FALSE START (Gods of the Gridiron Book 2)

by Shanna Swenson

  No, they needed some way to expel their stress; sex was what should be doing it, but Brett was holding back. Madi understood that, too. Hunter wasn’t even cold in the ground yet, and Brett felt like he’d swooped in on the “damsel in distress.” She got it, but that didn’t mean her body wasn’t aching for the loving she knew he could give her. The way his mouth had possessed hers, the way his hands had moved over her, the way his fingers had dominated her body; she was dripping wet at the prospect of having him. And as she moved past him while he bench-pressed an impressive amount of weights and huffed out, she made her mind up.

  She watched his eyes linger on her ass, scantily clad in a pair of bike shorts and when he looked up, his eyes sought hers as he re-racked his barbell and rose. She could have moaned aloud at how the shiny, sweaty muscles in his arms and his chest rippled with the movement. His masculine strength called to every cell in her feminine body. She wanted to rip his clothes off him and succumb to his domination in any way he wanted to take her.

  She made her move. She turned and began to pull her shirt over her head, revealing the sports bra beneath, then she began removing that too. He inhaled sharply as she threw it aside and moved toward him. When she stopped directly in front of him, she peeled the tight shorts off her frame and stepped out of them, watching his eyes stop at the delta of her thighs. He licked his lips as if he could remember what she tasted like; it made her mouth water.

  She moved to straddle the bench and held his gaze for a moment before her hands moved to the hem of his shirt. She had it up and over his head and thrown to the side in a matter of seconds. Then her mouth descended to his as her hands moved to stroke his damp muscles. He groaned hungrily, and her sex tingled in anticipation. She felt her womanhood oozing want as his hands moved to her back and pulled her closer. They kissed like they were crazed, starving for one another as their tongues fought for control.

  “Oh, Brett. Mmm.” Madi whimpered as his mouth moved to her throat, and her hand fell to grip his hard member, held captive within his shorts.

  “Oh God, Madi. Shit. That feels so damn good, baby girl.”

  She struggled with the hem of his pants and grunted when she couldn’t get it down like she wanted, getting a chuckle out of him.

  “What’s the matter, my queen? Can’t get to what you want?” The smirk on his face turned her on even more.

  “You know what I want, now stop stalling.” She moved a hand through the wide leg of his shorts and cupped his scrotum, getting a hiss from him. Ha, victory!

  “Mmm.” He took her lips again and squeezed her breast while she stroked his sex to its full potential, feeling triumphant. She was going to have him. Finally. “Tell Zeus what you want.” Brett’s brow rose, his lips puckered, and Madi saw the prize—so close.

  “Oh, mighty Zeus,” she cooed. “I want you in my mouth.” She licked her lips slowly, watching his eyes as they darkened and he growled, a hungry lion about to devour his prey. “I want to taste your want for me. I want to take you deep down my throat.”

  Then suddenly she was thrown backward, her breath whooshing out of her chest. His big palm cupped the back of her head as his tongue licked her from her ear to her jawline, and she shivered at how much she wanted him inside her.

  “My queen will always get what she wants.”

  Madi gasped as she was pulled upright and watched in awe as Brett stood and began jerking his shorts down. Her eyes settled on his impressive manhood, jutting up at her eagerly, as she went to her knees before him. She wanted nothing more than to pleasure him as he’d pleasured her not so long ago, but she wasn’t so sure she was good at this. She’d only done it to one other man—what if she was bad at it? She hesitated so long she was sure Brett would give up on her, but he had the patience of Job as he watched her battle within herself.

  His hand moved into her hair, and he gripped her ponytail in his fist and twisted, pulling taut. “Are you intimidated by the size of your king, Hera?”

  Afraid, no? Turned the fuck on? Hell yes! She hesitated no longer as her tongue delicately licked the crown of him. He shivered, and his head fell back. OMG, I did that? Yes. I did that! The encouragement spurred her on as her lips encircled the tip of him and sucked gently.

  “Oh, shit,” Brett swore as he gazed down at her, his eyes watching hers as she looked up at him. “You’re so damn sexy with my cock in your mouth, Sunflower.”

  Again, her confidence soared, and her hand came up to the base of him, squeezing as her mouth moved, taking his shaft slowly down her throat. She relaxed, relaxed her jaw, relaxed her hesitations.

