Quarterback Leap (Taking the Leap Book 10)

by Brynn Paulin

“I know you believe that. But you’re way too young to know that. I understand with teenagers everything seems immediate and so life or death but this isn’t—”

  “That’s not it,” he growled. “I know my mind. Don’t try to tell me—”

  A knock on the frame of the door interrupted him, and he silenced immediately. We both knew this wasn’t over but couldn’t be finished here.

  “Hey,” Taylor Clark, my fellow English teacher, called cheerfully. He eyed Kyler, and I wondered if he’d overheard anything. This was exactly what I’d worried about. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, fine. We were just…”

  Kyler huffed. “It’s fine. I’ll have the extra credit paper to you on Monday.”

  “Good, make sure you do,” I replied, playing along. “Taylor, what’s up?” I asked, redirecting my attention. He was a jovial, nice guy, a few years older than me and easy to work with. But I didn’t miss the suspicious death glare Kyler gave him as he passed.

  “Just thought I’d check in with my favorite co-worker. I was wondering what you were doing tonight and if you’d like to grab a bite then go to the game.”

  Kyler froze in the doorway, his back to us. When he glanced back at me, his stare was enraged. I quickly diverted my gaze to Taylor. “Oh that’s, um, sweet, but I’m going out of town this weekend. I’m leaving as soon as I get packed up here.”

  “Hmm, okay?”

  It wasn’t ten seconds later that my phone rattled as it vibrated on my desk. “Probably the girlfriend I’m meeting,” I said, picking it up.

  Secret Boyfriend: Not fucking likely.

  When the hell had he put his number in my phone. I was biting back a smile as a second message popped onto the screen.

  Secret Boyfriend: Get the asshole out of there before I come back.

  “I really need to answer this,” I told Taylor.

  “No worries.” He waved as he headed for the door. “Catch you next week.”

  Whitney: Dial it back. Don’t you have a game to get to?

  Secret Boyfriend: Not for a few hours.

  I didn’t respond. I shook my head and finished gathering things for the weekend, including the pile of essays to grade. I’d be reading them rather than the new romance novel that waited on my Kindle.

  Thumbing through my cell, I pulled up my travel app. In short order, I’d reserved a room with spa amenities for two nights. It was at one of the casino resorts an hour away. While I wouldn’t gamble, I’d heard the rooms and other activities on-location were great. It would be a nice mini-getaway for me to get my head right.

  The hallway was still flooded with students as I left my classroom, purse and briefcase slung over my shoulder. A wall of tension hit me, and a sixth sense told me there was trouble. A second later, I heard a low chant of fight fight fight. A circle of students had formed halfway down the hallway.

  Oh shit. That was the last thing a teacher wanted to hear or see. Hurrying toward the throng, I looked around for another faculty member. Not a one in sight. Crap.

  Elbowing my way through, I found Kyler with his hand around another student’s neck as he held him pressed to the lockers his toes barely on the tile beneath him. “You don’t say shit about people,” Kyler growled. “You pick on Lo again, and I’m coming for you.”

  Lo was Lola Davies, a tiny girl who stood nearby, her books clenched to her chest as she stared wide-eyed at the two boys from behind her oversized glasses. To say she was a little nerdy in her T-shirt with some science jargon on it, pleated skirt and a cardigan her grandma could have sported, was an understatement. Maybe, teachers shouldn’t make that assessment, but what was true was true.

  “Mr. Lewis, you let him go right now,” I demanded.

  “Fuck,” Kyler muttered. He released the other boy, Taron Parker, and they both turned to face me. Most of the other students wandered away, realizing there was nothing to see here now, or perhaps not wanting to be caught in the fray. Everyone knew detentions were coming.

  I studied the pair. “Anyone want to tell me what’s going on here?”

  “Nothin’,” Taron answered.

  “Taron was being a dick, and Kyler stopped him, Miss James,” Lola offered.

  I eyed the pair, taking care not to let my gaze linger on Kyler. “And you thought fighting was a good idea?”

  “He wasn’t going to fucking stop any other way,” Kyler growled.

