Trick Play (Mavericks Tackle Love Book 3)

by Max Monroe

  His face scrunched up in incredulity. “Still singing that same old tune? I never lied about that. I went there to see you, but you weren’t there.”

  “So you moved on to the next best thing, right? Might as well enjoy yourself since you were already there.”

  “Fuck that,” he spat. “I sat there for a little bit because Marco was insistent on buddying up with me, and I didn’t want to call any undue attention to you. The last thing on my mind was fucking enjoying myself.”

  “That’s not what he said.”

  Cam glared his frustration. “And what exactly did he say, Lana? And seriously, I implore you…consider the fucking source.”

  I wavered slightly as his jab hit home, but we were way too far into this to stop now. We had to get it all out in the open, once and for all. “He said you had a real good fucking night.”

  Anger vibrated throughout his entire body as he clenched the doorframe tighter. “Did he happen to tell you that he tried to buy me lap dances, tried to get some of the girls to catch my eye—was pretty fucking intent on that, in fact—but I refused his offer each and every goddamn time?”

  “He said you managed to find plenty of entertainment with the other strippers in the club,” I answered, and he narrowed his eyes at my words.

  “Of course, he did. Jesus, Lana, I didn’t do shit at that club besides try to see you!” he shouted and shut his eyes briefly in discomfort. When he opened them again and stared into mine, I felt like they could see straight into my soul.

  I hated how vulnerable he made me feel, and I hated the thick ball of emotion clogging my throat that made it impossible to respond.

  “I don’t give a fuck about strippers, Lana,” he said, his voice both hard and soft at the same time. “I just care about you. Not Trixie when she’s onstage at the club, putting on an act for customers. But, you. Lana. You’re literally the only woman I see.”

  His words hit me straight in the chest and I faltered, hesitated even, and found myself stepping back until my back gently bumped the passenger door. “Then w-why would Marco say that?”

  But he didn’t hesitate. Didn’t hide from the question.

  Cam shut the driver’s door and stepped toward me.

  “You might not realize this, sweetheart, but that man watches you like a hawk,” he said and moved his big, strong body until his arms were outstretched and his hands were placed against the car, on either side of my face. “He likes what he sees, a little too much, in my opinion, and when it comes to you, that bastard is well aware that everyone else who steps inside that club also likes what they see.”

  He was so close. Too close. But he didn’t hesitate to lean in farther until we were nearly nose-to-nose. “And since he’s a greedy fucking bastard, he’d probably do just about anything to ensure that Trixie stays a staple in his precious club.”

  I reeled as I tried to process his words.

  Cam’s assessment wasn’t exactly wrong, nor was it out of the realm of likely possibility or truth.

  I knew Marco was a slimy piece of shit.

  I knew he was a narcissistic bastard whose only purpose in life was greed and ego. He didn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself, and he sure as hell had no issues manipulating situations to his advantage.

  Part of me, I suspected, had just found it easier to believe that hadn’t filtered into my personal life. Easier to believe Cam was no good for me anyway.

  “I’m not that guy,” Cam added softly. “I’m not that fucking guy, Lana. But if you think I’d do something like that, then yeah, I guess you should just go. I know I sure as fuck wouldn’t want you to stay with a guy who’d treat you like that.”

  I’d spent years perfecting my interrogation skills and reading body language.

  I knew with certainty when someone was lying and when they weren’t, but I’d never felt it like this—this personally—with the power of my soul and to the root of my very being.

  Cam Mitchell was a man who had nothing to hide. And he definitely wasn’t hiding how he felt about me.

  I should’ve left.

  I should’ve ended this before it grew any deeper because, fuck, whatever was happening between Cam and me, it already felt too deep. Way too deep.

  I should’ve done a lot of things, but I didn’t. Couldn’t.

  This man had burrowed himself so deep inside me, and even though I knew this wasn’t smart, I knew this was a risk, I couldn’t find a single reason to walk away from him.

  I hesitated. My feet felt frozen to the concrete, completely unable to leave him.

  “I’ve never lied to you, Lana. I’d never lie to you,” he whispered, and the combination of the warmth of his breath brushing across my lips and the comforting smell of him permeated my senses.

  My heart pounded and flipped and jumped around inside my chest like it was trying to crawl straight out of my body and into his.

  And next thing I knew, Cam pulled me into his arms, and between one pounding heartbeat and the next, he pressed his lips to mine.

  My eyes fell closed and my belly fluttered and God, he felt so good.

  Instinct and need and want and desire kicked in, and I melted into his arms.

  With hesitation a thing of the past, I kissed him right back.

  I kissed him with everything I had.

  I showed him I was sorry for assuming the worst when all he’d given me was his best. I showed him just how much I’d missed him.

  I’d never felt such relief in my entire life.

  Hot and hard, Lana’s body clung to mine and made a bid to fuse.

  God, I needed this. Her.

  And now that she was here, inside my arms, I vibrated with the need to touch her. Kiss her. Taste her. Feel her.

  “I believe you, Cam,” she whispered against my mouth, and my heart grew ten sizes inside my chest. “I believe you, and I’m sorry for how badly I handled things.”

