First Down (First and Ten #1)

by Lea Hart

  He slowly processed her request. “I have condoms.”

  Ana lay on the bed and watched the lion of a man stalk into the bathroom. He soon came back with an economy size box of condoms. “Do you think there are enough there, Jack?”

  Setting them down, he replied, “I think so. I’m going to get the latest results of my medical exam, so this should hold us until tomorrow.”

  He fell on top of her and broke his landing with his arms as he leaned up on them. Watching her laugh, he figured it was a good a start as any. “This is my last first time, and I don’t want to miss a thing.” Her hands moved to his boxers, and he felt like singing hallelujah, but worried it might distract her, so he helped her slide them down his legs instead. Dropping his mouth to her lips, he gave her a gentle kiss and then moved down her neck and across her collar bone. Her skin was as soft as silk and tasted perfect against his mouth. Her heart beating against her rib cage, told him he was on the right path as he moved his mouth across her breast. Looking down, satisfaction filled him at the sight of her glistening nipples, moistened from his tongue and tight with desire. He was painfully hard, and yet his discomfort was nothing compared to the pleasure building deep within him. Her hand lifted, grazed over his abdomen and then skidded down his body. “If I let you get your hands on me, then this will be over too soon.” Shifting out of her reach, he dropped his mouth to her stomach, and moved his hands down her hip bones and made his way over to her folds. Running his fingers slowly around, he felt her wet heat against his fingers and sang a silent song of triumph.

  She ran her hands through his soft blond hair and almost tugged as the pleasure became too great. “Now, Jack. Please…now.”

  He lifted himself up, grabbed a foil wrapper from the box, and ripped it with his teeth. Covering himself quickly, he laid his body over hers, a satisfied glint filled his eyes. He positioned himself against her throbbing core then slid slowly and delicately along her slick folds.

  His body hovered inches from hers, and she let her hands stroke his arms lightly. Smiling into his eyes, she felt his hips push into hers as a massive wave of desire passed through her body. She was right. Jack Ellis was magnificent. He let his head drop, and his cheek lay against hers as his breaths tickled her skin. She felt him slowly push himself inside as her body attempted to expand to accommodate him. She moved her hips a little and tried to see if that would relieve some of the pressure. “Go slow, Jack. It’s going to take me a minute to adjust.”

  “I know, sweetie. You should have let me play before we started this. I’m a big man.”

  “I can feel that you’re a big man. It’s wonderful, but my goodness…..”

  Pulling out slowly, he slid gently back in and was rewarded with easier passage. He moved his mouth and kissed her with all of the desire that he felt, and stayed still as he let his tongue move against her. Her body began to relax as he pushed in a little farther. Success. Slow is fast; fast is slow. Soon, he was seated inside of her and decided he was never going to leave. Being enveloped in Ana’s tight heat was where he was going to stay. Life outside of this bed, no longer mattered. He felt a squeeze on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes and smiled down into the rest of his life.

  “You can move now, Jack. Everything fits, and it’s all systems go.”

  “I just want to stay right here.”

  “You can, but I’d like it if you could move around a little. I’m right on the edge, and I’d like you to help me out.”

  “All right, but I want to go on record as saying that I would like an immediate return invitation.”

  “You got it. I’ll give you whatever you want as long as you start moving those hips of yours.” She watched a smile spread across his face with a look that suggested good things were in store for her. He proved to be a man unleashed as he pumped in and out, and soon it was too much. She called his name as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her body. She felt his ferocious need in every pump of his hips, and soon what they were doing became life altering. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as she heard his shout of release. It came out of him like a wild cry as he called her name and let himself go.

  His hands gripped her hips as he lost everything. There was now a dividing line in his life—before this and now. Every single one of his molecules reorganized themselves as his body blew apart, and pleasure reigned through his body. His hips continued to rock gently as he tried to pull himself back together. He wondered if there was going to be anything left of him after it was all over, as the last shudder passed through his body, and his arms collapsed. Falling on top of her, he heard a huff of breath and realized that he couldn’t lie on top of her without crushing her. He rolled over and opened one eye as his gaze fell over her body. She wasn’t moving, but there was a smile on her face. A good sign. He wasn’t capable of speech, so he rolled on his side, draped his arm across her and laid his head on her stomach. He felt her hand in his hair and closed his eyes against the pleasure of it.

  Waking up slowly, he tried to move through the layers of sleep as his body signaled satisfaction and happiness. He moved one hand and felt the smooth silkiness of Ana’s skin. Lifting his head, he felt her hands fall away from his hair, as he looked into her face. She was asleep with a small smile on her lips. He slowly got up and walked to the bathroom to get rid of the condom. He’d never passed out like that before. Returning to the bedroom, he noticed that she hadn’t moved an inch—she was dead to the world. He slowly lowered himself on the bed and took the opportunity to admire her again. His need roared back to life, so he dropped his mouth to her shoulder, and let himself explore.