  “Oh, my…” he trailed off as his body quaked and his eyes closed. “Madi, Jesus, your mouth, baby. Holy…” She left him speechless as her mouth and tongue and hand moved simultaneously to love his manhood—the way a queen loved her king, the way she’d been longing to since that night in his bed days ago. She moved a hand to cup his scrotum and soon, he was attempting to pull back, but she held him fast. Her hands moved to his ass in a death-grip, her head moving as his hips thrust. “Madi, please? I’m gonna…” he trailed off again as he groaned in climax, pumping into her as his grip tightened in her hair. He gasped, and groaned, and shuddered as he continued to thrust into her mouth, spilling his seed deep down her throat. “Oh, oh, God, baby.”

  “Mmm,” she moaned as she continued to suck and stroke until he finally stopped her and pulled back, quaking. “Was that ok?” she asked and wiped at her mouth.

  “Ok?” he smirked. “What do you think, my queen? You had me literally sputtering.”

  Madi grinned deviantly. “I did, didn’t I?”

  His smirk soon turned into a frown. Uh oh, serious Zeus was back—and gripping her ponytail again. Her sex clenched. “Is that funny, Hera?”

  “No, my king.”

  “I think you should suffer for your mockery, you naughty little goddess.”

  “Mmm, what did my king have in mind?” Madi purred, and Brett all out growled, his cock jerking to life again, making wetness drip down her legs.

  Madi gasped as she was pulled to her feet and cradled in his arms. He took the stairs two at a time, Madi swooning between want and excitement.

  He practically threw her on the bed and moved to his drawer of secrets. Madi gaped as he brought out a leather collar with a chain leash…and her dildo. “Brett! Where—? How did you…?”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t leave your toys laying around, my sweet. They might be used against you.” His brow went up, and she gulped in anticipation, the thought of having him fucking her with her own vibrator made her insides flutter. “Now, where were we?” He put his hand to his chin in thought then smirked again. “Ah, yes, I remember now.” He dropped the sex toy to the bed. He opened the collar, wrapped it around her throat, and clasped it shut. “Now, lay down like a good girl and spread your legs.”

  “What if I don’t wanna be a good girl, Zeus?” She brought her finger to her mouth, feeling naughtier than she ever had in her life.

  Brett’s face contorted into something sinister, and Madi’s tummy fluttered in desire once again. She loved this side of him. How had she never known he was such a dominant alpha male? How had she never known this side of herself? What the hell was he doing to her? And why was she loving every second of it?

  “Well then, darlin’, you’ll be spanked if you disobey your king. Do you defy me?”

  Mmm… God, yes! She wanted to defy him. She’d never been spanked, and the thought of it turned her ravenous for him. Her brow went up as he gripped the chain of the collar and pulled it taut. “Mmm,” she moaned as his finger trailed her body, going from her breast to her side, to her ass.

  “Turn and bend over,” he coaxed. “I’ll show you the penalty for defiance.”

  Madison obediently turned and bent over. She felt his body press into hers from behind, feeling his erection digging into her ass, yearning to have him buried deep. She wanted to beg for him to do so, then felt his thick finger enter her and gasped on a mo
an.

  “Mmm, so wet… You make my mouth water, Sunflower.”

  His big palm cupped her head, and he pushed it gently, down to the pillow. She jutted her ass out as his finger thrust in deeper.

  Suddenly, he pulled it out, and she felt his palm smack her ass cheek. The bite was as erotic as painful; she gasped even as she moaned in bittersweet pleasure. Another smack came before she felt the head of her toy being pushed gently inside her. “Oh, God,” she whimpered and reached for Brett’s thigh, grasping and digging her nails into his muscular quad. His hand reached around her leg, and his fingertips moved to the aching bud between her thighs. He began to use the dildo on her, pushing it in and pulling it out, moving it faster and deeper inside her, eliciting strangled cries from her before turning it on to vibrate. “Mmm,” she whined as he spanked her again and gripped her ass hard as he fucked her with her vibrator.

  “Does that feel good, naughty girl?”

  She responded with gasps and moans as the rhythm increased inside her and his finger tortured her wet folds.

