by Mandy Baxter
Emotion bloomed in his chest as she flashed him a wide smile. The expression was so honest and open that it made his breath catch and he wondered how he could have ever suspected that she was nothing more than another football groupie. He didn’t know her well, but Jase sensed that Avery wasn’t the type of woman to use a person for her own selfish reasons.
“Maybe we’re both perfect tens because we make a good team.” He might’ve been pressing his luck referring to them as a “we” but Jase didn’t care. “Sometimes even the best players have a shitty showing on the field because they’re just not compatible as teammates. You and I just play well together.”
“Mmm.” Her green eyes sparked with fire and Jase’s body responded, warming to her heated expression. “I have to admit, we do play well together…”
Jase grabbed Avery and pulled her up into his lap. He cupped the back of her neck with one hand while the other skimmed down between her breasts to the hem of her shirt. His palm found the smooth flat skin on her stomach and Avery’s eyes became hooded as he ventured upward, cupping her bare breast in his hand and feathering over one pearled nipple with the pad of his thumb. She went liquid in his embrace, her body melting against his as her lips parted with shallow pants of breath.
He could stay here all night and simply pleasure her. Take in the sight of her furrowed brow, her teeth as they grazed her bottom lip, the flush that began to spread across her cheeks. Jase hiked up her T-shirt and bent his head to her breast, taking the dusky nipple into his mouth. He sucked deeply before drawing the taut peak between his teeth and nibbling. Avery moaned—a low, seductive sound that hardened his cock in an instant—and threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him against her.
“Jase … god … your mouth.” Avery’s words only stoked the fire of Jase’s lust. No matter how much he wanted to bury himself to the root in her slick heat, he had to restrain himself. Especially if he wanted to be worth a shit for tomorrow’s game. But just because he was forcing the torture of abstinence on himself, didn’t mean Avery had to suffer right alongside him.
As he continued to suckle her, Jase’s free hand found the waistband of her cotton shorts. He flirted with the elastic band for a moment, delving his fingers under the garment and then up her torso and around her belly button. Avery let out a whimper, thrusting her hips to meet his touch. He cupped her sex in his palm, stroking her through the fabric that was already damp with her arousal.
It was going to take an act of sheer will not to fuck her senseless at this point.
Avery reached between them and took his hand in hers, guiding him inside of her shorts. He slipped his fingers below the hemline, teasing the nest of curls and the slick wetness that clung to them. He dipped his forefinger between her already swollen lips and Avery bucked as he swept the pad of his finger over her clit. Then he broke the seal of his mouth from the tight point of her breast and circled the dusky nipple with his fingers, spreading her own sweet honey over her skin.
“Oh god,” she panted as he covered her with his mouth, licking the sweetness from her flesh.
He reached down and dipped his finger into her pussy again, repeating the motion of slathering Avery’s nipple with her own arousal. “You taste like clover honey,” he murmured against her flesh before lapping it all up. “So damned good.”
“Jase.” She trembled in his embrace, stomach muscles twitching and contracting with each light brush of his fingers. Avery let out a whimper as though she couldn’t push the words she wanted to say past her lips.
“What?” Jase reached down and eased her shorts down over her ass, taking her underwear with them. He repositioned them so that he was sprawled out on the couch, her body stretched out on top of his. Leaning up enough to strip off her shirt, he then guided one of her legs up until it was slung over the back of the couch, opening her up to him. With shaking hands, he stripped off his own shirt so he could enjoy the silky skin of her back pressed up against his chest. “What do you want, Avery?”
Her head fell back on his shoulders, the short strands of her dark hair like satin on his skin. “Don’t stop touching me, Jase.”
Avery craned her neck back and he leaned over, putting his mouth to hers. Their bodies fit together so well, her petite frame cradled by his much larger body. He reached around to fondle her breasts while his other hand returned to the slick flesh between her thighs. With one touch, she melted against him, their breaths becoming one as he continued to kiss her. Jase craved her body like a drug, couldn’t get enough of her sweet mewling cries as he circled the swollen knot of nerves at her core. No woman had ever had this effect on him.
