by J. H. Croix
I didn’t realize I was frozen in place until Alex cleared his throat beside me. “Mate, you’d best move. Cameras are still rolling behind us.”
When he gave me another hard nudge, I started walking and realized the rest of the team had moved onto the locker room. The only people left in the hallway were me, Alex and Coach, along with the bloody camera crew from the local TV station…and Olivia. Coach stepped away from Olivia and met me a few feet away. “You coulda given me a heads up about what you were planning. It’s not a problem, but I’ve fielded calls from a few too many British reporters since you dropped your little news bomb. For now, I’ll fend them off. My office is yours,” he said in a low voice.
I caught his eyes. “Is she okay? I didn’t mean…”
Coach closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they held a twinkle as he shook his head. “Aw hell, you didn’t plan this. Well, she started crying the minute she ended up in my office, so that’s a good sign. That she’s here says everything.” He turned to the side and gestured to the camera crew. “Nothing more to see here,” he called out. “Follow me.” He slid a palm across my shoulders and nearly shoved me into Olivia. As soon as she stepped back into his office, I followed and the door slammed shut behind us.
I felt as if I’d just played an entire game, running hard the whole time. My breath came in deep gusts and my heart was kicking hard. The sound of echoing voices and footsteps faded as I stared at Olivia, my heart in my throat. She was soaking wet and shivering. Her gaze was bright, her eyes moist. We stood there, only a few feet between us, as quiet fell around us. A tear rolled down her cheek, and I closed the distance. I didn’t know what she was feeling or thinking, but I couldn’t see her in pain. I wrapped her in my arms and sighed as she softened against me.
I didn’t know what the hell to say and was a bit relieved she didn’t start talking right away. It felt so good to hold her. I stroked a palm in slow passes down her back and dipped my head into the curve of her neck, closing my eyes and breathing her in. After a moment, I felt the subtle shivers running through her and lifted my head. “You’re cold.”
Brilliant start to the convo. You’ve just admitted to the world you’re in love and the woman in question is finally in your arms after far too many days apart and that’s what you say?
I ignored my internal critic because Olivia was clearly cold and she needed not to be. That and it helped for me to have something concrete to focus on. I glanced around Coach’s office for anything to help dry her off, my eyes landing on a stack of towels in the corner. “Let me get you a towel. Hang on.” I stepped away and quickly snagged a towel, sending the entire stack in a tumble to the floor. Ignoring the mess and not thinking much other than I needed to be right back beside Olivia, I spun around and returned to her.
I began drying her with the towel, at which point I couldn’t help but notice her nipples, taut under her damp shirt and the silk of her bra. My body tightened, lust cracking like a whip inside. As powerless as I was to control my instinctive response to her, now didn’t seem the time. My eyes whipped up and collided with hers—the air around us instantly electrified. I swallowed and tore my eyes away, focusing on swiftly rubbing the towel up and down her arms.
“Liam,” Olivia said softly.
My chest was tight, my heart was pounding like crazy, and I couldn’t seem to figure out what to say or do. I almost couldn’t meet her eyes because, well, I supposed I was a bit afraid. The day she’d said she was in too deep with me felt like eons ago at this point. There was nowhere left to fall, I was well and truly in love with her. Funny, but I’d never thought of myself as a man who lacked in courage, but then I’d never faced anything like love. I gathered every ounce of courage I had and lifted my eyes again. Her lovely green eyes were waiting. I could tell she’d been crying as Coach had mentioned. Her eyes were a tad puffy and glistening with the sheen of tears. Yet, they held warmth and understanding and a hint of the very uncertainty I was swimming in. I relaxed a bit inside and managed to take a breath.
“Yes, luv?” I finally asked, the endearment I’d only ever used seriously with her rolling out of habit.
We stood together in the center of Coach’s office with my hands on her arms, gripping the towel. She was damp and rumpled, her dark curls beginning to dry in their wild way. I was in my silly interview button down and still sweaty from announcing I was in love. Her shoulders rose and fell with a slow breath. “How are you?” she asked.
