by Sybil Bartel
“She fucking gets it.” Jared closed the door and moved around the front of the car as reporters came up on my lawn.
Tyler tried to hold them back, but there were too many of them and only one of him. Superman stood behind Tyler until Jared roared the Mustang’s engine to life. Then he moved into Tyler’s position as Tyler got behind the wheel of a giant black SUV.
With no regard for the reporters spilling across my property like vultures, Tyler drove the SUV across my lawn and paused on the street.
Jared backed up in front of him, then we were off.
I wanted to hit every fucking news van on the street. I floored the Mustang and she came alive under the hood. Steering one-handed, I wove in and out of the traffic jam that’d become her street and grasped her hand with my free one. Bringing her delicate fingers to my mouth, I kissed her knuckles. “Inhale, baby.” She’d gone white as a ghost in her living room.
She didn’t respond, but she drew in a breath.
My phone rang, and I hit the answer button on the steering wheel. “Speaker,” I warned.
“Copy.” Luna switched to Spanish. “Can she understand me now?”
We were both silent a beat, but Red didn’t say anything.
Luna continued in Spanish. “I’m three blocks ahead of you. Turn right on University Drive. I’ll be halfway down the first block. Ease up and give me lead. We’ll lose your tail before going back to your condo.”
“Got it. Did you get what I wanted?” I asked in English.
“Mostly.”
“Anything stand out?”
“Besides the fact her family was crazy, her father was controlling and both her mother and her grandmother died of the same genetic disease?”
My fucking guts seized up, and I almost drove off the road. “Elaborate, now.”
He knew what I was asking. “She doesn’t have it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I exhaled and my heart started again. “Anything else besides the details?”
“No.”
The fucker was lucky we were in two different cars. He’d given me a fucking heart attack. “You can brief us both at the condo.”
He switched back to English. “Copy that. I see your car. I’m pulling in front of you.” He hung up.
“You know Spanish?”
Luna pulled in front of me. “Enough to understand Luna.”
She looked out the window. “I never learned.”
Her voice had gone from a panicked shrill to sad. I hated both tones.
“Spend some time around Luna, and you’ll pick shit up, mostly swears.”
“Do you know any other languages?”
“Some Danish.”
“Danish?”
“Yeah, from Neil. If he gets pissed enough, he’ll stop talking English altogether.”
“You served with him?”
I was so glad she was talking, I almost didn’t give a shit what the subject matter was. “More like lateral deployments and a common enemy.”
“You said Alex saved your life.”
“Both him and Neil.”
“How?”
Fuck. I exhaled. “Vega pulled me from the Humvee as Neil laid cover fire and Luna picked off a couple of those fuckers. His unit was caught in the same firestorm. His medic, Talon, triaged me and our buddy Dane and some of the other guys. We didn’t lose anyone that day because of Vega, Neil, Luna and Talon.” I needed to change the fucking subject. “Now we all live in Florida.” I glanced at her. “Those brothers are my family.” I squeezed her hand. “Family is what you make it, Red.”
She turned away from me. “I wouldn’t know.”
“You will.” I vowed then and there to show her. “Luna’s coming upstairs to talk to us.” I pulled into my underground parking behind Luna.
“Why?”
“I asked him to look into a few things.” Luna took a visitor spot, and I parked in my assigned space. “Hold up, I’ll come get you.” I cut the engine and went to her door, but when I opened it, she just sat there. “Red?”
Staring at her lap, she didn’t look up. “How long am I going to be here?”
She looked so damn vulnerable, it fucking hurt to see her like this. “As long as you want. Come on.” I started to lift her out.
She pushed my hands away. “I can walk.”
Luna stepped up next to us. “Ma’am, Brandt.”
I nodded and took Red’s hand. I led us to the elevator, and none of us spoke until we were inside my condo. The floor-to-ceiling ocean view hit me, and I felt like I could fucking breathe again. I led Red to the couch. “Sit. I’ll grab you a drink.” I glanced at Luna. “You want something?”
“I’m good.” He sat opposite Red.
I grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and sat next to Red as I offered her one.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
I tipped my chin and looked at Luna. “What did you find out?”
He focused on Red. “Ma’am, I had a candid conversation with your uncle this afternoon. Would you like to know what he said?”
She set her water down and barely made eye contact with Luna before dropping her gaze back to her lap. “Yes.”
“All right. As you know, your mother had Huntington’s Disease. I don’t know if you are aware of this, but her mother also had it. She passed away when she was twenty-nine and your mother was only three. Her husband, your grandfather, remarried a couple years later. The woman had a son ten years older than your mother, who you know as your uncle. According to your uncle, your mother met your father when she was sixteen, and by then, they already knew she had Huntington’s. Your mother was determined to live a normal life for as long as she could, but your grandfather didn’t approve of her dating. So when your mother was seventeen, she eloped.
“Your grandfather was enraged, and according to your uncle, Burrows blamed his second wife for helping your mother elope and giving them money to live off until your father could support them. Your grandfather didn’t divorce his second wife because he didn’t believe in it, but he never spoke to her or your mother again. Your grandfather’s wife died a few years before your mother, and Burrows never reconciled with either of them.”
