Ballers with Benefits (Double Play Series Book 3)

by Nicole Rodrigues

  “Don’t think I didn’t notice that tattoo either, they see that?”

  “Yeah they saw. They weren’t too happy about it.”

  “What does it mean?” he asks tracing over the butterfly.

  “I got it to remind me of the Bella after Connor. The brave one, the one that lived without givin’ a shit about the consequences.”

  He smiles and shakes his head.

  “See. You even knew to give yourself a reminder so you could get a nice kick in the ass when you tried to turn back into a caterpillar.”

  “A butterfly can’t turn back into a caterpillar,” I say confused.

  “Exactly,” Devin smirks. “Now come on, let’s go for that run. See how you Olympic athletes can keep up with the big boys.”

  “So philosophical Gavinwood, you gettin’ soft on me?”

  He winks and walks upstairs, and I follow, getting ready to run away from all those doubts and insecurities and start living the life I know I deserve to live.

  “If it was offseason, I would understand but damn DJ, I gotta make a call, they need to fire your strength and conditionin’ coach,” I laugh as we jog back to the gate of Devin’s house.

  “Strength coach is fine,” he smirks flexing his bicep.

  He looks over my shoulder and his face hardens. He brushes past me running up the driveway and I turn and see why.

  Damon.

  “Dev, wait!” I yell, running after him.

  He is such a fraud. He held back during our run because right now, I’m not even close to catching up with him. My sneakers are pounding into the pavement trying to catch up to him, but it’s too late. Damon turns around at the last second and Devin tackles him to the ground, the two of them rolling around on the grass, trying to get in punches.

  “You’re fuckin’ dead Johnson. Stay the hell away from my sister. Who the fuck do you think you are!” Devin yells landing a punch across Damon’s face.

  Damon spits blood and his hands go up to protect himself.

  “It’s not what it looks like I swear, let me just explain,” he tries to reason, his voice hard.

  He bucks his body up into Devin trying to push him off.

  “Devin, get off him, you’re gonna hurt yourself,” I yell grabbing for his shoulders.

  He’s a lot bigger than me and stronger, but the adrenaline from my run is pumping through my veins. I grab him around his neck and pull him back as hard as I can as we both fall to the ground. He lands hard on top of me, knocking the wind out of me for a quick second.

  “Bella!” Devin yells, “What the hell are you doin’, I could have hurt you.”

  “I’m fine. Let him go, he ain’t worth it,” I rasp getting to my feet.

  I stare down at Damon, his lip bleeding and he is trying to catch his breath. He gets to a sitting position and gets up to his knees.

  “Bella let me explain all this,” he pleads.

  “Give us a minute Dev,” I say quietly.

  Devin points a finger at Damon.

  “You’ve done enough. I’m givin’ y’all five minutes then I’m throwin’ you off my property and you ain’t ever comin’ back.”

  He kisses my cheek and walks back towards the house shutting the door.

  “Explain,” I say crossing my arms over my chest.

  Damon gets to his feet shakily and walks closer to me. I put up my hand to stop him and he complies, stopping a few feet in front of me. If he comes any closer, I’ll lose my nerve. Just being in front of him makes me want to run to him and kiss him and go back to how we were, to pretend none of this happened.

  “The dinner in Louisiana was Brynn trying to get me back, but I told her about us. I'm in love with you and there was nothing she could do to get me back. I told her we had to figure out the tabloid situation because I was with you and that wasn't gonna change. We parted ways and that was it. When I was in San Francisco, her publicist called me to meet. I had no idea she was going to be there, I didn’t go to San Francisco with the intention of seeing her I swear to you Bella.”

  He walks a little closer and I take a step back.

  “I love you, I love you so fuckin’ much it scares me, but then I woke up that morning and you were gone. You wouldn’t answer your phone and there was nothing I could do, and I had to leave. I met with her publicist and they want to run a breakup story, explain it all, we parted amicably and what not. Word got out about her leaving because of my knee and she was losing jobs left and right, we were both in a shitty situation.”

  “We met, I told my side of the story and told them this was it. Leave me out of the rest, I’m happy with you and that’s it. She came towards the end and nothing happened. We talked and we left. That picture...my hand on her back...we were leaving the restaurant and it was just a reflex. I...I swear nothing happened.”

  “A reflex, huh?” I scoff. “Well my reflex might accidentally cop a feel of a man’s crotch, how would that make you feel? Especially if I leave you out of it! If I don’t tell you!” I yell.

  “I tried, you wouldn’t answer your phone!”

  “Because you lied to me Damon! If you would have just told me the truth from the beginnin’ this whole domino effect would never have started! You can’t start a relationship on lies! I’ve done it and look how that ended! If this thing between us ever ended like that...”