Women came, they went. One-night stands, though admittedly, none of those encounters had ever lasted more than a couple of hours before he hightailed it and headed back home. He’d never burned with the need to have any one of them more than once. But the woman in his arms now was different. His gut pulled into a tight knot as the realization dawned that Jase might not ever get enough of Avery. Once, twice … Fifty times wouldn’t sate his hunger for her or quench his desire.
In just a couple of days, Avery had become as vital to him as water or air. “Come for me, sugar,” Jase murmured in her ear. She arched into his touch, reaching around to cup the back of his neck in her palm. “That’s it.” He laid his lips to her throat, rolled her stiff nipple between his fingers. “Let me hear you.” She cried out as he plunged one finger and then another into her tight channel. Adrenaline coursed through Jase’s body, his cock throbbing in his jeans. “Come for me, Avery. Now.”
* * *
The engine was running and the pickup was still in gear, but Jase couldn’t bring himself to put it in park and turn the damned key off. He just sat there in his garage, knowing he needed to take his ass inside and at the same time, wanting to race back to Avery’s apartment. Hands shaking, Jase gripped the steering wheel like it was the only thing keeping him anchored to the earth. It took an actual physical effort to finally put the truck in park and cut the damned engine. He was wound as tight as a fucking spring, his cock so hard it caused him discomfort. Being with Avery was supposed to be a release. A tension breaker meant to relax and focus him. But now, all he could think of was speeding back to her and fucking her into the early hours of the morning. He relived their moments together, reveled in the memory of her coming at his command and the way her pussy clenched his fingers, so tight. Her cries echoed in his ears, a plea for release that he’d been more than happy to answer one more time. His body was tense, his mind racing. He needed to come so badly, he hurt all over.
He needed her.
Instead of hitting the shower yet again and taking his ass to bed like he knew he should, Jase took a detour, bypassing the staircase as he made a beeline for his weight room. Too wound up to relax, sleep would be impossible if he didn’t do something to work Avery out of his system. And whereas the better option would have been to just jerk one off and call it a night, Jase knew that it wouldn’t sate him. His own goddamned hand was a poor substitute for the real thing. The only option at this point was to distract the stiff bastard between his legs with physical exertion.
Lifting seemed like a promising way to beat his body into submission. He traded out the bumper plates for something lighter since he wanted to wear himself down, not physically exhaust himself. It only took a moment to shuck his jeans and Jase settled onto the weight bench in nothing more than a pair of boxer briefs. The cold metal of the bar felt good in his palms and the weight as he hoisted the barbell up off the rest and high above his chest was a welcome distraction. He pumped the weight down on a slow inhale and back up on an exhale. Up, down. In, out. He let the sound of his breath channel his focus, the weight pressing down on him, clearing his mind of all distraction. If he didn’t get Avery out of his head, he wouldn’t be worth a shit tomorrow. His plan to use a little booty to break his bad-luck streak had totally fucking backfired.
Sweat beaded on his chest and trickled down his neck as Jase continue
d to pump the barbell up and down. Up and down, his once slow and measured breaths chuffing in and out of his chest. No amount of physical exertion would banish the memory of her, soft and willing in his arms, from his mind.
How could he possibly focus on his career right now when all he wanted was her?
EIGHT
“Jason, this is without a doubt the best game you’ve played all season. Maybe even your entire career. Can you tell us what brought on such a dramatic change?”
Jase stared into Erin Andrews’s expectant face, knowing she was waiting for his response, but his brain was calling up an answer that he didn’t want his mouth to deliver. “It’s the playoffs,” he finally said, flashing her a confident smile. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t giving a thousand percent on the field.”