  Her admission, her apology, it was a spark to the already building flame of desire being stoked inside of me.

  I hadn’t gone a day since that horrible fucking phone conversation without thinking about her. But I’d still given her the space and distance she’d all but demanded.

  She’d told me pursuing her was a losing battle.

  We were a losing battle.

  It was all bullshit.

  If anything in my life is worth fighting for, it’s her.

  But now, she was here, in my arms, and not holding back.

  “I’ve missed you,” I said through a groan against her perfect mouth.

  I was a man of my word, and I never said something unless I fucking meant it.

  And believe me, I meant every fucking word.

  Her lips were insistent, but secondary to the control of mine, and her hands couldn’t seem to find a spot to settle. From my hair to my shoulders and down my back, she scratched and clawed so hard at my shirt, I felt her nails through the fabric.

  Eager to feel her closer, to give my hard cock a taste of the heated heaven just a couple layers of fabric away, I lifted her off her feet and into my arms, wrapping her legs around my hips.

  She helped by securing her hold at the ankles and wrapping her arms to a steady lock on my shoulders, and slowly and carefully, I backed from the open exposure of the driveway toward the house.

  I didn’t care about anything besides her, this, losing myself inside her.

  Tussling and dancing, our tongues moved with one another from her mouth to mine and back again, exploring all of the tastes and nerves each other had to offer.

  She tasted like cinnamon, sweet and hot in one, and the soft lavender smell of her body made me want to be closer.

  Deeper, longer, harder, more—I wanted everything she had to give and then some, and I wanted it now.

  With a cautious turn and hands on her ass, I scaled the steps at the front of my house and pushed her back against the stained wood door to get more leverage.

  She moaned, a keening cry of hopelessness and want in one
, and I pushed my hips into her harder.

  Up and down, I stroked the shaft of my cock against the perfect space between her jean-covered legs until she dug her nails into the flesh of my scalp and tangled her fingers in my hair.

  Her aggression mirrored mine, energizing me to take a step farther into the house where we wouldn’t need so many fucking clothes.

  One hand steady on the back pocket of her tight jeans, I engaged the handle with the other and took all of Lana’s weight as I stepped inside the house.

  She was delicate and light, and she felt perfect and right in my arms. I wasn’t straining, wasn’t tiring—when it came to her, I could very well go all night.

  “Lana,” I whispered against her lips, and she ate at them to silence me.

  I wasn’t sure if she didn’t want me to talk or if she just wanted me to focus on other things, but I didn’t pause to worry about it.

  We had clothes to shed and bodies to connect, and once I was inside of her and held her eyes with my own, then I would worry about saying the things I wanted to.

  My spine burned with need as I slammed the door behind us and took to my knees right there in the entry.

  The rug was large and plush, nowhere near as accommodating as a bed, but it was here and it was now.

  “I need you,” she moaned as I worked my lips down her neck and around the swooping collar of her shirt. Her breasts swung up and out as I laid her back, the delicate lace of her bra folding to the pressure of her new position.

  Desperation pushed my hands down her sides to the hem and lifted, and she did her best to ease her shirt’s passage as I pulled it over her head.

  Perfect and pink, her nipples pointed at me through the thin white fabric, and I didn’t waste the effort of putting my mouth over her bra.

  I tugged and scraped both cups at once, exposing the plump flesh of her breasts. They tasted like sweet heaven as I moved from one to the other, wetting the outside with a lick of my tongue and sucking the peak into my mouth until her back arched off the rug.

  Her legs were restless and rubbed at my own, and my dick was a hot second away from breaking out power tools to get out of my pants and inside of hers.

  I took the hint of blinding pressure at the base of my spine and worked at the snag of her button. It popped free easily, and the zipper followed suit.

  White lace and skin, her underwear was barely even an obstacle as we worked together to free her legs from her pants.

  As soon as I moved for her flesh, she charged, pushing me to my back and attacking my pants with all of the desire I’d ever wanted from anyone.

  It was need, raw and powerful, and the idea of speaking at this point seemed nearly impossible.

  A smirk settled onto my face with ease, though, and she definitely noticed.

  “What?” she asked, out of breath and God…beautiful.

  Her hair hung around her shoulders, wild and stark against the tan of her skin, and her eyes were alight with affection.

  She was stubborn and most times hard to read, and she’d even tried to avoid me, but this, right here—this was the proof of everything I needed to know.

  The light in her eyes said she wanted to be here. She needed to be here.

  It proved that although our book was difficult and scattered and torn at the edges, we were on the same fucking page.

  “I’m just glad you’re here,” I murmured softly, leaving it at that and assuring she could do the same by capturing her lips with mine.

  Words and actions blending into one, I showed her how much I meant it by slowing down the speed of our kiss and holding it until it tingled.

  Undeniable, heartbreaking chemistry. It was that simple and that complicated, and I didn’t know how to put it other than that. How to handle it other than that.

  One step at a time, one move before the next, we’d take this as it came, and right now, the only thing I wanted to come was Lana.

