False Start (Mavericks #1)

by Julianna Marley

  After a morning run and sneaking into the shower with Liv, he had shown up to the voluntary meeting to review some standard plays with the new players before mini-camp began in a few days. Full blown training camp was a mere three months away and he was already itching to get back to the grind. To leave a lot of grit and spit on the field all day long. But for as pumped as he was for the season, he was also glad that he still had a few more months left to spend with Liv and the girls.

  Uninterrupted.

  Wrapping up the review, Griffin excused them giving his customary ordinance about keeping in shape so he didn’t have to coach a bunch of overweight barbarians on his field come August. Heading to the weight room, Jax checked his phone grinning like a damn fool reading a text from Liv. He had sent her a message before his meeting letting her know that he was still thinking about their hot little quickie that morning before the girls woke up for school.

  Liv: Me too. I kind of wish I could just copy and paste us back into bed ;)

  Chuckling, he slipped his phone back into his shorts. Opening the heavy glass door, the Mav’s wave logo etched in the middle, he spotted Trevor, Shay and Myles lifting in the corner of the gym. He had some time to fit in a small workout since Liv had mentioned she was going to be caught up all day in the office again planning the annual draft party for the rookies; the same rookies who hadn’t yet learned that when coach called an early meeting, that their asses had better be well rested and prepared. He was glad she was planning the party this year. He hadn’t attended last year, it had been too soon to see her again since leaving. Hearing from Chelsea that Liv hadn’t even planned nor gone to the party had given him another reason to feel like a complete asshole. But this year was different. This year they would be there together, celebrating another awesome event thrown by his incredible wife.

  In the middle of his dumbbell reps, Trevor glanced up from the bench, wiping his chin against shoulder.

  “What’s up?”

  “Man, Griffin was extreme today,” Jax shook his head, loosening up his arms. “Damn man needs to calm the hell down.”

  “He’s wound up because it’s our year, baby!” Myles yelled, clapping his hands furiously. Letting out some screams of encouragement, other team members inside the gym laughed and joined in. The usually animated giant was even more amped up than usual and Jax assumed it must have something to do with little Miss Charlotte.

  “You’re just worked up because you finally got someone to sleep with your fat ass,” Shay slapped Myles on the back leaning on the barbell.

  Taking a swig of water, the bottle nearly crumbling in his hands, Myles chuckled, “Is someone a little salty because he came home with blue balls?”

  Flipping him the finger, Shay picked up a dumbbell turning towards the mirror beginning his reps. Sitting down on the bench, Jax spotted his agent, Mike Brody coming through the door across the gym. It wasn’t unusual for Brody to come looking for him or anyone else in the training room, the man had so many damn clients inside the Mavericks he had even relocated his office inside the teams’ corporate offices giving the players easy access to him whenever they needed. Jax hadn’t been happy with his previous agent who had been shady as all hell and after meeting Brody when he came to the Mavs, he respected the man’s work ethic and honesty. Brody was one hell of a shark when it came to contracts, endorsement deals and negotiations and he knew that Brody would look out for him in Carolina. And he had.

  Re-enacting Trevor and Shay’s ridiculous pool side karaoke performance from the past weekend to some other teammates, Myles had the other guys laughing, the roars filling the gym, before they came to a halt. Lifting his head, he locked into a pair of brutal brown eyes walking alongside Brody. The one person who brought nothing but trouble was now moving towards him, the familiar smirk resting on her thin face. The same smirk that had him wanting to grit his teeth. The one person who nearly destroyed his marriage and reputation simultaneously.

  Vanessa Flynn.

  Traveling further into the gym, she took pleasure in the rookies’ admiration, her long black hair, now cut short to her shoulders. She hadn’t changed all that much since the last time he had seen her, the same chemically infused lips entering the room before she did. How he ever thought that he could have proposed to that woman still blew his mind. Granted, she hadn’t been as unhinged back when they had been together in college as she proved to be now, or maybe she had been, and he was too messed up after the death of his mother to realize it, but either way, he was still considering getting his head examined.

  “My man.” Brody grinned, grabbing Jax’s hand, giving him a hard back slapping hug. Mike Brody was passionate about two things. Football and money. And because those two things went hand in hand in the NFL, Brody was always excited. Of course, being his biggest client, he also knew that Brody laid it on a little thicker from time to time to keep his biggest money maker happy. But showing up with the owner’s daughter, was not making him happy. Not one bit.

  “Hello, Captain,” Vanessa said coyly. Locking eyes on him she leaned forward reaching for a hug.

  Stepping backwards, he scoffed looking across the gym. This woman had a lot of nerve thinking that they were going to sit and chit chat like old times. Staring at him a moment she sighed dramatically looking over at Brody, the corner of her mouth pulling up.

  What is she up to?

  The guys were quiet, resuming their workout behind him, but he knew good and well that they were keeping an ear out, no doubt for an explanation as to why in the hell their agent had just walked in here with the one person on the planet who could set their quarterback off.

