Goal Keeper_A Pearson Players novel

by Sarah Nego

  “This is cute. Can I take it off now?”

  “Yes, please,” I said, lifting my torso so he could strip the shirt off.

  My back had barely touched the bed when Ryan’s mouth found the side of my neck. He kissed his way across my collarbones, down the center of my chest, and over the curve of my breasts, not stopping until he met the lacy edge of my bra.

  “What about this?” he mumbled against the thin strip of cloth separating his mouth from lighting me on fire.

  “Take it off,” I gasped out as he gently bit my nipple through the fabric.

  Ryan’s hands moved with deft precision to unclasp my bra and fling it off the side of the bed. My fingers pulled at the edge of his shirt, and Ryan reached back, pulling it off with a single hand. Acres of muscles rippled in front of me as he propped his body above mine. I wanted to lick every ridge and dip, but Ryan had other plans.

  His mouth closed over one of my nipples while his hand grasped at my other breast. Shivers racked through my body as his tongue tortured and teased the sensitive nub. When I thought I couldn’t take any more, he switched sides, using his talented mouth to pleasure my other breast.

  My nails scratched across his shoulders, and Ryan growled. A deep rumble that vibrated through every part of my body.

  Ryan’s mouth traveled lower, licking along the sensitive skin on my side and then trailing kisses down past my belly button.

  He stopped at the waist of my shorts. “I don’t want to push you for anything you’re not ready for.”

  My brain was fuzzy from all the sensations I was experiencing, but I knew what he was asking. I reached down and flipped open the button of my jean shorts.

  Ryan hissed out a breath, and his fingers worked to lower the zipper and slide off my shorts and panties together. He sat back and stared down at me, his eyes glowing with appreciation.

  I’d only ever been completely naked with one other guy, my scummy ex, Matt. Every time I’d slept with him, I’d made him keep the lights off and stayed tucked under the sheets. I was self-conscious about my body, with my broad shoulders and hard muscles where I thought girls should be soft.

  I didn’t feel that way with Ryan. I watched the way he looked at me and could tell he wasn’t thinking my muscles weren’t feminine enough or that I wasn’t curvy and sexy. My body was strong and lean and built for stopping soccer balls. And watching Ryan study every inch of my bare skin, I’d never loved my body more.

  “You.” He bent down and planted a soft kiss on my hip. “You are pure perfection.” He let his lips trail across the skin of my lower belly and kissed my other hip. “I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet right now.” He dragged his mouth back across my skin and kissed the sensitive skin right below my belly button.

  “Ryan,” I breathed out, struggling to control my airflow.

  “Yes?” He lifted his eyes to mine without lifting his lips off my skin.

  “Stop teasing me,” I blurted out.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Ryan pushed my knees apart and scooped his hands under my ass. His thumbs spread my lower lips apart, and then his mouth was on me, zeroing on my most sensitive spot. Black spots dotted my vision, and my head rolled back as my whole body arched into him.

  Here was a man who knew what he was doing. There was no fumbling about or searching for where to touch me. Every movement of his mouth was orchestrated perfection that had my body reaching for the climax it was desperate for.

  My legs trembled as the pleasure built up, and my muscles clenched in anticipation of the orgasm about to rip through me.

  My hips bucked against him, pushing his face deeper into me and drawing out every last ounce of gratification.

  I lost control of my mouth, and a string of curse words pealed out that would have put a blush on any frat boy. Ryan chuckled against my pulsing sex and doubled down on his efforts, sending me speeding down a one way track to O-town.

  One of his hands slid out from under my ass, and before I could even wonder what he was doing, his fingers were inside of me, breaking the final dam that held back my release. I cried out and shuddered against him, my body contorting outside of my control.

  Ryan never left me, his fingers and mouth begging me to give him every last second of my satisfaction. When I didn’t have anything left to give, he finally pulled away from me, planting a trail of kisses down my still shaking legs.

