PASS INTERFERENCE (Gods of the Gridiron Book 3)

by Shanna Swenson

  “Get out of my fucking face right now before I make you regret it, ese,” Hades growled at Zeus as they stepped into the locker room from the practice field.

  “D’you suddenly forget who the fuck you’re talking to, Quil?”

  “I didn’t forget… Zeus.”

  Uh oh, trouble in paradise.

  Brett had a hold of Quil’s shirt collar. “Get your head out of the clouds and into this game or you’re sitting the bench come tomorrow night.”

  “Stop talking to me like you’re my fucking coach.”

  Pax looked to TJ, who was ready to step in before Zeus shoved Hades away. Hades held Zeus’s eyes for a moment before stepping over to his locker. They were both drenched in sweat from running drills.

  Brett stopped in his tracks to look down at Pax, who looked up at him guiltily. Brett whirled away angrily before taking in a deep breath and stepping forward. He crossed his arms over his chest, letting Travis and Linc by before he said, “Alright. Everyone, stop and listen up!”

  Trav and Linc moved to the bench to sit, catching their breath as they glanced up at their leader.

  “I get it. Alright. We all had a good time last night at Paxton’s party. We had a little too much to drink. And some of us had more fun than others…” TJ snorted in amusement, and Brett gave him a second to gather himself before he continued—with a look that told TJ to shut the hell up before he got his nose busted. “Now, I don’t care who you fuck around with or what you do on your own time. But when you’re in my house, you play by my fuckin’ rules. If that’s not kosher then you know where the damn door is. I plan to take this team to the Super Bowl. If that’s not on your agenda, and you’re willing to let personal matters interfere, then you’re in my way. And if you’re in my way, I will terminate you.”

  Pax looked up at Brett in surprise as Brett’s eyes fell to him and then shot over to Quil. Paxton had never heard Brett as grave as he was now, and despite the threat, the promise of a Super Bowl was as alluring as getting into those tight panties of Becca’s; Pax couldn’t resist the appeal of glorious victory. He smiled up into Brett’s face and nodded.

  “Now, who’s with me?” Brett’s tone lightened as his eyes shot up to Quil’s. A moment passed between them—of competition, challenge, then understanding—before Brett put his hand out, palm down in their group huddle formation.

  Linc and Travis’s hands shot into the mix, followed by Pax and TJ’s. Other players joined in before Quillan finally added his hand to the top and looked up to their QB with a respectful nod.

  “Gods of the Gridiron,” they all chanted and Pax felt a sense of renewal between them all.

  They were going to be champions. They were going to the Super Bowl.

  “What the fuck do you mean?” Pax asked, feeling angry.

  “She’ll be communicating with you through me, buddy,” Kenny said.

  “But she’ll be living under my damn roof.”

  “Pax, just be glad we aren’t having to shell out any more money. You’ll be seen out in public together, the happy couple under all other pretenses, but let’s not make a big deal out of this, ok? It’s just until the season is over, then your life can go back to the way it was.” Kenny sighed over the phone.

  But Pax didn’t want things to go back to the way they were. He didn’t want Rebecca staying with him if he couldn’t talk to her, interact with her, have any type of relationship with her. Sure, his days were busy during this time of year with practice, workouts, meetings, games, events… but he could make time for her.

  “It’s what she wants, Paxton. Just oblige her, please?”

  But how could he? She would be sleeping half a football field away from him.

  “Pax, there’s more…”

  Oh hell, what now?

  “Veda was fired.” Before Pax could respond, Kenny continued, “A very interesting photo of her and Quillan surfaced on social media this morning, which the team handled swiftly and efficiently, chalking it up to Photoshop and the like before they took it down. I mean, you were there, you probably know more about it than I do. Needless to say, though, after that shit she pulled last game with having the balls to come up and talk to you, this was the final straw.”

