Lead Player: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Alex Grayson

  I lean my head against the headboard and watch as he picks up the bowl. A light steam floats up from the top. Surprisingly, it smells delicious, and suddenly I’m starving.

  He looks so cute sitting there blowing on the spoonful of soup to cool it down that I can’t help but smile a little. He looks like what a father would look like getting ready to feed his child.

  Slowly, he moves the spoon toward me, and I open my mouth. The flavors of the broth and the little chunks of chicken and noodle burst on my tongue. I moan and lick my lips in delight.

  “That tastes so good.”

  “It’s my mom’s recipe. When Allison and I got sick, she always made this for us.” He chuckles while dipping the spoon in the bowl for more. “Canned soups were forbidden in our house. She claimed soups were meant to be made from scratch and with love.”

  I smile and take the bite he holds out for me. “She sounds like a good mom.”

  “I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Even when she drives me bonkers.”

  “I think driving their kids bonkers is in all mom’s DNA. Just like overprotective fathers.”

  His lips tip up. “Sounds about right. Dad met Allison’s first date at the door with his gun belt strapped around his waist.”

  I laugh. “How awful for her. At least my dad stayed in the living room when I answered the door for my first date, even though he shot major warnings at him with his eyes. My date couldn’t get me out of the door fast enough.”

  He holds out another bite, and I greedily open my mouth. This soup is seriously good.

  “Are you close with your family? Obviously, you’re close with Allison, but what about your parents?”

  “Yeah, pretty close. Mom and Dad moved to Arizona to be with my mom’s mom when she became ill. We talk on the phone a couple times a week and one of us visits the other when we can.”

  “That’s nice.

  “What about you?”

  “My mom died when I was fifteen. Ovarian cancer. It’s just been dad and me since. Well, it was until a few years ago. Dad remarried. Thankfully his new wife and I get along great. They actually moved out here from Texas to be closer to me after they married.”

  “You’re from Texas?” I nod. “You don’t sound like it.”

  I laugh then open my mouth for my next bite. “Not all Texas natives have the twang.”

  He sets the bowl back down on the tray. “You ate it all. How’s your stomach?”

  “Surprisingly good. In fact, I could absolutely eat more.”

  “Thank fuck. You had me worried.”

  “It was only a stomach bug, Enzo.”

  He frowns. “And a shit one. You’ve been out of it for two days.”

  “What?” I yell, then wince when the noise causes my head to pound. “There’s no way I was out that long.”

  “Alaina, baby, it’s Thursday night.”

  My eyes widen, disbelief filling me. “Crap.” A thought suddenly occurs. “I had a phone conference with a client yesterday.”

  “It was taken care of.” I raise my brows at that. “Juliet came by yesterday morning and saw how sick you were. She knew you had an appointment, so she emailed the client herself and rescheduled it for next week.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. I hate letting clients down, and it’s a pet peeve of mine when others do it.

  “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” I say quietly. “You didn’t have to stay and take care of me, but I’m glad you did.”

  “I wouldn’t have been anywhere else. Just promise me next time, you’ll call me before it gets that bad. Or if not me, one of your friends.”

  I nod.

  He tucks the blanket around me, which is totally endearing and sweet.

  “You need to get more sleep.”

  I tilt my head to the side. “Have you slept any?”

  “I got an hour or two here and there. I didn’t want to sleep too much in case you needed me.”

  “Enzo,” I start, guilt eating at me. It’s one thing to take care of me while I’m sick. It’s another to neglect himself in the process.

  “It’s fine. Now that you’re feeling better, I’ll relax more and get some rest.” He gets up from the bed. “Do you need anything?”

  Looking down at my sweat-soaked shirt, I’m reminded of how awful I must look and smell.

  “Actually, there is one thing I’d like before I go back to sleep.” His brows go up as he waits for me to continue. “A bath would be heavenly.”

  His grin comes instantly, and it affects me more than a smile should affect a person.

  “I’ll get the water running.” His dimple pops out when he tosses me a wink. “And I’ll be the one doing the bathing.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  ENZO

  I lay with my back propped against the couch, Alaina laying between my legs. I’ve got a length of her hair wrapped around my finger and she’s lazily running hers through the hair on my legs. We’re watching some cheesy Lifetime movie that has Alaina sniffling every so often. It’s Saturday, two days after she recovered from her stomach bug, so she can watch whatever the hell she wants. I’m just glad she no longer looks on the verge of death.

  I’ve only left her house once since I found her on the bathroom floor, and it was only for thirty minutes while I grabbed some things from home. I’ve told her I didn’t want to leave her alone in case she became sick again, but it was only partially true. I like being here with her.

  When the movie is over, she rolls around and puts a hand just below my sternum, then props her chin on top. For the first time in days, she has color in her cheeks.

  I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “I’m thinking it’s probably safe for you to go home,” she answers quietly. “I think I’ve made a full recovery.”

  “You want me to leave?”

  Say no, my mind demands.

  “It’s not that I want you to go home, but I know you have a life. You’ve already missed one session at the recording studio. You can’t miss anymore.”