  Ryan stripped off his jeans, but left his boxers on. He sat back, staring at me like he wasn’t sure what to do next. He might not have been sure, but I was.

  “I need to feel you inside me,” I gasped out, my chest still heaving from my orgasm.

  Ryan didn’t bat an eye. He stood at the end of the bed, and in an instant his boxers were gone, leaving him naked in all his glory. His erection stood at attention, pulsing lightly against his tight abs.

  My mouth watered at the sight of him, and I wanted to taste every inch of him. I sat up so I could crawl to him, but Ryan took a step back that had me pausing.

  “Don’t move,” he said, finally walking to his dresser and pulling a foil packet from the top drawer. “I see what you’re thinking, and there’s no way. If you touch me now, I’ll be done, and I’m not even close to being done with you.”

  Heat flooded my body. Sex in the past had never felt like it was about me. My ex would get me to a passable orgasm, and then everything was about getting to his climax. It was an inevitable end in a string of actions that felt obligatory and perfunctory.

  But Ryan’s focus was solely fixed on me and my pleasure. That alone had my body driving toward another orgasm.

  Ryan tore open the condom and slid it down the hard length of his erection, pumping it once, then twice, before kneeling back on the bed, his strong thighs pushing my legs farther apart. Anticipation swam through me.

  “I didn’t plan for you, Luci Ryder.” His voice was husky as his arms planted on the bed, caging my body in with the hard planes of his torso. “And I know for a fact you didn’t plan for me.”

  I reached up and ran my fingers down his cheek. I hadn’t planned for him. I’d planned to stay far away from him and every other guy out there because I thought that was the only way to get what I wanted.

  “If I’d known better, I would have put your name in permanent marker on my calendar.”

  Ryan’s head dipped down, and his mouth claimed mine as he slid inside me, the soft glide of him ripping a groan from the back of my throat.”

  His hips surged into me again and again, and my legs wrapped around the back of his thighs, urging him deeper into me.

  My senses came alive as Ryan worshiped my body, his lips punishing mine, then my neck, and my breasts. Shuddering breaths dragged out of me as he filled me body and soul. This man was everything I shouldn’t want, but I was way past want. Ryan was a need.

  “Oh god,” I groaned as Ryan shifted and hit new places inside me. “I’m going to come.”

  “I’m right there with you,” he grunted out.

  I opened my eyes and stared at his beautiful face as my orgasm rolled over on me. My legs trembled against Ryan’s hips, and there was no mistaking his own release as his body jerked against mine, and sweet relief smoothed the hard lines of his face.

  Ryan’s arms wrapped around my shoulders, and he rolled with me. His body collapsed on his side next to mine. I trembled as the final pulses pushed through me, our bodies still connected in the most intimate of places.

  I let out a shaky breath. This was big. Bigger than big. I should have been terrified, but all I felt was happiness. Why had I ever tried to fight this?

  I tried to sit up, but Ryan’s strong arms held me down. “We should get cleaned up.”

  Ryan’s nose nuzzled at my neck, and his body contoured to mine. “In a minute. I just want to lie here and love on you for a little longer.”

  My mouth garbled out some kind of response, but my brain wasn’t involved. It was too busy running his words on a loop through my head. Ryan used the L-
word. That might not have been what he meant, but my heart was already there.

  Thirty-Three

  Ryan

  Wednesday

  I shoved my bag against the wall of the bus and tried to use it as a pillow, but my body was too long to find any comfort on the stiff bus seat. After a full day of classes, a long drive to Waco, and a full game that we actually won, all I wanted was a solid eight hours in my bed with no interruptions.

  Scratch that. I’d take an interruption if it came in the shape of Luci Ryder. That kind of interruption was welcome in my bed any time she wanted. Which had been every night that week so far.

  But we’d agreed she would stay home that night since we both had a game, and I wouldn’t be back from mine until after midnight. Besides, since it was Wednesday night, I only had a few hours until I’d get to see her in Spanish class. Luci had quickly become an addiction, and she wasn’t a habit I was interested in breaking any time soon.