  Well, the sarcastic rebel had finally gotten what she’d asked for. And if Pax knew Veda at all, he’d bet a good chunk of change she’d done it on purpose—to get that unemployment she’d been wanting. But unemployment couldn’t be much, and Pax knew they struggled financially. It made him feel worse than he already did; right now, he felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

  “So, can we please just let this shit die? I’m begging.”

  He should. He should pretend that the last several weeks were just a big mistake on his part, chalk it up to a lesson learned, and move on.

  But as he walked into his deathly quiet house, up the stairs and past Rebecca’s room— where the door was shut and a light was on beneath it—his chest hurt. It hurt with a pain he’d not felt in a long time. A pain he’d been all too familiar with—heartbreak.

  He’d give Rebecca a little time to calm down, let her anger and aggravation with him die down some, but this wasn’t over. He wasn’t gonna give up and just let her shut him out without some closure.

  He needed and deserved that at least.

  He headed into his room and threw his gym bag down onto the bed, folding himself so that his elbows rested on his knees. He wasn’t going to give up on her, on them.

  Them? There was no them, was there? But there was… As much as he’d never wanted it, it was there. The desire to have something more with her than a fake engagement.

  Now, he just had to convince her to give him another chance. And, knowing how stubborn her sister was, that wasn’t going to be an easy task.

  The week went by painfully slow as Rebecca got into a new routine. That first day was the hardest; going to Paxton’s game on Monday night, sitting in the box, socializing with the women who looked at her as if she were a bomb waiting to go off, and cheering for a game that her heart wasn’t into. But Tuesday was easier; she dove into her work at the museum and volunteered at the hospital while her mom got her infusion.

  By Thursday, Becca had almost forgotten about Paxton…almost, ha!

  Friday came and still, she ignored the sound of the front door when he entered, the racket in the kitchen when he made his protein shakes, the sound of the basement door as he went down to workout, the draw of the magnetism when she heard his footfalls on the stairs. Her heart would bleed when he would stop but never knock on her door. He simply hovered, as if waiting for some moment that never came.

  And her life continued, the world continued to spin until that following Monday night. She was reading her book, the one she’d been neglecting, and had to find out the next plot twist despite that she’d caught up on the TV series and already knew. The scene didn’t fail to shake her and she began to cry—sob was a better word for it; she felt as helpless as the characters in the story she loved so much.

  Rebecca let her feelings of helplessness, her anger at Paxton and Veda, her disappointment with her life and the world completely destroy her along with the pages of The Fiery Cross.

  She was so distraught that she didn’t realize the door was opening, and Paxton Guthrie’s beautiful face was looking in on her, as if he could somehow cure all her ails.

  She swiped at her eyes speedily, not wanting him to see how upset she was, and pulled every ounce of confidence she could muster. “What do you want, Pax?”

  “I’m sorry. I heard you crying and…”

  “I don’t just barge into your room and bother you, now do I?”

  “No, but…”

  “Then why the hell are you in here?”

  Consternation marked his handsome features as he entered and closed the door behind him. “Rebecca,” he began and looked down, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. “I’m sorry for what I said that day to Veda. I shouldn’t have, and I didn’t mean it.
”

  Becca looked away. “It doesn’t matter.” It was true. It didn’t matter what was said and what wasn’t said; it changed nothing. They weren’t meant to be. They were as different as two people could be, night and day, the prince and the peasant girl. She was like Cinderella; she’d gotten a fair glimpse of the elegant ball, but her short clock had struck midnight and her carriage had turned back into a pumpkin.

  “But it does matter. To me it does.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I hurt you and I never meant to.”

  That should make her feel better, but it didn’t. It didn’t take the pain of the truth away.

  “Look, I know this whole situation is messed up and I’ve destroyed yours and Veda’s lives, your mom’s too, but I never intended for all this to happen like it has. You have to know that.”

  Of course, he hadn’t. It’d just been another date to him, another woman, another day in his perfect life. A kiss that was akin to the shot heard round the world. If they’d never kissed, none of this would’ve happened. Their lives would be just as they were.

