“Liam,” I warn.
“My cock is going to burst if I don’t get inside you right now.”
I throw my head back when his fingers dip dangerously low, taunting my folds. “You’re gonna have to wait.”
“Fuck that.” His hand goes lower.
I bite my lip wanting more than anything to encourage him. “I mean it. Wait.”
The excitement of today’s game is still coursing through my veins. The entire team played to perfection and more importantly played as a team united. Of course, there were plenty of penalties, bad calls, and mistakes made. But that’s why I hired the best head coach around.
Alex’s words from earlier today when I said good-bye to everyone after my and Liam’s families celebrated the win hit me square in my chest.
I can’t wait to be out here and take some of this responsibility off you.
My mood changed instantly. Alex might be part owner, but he has never shown an interest in wanting to work here. I stood there with confusion written all over me. Something is going on with him. Regardless of the distance the past year between him and me, we’ve always flocked toward one another whenever a crisis happens, and he gets me like no other. But I’ve kept things hidden from him, and now he’s keeping something from me.
With the stress lines etched across my forehead the past few days, he, as well as everyone else, thinks they have to do with the responsibility of being the general manager of this team. It doesn’t. It has to do with the four potted flower plants that are now stuffed into the corner of my porch.
I’ve avoided the validity of receiving these anonymous gifts long enough. It’s going to anger my family, piss them off in ways that will bring down the wrath my dad is known for, but I value my life, and I know what can happen when an obsessed stalker or whoever this sick person is cracks. People get hurt, some don’t survive, and I won’t jeopardize my life or anyone else’s for some twisted game ruled by a sick fuck.
I’m tired of pretending. Tired of trying to read every player, every man who walks by me wondering if it’s him. More importantly, I’m tired of keeping this secret from Liam and my family.
I have an amazing tribe of people who have taught me to be the best person I can be, and keeping this from them regardless of the actions that may arise is not the person they see in me.
I’m going to fail miserably at times in this job. One thing I won’t do is fail when it comes to their trust. I’ll take whatever any of them have to say, and I’ll suck up the disappointment from betraying Roan, but they will hear my reasons why first, and they will respect them.
“I can buy you a new pair. I love the way they shape your ass, although I love you naked more. Especially with your ass in the air and my cock inside of you,” he growls into my ear as his hand travels a bit lower. He’s so damn close. “Come on my fingers, baby. Just an appetizer.”
I roll my eyes, stand with a stiff spine when an SUV turns into my drive. I’d love nothing more than to let his fingers drift lower and finish off in bed well into the dark of night.
“Hopefully later. I have something to discuss with you, Alex, Dad, and Roan.”
“Fucking boner killer right there.” Liam eases his hand out of my jeans and rests it on my hip like he hadn’t just been about to sneak into the cookie jar.
I didn’t tell Liam they were stopping by. I’m fairly certain when I called my dad on Monday afternoon when I walked outside to say good-bye to Liam and noticed the plants sitting on my porch, he knew something was wrong. He didn’t question me over the phone, which threw me off, particularly the string of illicit questions or concerns I’ve grown accustomed to coming from my dad.
Suddenly the fresh air between us shifts. The scent of Liam’s soap drifts over me. I draw in a strong lungful. I need strength to get through this, and I’m drawing it from him. I grasp hold of his hand, pull his now tensed fingers into mine. The sexual desire wafting off him from a minute ago is gone.
A sharp, dull ache spreads through my chest, knowing I’m going to bring disappointment to all of them.
“I hope you didn’t ask us here to tell me you’re pregnant. I’d hate to kill our quarterback’s ass right after his big win.” Dad strides up to us with his outstretched hand. He’s a damn silver fox who will never lose any of his power.
Liam chuckles beside me. Shakes his hand while my mouth opens up, and I gasp. No-filter man that my father is. Good Lord.
“Dad, quit being a jerk. If I were pregnant, which I’m not, you'd deal with it. Something is going on; I should have told you about it when it first happened. Before you jump out of your skin, let me show you,” I blurt.
I let go of Liam’s hand, open my door, and flick on the porch light. I’m so nervous I could puke. My practiced words escape me.
“What the fuck is it?” The tightened question from the ever so calm and cool Roan straightens my back. I lift my finger to the corner where I shoved everything, including the box containing a piece of lingerie that isn’t mine.
“Don’t touch the lingerie; it’s not mine.” I can’t find the words to tell them what was coated all over the lacey material. It disgusts me.
In a few long strides, all four of them are kneeling over the pots and picking up the cards. I couldn’t bring myself to read the ones that were stuffed in the plants. It was scary enough with the first one. It scares the shit out of me that whoever is doing this knows where I live.
Even with remembering to set my alarm now or the nights Liam has stayed over, I’m afraid to close my eyes out of fear I’ll wake up to someone standing over me. It haunts me even when sleep does come.
I guide my gaze to my dad. His back is ramrod straight. Eyes feral and on the verge of anger like I’ve never seen radiating off him before.
“I knew you were keeping something from me. You mind telling us why? This is serious shit, Justice, and before you answer, your excuse better not be because you didn’t want us to worry.”
