by Sosie Frost
Even if it meant denying something we both wanted.
Even if it meant denying each other the only thing we both needed.
6
Jack
I kicked my ass from one side of the field to the other and worked my muscles raw, and still I couldn’t punish myself enough for being so fucking stupid.
I made a lot of bad calls in my life. Yelling at the most gorgeous woman in the world seconds after her legs wrapped around my head?
Rookie. Mistake.
What the fuck was happening to me? God damn that woman—that beautiful, sexy, infuriating woman. Leah was the only girl I’d ever wanted who hadn’t wanted me back.
No—she was the only one who ever refused me. Even after she liquefied on my couch. She didn’t just reject me. She denied herself.
Leah. Wanted. Me.
She couldn’t lie to me with my head between her legs. Her thighs had tightened over my ears, but I didn’t have to hear her moans to sense what she craved. I tasted it. Savored it. I was practically burned by the searing heat in that perfect pussy that trembled so sexy against my tongue.
It wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough until I was balls deep in that woman.
If I hadn’t made such an idiot mistake, I might’ve had her.
Didn’t matter. She’d be mine as soon as I figured out how to make her talk to me again. Really talk to me. Not any of this bullshit photo-op dates. I’d win her over the only way I knew how. Some people had a golden voice, I had a golden tongue.
But first, I had something equally important to do. I remembered McGrin Regional Hospital’s layout. I wished I hadn’t. Or that I hadn’t remembered all the days and nights we spent running back and forth through the halls. The pediatric wing was the worst, artificially colored and bright but still clinging to the scent of antiseptic.
It was a shitty place to grow up. It was worse when most of the kids in the beds didn’t make it.
I didn’t stay long. Couldn’t. Too many memories and not nearly enough reason or justification for what had happened. I dropped the check, shook the doctor’s hand, and we were done.
I made it to the lobby before she found me.
Leah dressed for success. She covered up everything sexy, but she didn’t need a miniskirt to make me beg. She bit her lip. That meant she had bad news. But, hell, everything about her was bad news anymore.
Look, but don’t touch.
Defend, but don’t take.
Have, but only temporarily.
Women never used to affect me. I just needed a quick fuck, and I’d get her out of my system. No other woman would do. I needed her. Begging. Panting. Wanting.
“You’re a hard man to track down, Jack,” Leah said.
Everything about me was hard. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’d ask you the same question.” She adjusted the strap on her laptop bag so she didn’t have to look me in the eye. She hadn’t held my gaze since that night. “Jolene reps this hospital. Imagine our surprise when her contact calls to tell us Jack “Play-Maker” Carson is talking to the Chief of Pediatrics.”
“Think I was going to ruin something?” My voice edged hard. “Cause a problem? Throw down with a nurse in the middle of the floor?”
Leah flinched. God, I was edgy around her. She didn’t deserve my temper, not when she was still trying to preserve my reputation along with her job. That made her dedicated…and an idiot. She refused to take her pleasure even when it was thrust in front of her face.
Or between her legs.
She sighed. “Jack, I’m not starting a fight—”
“I was donating money.”
Leah’s eyes widened like I handed her the fifty grand. “You’re…donating? Like, charity?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded for her to follow me. Her petite legs scampered to stay at my side.
“Why are you donating to the pediatric ward?” she asked. “And why didn’t you say anything to me about it?”
Because I avoided this reaction. “What’s it matter?”
“Jack, this is a moment we could use.” She followed me outside but pulled me behind a concrete pillar before I bolted for the parking garage. Her voice hushed. “This is something amazing I could use as a photo-op. If I could write an article and push it to an outlet—”
“No. You’re not doing it.”
She didn’t understand. She wouldn’t, and I didn’t want to explain.
“Jack.”
“You’re not making this into some goddamned PR stunt.”
“This is good publicity. You need some of that. It’s not like our dates have been doing much.”
Yeah. Total waste of time, especially if I wasn’t getting laid. “Those last three dates were a blast.”
She shrugged. “I’m trying. I have social media retweeting and reposting things, and I’m leaking pictures. It’s only been two weeks.”
“It could be two fucking months, Kiss. Christ.” I didn’t mean to get pissed. Two weeks without a fuck was something I hadn’t dealt with before. “Unless I’m banging two girls in a bar bathroom, doing body shots off some co-ed with daddy issues, or getting sucked off in my car—no one cares what the fuck I do. They want to see the media’s version of Jack Carson. Your version. The trouble-maker.”
“I don’t think that’s really you.”
“Yes, you do, or you wouldn’t have stripped for me.”
“Jack—”
“We almost fucked, Leah.”
“Yeah, well, sorry my notch in your bedpost buffs right out.”
“Don’t apologize to me.” I licked my lip just to watch her squirm. “You missed out on the fucking of a lifetime. Hope you don’t lose too much sleep regretting it.”
“I take solace in the fact that I’m saving ten bucks on a box of condoms,” she said.
“Where I come from, the gentleman buys.” I winked. “I even get them ribbed for her pleasure.”
“Oh, remind me to list that act of charity in your next puff piece,” Leah said. “Compassionate Manwhore Says You Bring The Wine, I’ll Grab The lube.”
