Yes. He already knew that he couldn’t have sex with her inside his parents’ house. She was too loud. And he loved it.
Undoing her bra, her breasts released and his mouth went like a magnet to each of them. She was cold, he could tell, but it wasn’t deterring her. Threading her hands through his hair, she pulled him closer. He craved this wild side of her. The vocal, unrepressed side that nobody knew about. That nobody would ever suspect.
Feeling her fingers move to the edges of his sweater, she pulled it up over his head and just like she had done every single time they had been together, her mouth rested gently against the tattoo inked over his heart. The Celtic words reading Your feet will bring you to where your heart is. His throat still got tight when he thought about her finding him at the top of his favorite mountain just a few weeks ago. Telling him that she loved him and reciting those exact same words to him before he made for damn sure that she would be resting her mouth against them for the rest of their lives.
Running her hands down his chest, Whitney enjoyed every inch of Shay’s muscles tighten beneath her palms. Her hands struggling to cover his chest, his whole body tensed before his hands gripped around her bottom. Running his strong, rough hands around her thighs she swallowed a groan. Suddenly pulling her thick, black tights from beneath her, she let out a squeal as she fell backwards on the work desk. Laughing, a tin can and something else she couldn’t make out fell down around her as she covered her face. Chuckling, he asked if she was okay, but it still wasn’t enough for him to stop. To slow him down. Running his hands back up her legs, she shivered. The heater had been doing its job, but so had Shay. Her body felt like a glorious combination of ice-cold and fire. Jumping onto the work bench on top of her, more supplies fell around them as she buried herself beneath him. “Is this daring enough for you, Mr. Cunningham?”
Chuckling, she looked up at him, the soft light of the flashlight splashing across his face. A smile pinching the sides of his mouth, he attacked her mouth nearly sucking the breath right out of her. And like she always had to do, she slowed him down. Every moment with Shay ignited her body and filled her heart and blurred her senses and she wanted to enjoy every single minute of him. Every single second.
“Yes. Yes, it is my bride,” he whispered between their lips and it was her undoing. Her heart exploding, every memory and emotion from the past twenty-four hours rushed through her entire body. She was going to marry this man. This selfless, spectacular, skillful and self-assured man. Undoing his belt, she pushed his dress pants down his long legs with her feet as he made love to her neck. The thing about Shay was that he was always in control. He took what he wanted and owned confidence in every word he spoke and move he made. But when they were together he seemed almost vulnerable. Gentle and exposed.
And she loved that.
Gasping as he eased inside of her, she let him set the pace. Gladly. Digging his head against her cheek she could feel the sweat now dripping from his forehead. The shed was now burning hot and she sucked in a hot, thick breath, hooking her leg over his hip. Picking up his pace, he moved her beneath him as more tools and trinkets fell around them and she screamed out.
“Shhh,” he chuckled, not slowing his pace, a wave of intensity rolling through her body. “You’re gonna get us in trouble.”
Screaming out his name, she bit into his shoulder, masking her cries. Grunting, she felt him finally let go before his body collapsed on top of her. “I’m,” she breathed, trying to catch her breath. The air both hot and thick. “I’m sorry.”
She wasn’t the quietest during sex and she should be embarrassed by that, but she wasn’t. Not with Shay. Lifting his head, he looked down at her. He didn’t like it when she apologized for anything. Even less for apologizing for just being herself. Apologizing for anything that made her happy. And it was one of the reasons she loved him so much. She was working on the apology thing, just as she knew he was working on his cussin’.
“What am I going to do with you, Sunshine?”
10
Hearing a mix of voices outside the shed, Shay looked down at Whitney beneath him, her face soft, and a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.
Shit.
He was one lucky bastard.
Her hair wild, brown and red strands shined from the dim light of the flashlight. Small pieces sticking to her face, she took his breath away. And if he could have it his way, they would be married tonight. Right here. Right now.
But she deserved more.
She deserved everything and he was so proud that he was the man who was going to give that to her. Although, he knew his Little Miss Fancy Pants would be a hard sell for a lavish, over the top wedding. She loved simplicity. The meaningful details of things and traditions. A lot of traditions. It was one of the things he loved most about her in fact. But it didn’t matter. Not really. Whatever she wanted she would have because all he wanted was this woman by his side and Quinn in his arms.
“What kind of wedding do you want?” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Smiling up at him, his chest got tight and he didn’t think he could love her more than he did in this moment right here. But that was the thing about Whitney. She had him falling in love with her more and more each day.
Cupping his face gently, he closed his eyes a fraction against the warmth. Bringing him down to her lips, she whispered between them. “The kind that makes me your wife.”
Securing the two buttons on the top of his sweater, Shay watched Whitney slip her arms through the sleeves of her dress. “Gosh Shay, everyone is going to see us leaving this shed.”
Smirking, he ran his hand through his hair picking up her shoes and handing them to her. “And?”
“And?” she repeated, slipping her feet into her knee high boots. “And it’s tacky.”
