Protective Instinct

by Tricia Lynne

  She met my gaze and let me see her sincerity. “Always.”

  With that, I let my lips slide over hers in the softest, sweetest brush, so wrought with emotion I felt it in my soul. I had niggling questions. But I locked those away for later in favor of the warmth I felt in my chest.

  Now wasn’t the time to think about Dick.

  Well, actually, it was, but I had an entirely different dick in mind. One I couldn’t wait to sink into my girl.

  My. Girl.

  Wiggling out from under my arm, Lily’s smile turned naughty. She scooped up my brace and started putting it back on. “Just in case. I wouldn’t want to put you in the hospital or anything.”

  A small groan rumbled in my chest. “Confident little thing, aren’t you?”

  Pulling me up off the couch by my good arm, she led me down the hall. “No more so than you, Shaw.”

  I raised an eyebrow, making her giggle. “True.”

  Turning me until my knees hit the bed, she gave my sweats a tug and I kicked them off.

  Lily gave me a little shove in the chest that sent my ass to the mattress.

  I grinned. “Somebody likes control.”

  “Have you met me?” she asked, giving me a flirty wink. Standing just out of my reach, she started working her clothes off. In a painfully slow move, Lily bent at the waist to push her shorts and panties down her legs. It was a perfect fucking view. That ass I’d fantasized about, but hadn’t seen shake as it slapped my thighs. The plump lips that peeked out from between her legs, and the curve of her inner thigh into her cheek.

  Goddamn. “That is the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen.” Little vixen.

  “You can touch it, you know. I’d rather enjoy it.”

  “Just waiting for permission, darlin’.”

  “Oh, your mama taught you well.” Normally Lily didn’t have much accent—that was fairly common now—but she slid right into it like a pair of old boots.

  “Please don’t bring up mamas.” I gripped her hip before I sank my teeth into the meaty globe. I’d wanted to do that for so long. Her high-pitched squeak was so worth the wait.

  Soothing the bite with my tongue, I brought my hand around to her other cheek and swatted it with a thwack. Lily’s moan made me do it again before I dipped a finger into the lips between to circle her clit before I rimmed her entrance.

  Goddamn it, I didn’t have enough hands. I wanted to lean her forward and taste her while I stroked my cock and circled her hard bud. But I only had the one hand to work with.

  “Dear God, that’s nice.” Standing, she lifted her shirt over her head and popped the hooks on her bra, letting it drop. “Condoms?”

  “Nightstand.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek. “It’s time to have the talk, Shaw. I’ve always been safe, and I have an IUD. Do we need these?” She held up the foil packet.

  She was trusting me at my word. Like the fucking Grinch, my heart swelled in my chest. “No, I don’t believe we do. Clean as a whistle here. I can count the number of times I haven’t suited up on one hand, and those were a long time ago. I’ve been tested since.”

  Her dimples made an appearance. “Wanna go bare, big guy?”

  “Fuck, yes. Come here.”

  She stalked around the bed with the kind of confidence that suggested I was only along for the ride.

  Palming my shaft, Lily’s hand made a long slow slide up and over the head while she slithered her tongue between my parted lips.

  “I want you so bad, Liliana. You can’t...” My breath hitched as she cupped my balls, rolled them in her palm.

  “Can’t what?” She chuckled against my mouth.

  “...keep doing that.”

  She was a goddess. A lovely blush crawled along her neck and cheeks. Her generous hips flared out, begging to be squeezed, her sweet tummy calling to my mouth. Lily was strength and seduction wrapped in an air of the ethereal.

  Letting go of my hard-on, she slid over my outstretched legs. Mouthed my neck, my jaw, my collarbone as her soft heat slid against my hard length.

  “I love the way you fit here,” she told me. “The way you nestle in against me?”

  Jesus. So did I. Mouthing the base of her throat, I felt her pulse surge against my tongue. “Pieces of the same puzzle.”