  “Language,” I admonished. “You both know the consequences.”

  “You’re really going to fucking give me a detention?” he demanded.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Taron advised him under his breath. I almost laughed. They’d been about to come to blows a second ago, and now the one who’d obviously been about to lose was offering advice.

  “Keep talking like that, and it will be more than one,” I told Kyler. They’d both get detentions for fighting. It was the school’s policy, so there was no way around it. Kyler couldn’t afford for me to give him two. He already had one on record, so this would be the second. If a student received three detentions within the three-month period, he or she got a three-day suspension. He couldn’t afford that.

  And I was sure to hear about it later.

  No matter what happened between us, I couldn’t be negligent in my job, and unfortunately, this was part of my duties.

  Taking out my phone, I pulled up the school’s reporting system and ignored that Kyler had sent me another message when I hadn’t responded earlier.

  “The game,” Kyler protested in a near whisper.

  “You and your coach can take it up with the office. You know the rules. Both of you head down there. The information will be in the system when you arrive. Have a good weekend.”

  I pivoted away without another glance and headed toward the parking lot, regret heavy on me. Not that I’d had to do my job and that I’d likely pissed off Kyler even more. But because this relationship just couldn’t happen.

  Chapter Five

  ~ Whitney ~

  “Whitney!”

  I startled as the bellow came from the front of my house while I packed my bag for the weekend. I didn’t even have a chance to respond before footsteps thundered down my hallway.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, as he stormed into my bedroom. “You’re supposed to be in detention then getting ready for a game.”

  “It’s deferred. And not yet,” he replied, pulling me into his arms. The fingers of one hand buried in my hair as he angled my head and immediately crushed his lips to mine. He kissed me like a man leaving for war, or maybe, like one just returning after years’ long absence.

  I whimpered, my fingers curling into his shirt as he plundered, all teeth and tongue and urgency. I hadn’t even realized we were moving until my back hit the mattress, Kyler over me like an unrelenting force. My suitcase crashed to the floor, but he didn’t pause. Neither did I. I cried out as his free hand cupped my breast, molding it and seeking my hard nipple.

  “You’re mine,” he growled as he released my lips then kissed along my jaw. “Mine.”

  “Kyler,” I protested even as I didn’t push him away.

  “I need you.”

  “We can’t,” I argued.

  “We can. You need to know you’re mine. Not some asshole teacher’s, not anyone else but me.”

  “Taylor is just a coworker.”

  “Don’t say his name in this bed. The only man’s name in this bed is Kyler, Kyler, Kyler while I make you come over and over. While I show you who you belong to.”

  Holy mother of God…

  He nipped my neck where it met my shoulder. His hand tore at my blouse. Buttons flew as it gave, and I heard fabric rend, then my bra was yanked down. There was a split second of cool before the fiery-hot cavern of Kyler’s mouth engulfed the peak.

  “Kyler,” I screamed.

  “Yeah, just like that.” He sucked more, scraping his teeth upward before drawing on the other nipple. I lost track of everything as he gave me pleasure.
My fingers worked under the jersey he’d worn to school today and dug into the firm, warm skin of his back. I groaned, spiraling toward orgasm. In a split-second glimpse back at reality, I realized he was between my thighs, my slim skirt rucked up to my hips to give him leeway. Then his hips moved, his ridge grinding against me and stars exploded before my vision.

  I know I screamed as I toppled over the edge, feeling pleasure like I never had before.

  “Tell me to stop,” he told me. And I felt his hand at his fly. “Tell me to stop or I’m making you mine right now.”

  I shook my head, half delirious from climax. “No, don’t.” He froze, and I pulled him closer. “I need. Please…” I rolled my hips into him. Kyler groaned, and I felt him moving again, then my panties were shoved aside. Fingers then… Oh my God…

  My eyes rolled back, and I arched as his wide tip pressed against my opening. Inch by inch, he pushed in, making sure we both felt every bit of his claim, every bit of that long thick, delicious length forcing me open and taking me for his. My feet planted on the bed, my knees spreading wide for him.

