Full Court Press

by Rose, Ashley

  More than anything, she wanted to crawl under the covers with him and curl up at his side, but besides knowing that Beck would kick her out, she also didn’t want to wake him.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and curled up in the armchair in the corner of the room, feeling more comfortable than in her own bed.

  * * *

  Carmondy rolled over in bed, pressing her face into the pillow in an attempt to block out the light that was disturbing her sleep. With her nose against the pillow, she inhaled and got a good whiff of something unfamiliar.

  She inhaled. No, it wasn’t unfamiliar. It just didn’t belong on her pillow. She lifted her head and blinked in the morning light. She wasn’t even in her bedroom. She was in the spare bedroom. Last night’s memories came flooding back: the trip to Roslyn, Beck’s sister, the trip back from Roslyn, sleeping, the nightmare, falling asleep in the chair. That explained Beck’s scent on the pillow but it didn’t explain how she’d gotten from the chair to the bed.

  When she left the bedroom, she found him in the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” she said, trying to sound upbeat without being overly cheery as she got herself something to eat.

  Beck grunted in acknowledgement.

  “Did you sleep okay?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Slept fine.”

  “That’s good. Hey, do you happen to know how I got from the chair to the bed, by any chance?”

  “What the fuck were you sleeping in that chair for? That could seriously mess up your back.”

  “I’m not the one with back problems, and you didn’t answer my question.”

  “Well, you certainly didn’t levitate there, did you?” he snapped. “I woke up early and saw you so I moved you.”

  She smiled. “Well, thank you. It was very thoughtful of you.”

  He only looked more irritated and hurriedly went into her room to get ready.

  Car thought back to the night before and what she had seen. She felt a sudden pang of guilt. Should she tell him? If he would just let someone in, they could really help him out. Dealing with it all himself didn’t do him any good. She knew he would be incredibly angry if he found out she knew, but she could help him. Not telling him was sort of like lying. Maybe if she just told him right away then he could get past the angry part sooner.

  “Beck, we need to talk!” she blurted abruptly on the ride to school.

  He pulled into the parking lot and waited a few moments before speaking. “Spit it out. We’re going to be late.”

  “Oh, okay, umm... let’s talk after.”

  Beck rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

  Carmondy looked up and saw a piece of his hair sticking up. He had pushed it all down and forward instead of pushing it up into a messy Mohawk like he normally did. Before she knew what she was doing, she reached up and pushed the piece of hair back into place.

  “What the fuck?” Beck jerked away.

  “Your hair was messed up. I fixed it.”

  “Don’t touch me,” he said dangerously.

  “What the hell is your problem?” she asked.

  “Don’t touch me.” He glared.

  “This seems to be a recurring theme, you know. I can’t touch you but you can nail me into next week!”

  He rubbed both hands through his hair vigorously, purposely making it stick up in all directions. “Exactly.” He leaned forward and looked menacing. “You don’t touch me unless I give you permission.”

  “I don’t understand.” She gulped. This was starting to be a little more than she wanted but at the same time, she had the urge to nod and say ‘yes, sir’.

  Suddenly Beck was across the Jeep and the back of her seat dropped back until she was lying down with Beck straddling her.

  “Uhh, Beck? I thought this was about me touching your hair.”

  He smirked and pushed her shirt up above her waist. When her hands pushed to stop him, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head against the headrest. He used his other hand to roam all over her torso. His warm fingers trailed over her bare stomach and waist before moving up to her chest, neck and jaw.

  “Understand now?” he asked. His hand snaked around her neck.

  Yes, she understood, but she shook her head. “N-no, I don’t.”

  I’ll clarify.” His hand slid back down to her stomach. “I can touch you anywhere I want.” His fingers skimmed under the waistband of her shorts briefly, leaving her wanting more. “But you must ask when you want to touch me. Understand?” Beck’s hand moved down her legs to slip up the back of her shorts and grab her upper thigh possessively.

  “I understand,” she breathed, instinctively pushing her hips up off the seat.

  He smirked again and squeezed her thigh tightly. “I think we need to pick up where we left off yesterday, don’t you?”

  She was almost trembling with anticipation. “We have practice.”

  “After, then. My place. You’re gonna put these muscles,” his hand slid to the inside of her thigh, “to good use for me. Aren’t you?”

  She nodded fervently.

  He withdrew his hand only to touch her jaw and mouth. “And maybe these ones too.” He plucked at her lower lip. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  Carmondy almost lost it right there. She wasn’t sure if she’d want to go down on him but with the way Beck was talking and touching her, with the commanding dominance, it made her want to do anything and everything he said. She’d definitely give it a try.

  With a thumb on her chin, he pulled her jaw open, a smile spreading on his face before he lowered his lips and kissed her open mouth. His tongue pushed between her teeth confidently, like it owned the place. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she owned any part of her body right now. She was pretty sure it all belonged to him.

