by Sybil Bartel
Her gorgeous green eyes took me in. “You have money, don’t you?”
She wasn’t asking about the size of my bank account. Her shoulders tense, her hands gripping the mug, she was looking for something from me. But all I had was the truth. I tipped my chin toward the door. “You want to walk out of this life right now? Let’s go.” I was all in for that plan. “I have plenty to take care of us.”
She exhaled. “That’s crazy.”
“I can think of a lot crazier shit.” Like sticking around to see how all this would play out.
“I think you were looking to escape your life before I showed up.”
I picked up the fucking tea and chugged half. “You want the truth?”
She shrugged.
“I haven’t been able to escape shit since that fucking IED hit our Humvee. I laid like a weak piece of shit in that hospital bed and I had no control. Not over my thoughts, my body, my treatment, nothing. I hardly sleep at night, I can’t read, I can barely dial a damn phone. Half the time I’m pissed off, and the other half I want to control something. I found fucking and working out. It was keeping me sane, but it wasn’t an escape.” My head down, my elbows on my knees, I looked at her. “Then you showed up in a yellow dress like a ray of hope.”
She swallowed. “Jared—”
I wasn’t finished. “I don’t give a fuck who your family is or was. I don’t care about football or money or your asshole ex. I just want to breathe the same air as you.”
She closed her eyes and a tear slid down her cheek.
I forced myself not to touch her. “I’m no good for you. I’ll fuck you up in ways you never imagined. You’re probably better off with a goddamn baller. But I’m selfish enough to try and convince you otherwise.”
She looked at me. “I shouldn’t want to let you.”
I didn’t hesitate. “No, you shouldn’t, but I’m hoping you will.”
“I don’t love him,” she whispered it like a confession.
I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You waited a long time to give yourself away, Red.”
“I was… hoping I would meet the right person.” She dropped her head. “Then I got tired of waiting.”
“I’ll never be careless with you.” You didn’t have to be a genius to realize what sex meant to her. But she hadn’t gotten what she’d wanted from it, so she was trying to numb herself to it. If anyone could understand that shit, I could.
She was quiet a moment. “You said I was vanilla.”
I didn’t blink. “You are.”
She stared into her mug. “You said it like it was a bad thing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Red.”
“You’ve been with a lot of women.”
I didn’t deny it. I’d been with countless women, but none were her. “Enough to know what I want.”
She looked up at me. “Why me?”
I cupped her face and stroked her bottom lip with my thumb. “Because you make me nervous.” I couldn’t explain it any better than that. Not with words. I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers, and for the first time since she’d walked out of my place last night, I could breathe past the heavy weight on my chest.
My forehead to hers, our eyes locked, I didn’t need a single other thing in that moment. I didn’t even need to pound her into submission. Holding her face, seeing the trust in her eyes, feeling her pulse race, it was better than any fucking drug.
My head swam, from him and from the alcohol, and my thoughts bled out of my mouth. “You make me more than nervous.”
His intense gaze cutting into mine, he didn’t hesitate. “Good.”
My eyebrows drew together. “Why is that good?”
“You know why.”
I struggled through my whiskey blanket to understand which way he meant that. But my head was murky and hazy, like I was swimming through lake water. “I think I need to save that thought for when I’m sober.”
He smiled and his face transformed. “Noted.”
“You’re beautiful when you smile.” So, so beautiful. In a way I had no words for except that deep in my soul I knew his real smile was rare, and that broke my heart as much as it gave me joy to see it.
He shook his head like he was humoring me. “Men aren’t beautiful, Red.”
“You are, when you smile.”
He smirked. “Appreciate it.” His expression turned serious. “You’re gonna be okay.”
“I’m always okay. I have to be. I have a mortgage and house plants to take care of.” I sighed. “And maybe a professional football team.” I frowned again. “Do you even like football?”
“Except for quarterbacks.”
I laughed, but then it hit me. “Who do I have to hate?”
The backs of his fingers stroked my cheek. “No one, baby.”
“How can I feel both really insecure around you and safe? But not safe like your friend André makes me feel safe. That’s nice and all, but that’s a different kind of safe.” All my thoughts kept coming out of my mouth unchecked. I glanced at my empty mug. “Maybe I shouldn’t have finished my whiskey tea.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “I like you drunk, Red.”
I smiled. “Are you going to take advantage of me?”
He turned serious. “Never.”
Shame flushed my cheeks and I looked down at my lap. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant, but I’m telling you that I won’t ever take what you’re not giving. You hear me?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“In and out of the bedroom,” he clarified. “Understand?”
My cheeks burned. “Yes.”
“Look at me,” he commanded.
I lifted my head and I was struck all over again by how handsome he was. Mercurial and dominant, his face all hard angles and his eyes never anything less than intense, he was the most attractive man I’d ever met. And it scared the hell out of me.
His gaze held me as sure as his touch. “You’re perfect, Sienna, exactly how you are.”
“No one’s perfect.” Least of all my family. Hurt lanced at my heart, but the whiskey dulled it. Or maybe it was Jared and his deep voice and golden-brown eyes. Or the T-shirt straining across his huge biceps.
