A Game Changer

by Nikky Kaye

  The sight of the handsome professional athlete and the adorable little girl kicking the ball back and forth garnered the attention of more than a few of the moms. I couldn’t blame them, but I still felt a compulsion to do something to mark Zach and Payton as mine.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  “Well?” Anderson waved his car key in front of me.

  I turned to the field and called Zach’s name. He said something to Payton and jogged over to me and Anderson.

  “You okay if I go home?” I was suddenly feeling drained.

  “Of course. We’re fine.”

  They really were. Zach was stepping up, just the way I’d asked him to. Before I could say anything more, Zach kissed me on the cheek and sprinted back onto the field. Nearby, I heard an appreciative hum.

  “I’ll see you at home later!” I yelled. It was possessive, irrational and childish of me, but I still felt satisfied when I saw the envious looks of the drooling soccer moms on the sidelines. Yeah, they’re mine, bitches.

  The rest of the day went by quickly. I indulged in a nap on Payton’s bed when I got home and woke up to find Zach and Payton inhaling plates of spaghetti in the dining room. All too soon, it was bath time and bed for Payton, who was crashing hard. After Zach had closed his niece’s bedroom door, he sat down beside me on the couch.

  “You ready to talk now?”

  I’d already decided that there was a lot I needed to keep to myself. The chances of me getting hurt were too high. “About what?”

  He gave me a disbelieving look. “Last night.”

  “Oh. It was the wine.”

  “No, it wasn’t. It was you and me. Maybe it was inevitable, but I’m not going to take it back and don’t ask me to forget it. And then you ghosted on me this morning!”

  “I was trying to save us both the awkward morning after.” Except now it was the awkward evening after.

  “You’re the only one who felt that way, Emma!” Zach said, exasperation seeping into his tone.

  I ground my teeth in irritation and I popped up from the couch. “Maybe I want to take it back,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I paced. “I’m not one of your conquests nor the girls that throw themselves at you.”

  He looked like I’d punched him. “Did I treat you like one?”

  I stopped. Shook my head. No, of course he hadn’t.

  It was special.

  It was hot.

  It was revelatory.

  “It was a mistake, that’s all.”

  His expression was thunderous as he stood and strode toward me. “Bullshit. It was fucking amazing.” He took another step closer to me and tilted my face up, forcing me to look at him. “And you know it.”

  It’s really hard to argue with someone who’s right.

  “Zach, I can’t…” I sagged a little as he cradled my face with both his hands.

  “Can’t what, baby?”

  I didn’t know what to say. He was too close, his breath hot on my face.

  “Tell me, Emma, don’t you want me?” His voice was low and rough, but I heard the insecurity hiding there—like Payton afraid that I was going to leave.

  I couldn’t move, paralyzed by his gaze, his question echoing in the recesses of my brain. My heart pounded in my chest, my blood racing through my body so swiftly I wondered how he didn’t feel my pulse throbbing at my jaw.

  I wanted him.

  I knew it in my heart, deep down, but was afraid to admit it even to myself. It was like loving Payton. I couldn’t help it, but chances were that I was going to get hurt in the end. I had to protect myself, didn’t I?

  “I can’t,” I said.

  He tilted his head at me, his mouth curving in a tight smile. “That’s not the same as you don’t.”

  “Then I don’t.”

  “Liar,” he growled.

  Like a flash of lightning, his hands dropped from my face and down my body. He picked me up and pressed me against the wall that I’d instinctively backed into. My legs locked around his waist as his mouth fell on mine.

  His kiss was possessive and passionate. I could taste the frustration he felt towards me earlier and his aggression showed in his kiss. Last night he’d been gentler. Now he stripped away my defenses, demanding my honesty.

  I kissed him back.

  “Say you want me,” he whispered against my lips.

  “I do, damn you.”

  He carried me to his room and tossed me on the bed, locking the door before rushing to me again. Our clothes were off in a matter of seconds, thrown to the floor without a second thought.