  Carefully, I flipped her to her back and carried my weight over, sitting up briefly to yank my pants off my hips, grab a condom from my pocket, roll it down my length, and pull the slinky material of her thong to the side.

  I laughed a little, pulled my lips from hers, and rubbed our noses together as I pushed gently inside.

  Her blue eyes widened and dilated at the feeling, and I set out to memorize the look of them forever. Large and open, her eyes were long-lashed and curved up just slightly at the corners. They were unique to her face and alluring, and it made me wonder at the genetics that had made her that way.

  Her nose was petite but proportioned, and her lips were red with use and soft, plush, and perfect.

  “I promise,” I said softly, reveling in the feeling of her eyes meeting mine directly. “Next time, I’ll take your panties all the way off instead of shoving them to the side.”

  Next time, I’d take my time. I’d take it slow. I’d worship every fucking inch of her body before I found my way inside.

  But not right now.

  Right now, I had zero patience left.

  I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t slow it down. I just needed to feel this woman wrapped around me.

  Her laugh was soft but genuine, and the softening of her eyes changed their shape altogether.

  Wonder and curiosity soared. How many different looks does she have? Are her eyes the key to knowing everything she’s feeling? Do they change with every expression she makes?

  She shrugged a little, moaning as I sank to the hilt and stayed with just a little pressure. “Seems to be working for you just fine.”

  I smiled, full teeth, full watt, full strength, at that.

  She studied the lines of my grin, and I let her, staying relatively still so as not to break her concentration.

  When the hardness left completely and her eyes set to the soft shape of an almond, I started to move again.

  In and out, slow and right, on and on until her legs were wrapped and her nails were active.

  She squeezed at my hips with her thighs and pulled at my shirt with her hands. The heat was incredible, building and building so much between us that I could feel it all the way to the tips of my toes. There was no start to her or me, and together we were lost in the feeling of connection.

  My spine tingled as my climax approached, and sweat dripped at my temples.

  She needed to get there, and I needed to make it happen.

  With a shift of my weight and hers, I swung back onto my shins and pulled her up on top of me, leaving only enough space between our bodies to put a finger to her clit.

  She looked down and watched as I touched her, swirling and strumming, until the energy it took to look became too much.

  Her moans were steady then, climbing in volume as she chanted in encouragement of her orgasm.

  “Yes, yes, oh God. Oh, oh, ohmygod.”

  Motivation surged as she encouraged, and so did my speed, using my thighs to power up into her body, over and over again.

  With her tits plumped by the pulled cups of her bra, I leaned down and sucked a nipple deep into my mouth.

  The added sensation was all it took, and she fell, over the edge and into her climax, and it didn’t take even a little coaxing at all to convince me to go right with her.

  Spots danced behind my eyes as my come pooled inside the condom and her, and I groaned at the sheer release of it.

  It was overwhelming and exhilarating, and immediately, I wanted to do it all over again.

  Hard breathing echoed in the foyer, and for the first time, I noticed Lucky barking his little fucking head off in the kitchen.

  I could only imagine the similarity we had in some strange way to birds as we got lost in one another.

  I smiled and buried my face in her neck. “That’s Lucky. He has an issue with sounds.”

  She laughed, and the vibration rolled through me so deliciously I almost shivered.

  “What do you think?” I asked. “You want to stay the night and make him go crazy again?”

  “Only if you
promise to take off my panties,” she teased, and I nearly swooned.

  Good God, I was in trouble when it came to this woman.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Lana,” I cooed. “Taking off your panties is a promise I can definitely keep.”

  Soft kisses peppered my neck, my ear, my cheek, until they found their way to my lips. Half asleep yet awake enough to luxuriate in the feel of it, I melted farther into the bed.

  “Morning, Lana,” the gentle voice whispered against my mouth, and goose bumps made a path up my arms and legs. “Time to wake up, baby.”

  I fluttered open my eyes and found myself nearly nose-to-nose with Cam’s face. He was lying beside me, both of us still naked from last night’s sexy escapades, and a sweet smile curved the lines of his full lips.

  God, he was truly handsome. So much so that it nearly stole my breath.

  I stared into his big, honey-brown eyes, and a tornado of memories swirled inside my head.

  Last night had been a whirlwind. I’d lost myself in a vortex of emotions and somehow found myself standing on Cam’s doorstep, ready to fight and poised for a blowout.

  But all that fight inside me had disappeared into thin air when I’d been confronted with his honest eyes and certain words.

  I knew, with everything inside of me, that he wasn’t the man Marco had attempted to portray him to be. I knew I’d put the horse before the cart and made assumptions that weren’t warranted or deserved.

  I knew I’d been wrong. And I was certain, when it came to me, he’d never been anything but honest and right.

  “Everything okay?” he asked and reached out to brush a loose strand of hair out of my eyes.

  “Yeah.” I nodded, but then thought better of it. I needed to be completely honest with him. Well, as honest as I could be with him at this point in time. “Well, no, actually.”

  “No?”

  I didn’t hesitate to respond.

  “I guess I’m still feeling pretty bad about how I handled things.”

  “There’s no need for that, Lana.” He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to my nose. “It’s water under the bridge, baby. All that matters is you’re here now.”