I thought my dad would be the first one to speak. Liam beat him to it.
I wring my hands together. Liam’s words from the other night about not making up an excuse thrum across the ache that has now found its way to my heart. I’ve considered myself to be strong and independent, but none of that matters now when four of the men I care about are waiting for an answer from me I don’t have.
“I’m not going to lie. That is my reason why.” A sudden wave of nausea curls my stomach; the unfamiliar arrival of uneasiness and anxiety at what’s in store for me for betraying my family and Liam outweighs the vagueness of my pitiful excuse.
I can’t ignore the race in my pulse or the look from the head of my family over hiding something like this from them. The outside world is much different from mine. We have strict guidelines we live by, and one of them is to protect one another at all costs. I’ve demolished it.
“Goddamn it, Justice. That isn’t good enough. You don’t get to make these kinds of choices when it comes to the safety of my family. Those choices are mine. Whoever is doing this could have come after you. Jesus Christ. You were always the one I worried about the most. The girl who thought she hid herself well. You’re my family, my blood, and you are as stubborn as your mother. This is something she would have done. It’s something I would have done, too. What I’m about to say to you is because you are a woman, Justice. A woman who we let live her life the way she wanted. You can take what I have to say any way you want. This, though, has stepped into our territory. You don’t have the right to make decisions when it comes to someone threatening my family. That is my job. I don’t give a shit who you are or what the public thinks of you. This ends here. We are staying here until we get to the bottom of this, and you will not be out of our sight.” My heart sinks. It doesn’t stop me from standing up for what I feel is right.
“And you don’t get to come here and in a roundabout way tell me that whoever is behind this will die. I know what you do to people who threaten those you love, Roan. They don’t live to see anoth
er day. I may be my mother’s daughter, but that is not the type of woman I am. I want this handled the right way. Either we go to the police, or I walk away.”
My legs are about to give out on me. I move to rest my body against the door. Closing my eyes and inhaling air. “I’m sorry. I would never walk away from any of you. I just don’t want anyone to die.”
“Jesus, sweetheart. We would never bring that down on you. Whoever is doing this needs to be taught a lesson. The cops will not be involved, but this person will not get away with this. I told you we knew how you felt, Justice. What I should have told you was, this is why we bought this football team. We bought it for you and for Alex because neither one of you want to live this kind of life.” I stop breathing.
Well, that answers my question as to what Alex was keeping from me. My eyes spring open, and my mouth hits the wood on my front porch. Deep down I knew the reason why they bought it. For me, I mean. They knew it would eventually bring me back to Liam. That I would fight for him if given a chance. But Alex, I was led to believe he would deal with things back in New York.
“What do you mean, you don’t want their kind of life? You’ve shadowed your dad around for years, Alex. If anyone is to take over the Diamond Empire, it would be you or your brother. Don’t give up something you want on my account.” I’m trying so hard to wrap my head around this. My body feels as if it’s being lassoed tight. I can barely breathe.
“I’m not giving anything up for you or anyone else. I’m doing it for me. Like you, I had to wait to talk to my parents when the time was right. I’m not wasting any more of it. I’ve told them. I’ve already started looking for a place to live. You’ve been busy building our empire out here, Justice. It’s time to step aside and let me be your partner.” Alex shrugs as if what he’s kept from me isn’t a big deal. I suppose it’s not. Still, it hurts a little that he’s known all along how I’ve felt and never once told me he felt the same.
“Okay,” I remark. I’m numb. Alex is Roan and Alina’s oldest son. By the way he talked, sat in meetings, and went places, he never offered to tell me I always assumed he would want to take over someday.
I hold my breath and wait for someone to speak. I’ve said what I need to say. Doesn’t stop my head from going on a full-out game of tug-o-war. I’m happy and sad.
“Sweetheart?” My dad calls out to me.
“Yeah?” I croak pathetically and turn to Liam. His playful expression from earlier is erased and filled with anger like I thought it would be. He’s clearly upset, despite that I see so much more in his eyes. He knows my family is talking about something they would never say in front of someone they didn’t trust. That word is more powerful than anyone realizes in our family, and I think now he honestly gets why it crushed me when I brought up how important trust really is, but the look in his eye now is stating I didn’t trust him with this. You’re wrong, Liam. So, so wrong.
I glance back to my dad. His words are powerful and full of meaning. They burst me wide open. “We love the two of you. Happiness for our children is more important to us than anything. I want you to listen and trust me. I promise whoever is doing this will not be killed unless it’s mafia related. If it is, we will never speak of this again. If you want me to let you live freely, then you have to let me take care of this. We have enemies, Justice. There are things you don’t know. Things I never want to tell you. And there are things I never want to tell your mother. One of them being something happened to you.”
I will never understand the ways of the underworld. Hearing the strain in my dad’s voice is enough to show me the strong man who helped bring me into this world is as human as I am when it comes to matters of the heart. All this time I thought he couldn’t protect me from my heart hurting. He’s proved me wrong.
