How could a kid grow up in Texas and not want to play Texas football? My grandfather played. My dad played. And now I played. This was my legacy. It was my birthright to be a Wrangler.
Some days, it didn’t feel real. But here I was, about to suit up for today’s game against the Warriors.
Cavan dropped his bag next to me. “Can you believe we’ve won four in a row?”
“Nice being on a championship team, isn’t it?”
I only had one season under my belt, but standing next to the rookie, I felt experienced. I was on the winning team. He hadn’t earned that honor yet.
“Yeah. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“Today will make five.” After we ran up the scoreboard on them last month, we felt confident today’s game wouldn’t be a problem. I liked starting the season five and O.
“You going to be at the Dean, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Of course. Wouldn’t miss it. But I doubt you can do better than what I pulled off last year.”
“Heard you had more women than we have guys on the team and a high-dollar poker table.”
“There was more than that. It was epic. Last year goes down in the history books. They say it was the best Dean ever.”
“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
I pulled the parts of my jersey out of the cubby. “I’ll be there.”
“I’ve basically asked everyone about the Deans from back in the day. Even the first one Larry Dean threw, and it’s going to have a little bit of everything.”
“You talked to some of the old Wranglers?”
He nodded. “You should have heard them talk about the first Dean.”
“Damn.”
A few of the other guys began to trickle in while we talked about the party. I knew what it was like to organize the event. It was a bitch at best. But it was a Wrangler tradition the guys loved.
I’d make a quick appearance and get out of there. I wasn’t going to get trapped into breaking my rule again. I’d already made that mistake once this season.
***
I had almost forgotten. Almost.
And then I saw her from the corner of my eye. She was behind the Warriors’ bench, cheering for the small crowd of fans assembled on the opposing team’s side.
Her hair seemed longer. It was down around her shoulders and her arms waved wildly in the air with pompoms. She looked beautiful. Gorgeous. I wanted to run across the field and tell her what she was doing to me. I wanted to tell her she was the reason I had forgotten the next play I was supposed to run. She was why I had forgotten the last play I did run.
I saw her and I remembered the night we spent together last month. I thought I had found a way to keep it from interfering, but one glimpse of Natalia and my hard work was over. I was so fucked, there weren’t words for it.
“Sam?”
I held my helmet. “Yeah?” I didn’t know who had called my name.
“You’re supposed to be out there.”
Whoever it was shoved me onto the field. I stumbled to the line. It happened again. My mind felt fuzzy. I remembered her lips and the way she tasted on my tongue. The smoothness of her skin and how her toned legs felt under my stroking palm.
God, I had lost it. I had fucking lost my mind to let a girl get in my head like this. This was exactly what Maddie had done. She had made it so it was impossible to think. I couldn’t concentrate after she fucking obliterated my trust.
I wiggled my fingers, trying to reconnect to the game. I needed to ground myself here. Smell the sweat. Hear the growls across the line. Watch the anger flare in the Warriors’ eyes.
Wes called the play and I lunged forward with the anger pent up inside me. Anger I didn’t realize I was still carrying from all those years ago. I tossed the lineman to the ground as if he weighed half as much as I did instead of double. There was satisfaction in seeing him pound his helmet into the grass.
There was a reason I loved playing this position. I could run and score, but there were moments like this when I could focus my energy on the sole strength of my body and shove another man’s face on the chalk lines of the field. My fists clenched as I took a deep breath and moved away from him.
As soon as it was over my eyes were on their sideline. I couldn’t look away. She kicked her leg high in the air and I remembered that leg on my shoulder. I remembered kissing her calf as I fucked her like I’d never fucked another woman.
I shook my head. I had to get back in the zone or I was going be the one to get knocked on my ass. I had pissed that lineman off. He cracked his knuckles and growled at me. He wasn’t going to be as easy to take down this time.
I was still tracing the lines on her legs when Wes crouched behind the center.
“21-42-Go-Go!” Wes shouted and I froze. My eyes cost me a second to prepare. I was staring at her instead of dodging the angry Warrior gunning for me. The lineman dove at my thighs and I landed on my back with a heavy thud. I felt the impact rattle my teeth. Damn it.
I stood up, shaking off the hit.
And I looked across the field again. She was staring at me. For that second, I didn’t hear the fans or the whistles. I didn’t hear the lineman taunt me, or the coordinators shouting from the sideline. I saw her, and this time, I wasn’t going to let her get away.
16
Natalia
I was supposed to be prepared for this. I had told myself repeatedly that seeing Sam Hickson wouldn’t affect me, but I watched as he hit the ground and I had to keep myself from running on the field to see if he was okay. Who does that? What was I thinking? Where had that need come from?
I wasn’t a medic. I wasn’t even his girlfriend. But I felt it. The pull to him the instant I thought something was wrong. I didn’t want him to be hurt or feel pain. I waited nervously for a sign that it wasn’t a serious hit.