  Suddenly, he pulled the toy out, and she felt his mouth sucking at her aching flesh. The vibrator moved to her clit, where he stroked it ever so lightly, then tapped it against her flesh, “spanking” her with it.

  “Oh, oh my God,” she whimpered then screamed as her orgasm came violently upon her.

  Before she could even come down off her high, she was being pulled up and flipped over onto her back, Brett moving to the head of the bed, on his knees. He opened her legs, sliding a hand down her inner thigh, and she gasped. She felt the leather tighten around her neck as he gripped the chain, and he began to tap the cold metal gently against her swollen folds. He moved forward slightly to straddle her face as the dildo moved back inside her. She gripped his erect shaft tightly in her fist and stroked him as she tilted her head back, sucking the head of his member into her mouth.

  “Oh, my sweet goddess. You sure know how to please your king.”

  She moaned around his shaft as he turned the vibrator on high and went to town on her.

  Soon, she was gasping and groaning in pleasure as her climax came once more. He followed, thrusting against her sucking mouth as he grunted and spasmed.

  After they caught their breath, he pulled the vibrator from within her and turned it off as she leaned her head back against his thigh, exhausted.

  “Did I wear you out, Sunflower?” he smirked, and her eyes looked up as he stroked her cheek with a knuckle.

  She attempted a nod, and he moved off her, coming to her side to kiss her lips.

  “You cum a lot,” Madi said bashfully.

  “I do, huh?” He seemed pleased by this news. “More than a mouthful?”

  She nodded. “I just find it surprising. I didn’t say I have a problem with it,” she confessed.

  “I mean I am Zeus, just sayin’.” He shrugged, and she elbowed him. He laughed loudly and pulled her into his chest, kissing her breathlessly. “Thank you,” he said when he pulled back. “I needed that.”

  “Touché, monsieur.”

  “Hmm, talk French to me, mademoiselle.” Brett went in for her neck then, licking, kissing and sucking, getting giggles from her before he planted his lips back to hers. He kissed her slowly, languidly, pulling her desire back with his ineptly skilled tongue. “I think I like the French kisses the best, myself,” he quipped and fondled her breast, getting a moan out of her. “Mmm, mademoiselle likes them too, I see.”

  Madi laughed. “Mademoiselle likes everything you do to her, handsome.”

  He smiled but then his smile faded suddenly. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” she asked and cupped his cheek.

  “Last night.”

  She pulled her brows in, not understanding what he meant.

  “You were upset before you went upstairs.”

  “That wasn’t you. That was me, feeling sorry for myself.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  “You said we weren’t doing that anymore, remember? Apologizing to one another.”

  “I did, didn’t I? Ok, let’s start that over again.” He gave her a big smile, and she swooned. God, she was so in love with him.

  She pulled him in for another sexy kiss that lasted longer than the last one before he pulled back.

  “Madi, I’m going to the gravesite.”

  Madi’s brows went up. “Oh? You want me to join you?”

  He was shaking his head. “I need to go alone. I need to talk to my best friend.” When Madi pouted, he corrected, “My other best friend.” He winked and grinned, kissing her pout away.

  When he moved his tongue in, she forgot all about his indiscretions and moaned before she pulled away, running her hands down his chiseled torso. “Go, get things off your sexy chest. Because mademoiselle will be impatiently waiting for your return.”

  Brett smirked. “Oh, really? Hasn’t that greedy girl had enough yet?”

  Madi’s brow went up and a braver side of her surfaced. “You haven’t seen a greedy girl yet, my king.”

  “Mmm, I can’t wait to see what Hera has in store for me.”

  Brett was solemn as he approached the grave. It was a clear and beautiful day, almost June now and he felt an ache hit his gut, the nagging guilt that he couldn’t repress no matter how many days passed.

  The mound was still slightly raised, now covered in grass where the last time there was fresh dirt atop it. Flowers sat in vases, brilliant colors and various kinds, perched on the base of the headstone.

  Seeing Hunter’s name carved into the stone sent daggers through Brett’s belly; it halted him in his tracks. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d come by here and hadn’t stopped; it was on the way to the complex, but he hadn’t had the balls to face the reality.

  Birds called overhead, butterflies flew, and the clouds rolled all while Brett felt like his life had stopped. It was a strange feeling.