The color drained from Red’s face. “My uncle never told me any of this.”
“He told me he didn’t think it was his place to tell the story unless you were to enquire about it.”
Red shrunk in on herself. “Go on.”
Luna nodded. “When your mother’s health was deteriorating, your father attempted to contact your grandfather, but he never responded to any invitations to either see your mother or meet you. After your mother passed away, your uncle says he didn’t hear from your father again until a few weeks before he died. That’s when he asked your uncle to give you a job.
“Your uncle had been working in some capacity or another for the team since he was fifteen. The second his mother married your grandfather, your grandfather put him to work. By the time things fell apart between his mother and your grandfather, your uncle had already established himself as a valuable asset for the team and your grandfather never challenged that.
“Your uncle agreed to hire you, but both he and your father decided it would be best to not let anyone know who you were. When your grandfather realized who you were, he told your uncle that if anyone found out, he would fire them, your uncle, and you. When your uncle first started working for the team, your grandfather also insisted no one know who your uncle was. Some of the staff figured it out, but anyone who was ever caught gossiping about it, Burrows fired. He had a strict policy on nepotism.”
“As if he were embarrassed of us,” she murmured.
Luna shrugged. “Or still holding a grudge. Your mother was the apple of your grandfather’s eye and his first wife was the love of his life. I think he was angry at the world, chica.”
Red inhaled and let it out slow. “Thank you for telling me. I’m embarrassed that I never asked my uncle about any of
this.”
Luna shrugged. “Not sure what you were supposed to ask when you didn’t know you had a living grandfather.” He glanced at me. “I have some information about tomorrow’s will reading.”
Red’s shoulders dropped slightly.
I tipped my chin. “Go ahead.”
“Ahlstrom’s been in Burrows’s back pocket since he got signed. Burrows coached him on everything from press conferences to plays to apparently courting his secret granddaughter.”
Rage boiled in my veins.
Luna laid out the rest of what he’d found out. “Ahlstrom’s confident he’ll walk away from tomorrow’s reading a rich man.”
I wanted to fucking hit something. “Is that legal? Can Burrows give away his team when there’s a blood relative alive?”
Luna leveled me with a look. “Anything’s possible.”
I hardly remembered André leaving. Sitting on Jared’s balcony in a lounger with him at my back was a blur. I couldn’t eat the dinner he’d had delivered. And I didn’t say anything when he’d carried me to bed.
My mind spinning, my reality shattered, anger and sorrow and regret at so much wasted life swirled in my head, and I couldn’t contain any of it. So I said nothing because I was afraid of the emotions that would come out if I did start talking.
Jared was everything he could have been and more, but I didn’t even thank him. I lifted my arms when he took my shirt off and pointed my toes when he pulled my leggings off, but I didn’t say a word. I quietly submitted to his care, and he’d pulled me into his arms and simply held me.
I didn’t know when I’d fallen asleep, but now I was awake. With strong arms still around me, I was facing the windows overlooking the ocean as the sun inched its way up.
“You okay?”
I liked the sound of his husky and rough morning voice. “Yes.”
He kissed my shoulder. “I thought I told you no lying.”
“I’m not, not okay.” I wasn’t crying or panicking. That meant okay, right?
“Something’s on my mind,” he admitted.
“Okay.” I sounded emotionless.
His arms tightened around me. “If you don’t inherit the team, I think you need to fight for it.”
“I’m not going to do that.” I didn’t want to. I’d thought about it all night.
“What if it goes to Ahlstrom?”
“I’m not sure I care.” Wouldn’t someone like him make a better owner than me? “I know I work for a defensive coordinator, but I know nothing about football. I don’t even watch the games.”
“This is your family’s legacy, Red,” he said quietly.
“The last of my family died when my father passed.”
His hand ran down my arm. “You have me.”
I rolled to face him. “Would you want to own a football team?”
“Fuck no.” He didn’t hesitate. “But that’s because it’s not in my family.”
“It wasn’t in any family I ever knew about either.” Until yesterday.
“Point taken.” He stroked my cheek and stared at me with his intense gaze. “You’re even more beautiful in the morning.”
Heat flushed my cheeks. “Thank you.”
His expression turned grave. “I want to come with you today.”
“You’re not telling me you’re coming with me?” I was only half joking.
“One-time accommodation.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Don’t get used to it.”
I forced a half smile. “Can you go without hitting Dan?”
His eyes narrowed. “You know I hate when you say his name, right?”
The small smile turned genuine. “Yes.” I turned serious. “Are you going to hit him?”
“No.”
He said it too quickly. “I don’t believe you.”
“I won’t hit him. I’ll beat the fuck out of him. But only if he swings first or insults you.”
I sighed, but I secretly loved that he would defend me. “You’re going to have to get over that.”
“Not gonna happen. I’ll always hate him. I’d hate Vega too if I hadn’t served with him.”
“So you’re not going to beat up Alex?” I teased him because it felt better than thinking about my day ahead.