  “But I don’t regret any of it.”

  She looked up then into his gorgeous blue eyes, eyes that were as bright and cerulean as the blue seas he commanded being Poseidon, the water god of the gridiron. She gulped. He was telling the truth.

  “I don’t want this to be our lives for the next two to three months, Rebecca. I want to dine with you, take you out, enjoy my time with you while I can. Until…” he trailed off.

  He wanted to sleep with her. She knew that to be true. He wanted to conquer her. That’s all this was. A way to get her where he really wanted her…into his bed. She stayed quiet as he moved forward and squatted, taking her hand in his.

  “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that I can’t keep living in this house with you, day after day and not seeing you, not speaking to you…not touching you.” His thumb moved over her knuckles, making her shiver. “Please tell me the distance is killing you, too?”

  There it was; proof that she was right. He just wanted her flesh, not her heart, not her love. The distance was killing him, only because he couldn’t touch her, not because he missed her laugh or her jokes or her company.

  She nodded gently, because she did miss his touch and realized how much she’d craved it; her heart rate doubled when his fingers moved up her arm to her shoulder, then finally to her face.

  He gave her a smile. “You volunteering tomorrow?”

  She nodded again.

  “Can I join you? I wouldn’t mind spending my day off with you.”

  “Veda will be there,” Becca smarted hotly, feeling her cheeks flame.

  “That’s fine. I’m not worried about your sister.”

  You should be, she wanted to say but held her tongue.

  “I’ll meet you downstairs at ten?” he asked and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the palm. She pulled her lips in, attempting to hide how rattled he made her. She nodded again and he beamed, the beauty of it making her chest ache. “Good. It’s a date then.”

  She couldn’t help her smile even as her heart broke all over again. She was wishing for something she could never have, postponing the inevitable.

  But she could do this, for her family, for her livelihood, for Paxton Guthrie.

  She could play her part, until February.

  She just prayed she had a heart left before all was said and done.

  “Quil!” Pax chuckled in surprise as Quillan turned to him. The tall TE shoved his phone into his pocket and approached Pax then.

  “Pax, qué pasa, man? What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same question, brother.” Pax laughed and pumped his hand.

  “Oh, just waiting on Quinn to get her transfusions. They take a while.” He blushed, and the red painting his face was foreign to Pax.

  “She doing ok?” Pax asked, concerned.

  “Yeah, she’s ok. She…” he trailed off, not eager to answer. Of which, Pax wouldn’t press. “What about you? What are you doing here?”

  “Becca’s mom is getting chemo. We volunteer while we wait. It passes the time.”

  “Oh, well that’s good. I should probably start doing that. It will distract me.”

  “Yeah, you totally should!” Pax insisted. He frowned as he saw Veda approaching with Quil’s little girl in tow. Quinn was jabbering away, talking Veda’s ear off as they approached hand-in-hand, Veda’s tattooed arm coming into view.

  “And then Daddy said I jumped so high I could’ve touched the sky.”

  Veda laughed, like truly laughed, and Pax’s eyebrows shot up. It was as sultry as Rebecca’s in its authenticity. For a moment, Veda appeared to be a good soul enjoying the company of a little girl with a chronic illness who’d connected with her on a level that no one else could.

  Veda stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Quillan. Her jaw fell, full lips opening as she stared up at the six-foot, six-inch teammate of Paxton’s.

  Uh oh, Pax thought. They haven’t seen each other since…

  “Veda?” Quil asked. “Wh—?”

  “Quillan?”

  “Daddy!”

  Pax stood as still as a statue as the eyes bounced back and forth between the two lovers that obviously still had something hot soaring between them—Pax knew that look all too well.

  “Daddy!” Quinn shouted to get her father’s attention, and Pax held in the laugh that threatened his throat.

