It’s terrifying and wonderful all in one breath. So I say the only thing I can. “Am I wrong, or wasn’t Gray’s college jersey number eighty-eight?”
Ethan blinks, clearly expecting something else, but he nods. “Yep. Drew’s was eleven. Mine was, and still is, fifty-five.”
“Aww. Aren’t you cute?” He’s perfect. And mine.
“It’s easy to remember,” he says gruffly. “Now let’s get inside.”
* * *
Fiona
The door to Ethan’s house opens to a little carriage way, lit by an overhead wrought-iron lantern. We follow the path to a private courtyard.
“Wow,” I say as we walk farther into it. “This is beautiful.”
Frosted globe lanterns are hung across the yard. Little lights twinkle in the ivy-covered walls surrounding a garden of crepe myrtle and various palms. In the center, an ornate fountain runs.
“It came like this,” Dex says at my elbow. He glances around as if seeing it from my eyes. A loggia covered in bougainvillea shelters a double-wide lounger. There’s a massive tractor tire to one side of the courtyard. As in, it’s as wide as I am tall. His lips quirk at the sight of it. “Well, except for the tire.”
“You gonna tell me what’s up with the tire?”
He ducks his head and scratches the back of his neck. “I whack it with a sledgehammer. Sometimes I flip it.”
“Oh, sure. Because why not?”
“Does the job. But that’s for off-season training.” So nonchalant. But he can’t really hide his smug grin.
“That’s got to weigh, what?”
He shrugs his massive shoulders. “A thousand pounds.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Get the hell out.”
Dex winks. “JJ Watt does it, so I do it too. No way am I going to be caught with my dick in the wind facing one of those defensive linemen coming at me like a tank.”
As unassuming as Dex can be, he’s also fiercely competitive.
I give his arm a squeeze. Not one ounce of give. “My big, strong man.”
“Yes, I am,” he says without hesitation, then surveys the courtyard. “The narrow building along the side is a guest house. The building at the back is an old carriage house, now a garage on the ground floor, and my painting studio is above it.
“You can look around tomorrow,” he finishes, his voice soft, his hand warm in mine. He’s pulling me toward the main house. We go up a flight of stairs, straight to the second floor. We walk past a large, open living room—exposed brick walls, wide, worn wooden floorboards—and through a gourmet kitchen. More exposed brick. Huge center island, stainless steel appliances, white marble counters.
I want to soak it all in, but Dex is on a mission, leading me along with purposeful steps.
“Not hungry?” I tease as we pass through.
He glances back at me, heat and need in his eyes. “Not for food.” He wrinkles his nose. “Christ, that was cheesy, wasn’t it?”
I laugh. “It was cute.”
“Cute,” he repeats. “Just what every guy wants to be called.” He hesitates at the doorway leading out of the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I should have asked. I’ve—”
“Not for food,” I tell him. Because I can be cheesy too.
That has him picking up his pace. We take a set of stairs to the top floor. His bedroom overlooks the courtyard. And the dim light from the outside lanterns slants through the massive paned windows, half covered by louvered shutters. There isn’t much in here, just a big club chair, a dresser, and a king bed with a padded leather headboard.
I smell the pine of the floorboards, the spicy scent of Ethan’s skin. It’s warm and quiet in his room. Quiet enough to hear his soft breaths and the steady pounding of my heart. He stands before me, so big and present; I feel his warmth even though we’re not yet touching.
Slowly he reaches up and slides off my damp cardigan. Gentle fingers ease the strap of my sundress down. When my breast pops free, he moves to the other side, pulling the strap until the other is exposed. Ethan has seen me naked, licked and sucked every inch of me, but standing here now, on display for him, makes me so hot. I struggle to catch my breath.
It grows erratic when he gives a little hum of satisfaction and runs the tips of his fingers across my nipples. Back and forth, barely touching them. God. I fight the urge to arch into his touch, because it’s hotter to hold back, to let him fondle me while my nipples grow stiff and achy.
He circles them, worrying the tips with the rough pads of his fingers, and then, without warning, pinches—pulling until my breasts stretch—before letting go.
