Blindsided: Renegades 7 (The Renegades Series)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  “Tri, this was a nice family outing today. Good suggestion.”

  She beamed at his compliment.

  He wasn’t used to being home so often during the season. Trina does more than I ever realized. Yet she was still so unreceptive to getting a nanny. That was something he’d never understand. It would help her so much while he wasn’t around, and help them get more alone time when he was.

  “Okay kiddo, one more time. Ready?” Sam stood up and held out his hand to Willow. “Mommy can wait for us here while she finishes her hot cocoa.”

  Willow took one last sip of her cocoa and leapt out of her chair towards Sam. He grabbed the sled and off they went.

  Trina waved. “Have fun, you two.”

  Sam could feel the medicine kicking in. The pain in his head slowly numbed with a cooling sensation. As his head cleared, he took a deep breath, taking in the bitterly cold Pittsburgh air. God, how I love this weather. Willow ran towards the small hill, the one they’d been riding down most of the morning.

  His little sunshine was having trouble making it up the hill. She was getting more tired with every step she took, but was determined to sled down the hill one more time.

  “C’mere, munchkin.” Sam scooped her up into his arms and dragged the sled behind them. “Daddy’ll carry you up the hill.”

  Once they got to the top, Sam was glad he’d decided they were going home after this. It was getting too chilly even for him. A nice fire sounds perfect about now. He set the sled in front of them and gently dropped Willow to the snow.

  “Ready, sunshine?”

  Willow squealed with delight and hopped into the sled, then Sam climbed behind her. Holding her secure, he shoved the sled away from the start point. Willow had her hands in the air and giggled the whole way down the hill. He loved watching her; she was really a miracle. He had never seen himself as a dad. But now he couldn’t imagine himself not being a dad.

  Quickly reaching the bottom of the hill, Sam rolled out of the sled into the snow and pulled Willow with him. She giggled while rolling around in the fluffy snow.

  “Here, Daddy, catch!” Willow tossed a handful of snow towards him.

  It didn’t go very far, so he leaned into it, hoping it would land in his face, knowing how much it would make her laugh. He was able to catch a little of it and she did giggle uncontrollably.

  “How about a snow angel before we go?” Sam lay back in the snow and moved his arms and legs, showing Willow what to do.

  The little girl followed his lead and made her own snow angel.

  Now he was covered with snow from head to toe, and he was cold. Sitting up, he shook off as much of it as he could. “Okay, time to go get Mommy. I think she’s ready to go home. Don’t you think so? Look at her over there… Poor Mommy, doesn’t she look cold?”

  “Okay.” Willow stood up, covered in snow. She did her best to shake some of it off before she ran to where Trina was waiting.

  “Okay, Mommy, we’re all set,” Sam called.

  Trina scooped Willow up into her arms and kissed her cheek. “Ooh! My, your little face is cold!”

  Watching his two girls together warmed Sam’s heart. He loved the way Trina looked at him, her lips curled into a smile, her cheeks and nose rosy from the chilled winter air. She held Willow on her hip, and her jacket hiked up, revealing her jeans that contoured to her curves. Sam quickly switched from daddy mode to husband mode. Indecent thoughts swirled around his head that even in this cold, still made his jeans tight.

  Closing in on his wife, Sam whispered in her ear. “I definitely think it’s nap time.”

  Trina snickered silently and nodded her head.

  Sam lay in bed with Trina curled up at his side. This is one of my favorite parts about being at home during all of this. I want to get back to the game, but I’ll miss all this time with Tri.

  Round one had been quick and loud. He had to do his husbandly duty and aid in warming Tri up after being out in the snow all morning. In his opinion, it was hardly a chore.

  Gentle tapping of paws and nails on the hardwood floor outside their bedroom door cut through the silence. Their dogs were well behaved and didn’t need supervision every moment of the day. Willow’s room had a baby gate up at the door, so they couldn’t get into her room. Sudden quiet told him they had settled down somewhere for a rest.

  “My little beach bum, are you finally warm? You’re turning into a regular snow-bunny.” He added as much sarcasm as he could to his words. She was far from a snow-bunny.

  “Ha!” She whipped her head around with a laugh. Her blond hair tickled his nose as she moved, propping herself up on his chest. “Snow-bunny, my ass. I still prefer a sunny beach over this cold tundra crap any day.”

  They’d been in Pittsburgh a few years, and she still complained every winter about the cold. Poor thing will never get used to this weather.

  “Babe, you grew up in Canada! How are you not used to this cold weather?” He liked to pick on her about it, because in all honesty, it was weird.

  Ignoring him, she continued. “Can’t we live somewhere where’s there’s just one season? Summer, year round?” She placed warm kisses on his chest, slowly working her way up towards his shoulder.

  The heat of her lips against his hot skin was like electricity. Sparks hit his skin every time her lips touched him.

  “Not if I want to play for the Renegades. Do I get any points for being able to send you and Willow off to the beach any time your heart desires?”

