On the Line

by Liz Lincoln

  Intertwining their fingers, Seth held her hands beside her head as he lowered himself onto her. Her legs automatically came around his waist, like they’d done this a dozen times before. Like their bodies already knew each other.

  He shifted his hips until he nudged her entrance, then slipped inside her. Just a little. Not enough to even come close to filling her need. With her feet on his ass, she pulled him in farther. They both groaned, and his hands tightened on hers.

  “You feel so damn good.”

  She clenched her muscles, squeezing him tighter.

  His jaw went slack, his eyes rolled shut and his neck sagged. “Oh, fuck, that feels good.”

  Carrie could only grunt in response.

  Slowly, he pulled back, then thrust in deeper. Before she could even process the sensations, he did it again, pushing in to the hilt. They were joined as deeply as two people could be.

  She couldn’t have explained why, but she was overcome with a frantic need to touch him. She yanked her hands free and held his face between her palms. “Seth.”

  He rocked against her. “Good?”

  She smoothed her thumb over his lower lip. “So good.”

  His mouth twitched, like he was going to smile, but he never quite got there. He just kept watching her with an intense expression she couldn’t decipher. Like this was more than sex.

  Except it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. It was the secrecy they would have to maintain, the thrill of the forbidden, that made it seem like more than it was. She had to remember that or she risked being swept away, mistaking one emotion for another.

  He moved in a series of shallow thrusts. Each move caught her clit and she automatically tightened on him.

  His face came down to hers as he rolled his hips back, nearly withdrawing from her. “I hope you’re close, because this ain’t gonna last long.”

  “Fuck me already.”

  With a chuckle, he obliged. He slammed into her and the crash of his hips against hers sent sharp pleasure spearing through her. Within a few strokes, all humor was gone as they pounded together and jerked apart, their passion raw and primal and the hottest damn sex she’d ever had.

  His teeth scraped her throat, his whiskers burning her skin. She pressed her mouth to his shoulder to muffle her screams.

  When the orgasm gripped her, throwing her high and wild into the most perfect ecstasy she’d ever experienced, her own teeth sank into the firm muscle and smooth skin.

  “Fuck, baby. Oh Jesus, fuck.” With a final heave, Seth joined her in the ultimate pleasure, his body jerking and shaking in her arms as hers tightened around him. They each drew out the other’s orgasm for what felt like eternity. Minutes ticked by as they lay together, limp and exhausted and thoroughly satisfied.

  Finally Seth heaved himself off her and, after pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, headed into the bathroom. She pulled back his quilt and slipped under it before she had a chance to get chilled.

  He returned a minute later, slid into bed next to her, and pulled her close. She snuggled against him, reveling in the warmth of his skin.

  She pressed a kiss to his chest, just above his nipple. “This is nice.” She wasn’t going to think about how close to real intimacy they were walking. She would enjoy the moment while it lasted.

  He murmured his agreement and kissed her hair. “Since you’re meeting Mads—” He cleared his throat. “I mean Maddie. Not Mads. Since you’re meeting Maddie at her swim meet and she’s getting a ride there, you don’t have to go back to your room right away.”

  A thrill rippled through Carrie. She shouldn’t want it, but the idea of spending the night with him had major appeal. Did he like morning sex as much as she did? Would he wake her in the middle of the night and take her, sweet and lazy, in the darkness?

  Or maybe she could wake him with long, slow licks of his cock until he came alive in her mouth.

  “Do you want me to sleep in your bed?”

  His muscles tensed under her hand. There was her answer. She’d pushed too far. He considered actual sleeping together outside the boundaries of their new arrangement. He just wanted her to stick around for a second go.

  He shifted onto his side and propped himself on his elbow. “Are you sure?”

  Carrie lifted her gaze to meet his. Something in it encouraged her. “I thought it might be nice…sex is never a bad way to start the day. But I totally understand if that’s more than—”

  He cut her off with a kiss. It was warm and sweet, without the usual seductive fire that sparked between them. Drawing back only enough to speak, he said, “I can’t imagine a better start to the day than sliding inside you before I’m fully awake. But are you sure this is what you want? Is this more than tonight?”