  The first time had been too fast, and he needed to see what she was all about. She tasted sweet, and there was the faint smell of vanilla. Raising his eyes, he gazed over her naked form and allowed himself to study her for the first time. She had long limbs and a nice rounded body. He moved his hands up her stomach and discovered that his hands covered her waist completely. She must have felt his attention, because she started to stir. He placed his mouth against her skin again and kissed her from her bellybutton to her neck, taking a little extra time on her breasts. By the time he looked into her face, she was beaming. “I get to play this time and take all of the time that I want.”

  Ana lifted her head and kissed him. “I can’t move any of my limbs. Do you think that’s normal?”

  “You don’t have to move a thing; just lie back and let me know when I do something you like.”

  “I like what you’re doing now.”

  “Sweetie, I’m not doing anything. I’m lying on top of you and talking.”

  She wiggled her hips, and he understood what she was talking about. “Sorry, you’re going to have to wait for that.” He kissed her mouth and then pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth. “This is going to be a long ride of pleasure. Now relax and behave.”

  She lifted her hand and saluted him. “Message received. I await your orders.” She laughed at her own joke.

  Moving down her body, he took his time and made sure that he knew everything about her by the time his mouth met her bikini line. He kissed her hipbone then skimmed his mouth over her and felt her hips jolt as he slicked his mouth over her. Her fingers threaded through his hair, and she pressed his mouth closer. Owning her pleasure, made him feel a powerful rush as her body exploded and she screamed his name. He held onto her hips until she came down, then shifted his body so he was cradled in her hips. Entering her in one long hard thrust gave him the same feeling as scoring a touchdown. Perfect bliss. Ana James was his answer.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Monday Morning

  Ana felt Jack wrapped around her like an anaconda. He had a firm grasp on her, even though he was dead to the world. She tried to slip out of his arms, but his hold tightened. His breath tickled her neck as he whispered good morning. “Good morning, Jack.” His grip loosened, and she was able to turn over and look. He was smiling with his eyes closed as he ran his hand up and down her back.r />
  “I like waking up next to you. Let’s do this every day,” Jack whispered. He tilted his hips into hers and felt the welcoming heat of her skin. “Every day.”

  “I don’t know about that, Jack.”

  “I want you to know that I’m going to properly win your heart, Ana. I’m going to woo you until you can’t resist falling head over heels in love with me.”

  She waved her hands in the air. “Let the wooing begin. I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do.”

  Laughing, he rolled on top of her, and held her face in his hands. “Sweetie, you have no idea what you’re in for.” Her legs fell completely open in invitation. “Just for the record, this isn’t wooing, unless of course you are feeling wooed.”

  His mouth ran along her neck as he placed small kisses along her skin. His hips moved gently into her as he entered her slowly. Her breath caught as he entered her. “I’m feeling wooed….keep going.” Lifting his head, he smiled down at her, and she caught the look of mischief in his eyes. “No really, Jack….please don’t stop.”

  “Oh you mean this?” He pulled out and then plunged in using the strength of his legs. Her body arched into him as her fingers gripped his arms tightly. Her legs went around his back, and he figured that he’d teased her enough, so he dropped a quick kiss and then really put some effort into wooing her.

  Just as she was enjoying the blissful glow of sexual satisfaction and an empty mind, she heard Jack’s phone beep and then hers. She didn’t even know where hers was, but it was somewhere in the room. Jack rolled off and reached for his on the dresser. She buried herself under the covers and tried to see if she could ignore the world for a while longer. She was about to drift back to her happy place when she felt Jack lean over her and kiss her head.

  “Sweetie, there are some more pictures of us, and the rags have taken an interest in you.” He watched her pull the sheet over her head and wiggle farther under the blankets. “I’ll make coffee, and then we can figure out a game plan. We’re going to shut this thing down before it becomes a problem.” He watched her whip the sheet off her head and stare. “Right…I’ll go make the coffee now.”

  She sat up and the sheet fell away, exposing her beautiful body to him. Even with the potential disaster looming out there, he couldn’t resist putting his mouth on hers. He felt her hand against his chest as she pushed him back.

  “Coffee…first.” She smiled, got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door.

  He watched her retreating figure and decided he’d set the timer on the coffee pot in the future, because he didn’t want to miss out on any more showers.

  Returning to the bedroom, he saw Ana in his robe, sitting on the chair in front of the window. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing her glasses and writing in a small notebook. He sat and put her coffee cup down on the small wood table that separated the chairs. “Sweetie.” Watching her hand fly up in a stop signal, he swallowed his words, sat back, and watched her as she wrote quickly. He hoped that it had nothing to do with the pictures that were on TMZ Sports website. This was an unfortunate part of his life, and he didn’t want Ana to be caught up in it, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to let her go.

  Finally satisfied that she had gotten most of it down, she glanced over and smiled. She picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, “You make good coffee.” Sitting back in the chair, she tucked her foot underneath her body and peacefully drank her coffee as she gazed out over the big back yard. She loved when she had a breakthrough and had a feeling that this was going to be a good one.