My breasts bob back into place, and I whimper, my knees going weak.
“I had this whole seduction thing planned,” he whispers as he plays with me, stroking, tweaking. It’s almost lewd the way he handles me as if I’m his plaything, except it’s reverent too. “But I don’t think I can wait.”
I lick my dry lips. I’m close to coming now, and he’s only touching my tits. “Don’t wait,” I say.
His gaze catches mine. In the shadows, he looks so serious, almost fierce. But I know that expression. It’s need. Strong and pure. Just like him. I lift his damp sweater over his head and wrap my arms around his neck. The press of his warm skin against mine makes us both groan. With a sigh, I kiss the hollow of his throat. That’s all it takes.
Soft bedding surrounds me and Ethan’s hard body covers mine. There’s no more talking.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Fiona
Sweat-slick and limp with exhaustion, I lie draped over Ethan’s naked body. I love that he’s so big not an inch of me hangs over the edges of him. Even so, his arm wraps loosely around my waist, holding me secure as if he’s afraid I’ll fall. His fingers trace random patterns on my back.
“How do you want to handle this?” I ask him.
His body tenses, so I know he understands my question. “Nothing to handle. I’ll just make no comment, and it will go away.”
I lift my head so I can rest my chin on his chest. “I hate to say this, but I’m not sure it will go away all that quickly. Maybe… Well, why don’t you just tell them you’re with me?”
“No.” He practically shouts the word, his lips flattening. And my heart caves in as if it’s been stomped.
“You don’t want to tell people about us?”
Instantly, he cups my cheek, his eyes going wide. “Shit, Fi, I did not mean I was ashamed or wanted to hide it. I mean there is no way in hell I’m bringing you into a media shit show.”
“That really should be my decision. Especially if it helps you. And I want to help you, Ethan.”
With a sigh, he flops his head back on the pillows and stares up at the ceiling, his hand still stroking my cheek. “Thank you for that, Cherry. But I can’t…” He takes a ragged breath. “Don’t ask me to agree to that. I couldn’t take seeing them tear you apart.” He glances down at me, his eyes now golden-green in the lamplight. “Please.”
“All right,” I say with reluctance. “For now. But, I swear, if a bunch of crazy women start stalking you, I’m stepping in.”
A slow smile curls over his firm lips. “Kind of love you being all possessive, Fi.”
I harrumph, but give his chest a little kiss. “I am sorry, though. That this is happening, I mean.”
“Yeah,” he says with a sigh. “Me too.”
We grow quiet, lost in our own thoughts, Dex stroking my hair and me drifting in a strange half-sleep state.
“Six Underground” by the Sneaker Pimps plays softly from a set of bedside speakers.
“I never asked how you came to like trip-hop music,” I murmur, too content to talk louder.
“Are you asking me now?” There’s a smile in his voice.
“Smartass.” I give his ribs a little nudge, loving the way he squirms as if it tickles. “And yes. I told you when we first kissed that I didn’t expect you to like this music. It’s still a surprise.”
He takes a breath, and I li
ft along with his chest. “Okay, but don’t laugh.”
“That’s basically assuring I’ll laugh.”
“Fine. Laugh it up,” he says. “It was a car commercial. I kept hearing this song and…” He cranes his head to glare down at me, though there’s a smile on his lips. “You’re laughing already?”
I smother my laugh. “It was the same for me, is all.”
His lips twitch, those hazel eyes of his gleaming more gold than blue now. “Which song?”
“It was two songs. Morcheeba’s ‘Crimson’ and Massive Attack’s ‘Paradise Circus’. You?”
“Zero Seven’s ‘In the Waiting Line’.”
“I love that song. They used it in Sex and the City too.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” With a grunt, he turns, and suddenly I’m on the bed and he’s over me, his warm body gently pressed to mine. His lips find my neck and suckle. “God, I love the way you smell.”
My fingers comb back his loose hair. “And how do I smell?”
“Like happy dreams and well-fucked woman.”