  “Fuck, Whit. Fuck,” he groaned, his forehead to my neck, his erection pushing deeper and deeper.

  “Kyler,” I whined. The intrusion was almost painful, though I was certainly aroused enough, but he was so big.

  “Hold on, babe. God, you’re so fucking tight,” he said as he drove that last bit home, his pubis knocking against my clit and sending sharp pleasure sawing through me. He didn’t pause. In his typical take-no-prisoners way, he withdrew then slammed home, fast and steady, filling me so full. I cried out at the intense sparks of bliss skating over me. “Mine,” he growled. “Mine.”

  “Yes. Yours,” I agreed, clinging to him. Right now, I’d give him anything. Literally, anything. His palms pressed my wrists to the bed beside my head while he took everything. There was no giving here. He was claiming. Taking. Showing me I was his. And I knew deep in my heart, no matter what, there was no turning back now. I would crave this cock until I ceased breathing. Maybe longer.

  “You like me in you like this? Fucking you hard? Giving you pleasure like you’ve never had? Oh, yeah, you love it. Just feel the way that sweet pussy is squeezing its big dick. You’re gonna take everything, aren’t you?”

  “Kyler… Kyler…” My anxious cry echoed in the room as I reached the edge, about to careen over. He didn’t slow, fucking me even harder. The headboard slammed against the wall, a counterpoint to the way we were coming together.

  “Fuck,” he ground out against my neck as he nipped and sucked along the length. His pace didn’t slow, and I tried to keep up with the momentum. He pulled back and looked at me, his face a mask of pleasure as his dark blue eyes held me captive. His captive. His for the taking. His hands tightened on my wrists as if hearing my thoughts. “Never letting you go, Whitney. Never. This pussy was made for my cock. This body was made for me to worship and protect. When I say forever, I mean forever.”

  “Forever,” I whispered in response, overwhelmed by his conviction and all the sensations gripping me.

  Reaching between us, he scraped his calloused thumb over my clit. I cried out, and he growled. “See…look how responsive you are for me. Come for me again.” Another swipe and tap of that tip while he kept driving and I fell over the edge. This time Kyler fell with me. Warmth flooded from him, bathing my insides, then he collapsed over me, only barely holding his weight off with his forearms beside my shoulders.

  “Whitney,” he breathed.

  I didn’t answer, speechless, breathless, overwhelmed.

  He sat up, still staying deep inside me. His thumb brushed over my exposed curls while he shallowly thrust. “Do you have any idea how hot you are, spread out for me like this, my dick deep inside you where it belongs? I’m the luckiest man in the world. I can’t wait to taste you, to explore every part of you.”

  I wanted to tell him the same. What had just happened made everything harder.

  “Baby, don’t,” he said, obviously seeing the look on my face. “I know you’re scared. But I know this will work out. I will do anything, anything, to make sure.”

  * * * *

  I’ll do anything.

  It echoed over and over in my head as I drove to the resort. Anything, anything, anything.

  Did he even realize what anything would entail? And there were things he couldn’t control. Like me getting fired for an affair with a student. Or being ostracized in the community. Or him getting kicked off the team, losing his football scholarship offers. He could even be expelled, though I wasn’t sure on that last point.

  He’d held me after pulling free of me, earlier, and we’d talked, discussing all those things. Maybe, none of those things would happen. Maybe, all of them would. Maybe, I’d lost my damn mind. I’d thought that privately. Being close to Kyler, hanging out with him and talking, the sex… It was all amazing. I wanted to spend time with him, in and out of bed. And in and out of the arms that made me feel whole.

  He was funny and so damn smart. Interested in my life. A few nights ago, he’d been enthralled to learn about my Etsy shop where I sold educational printables and made almost as much a year as I made teaching.

  “What’s this?” he’d asked, leaning his chin on my shoulder while I’d worked on my laptop. He was supposed to be doing his homework.

  “It’s just some stuff I do on the side. You know teaching doesn’t actually pay well. I have a couple side hustles to keep me going. Funny thing is, I started them to give me a supplemental income, but all said and done, I make almost as much doing them as I do teaching. If I gave it more focus, I’d probably make more than the school system pays me.”