  Any second thoughts I might have had also hit the floor, as his kiss turned from an attack to a seduction. He bent over me, his mouth tracing a path down my neck to my breasts. A gasp escaped me as he sucked my nipple into his mouth.

  “Say it, Emma. I need you to say it.”

  His hot breath washed over me like an invisible brand, the sensation of his skin against mine making me shiver. Something let loose in me. My greed matched his, my hands exploring every inch of his skin I could reach.

  “I want you, I want you, I want you.”

  When he raised his head to meet my gaze his eyes were dark and wild with lust, but the grin on his face was pure Zach. “Told you so.”

  “You arrogant bastard,” I hissed, my back arching as his mouth dropped to my other breast.

  “Maybe so,” he murmured, “but I need you more than anything else in the world right now.” I let out a little yelp as he bit gently on my nipple, then released it. He looked me in the eye again. “If I act arrogant, it’s only because I have you.”

  Then he lowered his head, his gaze and hands roaming over me with reverence.

  He kissed a path down my body, circling my navel with his tongue. Then he lay between my legs, his large hands spreading my thighs open. I inhaled sharply when he sucked my clit into his mouth, then sighed as he teased me with little flicks of his tongue. When he nipped at me, I twitched with jolts of delight.

  “Oh god, more,” I begged him. My hands went to his head, my fingers stroking through his hair.

  Without abandon, he began dragging his tongue over me with long, wet, relentless strokes. My moans rose in pitch and volume with each pass of his greedy mouth, until he clapped a hand over my mouth to remind me that we weren’t alone.

  It was a shock to remember that we weren’t the only people in the universe, much less the house. In the back of my head I wondered how it so quickly came to this, why I was back on the bed I had left that morning, and how our conversation wasn’t even finished.

  But I wanted this just as much as he did and if I didn’t, I could’ve told him to stop and I knew that he would. Instead, I prayed this would never end.

  I wanted him to rise over me and fill me, own me with his cock, stretch me until I didn’t know I ended and he began.

  I wanted his groans echoing in my ears, along with the creaks of the bed as he pounded into me.

  If there was one thing that crossed my mind before I allowed myself to succumb to the blinding pleasure, it was the fact that I had truly crossed the line between an employer and an employee.

  The problem was, I couldn’t honestly care less at the moment.

  Zach

  I’d heard it said that time flies by when you’re enjoying your life. In my case, time seemed to be wearing a booster pack because I honestly didn’t know where the days—the weeks—went.

  Since Emma and I compromised on how we took care of Payton, each day was easier than the day before. I never thought I’d love my niece more than I already did but as we learned more about each other I wondered if there was a limit to that love. Now I understood a little of what Dean and Maggie felt. I used to tease my brother about how much he gushed about his daughter but now I did the same thing.

  Work had been easier, too. Coach didn’t give me that much hell anymore and my teammates had begun warming up to me. Again, it was due to Payton. She, Emma and Anderson paid me a surpr
ise visit one day and she somehow got two dozen professional athletes playing “Red Light, Green Light.” Almost instantly, everyone fell in love with her. Even Coach was bugging me about when she could come “help” with training again.

  If the days felt like they were speeding by then the nights with Emma felt endless.

  I was more than a little embarrassed to admit that I actually liked spending my evenings watching movies or playing board games with Payton and Emma. Instead of trying to duck out to a club or something, I preferred to tuck Payton in and watch her fall asleep as I read to her.

  I know—cue the vomit, right? I wouldn’t have been surprised to find birds chirping around my head and squirrels dancing at my fucking feet like I was living in a Disney movie.

  After Payton was asleep and I led Emma to our bedroom, though, there was nothing G-rated about what happened next.

  I honestly didn’t imagine that I would like the life I’d end up living in Denver. I’d enjoyed the fast-paced, party scene and bachelor life that Florida offered me. At first, I hated how I had been handed the responsibility to raise Payton but now, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I still grieved my brother and Maggie, but now I’m grateful that Dean listed me as Payton’s guardian.