  I shrug. “I won’t. But I can leave from here just as easily as I can leave from my house. Your house is actually closer. So, you’re saving me time and money by letting me stay here.”

  Her eyes move back and forth between mine and some of the light dims. “I still think you should go back to your house after tonight.”

  My gut tightens. “Why?”

  Her gaze falls. “Because it’s not like we’re living together or anything. You’ve been here for over four days. I’m sure you have things to do around your place that you’ve neglected.”

  “What’s going on here, Alaina? I’ll go home if you want me to, but I feel like there’s more going on than what you’re giving me. Talk to me.”

  She doesn’t answer me right away, but gets up and slides to the other end of the couch, mirroring my position with her back against the arm. She draws her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around them.

  “I like you a lot, Enzo. More than I probably should. But we’ve only been dating a couple of weeks, and I’ve been too clingy. You’ve had virtually no time for yourself the past few days. I don’t want to be the one to fuck this up by being clingy.”

  I almost choke at her words. She is utterly ridiculous.

  “Clingy?” I ask, my tone full of disbelief. “You think you’ve been clingy?”

  She bites her lip and nods. Tossing my feet to the floor, I reach over and grab her hips, hauling her onto my lap. She needs to be close when I say this.

  “Listen and listen good, Alaina.” I wait for her to nod again. “First, you were sick. What the hell did you expect me to do? Leave you to fend for yourself?” She opens her mouth to speak, but I squeeze her flesh to keep her quiet. “Second, and I say this with the chance of having my man card revoked, but I’ve been the clingy one. I could have left yesterday. I could have left today. But I didn’t want to. I’ve enjoyed my time here wi
th you and I don’t want it to end. Hell, if I had my way, I’d want you to be more clingy.”

  The smile she gives me is slow. It starts in her eyes then moves across her cheeks until she’s smiling so big her white teeth peek out between her lips.

  “Are you sure? Because I can totally be clingier. You’ll have to use a crowbar to get me away from you.”

  I laugh, my chest feeling light. “Nah. I’ll just use the crowbar to keep back anyone who tries to pry you away from me.”

  I fucking love the sound of her giggle.

  “Fine, but you asked for it.”

  “That I did.”

  Her head tilts and she rests her cheek in her palm. “Can I ask you something?”

  “You can ask me anything.”

  Her lips purse, like she’s nervous, which makes me really fucking curious what her question is.

  “Have you….” She stops and licks her lips. “Have you ever had a serious relationship?”

  Anger heats my blood. That’s twice in less than a week that I’ve thought about the money-grubbing bitch Karen. Anytime her memory comes to mind, I want to plant my fist through a wall. Right now I work hard at reining in my raging emotions.

  Given my growing feelings for Alaina—feelings I hope she has for me as well—her question doesn’t surprise me. I’m curious about her past relationships too. Although, we’ll keep the details out of it. No fucking way do I want details on the more physical side of her past relationships.

  “Once.” I clear my throat. “About five years ago. Her name was Karen. She was actually a band groupie.” I curb my smile when I see the disgruntled look flash on Alaina’s face. “She followed the band around for about a year before I slept with her. She never slept with any of the other guys, which appealed to me because most groupies thrive on that shit. Apparently, I was the only one she wanted.”

  Alaina snorts, but keeps quiet so I continue.

  “She never made a fuss, but was always quietly in the background. When we came back home for breaks, she would follow us. It wasn’t uncommon for groupies to do that, so none of us thought it was strange. I slept with her a few times over a couple of months. We never labeled our time together, so it wasn’t exclusive, but even so, I didn’t sleep with anyone else, and as far as I knew, she didn’t either.” My jaw tightens, and I take a moment to relax. “One day, while we were on tour, she came to me. Said she was pregnant.”

  “What?” Alaina’s entire body stiffens. I tense, prepared to haul her ass back down to me if she decides to get up. Thankfully, after a moment, I realize she’s not. But the look in her eyes—the fear, confusion, and anger—stays in place. I lock my arms around her waist, just in case.

  “I told Karen from the very beginning that what we shared was nothing more than sexual satisfaction. It would never be anything more. I didn’t love her, but I grew to care for her. When she came to me about the pregnancy, I was conflicted. I wanted children one day, but I wanted them with the woman I chose for myself. But I also knew I would never neglect any child of mine. I was fully prepared to step up and take on the daddy role, but I told Karen I would never marry her.

  “Even so, I wasn’t dumb. I demanded proof she was pregnant. I also told her I wanted a paternity test once the baby was born. I may not have thought she was sleeping with other guys, but there was no way for me to know for sure. Karen showed me a positive pregnancy test and thought that was good enough. When I told her it wasn’t, that I wanted in on one of her appointments, she got defensive, accusing me of not trusting her. The fact was, I didn’t. I had heard the crazy horror stories of groupies purposely trying to get pregnant to trap band members. I was always careful and made sure I wrapped my shit up.”

  Alaina’s brows furrow. “What happened?”

  I gather the long mass of her hair and loosely wrap my fist around it.

  “I went to her first appointment and the doctor confirmed she was pregnant. A couple of months later, she flew out to catch one of our shows. She went to a bar afterward and didn’t realize one of the band members was at the same bar. He overheard her gloating to another groupie about having sex with a friend back home with the sole purpose of getting pregnant to trap me.”