A pained laugh rumbled in my chest, and I shrugged. “I haven’t been so good. I’ve missed you terribly, and I didn’t know how to fix things. I, uh, don’t know if you heard what I just went and said…”
“Oh, I did. That’s why I’m here. I missed you too. I didn’t know, well…” The uncertainty in her gaze deepened and she swallowed. “I suppose I should clarify if you were speaking of me during that interview.”
My heart felt as if it was going to explode, but I managed to nod, and on the heels of a breath, to speak. “It could never be anyone but you.”
Her breath caught, and her eyes teared up. “Oh, okay. That’s good,” she offered with a small smile. “I’d feel more than silly running down here if it was someone else.”
I shook my head, starting to gain a bit of equilibrium inside. Olivia likely wouldn’t have run through the rain just now if she weren’t in love with me. I didn’t know how love worked because I’d never been in love. I knew it to be entirely impossible to fall out of love with her, but I didn’t know if the love she felt matched mine, or been mere infatuation that had dissolved in the weeks since we’d spoken. I surprised myself by managing to speak again. “Right then. Well, I’d feel quite silly announcing on the telly I was in love, only to find out it was all for naught.”
She stepped closer, shaking her head slightly. “It’s not all for naught. I’ve been falling in love with you since the day we met.” She lifted a hand to rest on my chest, the heat of it just above my heart, which was truly about to crack a rib at this rate.
“I don’t suppose you could tell me where you are in the falling bit,” I managed with a half-smile. Humor had always been my refuge and would be now even when I was swamped in emotion.
Her lips quirked. “I fell all the way.”
The hollow feeling that had subsumed itself inside of my heart eased, and I could breathe for the first time in weeks. Olivia started fiddling with the buttons on my shirt, and I suddenly realized she seemed to be set on unbuttoning them. I let the towel go from her shoulders and caught her hand in mine. While my body was more than happy to have her strip me right here, I didn’t want her to think it was all about sex.
“What are you doing?” I asked gruffly, fighting the need rolling through me.
Her eyes held mine. “Taking your shirt off,” she said pointedly. She swatted my hand away and carried on.
“Olivia. I love you. I don’t want you to think it’s…”
“All about sex,” she finished for me. “I know it’s not, but I missed you and I’m cold and I want you. You proved your point: sex is never boring with you,” she said with a sly grin.
Then she shoved my shirt apart and ran her hands over my chest, and the thin thread of restraint I’d been hanging onto frayed and snapped. I laced a hand in her tangled hair and caught her lips, pouring weeks of longing into our kiss. We came together like a storm. She met me stroke for stroke, arching and flexing into me, her hands mapping my body roughly. I could feel the hard points of her nipples against my chest and tore my lips free. Our clothes came off, or rather half-off, in a blur. She was as greedy as me, yanking and tugging, her lips, teeth and tongue meandering about all the while.
With my shirt hanging apart and my jeans torn open, I found myself staring into her green gaze, dark with desire. Her legs were curled about my hips and her lush bottom gripped in my hands, barely propped on the edge of the desk. My cock rested at her entrance, its slick heat teasing me. I suddenly realized I didn’t have a condom with me. Seeing
as I hadn’t planned any of this, that was one detail that wasn’t a surprise. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to pull back.
“I’m sorry, luv, but I don’t have a condom. Don’t worry, I’ll…” I meant to say I’d take care of her because I’d be damned if I’d let her walk out of that office without making sure she came, but she curled her legs tighter around me and cut right in.
“I’m on the pill. I have been all along because, well…”
“You’re super prepared like that,” I added, unable to resist a grin.
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded. “So?”
“Are you sure?” I asked. It was a flat miracle I didn’t just sink right into her then and there, but this had to be her call.