  My phone buzzed, so I dug it out of my makeshift pillow. A text from Luci. Damn, no matter how tired I was, that girl could put a smile on my face.

  Guess what?

  I chuckled as I typed back. You took a poll and the whole team agrees that I’m the hottest soccer player at Pearson.

  I waited for her response, but it didn’t come. I imagined Luci sitting in her room rolling her eyes at me. She would have already finished her game and could be fresh out of the shower, her long brown hair wrapped up in a towel and her skin still warm and damp and smelling like strawberries.

  Dear god, I had it bad.

  Okay, tell me.

  Luci’s response came back seconds after mine. I got to play!

  This was big news. Luci’s probation for underage drinking was still in effect. She wasn’t supposed to get off until Monday. Until then she had to go to each game but wasn’t allowed to dress out, which made her probation even harder to swallow. But Luci had been handling it with grace, like everything she did.

  Tell me everything.

  I settled in to wait for her response, but my phone rang instead.

  “Hey there, superstar,” I said, anxious to hear her voice.

  “It was amazing.” Luci was pretty much gushing, and the excitement in her voice was a tangible participant in the conversation. “I mean, part of it sucks because Leanne got some twenty-four-hour bug and tried to come to the game, but she barely had the strength to get her uniform on. And then Coach told me that since I hadn’t complained once the whole time I was on probation, not even when he made me scrub the practice pinnies, he was officially ending my probation and I was the starting goalie.”

  I closed my eyes and imagined Luci bouncing up and down on her bed with every word. “And were you as amazing as ever.”

  “I was on fire,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t remember the last time I played that well. It was a total shut out, and Coach told me if I kept playing like that, I could expect to be in a lot more games.” Luci actually squealed, and I couldn’t hold back my own laughter.

  Knowing Luci was so happy made me happy by extension. I wanted to make it my mission in life to always make her bubble with excitement. If anyone deserved it, Luci did.

  “We should celebrate. I’m taking you out on Friday.”

  “Okay,” Luci said. “But this time, I get to know where we’re going ahead of time.”

  I nodded, shocked at how quickly she’d agreed to a date. With her spending every night in my room, it wasn’t like we weren’t dating, but she’d been so careful about other people finding out. This was a big deal.

  “Let me do a little digging and find something perfect that’s at least a few towns over. But keep your Friday free.”

  “I’m all yours,” she said. And the words felt like they had more weight than just plans for this weekend. After the nightmare that was Vanessa, Luci’s words should have sent me running like I was on a breakaway pass to score. But not with Luci. It made me want to work harder to be worthy of her.

  Luci yawned and pulled me out of my own head. “Okay, no more talking. You need to get some sleep so you’re rested for this weekend.”

  “You’re right,” she said around another yawn. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Luci.”

  I hung up after Luci yawned out a good night and shoved my phone back into my bag.

  “Was that your girl?” Scooter asked as he slid into the seat next to me.

  I stared back at him for a second. My girl. God, I liked the sound of that. “Yeah, it was.”

  Scooter nodded.

  I relaxed against the back of the seat as much as I could. “So, you aren’t going to give me a hard time about jumping into another relationship?”

  Scooter shrugged. “I thought about it, but I’ve decided I’m a Luci fan.”

  “Oh really.” He had my attention.

  “Sure. For one, you’ve been less of a douche since she started coming around.”

  “Real nice, man,” I said, kicking at his leg.

  Scooter placed a hand over his heart and pursed his face into a look of mock sincerity. “I mean that in the nicest way possible. But seriously, the more time Vanessa spent at the house, the less time I wanted to spend with you. Do you know I caught you whistling in the bathroom yesterday? Whistling.”

  “So, you like Luci because I whistled in the bathroom?”

  Scooter shrugged. “That and she hasn’t tried to fill the fridge with tofu and almond milk. So do me a favor and try not to screw this one up.”