  Rising up, she dragged her nails through the trail of hair under my navel, making my stomach clench.

  “Lily, I’m struggling here.” The look I gave her could have melted metal.

  The look she returned was pure sin.

  She crawled over the bed in front of me, pulling her knees under her torso and twisting her head to the side.

  “Oh, damn. look at that.” I tore at the brace’s Velcro, wanting both of my hands. Her pussy was spread, and she was so fucking wet. Breathtakingly beautiful. She was fantasy come to life.

  “Please be caref—” She didn’t get to finish the sentence. Instead, she gasped as I sank my tongue between her folds. The scents of jasmine and vanilla permeated the air mixed with a heady dose of her arousal. I circled my tongue lazily, exploring before I slipped a finger inside and made her moan.

  I wanted to give her an orgasm before I slid my girth into her, but that’s not what she wanted. “Ohmygod, that feels good. I’m close, baby. I need you inside me when I come.”

  “Say the magic word,” I teased.

  “Please.”

  With a final circle of my tongue, I sat up and lined myself up with her entrance. The head of my shaft sinking through all her wetness to work the tip inside as I kneaded her ass was pure bliss.

  Spreading her cheeks wide, I watched as my body disappeared inside hers so damn slow.

  “Christ, Lil. So pretty.” It had been a long time since I’d gone raw. Every sensation was multiplied. The heat and squeeze of her, the feel of her channel and the dampness easing my way.

  Warm. Slick. So. Damn. Snug.

  I pushed forward until she writhed against me, trying to get me to thrust, and a low moan erupted from her throat. When I didn’t accommodate, she took matters into her own hands and rocked back, taking me in until my thighs touched hers.

  She’d moved in a steady rhythm, chasing her orgasm as the head of me dragged across that sensitive spot inside her, but the angle wasn’t right. And I needed time to play. To enjoy my view. A warning tingled at the base of my spine, reminding me I was close.

  “Brody, God. I love the way you stretch me, sugar.”

  “Your body grips mine. I can see your body tugging against my skin. So good.”

  Her sheath flexed around me. She liked the dirty talk. So did I.

  My hips began to swing in time with hers, my fingers digging into the flesh of her cheeks in a way I knew would leave bruises, but I couldn’t stop.

  I started with slow thrusts in time with hers but the faster I went the less her hips moved and the louder her moans got. “Broooodeeee.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle when she drew out my name. “Like that, Liliana? Want me to make you come?”

  Twisting herself, she held me suspended with her plum-colored eyes. “Jesus. That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  This was nothing like what I’d felt for Andra. Andra was a poor substitution, a muted shade of blue when real love was a vibrant violet hue.

  I was irrevocably, undeniably in love with Lily Costello.

  I swung my hips faster, the slap of my thighs against hers rocking her forward. Her ass shook with every thrust, a jiggle of skin and muscle as she stared through my soul.

  “Lily, I’m close.”

  “Me, too. I need...”

  I knew what she needed. Angling my hips up, I hit that spot. Dragged the head of my dick across it over and over again.

  “Oh, God, Shaw. Like that.” Her moans got wild and deep.

  Guidi
ng a hand around her leg, I circled my finger around her clit and her muscles went tight all over. Lily’s legs began to shake, her muscles clamping down on me with ever-increasing force.

  “Fuck, Lily. Give it to me.” Pressing down on her clit, I nudged that spot inside her in unison.

  She came unglued. Shattered. Her canal pulsed and shoved me over the edge in the hardest fucking orgasm of my life. Lightning rode down my spine. My cock visibly jerked alongside my heartbeat with each throb inside my girl. My. Girl.

  Her mouth popped open in a little O when she felt it, too, as the last of her spasms waned. “Holy shit.”

  Yeah, holy shit.

  I was hers so completely, I’d never again be the same.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Collateral Damage

  Lily

  I traced the scar across his chin. Admired the thick onyx lashes. A mouth fashioned for sin.