“No it’s not,” he scoffed, slipping his jacket back on, much more relaxed than when he had entered this shack. “Where do you think most of the kids were conceived?” he jerked his chin towards the house. “You and Holly could go toe to toe in how loud you both are.”
“Shay!”
“What?” he chuckled, helping her with her jacket. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
Smacking him gently on the shoulder as he opened the door, she followed him out of the shed. He wanted to laugh while she fussed with her hair, as if it mattered. Reaching for her hand, they made their way back up the lawn, as Rory and Finn shook their heads looking amused.
“On ye’ mark. Get set. Go!” Uncle Tommy yelled, before taking a sip of his pint as Kellan, Caleb and Lena pushed their sleds down the slope sitting on the furthest side of the yard. Spotting Siobhan making small snowballs with Quinn plopped in the snow between her legs, he smiled. Quinn squealed as she touched the snow before trying to put it in her mouth. Alright, maybe Siobhan wasn’t that bad.
“Here,” his mother sang as they headed up the deck, handing him and Whitney a flannel blanket. Wrapping it around Whitney, he hugged her close against him as her head fell against his chest. Handing Whitney a cup of hot chocolate, his mother smiled as she made her way down the deck handing out more mugs. His mother was happy, he could see it. And looking out at Rory and Finn starting a snowball fight with Kieran and Cassidy, he rested his chin on the top of Whitney’s head and smiled. He didn’t know what he did to deserve the best family in the entire world. He also didn’t know what he had done to be accepting of such an incredible woman and a beautiful new daughter. The sight of Quinn reminding him of the adoption papers he had handed Whitney just last night. “As soon as we get home, Sunshine, you need to sign the adoption papers.”
“Absolutely,” Whitney hummed before waving out to Quinn.
“Your father wants them filed before the New Year for a fast turnaround.”
Feeling her stiffen inside his arms, she moved her head before turning around and looking at him. Confused and concerned just as he knew she would be. “Papa?”
Time hadn’t been on his side after his pops’ surgery and in
between practices and helping Whitney and Quinn move into the house. He’d wanted to get the papers filed as soon as possible so that he could officially adopt Quinn. She was already five months old and that was twenty-one weeks too long of him not being her father. Her protector. The one who was going to care for her every single day from scraped knees and fevers to standing behind her as she took her first steps and waving goodbye on her first day of school. He also needed Adam to sign over his rights as Quinn’s biological father. He hadn’t been surprised at all when the bastard signed the papers without a gripe. But in an attempt to speed up the entire process, he had reached out to Whitney’s father. The fact that he hadn’t asked questions and said he would handle everything. Well that, that had surprised him. “I contacted him because I needed Adam to sign over his legal rights and your father was the only one who could get it done fast enough.”
It was still a tender subject. Her parents. They weren’t warm people, nothing at all like Whitney and Quinn. They wanted to control Whitney and he was proud of her. Proud that she had finally stood up for herself and refused to take their shit any longer. Her mother was pure evil and he was absolutely fine with that woman staying far away from his girls. But man to man, he could see that her father was making the effort. “He’s trying, Whit.”
Her eyebrows wrinkling a bit, she worked her lip. She was so good. So pure and sweet. He knew that walking out of her parents’ house and standing up for herself had been extremely difficult on her and he could tell that a big part of her was still hurting. Especially today. On Christmas. Kissing the lines against her forehead, he pulled her into a hug and looked up as the snow began to fall once again.
Feeling snow hit the side of his head, he looked up at Nicky, a sly smirk on his skinny face. Lifting his brow, Nicky was still as they both stared each other down across the yard. Jerking quickly, Whitney yelped as Shay jumped over the deck railing landing on his feet. Running after Nicky, he laughed, grabbing some snow, balling it up before throwing it at Nicky as he ducked left.
Damn, the kid had his fast reflexes too.
Cassidy and Lena screamed out at the shrill volume that only little girls could achieve, throwing snow at Holly as she hid behind Finn. Running back up the hill, Caleb and Kellan started rolling up snow before chucking both of them at Uncle Tommy. Dropping the sleds down, Cian made a direct, determined beeline for Erin, resting his hands on her cheeks before kissing her. Hard. Nicky and Cassidy throwing snow at them whining for them to stop, they ignored everyone. Picking Siobhan up, Rory threw her over his shoulder telling Lena and Kieran to get her.
They didn’t hesitate.
Watching Whitney pick up Quinn, she laughed shaking her head as his ma wrapped her arm around both of them. Running around the yard with his family ducking from another bomb of a snowball from Nicky, it felt like every Christmas gift he had ever received all rolled into one. Because the only thing better than coming back home with the love of his life and a beautiful new daughter after leading his team into the playoffs, was simply just being a Cunningham.
The
End
Coming Soon…
“Y’all ready for today?”
Nodding to the security guard holding the elevator door for her, Emme McGovern stepped inside. Smirking to herself, she watched the doors close.
Are we ready?
Of course we were ready. The Carolina Mavericks had secured and dominated their spot inside the playoffs and there was only one game standing between them and charting off to San Diego for the Super Bowl. The door chiming above her, she stepped off the elevator picking up her pace, her Louboutins clicking against the floor. Instinctively turning into the third suite box she saw her boss’s lined up against the glass looking at the incomparable aerial view of the football field. The dome was open, the crowd was electric, every single seat filled with a fan. Today was going to be a great day.