  Because if I was asked to name one good thing about my life right now, Payton would be the answer.

  And Emma.

  “What’s with the dopey smile on your face?” Emma asked, snuggling closer to me. “And how are you awake before me?”

  Chuckling, I glanced at the clock. It was five in the morning. Somehow Emma always managed to wake up at that time without having an alarm clock. I drew circles on her bare shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

  “I woke up at around four and couldn’t go back to sleep,” I said.

  She kissed my shoulder and then propped her head up with her arm. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders in wavy locks, her blue eyes bright and her lips swollen and enticing. I leaned close and kissed her.

  It was another twenty minutes before I let her out of bed. Emma smiled back at me as she stood up and searched for her clothes. I sat up in bed, admiring the view.

  “Were you going to get Payton’s school supplies today?” I asked her.

  Emma nodded as she slipped on her panties. “Yep. You want to come?”

  “Sure.”

  When she pulled on my shirt, which fell to her thighs, my body tightened. I reached over and tugged on the hem.

  She looked down at me. “What?”

  “You are so goddamn sexy.”

  “Zach…” A blush bloomed on her cheeks.

  “I mean it.” There was something about seeing her in my clothes that was a huge turn-on. It was probably some primal, caveman-type instinct. My hand went up the shirt to tease at the edge of her panties.

  “Noooo,” she moaned, but her body swayed closer to me as I slipped a finger under the elastic and found her hot, damp center.

  “Yes.”

  Her eyes darkened to navy as she looked down at me. “I have to get up and go to the couch before Payton wakes up,” she protested.

  “Then we’d better be quick and quiet.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Two things that you suck at.”

  “Wow, Emma. Way to make a man feel inadequate.”

  “Believe me, you are not—gasp—inadequate.”

  Two of my fingers were now buried deep in her. “I can do quick and quiet,” I promised. “Come closer.”

  She bit her lip, eying me with suspicion, but her hips tilted toward me. I curled my fingers inside her, like I was beckoning her back to my bed.

  “Oh my god,” she cried out.

  “Now who’s being loud?”

  Emma reached out to playfully slap me on the shoulder, but instead ended up clutching on to me as she rode my hand to orgasm. As she flopped onto the bed again, panting, I looked over at the clock.

  “See? Six minutes, and I didn’t say a fucking word. Now you, on the other hand—”

  “Oh, shut up.” Her voice was muffled by the blanket she’d fallen face first into. When she lifted her head and looked back over her shoulder at me, her eyes were bright and her cheeks pink. “Now I have to change my underwear again.”

  I said nothing, just sat up against the headboard and reached under the sheet for my aching cock. My eyes squeezed shut briefly as I wrapped my fist around it. When I opened them, Emma was kneeling in front of me on the bed with a hungry expression on her face. Her gaze flickered between the sheet bunched at my waist and the old alarm clock on the bedside table.

  “Six minutes is the time to beat, huh?”

  Her voice made me harder, if that was possible. She pulled back the sheet, then lowered her head over me.

  “Oh fuck, baby. I love your hot, little mouth.”

  Apparently, we couldn’t risk a morning quickie, because we knew that Payton could bust into the room, but we were okay with doing time trials for mutual sexual favors. Either way, it would be hard to explain if we were interrupted.

  I let out a moan as her tongue slid over me, close to the edge already.

  Maybe it was how my arousal built up while I pleasured Emma or maybe it was the heart-rattling risk of getting caught, but it didn’t take long for me to come down her pretty throat. Soon, I lay there panting with my eyes closed, trying to recover.

  “I win,” she whispered in my ear.

  “I think,” I said drowsily, “that says more about me than about you.”

  She laughed as she left the room, and I fell back asleep.

  “Dance class is the last one for the day, right?” I asked, taking the cup of coffee that Emma handed me.

  “Mmmhmm.” Payton nodded, her mouth full of cereal, then looked to Emma for confirmation.