  “What the fuck?” she shouts, her eyes flaring wide. She shoots straight up and away from me, and I can practically feel the vibration of her anger. “I can’t believe someone would actually do that!”

  I grab her waist and hoist her over my lap so both of her knees are on the outside of my thighs.

  “Believe it. There are some selfish, rotten people out there.”

  She relaxes, but only fractionally. “What did you do?”

  “I confronted her. She denied it, of course. Actually thought I would take her word over someone I had known half of my life. Even so, just to be sure, because I did have sex with her, I wanted the paternity test. Instead of waiting for the baby to be born, and after the doctors assured me it was totally safe, I demanded she have one while she was pregnant. I got the confirmation a week later that I was not the father.”

  “Wow,” she states, her expression still filled with ire on my behalf. “Some people….” She shakes her head. “This makes me so damn angry. I’d love to get my hands on her.”

  I smile. “And what would you do if you did?”

  Her eyes narrow. “I don’t really know, but I can guarantee it wouldn’t be pretty.”

  “I really like this protective side of you. Almost as much as the jealousy side.”

  “Whatever,” she says, but I see her lips twitch.

  Done with this subject, I decide to change it. Or rather, distract her away from it.

  Palming the back of her head, I yank her forward. She tastes sweet, like the apple slices we ate not long ago.

  Gripping the top of her tank, I pull the material down until one of her breasts pops free. Leaving her lips behind, I latch my own around the already tightening bud.

  “Mmm….” she moans, palming the back of my head and pressing me closer. “That feels so good, Enzo.”

  “Know what would feel even better?” I ask, licking my tongue around the areola. “Riding my cock while I suck on these gorgeous tits.”

  “Oh, God, yes!”

  She scrambles back at the same time I grab her waist to help her up. Her shorts are yanked off, along with her top, and I lift my hips to pull down my sweats just far enough so my cock bobs free. She moves to straddle me, but at the last minute, I remember something.

  “Condom.” My voice is strained. “In my wallet on the bar.”

  Before she can walk away, I grab her hips to stop her. My thoughts are fucking crazy—especially with what I just revealed, but I can’t get it out of my head.

  “Are you on the pill?”

  “Yes,” she says slowly.

  I take a deep breath and let the words out. “I’m clean, and if you tell me you are, I’ll trust that. I’d really like to fuck you bare.”

  Her brows shoot up in surprise. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  Her expression softens with the magnitude of my request. To her, I’m giving her my full trust. What I don’t say is that birth control is no longer an issue for me—that’s a discussion for another day. I’ve never had sex without a condom before, I’ve never even been tempted to, but for some reason, I really fucking want to with Alaina.

  “Okay.”

  Before the word fully leaves her lips, I’m pulling her back onto my lap. She grabs my dick and sets the tip at her entrance. I hiss out a breath and her mouth parts as she pants when she begins to slide down.

  “So tight and wet and incredible,” I groan, looking down at where we’re connected. I can see her juices on my shaft each time she slides up. “Christ, you feel so damn good bare.”

  I look up and meet her beautiful eyes, so full of desire.

  Her tits jiggle in front of my face as she begins a slow and torturous up and down motion. I palm one and bring it to my lips, sucking as much as I can into
my mouth. Her walls clamp down on me, tempting my control. I move from one breast to the other and give it the same treatment.

  Her moans turn into low cries the faster she moves. Palming the fine globes of her ass, I push her down and grind her against the root of my shaft, making sure her clit gets the attention it needs. Her eyes pop open wide and she whimpers.

  Tingles start at the base of my spine, signaling my impending release. Refusing to go off without her, I lift her up and slam her back down repeatedly. She grabs a hold of my shoulders as I manipulate her body how I want, her nails digging into the muscles. Right as I’m about to lose control, her pussy grips me tight. She tosses her head back and lets out a loud cry. My own orgasm hits me hard, and I release jet after jet of cum deep inside her.

  She falls limp on my lap, her heavy breathing fanning against my neck. “That was fantastic.”

  I chuckle and run my hands up and down her back. “Hell yes, it was.”

  “We’re definitely doing it like that from now on. You’ve ruined me for using condoms with you.”

  I’ve ruined her for using condoms, period. Because she sure as shit won’t be using them with anyone else.

  “I’m on board with that.”

  On the end table, my phone buzzes with a text, and I reach over for it. I groan at the name on the screen.

  Alaina lifts her head and looks at it. “Who is it?”

  “Heidi.”

  Some of the sex afterglow fades from her face, and if I’m not mistaken, her lips twitch like she wants to sneer.

  “What does she want?” she asks, her tone clipped.

  I pull up her message and check.

  Heidi: Is there any way you could come change a tire for me? I have a flat, and I need to get to work.

  “She has a flat and wants to know if I’ll come change it.”

  “Of course she does,” Alaina mutters.

  I look up and see her sour expression. I can’t help but grin.

  “You still believe Heidi has some kind of crush on me?”

  “I know she does.”

  “You do, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  “And you hate that, don’t you?”