“Oh, look who decided to grace us today,” Bill Mathis, her boss grinned, looking behind him as the team’s new owner, Dean Prescott looked over his shoulder.
“Some unsuspecting tourists nearly lost a day of their life after deciding to stop in front of me on Route 1024,” her brows rose as she stood between them. Snickering, her bosses continued to discuss amongst themselves and she admired the scene before her. To her right was the new team owner, the man who poured millions of dollars into the Mavericks organization and to her left, the general manager who dedicated his entire life to making careful and precise decisions for the same team. And then there was her. The assistant. The one on the right didn’t know it yet, but she was going to take his job one day. And she was going to utilize the man on her left to do it. Looking down in the club boxes below her, she saw the quarterback’s wife Liv with their twin girls and Chelsea, Trevor Perry, their tight end’s wife and their son anxiously awaiting kickoff.
“Have you booked your suite, yet?” Prescott asked Mathis, a sly grin crossing his face.
Raising a brow, Mathis looked down at her. Shaking her head, she pointed towards the stadium. The Mavericks had this. They were going to the Super Bowl, she didn’t doubt that for a minute. But she was also superstitious and she wasn’t booking any suites or penthouses in San Diego until the confetti from this championship game settled tonight. Bowing her head as a young country starlet belted the National Anthem, chills ran up her arms in anticipation watching the captains walk onto the field for the coin toss. Clapping as the Mavericks got the ball first, she crossed her arms.
Here we go.
Watching the ball soar through the air, Shay Cunningham caught it in the twenty. Smiling to herself she remembered only eight weeks ago she had lost countless hours of sleep pushing numbers and calling in favors to make sure that they had enough money to keep Cunningham on the Mavericks during contract negotiations. He was an incredible receiver, arguably the best and paired with Monaghan and Perry, they were lethal. And a stadium housing over seventy thousand fans, the entire city of Charleston was counting on that power team to take them all the way this year.
Watching Monaghan work the ball down the field, Perry ran it down to the ten as the stadium went crazy. Denver was tough- undoubtedly the toughest competitor this season, but the Mavericks had more heart. You could feel it in the air, see it in their moves and if she looked close enough she could almost touch it too. They wouldn’t allow this to slip between their hands. Stepping closer towards the glass, she watched as Monaghan handed the ball off to fullback, Austin Kendrick. Jumping over the end zone, the stadium went crazy; navy and teal towels waving in the air as the Mavs scored the first touchdown of the game.
Silently thanking Jesus, Emme looked over at Prescott shaking his fist in the air. Showing as much liveliness as an esteemed team owner was allowed to show. Looking down at her, Mathis winked. She loved the man. She really did. He dressed absolutely ridiculous and looked like a walking heart attack, but he was her mentor. “Better get that room ready, McGovern.”
Shaking Prescotts’ hand hard as Colbie got the field goal, the stadium went nuts. She knew the game better than anyone in this room. Maybe even better than anyone in this stadium. She was going to cheer this team on and then she was going to own it one day as well. She hadn’t spent the last three years making Mathis look like a shining star inside this organization for nothing. Watching Denver and the Mavericks go tit for tat well into the second quarter she leaned over the glass as Monaghan lined up again. The Mavericks’ offense was something to be admired today, but Denver’s defense was out for blood. Handing the ball off to the Mavericks running back she held her breath. Just one more touchdown and they would have the lead they needed heading into halftime. Feeling Mathis and Prescott tense up beside her, she watched and cheered through her teeth as the Mav ran down the field.
“Run boy, run,” Mathis growled and she gripped the top of the glass.
We have this.
Noticing the Denver lineman showing no signs of stopping, she looked back at their running back sprinting h
ard just inches from the goal line. Holding her breath, the defense slammed into him, his body going left as the ball went right. Flipping over the lineman, his body circled before stopping the gruesome hit by slamming onto the ground.
The entire stadium deflating like a balloon, she looked down at their running back face down on the field, her stomach twisting. He wasn’t moving. Why wasn’t he moving? Paramedics rushing the field, several Mavericks players tore off their helmets running over as Prescott and Mathis’s phones rang simultaneously. Standing up on the chair for a better view of the field over the glass, she was certain of two things. She had just witnessed the end of the Mavericks season. And quite possibly, the end of a man’s career.
Also by Julianna Marley
Want more Mavericks?
False Start (The Mavericks Series)
Hail Mary (The Mavericks Series)
About the Author
Julianna Marley is fairly certain that she was born on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon line and is in constant search of warmth, water and sunshine.
When not writing about all the places she yearns to be, she can be found cheering on her favorite football teams, taking long, romantic strolls down the aisles of Target and getting bossed around by a sweet and sassy five year-old.
Julianna lives life with an exclamation point and she wouldn't have it any other way!
Come stalk me!
@julianna_marley
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Christmas With the Cunninghams: A Mavericks Novella Page 4