I had to get out of Sam’s city. The only problem was, we weren’t leaving until tomorrow. The Warriors had decided to do promotion for the Goddesses in San Antonio. I didn’t know why. And now I realized why I had felt anxiety all week. It was the same feeling I got before a big performance. My hands were sweaty and I’d wake up in the middle of the night for no reason. I tried to reassure myself I was fine, but I wasn’t. How could I be with Sam this close?
He jumped up and ran back to the line. I let out a big breath. He was okay. I turned to face the fans and smiled, kicking my leg high in the air.
It had been a month. A month that didn’t include him. A full month of me throwing myself into practice as if I were the most dedicated Goddess on the squad. A month where I made appearances at charity events and hospitals. A month when I posed for two different calendars. A month I fell asleep begging myself not to dream about his body. A month when I had failed at anything to do with shutting Sam Hickson out of my thoughts.
***
The forty girls on the team had a bus for driving around San Antonio. I hauled my bag to the side of the big vehicle blowing diesel exhaust, and shoved it underneath the cargo hold. The mood around the team wasn’t good. They had lost again. And there was nothing worse than losing to the Wranglers.
“I hate it when the guys lose,” Heather whined.
“Me too.” I patted her shoulder.
We walked up the stairs and took a seat behind the driver. I heard we were staying on the Riverwalk. The guys were flying back to Austin tonight. I was glad we weren’t on the same flight. I knew what that trip would be like.
They would argue about the refs, and how there was a conspiracy to make the Wranglers Texas’s team. They’d curse like sailors and complain about the plane. I’d heard it before.
It was a quick ride to the hotel, and we gathered around the side of the bus as our bags were tossed on the sidewalk. I selected mine from the pile and lugged it on my shoulder.
“Glad we’re rooming together.” Heather walked up next to me. “It’ll be like training camp.”
“Except we don’t have to get up at five,” I
reminded her.
“True. We can sleep in for once.”
Our manager had emailed the schedule for tomorrow and our first photo shoot didn’t start until almost eleven. I had a vision of sleeping in and ordering room service. It sounded as if Heather was as tired as I was. We practiced four days a week, made charitable appearances, met early before games, and danced for four hours straight during the games. By the time the game was over, we were exhausted. Mondays were usually our days off, but not this time. We had to work.
It took a while for all of us to check in. It would have been nice if the squad had let us have our own rooms, but if I had to have a roommate, Heather was a good choice. I felt closer to her over the past month. She knew my secret about Sam, and even though we didn’t discuss what happened, it gave us an intangible connection.
She handed me the key card to the room. “What if we get in our PJs and have a romcom marathon and order some dinner?”
I smiled. “I love that idea. I don’t think I can muster up the energy to go out. I’m exhausted.”
“I call dibs on the shower.” She giggled, pretending to race me to the elevators.
I wished we were in a fancy hotel with big Jacuzzi tubs, but there was no way ownership would spring for that. The back of my leg was starting to ache. It usually did after a game. It was another reminder that I wasn’t ready for troupe auditions. The more I danced, the stronger I became. Sticking with the Goddesses had been good for me. It was increasing my stamina and my muscle awareness. I saw that now.
I followed Heather in the elevator and to our room. She took the bed closest to the window.
“Why don’t you look for the romance channel while I hop in the shower?”
“All right.” I picked up the remote and sat on the edge of the bed.
I was still wearing my Warriors traveling suit that marked us as the dance team when we were going to a game. The pants were tight, but stretchy, and the top zipped up over a sports bra.
I looked around the room when I heard the phone buzz. I leaned over a pile of pillows and grabbed the receiver.
“Hello?”
“Hello, this is the front desk.”
“Hi.”
“I have a delivery for a Ms. Dupont.”
“Me? What is it?” I couldn’t imagine what was at the desk. We hadn’t ordered food yet. “I’m not expecting anything. It might be for one of the other girls.”
“No, no. It specifically says Natalia Dupont.”
“Oh. Okay, I guess I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Ms. Dupont.”
I hung up and knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, Heather, I have to run down to the front desk to pick up something. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, I’m almost finished,” she called through the door.
She had been in there at least fifteen minutes. I doubted she was in a rush to get out.
I picked up the second key card and shoved it in my jacket pocket. I tried to think of what was waiting for me downstairs as I rode the elevator to the lobby level.
As soon as the doors retracted, I knew. He didn’t have to turn around for me to recognize him.
Sam.
He must have heard the elevator ding because he spun around to face me.
I was afraid to approach him. My heart pounded. I was certain he’d be able to hear it. I froze next to the elevators.
Was it stupid that I wanted to run and jump in his arms? At the same time, I couldn’t move.
“Natalia.” His eyes lit up and it all came flooding back.
The night in Austin together. The night I gave myself to him completely. The night that haunted me no matter what I tried to do to forget it.
He walked toward me and I felt the blood rush through my veins.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” I stammered.
“I wanted to see you,” he replied.
God, that voice. It was smooth and low and made my core start to ache.