“Got news for you, Kiss…you didn’t need any lube.”
She shifted, uncomfortable and unable to deny just how wet and ready I made her. “Well…now that you respect me that much more as your publicist, maybe you’ll be more inclined to look favorably on our next organized outing.”
“Where?”
“The ballet.”
“Absolutely not.”
She sighed. “It’s a cultural event. A lot of local celebrities are going to the opening.”
“Then no one will notice I’m not there.”
“It’s important.”
I grunted. “It’s not. This isn’t working, Kiss! These dates don’t do a damn thing.”
She didn’t like the criticism. That was fine. I didn’t like blue balls.
“We did the baseball game,” Leah said. “People liked that. We were on the jumbotron between innings. Everyone saw the local football hero wearing a baseball jersey, supporting the other professional teams in the city while out with his girlfriend. That’s a good start. It’s building a narrative.”
“You didn’t even kiss me back when the monitor drew a heart around us.”
She shrugged. “I got nervous.”
“Bullshit, you organized it,” I said. “Goddamn it. I’m so hard up on you I’m trying to score on a fucking kiss cam.”
“It’s not a good idea, Jack.” She exhaled and avoided my gaze. “Especially now.”
I recognized that tone. Learned to hate it. “What happened?”
“There’s a story coming out tomorrow about Bryon and his arrest.”
It was a sore spot between us. She thought he was bad news. So did I, but he was still my best friend and threw one hell of a party.
“They let him go,” I said. “No evidence.”
“Yeah…but it’s a whole article about professional misbehavior and league liability.” She
frowned. “You’re their lead example.”
“Mother fuckers.”
“I tried to contact the writer. He won’t return my calls. We need to do something about this before you’re labeled a sexual predator.”
“How do you know I’m not?”
“Maybe you are.”
“Then run away little girl. Before I finally catch you.”
She didn’t want to play. Too bad.
“We’ve gotta make a plan tonight, Jack. I’ll buy us a pizza if I can come over?”
“You sure you wanna risk it? Last time you were there, you ended up naked and coming all over my couch.”
Her voice edged, a little kitten striking out with claws. “Yeah, I’ll try to contain myself.”
“Left a nice little wet spot too.”
“Jack.”
“You have any idea how sexy you are when you’re riding my tongue and getting yourself off?”
“Sexier than you can handle.”
“Not my first rodeo, Kiss. I’ve held you. Kissed you. Tasted you. Only one thing left to do now. Take a guess what it is.”
She stalked away, and I loved to see her pissed off, especially if it was the only passion I could get from her. It felt nice to get under her lovely skin again.
“Seven tonight, Kiss,” I warned. “Better be prepared.”
My pool was a good place to relax after practice. I needed to get more reps in, and the water comforted my bruised body. It took work to get in my shape. I built my pool specifically to help me train once my body gave out after a day of practice and working out. That was when I had to push it the most.
Breathe.
My arms cut through the water.
Stroke.
Not even the chill of the pool could dull the pounding in my cock. My body wasn’t streamlined at the moment, and nothing I did would rid me of the fucking hard-on. Seeing Leah, pissing her off, inviting her to the couch where I almost fucked her into oblivion? It wouldn’t calm me down.
I was that close.
Breathe.
What was wrong with me? I needed her. I wanted her.
Stroke.
I had more important worries than when I’d finally have her lips wrapped around my cock. The Rivets hadn’t called my agent for contract negotiations. I expected an extension before training camp started. A good fucking contract. Hundred million dollars or more.
Breathe.
They didn’t call. No one in the organization had a goddamned thing to say about it.
For the first time since I was drafted, I had the muzzle on and an empty bed. I was a good boy, but the Rivets were still as concerned about my behavior as the fucking league president. Christ only knew what Frank Bennett told them, and it wasn’t good.
Stroke.
If I didn’t get signed this year, it wouldn’t just be an insult—it’d be the end of my career. Only two years in and I was fucked beyond repair.
But If I didn’t get laid, none of it would matter. My cock would fucking explode before I could negotiate my signing bonus. Not sure a eunuch could make it in the league.
Breathe.
I hit the end of the pool and surfaced to study a pair of delicate and sleek cocoa legs slipping beneath the ripples. Leah dropped her laptop and purse on a lounge chair, and she wrapped her skirt a little higher on her thighs. She kicked her perfectly painted toes in the water.
“Hey.” Her voice was soft. She knew she got caught where she didn’t belong. “Hope you don’t mind me crashing your pool. It’s really hot out here this evening.”
And now the water fucking boiled.
I shook my head, dragging a hand through my wet hair. Leah recognized my smirk.
“Anything for my little woman.”
“Jack.”
“Mrs. Carson.”
Leah exhaled. “I knew this was a bad idea. I should have just called.”
“Probably.”
“I thought we could be adults.”
I glanced at those toned, dark legs. I didn’t let her get away. I grabbed her toes under the water and tickled. She cracked a smile before she could scold me.
“Last time I had you here, we did a very adult thing,” I said.
