by Teagan Kade
I can’t take my eyes off him. Keep my mind from misbehaving. I want him.
His body pressed against mine.
The familiar scratch of his facial hair against my cheek.
His mouth on mine and—
Kieran pulls me in for a kiss. There’s nothing mild or shy or even tentative about how his lips move against mine. The tip of his tongue gently presses against my lips. I part them, deepening the kiss. Kieran lets his bags of groceries fall to the ground.
Neither of us react or startle. We keep kissing, letting the world fall away until it’s only me and him.
That’s all that matters.
Kieran picks me up. Without pulling back for so much as a split second, he wrangles his keys out of his pockets. They jingle for what seems like an eternity until he finally manages to get the door open. I lose myself in his kiss, hardly noticing where we are until I open my eyes and find that we’re near the top of the stairs.
I kiss him harder.
Next thing I know he’s setting me down on top of his bed. The sheets are crisp, pulled tightly over his mattress. I dig my fingers into the plushy surface. Kieran studies me with that intensity of his. His gaze on my skin leaves a trail of fire in its wake.
Our eyes meet.
We linger.
Kieran peels off my leggings and panties while I pull my shirt over my head and unhook my bra. There’s this hunger written all over his face as his eyes feast on my naked body. I quiver all over, my pussy clenching hard with need.
Kieran lowers his face until he’s an inch away from my slit. I shake my head, sit up, and start to tear his clothes off. Gently but firmly, he stops me, and yanks it all off in record time.
His cock, deliciously thick and hard, twitches.
Hot.
Kieran runs his hands upward, starting at my ankles. When he reaches my knees, he pries my legs open, exposing my swollen, throbbing sex. His mouth descends upon me. Starting at the crest of my pussy, he flicks the tip of his tongue and traces a path to my molten core.
I grind myself against his face. Desire fuels my single-minded need to feel him inside me. I want to squeeze him, enjoy that cock fill my tight little pussy up and stretch me out until I’m good and raw.
Moans roll off my tongue, one after another, as Kieran sucks on my clit. I grab his hair with both hands and hold his face against my wet, slick heat. My hips sway up and down, rising to ride his face with wild abandon. I pull him up and swing my leg over his hips, forcing him down on the bed. He gives me a deliriously sexy smirk as he lies flat on his face. I tower over him and straddle his hip before shimmying up to sit on his face.
Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.
God, smothering Kieran with my pussy is the most dangerously addictive pleasure in the world.
I grind against his mouth. His tongue finds my slit and teases me briefly before he plunges it deep inside my core. I yell out, blinded by the sudden ecstasy that overtakes me. I bounce on top of him, longing for that sensation. That perfect feeling of complete fullness when he’s all the way in.
My legs start cramping.
“Harder.” I gasp. “Don’t stop.”
Kieran hovers near my clit. He laps his tongue at it fiercely, bringing with it a wave of pleasure that sends showers of sparks from my pussy all the way to my toes. I cry out as I feel my release getting closer, building with immense and all-consuming pressure. Kieran keeps going, strong and steady.
“I’m gonna—”
I don’t get it out.
My vision blurs as a seismic orgasm erupts through me.
It seems endless, pulsing and pulling, gripping and releasing until I’m not even sure I’m still on planet Earth or somewhere up in the stratosphere looking down at my wasted body.
Breathing heavily, I begin to recover. I scoot down, stopping only when I get back to straddling Kieran’s hips. His face is drenched.
“Fuck, that was hot,” he says in a husky voice before flipping me back over. He hooks my legs over his shoulder as he towers over me.
“I want you—”
Before I can even finish telling him, he buries his cock inside me. It’s a snug fit, in that perfect spot between pain and pleasure. Kieran starts to thrust. He wastes no time; today, he means business. Knowing that he’s fucking me so hard, so good, balls deep and bareback, drives me absolutely wild—that delicious skin-to-skin friction that makes me want more and more.
“Harder,” I whisper.