  Finally, Brett squatted and touched the headstone, a cold shiver running down his spine.

  “Hi, I’m Hunter Thomas.” The young, spry receiver stated, shaking Brett’s hand. He was a transfer from the University of South Carolina, and rumor had it he was really good.

  “Brett McFadden, good to meet ya.”

  “Oh, a fellow southern boy, huh? Where you from?”

  “Tate, Georgia. You?”

  “Charleston, South Carolina.”

  “Welcome to UGA, buddy.”

  “Thanks man, I appreciate it. Good to be here.”

  “You’ll love it. It’s a great school, great team.”

  “I’ve heard.” The smile that graced the young man’s face looked playful. He was almost as tall as Brett but leaner, less broad. His eyes were a light brown, hair a dark brown, and he had a deeper tan than Brett’s. “Say—you got one hell of a cannon, Cap.”

  “Thanks.” Brett was proud of his arm; it was gonna make him a starter this year. The scouts would be coming around soon, and he aimed to get seen.

  “You must work out,” Hunter smirked and shoved at him, getting a laugh out of Brett.

  “Oh, you a jokester, huh?”

  Hunter nodded. “Hell, life’s too short to be too serious. Don’t you agree?”

  Brett shrugged. Sure, but a man had to be serious in their sport, if he wanted the pros.

  “Damn, who the hell is that?” Hunter’s head motioned over to where Madi stood, talking to her fellow cheerleaders.

  She was gorgeous today, as always, clad in her daisy dukes and a tight tank top that accentuated those perfect breasts of hers. He should know, he’d felt them for himself days ago. The wind caught her golden-blonde hair, and she pulled it back into a ponytail, waving over at him as she caught his eye. He could feel his body floating on a cloud as he waved back, he was swooning.

  “Dude,” Hunter nudged him, awakening him from his reverie. “Who is that? She’s fine as hell.”

  Brett immediately scowled.

  “What? That your girlfriend? Sorry, man, bu
t she is.” Hunter blushed.

  “Her name’s Madison Taylor.”

  “Mmm, maybe I’ll have you introduce me to her later, huh?”

  “Easy, Romeo. Go set up. I’m gonna make you a target first. Let’s see what you got, alright?”

  “Alrighty there, gunslinger,” Hunter gave him a hick accent and moved to set up at the line. “The name’s Hunt by the way, Cap, and I’m about to blow your mind with my moves.” Hunt gave a wink and puckered his lips.

  Brett rolled his eyes even as he called for the snap.

  The memory of that day burned hot into Brett’s mind, and tears ran down his face as he recalled how well-matched they’d been from day one—the QB and his receiver. They’d had a connection, friends from the get-go—that was until Hunt had met Madi and Brett’s hopes and dreams were dashed in an instant. The young man whom Brett considered a friend suddenly became his enemy and he didn’t even know it, not for years to come.

  Brett wished he had his time to do over again. He would’ve introduced Madi as his girlfriend, and that would have been that; but he’d hid his true feelings. Instead of discussing what happened after the party, he’d avoided the conversation all together, too scared to find out the truth.

  The fact of the matter was: he’d been fearful Madi’s bold actions had been a drunken reaction—not a representation that she loved him—and he couldn’t have tolerated it if that had been true. He should’ve known their magnetism went far beyond that.

  Either way, he’d rather have gotten a pissed Madi, who would’ve gotten upset with him for claiming her as his girlfriend, than to allow Hunter to swoop in and take her away from him as he’d done.

  Now, Brett was left with the pang of regret that flooded his entire soul.

  “Dammit, Hunt, I’m sorry. I’m fucking sorry it happened. I’m sorry I was driving your damn car, and you were the one to die because of it. I’m sorry I took your life. I’m sorry that I can’t move on because I feel horrible about it all. You would still be here if it wasn’t for me!” He was bawling like a baby now. He stood and began to pace. “I’m sorry that I’m in love with your wife, and I always have been, God help me, but I can’t apologize for how she makes me feel. How amazing it feels actually being with her, touching her, kissing her. I need some sign that you’re ok with all this. I know what you said on your death bed. I know you told me to take care of her, to give her babies, to love her like you couldn’t but…