Leah cleared her throat. She tried to stand. I didn’t let her up. Instead, I spread her legs and moved between them. She squealed, covering the crest between her legs with a frantic hand stuffed in her skirt. Didn’t matter to me. I remembered what was there, how it looked, tasted, felt against my lips.
I had to feel it again.
“Jack, what are you doing?” Her breath teased me with the tiniest of gasps. Not fear. Not worry.
Lust.
“You know damn well what I’m doing.” I tugged her legs wider apart. “Do you have any fucking idea what you do to me?”
“Apparently I turn you into a beast. Let me go.”
I grinned and pulled her leg up. The water lapped low against my trunks. It covered my cock, but not by much. I kissed her toes, her heel, the sensitive arch.
“Jack, let me go.”
“Why?”
Her brow furrowed, but her words clipped as I sucked on her toe. “I don’t need to give you a reason.”
“I want one.”
“I said no.”
“You’re afraid you’ll like this.”
Leah swallowed. “We can’t do this, Jack.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I said. “Just kissing you a little.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“You don’t want to be kissed?” I teased further up her leg. I thanked whatever fertility god blessed the pool with cold water. It kept me from exploding with those curves so near my fingertips. “You know my reputation better than anyone. Am I known as a generous lover?”
My tongue flicked behind her knee. She shivered.
“I doubt you’ve ever thought of anyone but yourself,” she said.
“Ouch.” I nipped her inner-thigh as a punishment. “I’ll have you know, I’ve been thinking only of you these past few days.”
“I’m supposed to believe that?” Her words shuddered as I edged closer, resting her other leg on my shoulders. Her skirt bumped high enough for a peek of her panties.
Pink today.
Innocent.
Fucking sexy.
She stared at me, meeting my gaze as I kissed slower, lower, drifting towards a part of her that watered my mouth. I fisted my cock twice a day just in memory of her taste. Now there she was. Waiting. Trembling.
Wetter than me, and I was in the pool.
“You’ve only been thinking of how to get me into bed,” she said.
“Not just the bed. The floor. Against the wall. Over the arm of the couch.”
“Jack—”
“I want to watch you come.”
“W—what?”
I pushed her legs apart, breathing heavy against her warm flesh. She panicked against her own desire.
“I want to watch you come. Once wasn’t enough, Kiss. Twice won’t be enough. If I had it my way, I’d leave you naked and writhing on my bed from now until we both passed out from exhaustion. Then I’d wake you up just so I could taste that sweet cream of yours again. You get me?”
“I…I can’t.”
“You can’t come?” My grin wasn’t meant to reassure her. I gave her fair warning before she was about to get devoured. “Sure, you can, Kiss. You’ll come hard the instant I slide my tongue over that little clit. I’ll suck on it a bit, make you purr. Lap up all that honey inside you until you scream my name and I forgive you for rejecting me.”
“Jack—”
“I want to make you come. I want to hear you thank me with a moan. I want to taste your pleasure. And I want to own this little pussy’s every quivering pulse. You get it yet?” My fingers dug into her thighs. “And you’re gonna let me because you know damn well it’s all you’ve thought about too.”
Her legs fell open for me. Those pink panties were in my way. I’d have bitten through
them if I wasn’t worried I’d accidentally nip what I planned to worship, sink into, grind against in a moment of pure ecstasy.
My cock hardened until it threatened to rupture. No time to drag the material away. I pushed it to the side with a quick flick of my fingers, exposing the delicate little crest.
Leah held her breath before I sunk between her legs.
She released it in a surprised gasp the instant my tongue whipped against her clit. I took every last fold and petal within my mouth and savored the part of her I wanted only to taste and touch and fuck until we collapsed.
She didn’t need teased, and I waited too long to eat her again. My lips curled over her clit, and I suckled just the way I did before, just to hear that throaty groan turn to utter panic at the rush of sensation and excitement and pleasure. Her bastard fiancé never made her feel like this. Even better, I knew her fingers couldn’t replicate this feeling when she thought of me alone in bed at night.
Leah’s head fell back. Her hips angled up. Now I knew why she was so desperate to stay out of my arms. She knew the instant I grabbed her would be the moment I never let her go. Not until she fucking melted into a puddle of spent orgasm and slid from my arms.
And even then, it just made her easier to fuck.
I liked my women exhausted. Panting. Agonized. But I never got a chance to destroy one in pleasure before. I never wanted to, never enjoyed it before Leah.
But I could watch this woman writhe all afternoon. I’d work her gasping breath and boiling core into a frenzy, and then I’d let her crumple while I wrapped her legs around her. I planned to fuck this woman delirious with her own desire.
A night of continuous pleasure.
A cock buried inside a clenching, dripping, begging pussy.
Watching as Leah came and came and came against me.
Fuck, why the hell did I work my entire life for a championship when the only goddamned thing I wanted was to give this woman the ultimate delight of my tongue flicking against her clit?
“Jack…” Her fingers ran through her hair, gripped the cement, reached for me. Nothing would ease that need in her. One orgasm or a hundred, it wouldn’t matter when the girl wanted to be fucked and fucked hard. “I’m…I’m…”