  “Yes, reinita?” Quil looked down at the adorable mini-Quil with light brown curls.

  “I want to have lunch with Veda.”

  Oh, boy. Pax held his breath, waiting for one of them to protest, but Veda’s eyes locked with Quil’s again, in a look of challenge. The game was on.

  “That’s fine, Quinn. Whatever you want, mi amor.”

  Wow! For a big, strong guy, he was put on a spiked leash where this kid was concerned.

  “Pax, would you like to join us?” Quil asked and looked to Pax whose mouth opened in an O.

  Becca was his rescue as she came up then, slowly as if waiting for an explosion.

  “Quil, what a surprise?” Surprise indeed!

  “Becca, uh, Quil and Veda were going to lunch with the little princess here and wondered if we’d like to join them.”

  Quinn looked up at Becca as if seeing a ghost. “Whoa. Daddy, they look alike.”

  Veda answered Quinn, who still held her hand in a death grip. “She’s my twin sister. Her name is Rebecca.”

  “Hi.” Quinn grinned, an adorable little angel with an agenda no one knew. “I’m Quinn.”

  “Hi, Quinn.” Becca waved and smiled up at Pax. “Sure, we can go to lunch. We’re all caught up.”

  Quil gave a tight smile and nodded to Rebecca, who returned it with one equally as firm.

  Well, this will be interesting, Pax thought.

  Veda and Quinn took the lead; Quinn picking up exactly where she left off in her story.

  Becca gave Pax a grin, and he took her hand.

  Perhaps nothing was impossible after all… A little faith, hope, and love never failed.

  “That was interesting, huh?” Pax asked as they came in the house from volunteering at the hospital for the better part of the day.

  They’d had dinner with Becca’s mam and seen her off to bed before heading home themselves.

  They’d had a noteworthy lunch with Quil, Quinn, and Veda, noticing the hesitance, discomfort, and sexual tension brewing between the two. Becca hadn’t had a chance to talk with her sister about what had happened since Halloween night. She’d been working or at Pax’s when Veda had their mom and vice versa. Veda had been picking up more shifts at the club she worked at. Becca would get to the bottom of it and find out for sure if Veda had been the one to get herself fired, or if it had been someone else at the party who’d purposefully tagged Veda in the picture. Becca maintained that social media was a bad idea, which was why she didn’t bother with it. Becca was the introvert of
the two, so there was that.

  “Interesting is a term that’s putting it mildly,” she answered.

  “They definitely slept together,” Pax continued.

  Becca laughed and tossed her purse onto the side counter along with her keys. “I’m sure they think that about us.”

  Pax shrugged. “I doubt it.”

  “Why?”

  Pax gave her a crooked grin and moved to the fridge, getting out his bottle of Kefir. “There’s definitely sexual tension between the two of us, that’s for sure, but not quite like those two. Halloween night was fruitful for them.”

  “Again, how do you know?”

  “I just do.”

  Becca’s brow went up again, waiting for a legit answer.

  “Well, there’s a look a man has when he’s seen a woman naked.”

  “You’ve seen me naked.”

  “Ok, a look a man has when he’s taken a woman.”

  “You sound like a medieval brute.”

  “You do realize that no one talks like you do, right?”

  “I’m a historian,” Becca defended and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Still. It’s not fittin’ for ye, Sassenach.”

  Oh, her poor body. It shivered hearing him utter those sexy words. She gulped and let her eyelids flutter closed.

  “What would it take for a man to take a woman as fine as yourself, Ms. Ryan?”

  Not much if she were being honest, especially after how swoony he’d been today, placing puppies in sick children’s arms and feeding their hopes with cuddles.

  “Would a kilt be too much to ask?” she teased.

  “On the contrary.” His blue eyes danced and held hers in a battle of bravado. She knew she would lose, but she held the stare as long as she could until she finally blinked. He smirked, cocky god that he was. “But I am Poseidon, not a Scottish highlander, unfortunately.”