Her eyes twitch with sadness. “That’s not true.”
“It’s okay, Ellie. I don’t blame you. Life hasn’t always been fair to you and trust doesn’t come easy.” I squeeze her hand as her eyes start to water. “I’ve always said I’d wait for you and I still mean that, but I want you to hear this.”
She nods. “Okay…”
“You told me once that you always wanted a normal, boring family and I want to give you that.” She chuckles and tears fall. “You deserve that more than anybody I’ve ever met. You’ve already given me the most perfect, gorgeous daughter and… I owe you the world. I will spend the rest of my life making sure that happens.”
“Birthday cards and Christmas cookies?” she asks, a light sniffle passing through her nose.
“All of it.” I slide the ring onto her finger and breathe a silent sigh of relief as it fits her perfectly. “You’ll never feel lonely or ignored ever again, Eliza Pierce.”
“Promise?” She peeks down at me with expectation, her lips curling as she waits for me to say it.
I drop a hand to my chest and I draw an X. “Cross my heart.”
Gravity pulls the tears down her cheeks, but she still laughs, barely holding herself together. I stand to wrap my arms around her, embracing her as close to me as possible.
“I love you. Marry me. I’m nothing without you.”
She raises her head and wipes her eyes. “Well, when you put it like that…”
I laugh. “It’s the truth. Do you really think I would have won all those games if you weren’t withholding sex from me?” She buries her face in my chest again, shaking hard with laughter. “I swear, Ellie… there is not a single thing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Oh, really?” she teases. “Sounds like you’ll need similar incentive this season if we expect to keep your stats up.”
I point a finger at her, realizing the mistake I’ve made. “Now, hold on… I didn’t mean—”
She steps out of my arms and grins. “Too late now, Junior.”
I wince. “I hate it when you say it like that…”
“Win the game next week and I’ll stop.”
“Ellie…”
She spins around with her teddy bear and walks toward the exit. “Keep up, Junior.”
I growl and step forward, struggling to catch up with her lightning-fast gait. She plows through to the parking lot and I follow her back to the van.
“Can we maybe talk about this first?”
“I think we’ve talked enough,” she says, sliding the back door open. “Words won’t get us anywhere… moans and grunts, however…”
I bite my lip, casting a quick glance inside at the mattress as she smiles back at me. “Does this mean I still qualify for admission?”
“Well, you’re not a loser… yet.” She lowers herself inside and lies back against the pillows. “Might as well take what you can get while you can.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Anything I want?”
She refuses to answer but her eyes tell me everything.
I’m not about to argue with that willing, seductive smirk, so I hop inside the van and slide the door closed behind me.
Her hands instantly fly to my belt and my cock springs to life, pressing hard against my zipper. She licks her lips and her little, blue eyes flick up at me; playful and beautiful as ever. Her left hand slides into my pants and the diamond on her finger shimmers in the soft lighting.
“Wait…” I pause, grabbing her hand. “You never said yes.”
Eliza smiles and her eyes fall to the ring. “Oh, yeah. Sure. I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Excuse me,” I chuckle, “but I nailed that proposal.”
She wrinkles her nose. “It was all right.”
“All right?! You cried.”
“I sniffled a little.”
“Say yes,” I demand.
Her lips curl. “Maybe.”
“Okay, that’s it…” I grab her and push her onto her back while she squeals with laughter.
“What are you doing?!” she cries, not lifting a single hand to stop me while I travel down her body.
I hook my fingers into her panties beneath her skirt and pull them down to her ankles. “I’m going to make you say yes,” I growl. “And then, I’m going to do it again.”
She laughs loudly and I spread her knees wide, positioning myself between them while I kiss her again. Her hands tug at my belt and I taste that sexy, primal urge on her tongue.
It’s been months since we’ve been alone this way; just two kids getting it on in the back of a van without a care in the world. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it but I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything else in the world.
I slide inside of her, filling her as far as I can, and she gasps in pleasure. My lips curl as I watch it flash all over her face; that heated bliss of satisfaction. She holds onto me and wraps her legs around my waist, urging me to the take her the way she likes it and there’s no way in hell I’ll ever deny her that.
I get to work, angling my hips to intensify our grind and she purrs in my ear. My entire body surges with hers, blending passions until we feel nothing else.
I sit up, pulling her along with me to straddle my waist and she cries out before settling against me again.
She crushes her lips on mine, each of us moaning and fucking until we can hardly breathe. Her nails dig into me and her body goes tense, just moments away from wreckage.
I gaze into her perfect eyes and fall in love with the way they twitch with passion as she moans my name.
She kisses me as she comes, counting on me to hold her steady but I can barely keep myself together.
I fall to my back and she collapses with me onto the bouncy mattress, gently quivering against me as we both ride our climaxes to the end.
“Well?” I ask, laying kisses along her forehead.
Eliza smiles, pausing for a moment to catch her wild breath.
“Yes,” she answers.
Epilogue
Eliza
Five Years Later
I pull the blanket off the back of the sofa and drape it over the giant beach ball taking hold of my stomach. After a few seconds of fidgeting to get comfortable, I end up giving up completely.
