?”
With a shake of her head, she squeezed my hand. “I do. School just… Everyone knows. It’s like when whoever it was decorated my car with all those condoms or Sharon put up those videos, only this is a hundred times worse. They all know what he did.”
Wrestling with my temper, I tried to focus on what she was saying. “Yes, they know he’s a jackass who drugged you and attacked you. That’s not your fault, Frankie.”
“I know that,” she said, loosening her fingers from my grip to tap the side of her head. “I know that in here. Just like I know I need to distance myself from Maddy.”
Only Archie called his parents by their first names. Hearing Frankie do it just made me sad for her. Mom was my biggest champion, and while we didn’t always agree, I knew she always had my back.
The fact that Frankie didn’t even get that? What a bitch her mother was.
“But my gut?” She continued putting a hand over her stomach. “It’s all in knots. Then I’m not sure if I’m angry or sad, and whether I want to scream or throw up.”
She sighed.
“I want it to stop so I can just be me.”
“You are you,” I told her as I parked, then turned to face her without shutting off the car. “You’re always you. I get this is messed up. I know you’re okay, but I’m constantly checking on you to make sure you’re still okay. It’s like I have to know… I hated going home the last couple of days, but Coop or Arch always sent me a message after you were asleep to let me know you were sleeping and you were all right.”
Wonder filled her expression. “I hate what this has done to all of you. I hate that you’re all so worried.”
“We’ll get through it, Baby Girl. We worry because we care.” Fifteen minutes she’d been out of our sight, and look what happened to her. Then again on Monday, she was away from us for one class period, and the bitch showed up to get her.
“If it’s ever too much…”
“It won’t be,” I told her, then brushed some of the hair back from her face. That bruise on her face was still there. It faded each day, but I could still see how bad it was. How still she’d been when we got in there. Barely blinked, her words slurring, then she’d gone so pale.
“If it does,” she scolded me, putting a finger against my lips. “Don’t hold it in? Tell me?”
Yeah. That was happening. Bubba and I had a session with Diane. Maybe I’d talk about it with her. Not that I was worried about it. “I won’t,” I said. “But I’m not going anywhere. Trust me?”
Her smile relieved some of the vise locking around my chest. “I do trust you, Jake. I just want to take care of you.”
“You do take care of me,” I said with a wink. “It just happens to be my turn, so suck it up, princess, and let me be your big bad boyfriend who ke
eps the world at bay. When it’s your turn, I promise to only whine a little when you beat up the people looking at me sideways.”
Her laughter was exactly what I’d wanted.
Though her tension abated some, she was still strung tight as we walked inside. I held her hand and to hell with what anyone else thought. When Coop met us at the doors, I let her go so he could sling an arm around her shoulders.
Bubba and Archie were waiting for us. I kept an eye out for Cheryl. So far, she hadn’t tried to see Frankie again, but that wouldn’t last. Coop nudged me about fifteen minutes before the bell.
“That’s him,” he said after checking his phone, and I glanced down at the student directory, then across the cafeteria at the target.
“Still just warning?” I checked before draining my coffee.
Coop nodded, but Frankie’s speculative glance landed on us. “What are you two up to?”
“Just going to offer some friendly advice,” I told her with a grin.
Only Frankie’s expression didn’t lighten as she glanced from me to Coop, then back. “Uh uh. You have that someone’s about to get their ass beat look.”
“Not beat,” I promised, but it wasn’t enough.
With a sigh, Coop gripped my shoulder. “Trina’s got a sophomore asking her out.”
Archie and Bubba both twisted at the same moment to look where we had been.
“And I’m just going to talk to him,” Coop said, his grin easy and his manner relaxed.
“Jake is going because…?” Despite her doubtful expression, the corners of her lips twitched. Frankie damn well knew why I was going.
“I’m going for moral support.” Yes, I said with a straight face.
Bubba snorted, and Archie smirked. “You need more moral support?” Archie asked with a glance to Coop.
“Nope, I think Jake is just the right touch. And it’s a quick conversation. We’ll be right back. Not going to lay a finger on him.”
“Hmm-hmm,” Frankie said. “I’ve heard that before.” Then… “Just remember, if Sis likes him, you have to be careful.”
“So does he,” Coop said in an unflinching tone as he locked gazes with Frankie.
She gave it a beat, then nodded. “Well, go get ’im.”
“Like I said,” Coop spread his hands as he spoke. “It’s just a conversation.”
She chuckled and shook her head, but shifted in the chair to watch us, and there was something kind of cool about knowing she planned to keep an eye on us. That, and I had to resist the urge to puff out my chest.
“This is going to be fun,” I admitted quietly to Coop, and he snorted.
“Not as fun as this morning.”
No. Nothing would though. I grinned.
I was still grinning when the table around our target went quiet.
You know, I almost felt sorry for that sophomore when he noticed us approaching.
Almost.
Chapter Thirteen
Safe with Me
Ian
Practice kind of sucked, but the team didn’t feel much like a team. Something Coach called all of us on afterward. Mitch may not have been a power player, but he had been popular. There were assholes on the team who resented the fact that he wouldn’t be around for the last games of the season. Still more that didn’t think it was fair that his academic career and potential career were being derailed.
Despite the mutterings, most of them shut up when Jake or I were present. Most. Not all. Maybe they thought they were flying under the radar. I didn’t care so much, but if they said one more word about it, I’d be breaking another jaw if Jake didn’t get to them first.
