Win Big: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (17 page)

He pulled out of my mouth suddenly, and bent forward to kiss me passionately again. The warmth of his lips enveloped me, and his tongue explored my mouth, showing me his craving for what was about to come. He eased my bundled up clothes and panties down my hips and legs, throwing them into the pile with his. Picking up the unwrapped condom, he slipped it on and pushed my shoulders back so I could stretch out in bed. He hooked his hands under my arms and effortlessly positioned himself between my legs.

Personally, I was glad he didn’t ask me again whether I was sure about taking the next step, even though I could see the burning question in his eyes. His stare was seductive, invasive and reassuring. I could lose myself in his gaze if I really wanted to. It shared a promise that he would make this a memorable experience for me. I wanted memorable, but I did not want to be here until six in the morning to find out what a cock felt like inside me. I wanted him now.

Gripping his hips, I pulled him tight on my groin, and rubbed my soaking wet center along his meaty, condom-clad shaft, rolling and rocking, inviting him to enter me.

Then he did it.

Oh God, Evan entered my tight, formerly-chaste pussy a few inches, and my body froze in place. He was massive. Fuck, he felt huge inside me, stretching my inner walls in a way they’d never been affected. He took it as a sign to stop. Goodness, he must have had more patience than Job, the way his eyes shut tight while he waited.

It hit me then.

His cockhead had breached my opening.

I was a virgin no more.

I resisted the urge to sing—scratch that—to cry out a line from Madonna’s eighties song. My core was stretched to accommodate him, and there was so much more of him outside. Evan pressed a kiss to my lips, then ducked his head to take my breast into his mouth. I was sure he was doing so for my benefit, and gosh, it was working. Taking a breath, I moaned and relaxed into his touch. My legs parted more widely. I moved my hips slightly and welcomed more of him inside of me. He continued to tease and gently bite my nipple, and another few inches made its way in.

I was wetter now, and when he lifted away from my breast, moved up my body and parted my lips with his tongue, my hands were back on his ass, fingernails digging into the flesh to pull him in harder, deeper, faster. My hips were out of control, fighting for every inch that he buried into me again and again until I felt that peak in my mind’s eye, approaching on the horizon, about to pull me under as it was not a ripple or an eddy, but a surging tidal wave that could drown me in pleasure. I called his name and could hardly recognize my own voice. My lips pressed tightly together, my entire body braced for the onslaught, eyes wide and mind completely blank when I finally accepted my fate and let the wave take me to the where I came all over his thick penetrating cock. It was the climax to beat every other one I’d ever had.

I was numb.

I was free.

I could sleep.

I could cry.

Evan smiled down at me for a moment. In my sweaty, bewildered state, I could see he was trying to keep it together. I held on to his muscular biceps, enjoying the last few strokes inside me before his body seized and his jaw clenched in simultaneously painful and pleasurable ecstasy when he came.

Finally spent, he lowered onto me and held me for a few minutes. After catching our breath, he slowly and gingerly withdrew from my sore, satiated core. Ridding himself of the used condom in the waste bin beside his bed, he stretched out beside me.

“Are you doing okay?”

“Mmmm. Better than okay, baby,” I hummed. “You?”

He chuckled. “Fuck yeah.”

“Can I stay over? Not sure I can drive right now…and I may want to…to do it again. Tonight.”

He rolled to his side and kissed my check, tucking some stray her behind my ear. “Of course.”

He may have said more, but my brain shut down on its own and I let the fatigue throughout my body and the soreness in my now-deflowered core take me the rest of the way.

“
C
ome on
, Marshall. Get your head in the game.”

Samantha sounded so stern, I had to laugh.

She frowned. “I mean it! Put your heart into those moves. I want to see full range of motion from you, soldier!”

“Soldier? You’re my drill sergeant now?”

“I’ll be whoever I have to be to get your ass in shape. We have less than three weeks left.”

“Hmm, I’m kinda digging the idea of you in a tight little army uniform. You could be all serious and commanding, and I could be your whipping boy, obeying your every command. What do you think?”