“Well, it certainly showed,” she said as she pulled the microphone back to her mouth. “Your performance seems to improve with each game. You’re one win away from the division title and with the stellar teamwork between you and Carson Rader, you helped to move the Cowboys one step closer to a Super Bowl bid. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Jase cast a quick look toward the camera before heading for the locker room. Carson was still fielding questions from the press. Erin wouldn’t waste a second to snag him next. Jase was thankful for the distraction his teammate offered because right now there were only two things on his mind: taking a long hot shower, and getting to Avery ASAP.
Amid knocks to the shoulder and words of congratulations from his teammates as he passed, Jase hurried through the locker room and straight for the showers. Anticipation coiled in his stomach as hot water sluiced down his body. It helped to ease his sore and too tight muscles, but he wasn’t planning to linger under the spray for long. He’d been seeing Avery for three weeks now. Easily the longest relationship of his life. The euphoric high of being with her hadn’t lessened in the slightest. In fact, the more time he spent with her, the greedier he became for just another minute, one more hour of her time. If he had it his way, she’d be moved into his house by now.
“Blackwell’s got himself a pregame lucky charm,” someone remarked as though in answer to a question from the other room. “Wish I had a sweet piece of ass to give me a good-luck fuck before next week’s game.” Fucking Carson and his big mouth. Jase was going to kick his ass. He gossiped worse than a nosey old woman. “Hey, Jase, you wanna share? Give the rest of us some of that superpower pussy?”
His earlier anticipation congealed into anger. Cold and heavy like a boulder rolling around in his gut. Guys talked shit in the locker room. Period. And giving in to his urge to beat the piss out of some sorry fucker wasn’t going to do anything for his team’s cohesiveness. To the guys on the other side of the wall, Avery was nothing more than a faceless fuck. Another football groupie Jase was using to work off the stress of playoffs. But the depth of his feelings for her was his secret. One that he coveted and held close to his heart. He’d never felt this way about a woman before. There was a chance that maybe … Maybe he could love her.
Shit.
The once-famed playboy converted to monogamy? Stanger things had happened.
Catcalls and lewd remarks continued to drift to his ears from the locker room as Jase wrapped up his shower. If he hung around to listen to their bullshit, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from laying into someone. The team couldn’t afford any rash, hotheaded behavior right now. Too much hinged on Jase keeping a level head.
“Sorry man.” Carson turned on the nozzle next to Jase and stepped under the spray. “I never would have said anything if I had known they were going to give you so much shit.”
“Yeah?” Jase shook out his hair like a wet dog and reached for a towel. “They didn’t come up with ‘good-luck fuck’ on their own. I’m guessing you had something to do with that, too.”
Carson cringed as he began to lather up his hair and body. “You’ve got to admit, you’ve been playing like a goddamned all-star since you started seeing her. Coincidence?”
Jase didn’t know a single player who didn’t harbor a superstition or ten. Some guys wore the same socks—unwashed—for the entire season. Others didn’t shave. He’d played with a guy in college who never stepped out onto the field unless his girlfriend’s panties were tucked into his jock. And yeah, a lot of them boasted pregame sex rituals. Could Jase really be mad over his teammates’ shit talk? He’d gone after Avery in the first place with the single-minded purpose of getting her into bed to help end his unlucky streak. If the guys were calling her a good-luck fuck, he had no one to blame but himself.
“I know it started out that way with her.” Jase paused and breathed in a lungful of steam. “But it’s different now.”
Carson gave him a pointed look. “How so?”
Jase snatched a towel from a hook on the opposite wall and slung it around his waist. “Avery’s not like any other woman. She’s tough. Funny. She wants a career and is just as ambitious as I am. She just needs someone to help her realize how amazing she is.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Jase stopped midstep but didn’t bother to turn and face his so-called friend. “You’re playing like a hard-core bad ass, but it’s not because of some bullshit superstition. Do I think she has something to do with it? Yes. Because she’s changed you, man. For the better.”
Jase’s spine stiffened. He didn’t feel any different. Could she have really made such a huge impact on his life in such a short time?