All I can do now is hope whoever is behind this is not the mob.
16
Liam
Only because it wasn’t my place to interfere, nor do I care to get in deep with how her family justifies a rightful punishment, did I keep quiet as she battled it out with her family. I don’t care to know how they go about finding whoever is behind this. I want them gone and away from Justice. Although their reaction was a lot more even-tempered than I imagined them to be. Then again, so is mine, but somewhere along the way she’s taken my trust and tossed it over her shoulder.
The woman I see before me as I help load the last pot of pink flowers into the back of the SUV is hiding how scared she is from this sick person who dares threaten what’s mine.
I’m nothing but a football player without her. With her, I’m a man. A man who has been given a second chance at love, and as much as I love football, I love her more. She’s deep inside of me, and there is no way anyone will remove her without reducing me to a pile of nothing. I’m a man who will go to the core of the earth to protect her.
“You keep your head on straight, Liam. Focus on you and her, and let us handle this.” Cain speaks loud enough for me to get his meaning, yet soft enough Justice doesn’t hear.
“I’ll do my best.” I won’t promise him or anyone something I can’t one hundred percent commit to.
I look down at my shaky hands after saying good-bye to everyone. They were steady a bit ago while running them along the smoothness of her legs in those scrap of jeans that a moment ago made me feel so alive yet peaceful at the same time. I wanted to leave my hands on her, to let her beauty and softness penetrate me. To be able to run my tongue up her long legs and watch her melt into my mouth. I wanted to continue my survey of her body, and now the thought of something happening to her mixed with knowing I can’t fuck up whoever threatened her kills me.
The dark, sleek SUV pulls away, leaving us alone once again on the porch. I’m able to process the situation in its entirety. My temper flares to the point it nears uncontrollable.
The fuck, we take one step forward and three back. I drag my hands through my hair fighting for balance. To think I was raked over the coals for trust and now to have this tossed in my face. Are we destined to ruin each other no matter how much the love we feel for one another?
“Even troubled, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’m pissed off at you, yet I’m having a hard time coming up with the words to yell.” I take a step back, not wanting my damn temper to ruin this conversation we need to have right now.
Justice drops her head. “I know. I kept it from you to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection from anyone. I need and want trust. What the hell happened to that? Did you think about telling me after our last big blow-up?”
“No, I did not, because the point was to protect you,” she says with confidence.
“Christ, do you not hear what I’m saying? Whoever is doing this is not after me. They’re going after the woman I love. The woman I plan on spending my life with. And keeping secrets from me as dangerous as this is not how I want us to be. How do you think I would feel if this prick got his hands on you? Did you happen to think how unleashed I’d become? I’d kill the fucker. Make him pay. There’s no doubt I’d be blindsided with rage. People are crazy fuckers, Justice.”
She throws her arms up into the air, tears welling in her eyes. “That is why I didn’t tell you, Liam. You can’t get involved in this. It will taint you, don’t you see that? I can’t take anything else right now. I didn’t ask for this.”
“Taint what? My reputation? I don’t give a shit about that. If you're involved, then so am I. Football is a career, Justice. That’s all it is. You’re my goddamn life!” I need to settle down, let it go and take her in my arms. This is a job for her family, not me. I’ll protect her in other ways, the ways her dad asked me to. “Come here, please.” She’s right where she belongs when she shuffles to me and melts into my chest. I run my hand through her hair, palm her head, and tilt it until she’s looking right at me. “No, you didn’t ask for this. That’s still no excuse, and you know it. Baby, you can’t tell me to trust you and then turn around and not trust me.
We walk hand and hand on equal ground, together. I get we are from different worlds, but there comes a time in this relationship where we’re one and the same. That starts with trust.”
“I’m scared. So damn scared. I wanted to avoid it. I was planning on telling everyone after he sent the first two plants. Then I thought about it. You need your head in the game, not on me.” Fuck. It’s not me who will be tainted; it’s her. The love she has for pink flowers is ruined. I can see it in her eyes.
“You are always in my head, whether I’m on the field or not. You can’t pull that kind of shit on me again. I knew you were hiding something. You received the lingerie when I found you shaken up in your car, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Son of a bitch. I should have kept on her about my nagging feeling and not given up as easily. Wanted to talk to her the night we got into it over Carson and forgot about it. Mistake on my part. One that won’t happen again.
“Come on, let me take you inside and put this behind us for the night.” I bend, lift, and cradle her in my arms. When we reach the door, she pulls it open, and I guide our bodies through it. Twist us around and let her punch in the security code.
Might not be the right move for us to do, but making love to her is what I need right now. I need the connection. Need to have her under me and show her how much I love her.
“I’m sorry,” she tells me when we enter her bedroom. I set her on the floor, grab the hem of her shirt, and lift it over her head. Mine follows, along with everything else until I’m kneeling in front her, my fingers inside the holes of her jeans. In one solid yank, they rip. Can’t decide if the tear of the worn jeans was louder or her gasp.
“I know you are. I’m not sorry about making these into shorts.” I stand, undo the button, and watch her wiggle her fine ass out of them.
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