A shout of laughter leaves me, and I tug him closer as he works his way along my collarbone, his hand sliding up to my breast. The thick slab of his erection presses against my thigh, tempting me, but I let the anticipation build for now.
“I love the way you smell too.”
He pauses, his lips brushing my shoulder, his beard tickling my breast. “How do I smell?”
“Like…” I smile up at the ceiling as I consider. “Pancakes and midnight.”
“Oh?” His voice is muffled as he resumes exploring my neck and teasing my nipple with the blunt tip of his thumb.
I squirm, trying to open my legs wider to let him settle between them. He does with a low groan, but doesn’t enter me. He’s waiting for my answer.
My voice is breathless, distracted as I am by his roaming lips. “You know…” I kiss his temple, the crest of his cheek, “when you’ve had a night of sweaty, hot fucking…” I give the line of his jaw a little nuzzle. “Going at it until you can barely move. And you’ve worked up an appetite that only a stack of pancakes and more hot sex will satisfy?”
Ethan lifts his head then, his eyes slumberous but his expression careful. “You had a lot of those nights?”
It hits me what I’ve said, and my fingers tighten his hair as I tell him the absolute truth. “Only with you, Ethan. That’s why it’s your scent.”
God, his smile, it unfurls like a spring leaf to the rain, spreading wide and open. “Good answer.”
Unfortunately, my stomach also has an answer, and that’s to make a God awful growl as if talk of food has released the hunger hounds.
Ethan grins wide, and a laugh rolls out of him. “What was that? I didn’t quite catch that last bit there.”
“Shut up.” I slap his shoulder while blushing hot over my entire body. “We’ve been at it for hours.”
“And hours,” he confirms with a solemn nod, though the smug satisfaction in his expression grows.
Before I can say a word, he leaps up, hauling me with him. I squeal as he lifts me with one arm. “Ethan, what the hell?”
He strides out of the bedroom. So much for being depleted. His stamina awes me. “Where do you think? To go make you some pancakes. I need to keep up my girl’s strength.”
* * *
Dex
Despite my good intentions, my plan to feed Fi pancakes goes south as soon as she tells me we need flour to make them.
“Shit,” I say, stopping in the middle of the kitchen. Fi’s clinging to me like a little barnacle, her legs wrapped around my waist, her pussy pushed against my abs—which threatens to break my will and turn me back to the bedroom.
She smiles with sleepy but lust-filled eyes. “You’ve never made pancakes, have you?”
“I’m not much of a cook. Hang on.” I walk us over to the fridge. Holding her tight with one arm, I open the door and bend to rummage through it.
Fi makes another of her adorable squeals as we tilt down. But I’ve got her. She isn’t going to fall on my watch. She weighs next to nothing.
Vague fantasies of doing drills while carrying Fi on my back drift through my head as I grab a box of takeout and set her on the counter, earning another squeak.
“Shit, that’s cold,” she says with a laugh. But she leans back on one arm and gives me a cheeky grin, her golden hair sticking out wildly around her face.
Damn, but she’s gorgeous. So fucking perfect for me, she takes my breath. Sweet, perky tits with puffy nipples that always seem to be begging for a suck. Tiny waist and wide hips. A butt that’s more than a handful. A true Tinker Bell body.
Though I’d never call her Tink the way Ivy and Gray do. She might be diminutive, but to me, she’s also larger than life.
Grasping her knees, I spread her thighs wide. Ah, and there’s that pretty pink pussy, all glistening for me. My favorite spot in the entire world. I step between her legs and rub her gloriously curvy hips. “I’ll warm you up.”
“I’m sure you will,” she murmurs, her gaze roaming over my chest in a possessive way that fills me with pride and gratitude.
“First, though, I promised to feed you.” I grab the takeout box and pull out a Chinese dumpling.
Fi’s brows lift. “Cold dumplings?”
“Best late-night snack ever.” I hold the dumpling near her lips. “Trust me.”
Her expression is dubious but she takes a bite and makes a little moan of contentment.
“Good, yeah?”
She swallows down her bite and opens her mouth for more.
