Infamous: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Novel (10 page)

A
fter Jared left
me alone in the kitchen, I made quick work of putting the groceries away before changing into my pajamas and snuggling up beneath my comforter on the couch. Between the lack of sleep and the long day of wandering around my neighborhood, I couldn’t recall a time when I’d been so tired. Not even midterms had worn me out this much.

But despite the fact that my mind and body were begging for sleep, as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, the memory of Jared holding me returned full-force. I could still feel him shifting around and drawing me closer, the warmth of his body seemingly seeping into every fiber of my being and making me feel more at home than I ever had in a man’s arms.

What happened after that was equally the best sexual experience of my life and the worst. We hadn’t even
had
sex, yet I was left more riled up and desperate than ever before. His kiss was like a promise of all the good things that would follow. If only I would let him.

Then there was the terrifying fact that my heart felt like it was going to pound out of my rib cage during the entire exchange. He’d asked me to think about exploring ‘this thing’ between us, but that only left me with the unanswerable question of: What did Jared consider a ‘thing’? Was he only feeling lust for me?

Then he admitted to staying up because he was worried about me. There was something in his tone that made me melt, but the warning bells in my head screamed that I’d only be inviting pain by letting him further into my life that way.

But my body? Well, my body was focused entirely on the gratification he could give me. Screw my head and my heart. I just wanted to know if he was really as good as he claimed to be.

I groaned into my pillow and began to count sheep, mentally imagining them jumping over a fence while forcing the image of Jared out of my mind. It took longer than I would’ve liked, but I was eventually able to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

“
R
ise and shine
, princess.”

I groaned at the voice and pressed my face harder into the pillow, mentally willing the source of the noise to leave me alone. It didn’t work and a moment later, a large hand was gently jostling my shoulder.

“April, sweetheart. It’s five in the morning.”

“So?” I slurred, the word muffled by the cotton.

“You’ve been sleeping for almost twelve hours. Time to get up.”

Twelve hours?
It was hard to believe I’d been out that long, but when I rolled to my side to squint at the clock in the kitchen, I saw that he was right.

“Oh,” I breathed out, forcing myself into an upright position and raising my arms above my head to stretch. I yawned as I looked at Jared, who was watching me with an amused smile. “How long have you been up?”

“Since two.”

My eyebrows rose high in surprise, and then narrowed suspiciously. “You haven’t been watching me sleep that entire time, have you?”

“Nah. I limited myself to an hour of that. Any more would’ve felt creepy.”

His eyes were filled with mischief and I reached to slap him on the arm.

“That’s not funny,” I told him, even though I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“Oh, it wasn’t meant to be. I’m dead serious. Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”

Jared was doing a damn good job of keeping a straight face, but it faltered when I shot him an aggravated look. He laughed and shook his head before he said, “I took a shower and fucked around on my phone for a while. I kept myself occupied.”

I nodded and inhaled deeply when the scent of coffee registered in my nose. He smiled when he saw the recognition and stood up to offer me a hand. I didn’t hesitate to take it, but I probably should have as I found myself deliciously close to him.

Surprisingly, Jared was the one who took a step back. He dropped my hand to make a large, sweeping gesture toward the kitchen and chuckled when I immediately made a beeline for the coffeepot.

A mug was already waiting for me and I realized with a start that I could really get used to this. It wasn’t even about desire anymore. This Jared—the one who was thoughtful and seemed to care—was actually very pleasant to be around.

After I poured my coffee, I turned around to find him staring at me with a frown. I returned it, tipping my head to the side as I waited for whatever it was he wanted to say.

“I really don’t want to ask if you considered my proposal because I know you were sleeping, but… fuck it. I’m asking,” He ended the sentence with an awkward laugh, reaching up to scrub a palm across his stubble-ridden jaw. “I feel like I put it out there and kind of left myself hanging. I guess I just want to know if there’s even a chance.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I had realized the night before that I was damn near certain that we could do this and get away with it... but I hadn’t decided whether or not it would be a
good
thing to do. I was still at war with myself when I had finally fallen asleep.

But the desperation for an answer that was written all over his face was making me weak and the only thing I could really say was—

“I’ll think about it.”

The grin that appeared lit up his entire face while my throat closed up in fear. I hastily cleared it and swallowed hard around the lump that was forming.

“I’ll
think
about it,” I repeated, stressing the most important word.

“That’s all I’m asking for. Thank you.”