  I trail off looking away from him, the tears falling from my eyes. Dammit.

  “Angel…please don’t cry.”

  He steps in my bubble and I put my hand up, colliding with his chest.

  Big mistake Bella. I close my fist around the material of his shirt and close my eyes, inhaling his scent, the tears dripping down my cheeks. I feel his finger softly wipe them off and my heart shatters.

  “I love you Bella. I would never, ever do what that dick did to you. No matter how many days go by without your body underneath mine and no matter how many temptations are put in my face. Nothing is worth losing you, worth hurting you.”

  “I...I’m sorry I overreacted a little bit, I just...I saw that picture and it all came back to me. The lyin’, the cheatin’, Connor tellin’ me you would do this.“

  “Fuck Connor. I lied, I'll own that, but I didn't want you to have to worry about something like this. It wasn't important to me. I would never lie or exclude you from something important. Brynn is nothing to me Bella, nothing. You're everything, only you. If it takes days, months, years to prove it to you I will. I'm not going anywhere.”

  “I just...I need to stay here for the night, figure it out, okay?”

  “I’ll get a hotel in town, I can drive back with you tomorrow.”

  “No,” I say shaking my head. “I was plannin’ on drivin’ back in the afternoon. Just...go, okay? We’ll talk when I get back.”

  “I love you,” he says cupping my face.

  I give him a small smile and nod and I feel his lips brush against mine. I exhale and push my lips further into his, parting my mouth slightly to let him in. In to my mouth, my body, my heart, everywhere.

  I remember the feeling of falling out of the plane, the terror that invaded my mind. Shut it off Bella, don’t think about it, just feel.

  My body relaxes under his touch and then I feel it, the serenity, the free fall, and then my feet are on the ground and I feel safe, just like right now, wrapped in his arms.

  I break the kiss and step back, waving to him.

  “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Another first,” he says from behind me.

  “What?” I ask turning around.

  “Another first for me angel. I love you.”

  I look at him confused and he smiles. He walks back towards me again rubbing a thumb down my bottom lip and moves his face towards my ear.

  “The first time I said those words to a woman, the woman. You got the first and the last angel,” he whispers.

  “You never-”

  “No.”

  He kisses my cheek and the then he is walking backwards down the driveway
and I smile.

  “You know the deal already angel, don’t lecture me.”

  “You wanna fall again, be my guest.”

  “Everyday angel, I fall every goddamn day.”

  Chapter 26

  Bella

  I grab my backpack out of the backseat of my car and open my phone.

  Damon: Safe drive back. I’m here when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.

  I smile and press the call button hearing it ring as I open the door to my apartment building.

  “Hey angel,” Damon’s smooth voice says through the phone.

  “Hey. I just got back. I uh...are you around, in Louisiana or…”

  “I actually had something pretty important to take care of. Can I call you when I’m done?”

  I look at the phone with my brows furrowed and walk up the stairs, finally getting to my floor.

  “I mean sure, yeah I just...I guess I figured-”

  My words are cut off by the sight of Damon standing outside my door with a bouquet of red roses. My mouth opens and I run down the hall, dropping my backpack to the floor, along with my phone and jump into his arms.

  “You jerk!” I laugh kissing his cheeks and his lips, my hands tangling in his hair.

  “Have to keep you on your toes Gavinwood,” he says putting me down on my feet.

  I fumble with my keys and unlock the door in record time. I waste no time and pull Damon by his belt down the hall to my room, shutting the door behind us. I strip off my t shirt and jeans quickly, watching him do the same. We’re laughing like maniacs and I jump into his bare arms as he spins me around, gripping my ass, kissing up my neck.

  “I’m so sorry Bella. I am,” Damon says between kisses.

  “I’m sorry too. I should have had more faith in you. I promise I’ll always believe you, we’re a team and I...ohh God that feels good,” I moan as he sucks on a spot above my collarbone.

  “Talk later,” he mumbles pushing me into the wall.

  I nod as he grips me tighter, moving his hand in between us, pushing my thong to the side. I feel his swollen head press against my entrance, and I let out a slow moan of satisfaction as he pushes into me, every inch of him invading me and it feels incredible.

  He groans when he is all the way inside me and starts to move.

  “The bed,” I rasp. “I want you to take me to bed.”

  He nods and walks slowly to the bed, his dick pushing further into me with each step.

  “Oh God Damon.”

  He drops us to the bed, falling on top of me as his length pushes in further, hitting my spot and I feel my legs tighten around him.

  “Like that,” I command.

  He moves his hips, circling around, his body rubbing against my clit, making my walls squeeze around him tighter.