  I placed an openmouthed kiss on his injured shoulder before I snuggled into the crook of his neck on his good side.

  Brody wasn’t quiet when he came. The completely male sounds he made were half grunt, half moan and all Brody. I was addicted to that sound.

  But something was off. He was so quiet I could hear the gears turning in his head.

  “You okay, big guy?”

  “Andra was her name, and she played me. Big time.”

  The words were said so soft, like he was afraid I wouldn’t want this part of him, or maybe he was embarrassed to give it.

  “Tell me about her?”

  “We were together almost a year. She even moved in. She was too perfect, that should have been the first clue. I didn’t realize she was playing a part, telling me what she thought I wanted to hear. If I liked the movie, so did she. If I didn’t like the dress, she didn’t wear it. If I wanted to have sex, she never told me no. We never argued. Not once.”

  He ran a hand over his face. “Then the suggestions started. I should rent a loft downtown. I should get the new Lambo. Her ex had an account for her at Dior. If I’d just do the same, it would make life so much easier. She didn’t want me. Andra wanted a lifestyle. I think I chose to not see it for a long time. When I didn’t take the suggestions the fights started. I’ve never needed to flash the money around. I don’t even like the fucking celebrity of it all. I got home from a road trip, and she was just gone.”

  I knew a little. They were photographed together a lot. I think she was the only relationship he’d had, and it was fairly early on in his career. She was engaged to a baseball player now.

  I ran my nose over his collarbone. “If she only wanted you for your money, she never deserved you, sugar. You are so much more than that.”

  “It kinda set me up for the years to come, ya know? It’s hard to know who your real friends are and who only wants something from you. Who’s real and who’s fake. Some of the other guys handle it like they were born to it—all the celebrity and other stuff. I just wanted to play football. I don’t know... I’m just fed up with all the shit that comes with it.”

  I gave him a small nod. “My dad dealt with it poorly. He needed the validation; I think that had more to do with the depression than anything. If you’re the life of the party, nobody realizes you’re riding the razor’s edge. He hid it. Kept sinking deeper until I think he couldn’t see a way out anymore.”

  Rumors about my dad’s death had always persisted, but this was the first time I told anyone I thought my dad took his own life. He’d never sought help and didn’t have any of the tools or knowledge about how to live with depression. Depression, likely exasperated by repetitive head injuries. But this wasn’t about my dad.

  “Did you love her?”

  “No. I know that now. I hoped she was someone I could love, eventually. Maybe I hoped I could change her, too.” His grin was a little sad. “Ironic, I guess.

  “Then came Barnett’s granddaughter, and tight on the heels of that dumpster fire, the fantasy suite hit the news.”

  Drawing circles on his torso, I stayed patient and quiet.

  “I was in that hotel room maybe twenty minutes, Lil. Had one beer.” Leaning up, he locked eyes with me. “I wasn’t there when they trashed that suite, and I sure as hell didn’t touch any of those women.”

  “Brody, I believe you.”

  He pinched his nose with his free hand. “Nobody else does. The woman who snuck the phone in was good with Photoshop, I’ll give her that.” I could feel the way his muscles tensed, the angry edge to his voice. “She superimposed my face on O’Sullivan’s body—O’Sullivan, who happened to be sharing a woman with another player—simply because I was one of the highest paid players in there.”

  As a backup linebacker, O’Sullivan had a similar build to Brody, but he was deep on the team’s roster and didn’t make as much. It made me angry for him. “And now a harassment suit.”