  Heart pounding so hard her ears felt like they were vibrating, she said, “I’m not ready for it to be over.”

  “I’m not either.” The corner of his mouth twitched, like he might smile. But his face fell back into a neutral expression. His hand slid around the back of her neck and he kissed her. They spent long minutes exploring each other’s mouths, in no hurry to take things further if they had all night. Carrie rolled toward him and ran her hands over his chest and shoulders as his tongue slid along hers.

  Eventually they drew apart and settled together under the blankets. “Tired?” Seth asked.

  She should be. It had to be well past midnight. The lazy, lethargic effects of her orgasms lingered, making her not want to move. But she wasn’t sleepy.

  “Yes. But not enough to sleep.”

  He kissed her again, hot enough to kindle a flame in her belly, but still not enough to have her craving him. So they made out some more.

  After, they chatted about things of little import. Somewhere around two o’clock, he got up to get a glass of water. Carrie openly ogled him as he crossed the room. He seemed entirely comfortable walking around his house naked.

  Given the powerful spread of his shoulders, the defined muscles of his back, and his tight, perfect, holy-shit-amazing ass, he should be comfortable. The only thing marring the perfection was a large bruise, fading from purple to brown and green, on his right hip. She cringed in sympathy.

  Her mind drifted, imagining ways she might ease some of his pain, until he returned. He was impressive from the front too, even without the mouth-watering erection she was desperate to get inside her again. Hopefully she could inspire a revival soon. After waiting so long to get him naked, two orgasms weren’t nearly enough. She was greedy.

  Something in her expression must have given away her thoughts. His mouth curled into a grin as he took her hand and allowed her to pull him down. He slid his arm around her and tugged her into his side; she went willingly.

  “You cold?” he asked.

  She had been a moment ago, but as big and muscular as he was, snuggling the man was like snuggling a space heater. “I’m good. Are you?”

  “I’m never cold.”

  She chuckled. “Wait until you have to endure a Wisconsin winter, Texas boy. You’ll discover cold.”

  “I did play a December game in Chicago my rookie season. Thought my balls were going to climb up inside my body, it was so damn cold.” He brushed a kiss over her temple. “Guess you’ll have to keep me extra warm this winter.”

  She let herself get excited at the prospect of snuggling under flannel sheets and quilts with him, undressing each other under the covers and having sex in a warm, cozy cocoon.

  Sex cocoon. OK, that was a little gross.

  Also, as much as she didn’t want to, they probably needed to discuss a few things if this was going to be a regular occurrence, lasting into winter.

  “About that…”

  Tension rippled through his body. Which was actually a bit distracting, what with all those muscles tightening against her and growing more defined before her eyes. But it wasn’t the right moment to appreciate his physique.

  “I didn’t mean…I’m not…” Shit. She was so bad at talking about
sex stuff face-to-face. It was why she rarely did casual sex.

  “Obviously you’re seeing this as more than a one-time thing. I want that too.” She gave him a smile she hoped was encouraging. “That is what you want, right?”

  He released his tension as his blue eyes intensified. “Let’s see, do I want a repeat of the best sex I’ve ever had? Let me think about— Yes. I definitely do.”

  Best? “Best sex? You’ve ever had?” He had to be flattering her. There were women far more experienced than she was who made a habit of hooking up with athletes. He’d told her he’d slept with more than one of them early in his career, before he changed his focus to football and Maddie.

  He smoothed his thumb over her eyebrow. “Don’t look so shocked. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Something about us just works.”

  She swallowed hard, gathering her resolve. She couldn’t get swept up in sexy words. He was talking about them working physically.

  “OK, so this works for both of us. And we’d both like to keep doing it.”

  “Agreed.” His voice came out thick. He cleared his throat before adding, “Anything else?”