  “Oh angel, I’ve missed you,” he says cupping my cheek.

  He leans down and kisses me as he pushes himself in and out of my slick pussy, faster and faster until I’m panting underneath him, gripping his back with my nails.

  The sound of our bodies coming together bounces around the room and

  I feel myself fall off the edge. The tension uncoils inside my belly as my orgasm barrels into me and I moan my satisfaction into his shoulder.

  “Get up,” I pant.

  Damon leans up on his knees and I grab his erection, stroking it in my hand as I gently push him on his back on my bed.

  I lean down, licking the tip of him and close my eyes, moaning at the taste of myself on him.

  “Shit Bella, don’t. I’m so close angel.”

  I lick his tip again, sliding my whole mouth around him, feeling him hit the back of my throat and I swallow, letting him slip a little deeper before popping off. I smirk as I reach into my nightstand, pulling out a condom and rip it open with my teeth. I push it down his thick cock and climb on top of his lap.

  I hover above him, teasing as I start to sit down and then get up, only putting his tip inside me and then pulling it out again.

  “Bella…” he warns.

  I slam down on his length my nails digging into his pecs as I grind into him. I move my body back and forth, my clit rubbing against the bottom of his shaft, already feeling my orgasm bubbling to the surface again.

  “Oh God this feels so fuckin’ good,” I moan.

  Something about being on top of this man, riding this man is my undoing. I dig my legs into the bed on each side of him and press my body harder and harder into him, pushing his shaft as far as it could possibly go.

  I move frantically, so close to that release and I feel my body shake on top of him, my body’s rhythm slowing down, letting the explosion disperse to every nerve in my body. I lay down on him, pressing my tits into his chest, grabbing his neck as I grind out the last drops of my climax.

  “Ohhhhh God.”

  “I love you Bella Gavinwood, fuck, I love you so much,” Damon grits out, cupping my cheeks hard, lifting my face to his, kissing me.

  My body is limp on top of him, my lips the only thing able to move. His lips continue to kiss me, take from me as his hands go to my waist and he pistons his cock up into me, his tempo rapid, his breath ragged, and he growls his release into my ear as his arms wrap around my back holding me in place.

  “Ahh fuckkkkkk,” he moans.

  My body relaxes on top of him, our breathing the only sound in the room.

  “I love making up with you angel,” he smiles, kissing my neck.

  “Don’t make a habit of it big guy,” I say smacking his chest.

  I roll off of him, pulling the blanket up over us and burrowing into his side. I trace the tattoo on his ribs and move my face down to press my lips against it.

  “When did this change for you,” I ask motioning between the two if us.

  “Honestly?”

  I nod.

  “The second you slid that tequila shot over to me angel. I knew the second my fingers wrapped around that glass that I was never going to be able to forget you.”

  I smile against his skin, kissing his tattoo again.

  “I like that answer,” I whisper, moving up to kiss his lips again.

  His hand wraps around mine on top of his chest and I relax again, my body buzzing with the knowledge that I have Damon, and we have so many more firsts to tackle together, hopefully a lifetime worth.

  Chapter 27

  Bella

  “They look so happy,” I say to Damon as we glide across the dance floor.

  “They are. She is great for him.”

  I watch his brother Maxwell smile at his new bride, and I feel that flutter in my belly. Someday that will be us.

  The months since our big declaration have been nothing short of amazing. Every day I get to spend with Damon has been an adventure, some firsts for me, some firsts for him, but always something that puts a smile on our faces and our adrenaline pumping through our veins.

  “Don’t look now, but I think my brother is about to give the whole wedding a show,” Damon whispers.

  I glance at Maxwell and furrow my brows.

  “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “Not that brother.”

  I look around to where Damon nods and see Nico and Lacey making out against the back wall.

  “Oh my Lord, those two make me a little sick sometimes,” I groan.

  Damon laughs and shakes his head.

  “If I tell you something, promise you won’t spill the beans?”

  “It depends what it is,” I say skeptically.

  “Nico thinks she’s the one. He’s been telling me he’s been looking at rings and...I don’t know, what do you think?” Damon says curiously.

  “I...well that’s fast, no? I mean they haven’t even been together a year! Lacey doesn’t do this...I don’t know what her answer would be honestly.”

  “Well if he were, how do you think he should do it?”

  “I mean he would have to ask Jackson, for sure. Maybe wait a couple more months, closer to a year, maybe live together
first and make sure this is it. I mean, I don’t know,” I laugh.

  “I’ll tell him.”

  We dance to the next song and I feel Damon’s mood change.

  “What’s the matter baby?” I ask cupping his cheek.