He grips my shoulders, trapping my legs up in the air, and drills into me. I’m twisted like a pretzel, surrendered to his control.
I fucking love it.
I shout out. My pussy spasms violently. I clench it tight. Kieran gasps. I bite my lip and focus on squeezing my pelvic floor muscles, trying to build the pressure for Kieran and find release together.
“Come,” I tell him. “Fill me up.”
He kisses me hard and pummels me, good and rough.
“Fuck,” Kieran breathes. “I’m gonna cum.”
I close my eyes and think about his cock in my mouth, pulsating for me as I take him in all at once. My pussy contracts one more time and then…
We both yell out. I feel Kieran explode inside me. My entire body jerks one last time, so close to the edge, and then I’m falling headfirst into another earth-shattering orgasm. I tremble, shake, quiver, vibrate, and more on the bed. My breathing catches. Goosebumps spread all over my skin.
“Oh, God,” I splutter at last.
Kieran crashes beside me in bed. Instinctively, my hand searches for his. He takes it, fingers clasped with mine.
A long, peaceful silence stretches over us. It’s the kind of tranquility I only find when I’m with him. When we make love like that. I brush my thumb over my wedding band and feel a pang of… I don’t know the word… Bittersweet gratitude?
We haven’t discussed anything, but I know in my heart we’ll be fine.
We are meant to be.
Simple as that.
“So.” Kieran rolls to his side.
I follow suit and do the same. “I want to explain.”
“You don’t need to.”
I arch an eyebrow at him and offer him my best skeptical expression.
“Yeah, okay, I think we should talk about it,” he says.
I chuckle.
“I remembered you tried to talk me out of… I don’t know. That you dug your heels in and triple-checked, then triple-checked again, before saying yes to my proposal.” He’s the picture of earnestness. “The only thing I don’t get is, I can understand drunken impulsivity. But you were stone cold sober. It was Vegas. I…” He shrugs.
“I wanted to be with you. I wanted the forever part of us.” I don’t dare so much as blink. “Once you put the idea in my head, I couldn’t wait any longer to be your wife.”
Kieran kisses me.
After a couple of beats, I break away. “I felt guilty, though. Because I felt like it was underhanded in a way? Like maybe—like it was unethical. I don’t know. It felt like deception when you thought I was drunk. I may not have consumed a drop of alcohol, but I… There’s this rush when I’m with you, you know? It’s a buzz stronger than anything else. It’s like I’m under your influence. All I want is more and more. I’m insatiable.”
Kieran grins. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah.” Suddenly, I feel very shy. “I want us to be okay.”
He brings our hands, twined together, to his chest, and kisses the back of mine.
I can still feel the aftermath of his orgasm, warm inside me.
“We’re more than okay, Jo.” Kieran plants another perfect, soft kiss, this time on the tip of my nose. “We’re married. For realsies,” he says, imitating the Vegas clerk.
All of these infinite little things that make up the fabric of our story—they’re keepsakes. A part of something bigger that only he and I know. Years before that very first kiss at the party, there was already an ‘us.’ Brick by brick, moment by moment, we worked our way up
to the now.
“What are you thinking?” Kieran asks.
“That I’ve never felt more alive.”
EPILOGUE
FIVE YEARS LATER
JOEY
The football soars, cutting across the field in a perfect arc. The crowds are silent as a crypt. This is the moment of truth. We wait, collectively hoping against hope and racing against the clock. Even Kaden, my four-year-old, is held captive by the history that’s unfolding before our very eyes. The ball crosses the goal posts a fraction of a second before the buzzer goes off.
Holy shit.
Holy shit!
HOLY SHIT!
They won!
They actually did it.
It’s Superbowl Sunday. If ever there was an outright conquest in the history of professional football, this is it. After an uphill battle of seemingly insurmountable challenges popping up every single time the team finally thought they were in the clear, we got here. By the skin of our teeth.
Worth it.
Everyone rises to their feet and erupts in a riotous cheer. Kaden holds his perfect, tiny hands over his ears, but he’s screaming, too. Likely agitated by the infectious spirit that’s taken over the sea of fans, the baby starts to kick.