“No promises.”
“Well, if you’re going to behave, then yes, I would like you to be there. And thank you.”
“I’ll behave in public.” He winked then turned serious again. “You don’t have to thank me. I want to be there for you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, suddenly overcome with emotions I didn’t know what to do with.
The backs of his fingers skimmed down my cheek. “Trust me?”
I closed my eyes briefly, but I didn’t have to think about it. “Yes.” He’d gotten me away from my house yesterday, he’d held me all night, he’d never pushed me to talk or done anything other than simply be there for me. It was more than anyone had ever done for me since before my mother passed away.
He slid an arm under my legs, rolled, and in one fluid movement, he was upright and carrying me to the balcony.
Alarm spread. “We’re naked!”
“There’re no reporters on the beach. Tyler gave me the all-clear twenty minutes ago.” Still holding me, he managed to open the sliding glass door.
“You talked to him?” A warm ocean breeze blew across my skin and salt air filled my lungs.
“Last night after you fell asleep, I told him to make sure there were no reporters on the beach in front of the condo at sunrise.” He sat down in one of the lounge chairs with me on his lap.
His hard length pressed against my thigh and desire shot through my core. “You planned this?”
He gently pulled one of my thighs and turned my hips so that I was straddling him, but with my back to his chest. His fingers found the small triangle of curls I didn’t shave and he stroked lightly. “I wanted you to see the sunrise.” He pulled my thighs wide.
“Jared.” I nervously glanced up and down the beach, but I didn’t see anyone.
One hand slid featherlight strokes across my folds as the other firmly cupped my breast. At the exact time he pinched my nipple, he sank a single finger inside me. “Right here, baby.”
I gasped and my head held fell back on his shoulder.
He kissed my neck. “Watch the sunrise.”
His quiet demand soaked into my consciousness, and I opened my eyes. Fire-orange and red crested the horizon, and he shoved a second finger into me. Stroking, twisting, he hit a spot deep inside me.
“Oh my God.” I ground my hips.
His arm snaked across my chest and he grasped my other nipple. Pulling, twisting like he twisted his fingers inside me, he worked my body into a frenzy.
“You’re gonna come then I’m gonna slide inside you.” His voice, all rough edges and full of promise, made my inner muscles clench around his fingers.
“I want you inside me,” I begged, needing to feel him close.
“Come first,” he demanded, pushing his thumb into my clit and rolling my nipple.
The sunrise exploded into a thousand points of light as my orgasm ripped from my body and shook my core. My cry of release carried over the balcony and fell to the sand. “Jared.” I rocked on his hand.
The sun’s rays crawling up our bodies, he pushed my back forward and lifted my hips. Stroking himself through my desire once, he shoved into me. His hands curved around my hips and he thrust up as he pulled me down on his hard length.
My whole body shivered.
“That’s it, gorgeous.” His fingers digging into my hips, he repeated the thrust. “You feel that?”
My heart pounded as aftershocks of my first orgasm dissolved into a new burn. My nipples pulsed for attention, and my clit ached to have his rough flesh press into it. I didn’t feel one thing, I felt too much. Too much need, too much want, and too much like I was falling.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Don’t make me answer.”
Buried to the
hilt, his body froze, but his huge hand grasped my jaw and tipped. My head fell back to his shoulder and his intense stare landed on me. “You got something to say?”
Yes. “No.”
He stared.
My desire dripped down on him.
His nostrils flared with an inhale. “When was your last period?”
My mind struggled to catch up. “Last week.”
“What day did it start?”
“Tuesday?” Monday?
“I’m coming inside you.” He sank his tongue into my mouth and drove his hard length deep inside me.
Holding the front of my neck with one hand, my waist with the other, he started to move. With every thrust, he ground his hips. His pace picked up and he released my neck to grab my waist. Without his hold, our mouths separated, and I gripped the arms of the lounge chair.
Waves crashed the shore as his body crashed into mine. His hands guided me down every time he thrust up, and a second orgasm rose like the heat of the morning sun.
“Harder,” I cried out.
His cock swelled and he shoved me forward, changing the angle. His next thrust hit that spot deep in my body and a moan ripped from my lungs.
He did it again, but harder. “Right there, gorgeous, right there.”
Oh my God. “I’m going to come.”
I didn’t even get the last word out before I was falling so hard over the edge, I lost all muscle control. My arms lost their purchase, my back arched, but my chest fell forward, and an orgasm so intense it was painful ruptured from my body.
With a growl I’d never heard him make, his hips jerked once and hot warmth shot deep inside me.
I’d come inside her.
I’d fucking come inside her.
Shit fucked up in my head, and that was all I could think about. Sitting in a goddamn wood-paneled conference room like this was a fucking movie set, I couldn’t focus. Her suit wasn’t pink, it was gray. Clark Kent spoke quietly to her. Her useless uncle sat alone, not saying shit. And the asshole quarterback sat with two goddamn lawyers looking smug as hell, while all I could think about was if my cum was still dripping out of her.
I’d never gone bareback. And I wanted to do it again. Right fucking now.