“Your ass had better be at my party tomorrow tonight.” The sound of the shower turning off was preceded by the slap of Carson’s wet feet on the tile. “And you’d better bring her with you. No excuses.”
“Yeah,” Jase replied as he headed back toward the locker room. He knew that things had changed between him and Avery in the past few weeks, but damn. It must’ve been major if Carson could see it, too. Talk about scary. “I’ll see you then.”
* * *
“There’s something different about you.”
Avery kept her eyes on her saucepan and the béchamel sauce she was trying not to burn. “There’s nothing different about me.” Kristie had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m the same person I’ve always been.”
“No,” she said. “As a matter of fact, you’re not.”
Avery had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like the direction this conversation was headed. “Okay, since you’re so perceptive, how exactly have I changed?”
Kristie rolled her eyes as she whisked her white sauce. “You’ve got perma-grin. You’re skipping around like a Disney princess. And you haven’t burned, spilled, or broken anything in almost three weeks.”
“That’s not true.”
“Dude.” Kristie pointed her whisk at Avery for emphasis. “You aced your first attempt at hollandaise sauce this week without even batting a lash.”
Was it really so hard to believe that she could get something right on her first try? “So?”
Kristie’s blue eyes bulged. “Seriously? You know I love you, Ave, but you usually can’t get through a day without at least one klutzy moment. You’re like Cinderella post–glass slipper or something.”
Avery laughed. Okay, so klutzy was her middle name. But she hadn’t noticed any sort of Cinderella transformations in the past couple of weeks. “You’re crazy. Maybe I’m just growing out of my awkward phase.”
“Oh you totally have, and you have Jason Blackwell to thank for it.”
“I—”
“Don’t even try to argue with me, Avery. I’ve never seen you so head over heels for a guy before. You’re happy. Your confidence is soaring. And it’s awesome! Doesn’t hurt that he’s drop-dead gorgeous and rolling in money, either.”
“I don’t care about his money,” Avery replied, low.
“Oh, I know. Which is why it’s so obvious that you’re falling for him. You lurve him!”
Avery’s jaw hung slack. Did she love him? They’d only been hanging out for a few weeks and he’d yet to take he
r on an actual date. So far, they’d spent most of their hours together naked. Great sex wasn’t enough of a foundation to build a successful relationship on, was it? “I don’t love him,” she said after a moment. Admitting she had feelings for Jase would only open her up for heartache later when he decided he was through with her. “At least, I don’t think I love him.”
“Oh, I see,” Kristie said. “You’re just using him for sex, then?”
“I’m not using him for sex.” Avery grabbed a spoon to taste her béchamel sauce. She had to admit, it was pretty damned perfect. A first. “Jase is amazing. He’s easygoing and so humble. You’d never know he was sitting on a billion-dollar nest egg if you hung out with him. He’s so driven, too. His career means so much to him. He gives a hundred and ten percent all the time and he’s one of the most ambitious people I’ve ever met.” He’s gentle … she thought. Sweet. His touch was like a salve that made everything better. God, she really was lost to him, wasn’t she?
“Would it be so terrible if you did love him?” Kristie ventured.
“Of course not.” Avery could think of a million things worse than loving Jase Blackwell. He was down to earth. Funny. Sexy as sin. And she had to admit that she enjoyed spending time with him. “It’s just that a relationship with him wouldn’t be as simple as just him and me. I think I’d feel like I was in constant competition with his team and his fans. The media, too. I don’t know if I could handle the added stress of sharing him.”
Kristie smirked. “Sounds like you’ve put some thought into it. Are you saying you’re jealous of his adoring fans?”
“No.” Avery looked away. “Okay, maybe a little. What if he’s not interested in anything other than a casual fling? I mean, we haven’t even seen each other outside of my apartment yet.”
“It’s a little weird,” Kristie admitted. “But have you ever considered that he doesn’t like to go out? You’ve never had to fend off crowds of autograph hounds and groupies before. Maybe he just wants a little privacy?”