  “Yep.”

  “So, I’ll pick you two up then.” We’d gotten into a routine where Anderson would drop the girls off while I went to work, and then I’d pick them up after I was done. “Just text me when you’re ready.”

  While Emma showered quickly, Payton helped me clean up the breakfast table. Well, she watched me clean up while she told me every detail of the dream she’d had about going to Disneyland on Ethan’s bunkbed.

  “I’m just happy that there are no more nightmares,” I commented once Payton stopped talking.

  She grinned. “It’s because I’m not sad anymore.”

  My smile widened. “Really?”

  Payton’s eyes were bright with delight. “Yes! Well, I’m still sad that I don’t get to see Mommy and Daddy but I’m just happy that I have the two of you. Mommy always told me to be thankful with what you have, no matter what.”

  For the hundredth time, I silently thanked Maggie for doing such an amazing job raising her daughter for the past five years. I just hoped I could do the same thing and pick up where she and Dean left off.

  When I was ready to leave, I found Emma braiding Payton’s hair in the living room. “See you later, sweets,” I told my niece, kissing the top of her head. “That looks really pretty.”

  Then I turned to Emma, and I had to stop myself from kissing her as well. It was a reflex that was becoming harder to resist with every day—and night—that passed. “Bye, Emma. Take good care of her for me.”

  “Don’t I always?” Emma asked, biting her lip. So fucking tempting…

  “Oh, just kiss already.”

  Both Emma and I turned to see Payton smirking. “You two give each other the sneaky looks I see Daddy give Mommy and I know what it means.”

  My eyebrows rose. “What does it mean?”

  “That you want to kiss Emma!” Payton answered in a ‘duh’ tone.

  I bent down to stage whisper in Payton’s ear, “Do you think Emma wants to kiss me?” I snuck a sideways glance at the lady in question, who was turning pink and pretending not to hear us.

  “Hmmm.” Payton looked from me to Emma then back to me again. “You could try it and see?”

  “Good idea.”

  When she gave m
e a conspiratorial nod, I had to press my lips together to not bust out laughing.

  I turned to Emma, grabbed her face, and planted a big kiss on her lips. I rested my forehead against hers. “I’ll see you later, beautiful.”

  At the front door, I looked back to see Payton give me a big thumbs up.

  There was a bubble of happiness in my chest all the way to the field, something I hadn’t felt in… maybe never. Even training was going well, and we were getting ready for the season to start. Coach Matthews had been integrating me into practice and actually using my talents, which made him smart and me happy.

  Payton could be credited for some of that, too. She’d told him the last time she was here that she wanted to see me play and in order for me to play, I needed to practice. So, no more endless laps and days spent in the weight room and not on the field.

  Seriously, the kid was angel sent. I was reminded of that again later that afternoon in the locker room.

  “Hey, Pennington!”

  I’d just showered and was scrubbing a towel over my head when I heard my name. “Yeah?”

  “Bring Payton around, would ya?” One of the guys said as he pulled on a new t-shirt. “I told my kid about her and she wants to meet her.”

  “Uh, okay.” I’d never set up a play date before. Emma usually handled that stuff.

  “I know, I sound like a fucking soccer mom,” he said with a chuckle. “But the truth is that players’ kids don’t make friends so easy. It’s not the kids—it’s the parents.”

  I nodded, understanding.

  “Brianna’s coming for a visit on Friday afternoon so if you bring Payton with you, they could play.”

  “Sure.”

  As I left, I had a shit-eating grin on my face at the fact that I’d just done something downright… parental. I felt proud—like I’d turned a corner or something.

  Dean was probably up in heaven, laughing his ass off at me.

  Now I just had to pick up Payton and Emma from dance class and go buy school supplies. I hadn’t told Emma, but I was kind of stoked about it. As a kid I’d loved picking out new binders and lunchboxes and all that shit. The last time I’d done something like that, I’d been with my big brother. Now I’d get to do it with his daughter.