  “What the hell is she doing here?” Jax glared at Brody avoiding Vanessa’s turned up nose. Brody knew damn well all the trouble she had caused him over the years, the drama she carried with her even back when they had been in college, and the overall complicated history between them. Hell, Brody had spent more days than Jax could recall settling him down after she had pulled her ridiculous stunts.

  “Listen, Jax,” Brody urged putting his hands up. “I know what you’re going to say and I understand,” he added. “Believe me, I understand. But business is great right now and I’m really busy, so Flynn asked me as a personal favor to let Vanessa help me out in the office. Temporarily.”

  The familiar sense that Vanessa had a completely different agenda began gnawing at his gut.

  “You’re shitting me, right?”

  Smiling, Vanessa watched Brody explain himself as if she was interested, but she wasn’t. He knew better.

  “Jax, I know that the history between you two is….” Brody trailed off carefully.

  “Fucked up?”

  “Psychotic?”

  “Bat shit crazy?”

  His friends offered, finishing Brody’s sentence; her smile slipping.

  Lowering his voice, Brody moved towards him. “Listen, I’m in a tight spot right now, brother. You know I can’t say no to Flynn,” he pleaded, nearly begging to cut him a break. Man to man, he had to respect that Brody was in a tight spot and didn’t want to rock the sweet deal he had going with the owner of the team, but what he also didn’t appreciate was having Vanessa anywhere near him. And he certainly didn’t want her anywhere near his family. She was unstable as far as he had seen, witnessing some of it when they had been together, but never to the caliber of what she had achieved over the past few years.

  “She’s just going to be in the front office and I promise that she will have zero communication with you. I just wanted to give you the respect of being the first to know, Jax. You have my word, you’re off limits. You, your family, your personal information, all of it.”

  Cutting a quick glance to Vanessa, his jaw twitched looking back down at Brody.

  “I don’t want to see her again.”

  Liv came to the complex frequently doing business and planning events and the last thing he wanted was Vanessa anywhere near Liv.

  “Absolutely,” Brody agreed.

&nb
sp; “And you keep her away from my family.”

  As the wheels of the jet touched down in Charleston, Jax wanted two things, a hot shower and to collapse into bed. It had been a rough game against Green Bay and after taking the six point loss and a sack from a wound up defensemen, he was beat up and drained. Thankful that the afternoon game had allowed enough time to travel back home after post-game interviews, which meant a good night’s sleep.

  At the seatbelt light sounding off, he stood reaching for his bag out of the carry-on compartment, graciously shaking hands with the pilot of the team’s jet. Coming down the stairs of the tarmac, he shook his offensive coach’s hand promising to come in early on Wednesday to discuss some errors before their big game against Pittsburgh. Waving a hand to Trevor across the lot, he threw his bag in the backseat and got into his Escalade. The weather in Charleston had dropped since he had left, or maybe his hands were just still thawing out from being in Wisconsin for over twenty-four hours as he put the heat on low to warm up the car. Digging his phone out of the pocket of his suit pants, he grinned to himself seeing a text from Liv.

  He missed her.

  They had only been dating for five months, but he already knew he had found the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Well, he had discovered that on their first date, but in an attempt not to freak her out, he did whatever he needed to do from that point forward to make her happy because if he had it his way, they would have been living together and married already. There was a time when he thought he was meant to be alone. With no family and his only friends consisting of his team members, he had spent every holiday with Trevor and Chelsea, resigning himself to the fact that his ex-girlfriend had been right. That nobody would want such a scarred man. But Liv changed all of that. For some crazy reason he didn’t want to question, she loved him. And she was all he needed. All he wanted.

  And he was ready to make her his wife. Often thinking about her reaction to a proposal while driving to practice, on a long flight to a game, or when she was curled up into his side at night, the possibility of her turning him down scared the shit out of him. They had only been together a short time, but he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. Even if she did turn him down, he wouldn’t stop anyway until she saw it his way.

  Looking down at his phone, he read her text.

  Liv: I’m so tired.

  He hadn’t seen her in over a week, which was too long in his opinion. She had three weddings to run that weekend alone and had been working like a machine since the day he met her. He was happy her business was doing so well, especially being fairly new, but he missed her. Her and that smile he knew would warm him regardless of their loss earlier. She had messaged him earlier saying that she had a few chances to sneak into the bar inside the hotel to check the score and that regardless of the loss, he had a pretty solid game, but that she wanted to kick Palmer’s ass for letting him get sacked. He loved when she talked football and that she was open to learning as much about the game as she could just for him.

  Putting the car in drive he quickly texted her back.

  Jax: Stay at my house tonight after the wedding. I’m closer to the hotel.

  Easing onto the interstate, he turned on the radio seeing his screen light up again.

  Liv: Why? Do you need me to stroke your ego after your loss?

  He laughed.

  Jax: No. But I do have something else you could stroke ;)

  Liv: You’re shameless.

  Jax: Then come over and teach me some manners, Miss Moore.

  Liv: Well I guess somebody has to ;)

  Jax: I’m gonna jump in the shower when I get home. I’ll see you soon, beautiful.