  The kiss, while just as overwhelming as his other kisses, almost seemed more like a claim to ownership than a kiss, which confused her. He only seemed to want anything to do with her in situations like this, when they were getting intimate or having sex, which was pretty typical for a guy, right? He made her feel willing to surrender her entire body to him. Any other time, she might as well be on the other side of the world with as much distance as he put between them. Carmondy was starting to find herself short of breath while Beck’s mouth stilled over hers and he sucked the last bit of remaining air from her lungs before he pulled away.

  Carmondy let her head drop to one side as she caught her breath, knowing if she looked Beck in the eyes right now, she’d be lost. He had other ideas, though. He turned her head back and pushed his hands into her hair to hold her in place.

  She caught his steel-gray gaze before closing her eyes, still trying to catch her breath.

  She felt the slight rumble in his chest when he laughed quietly. “Whatcha closing your eyes for?”

  She sighed because she knew she wouldn’t be able to explain it to him. After a moment, she opened her eyes. “Why do you do this?”

  “What?”

  “This. Touch me, talk to me, treat me…like this?”

  “You mean all demanding and stuff?”

  She nodded, squirming a little since her wrists were still in his possession.

  He shrugged. “Because I know it gets you hot...really hot.”

  “Okay...that’s true but...that can’t be the only reason.”

  His hand curved around her throat to stroke it lightly. Carmondy recognized it as a move of hesitation, trying to distract her while he decided on something to say, which was fine with her.

  “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get off on it too. Fact is...I like playing it that way. It makes sex interesting. I have a feeling not a lot of girls are down for it, but since you are, and you obviously get off on it as well...” He slid his hand down to her chest to touch her possessively. “I’m going to take full advantage of it.”

  She nodded slowly, hoping he would continue.

  “I like that it lets us get...into it, without getting too personal outside of
the bedroom or car, as the case may be.”

  She nodded in agreement. “So...I think this is a good time to come to an agreement.”

  Beck looked suspicious right away. “What kind of agreement?”

  “Just that it’ll be understood that we can... go there—”

  “There, as in kinky sex and dirty talk?”

  “Yes. We can go there and you can keep doing what you’re doing, boss me around, talk dirty and...”

  He leaned down to nip at her ear. “Tie you up.”

  She took a deep breath. “Yes, that especially, but the important part is I don’t want that to be anywhere that it doesn’t belong. Meaning, anywhere not in the bedroom.”

  “And cars.”

  “And cars, and...okay, this could get really complicated. Let’s just say I don’t want you treating me that way when there are other people around. I don’t care if you pull me into an empty classroom, whatever, I just don’t want...”

  “Anyone to know?” he suggested.

  “Pretty much,” she confessed.

  “So it’s safe to say that when we’re alone.” His hand trailed down her body to rest between her legs. “This belongs to me.”

  She bit her lip and wished desperately that they didn’t have practice. Instead, she just nodded.

  “And everything else, what I say and do...you’ve been cool with all that? Nothing crossed the line?”

  She was a little surprised at his concern, but hid it and smirked instead. “You haven’t even approached the line,” she said seductively, pushing her hips up off the seat to press against him.

  She saw an interested glint in his eye before he used his hand to push her hips back down.

  “No? We’ll see how you feel about that tonight.”

  She forced the smirk to remain and decided she liked the idea of provoking him. “You’ve already strapped me down and had your way with me. What more could you possibly throw at me? Nothing,”

  He laughed. “You really shouldn’t have said that. You’re going to pay for it tonight, you know that, right?”

  She shrugged, knowing she was bluffing. “We’ll see what you’ve got.”

  He just shook his head and let go of her before opening her door and getting out. Before stepping away from the Jeep, he turned and leaned back in. “After practice, you have two hours to shower, eat, whatever, then get your ass to my place.”

  She nodded as she slid out of the Jeep, purposely doing so when he was still close so that her body would have to press against his.

  She heard him laugh quietly and before she could pass by him, he pushed her against the Jeep and used a leg to split her thighs, his knee pressing against her core.

  “Don’t think for a second that you’re getting away with things like that. You’re not only going to be punished for it, you’re going to have to beg for your punishment.” He looked thoughtful. “How’d you like to serve your penance on your knees?” he asked, his stare boring into her eyes.

  “I—”

  “Hey, guys!” Torie’s cheery voice caused Beck to step away and Carmondy attempt to mask the look she imagined she had on her face right now.

  They looked up to see Torie and Kendall coming toward them on their way to the school. Kendall gave a small smile and looked between them. “We didn’t mean to interrupt anything. Nice sex hair, Beck.”

  Beck played the part beautifully. He scoffed and walked away, leaving Carmondy to do damage control.

  Chapter Nine

  At practice, Carmondy kicked ass in sprints, like always. She was starting to get pretty good during scrimmage, too. The boys were along the sidelines, doing lunges and pushups while the girls had the court. She liked scrimmage because it let her show her full talents, using her speed and strength to steal the ball. She wasn’t afraid to get physical or dive on the ground for the ball, which she proved a couple times.

  She had a couple run-ins with Beck. One was when she flew out of bounds for a save and ran into him. The next was when she started to wheeze from asthma and he yanked her off the court and over to her inhaler before she could protest.