  “Then why teach?”

  I snorted. “So I can see all your glowing, appreciative faces every day.”

  “No, for real. Why?”

  A good question. I shrugged, intent on blowing it off. The sincerity on his face told me not to. He really cared how I answered. “I guess, I like it. It’s stable; online business is a big unknown from month to month. Besides, I like knowing I’m helping the future.”

  “With Romeo and Juliet?” he scoffed. “I can’t see how that will do anything. No offense.”

  I shoved him. “Yeah, well, it never hurts anyone to be literate. It builds your reasoning skills, and the papers I assign build your writing and persuasive skills. It’s not just a play. There are lots of layers to why working through it is good.”

  “I guess…” He picked up his text, shaking his head, and not buying into it at all.

  Since then, he’d asked insightful questions and even had a few ideas on how to expand. Who knew the jock who wanted to be a lawyer would know about websites and SEO? And for all his growling, he was a caring guy—when he wasn’t slamming other students up against lockers. A few nights ago, he’d asked about my family, and he’d been distraught at my past. He’d vowed that our children would always have the best of everything, including love.

  Our children… I hadn’t picked up that bait, but the phrase had niggled at me. I wanted kids, but was Kyler ready? I wasn’t even sure I could buy in to us having a relationship, and he was talking kids. Now, we’d had sex. I was screwing this whole thing up.

  I couldn’t help wondering if I was falling into his arms because I was lonely. My heart tugged, my gut telling me that wasn’t true, but my head wasn’t as easily convinced. Maria, my colleague who taught mathematics across the hall from me had sent me a dating app hyperlink last week. Maybe, I should look at it, see if I had any interest in any of the men on there.

  That would answer my question, wouldn’t it? That would tell me if what I felt for Kyler was because I wanted someone in my life, someone with whom I could cuddle with and tell my hopes and dreams and share what was happening every day. Someone more than a friend. To tell the truth, I didn’t have any women I was close to, either. They were all acquaintances, people I worked with and was friendly with. No one knew I spent holidays alone. It was my fault. I could get out more an
d meet people.

  “Well, isn’t this some kind of a pathetic pity party?” I grumbled to my windshield as I pulled into the valet parking at the resort. It had started to rain on the way here, and I didn’t want to trudge through the downpour. The attendant was a young, good-looking guy, similar in build to Kyler and about the same age. When he flirted with me and winked…nothing.

  I shouldered my briefcase and rolled my bags inside to check-in. The whole place was opulent and full of things to do, and all I could think of was that I wanted Kyler here with me. We could hang out in the pool and hot tub, go to any of the numerous restaurants, see a movie… The place even had a bowling alley, mini-golf and laser tag.

  Not good. I had planned to clear my head and all I could think of was the boy who’d captured my heart. He was a pretty good guy, too. As we’d lain in bed after sex this afternoon, he’d explained why he had Taron thrown up against the lockers. The kid had been making lewd remarks to Lola and wouldn’t stop, even when she’d started crying. So Kyler had decided to bully the bully.

  “I’m not the bully you think I am,” he’d told me, stroking his fingers down my arm. Goosebumps lifted along my skin, and I shivered in pleasure at his touch.

  “Maybe, you’re not like I thought, but you are a bully.”

  “I am not,” he scoffed.

  “Please. Just look what you’re trying to do with me.”

  “That’s not bullying, babe. That’s claiming. That’s getting what I want. And you like it. My dick’s still wet from it, and it can’t wait for the next time. I wish you weren’t going away this weekend. I need to work harder at convincing you to really give us a chance.”

  “By any means necessary.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, look at you falling on that sword.”

  His hips thrust against me, and I felt his cock was already rock-hard again. “It’s you on my sword, babe. And I can’t wait to sheath it again.”

  “Okay…too much Shakespeare for you. You’ve been picking up on the innuendo most of your classmates have missed.”

  He smirked. “I could show you all I’ve picked up.”