  “Yep. She’s saying Sherman invited her and insinuated the organization wouldn’t want her to let the team down. I didn’t see her and there were only a dozen people there while I was, but that doesn’t mean anything. I think maybe she got there after I left. Erica says the suit against me won’t stick—that they’re probably just covering their bases. I get it, I wouldn’t put it past Sherman. The dude is a dick and a half, and I hate that one of my teammates could’ve done this to her. She’s not the first woman to complain about Sherman, and the team is way too good at burying shit like this. Last time, it was a female sports reporter in the locker room. The asshole waited until she was on air, walked up behind her, and rubbed his naked dick on her ass. Some of these guys, hand to God, they think they can get away with anything. Like they’re invincible. Remember last season when Sherman was sporting two black eyes after the New York game?”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah, I broke his nose for that incident. I also told the reporter I’d give a statement if she wanted to file charges and she told me if she brought charges, she’d never get another job in sports. This fantasy suite thing... I’m tired of ending up collateral damage because of events that happened at a party after I left.”

  Sitting up, I rested my chin on his chest. “I’m sorry, Brody. I hate that you’re going through this.” I paused a beat. “I’d take it all away if I could. Just you and me, the dogs, and this big-ass bed of yours.”

  He chuckled, cupped my jaw as he arched up to place a kiss below my ear. “I get so tired of never knowing who I can trust. Of always being somebody’s target.”

  And here I was in his bed. The person who could ruin his dream of retiring in his hometown. Yet, I don’t think I’d ever felt so right as I did in Brody’s arms.

  It was an impossible situation.

  One that would probably blow up in our faces.

  That was his choice to make, not mine to take away. If he was willing to take the risk, I would, too.

  “You gotta go home to the dogs, don’t you?” He pulled me from my thoughts.

  “I left them with my neighbor.”

  “Will you stay?” He rolled toward me, brushed the hair off my forehead.

  I nodded, tried to push the worries away.

  Right now, there was warmth to absorb and bare skin to explore. Chest hair to sift my fingers through, and those rich velvety kisses. Lush brown eyes to fall into. Fantasies of having it all.

  Even if only for a short while.

  “Thank you for sharing with me.”

  He traced my lip with his finger, and I felt the bed shift as CC jumped up to join us, curling up next to Brody.

  He whispered, “With all three dogs, we might need a bigger bed.”

  I giggled. Contentment I’d never felt before settled into my bones as I drifted off to sleep.

  Yet, later that night, I found myself on the balcony staring into the inky sky while I contemplated the uncertainties. I wouldn’t forgive myself if Brody’s dream got crushed because
of me. Would he resent me for it? Or if push came to shove, would he choose the game? I could only pray I never had to find out.

  When his arm slid around my waist, and his mouth skated over the nape of my neck, all the worries fled.

  He was good at that.

  Chasing away the worries for another time.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Why do I want Mexican food all of a sudden?

  Lily

  I checked Brody’s shoulder before I left the following morning, but I didn’t think it had been separated. His range of motion was too good. He’d decided to get a second opinion away from the team.

  Honestly, I was completely exhausted. Muscles I’d forgotten I had were sore. After I pulled into my drive, I went next door to get the monsters.

  “Hey, were they good dogs?” My neighbors were retirees who loved dogs but didn’t keep pets because they liked to travel. I watched their house when they were gone.

  When I’d explained to Mrs. Edmonds that my pinch was a man built like a brick shithouse, she’d said it was about time.

  “Always. Your babies are no trouble at all,” Mrs. Edmonds said. “There was one thing.”

  “Oh?”

  “Jet started whining in her kennel, which isn’t like her. Dan thought maybe she needed to go out. When he let her and Mack out back, she got really upset.”

  “Whining? Like in the house?”

  “No. Barking and growling. Snarling as she ran the length of the fence between our yards. Mack whined, wouldn’t go off the porch, but even he woofed a couple times.”

  “Hmm. Did Dan call her back?”

  “Several times, but she wouldn’t come. He had to go out and leash her to get her back inside. Animal, maybe? We heard the coyotes howling last night before we went to bed. Last week we had a bobcat out on the patio.”

  I chewed on the inside of my lip. “Could be. A big animal like that in my yard might set her off. I’m sorry about y’all losing sleep. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”