Coach, however, offered them no such assurances. “This is the part where you sit with your mouths closed and your ears open,” he informed all of us. We were in the locker room, most of us had showered and changed, but no one had been allowed to leave. “For the last few weeks, our heads have not been in this game.”
When one of the other kids began to protest, Coach raised his hand and cut him off.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, and I don’t want it.” Hands on his hips, Coach stared until the mutters stopped.
I leaned back against my locker, and Jake leaned next to me, arms folded. I still couldn’t run a pass. If I was lucky, I might get off the bench next week.
Not that I cared much one way or the other. Playing the guitar had been a little tougher, and I’d made that work. That was the thing I cared about more now, rather than the game, as sacrilegious as that might be.
“Are we focused now? Are you hearing me?”
A round of “Yes, Coach,” came from all of us.
“Good. What makes a team a team is we work together. What makes a team successful is we support each other.”
Jake’s whole body went tense, and I bumped his shoulder. The last thing we needed was him unloading on Coach.
“But being a team player is about more than being on a team, it’s about being worthy of that support.” Coach swung his gaze over all of us. “We’ve had our ups and our downs. I know you’re all saying we lost a good player, maybe we did. Maybe we didn’t. While I can’t comment on it, I am telling you that as a team, you need to pull it together and support the guy standing next to you and the guy standing next to him. The guys who are still here, who are bringing it. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Coach.”
He nodded once.
“Get out of here and rest for tomorrow. I expect one hundred and ten percent on that field and to support each other. Got it?”
Another round of “Yes, Coach,” and then the team broke up. I twisted to grab my backpack out of the locker along with my duffle. All my training clothes needed to go home for the weekend. Not that I’d gotten them that dirty.
Jake didn’t move, not at first, his attention narrowed on a couple of Mitch’s besties who scowled and glared back.
Slamming my door closed, I slid the backpack strap over my shoulder and stared at the pair myself. Jackson Taylor and Shawn Abbey weren’t my favorite people. Hell, they didn’t even rank on the list of assholes above general douche. They were decent players and offered support on the offensive line.
But they were Mitch’s boys through and through.
“What are you looking at Rhys?” Shawn demanded when he met my gaze.
“Shut up, Shawn,” Coach barked, and Shawn actually jerked at the sound and glanced to where Coach stood in the doorway to his office. He hadn’t closed it. “Get your things and go rest up. Save it for the game.”
“Sure,” Jackson said. “We’ll save it for the game.” Then he cut a look at us before he slammed his locker door and the pair left.
“Wouldn’t take much to catch up to them,” Jake said, the threat in his voice anything but idle.
“Don’t,” I cautioned. “It’s what they want.” Not that I wouldn’t risk a few more broken knuckles to knock them on their ass.
Before Jake could say anything, Coach called us. “Get in my office, boys.”
With a sigh, Jake rolled his eyes, but we went. Once inside, he motioned us to sit down and then dropped into his own chair. After pulling his ball cap off, he ran a hand over his balding pate. Coach had been in charge of the football team for more than twenty years. He’d been an assistant coach before that. I’d always liked him—he was a straight shooter, but he loved the game.
That he’d given that speech had to have been hard for him.
“If you want us to drop off the team, Coach, just say the word.” Jake’s tone bordered on belligerent. “But I’m not helping that asshole’s friends accomplish crap.”
Well, that was one way to win points and influence people. Not that I disagreed. “Can’t say I’m feeling the team spirit there either,” I told Coach. “I know you can’t talk about it.” That part I understood. There were legalities involved. “But I know what happened. I was there.” I’d been involved. “I’m glad he’s gone.”
“Well, as you said, I can’t comment, and no, Ja
ke, I don’t want you two off the team. I want you to focus up. You’re both in strong positions. You’re critical to the team’s success. What I want to know is do you want to be here?”
“If I say no,” Jake said, “what happens then?”
Wait. I glanced at him. “Really?” This was the first I’d heard he didn’t care whether he was on the team or not. We’d been fighting for a position on this team from the spring before high school started. We’d both tried out, practiced, bucked each other up, and earned our spots. We’d fought to keep those spots each year.
“Really,” Jake said. “No offense, Coach. I still love the game. But this doesn’t feel like a team anymore.”
Leaning forward, the older man pinned his look on me. “Bubba?”
“Jake’s not wrong,” I admitted. Even with all the time we put in, it had been more out of habit than out of real love for the game. At least this year anyway. I thought our best year had been ninth grade. It was all still fresh, Frankie was on the spirit team, and it was another way we spent time together. Now it just sucked time away from where I’d rather be.
“You realize that scouts have seen you both play.”
Jake said nothing, but I shook my head. “Not that I’ve heard.”
“That’s going to change over the next couple of weeks. They’ve been watching you, even with the issues and the news stories.”
“Not planning to go pro, Coach,” Jake admitted. That wasn’t a surprise. “I’ve got my eye on an engineering degree. I’m here because we made a commitment. But I don’t have to stay.”
Exhaling, Coach settled back in his chair and studied us. I got the impression there was a lot of things he wanted to say and probably couldn’t. “Three games left this season, unless we sweep them all and Torrent High loses their next two of three. If they do, we make the division playoffs.”
It wasn’t going to happen. The team was too scattered. But I heard what Coach asked, even if he wasn’t asking directly. I glanced at Jake and read the same understanding there. He nodded to my unasked question.