  Trina slid her fingertips along his ribs, which caused him to flinch each time her nails scraped against his skin. Holding his breath, he held in the gasps that wanted to escape his lips.

  “Okay.” She kept her eyes trained on his chest, following the path of her fingers. Her voice was low and sexy as hell when she spoke. “Sure. I’ll give you points for that. Because you know there’s nothing that hot sun on my skin can’t cure. And I guess we can stay in Pittsburgh, because you do look pretty damn hot in yellow and gray.”

  Trina’s lips moved slowly up his chest until she lifted her head and their eyes met. With only a look, he knew she wasn’t sated yet and needed more from him. Happy to oblige, his body reacted with a solid and stiff response. Surrounding one of his nipples with her mouth, her hot tongue forced a groan out of him.

  His job was clear. After giving himself a minute to enjoy the intense pleasure of her mouth on him, he took a deep breath, and with a bit of sensual force, flipped her onto her back. His mouth watered and his body tingled. Instead of devouring her immediately, he took a long moment to look her over. He took in every curve and trail of soft, tanned skin that led to all of his favorite places. This was the body he fell in love with, and the body that gave him their daughter. And right this minute, it was the body he was going to ravish until she screamed his name in utter pleasure.

  Trina bit her lip. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she watched him, her breathing ragged with eager anticipation.

  Slowly, Sam slid her arms above her head, his nails running up her skin as he went. She squirmed at the tickling sensation he knew he was purposely causing. Her body rocked against his, trying to take what she wanted.

  “Be patient, baby. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

  “It always is. You’re just so hard to resist. Mmm-hmm.” She relaxed, and he could feel her arms no longer push against his.

  The way her eyes ran over him, with eagerness and desire, made him throb. Making her wait wouldn’t be easy on him. Maybe just a little anticipation. I don’t know how much I can take.

  Bending down, he covered her mouth with his. Trina was ready for him, opening her lips to let him in. His dick had a mind of its own. Pressed gently against the apex of her thighs, it took everything in him to not slip into her. Instead, as his tongue tangled with hers, his hard-on teased her, throbbing and twitching.

  Just as she tried to press her hips into his, he slid his body slowly down hers, leaving a trail of kisses as he went.

  T
rina groaned in disappointment, but the lust-filled smile stayed on her face. She knew this game all too well and knew he never lied about the wait being worth it. One of the things he prided himself on was pleasing his wife.

  She snickered as he kissed down her stomach, still doing his best to hold her arms away. Trina wasn’t going to move, even if he let them go. He liked feeling her under him, and he knew that she liked the weight of him on her.

  The way his dick was throbbing was almost unbearable; he needed to be in her. But first, he kissed down to her thighs. He was careful to kiss places around where he really wanted to be, and by the moans Trina made, she was doing her best to hold back. He knew he was driving her nuts by not quite reaching between her legs.

  Even being wrapped up in the raw emotion of the moment, part of his brain still trailed off to the thought of needing a pain pill. It was not that he wasn’t completely into this pleasurable moment with his wife. He wasn’t even in any pain. But an odd sense of unrest was drifting through his body. As though he needed the pain pill to feel normal and stay level-headed. It was a sensation of not being in total control that he didn’t like. Because he didn’t want the pain pill; he just needed it.

  Pushing away the messages his brain was sending him, he refused to give in. Instead, he dove further into pleasing his wife—the only thing that mattered at this moment.

  Focusing his energy only on Trina, Sam needed to be closer to her. He needed to be in her. Bracing himself on the headboard, he thrust into her.

  A pleasure-filled moan escaped her. Her hands now held his hips where she wanted them as he moved within her. Her throbbing insides not only turned him on, but took his need for her to an all-time high. Squeezing his eyes tight, he tried breathing techniques to help hold off his climax.

  Trina’s moans became louder, and her nails pierced his skin. None of it helped his cause. Once she arched her hips into his, she had him. With a grunt, he thrust hard into her, and his release was every sensation he needed it to be, while making sure to give her the ultimate orgasm as well.

  With all the energy drained from him, he pulled Trina into his side and flopped back onto the mattress. Trina smiled and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed against him as she fell asleep. Closing his eyes, his body was fully relaxed. No other thoughts filled his brain except total pleasure and his undying love for this woman.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Trina

  “No, Amy. There’s no reason for you to come to Pittsburgh, at least not as far as he’s concerned. Sam seems fine. The first day or so was rough. He was very uncomfortable. But he seems to be doing much better. So he says. You know your brother; he’s not big on following directions, or asking for help. But I’m not seeing that he’s in any distress.” Trina sat down on their bed and tucked her legs under her. Sam and Willow were in the living room building a fort. It’d been six days since the hit.

  Yesterday they played most of the day in the snow. Trina was glad for a warm day indoors. She still felt chilled to the bone. Even if she was sure they were tossing her throw pillows all over the living room, and she’d be finding teddy bear cookies hidden in the couch cushions for weeks.

  “Are you sure? The night you called me about the hit, I was ready to pack a bag and come out there,” Sam’s sister said. “I can still fly out if you need me.”