  “I’d appreciate if as long as we’re sleeping together, you weren’t with anyone else.” She felt the blush move up her chest and neck until her cheeks burned. It was a perfectly reasonable request; she had no reason to be embarrassed.

  “Darlin’, you are more than enough to satisfy me.”

  His eyes were so hot on her, she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down to her. She pressed her mouth to his, running her tongue over his lower lip. He made an appreciative sound and slid his arm around her back.

  One kiss bled into the next, a leisurely exploration of lips and tongues. For the moment, Carrie was content to learn the landscape of his mouth, what made him groan, what made him suck in his breath, and what made him clutch her back and tighten his arm around her.

  When they drew apart, both were breathing hard. Seth’s renewing erection lay against her thigh. She ran her hand down his side and over his hip. She intended to take him in hand and stroke him back to fullness, but he suddenly arched his back and hissed through his teeth.

  Her eyes flew to his face to find his features tightened in pain. She snatched back her hand. “Sorry!”

  He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. “It’s OK. You just hit a particularly bad spot. Must have done something else at practice today.”

  After another deep breath, he opened his eyes and his face relaxed.

  She cupped her hand over an older bruise on his ribs that she hadn’t noticed before. “Does this one hurt?”

  Circling her wrist, he lifted her hand away and looked where it had been. “Nah. That’s an old one.”

  “You say that like you expect to be covered in bruises.”

  He gave her an odd look she couldn’t read, then shrugged the shoulder he wasn’t leaning on. “Occupational hazard.”

  “Really?” She probably sounded hopelessly naive, but it was such a foreign idea to her. She was a wimp about pain.

  “I get paid to hit three-hundred-pound men as hard as I can, so I can get around them to take their quarterback’s head off. They get paid to stop me at all costs. Yeah, I get a few bruises.”

  “That’s so…violent.”

  “That’s football.” He frowned, a deep crease forming between his brows. “You really don’t know football, do you?”

  “I’ve been watching with Maddie. I guess I thought since you have all those pads on…” Of course the pads didn’t do as much as she assumed. She understood forces and mass and all the other science that went into two huge bodies colliding the way he’d described.

  She’d cringed every time she saw him get hit, but most of the time the cameras focused on the other team’s quarterback or wherever he threw the ball. She hadn’t actually gotten to watch much of Seth’s play, except for the home games she’d taken Maddie to. But it wasn’t always easy to see him. “Did it hurt? When you got these bruises?”

  He scrubbed his hand over his beard. “To be honest, during the season I’m never not in pain.”

  Carrie winced in sympathy. Why would he do that to himself?

  “But I’m so used to it, most of the time I don’t even notice, unless I stop to think about it. So sure, the impact hurts. But then it…assimilates, I guess. And it doesn’t register anymore. Plus, during the game, there’s so much adrenaline, you don’t feel any but the most brutal hits.”

  She couldn’t imagine, even a little. If she got a hangnail, it was in the back of her mind no matter what she was doing. Tension headache? Forget it, she was useless. And when she broke her ankle in high school, she’d driven her parents and Amy nuts with her complaining.

  At least she could admit she was a wimp.

  “You never stop hurting? Ever?”

  “Not during the season.” He pressed his lips to her shoulder, moving over her skin with wet, openmouthed kisses that made her shiver.

  “I do have”—he grazed his teeth along her collarbone—“a tendency”—his tongue drew a path to the hollow beneath her chin—“not to notice it so much”—wrapping her in his arms, he rolled to his back and settled her on top of him—“when I’ve got”—his lips found hers, tracing her lower lip with his tongue—“my mouth on you.”

  He sealed his mouth to hers and kissed her breathless. Her body came alive for him, her breasts lying heavy against his chest, nipples aching for attention.

  His big hands gripped her hips, guiding her movement as she rocked against him. His erection slid between her legs where she was hot and wet and ready for him.

  “You feel so good,” he murmured into her mouth.

  Their sex was more desperate this time, and they quickly found a frantic rhythm. For every time Carrie lifted her hips, then slammed back down, he pulled back, then lifted his hips to meet her. The result was a white-hot, breathtaking frenzy, two bodies desperately racing for completion.