“Eliza, are you even listening to me?” Grant says, his voice just barely audible through the speaker on my phone lying next to my head.
I grab it and hold it to my ear. “Yeah, I’m here,” I grunt. “I’ve officially reached the stage of this pregnancy where nothing is ever good enough and I want to launch myself off the nearest skyscraper.”
“Oh, boo-hoo.” He laughs. “You get to lay around all day in Suburbia and eat bonbons with my adorable goddaughter. I’m the one that has to deal with actual children.”
I chuckle. “Louise isn’t… that bad.”
“Pfft. She’s no you.”
“Well, I’ll try and schedule my next procreation so it doesn’t interfere with your plans, Grant.”
“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” He sighs. “When does Lover Boy get back anyway?”
I glance out the window at the quiet street corner. Snow tumbles down from the sky, covering the black street with a fresh layer of white.
“I’m picking him up from the airport in the morning,” I answer. “Did you watch the game on Thanksgiving?”
“You ask that as if I had a choice.” He laughs. “Ty has been emailing me highlights from it for two days straight.”
“He’s just proud of his favorite client.” I shift again the couch, feeling a harsh cramp taking hold of my lower back. “Is Ty home yet?”
“No, I think he’s got some conference this weekend in Dallas or somewhere. No one told me marrying a sports agent would mean spending so many holidays alone.”
I throw on a pout and look out the window again. “I feel your pain.”
“At least I have my ingenue… when she’s not gestating.”
“It’s okay. I’m only kidding. If that kid is anything like the one you already have, it’ll be worth it.”
I slide a hand over my belly and smile. “I agree.”
A taxi pulls to a stop on the corner outside and I squint to get a better look through the thick, falling snow.
A man steps out from the backseat; tall, wide shoulders, handsome—
I gasp. “Oh, my god!”
“What?” Grant asks. “Is there baby? Is baby happening?”
I rock back and forth, gaining momentum to push myself off the couch. “It’s Junior!”
“What? Where?”
“Outside.” I hobble to the front door and throw it open, not caring about the cold, invading snow. “A taxi just dropped him off.”
Junior looks up at the house and grins, no doubt fetching the exact reaction from me as he planned.
“Ohh,” Grant says. “It’s the old I caught an earlier flight to surprise you trick. I love that man.”
“Back off. He’s already taken,” I say into the phone, watching as Junior pays his driver and grabs his suitcase off the ground.
“Well… bed him well. He’s earned it. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here in the city, drinking Chardonnay alone, and crying over Louise’s headshot.”
“Bye, Grant,” I grin.
“Bye, Eliza.”
I lower the phone as my husband climbs the porch in front of me. He pauses a few feet away and drops his suitcase, never once glancing away from my face.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I caught an earlier flight to surprise you,”
I throw myself at him and he opens his arms, instantly embracing me and laughing in my ear.
“I guess that’s okay?”
“It’s more than okay,” I say, my voice muffled against his chest. I feel the tears threatening to take over already, but I manage to defeat the hormones before they spill over. “Come on. It’s freezing out here.”
Junior grabs his suitcase and I brush the snow off his coat as we step inside.
“Okay…” He kicks the door closed and motions for me to twirl. “Let me look at you.”
I sigh and spin in a slow, meager circle.
“My god…”
“What?”
“You’re huge.”
“Excuse me…” My jaw drops. “This is all your fault.”
“I’ve been gone two weeks. Not two months.”
“Welcome to the ninth month, Junior,” I say. “I don’t know if you remember it from last time, but it sucks.”
“Oh, it’s all coming back to me now. “ He chuckles. “Soon it’ll be Lamaze practice drills and midnight runs for strawberry ice cream and curly fries.”
I raise a brow. “Are you complaining?”
“No.”
“Then, shut the fuck up.”
He laughs and tosses his coat onto the rack by the door. “Who were you talking to on the phone so late?”
“Grant,” I answer, walking back into the living room.
“What’s he up to?”
I ease onto the sofa and try to reach for the blanket on the floor. Junior bends down and grabs it for me. “His off-Broadway directorial debut goes live next week…” I sneer, “with my understudy.”
Junior lays the blanket over me before sitting down beside me. “You’ll be back up there before you know it, Ellie,” he says. “Just focus on this right now.”
I take a deep, slow breath. “I know. I’m fine. I worry about Grant, though. I’m out for the whole season and Ty is never home.”
“Well…” Junior smirks. “I don’t want to spoil anything, but… Ty and I shared a flight back.”
“Really?”
“Grant should be getting a nice surprise of his own in about ten minutes.”
I smile. “Good.”
Junior gets that look in his eyes; the one that begs for me to kiss him. He leans in, slowly inching closer to me on the couch.
“Daddy!”
He stops and turns toward the hallway, his mouth expanding into an even wider grin.
“Come here!” He laughs, opening his arms as Courtney runs in.
She leaps up and he catches her, easily flipping her little body around to cradle her in his thick arms.
“Why aren’t you asleep? It’s late,” he teases, tickling her belly.