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “No. Just no. Come on, Evan. We need to get serious about this.”

“I am serious.”

“Not when you’re chomping at the bit about this role-playing idea. Listen. I want to get back out onto the field at a hundred and ten percent of where you were before this unfortunate injury. You’ve had a week of rest and two weeks of rehab. These last three weeks have been set aside for your recovery. This is where I need you pushing hard for every inch of flexibility, pushing yourself past the brink so you can also tackle the psychological aspects of getting hurt. You understand why we’re here, right?”

Fuck.

I hated that she was dead on.

“Yes. You’re right. There’s only nineteen days left. Let’s start again.”

She looked me up and down. “Be honest with me. How strong does the leg feel?”

“Just as strong as the other one. I swear to God. I wouldn’t bullshit you on that.

She looked skeptical. “Really?”

“Really. I mean it. Last week I was already there, but you’re right. I was hesitating. I was holding back. That ends now. This shit’s too important to fuck around now.”

“There you go.” She stood up, circling me. “Fine. After we’re done this circuit, can you get a few of your teammates down here? I want to see for myself how you’ll do with a few plays. I can adjust the training to suit.”

I grinned, checking the time. “I’m already way ahead of you, doll. They’re on their way over right now.”

She licked her lips and smiled, not quite looking me in the eye. “I should have known.”

“Yes, you should have. I’m in a hurry to get moving so I can kick some ass at the combine.”

“Then quit it with the goofing around.” She picked up her pack and gave me a sports recovery drink. “Here. Hydrate.”

I kissed her as I took the bottle. “You know deep down, you love taking care of your all-time favorite student-athlete patient.”

She rolled her eyes, looking away. “Whatever you say.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

While we waited, I noticed a familiar face walking by. My eyes narrowed when I recognized him. Austin fucking-Grant. It had been weeks since his name came up. Sam hadn’t mentioned him, and Pat’s bodyguard hadn’t seen him at the dorm. He saw me, and the look on his face was anything but friendly. Probably because of that kiss.

I stopped Sam and kissed her again. Dude needed to know not to mess with her again. She was mine, even if we both refused to acknowledge it openly. Sam smiled and made me do some more running sets to keep warm while we waited. The squad showed up a few minutes later. It was Slade, Chris, Mo, Clive, Tre and Chad. My people.

“You sure you’re up to the challenge?” Chad asked.

“You’ll see when you eat my dust, moneybags.”

“Bring it, son.”

It felt good to be back with them, where I belonged. It was as natural as inhaling a lungful of air. And when we did our warmup sets and started bullshitting with each other, life adjusted to the proper axis. I could breathe again.

“So that’s her, huh?” Chad murmured, glancing at her. She sat on the bench, watching us closely.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Damn, she’s hot…way too good for you,” Tre muttered, grinning a mile wide. “I mean, a virgin at twenty-one? Looking like that? Though, you took good care of her, didn’t you?”

I didn’t laugh. I looked back at her to see if she was paying attention. I gave her a short wave, and she waved back. Her smile told me the sound hadn’t carried.

“Hey, knock it off with that shit. I mean it. She’s right there.”

“Look who got sensitive.” Clive and Tre chuckled like fools.

Slade gave Clive a shove on my behalf. “No. Just not a complete idiot. Now get in formation and let’s do this,” he ordered.

Why the hell did I tell those two kids anything is beyond me. Actually, I couldn’t judge them too harshly. That was the way we always talked about women, before they started pairing up and getting serious. Back then, girls were objectified as shiny, sexy toys for us to entertain ourselves. Samantha was different. Some of the college groupies only came around to get laid, so they’d have a story to boast about. But I’d also done my share of disrespecting some of the women who could have been decent.

Slade shot me a glance to get in the game. “All right, we’re gonna run some basic plays to see how your speed has held up. Evan, don’t go overboard, you hear me? Slow and easy out the gate.”

“Slow and easy? Fuck, man. I’ve been taking it easy for weeks.”

“You heard him!” Sam called out. “Take it slow!”

