The Quarterback Sneak (11 page)

A
fter a short day of
practice, Liam stood in the middle of his living room in disbelief.
Clothes, purses and enough shoes to outfit a small nation lay
strewn about his apartment. Their apartment, he amended. He snagged
a lacey teddy with two fingers to examine it. How, with all the
ribbons and ties, did the contraption go on? It didn’t matter since
there was only one way it was going to come off. Torn to shreds
with his bare hands. He hated to think how much money she’d wasted
on it.

“You’re not thinking of trying that on?”

He looked up to see an amused Hayden dressed
in tight black leggings and one of his shirts. Even with all her
things here, she still chose to wear something of his.
Interesting.
“I’m thinking you need more lingerie and less
shoes.”

She folded her arms. “Spoken like a true
man.”

“I am what I am.”

They stared at each other for a moment,
neither knowing what came next. They had an amazing connection in
the bedroom, but Liam was determined to capture that magic and
inject it into non-bedroom activities.

“How was practice?”

“Brutal.” Liam followed Hayden’s lead,
though he wasn’t one for small talk. “How was your day?”

“I got some strange looks for wearing what
turned out to be my wedding dress to an advertising meeting, but
I’m used to strange looks.” Hayden picked up a few articles of
clothing. “What about you? Did your teammates ride your ass about
ending your celibacy?”

“Some,” he said vaguely. She didn’t need to
know the full extent of the ribbing.

“Did you tell them I was the best you ever
had?”

“I told them to shut the fuck up.”

Hayden looked shocked and then laughed
uneasily. “I’m sure it wasn’t the first time there was a crude
remark about me in that locker room.”

Liam winced, remembering the coarse jokes
thrown around at Hayden’s expense in the past. More than once, he’d
fought the instinct to punch a teammate. Today he had put an end to
the jokes.

“That was before the wedding,” he said,
seizing the opportunity to show a benefit to their marriage beyond
sex.

Hayden clutched her chest. “My hero.” She
walked over to him and gently took the teddy away. “Though I do
have a complaint.”

“Let me guess.” Liam looked around the room.
“I don’t have enough closet space?”

“That goes without saying. I’m talking about
the fact that you haven’t kissed me hello yet.”

Her sulky pout begged to be nipped at. Heck,
her whole body begged for his mouth. But his cock urged him to skip
the foreplay and start the action mid-game.

“Let me remedy that.” Instead of kissing
her, he picked her up and made his way to the bedroom. Laughing at
her squeals of delight, he tossed Hayden onto the pile of clothes
on his bed. Their bed, he amended.

“Liam, everything will wrinkle.”

“Do you want sex, woman, or to hang up
clothes?”

The feline grin of hers made him want to
pounce.

“Sex.”

“Correct answer.” Liam stripped off her
clothes and added them to the mess, then quickly added his.

By the time they came up for air, half the
clothes were on the floor and the other half surrounded them like a
cocoon. What emerged was something beautiful yet still so
fragile.

Hayden stretched her sleek body against his,
sighing her contentment. He felt confident the last thing she was
thinking about was his lack of closet space.

A
fter the epic clothing sex
romp, they lounged on his comfy couch, wearing robes and ate
Chinese food right out of the cartons, sometimes feeding each other
their favorite dish like a doting couple. Could something based on
a lie and lust morph into true love?

Hayden had always scoffed at the idea of
falling in love. The most anyone could hope for was great sex and
great company. Love belonged to the poets and to the fools of this
world. Her belief wavered when she remembered her grandparent’s
great love for one another.

She placed an empty carton of moo shu pork
on the Craftsman coffee table. She smiled, thinking the table was
so Liam. Natural, sturdy and made to last.

Stalling, she reached for the fried rice.
Liam seemed to love her curves, so she took a couple of more bites.
She had yet to bring up the business deal proposed to her earlier
today. He wouldn’t like it, and she was reluctant to ruin the
moment. She tugged at her bottom lip in indecision.

“I know I’m going to regret this, but what’s
up?” he asked.

How did he know she’d been working up enough
nerve to ask him a question?

“Well.” She paused, bracing herself for the
upcoming fight. “I got a call today from the producer of
Hayden’s Place
. They want us to revive the show.”

“Us?”

She nodded.

“Count me out. The team is depending on me
to get them back to the Championship. I can’t afford another
distraction.” His chiseled jaw set in stony determination.

Hayden wouldn’t give up that easily. “So I’m
a distraction? An inconvenience?”

“Nice try, but I’m not your father. Don’t
put words in my mouth.” He put down the remains of the quart of
boneless spare ribs. “Why would you want to do it in the first
place?”

“It’s good for business. Sales skyrocket. I
make millions. We make millions.”