He turned to pour himself a cup of coffee and I managed to catch a glimpse of the smirk on his face. I still didn’t know whether he was playing this up to lure me into bed or not, and until I did, I was going to do everything in my power to resist the urge. The sight of his cocky grin only strengthened my resolve not to immediately get involved with him.

I hid the grim line of my lips behind my cup and watched as he left the room. I still ached for him, but a small voice in the back of my head whispered, “Six days to go... You can make it.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I promised myself that I’d give it my best shot.

I
t was official
. I had lost my fucking mind. I could see the headlines now.

Ten days. Ten
fucking
days and despite April’s promise to consider hooking up and keeping it between us, nothing had happened. Nothing except a few stolen kisses that made my dick throb with need before she abruptly left me high and dry.

But I knew. I
knew
—I could feel it in every kiss I’d stolen since she promised me that she’d think about it—that her resolve was weakening. She wanted it almost as much as I did. I just needed to make a final push to close the deal and she’d be as good as mine—at least for the last four days of our time together.

So I was going to play the only card I had yet to play.

Well, the only one that I was willing to play anyway. I’d tried different methods of seduction save for playing on her emotions. Even I wasn’t that much of an asshole.

But what if the answer had been in front of me the whole time? What if all it took was something so stupidly simple that I was beating myself up for not thinking of it earlier?

There was only one way to find out if it’d work. So I twisted off the knobs of the shower and stepped out, quickly drying myself before wrapping the towel loosely around my waist. Ignoring the stack of clean clothes I had brought with me into the bathroom, I stepped out and made my way right into the living room.

I felt her eyes sweep down over my chest the moment I entered the room. I casually strolled past the couch and into the kitchen, smirking at the thought of her staring at my back.

The last card in my deck: My body. And I wasn’t planning to half-ass this move. My dick twitched a little under the towel as I reached for a bottle of water and I took a brief second to compose myself before I turned around and prowled to the couch.

Her eyes were wide as I plopped down beside her and disinterestedly asked, “What are we watching?”

No reply. I fought away my smile and turned to raise an eyebrow at her. She was focused on my ink—images I knew she had likely seen before, but never this up close and personal. Certainly never slightly damp and fresh out of the shower. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and I nearly groaned at the sight.

Fuck, why didn’t I think of this days ago? If I had known she was going to react like this, I would have stayed naked for the entire duration of my stay.

Tread carefully. Don’t scare the shit out of her.

“You all right?” I asked gently, drawing my bottom lip into my mouth and biting down hard when she leaned a little closer and reached a hand out to my chest.

When her delicate touch brushed across my skin, I drew in a breath and held it. She was tracing over the tattoos in a mild state of awe—one that didn’t seem to be sexual, but just born out of intrigue. I swallowed hard and clamped my mouth shut to avoid saying something stupid and ruining the moment. There was something tender about the way she touched me and I was shell-shocked to realize how much I liked it.

April wasn’t the first woman to focus on my ink, but she was the first who didn’t immediately ask for explanations. She seemed content to gaze at the pictures and make her own ideas about what they meant as she traced the outlines. I watched her face closely, my eyes starting to droop when her gaze inevitably moved up to the ones closer to my neck. I shivered as she trailed her fingers over my collarbone and up.

“I like them,” she said softly. Simply. With an air of finality.

She didn’t need to know the reasons behind them. She just... liked them.

Enough of this
, I thought before I reached over to cup her face and pulled her lips to mine.

Her hands snaked around my shoulders and I knew I had her. The days of tension had gotten to her just as badly and seeing me like this was the last thing she needed to break her resolve.

My cock hardened instantly and the urge to rut against her was too fucking strong to ignore. April seemed to be on the same page and came easily when I pulled her to straddle me, although I did wish I had thought ahead to open the towel before she settled herself onto my lap. I used my grip on her hips to pull her down while I tilted myself up. Matching strangled groans came from us both, a result of the delicious friction.

Take her. Rip off those fucking pajamas and ram in balls deep. Fuck her as hard as it takes to make this stupid crush go away.

I growled and kissed her again, trying to ignore the needs of my body in hopes to bring her some pleasure before I took my own. I reached for her top and ripped the thin cotton down the middle, pulling away to bury my face against her chest before she could protest. I tugged down the cups of her bra and zoned in—biting and sucking on one nipple while I rolled the other between my fingertips.

