Quarterback Sack

by SE Hall

  Coach Benson shoots me a death glare. An innocent smile that never fails does the trick and he turns his attention elsewhere as I head over to the bar. “Can I get a double Jack on the rocks?” The hottie behind the counter smiles and moves quickly to make sure I have something in my hand just as a familiar whistle echoes through the room.

  “Alright, listen up.” Coach Benson steps forward from his spot on the stairs and motions to his right. “The moment you’ve all been waiting for, time to introduce you to the new owner of the Tennessee Thunder. Please give a warm welcome to Miss Ava Vanderbilt.” My eyes follow his and I flip the fuck out, choking on the drink I’d just taken as I see who’s waving at everyone in the room. No. Fucking. Way.

  She’s purposely not looking in my direction at first, but her gaze finds mine before the guys stop hollering. I don’t miss the smile on her face as she takes in my expression, knowing she got me. I’m in complete, nervous shock and feel like a giant dick for assuming it would be her father that would take over the team. As far as I know, she’s a damn expert when it comes to owning an NFL team. How the hell would I know any different, or anything about her for that matter, except of course the way she moans when she’s getting fucked? Or the way her entire body spasms and her lips quiver when she’s having an orgasm with my dick balls deep inside her.

  Motherfucker. I’ve not only fucked the new owner, I just sexually harassed her. It’s not like I’ve been working my entire life to get on this team; running my ass off year after year to make it to the very position I was in today during the game. And her smug grin tells me I very well may have just made the biggest mistakes of my life and she’s enjoying my internal explosion of reality that I have seriously fucked up. I shoot her the infamous Riggins’ smirk and don’t forget to lift one brow as I polish off my drink.

  It tastes so much better than the shit she just served me with that announcement.

  Hold up just a damn minute. This might actually be good news. If there’s one thing I’m known for, it’s the fact that once they’ve had a taste of what I can give them, women always come back to me for more. Owner or not, Ava Vanderbilt won’t be able to stay away from me for long, and I’m more than happy to help make sure of it. She’ll want it to be kept a secret, fine by me, but I now realize…I’ll be keeping my position on this team, without a doubt.

  Chapter Seven

  AVA

  I can’t believe I slept with that man. He’s not even my type. His conceited grin is only making things worse for him, but his pompous ass probably thinks it’s actually working on me. I’ve always been immune to the bullshit men try to pull to get what they want, so why do I sense him watching me as I scan the room and give my speech?

  Looking around, I take in all the fake smiles and winks, but when my eyes find his in the crowd, it’s his cocky grin that makes me the maddest. I knew when I saw him on the big-screen at the game today that tonight would be awkward. That now seems to be a drastic understatement as his stare sears into me, my skin hot and flushed while I stand here trying my best not to sound like a complete idiot.

  Coach Benson moves in close just as I finish speaking and everyone else begins to move around the room. He fidgets with his glass before he finally gets out the words that send a bolt of shock straight through my body. “Has Riggins said something to you that I need to know about?”

  I feign an unaffected smile then force myself to snap out of it quickly, knowing that no matter what happens, the last thing I want is for it to appear as though this Riggins guy is getting preferential treatment. Or any treatment for that matter.

  “Who?” I play dumb, not sure if this is the best way to go about things, but it’s the reaction my mouth chose on its own.

  “My quarterback. Thought the two of you had met,” his eyes narrow suspiciously. “Let me introduce you.” He waves for Riggins to come over and I don’t miss, nor can I control, how my heart rate increases with each step he takes closer. His slow strut is torturous and I can tell… he knows it’s damn sexy.

  “Yes, Coach?” He speaks before he’s made it to us and Coach Benson is obviously growing impatient with his leisurely swagger too. Shit, how can he make such small movements look like that? He sure didn’t move that slow the last time I was with him.

  “Riggins, I wanted Miss Vanderbilt to meet my new QB. Get over here.” I purposely look at Coach Benson, but feel my face heat when the smell of Rush’s cologne engulfs me. Why am I allowing him to have this effect on me when all I want to do is prove I can handle this team? Hell, I can’t even get through a press-box appearance or the first five minutes of a party at my own house without turning into a blushing, tongue-tied fool because of this man.

  “Nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand to shake mine and I slowly accept, my hand feeling small in his large, warm one. He brushes his fingers along the inside of my wrist, causing me to quickly pull away, but the tingle lingers long after I escape his touch.

  “I hear you’re the quarterback.” I attempt a simple conversation, praying I get pulled away soon, but my plan backfires.

  “Hell yeah, he’s my newest quarterback. Check out the paws on this one; largest in the league measuring at ten and a quarter.” Coach Benson holds up one of Rush’s palms, a cocky smile landing on Rush’s face as he takes in all the bragging being done by his head coach.

  One of the guys begins to holler from the bar, loudly, but in a playful way. And again, it’s blatantly obvious that Coach Benson doesn’t appreciate the way he’s acting. “Excuse me. I need to remind one of my players of something.” He steps away about the time I stop breathing, the weight of Rush’s stare heavy on my chest.