  Smiling, he tossed the phone back in the cup holder, getting off the exit. Driving down the unusually quiet roads since it was past ten o’clock on a Sunday, he pulled into his neighborhood and into the garage. Knowing Liv wouldn’t get to his house for at least another half hour or so, he had enough time to shower, shave and wait for her. Maybe he would make her a snack, knowing full well she hadn’t stopped long enough to eat something all day. Walking into the house, he flipped on the lights, throwing his bag on the ground. His house was big. Too big for just one person, but when Liv was over, it felt like a home. Warm and welcoming. Closing the door behind him, he left it unlocked for her.

  Snatching a Gatorade from the refrigerator, he looked over the mail he had grabbed on his way in, reading over a flyer for a local band festival in their area. Maybe he would take Liv if she could manage a day off from work. Slowly climbing the stairs to his bedroom past the wrought iron banister, he kicked his shoes off, loosening his tie and hanging his suit back up in his closet. Grabbing a towel, he moved into the bathroom turning on the waterfall shower. Stepping into the hot water that felt like heaven, he allowed the water to run over his sore and beaten muscles, as he noticed a nice size bruise forming on his left side from being sacked. He was going to kill Palmer at practice this week.

  After washing up and shaving, he got out of the shower, brushing his teeth in the fog of humid air inside the bathroom. He expected to be rushing Liv the second she walked through the door, wanting to get as clean as possible before he got dirty all over again. This time, with her. As exhausted as he was, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself seeing her for the first time in over a week. Walking out of the bathroom naked, he hung his head using the towel to dry his hair, stopping in the middle of the room at the sight of clothes all over the floor. Grinning to himself, he knew that when he took the towel off his head he would find his gorgeous girlfriend naked and ready for him, making him hard just at the thought of it. She was a sneaky one. He hadn’t even heard her come in. Slowly slipping the towel from his head, he looked in his bed, his heart stopping.

  It wasn’t Liv.

  It was Vanessa.

  Pulling into Jax’s driveway, Alivia was grateful that the bride and groom were super anxious to start their wedding night early and that Ross insisted on tying up the loose ends of the evening. She had the best assistant in the world, but it had become clear that she would soon need to bring in more hands to help. She and Ross were working around the clock and any free time she had been able to salvage, she spent with Jax. But it still didn’t feel like enough time. And she missed him. Terribly.

  Canceling dinner with him Thursday night before he took off to Green Bay had left her in a mood. After her bride insisted she attend the final gown fitting and an early morning meeting Friday, followed by two weddings on Saturday and his practices and leaving town, she hadn’t seen him at all. As tired as she was, she couldn’t stop thinking about hopping on him the second she got inside. Reading his text saying that he was going to jump in the shower hadn’t helped alleviate the urge to wrap her arms around his thick neck and spend the entire night securely sleeping against him, secretly hoping that he was still in the shower so she could slide inside and join him. His body was nothing she had ever experienced before, even after five months of being together, she was still discovering the amazing things he did to her, making her hot in anticipation as she grabbed her purse and the extra bag she kept in her car for the nights she slept over.

  Moving up the front steps, she paused at the white Lexus parked in front of the house. Digging for her keys she wondered who it could be at this hour on a Sunday night noticing the door was already partly open. Walking into the dark house, with the exception of the upstairs hallway, she closed the door, locking it behind her.

  “Jax?”

  Starting for the staircase, she paused at the first step, her heart picking up. Something was off.

  Grasping her cellphone tighter inside her palm, she gently walked up the staircase. Should she call the police? Inching closer to top of the stairs, she heard muffled voices, unable to make out a single word. Slowly reaching the top landing, she stepped over a black silk shirt and thin tan belt lying outside the door, her breath picking up.

  No. No, there was no way that her boyfriend was in there w
ith another woman. Jax was the most loyal man she had ever met, his intimidating physique and self-assurance unevenly matched with his gentle and protective nature. So there was absolutely no way he was being unfaithful. Right?

  Clenching the door handle, she squeezed her eyes shut, certain that whatever laid on the other side of the door had the power to change their relationship, permanently. Opening the door she more than expected to find them in the bed together, immediately filled with guilt that she suddenly had such little faith in him. Relieved that not only was he not in the bed, but he was yelling at the woman to get out while covering himself with a towel, she released a breath watching him furiously throw clothes at the woman. If she wasn’t so in love with him and had insecurities as to why a man like him wanted to be with someone like her, the sight of it all may have made her chuckle. But just a little.

  Relief washing over that she didn’t need to call the police, or at least she didn’t think she had to, she stood in the doorway unable to make of what was in front of her. Maybe she was so tired she was becoming delirious? Sensing her standing in the doorway, Jax stopped yelling, closing the distance between them in two long strides.

  “Liv,” he said, placing his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “Liv, baby, this is not what you think it is.”

  Her eyes darting between him and the very thin and extremely naked woman in his bed and back down to the clothes on the floor, she couldn’t move. What was she supposed to think? Jax looked furious, the woman looked satisfied and all she could do was stand there motionless.

  “Liv, sweetheart, look at me,” he ordered, coming down to her eye level, his jaw tightening. “I’m calling the police. She broke in here while I was in the shower.”