I hug my belly, overjoyed to feel her presence. Years from now, I’ll tell her about this day and show her pictures so she’ll know she was a part of it, too.
The guys are high-fiving each other, literally body-slamming and mounting on top of one another right there in the middle of the field. I give the losing team a furtive glance. The contrast is startling. While our guys are drunk on their own victory and acting like absolute, lovable goofballs, the rival team is… Deflated. Yeah, that’s a good word for it.
I catch sight of Kieran. His hair is out of that freshly-cut stage. Teetering on the edge of devilishly sexy. He’s also sporting a five o’clock shadow that always earns him an easy lay when we’re alone.
I glance down at my very pregnant middle. It’s a good thing we know how to get creative. The bump never slows us down.
It feels so wrong to be thinking about this right now, though.
Or incredibly right. I never can make up my mind when it comes to Kieran. See, if we’re on the subject of him, of us, of our family—all reason goes out the window.
“Whoa, girl.” I grip my stomach. “The crowd has you riled up, huh?”
“Mommy!” Kaden bounces up and down. “Is she saying hello?”
I lower my body as much as I can to level with him. I never tire of looking at that beautiful little face of his. Those perfect features that resemble me so closely from one angle but all it takes is for him to move a little and he becomes mini-Kieran suddenly. I created you from scratch, little guy. My heart swells.
“She sure is,” I tell him. “Wanna talk to her?”
“Yeah!” He kicks his jumping up a notch—a little kernel of popcorn in a pan.
I smile and hold out my hand. He does the same. I take his mini fingers in mine and press them to my stomach. The baby starts to do somersaults in there. It’s like she can feel her big brother.
I’m so happy I could cry.
Hell, give me a couple of minutes and I probably will. Blame the hormonal cocktail we call human gestation.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Kaden cries out, all cuteness and hyperactivity. “Your belly is moving, too!”
The shouts have mostly died down by now so everyone in our immediate surroundings hears him. We’re in the family and loved ones seating area (the closest thing football has to a courtside), so everyone who’s here is an acquaintance in some way or another. Still, my cheeks burn bright red.
Kaden giggles at me, the way he always does at my random bouts of shyness.
I hug him tight. Not a day goes by without me counting my blessings for all these amazing moments.
Jen and Mila, two women who married into the Team Family in the last couple of years, come up to me. Jen loves kids, so she immediately sets off Kaden’s motor mouth. Mila and I watch them for a spell before turning to our own topics of conversation.
“I can’t believe it’s your last year here.” Mila makes an exaggerated pouting face. “Convince Kieran to sign an extension for one more year.”
“As if Kieran’s retirement changes anything!” I laugh. “You know we’re going to hang on to those coattails and ride the glory train ’til the end of time.”
Jen stands up straight and gives Kaden a high five. Before I know it, he darts in the direction of the field. Alarmed, I start to chase after him—well, waddle—until I see Kieran. For a second, the world around us fades away. He winks at me and gives me his signature half smile, revealing those dimples of his I love so much. His striking green eyes are breathtaking even from a distance.
Someone needs to pinch me just so I can double-check that it is, in fact, possible to be this happy, but the truth is, my baby’s in utero acrobatics are more than enough proof that it is indeed possible.
“God, teach me how to make kids as cute as those,” Jen coos. “I can’t wait until Leroy and I start trying.”
That’s right. Leroy landed a girl.
“Leroy as a dad is going to be epic,” I say. “I can’t wait to tell your kids all of his war stories.”
Sternly-but-playfully, Jen wags her finger at me. “Now, now, there’s no need for any of that.”
The three of us burst out laughing.
Kieran creeps up behind me. I try to turn around but before I know it, I’m levitating. Or, more accurately, Kieran’s lifting me up off the ground.
“Kieran!” I shriek. “Put me down!”
The only response he’s got for me is a kiss.
And another.
And another.