  “Anything you would like to share with me, sweetie?”

  Turning, she wondered what he was talking about.

  He pointed to the notebook.

  She laughed. “I had a break-through on an idea for some research that I want to do. There is a new drug that I just learned about, and I think it could be beneficial for people who are in the early stages of dementia. I was standing in your amazing shower, and it came to me. I wanted to write down an outline before I lost it. I think you’ve shaken something loose in me, Jack, because I’ve been puzzling over this for a couple of weeks.”

  Taking her hand, he squeezed it. “You will have to tell me what I did, so I can keep doing it.”

  “My brain is always working and is very rarely quiet. But the time I’ve spent with you over the last couple of days has slowed me down. I can feel the quiet when our bodies are together. This is the first time it’s lasted for more than a few minutes.”

  “So us being together is a good thing?”

  “Absolutely. When we were sitting next to the pool last night, I felt it wash over me. You know that feeling you get when you’re underwater and your body is weightless, and there’s no sound and you’re looking up and all you can see is the light filtering through the water? Well, that’s the feeling I get when I’m around you.”

  Tilting his head, he gave her a smile and held out his hand. “Come here.” He watched her take his hand, and in one motion, he had her in his lap, wrapped in his arms. Gently, he let his finger run over her cheek, across her mouth, and down her neck, and knew the truth of them in that moment. One way or another, they were going to be together for the rest of their lives. He was holding the love of his life in his lap, and that was that. Her mouth dropped to his, and their future was sealed in the kiss she gave him. He had a lot of wooing and romancing to do before he could tell her about his plans for their future.

  He moved her legs so she was fully in his lap and studied her. “I want you to hold the memory of that calm feeling that I give you, because I’m about to tell you what’s on the websites.” He felt her try and move, but he held her close. “I’m not going to let you go yet.”

  “It can’t be that bad, Jack. How many pictures can there be?”

  He pulled his phone out of his shorts and looked for the pictures that his agent sent him. He silently handed her the phone, moved his hands to her back, and held on. He watched her flip through the pictures and then read the short article that accompanied them. She finally glanced up, and there was no smile in sight. She had every right to be mad, and he was going to do his best to handle it.

  She handed him his phone back and then gave him a stare that might frighten lesser men. “In the future, I would like you to tell me if my hair is sticking up. I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about the weird bump in my ponytail.” She slid her hand over her wet hair and frowned. “Why are these people so interested in us?”

  “Because I’m not photographed with a lot of women. People are curious, and the tabloids feed off of that. When I was paid out on my contract at the end of the last season, a lot of people got real interested in me, because the amount of money involved. Unfortunately, as my girlfriend, you’re going to be exposed to that curiosity.”

  “It’s creepy, and I don’t care for it. By the way, I’m not your girlfriend.”

  “By the way…you are. There is no way you would have slept with me if you were not planning on having a relationship with me. So you can tell yourself whatever you want, but we both know the truth.”

  “Maybe I like to sleep around with a different man each night. You don’t know me that well.” She watched him try and hold a smirk in and then watched him fail completely. “Jack Ellis, that’s rude. You could at least pretend to believe me.”

  He struggled to stop smiling, and he couldn’t. “Ana, would you like to be my girlfriend and become the love of my life?”

  She studied her nails, and then looked him up and down before answering. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

  “Let me take you on a date and show you what a good boyfriend I can be.”

  “I’ll go on a date with you, and then I’ll let you know.”

  “Fair enough. Since you like to sleep around, let’s get back in that bed and get sweaty all over again.”

  “No, I want a date first.”

  He slipped his hands inside her robe and let them roam around a little. “I like t
he picture of us outside the restaurant, because your smile tells me everything that I need to know. You like me, Ana, and I’m going to make sure that you know how much I like you.” He leaned forward, kissed her forehead, and ran his nose along hers. “Maybe I can get us a copy of it, and we can have matching pictures on our dressers.” Her hand glided across his cheek, and he felt his heart go boom…boom…boom, in response.

  “You know, Jack, you look like a big, aggressive football player, but really you’re a big sweet man with a heart of gold.”

  “I think that’s something that you can keep to yourself.”

  “Oh, I plan on it. I don’t need more girls going after you. I imagine you already have plenty throwing their panties at you.”

  “Does that mean that you would like to keep me all to yourself?” He watched her face grow red and her eyes wouldn’t meet his, so he pretty much had his answer. He moved his hand around her waist and brought her flush against his body. “I would like to go on record as saying that I want you all to myself.”

  “Mr. Ellis, you better move that hand of yours, because I have to go to work.”

  “Are you sure about that?” He slowly let his hand roam around to the front and was about to cover her breast when she leaned back and out of his reach.

  “Don’t be naughty.”

  “But I have all of these ideas running around in my head, and I want to try them out.”

  “You can come over after work tonight, and we can try one of your ideas out. But I expect to be fed before I give into your wild sexual demands.”