“That’s the beauty of human perfection, Red. It can lay down in a bed of lies and still be fucking perfect. Imperfection makes life real.”
Because I had no filter right then, I said the first thought that popped into my head. “Maybe you’re talking about yourself.”
“No doubt.”
He was so grave, I remembered my morning wasn’t the only thing he had going on. “Did you talk to André’s attorney?”
He lifted his chin once.
“What did he say?”
“That he’d work on it.”
His tone was so even I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “What does that mean?”
“If he’s any good, he’ll resolve it.”
I nodded, suddenly overwhelmed. Putting my mug on the coffee table, I exhaled. “I should make us some breakfast.” I stood and my knees wobbled.
Jared was up in a heartbeat and scooping me up. Cradling me to his chest, his strong arms held me as if I weighed nothing. “You’re going to bed.” He strode toward the hallway to the bedrooms.
“I’m a little tired. I couldn’t sleep last night,” I admitted, inhaling the scent of him. Soap and man and the whiskey I’d poured us wrapped around me like comfort and safety. More than anything, I wanted to crawl under my covers and feel his body curve around me.
“Which door?” His chest rumbled as he spoke.
“On the left.”
He pushed the door open with his shoulder then kicked it shut behind us. After gently setting me on the bed, he started to walk away and I panicked.
“Where are you going?”
He gave me a half smile over his shoulder. “Nowhere, just closing the curtains.”
My plantation shutters were closed, b
ut I also had drapes in my bedroom. He pulled the curtains shut, and I ignored the reason he had to shut us in as the room fell into an unnatural darkness.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to talk to Luna for a minute.” He brushed a kiss on my forehead and was gone.
I’d forgotten André and his employees were outside guarding my house from the media. If I did inherit a professional football team, I was sure it would only get worse for a while. Not to mention what would happen if the lawsuit between Jared and Dan escalated or the media got wind of it. The thought of losing my anonymity made me want to cry.
Before I could sink into despair, Jared was quietly walking back into my room. A part of me knew I should be more protective of my heart, now more than ever, but the second I saw him in my house this morning, I’d wanted to forgive him.
I had no reason to trust him, but my heart was past that. I wasn’t sure I had a choice anymore how I felt. I just wanted to be with him.
I tucked my hand under my head. “That was quick. Is he leaving?”
Jared stepped out of a pair of boots that looked combat ready. “Tyler’s staying. I called the lawyer I spoke with this morning. He’s going to come here this afternoon to talk to you.”
I watched him pull his T-shirt over his head with one hand. “Why?”
“Because you may need representation.” He stepped out of his jeans.
The security, the attorney, I should have thought to handle that myself. And I definitely shouldn’t have liked Jared taking care of me, but I did. “Thank you. Please let André know he can send me a bill for all of this.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulled back the covers. “And you’re not paying for shit.”
“I can pay my own way.”
“I’m sure you can, Mercedes SLK, but that’s not happening.” He snaked his arm under my head and pulled my back to his chest.
I turned to look at him. A sliver of light from between the curtains shone across his face, and I struggled to remember what I was going to say. “I could be rich, you know.”
“Wouldn’t change anything between us.”
I hadn’t known I was waiting for him to say that, but I was. My entire body let out a breath and I fought and failed to not compare him to Dan. “Dan told me Jed Burrows told him to look out for me.”
Every muscle in Jared’s body went rigid. “How so?”
“I’m not sure. Dan looked guilty after my uncle talked to me. And it struck me as strange that he came with Coach to begin with, after what happened in Coach’s office. So I asked him if he knew what was going on and that’s when he told me that.”
Jared exhaled, but he didn’t say anything.
“He said Jed never said anything but he figured we were related.”
“That fucking tool,” he ground out.
“Yeah.” I regretted ever having feelings for Dan. Every second I spent with Jared made me realize just how much of a jerk Dan really was.
Jared brushed my hair aside and kissed just below my ear. “Close your eyes and forget about all that shit for now, beautiful.”
“You have such a way with words.”
“I’m a fucking poet.”
In the dark of my bedroom, with the media camped outside and an uncertain future hanging over my head, I peered up at the one person who was making me feel both grounded and crazy in lust. “Every time you touch me, I want you.”
“If you hadn’t thrown back a triple whiskey, I’d be inside you right now.”
Desire flared between my legs and I wanted more than just a quick brush of his lips against my neck. “You gave me wine the other night.”
“That was different.”
“How?” The alcohol gave me courage to ask.
“I wasn’t trying to keep you then.”
My heart melted. “You’re trying to keep me?”
One hand fisted in my hair, the other gripped my chin, and he turned my head away from him as his mouth touched my ear. “You’re pushing my restraint, Red.”
The delicious growl to his voice made my toes curl. “I like you better without it.”
Like a tidal wave, he surged.
I drove my tongue into her mouth.
Her sweet little body pushed against me and she moaned.