“I heard Mommy scream,” she says.
“Mommy screamed?” he parrots back. “I’m sorry, baby. Daddy has that effect on Mommy sometimes.”
I slap his arm.
“Courtney…” He lays a kiss on her brow. “You need sleep if you’re going to grow up to be beautiful and smart like your mother.” He winks at me, firing off sneaky compliments like a champ.
She nods. “Lack of sleep can severely impair cognitive ability, such as thinking and memory.”
Junior blinks at me and I hold in my laugh. “I see Aunt Maggie and Uncle Nate made it to Thanksgiving this year…” He balances Courtney on his knee. “Have you been driving Mommy crazy like I told you to?”
“Yes!” She beams.
“What?” I ask, laughing. “Are you two ganging up on me again?”
Junior holds up a finger. “I told her to do three things every day that Mommy hates while I was gone. What were they?” he asks her.
Courtney thinks hard. “Clear my plate…”
“That’s one.” He nods.
“Brush my teeth.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Pick up my toys.”
Junior looks at me and smiles. “That’s right. Drives Mommy crazy.”
My heart swells as he slides her to the floor.
“Go pick out a book, get in bed, and I’ll come read you back to sleep, all right?”
“Okay, Daddy!”
“Dr. Seuss!” he shouts after her. “Not Freud, please.”
I chuckle. “I don’t know, Junior, I think Seuss might be a touch outside of your reading comprehension.”
“Eliza Morgan, are you calling me a big, dumb jock?”
“I might be.”
“Well, in that case—” He tugs me closer to him. “I better scoop up my victory hoe.”
He kisses me softly and my chest flutters the same way it always does.
“Is that what you call the mother of your children?” I ask.
“If the booties fit,” he smiles, leaning in to kiss me again.
I glance down the hallway toward Courtney’s room. “She was perfect while you were gone.”
“Good,” he says. “You had enough to worry about. Threats of bed rest, Thanksgiving dinners…” A serious expression crosses his eyes. “I wanted to be here.”
“You’re here now.”
“And here I will stay until he’s born.”
“Junior, you have a game next week.”
He grabs my hand. “They will play without me.”
I inhale to argue. “Junior—”
“I will not miss the birth of my son because of a football game,” he says, his voice hard and defiant. “His due date is in two weeks. I’ve already cleared it with the coach. I’m staying.”
I press my lips together, thankful and proud. “Okay.”
Junior kisses my cheek and stands up. “I’m going to get her to sleep and then, I will meet you in the bedroom.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask. “What’s gonna happen in there?”
“First…” he bends over me, “you’re going to lie down on the bed and then…” His lips graze mine. “I’m going to rub your enormous feet.”
I burst out laughing. “Sounds orgasmic.”
“Need help standing up?”
“I think I can manage it.”
He turns away, leaving me to sink into the couch cushions a little more.
Yet another muscle twitches in my back and I shift to a slightly different position to kill the spasm before it begins.
“Okay, buddy,” I say to my stomach. “Any day now…”<
br />
I hope for a pain; one quick pulse of contraction that will tell me it’s time but all I get is bubbles.
“Damn.” I heave a sigh and rock myself up.
Junior’s voice drifts down the hall at me, carrying softly with rhythmic, punchy words of childish prose. Courtney giggles with him, her tired voice dimming more and more with each turned page.
I lean against the wall just outside the doorway, listening and smiling as I try to imagine what our son will look like. If he grows into anything resembling his father, it’s safe to assume he’ll be quite the handful…
And then, there are the eyes. Courtney is the spitting image of me except for the eyes. They’re all Junior’s, right down to the light specks of gray around the brown edges. Being away from him the last two weeks has been a serious challenge for me but sometimes, at just the right moment, I’d look at my daughter and I’d see Junior looking back at me. I’d fall in love with him all over again.
Junior enters the hall, moving as silently as possible, and closes her door behind him. He looks up at me and smiles, but quickly shifts to concerned eyes.
“You okay?” he whispers.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Why?”
“You’re crying.”
I touch my cheeks and feel the warm moisture trailing my down my face. “Oh…” I laugh it off. “Yeah, that happens…”
Junior wipes them away with his thumbs and tilts my face up to kiss me. There’s desire on his lips, a lingering urge on his tongue that sends quivers throughout my body. I pull him closer, relaxing away from mommy-mode to serve my own womanly needs.
“I missed my wife…” Junior whispers between kisses.
I smile. “She missed you…”
He kisses me harder, pressing my back against the wall and my desire takes over. His touch does to me as it always has, igniting fire where there wasn’t one before and I feel him grow hard in his jeans.
I wince as firm pressure shoves from within. “Oh—!”
Junior eases back, forced away by the life occupying space between us.
“Did…” He blinks. “Did he just kick me?”
I feel my belly. “He most definitely did.”
“That almost hurt.”
“How do you think it felt from the inside?” I laugh.
He holds up his hands and talks to my stomach. “Okay, buddy. I get it. Hands off Mommy…”
The Bad Baller Collection Page 22