Even at seven months pregnant, he can still scoop me in his arms, kiss me for hours, and carry me around as easily as he bench-presses God-only-knows how many tons on those medieval torture devices they call gym equipment.
Alas, a little munchkin is tugging on my dress, which brings our little public display of affection to a premature end.
“Aww,” Jen and Mila say in unison. “You guys are so adorable.”
“The two of them, maybe.” I flash them a smile. “Me, I’m almost at my full, twenty-two-month elephant pregnancy term.”
But it’s all in good fun. Jen and Mila know better than anyone how lucky I feel, how ecstatic I am, and how exciting it is to be carrying my second kiddo.
Kieran wraps his arm around me. “Well then, aren’t you the sexiest—”
I shoot him a warning look, as if to dare him to call me an elephant.
“Goddess I’ve ever seen,” he finishes.
I swat his chest. He bends down to give me another kiss.
Yes, we’re that saccharine sweet, disgustingly happy, super-loved-up couple.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Leroy and Derek, a recruit that joined the team after Kaden was born, come up to us. Jen and Mila kiss their husbands and the seven of us—eight if you count my growing little girl—discuss where we want to go after Coach Allen lets the guys go. They’ll have to convene in the locker room for some post-victory strutting in the privacy of the visiting team’s locker room.
Security is doing their best to keep the press at bay, but it’s like trying to stem an ocean.
“Shit, we should go,” Kieran says.
“Language,” I remind him.
He replies with a kiss. As soon as he breaks it off, he, Leroy, and Derek retreat back onto the field to receive the trophy.
“So, this is really it,” Mila comments.
“Huh?” I say.
“I just can’t imagine the team without Kieran.” She shakes her head but nevertheless offers me the tiniest hint of a smile. “Or better yet, Kieran and Baylor’s bickering.”
“One of the other guys is going to have to pick up that torch. Stand brave and quarrel with Baylor to keep the peace,” I quip. “You guys are putting a real damper on my mood! Come on, now. T
oday is a day for celebration. Kieran and I will still come to plenty of games and other stuff. Plus, we’ll meet up all the time.”
The way they’re talking, you’d think we’re moving to Siberia when actually, Mila and Jen are literally our next-door-neighbors (each on either side of our house). And although Kieran is hanging up his jersey this year, he accepted a job as a sports anchor for a major network. No more field work for him, but he’s still in the game, so to speak. I know he’ll kill it.
“You two do know that we’ll still share all of our meals and literally see each other all the time, right? I mean, whatever shall we do?” I deadpan.
“Who’s that?” Mila asks in an abrupt change of subject.
“Who?”
She nods toward a tall woman in daisy dukes, a barely-there crop top, and five-inch heels.
“Baylor’s date,” I answer even though I don’t know for sure. These days, Baylor goes through women faster than I can ever hope to meet them and learn their names. Not that he’s offering to introduce me to any of them. He erected firm barriers between them and the rest of his life ever since he got back on the market.
Sometimes, I really worry about him. Ever since falling flat on his face with Rachel, he hasn’t let anyone else get close to his heart.
Before any of them comment in reply, the crowd starts cheering madly. I turn around to see what has their enthusiasm piqued. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is being presented to the team. Coach Allen takes it and then passes it to Kieran. The guys swarm around him, lifting him up in the air. The crowd and swarm of press go nuts.
“Mommy! Daddy’s flying!”
I summon my supermom strength and pick Kaden up. I wobble a little, Jen coming to the rescue.
“Hey, big guy, what do you say Auntie Jen gives you a piggyback ride?” I ask.
Kaden starts clapping and nodding emphatically. I put him down and watch Jen lift him back up and help him get on her back. He beams at me and then his attention is directed only at his dad.
Tears well up in my eyes.
This is everything I ever wanted.
I can’t wait for the next chapter. For the adventure and the privilege that it is, sharing my life with my two favorite guys. I can’t wait to meet my little girl. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us—the good but also the hard times and the strange concoction that is life.