She nodded swiftly, tightening her legs around me and yanking me to her. I surged inside her velvety clench, a rough groan escaping. Sweet hell. She felt so damn good—hot, wet and tight. My forehead fell to hers, and I held still, almost in awe of how it felt to be this close to her. Her breath was coming in sexy as hell breathy whimpers. She didn’t let me rest long, as she began to roll her hips into mine. All of the need I’d been holding tight inside unraveled in a slow spiral. Deep surges into her slick channel, her nipples brushing against my chest, her gaze holding mine—all of it spinning together in a dizzying slow dance.
Her eyes fell closed and her channel throbbed around my cock as she cried out, and I finally let go, my release thundering through me and into her. Her head tipped forward into the curve of my neck with her breath coming in gusts against my skin. My own was heaving, but gradually slowed. I sifted through her damp curls and closed my eyes, savoring all that this was. I’d gone and lost my mind, but Olivia was here now and it would be okay.
She lifted her head, and I glanced down to meet her eyes. She reached up and traced my brows with her fingertip. We were still joined, and I hated to move even an inch away from her, but I knew reality would intrude soon. Coach had given us the small gift of privacy, but it wouldn’t last. “I’m sorry I was such an idiot. It took me a bit to sort things out in my head.”
She shook her head swiftly and traced my mouth with her fingertip, sending a hot jolt of lust through me. Bloody hell. This woman got to me the way no woman ever had.
“You weren’t an idiot. I was too, in my own way.” Her gaze grew pensive. “So what now?”
Reality intruded in my mind, but I swatted it away. There was more than one now to focus on. “Well, tonight I’m staying with you and then probably every night after that forever. We’ll sort out the details. So there’s that. Then, there’s the now-now.”
Her lips quirked. “The now-now?”
“The ‘I should be in a team meeting in the locker room now,’ and the fact I just told the sports media I was in love, and you showed up here when the cameras were rolling. Even though I didn’t mention your name, pretty sure the cat’s out of the bag. That now.” A fierce tenderness washed through me. I wanted to protect her from the media storm that would ensue. I was used to it, but I still hated it. Olivia wasn’t, and she didn’t deserve to have to deal with it.
Her eyes widened and then she burst out laughing, which oddly enough woke my cock right back up because with every gust of her laughter, her channel clenched around me. Her laugh slowed and she took a deep breath. “Oh, that now. I get it. I guess I didn’t think about what it might mean to have me show up here.” She shrugged blithely. “Oh well. I already told my boss, so we headed off that potential scandal.” Her eyes turned earnest. “Don’t worry. I can handle it. I’m really good at ignoring people, so that’s just what I’ll do.”
My grin stretched from ear to ear. She was good at ignoring people, and she’d done her bloody best to ignore me back at the beginning. “Right. Ignore it. Best strategy ever.”
There was a knock at the office door, and Coach’s muffled voice came through. “Liam. We need you in a few minutes. Okay?”
Coach instantly became my favorite coach for reasons that had nothing to do with his actual leadership and coaching ability. The man knew how to let someone have some privacy. “I’ll be out in five,” I called out.
He didn’t reply, but we could hear his footsteps retreat down the hall. I glanced to Olivia. “I have to go.”
“I know,” she said with a grin as she shimmied her hips back.
We untangled ourselves and put our clothes back together. This time, she buttoned her shirt properly. I scanned the office and quickly put up the towels I’d knocked on the floor before turning to find her waiting at the door. I looked over at her, and my heart felt as if it might truly explode. She was standing by the door, all put together and tidy, nothing to let anyone know on the outside that she’d just been half-bare on the desk with her legs wrapped around me. I loved the contrasts of who she was. She looked a tad bit nervous, and it occurred to me she might be worried cameras were waiting outside.
I went to her and curled my hand around hers. “Coach will have chased them off. I can’t promise they won’t be outside, but I’ll walk you out.”