The guys nodded over to her. Meanwhile, I wondered how she could have heard that. She hadn’t heard anything else, had she? I didn’t think so—her face still had a neutral smile, as opposed to the hell-hath-no-fury expression I’d expect if she knew what Tre had said.

Chad was acting as cornerback, facing me while Slade took the snap and dropped back into the pocket. I dodged Chad, leaving him sprawling onto the grass when I took off. It wasn’t easy, and I missed the pass. But I’d shot out of formation fast enough.

“Good start,” Slade said, patting me on the back.

Sam jogged over. “How did that feel?”

“A little tight, a little sluggish.”

“It’s okay. It’ll come.”

It did come. After another three plays, I was almost able to catch up to the ball when Slade passed it. After another four, I caught a pass in the end zone. Everybody cheered like I had just saved a win at the Superbowl—including Sam, who was whooping it up as loudly as the guys. We went on like that for another few plays, until she decided I needed to wrap it up.

“I don’t want you overtaxing yourself,” she said. “You’ve done more than enough today. Start your outdoor cool down stretches. After that, I want you back in the heated Jacuzzi to soak for at least twenty minutes. I’ll be back. I need to finish some activity logs.”

“Meet you outside in half hour, then?”

She nodded. “Sure…hey, you looked amazing out there.”

“Thanks. Is that why you were smiling like a Cheshire cat?”

“Pretty much. You’ve progressed really well, and with over two weeks to spare, I can help you get a lot further ahead.”

“Sweet. I thought you were actually starting to like football.”

“Guess again, hot shot.”

“I’m still so messed up over it,” I teased.

“Not any more messed up than anybody else. We all have our things…so what’s your thing?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“A simple one.”

I shrugged. “I’m an open book. What you see is what you get.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, Evan Marshall.”

“You think so, huh?”

“Maybe. Okay I’ll meet you at the car.”

I thought about what she said as I soaked in one of the rehab tubs. She wanted to figure me out. There was not a damn thing more to me.

I
couldn’t sleep
.

We had few days before Evan was scheduled to leave for the combine. I was at his place again, beside him in bed. It wasn’t the first time I had stayed over. We had been sleeping together every other night since our first time. Kristy knew, however we never openly talked about it. I wasn’t ready to give her the blow-by-blow update, primarily because she would see right through my lighthearted façade and know instantly that my feelings for Evan ran deep. She had the good grace not to bring it up, and eventually I’d convinced myself that I didn’t owe her an explanation, anyway. She wasn’t my mother.

Rolling onto my side, I looked at him as he slept. Was this the last time I would be with him in bed like this? Once he came back from the event, would he want me anymore? Would I want him? Was the public version of himself going to show up in our interaction without warning one day? Now that we had spent so much time together, I got to see a side of him others didn’t. It would be easy to convince myself that the Evan I had come to know didn’t actually exist. That he was in game mode, and would go back to his old self, the way my father did every time he picked up the TV remote and sat in his overstuffed recliner.

Deep down, we all had that potential.

To flip a switch.

To harden our hearts against the very person we declared undying love for.

I had done neither of those, but was desperately trying to manage the former.

It was no use.

I was too far gone, and had to settle for not saying a word to him about what lied beneath.

I put it out of my mind and looked at him again. Watching his peaceful, perfect face damn near broke my heart. I didn’t even know why. I brushed a stray lock of his dark, wavy hair from his forehead, and he stirred. Hoping he wouldn’t wake up, I pulled my hand away like he had burned me. He opened his eyes anyway, just enough to see me. “Hey…can’t sleep?” he asked.

“Kind of.”

He pulled me close. “Excited about my big weekend coming up?”

“Very…but I’m good. Go back to sleep. You need your rest.”

He reached up and ran a finger down the side of my face. “Sucks that you’re not on the medical team travelling with us.”

“True, but it’s okay.”

He stretched, then he returned his hand to my chin. “I should have made a stink over it. Put my trash talking to good use.”

“Good God. I’m glad you didn’t do that.”