  He grabbed her inhaler out of her bag and pressed it into her hand. She waved him away while bringing it to her lips to take a puff.

  When she could talk again she tried to push him away. “Go on, I’m fine.”

  “Take another puff.”

  “I know, thank you. I don’t need you to babysit me,” she snapped.

  “What the fuck is your problem?”

  She frowned. “Sorry, I just don’t want the coach or the team thinking that this asthma thing is a weakness and that I need to be looked after.”

  “Yeah, well deal with it because until you have decided that you want to be responsible and know when to take a break, I’m not going to let up. So either pull yourself out of the game when you know you should or deal with me doing it for you. Got it?”

  “I said I don’t need to be babysat.”

  He leaned forward. “Do I need to remind you that you almost died? And don’t try to tell me that you’re not worried about it anymore because I know that you still are, hence the nightmares.”

  “How’d you know that I had another nightmare?”

  Beck shrugged. “Wasn’t hard to figure out. You came in the middle of the night looking all scared. You just needed someone to be in the room with you.”

  “You were awake?”

  He ignored the question. “Just take another puff so I can get back to practice.”

  She frowned at his evasiveness but took the puff anyway. Beck nodded once before returning to his team to lead them in a round of sit-ups.

  After she assured the coach she was okay, he let her join practice again. The girls didn’t seem to mind her brief absence and worked her into the drill like she’d been there the whole time.

  Once both practices were finished, Carmondy couldn’t wait to go home and shower and then do whatever was gonna go down with Beck. Some of the players were hanging around, shooting hoops or chatting. Carmondy started to make her way to Kendall and Anderson, who were standing at center court.

  The coach intercepted her though, stepping into her path. “Ms. Hamilton, do you have time for a short chat before you leave for the day?”

  “Of course,” she said, following him to the bleachers to sit down.

  “I’d like to talk to you about our first game.”

  Carmondy nodded. “This Tuesday, right?”

  “That’s right. Now, I have been watching you progress over the past week or so. I’ve also asked Kendall, as team captain, to keep an eye out as well as Mr. Tomlinson, the boys’ head coach. All three of us have noted your exceptional speed and endurance, which we spoke about before. But also, we have all agreed that your teamwork has improved tremendously.”

  Carmondy’s heart leapt. He was going to keep her on varsity. He had to.

  “And I think you’ll agree that I see a bond between you and the girls who have been here for four years. The other girls still know each other’s playing styles better but that can only come with real game experience, which brings me to my next point. I have been working out the starting lineup for our first game and hopefully continuing through the season; Kendall at point, Alli at guard, Sydney and Torie as posts and you as power forward.”

  She couldn’t help but break into a grin. “That would be awesome.”

  “I’d hoped you feel that way. Now I know that this new asthma thing has had you worrying, but I want you to know it’s not a problem for me. This is high school basketball. You play for fun and because you want to improve. If you find you need your inhaler in the middle of the play, feel free to call a time out. If it’s not bad and you can wait through the play, that’s fine too. Just come straight to the bench and I can throw Kylie in while you get what you need. I want you to know it’s not going to affect your playing time at all. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff. You are going to get the playing time you deserve, which could change, depending on what kind
of team we face, and that applies to everyone, not just you. Understand?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Good, then we’re settled? You’re in the starting lineup, and depending on how you do, could be there throughout the season.”

  “It sounds great.” She tried to control herself.

  The coach nodded and dismissed her before heading to his office. Carmondy skipped, literally, over to the group of people still congregated in the gym.

  She grabbed Kendall’s arm and smiled brightly. “Guess what!”

  Kendall smiled. “Hmm, let me guess. Coach told you that you’re gonna be on the starting lineup?”

  Carmondy blinked. “How’d you know?”

  “He told me this morning,” she said. “Before you got here. We’ve been talking about you quite a bit actually.”

  “Oh...well you could have at least acted surprised.”

  “O-M-G! That’s amazing!” Anderson blurted before he picked her up around the waist to spin her around.

  “Anderson!” Carmondy squealed, clutching him around the neck as she spun her. “Put me down.”

  “Nope.” He hitched her up higher and walked out of the gym with her. Kendall followed in her line of vision, teasing her.

  “Anderson,” she whined, trying to kick free. “Put me down.”

  He patted her ass. “Just a minute, baby. And stop wiggling, you’re turning me on.”

  She froze. “Put me down, stupid. Where are you taking me?”

  “Special delivery!” Anderson heaved her off his own body and she squeaked in alarm before a strong pair of arms caught her around the waist.

  “Thanks,” Beck mumbled, sliding her down his body until her feet touched the floor before releasing her. His hair was damp from a shower and he smelled nice, like some sort of citrus soap.

  “No problemo, Capitano,” Andy said brightly with a mock salute.

  “For future reference though, I didn’t literally mean in my arms.”

  Anderson rolled his eyes. “Well, be more specific next time. You said to deliver your little homework-helper. That’s what I did. I gotta get to gettin’ though. You two be good little study buddies.”