I looked around the lobby, realizing one of the Goddesses could spot us talking. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the closest room I could find. It was a ballroom the hotel used for conferences. It was dark inside, and I suddenly realized this might be worse than being seen together in the light.
“We can’t… We said we wouldn’t…” I couldn’t put a full sentence together.
Sam’s hands rested on my face and pulled my mouth toward him. I took a breath before his lips descended on mine. I didn’t know if it was instinct, want, or pure misery from missing him, but I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him harder than I’d ever kissed anyone in my life. His tongue whipped wickedly over my tongue and I moaned when I felt his teeth nip along my bottom lip, dragging it playfully.
“God,” he groaned. “It’s better. It’s how I remembered.”
“Don’t stop.” I reached for his lips again, inhaling his mouth, pressing into him with my body.
It felt as if there was fire in my fingertips as I roamed his body. I couldn’t touch him enough, or cut the distance between us. I panted with every kiss.
“How?” I looked into his eyes. “How did you find me?”
He exhaled. “I called around until someone confirmed this is where your squad is staying.”
“Oh. And they told you?”
“Not room numbers, but I knew you were staying overnight at one of the Riverwalk hotels. Our press guy filled me in.”
“Right.” My chest was about to explode. His hands slid to my ass and he squeezed. He spun me against the wall until my back was flat as his body pinned me.
“And my last name?” I asked.
He kissed my throat and breathed heavily. “I looked you up on the Goddesses’ roster.”
I wanted to crumple on the floor. Sometimes I forgot I was listed on a website for anyone to see.
His lips hovered until they crashed against me. His kiss was rough this time.
“I want you, Natalia.”
“Oh, God.” His lips feathered over my throat and I felt myself awaken with need and want I hadn’t felt in a month.
“Let’s go to your room,” he suggested. He pushed my arms over my head and held my wrists together.
I shook my head. “I have a roommate.”
“Roommate?” But his lips didn’t stop.
“Yes.” His hands were digging into the band at my waist. I moaned as he slipped a hand between the layers of clothing and skin. His fingers moved between my folds until I knew he was coated in my essence.
I quivered, my knees shaking as he held me to the wall and his fingers made circles that tightened the coil in my belly. He pinched the delicate outline of my clit and I whimpered.
“I have a plan,” he growled into my ear.
“What?” I whispered.
“I’ll get a room here.”
His finger plunged inside my entrance and I bit my lip. I started clenching and squeezing around it.
I nodded. I wasn’t thinking. I was only feeling. And what Sam was doing to me was sinful bliss. My body reacted to him with unleashed passion. He kissed my neck and added another finger.
“But first.” His eyes were on me. “I’m going to watch you come like this.”
My chest rose with heavy breaths. I couldn’t look away. His fingers worked their magic between my legs as the intensity spiraled.
I was wet and panting, pinned to the wall. My hips gyrated toward him, wanting him to fill me every time he pulled away.
“Fuck me like this, Natalia,” he ordered. And I lost all control. My hips bucked and my muscles clutched around his fingers. It was building inside me like a wildfire and there wasn’t anything that could extinguish the heat except Sam.
I tried to look away, but his voice deepened. “No. Look in my eyes when you come.”
I stared at him, knowing I was seconds away from exploding. My thighs tingled and my belly pulsed when the orgasm hit me.
“Oh, God, Sam.” I breathed. I let it circle my body from head to
toe as the heat warmed me.
His hands slid from between my legs. “I’m going to get that room now.” He kissed me and ducked out of the door.
My head fell back on the wall and I tried to steady myself. But I knew I wasn’t steady. I was off balance and off center. My body wasn’t mine when Sam was around. I tried to straighten my jacket and rearrange my pants.
A few minutes later, the conference room door opened. “Come on.”
“Wait.” I stopped him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I don’t think we can do this.” I didn’t want to tell him, but I had enough time to regulate my heart rate.
“Of course we can. And we are.”
“I’ll get fired if anyone finds out that I was with you,” I tried to explain.
I was also starting to feel guilt. I had promised Heather she could count on me to be a quality Goddess and sleeping with Sam broke that promise. She was upstairs expecting a romcom marathon, and I was in a dark ballroom hooking up with the enemy.
He wrapped an arm around my waist and I felt my resolve slip too quickly.
“So don’t tell anyone.”
I pressed against his chest and felt the solid muscle under his T-shirt. Holy shit. I had forgotten how ripped he was.
“It’s not that easy. I have a roommate who thinks I’m downstairs picking something up. She’s waiting for me to order in and watch movies all night. I can’t go with you. I just can’t.”
He pulled the hair from my face. “Do you know I tried to find you after the last game?”
“You did?”
He nodded. “I ran from one end of that stadium to the other looking for you. I tried every door, every damn tunnel. And I couldn’t find you.”
“You tried to find me even though we agreed? You weren’t supposed to do that.”
“I did it anyway. And then I ran into Floyd and had to get back to the bus. But I was as surprised as you were that we were… who we are,” he finished.
Bucking Wild Page 50