I thrust against her ass with my aching cock. “You want me buried inside that tight little cunt?”
“Jared,” she pleaded.
Releasing her face, I cupped one of her full tits and squeezed the nipple. “That’s all you got, Red? Just my name?” The second I touched her, she melted. From the moment I first kissed her, hell, from the second I opened my front door, I knew she was different. She eclipsed every woman I’d ever been with, and I couldn’t even say why. I fucking loved it and I hated it. I wasn’t in control of the shit running through my head, and for the first time in years, I didn’t a give a damn about it.
“Please,” she begged. “Touch me.”
I was going to do a hell of a lot more than just touch her. Moans crawling out of her throat, her cunt soaked, her legs trembling as she came, I was going to make her body fucking sing. “I want you out of these clothes.” I pulled her dress over her head, and the fucking doorbell rang.
Goddamn it. “Stay.” I tossed her dress aside and grabbed my jeans.
“Who is that? I thought you said Tyler is outside.”
“He is.” But if he’d let a reporter through, I was going to fucking throat punch him. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” Adrenaline spiking, I stepped into my jeans and strode out of the room, closing the door behind me.
Two feet before the front door, the knocking started. I looked out the peephole and saw Tyler, but behind him was the defensive end, Terence Joyner, and whole fucking slew of reporters.
I cracked the door. “What?”
Tyler stood guard, not letting TJ get by, and lowered his voice. “You need to hear what he has to say, boss.”
“He alone?”
Tyler nodded. “Affirmative.”
I stepped back, belatedly wishing I’d thrown my T-shirt on as the cameras started snapping pictures and the reporters started calling my name. Tyler moved just enough to the side for TJ to pass, then inclined his head at him.
TJ smiled casually like this was an everyday occurrence for him, and slapped Tyler on the shoulder as he passed. “My man.” He stepped into the house and offered me his hand. “What’s up, marine?”
I stood back out of the line of sight of the cameras, but I shook his hand because he’d done me a favor at the restaurant. “Close the door.”
He shut the door and dropped the smile. “Where is she?”
“Resting. Keep your voice down.”
The giant defensive end put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I need to talk to her.”
“Not happening. Anything you have to say goes through me first.” I fucking hoped she stayed put until I knew what the fuck this was about.
Skeptical, he eyed me. “She never told me she had no boyfriend.”
“She never told me you sexually harass her at work.” It wasn’t a wild fucking stab, I saw the way he’d looked at her at the restaurant.
He held his hands up. “Hey, man, just letting a pretty woman know she’s got it going on. Nothing harassing about that. Besides, you know, Miss Sienna can handle herself.”
Yeah, I’d seen how she’d fucking scolded him, but that didn’t mean I wanted the asshole eye-fucking her every time she stepped foot in that complex. “What do you want?”
He looked down at his feet then back up at me. “I got no beef against no man. You hear what I’m saying?”
“Just fucking tell me.” I didn’t care what his agenda was, I wanted to know the content.
“Strom’s got a hard-on for something he ain’t got no right to. He was in bed with the owner long before he set his sights on Red.”
“Keep talking.”
“I didn’t put it together until he called me and Sunshine this morning, saying he needed backup. Tha
t corn-growing Oklahoma farmer got an arm on him for sure, but a Super Bowl ring ain’t all he’s after.”
“Speed this up.” I didn’t care what the hell kind of aspirations that asshole quarterback had as long as it wasn’t Red anymore.
“He’s been acting like Burrows’s long-lost son for a while now. He’d go have dinner with him, talk about hanging out at his place. He even said they went over his footage.”
Okay, now I was fucking listening. “And?”
“And he told Coach just now that Burrows promised him a piece of the team. He said it’d come out at the will reading but that he and Coach needed to strike fast and get Red on board before the body was cold.”
My back fucking teeth ground in anger. “What’d DeMarco say?”
“Nothing. He didn’t say a word, and if you knew Coach, you’d know that meant something was wrong.” He glanced toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “You gotta tell her. I tried calling, but her phone’s turned off.”
That motherfucking asshole, Ahlstrom. “You knew who Coach was to Burrows?”
He shrugged. “A rumor went around when I first signed. A few of the players speculated, but you didn’t mess with Coach. He was the only thing between you and a bench, and I just wanted to play. That family shit ain’t none of my business.”
Bullshit. I scoffed. “So you weren’t hitting on my woman thinking you were going to score big?” What a fucking liar.
He held a hand up again. “Think what you want, man. I ain’t got no reason to lie to you, but you’d have to be one blind motherfucker not to see that woman is smokin’. I asked her out, is all. I wasn’t looking to give her the keys to my kingdom.”
What fucking kingdom? He was goddamn defensive end. “You asking to be hit?”
He smiled. “We’re good, man, we’re good.”
For a professional football player, he was a fucking pussy, but as human being, I couldn’t deny he was being decent. “Anything else?”
“I’m no family shrink and I don’t know nothing about all this ’cept what I overheard Strom telling Coach. But if you ask me, if Coach really was Burrows’s family, there should’ve been a little more love.”