Carefully, I feed her dumplings until she tells me she’s done. Then I hand her some water. “All good?” I ask, kissing the sensitive little corner of her mouth.
“Yes.”
Good. Licking my fingers to get the dumpling grease off, I step closer. “Sorry I couldn’t give you pancakes at midnight.”
I run my hands up her soft thighs. One tug and she’s at the edge of the counter. Fi’s eyes narrow, her plump lips curling in a sly smile.
I smile back, not saying a word but letting her know she’s mine all the same. The tip of my cock brushes her entrance. She’s slick and warm, and holds all my attention.
A light shiver runs over her body. “Dumplings are a pretty good alternative.”
“Mmm.” I nudge her just slightly, taking hold of her hips to keep her steady. “Dumplings and deep-dicking.”
She laughs at that. “Deep-dick—Oh!”
I thrust without warning.
“Oh!” Fi gasps again, her back arching, as I push my way deeper inside. Her tits lift like an offering. Well, then… I swoop forward and capture one rosy tip with my mouth.
“Oh, shit,” she whispers, her brows furrowed tight and her mouth open on a hot pant. “Oh, shit, Ethan.”
I don’t stop but pull her farther onto my dick, loving how she whimpers and wiggles as she struggles to accommodate me but clearly wants every inch I can give her.
It’s a snug fit, the warm, wet clasp of her squeezing me so hard I feel it in my balls and down my thighs.
When I bottom out, I pause because it’s just too good. But Fi is grasping my hair, shoving her tit in my mouth like she’ll die if I don’t suck harder, and writhing as if she needs more.
And I can’t hold back. We both groan as I work her in an easy, undulating rhythm that has no pause, because it’s heaven fucking Fi. Pure, perfect heaven. Every thrust I take grows a little harder, goes a little deeper, my piercing sliding over that spot within her that has her gasping a reedy “ah!” each time.
I mouth her nipple, my tongue sliding over it. Heat licks up my thighs and down my spine. I groan, slamming into her, again and again. And she loves it, her hands gripping my shoulders, her legs wrapping tight around my waist as she slumps against the marble countertop.
“Ethan. Ethan.” It’s a weak, needy cry.
I bend over her, practically crawling onto the counter with her, pumping with blind lust now. Sh
e’s utterly beautiful spread out before me, her expression slack with pleasure.
“Don’t stop,” she says.
I won’t. I can’t.
This. This is what I want, what I need, this connection with Fiona in whatever variation I can get for as long as I can.
She comes on a sob, and it breaks me. How am I going to let her go again? My orgasm takes my breath, my voice. I empty myself into her, giving her everything I have, and it won’t be enough to keep her here.
It’s never enough.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Fiona
Airport again. Why do they all smell the same? Dex walks me to the TSA line, and I feel like I’m going to my execution. My entire body wants to resist moving forward. Maybe Dex does too because he doesn’t try to hurry me along, even though my sluggish pace causes him to take unnaturally short steps.
When we get within sight of the line, his fingertips press my lower back, as if he’s entertaining ideas of grabbing hold and pulling me away. I wouldn’t object.
With a soft sort of grunt, he turns me into his embrace. I get a glimpse of his eyes, serious and pained. His warm hands cradle my cheeks, and then he’s kissing me.
It’s deep, desperate, and savoring, as if he’s putting his entire heart into each touch and taste, as if he’s trying to memorize every second. And I’m lost. Utterly lost.
Sounds fade. There is only Ethan and how good he feels, how good he makes me feel. I’m on my toes, my arms wrapped around his neck, as I kiss him back, consumed by my need for him. I don’t know how long we stand there, but when he moves his mouth from mine to explore my jaw, taking soft nibbles, my lips feel tender and swollen.
Big hands caress my back, my sides, sliding down to the crest of my butt and up to just under my breasts. Keeping it decent but driving me wild all the same.
“Be sure to drink water,” he murmurs against my skin, kissing my neck, my chin, mouth, cheek.
“’Kay.” My hands roam too, finding the hard rounds of his massive shoulders, sliding over his firm pecs.
The Game Plan (Game On #3) Page 19