“Can’t wait to get rid of me, huh?”

“No, I don’t mean it like that…” I said hastily, turning my face to kiss his palm. I was going to miss this. Relaxing my head on his bare chest, I soaked in his comforting body heat and listened to his heart beat strong beneath his ribcage.

“You think I have a shot?” he asked, his raspy voice still blurred with sleep.

“Of course you do. You and I both know that. I saw you on the field. I’ve been watching all week. It’s like you never left.”

“You never saw me play before.”

“True, but that’s not the point. Just play with you’re A-game and you’ll kick ass.”

He chuckled, locking his arms tight around me. “That’s all I got, thanks to you.”

“You were driven long before you met me…and you’ll be that way long after we’re…” I stopped myself, and wrapped an arm around his waist, squeezing tight. “A long time from now. You have what it takes. Remember that and then get out of your head.”

“Will do…now, where were we?” He rolled to his side, taking me with him until he was on top of me. I wrapped my legs around his hips and raised my head to kiss him. I melted against him, set on fire as he lowered his chest to mine, sending burning heat to my center. Our mouths pressed together. Tongues danced. Teeth clashed against each other. My hands roamed down his back and gripped his ass, pulling his growing hardness tighter to my opening.

Moaning into his mouth, I called his name and absently told him I’d miss him. Without another thought, he found a condom in the top drawer of his night stand, ripped it open and lifted off me to roll it on. He kissed a trail from my lips to my neck. That was enough to make me soaking wet with need. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lifted my hips up to meet the pressure of his cock, writhing against it. Neither of us waited. He positioned himself against me and glided deep inside, filling me with one firm thrust.

I whimpered against his shoulder, both heavy and light with the weight of what my immediate future would look like without him. His movements grew more demanding, taking me closer to the wave of pleasure on the horizon. I lost myself with each stroke, relishing the tension that tightened in my core, driving electricity and fire through my body until that powerful climax hit. Christ, I could explode. I was a quivering, shaking mass of muscle and bone beneath him, calling him to come with me. Those words I spoke caused his eyes to flutter open. Pleasure gripped him, and I stared dreamily up at his face until he let his body stiffen and release through his orgasm. He continued with a few tense thrusts of his hips, then lowered himself onto me, burying his face into my neck after he came.

I held on to every bit of him. The sexy, dark, smoldering football star. The cocky, unafraid badass. The smart-mouthed, arrogant jerk. And the sweet, humane guy hiding behind all of those. I wanted him in my life, long after the combine and the NFL draft weekends were over.

Dammit.

I was terrified.

How did I get to this point?

Ahhh, yes. I remembered how.

Evan was officially off the injured list, and I was waiting for Dr. Jeffries to decide what the program department would do with me now. I had a good chance of being put back into my original assignment with the baseball team, although it was unlikely I’d be the student team lead. That ship had long since sailed.

Paired with all these unknowns was my excitement for the combine to start, along with dreading it at the same time. It meant all the work Evan had put in with me as his athletic training and therapy point person was about to pay off—either that, or he was going to fall spectacularly on his face, and I was going to be the one to blame for it.

Either way, he wouldn’t need my help anymore once it was all over.

Somehow, that scared me more than the idea of never seeing or talking to him again. I was flustered and anxious from the Wednesday that he flew out, all through to the event wrap-up on Sunday. I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork or focus in class. I barely ate. I kept going back to the fact that I was the one who pushed for
a no strings attached
deal.

I was being overly dramatic. I needed to grow up. Denying I meant something to him made it easier to push him away and accept I would be a distant memory by the time the semester ended.

He cared for me.

I could have grown to love him.

Except I should have known better than to let myself develop feelings for him. We didn’t just sleep together. Nothing about what happened between us was casual. And I wasn’t imagining it, either. It was one thing to own each other in bed and yet another to lay claim to each other’s souls. That was even too deep for me to consider, given the family life I was subjected to, courtesy of my father, and bearing witness to Uncle Wallace’s painful journey post-NFL.

The long and short of it was that fear got in the way.

My fear.