  When he came, his fingers dug into her ass, hard enough she knew she would have marks tomorrow. It could have hurt if she didn’t love the possessive nature of it.

  Enjoying pain. Huh. Maybe she did get it. The adrenaline of sports wasn’t the same as the endorphin flood of orgasm, but ultimately, both she and Seth were enduring, almost enjoying, discomfort in order to experience something they enjoyed.

  Panting, she collapsed on his heaving chest. As his breathing slowed, he idly stroked her hair along her back. The rhythmic touch nearly soothed her to sleep. How nice would it be to drift off curled against the warmth of his body, wrapped in his arms, every night?

  Except she didn’t get to do that with Seth, for so many reasons. He wasn’t her boyfriend; this was just sex. She would have to remind herself of that every chance she got.

  Otherwise, it would be far too easy to forget.

  *

  —

  The sun warmed Carrie as she sipped her coffee on Seth’s back patio. She tried not to indulge in fantasies, like Mother Nature blessing the night of hot sex with an unseasonably warm morning after, but the silly idea did make Carrie smile. As if the previous night needed a reward. Multiple orgasms were their own reward.

  “There you are.” Seth’s voice drifted over, followed by the sound of the back door shutting.

  Carrie leaned her head back and watched him approach upside down.

  He bent over and kissed her, a soft, lingering brush of his lips against hers. He tasted like mouthwash and smelled like soap; his ponytail was still damp.

  She, on the other hand, was still in the flannel pants and sweatshirt she’d put on when they got out of bed. Too bad they couldn’t spend the whole morning together, making out, having sex, and boycotting clothes.

  “I gotta go.” He stood and moved to her side.

  “Stupid job,” she mumbled. “What kind of terrible employer would make someone work on a gorgeous Saturday like this?”

  “You’re a riot.”
He had practice and meetings in preparation for tomorrow’s game. Which meant Carrie would be meeting Maddie at her swim meet. Maddie had convinced Emilia to join the team with her, so her parents had taken the girls to the early morning warm-up, saving Carrie from having to leave before sunrise.

  She did need to get moving, though, if she was going to get there before Maddie’s first race.

  Beside her, Seth’s posture stiffened. He cleared his throat.

  Uh-oh.

  “Look, uh, it’s probably best if we keep this…thing with us”—Seth waved his hand between the two of them—“between us.”

  Carrie didn’t know if she was relieved he hadn’t changed his mind about continuing whatever it was between them or offended that he wanted to keep it a secret. She settled for being glad he looked ridiculously uncomfortable.

  He scrubbed his hand over his beard. His gaze landed on her face, and his expression softened. “Not because I want to hide you. I promise.”

  Like his expression, something in her chest softened. A softness she liked a little too much. Which was dangerous.

  Seth stepped closer, cupping her cheek and stroking her skin with his thumb.

  Dangerous, but delicious.

  “I just think it’s best if Maddie doesn’t know. This move has been hard on her, and I don’t want to unsettle her more. Is that OK?”

  She didn’t love it, but it wasn’t like they could make out in front of Maddie anyway. “Yeah, I get it.”

  One side of his mouth turned up in a half smile that made her insides feel gooey.

  “Thanks. She’s gotten attached to women I’ve dated before, and takes it really hard when things end. I know this is different, but…”

  Carrie stood, only a breath of space between them. “I get it. You’re a dad. Maddie comes first.” She went up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his lips.

  He slid his arm around her waist and drew her closer. “Thank you for understanding.” His whiskers tickled her lips.

  As he sank in for a deeper goodbye kiss, Carrie let herself stop thinking and simply enjoy the taste and feel of him.

  Chapter 13

  Seth held the door to the comics shop open for Maddie. She didn’t need more, since her room was filled with stacks of them, but it was the only olive branch he’d been able to think of. And he’d reached the point where there was a permanent ache in his chest caused by the ever-widening gulf between his daughter and him.