  “Trust me,” I said. “No one is wishing for that more than me.”

  Thirty-Four

  Luci

  Friday

  Calculus

  Intro to Art

  Speech

  Practice

  Date with Ryan

  I leaned against Ryan’s chest and swayed to the melodic rhythm of the Latin music filling the hall. Going dancing wouldn’t have been my first choice for a date night. Scratch that. It wouldn’t have made my list for top-one-hundred-date-night ideas. And I hated wearing Erin’s flouncy dress and strappy high heels. Pretty much everything about this date could feature prominently in one of my nightmares.

  Except Ryan. Being with him made up for the impossibly difficult dances, the short dress, and the shoes that threatened to tip me over with every step.

  At the front of the hall, a fiery woman with a mass of curly brown hair and long legs that screamed grace shouted instructions to the other couples. All around us, couples danced the cha-cha or the salsa or something else I wasn’t going to master. Some of them were obviously not here for the first time, while others were decidedly less polished. But I was probably the only one that had stepped on her partner’s foot eight times in one song.

  When my heel came a fraction of an inch from crushing one of Ryan’s toes, he’d finally agreed to give up our future as ballroom dancing champions. Swaying back and forth was definitely more my speed. Plus, that way I could stay pressed against him, which was exactly where I wanted to be.

  The song ended and the other couples applauded the band while Ryan led me over to a small, candle-lit table. He pulled the chair out for me and offered an arm so I could sit down without falling in my heels.

  “Thank you for coming with me tonight,” he said as he sat in the chair next to me, his hand sliding to my thigh and sending goosebumps down my legs. “I honestly thought you were kidding when you told me you couldn’t dance.”

  I blurted out a laugh. “No. There are girls who say they can’t dance because they’re a bit awkward and don’t know what to do with their arms. Then there are girls like me who could literally kill someone by attempting to dance.”

  Ryan squeezed my leg. “All the more reason I’ll have to shower you with appreciation later tonight.”

  The meringue erupted in my gut. I’d spent almost every night that week at Ryan’s place. And every night he found new ways to turn me into a warm pile of goo. There was no point in denying that sex with Rya
n was phenomenal. We were good together. And not just physically. Because even though it was completely nuts and against all of my better judgment, I’d fallen for him.

  Before coming to Pearson, I’d convinced myself all guys were selfish and they’d always put their own desires in front of my needs. I’d fed on stories of how they would disappoint and derail my dreams. But I’d been wrong. Because I’d never met a guy like Ryan. And something in my gut told me I never would again. He was like a mythical unicorn, and I knew I wanted to hold on to him as long as I could.

  A trumpet played a fast-fingered riff that sounded like a call to arms. The other members of the band immediately picked up the tune, and they launched into another fast Latin song.

  The dance instructor appeared out of nowhere in front of our table, her long legs already bouncing to the new rhythm. “Okay, you two. No more junior-high swaying.”

  I let out a nervous laugh and shook my head. “Oh no, we’re good.”

  “You came here to dance, and my job is to teach you.” She grabbed Ryan’s hand and pulled him out of his chair. “I’m Christina, by the way.”

  Ryan looked over at me and raised his eyebrows in question.

  I stood up and held out my hand toward Ryan. “We appreciate it, but some people are not born to dance.”

  “Nonsense,” Christina said, pulling Ryan toward the floor and grabbing my elbow. “I have never met a person I couldn’t teach to at least cha-cha.”

  “Come on, Luci,” Ryan said, his hand sliding against my waist. “I bet with a little private instruction you could do it. I know you have some rhythm.” He winked at me, making it clear he wasn’t talking about dancing.

  I planted my feet on the floor and closed my eyes. I was a goalie with excellent hand-eye coordination, but other than the occasional dive to save a goal, my feet rarely cooperated with me. My lack of leg control was one of the main reasons I’d become a keeper in the first place.