Her moans went right to my cock, which was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Although I was grateful that I wasn’t confined in something like jeans, the cotton of the towel still felt too restrictive. I reached to push her hips backwards until I could fiddle with the towel, letting it fall open.

April pulled back and looked down at my cock, her eyes doubling in size. I couldn’t help but smirk—her reaction lending credence to my theory that she had never had good sex before.

But I was about to change all that.

“Touch it,” I whispered hoarsely, gripping her hand and tugging until she allowed me to wrap her fingers around my shaft. I bit back a groan as I began to move her palm up and down, looking up into her eyes and I heatedly said, “You make me so fucking hard, princess.”

April let out a stuttering breath and tightened her grip. I couldn’t stop the moan that slipped past my lips and I let go of her hand, giving her the freedom to touch it however she liked while I explored her body.

I let two fingers dip beneath the cotton of her pajama bottoms, sliding them over the top of her panties. I could feel the wetness starting to seep through the cotton and my pride swelled. I grinned at her as I pressed hard—nearly pushing inside her body through the underwear.

“Feel good? You wet for me under these?” I asked, even though we both damn well knew the answer to that.

April nodded, her head bobbing rapidly up and down while she stared at my face with wide, lust-filled eyes. Fuck, the reality of what she looked like all hot and bothered was even better than the image my mind had created when I jerked off in the shower.

I used a single digit to pull her panties to the side and slid a finger up her slit, groaning when I finally felt her wetness on my skin. My dick pulsed in her hand and she gasped when I abruptly pulled away and seized her by the hips. She was clearly confused, but she followed my grunted instructions as I told her to stand up so I could yank the rest of her clothes down.

Her knees wobbled slightly as she stood, but she reached up and pulled off the tattered remains of her shirt along with her bra. When she was as nude as I was, I put a hand on her navel to make sure she stood in place and I leaned back, taking a moment to drink in the sight of her.

She wasn’t a model or what one might consider a sex-symbol, but
fuck me
if she wasn’t the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She kept in good shape from walking around the city, but it was also clear by looking at her that she ate like a normal human being. She had curves in all the right places and there wasn’t a single place that I could find a flaw with.

Quite the opposite, in fact. I wanted to taste every inch of her body.

April wasn’t shy about her body, but she was apparently getting bored of my blatant scrutiny. She didn’t try to lean forward against my hand, but instead backed away from it, then dropped down to her knees and dipped her head forward. Before I could even react, her wet tongue was licking a long stripe up my cock.

“
Jesus Christ
,” I groaned, my head falling back as my hand blindly sought out her head and wove into her hair. I let her continue the licking for a few seconds before I brought my head back and stared down at her as I said, “Open those sweet lips for me, baby.”

Her eyes locked with mine as I gripped the base of my cock in one hand and used the other to direct her lips to the tip. She swept her tongue across the underside and I hissed, giving her a harsh glare until she followed my command and parted her lips.

I could have cried with relief when I felt the warmth of her mouth as she tightly sealed her lips around me and allowed me to guide her down my length. She was only able to take a few inches of me, but it was more than enough. As she bobbed up and down the length she could fit in her mouth while working the base and my balls with her other hands, I had to grit my teeth together as I idly wondered who had taught her how to suck cock.

Because really—she was surprisingly good at it. The assumptions I had made about her sex life were obviously inaccurate; this was something someone had trained her to do properly.

Jealousy. Another new and unfamiliar emotion. Leave it to April to ruin a perfect fucking blowjob by making me feel things I had no business feeling.

I tugged her up by the hair and pushed myself forward, capturing her lips with my own and swallowing her startled gasp.

“You’re mine for the next four days,” I told her darkly. “Say it.”

“I’m yours,” she panted, surprisingly not arguing. It was a damn good stroke to my ego to see her as desperate for it as I was. “Please.”

“Come on,” I grunted, standing up and helping her to her feet before I lifted her up bridal-style. “I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk straight.”

April whimpered and titled her head to nibble on my shoulder as I carried her to the bedroom. Part of me was screaming that I should just fuck her on the couch or the floor or against a damn wall and be done with it.

But there was something deep inside—quieter, but there—telling me to do it right. So I laid her on the bed and looked down at my prize, torn with indecision about how to proceed.

In the end, April decided for me. She maneuvered herself up the bed until she was lying in a perfect placement for missionary, then she slowly spread her legs.

Something about the move made my control snap and her eyes went wide as my grin turned sinister.