Chapter 32
Olivia
My legs were draped over Liam’s lap with one of his strong hands curled over my calf. We were sitting on my sofa, sipping coffees. I’d woken up beside him after he’d come to my apartment last night as promised and proceeded to leave me nearly boneless after licking, kissing and touching every inch of my body and sending me flying again and again. This morning, for the first time ever, I called out from work. Liam had practice later this afternoon, but I wanted the morning with him. He’d dashed off to pick up bagels from a bakery on the corner, and we’d had a lazy breakfast and coffee together. I suddenly remembered my appointment to meet Bentley.
“What time do you have practice?” I asked, wondering if I should still go visit Bentley or not.
“Two,” he replied, his thumb stroking my calf and sending little shivers through me.
“Oh.” I bit my lip, pondering what to do. “I have an appointment at noon, but…”
“For work?”
I shook my head. “No. Last night before, well, everything, I was lonely and thought maybe I should get a dog, so I looked up the shelter and scheduled an appointment to meet a dog. Maybe I should cancel, but I feel weird about that. I mean, I’ve always loved dogs and had one when I was little, but…”
“I’ll go with you,” he said firmly. “Dogs are splendid.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he said with a grin. “Luv, if you want a dog, you should get a dog.”
A short while later, we stood inside a small fenced in yard. It was blessedly not raining today, and the woman at the shelter who seemed to be the meet and greet person had suggested we spend some time with Bentley outside in their play area. Bentley was even cuter in person than in his pictures. With one ear perpetually up and the other down, he looked almost comical. He was medium sized and brown all over from his eyes to his short and wavy fur. Bentley was friendly with a mellow personality and estimated to be about three years old. Liam was presently playing fetch with him. I wasn’t sure who was more delighted with the activity—Liam or Bentley.
I didn’t even ask, but left them to play and walked inside to the desk. “We’d love to adopt him. Tell me what we need to do.”
The woman glanced up at me, immediately handing over a clipboard with forms to fill out. I must’ve looked surprised because she grinned. “I saw you holding him, and your boyfriend obviously loves him, so it seemed meant to be,” she explained.
I quickly filled out the paperwork and paid a fee. I was pleased to learn Bentley had already been neutered and was up to date on all of his shots. After everything had been done, I asked, “Do we need to wait?”
“Sometimes we ask for a waiting period, but we’ll waive it for you two.”
My puzzlement must’ve shown on my face. She flushed slightly. “Well, we’re aware that’s Liam Reed from the Seattle Stars, so it’s not like we can’t find him if there’s a problem.”
I f
lushed beet red, realizing this kind of thing might happen more often. She smiled apologetically. “I didn’t mean to be weird. I don’t really follow soccer, but my mom does, so I knew who he was. You must be the woman he was talking about last night.”
My momentary discomfort passed. I’d have to get used to this, so I might as well start now. “I am and don’t worry about it. He’d be hard not to notice.”
In short order, Liam and I were walking down the street with Bentley on a leash. Liam had offered to walk him, and in fact, seemed completely smitten with him. We paused at the corner where Bentley wagged at everyone who passed by. I looked up at Liam. “You seem to be pretty into getting a dog.”
Liam glanced down and nearly took my breath away. His eyes were as blue as the sky and locked onto me. In a flash, it felt as if we were all alone, despite the fact cars and people were all around us. “I like dogs, and Bentley’s splendid. It’s not just that though. We’re adopting him, so that means you’re stuck with me. I take dog ownership very seriously,” he said, closing the distance between us and snaking his arm around my waist. Flush against him, my pulse took off and I wondered how I’d gotten so lucky.
Epilogue
Liam
I stood on the sidelines, my breath heaving and energy coursing through me. Even at the end of a game when I was worn out, I felt energized. I rested my hands on my hips and glanced around for Alex. He’d just given us a shut out against the other team, cleanly blocking every shot they had. I finally found him standing beside Coach with a few of our teammates surrounding him. Per usual, Alex looked entirely unmoved by the moment. Just another day’s work for him. Meanwhile, he was getting clapped on the back, and everyone in his immediate vicinity looked overjoyed.