  “You know what they say about a man with large hands…”

  “Yeah, he needs large gloves.” I shrug and retort quickly, attempting to put a stop to any more flirting he’s about to try.

  “I think we need to talk.” His voice is deep and provocative even though he’s trying to act casual by taking a sip of his drink right after he says it.

  “I agree, but don’t you dare make a scene here, in front of everyone. It needs to be done in private.” Pretending as if I’m not sexually and mentally frustrated by his presence in my house is exhausting, and I’m so flustered, I don’t even know where my friend Marcy is anymore. My focus has stayed honed in on where and what this man beside me has been doing since the minute he arrived. I’ll need to check on her soon; wouldn’t want her to get caught up in the infuriating charms of a cocky player too.

  “I’d love nothing more than to see you again, in private.” I snap my head to glare at him, my expression no doubt giving him the answer I’d rather scream at him…but he doesn’t react like I was expecting. Instead, he starts to laugh, shifting his body so that he’s standing right next to me and we’re both looking out over the crowded room.

  “Tell me you didn’t enjoy us fucking and I’ll leave you alone. But honey, you better be one hell of an actress because your breathy sighs and the way you clenched around me more than told me you loved every fuckin’ second of having my dick inside you.”

  I try not to gasp at his deliciously vulgar, and true, words. He’s clearly dead set on driving me insane tonight and I simply can’t deal with him while I have a house full of players and coaches that I want to respect me. How will they possibly take me seriously if he causes a scene or even raises suspicions about us the very first time I meet everyone?

  “Shut your damn mouth. Meet me in the office behind the kitchen in a few minutes and we’ll talk, but not another word out here or I’ll make sure you’re not the precious QB come tomorrow.” And with that, I do what I should’ve done a few minutes ago—I walk away, leaving him standing alone in the foyer with his drink in hand.

  I work my way through the drove of players, many of them shaking my hand before they strike up a short conversation that I can’t begin to enjoy or comprehend because all I’m thinking about is what Mr. Riggins is doing. Is he talking to his friends, bragging about how
he fucked me ‘til I was moaning and writhing underneath him like some ridiculous sex starved lunatic? He wouldn’t be lying if he was telling them that, but that’s beside the point. I don’t need anyone knowing my personal business and it makes my blood boil that I got myself into this mess. This isn’t how I do things. I’m much more strategic with decisions involving my sex life. The one time I throw caution to the wind and my legs in the air, I end up in one hell of a predicament. Too untimely and ironic to be even a little bit comical.

  I finally break out of the main room and open the door to the kitchen. My office door is closed, but there’s a light shining under the door. He’s already in there.

  Quickly entering and closing the door behind me even faster, I take a deep breath before I turn to him. He’s sitting proudly behind my desk, feet propped up on the edge and wearing a lopsided grin. And it occurs to me, this is the first time I’ve had a man in this room. My grandfather just had it turned into an office for me recently, not that I’d have invited in a man if it’d been my office for years. Honestly, I never use it for anything, but it seemed like the best place to have the upcoming conversation.

  “You might want to lock the door before you hike up that sexy ass dress and straddle me.” The sure smile on his face widens…just before I lay into his ass.

  “I won’t be straddling anything. You need to get something through your head. If you want to stay on this team, you have to forget what happened the other night. It was a huge mistake and I can’t have you throwing it in my face every time I see you.”

  He leans back in my chair and puts his hands behind his head, showing off his bulging biceps that I couldn’t look away from no matter how hard I tried. Supposing that I actually tried. Damn him.

  “All right, you don’t have to straddle me. I can do all the work.” His voice is teasing, yet his gaze is smoldering, heavy with lust, so I can’t quite decide if he’s kidding or not.

  “Rush, enough.” I catch myself pacing in front of the desk and force my legs to stop moving so I can at least try to appear in control. He’s showing off that smirk of his again and I decide it’s time to start, and end, this conversation quickly before I get myself into even more trouble. “You and I didn’t meet before tonight. We’ve never had sex and we’ll only have professional conversations from this point forward. If you want to keep your position on the team, those are my requirements. Period.” I take this opportunity to distance myself from him and whatever this irresistible pull he has on me, taking a calming breath while waiting for him to respond.

  “I can do that. But baby, the question is…can you?” He stands and prowls toward me before I have the chance to say anything more. I’ve got my back to him now and one hand on the doorknob, trying to leave, when he presses his palm against the door, effectively trapping me. His body brushes against mine and his free hand slides up my arm as he turns me to face him. He stands much taller than I do, looking down at me with the most intense blue eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. How did I not notice them the first time I met him?

  The reminder of how his facial hair felt between my legs teases at the corners of my memory as he works that sly smile and studies every nuance of my reaction. He’s enjoying this.

  “Oh, it’s going to be a fucking pleasure torturing you every time we’re alone. Go ahead, rub your legs together as you lie in bed tonight and think about how I felt between them.” He moves my hand toward his mouth and slips two fingers in, sucking them, while I stand, frozen by the heaviness of the way he makes me feel. He pulls my wet, trembling fingers out of his mouth and rasps, “glide these through your pussy tonight and be sure to remember how disappointed you are when it’s not even close to how good I made you feel.” He dips his head until his mouth is at my ear, my hand still in his and now being held against his broad, firm chest as he whispers, “or you can always call me and I’ll come over and take care of you. I wrote my number on the pad of paper on your desk.” He slowly stands up straight and runs his right hand over my cheek before reaching for the doorknob. I manage to step out of the way and let him exit the room.