He sat back and looked up to the ceiling as
if searching for answers, or maybe he was saying a silent prayer.
Hayden couldn’t be sure.

“Did you see the front cover of
People
today?
Squeaky Clean McQueen Marries Troubled
Heiress
. Apparently, our nuptials are one of the signs of the
coming Apocalypse.”

His voice remained calm and cool, irritating
Hayden.

“So what? I thought you didn’t want to
change me. You said I could be myself around you. Be real.” She
threw his words back at him, hurt that the press thought she wasn’t
good enough for him. Even though their marriage was a fraud.

He turned his head and looked her in the
eye. “How is playing up to a camera real? It’s all phony. Done on
purpose to make you look bad.”

She had no good answer to this. Half of the
things she did for the show were set up and scripted. “That’s why
people watch. Ratings are the name of the game.”

“There’s something more to this. What is
driving you? It’s not just the money.”

“I happen to like money.”

“You sound like your father.” Liam paused.
“Do you think the size or your bank account will win his
approval?”

“I do not have daddy issues.”

“Or do you want to do it to piss him off.
Like ripping up the pre-nup.”

“Whatever.” Let Liam think the worse. If he
wanted to throw her goodwill gesture back in her face, then
fine.

“Hayden, you do know that your father loves
you.”

She was so not going there. “You’re telling
me I can’t do the show?”

“I never said
you
couldn’t do it.”
Liam sighed, as if signaling giving up that part of the argument.
“But I’m asking you to respect my privacy.” He ran a hand through
his unruly hair. “To respect our marriage.”

To respect our marriage?
Did Liam
want to make this work too or was he only interested in protecting
his image?

The producer wanted both of them, so if he
was out, then she was too. “But people will forget about me.” She
hated the whine in her voice.

“Impossible, Hayden.” Liam traced her
jawline with his thumb, tilting her chin so she would look him in
the eye. “You are unforgettable.”

His hands drifted down to where her robe
gaped. He pulled the lapels open to access her breasts, cupping
each one. “I want to spend the rest of the night memorizing your
body with my hands.” He brushed a kiss on her lips. “Then with my
mouth.”

“After you’re done, there will be a
test.”

Liam raised a brow. “What kind of test?”

“A blindfolded one,” she whispered.

“Sounds like my kind of test.” He nodded
with approval. “But I’ll have to examine you thoroughly so I can
ace it.”

Hayden forgot all about the reality show as
he discarded her robe and laid her back onto the cushions. Liam was
real, The feel of his hands tenderly mapping her body was real. The
love in her heart was real.

T
he team rolled to a 3 and
1 record. Liam, back in the good graces of the press and the fans,
should be happy. With Hayden away on business and him back from an
away game, he loafed on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the
channels. He should try to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He
avoided the bed, filled with Hayden’s scent, but so cold and lonely
without her sexy, voluptuous body to warm it. She traveled for
business more than she was home, and he wasn’t any better with away
games.

Liam missed his wife.

Really missed her.

His apartment, now filled with Hayden’s
things, felt empty without her laughter. He wanted to share stories
of the latest win, and then hear about her day of wheeling and
dealing. How had she inserted herself into his life so seamlessly?
Like she’d belonged there all along.

Hypersensitive to the unusual quiet, he
heard the door open despite the television telling him he should
buy a new car.

“You’re home,” he said with way too much
enthusiasm. Liam knew he should keep his real feelings buried until
Hayden fell in love with him.

“Surprise!” She jumped on his lap just as
excited.

“A beautiful surprise.” To heck with being
cool. He threaded his hands through her hair, covering her lips
with his. Tongues mingled in a sensuous play of who missed whom the
most.

She pulled away, her eyes now a dreamy blue.
“I thought you’d be sleeping. I was planning to wake you in a most
delicious manner.”

“I can pretend to be asleep.” He closed his
eyes and snored.

“Too late. You’re already hard.” She rocked
her hips, her sex deliciously rubbing up against his cock,
furthering his agony. She leaned forward and whispered into his
ear, “And I’m so wet.”

That did it. He was in no mood for foreplay.
“Bed. Now.”

“Race you. Loser gets tied up.” Hayden
hopped off his lap for a good head start.

“Cheater,” he yelled, pretending to dash
after her. He’d let her win. Because being a loser in this game was
a win for him.

By the time she had him naked and tied, Liam
was ready to tear the bonds that held him. Her designer scarves
would suffer the same fate as her lingerie if he chose. Instead he
savored each brush of her fingertips, enjoyed the torture of each
swipe of her tongue, and grew harder with every dirty word out of
her sweet, hot mouth.

“Did you miss this, Hayden?”
Did you miss
me as much as I missed you?

“Desperately,” she breathed. She loosened
the knots. “Make love to me, Liam.”