  My heart is pounding and my entire body is blazing as I stand in my office alone. The sound of distant laughter filters into the room as I try to compose my thoughts and make some sense of what just happened. I came in here with every intention of telling him exactly how it was going to be and he used his charm to get in the last word. He thinks he can talk to me like that, even after finding out I own the team he’s being paid to play for?

  Is he out of his damn mind? Because it’s clear that I must be. My panties are soaked just from the way he looked at me. Let’s not even get started on the way he talked. I need to make sure he stops turning the tables every damn time and gets my message—loud and clear. He cannot act that way around me, because truth be told, I don’t know if I can take it much longer. I’ll be breaking every rule I set out for myself before the week’s even over.

  I catch the haunting scent of his cologne as I brush my hands over my face in exasperation and it takes me a few minutes to pull myself together enough to leave the office and face the team again. I’m really going to have to work on being less transparent when it comes to Mr. Rush Riggins if I want to appear professional in front of the team.

  But something tells me that’ll be much easier said than done.

  Chapter Eight

  RUSH

  “You do realize I’m waiting on you.” Ty flops down on my couch while he impatiently waits to go out. Tonight’s the grand opening at the club Pierce just purchased. It should be a great venue if it’s anything like he’s been describing and I’m looking forward to supporting him on his big night. Tonight’s entry is by invite only so it shouldn’t get too crazy, especially on a Thursday night. We still have practice in the morning, but Coach did cut an hour off the morning session knowing life will suck for at least half the team after tonight’s appearance at Club Thunder.

  “What’s your hurry? The doors just opened.” I know he’s foaming at the mouth to get there and make his grand appearance. It’s actually quite comical watching him bask, shamelessly, in all the attention he gets—even funnier making him wait to do so. He’s only over here to make sure I go tonight. He knows I’m not in the mood to party. This week has been hell working with all the players to get in sync for this week’s game, but we’re a team, so I’ll make an appearance for Pierce.

  “The pussy is waiting and you know how I hate that.” He laughs at his own joke as I grab the keys to my truck; I’ve tortured him long enough.

  “By all means, let’s get over there so you can get your dick wet again before it dries. Can’t have that,” I tease him, in vain. He’s proud of the fact that he banged a cheerleader in the locker room during practice earlier today. I knew when he said he needed a ‘shit break’ that it was a pussy run and he’d only be back after he nailed her. How no one else has caught on to his bullshit schedule is beyond me—they hook-up every Thursday afternoon because that’s the day the girls go through their routines on the field.

  Speaking of girls…I haven’t seen the sexy Miss Vanderbilt since I left her house on Sunday. I’ve been watching for her at the stadium, but she hasn’t shown her face this week. At least not between the hours of sunrise and sunset, which is how long I’ve been working each day. It appears I may have intimidated her sweet little ass a bit. Maybe the word is tormented…not sure, but either will work because the truth is, she’s done the same to me. Just the thought that she could be watching me behind the scenes has fucked with my head nearly every day.

  I don’t think she’ll do anything drastic to ruin my career, but then again, half the women I meet turn out to be bat-shit crazy and I never see it coming. I’ve had run-ins with a few bipolar bitches in my day that I definitely could’ve lived without.

  “Damn, how many people did he invite?” Ty speaks before I can form a grumbled sentence as I pull up to the club. It’s fucking packed and my hopes of this being a somewhat “tame” evening
fly right out the window.

  There are at least a few hundred cars parked all over, including the empty field next door. We make our way through the cars and crowd, quickly recognized by the bouncer when we finally reach the front door. “Riggins, get your ass in here!” Pierce sees me before I have to search the crowd for anyone we recognize. “Third floor is for all my Thunder players. Any time you want to come in, consider it your happy place. And tonight is on me, my man. Follow Lizzy up these stairs and she’ll take care of you.” He shakes my hand and with a shit-eating grin then looks toward the blonde with a great rack that turns to lead us in the right direction.

  “Nice place. Proud of you.” I slap him on the back, giving him a genuine smile.

  “Awe you know, I’m just thankful that new owner didn’t put a stop to me using the Thunder name for the club. It was touch and go for a few hours the day she found out about it, said she had no idea I was doing this.” My ears perk up at the mention of Ava. “Can you imagine all the shit I would’ve had to trash to change the name of the place?”

  “It’s all good now though, right?” I smile at the thought of him needing me to step in and “negotiate” a few things with Miss Vanderbilt to keep the club named after the team.

  “I’ll know for sure next week. She didn’t stop the opening, but she left it at saying she would have the lawyers look everything over.” My smile confuses Pierce, but I wear it anyway. This gives me a reason to talk to her. And by talk, I mean torture her with my bold advances that she’s not prepared for yet can’t resist. The club will be named Thunder—bet on that shit.