  “Amy, I would tell you if I thought you needed to come out. I swear.”

  Sam was hard-headed enough. The last thing he needed was his sister standing over his shoulder. She meant well, but he wouldn’t be very receptive to that. And her rushing out here wouldn’t do either of them any good. They had their own obligations in California. Not that Sam wouldn’t do whatever he needed to do to help them out if they chose to fly out here. But that was a whole other story. Amy was too proud to live off her brother. “If he has anything to say about it, he’ll be back in the game sooner rather than later.”

  “Okay. If you say so. He is pretty damn hard-headed. But we need to plan a visit. Morgan really misses you guys. Maybe on her first break from school, I’ll see if I can get some time off work, and we’ll visit.” Something in her voice made her think Amy wished they could visit sooner.

  “We’d love that. Any time. Just keep me posted.”

  “And you do the same. Let me know how he’s doing. I know my brother, and he’s not going to stay out of the action long, whether it’s in his best interests or not. Make sure you keep a close eye on him. Plus, you know he won’t call me, he’s too damn proud.”

  “Yeah, he’s stubborn like that, huh? He’s getting bored sitting around the house. You know he isn’t one to lie around. He’s always busy doing something. Seriously, he gets up early and makes us breakfast. He’s been planning all kinds of fun things for us and Willow to do. It’s only been six days, and he’s climbing the walls. He already talked to the Coach about coming in and being evaluated by the doctor. Then they can see what he’s able to start doing. I guess the doctor can work with him in the gym, and from there, determine when he can get back out on the ice.”

  “Yeah, I’m shocked he hasn’t convinced someone to let him on the ice already. The smooth talker that he is.” Amy laughed at her own words. “Just don’t let him overdo it.”

  Amy was right. Sam was one of the most stubborn people when it came to folks telling him what to do. “I’ll do my best.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Amy’s voice drifted off.

  “Amy, you sure you’re doing okay? You know you two are welcome here anytime. We have the room. Just say the word.” Trina yawned.

  “Oh, we’re fine. But thanks. We’ll come visit soon. You sound tired. Get some rest, okay? Sam needs you healthy.”

  Something about Amy’s wavering voice made her uneasy. Sam and Amy were all alone. Their parents had passed years ago, and they didn’t have any aunts and uncles. There were no cousins that she knew of. It was just Sam and Amy. With him in Pittsburgh, his sister was alone in San Jose with her daughter, Morgan. Maybe Amy was just tired. She did work a lot to ensure that Morgan had a great life.

  As soon as Trina knew Sam was on the mend, she’d see about getting them to come for a visit. Morgan was getting big fast, and Trina hated missing that. She missed that little girl. While living in San Jose with Sam, she had grown close to his niece, Morgan.

  At that time, Trina hadn’t felt worthy of a child’s love, so motherhood was out of the question for her. After miscarrying a baby that she didn’t even know she was carrying, she felt like damaged goods. Morgan helped her learn that she could love a child, and that a child could love her.

  She heard the tapping of the claws on the wood floor before Toby pushed his nose through her partly open door and hopped on the bed.

  “Hey there, Toby boy!” Trina petted his golden fur and played with his floppy Labrador ears. Another yawn crept up on her. Yesterday must’ve taken more out of her than she thought.

  Toby laid his head on her lap and looked up at her with his big puppy dog eyes which darted from side to side.

  “You don’t get nearly as much love as you used to, do you Toby boy? Now that your sister, Willow, is here. I know, she takes up a lot of our time. But soon you’ll have her to run and play with, too.” Toby was her first “baby”. Then when Trina moved in with Sam, his dog, Belle, was added into her life.

  “Knock, knock.”

  She jumped as Sam’s voice startled her. “Hey, babe. Where’s Willow?”

  “She wore herself out. I put her in her bed. I turned the baby monitor on.” He crossed the room and switched on the monitor in their room.

  “Oh, nap time already?”

  “Yeah.” He flashed her a sexy smile and a nod. “I just need to take a headache pill first. It’s been a long morning building forts.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’m just going to go check on Willow. Take a pill and rest, and I’ll be back.” She kissed his forehead before pausing to stare into his eyes. All she could see was love reflected in them. His ocean-blue eyes alwa
ys had an innocence to them. Trina found herself with a tinge of nervousness in her stomach whenever Sam stared at her, similar to a giddy schoolgirl with a crush.

  A smile started on one side of Sam’s face, and slowly spread across his lips. He covered her hand with his strong, warm fingers. “I love you so much, Tri.”

  He always made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. He didn’t even have to touch her to make her feel this way; a simple look could make her quiver with anticipation. Warmth traveled through her body, lingering in all the right places, filling her with a mix of need and lust.

  “Mmm. I really need to go check on her. If I don’t slip away now, I won’t at all.” She didn’t want to leave his side even for a brief moment, but if she didn’t, worry would keep her from enjoying any time with Sam.

  She knew her body, and she knew her husband. The way he was looking at her told her that his lips would soon be on her neck. At that point she would be a goner.

  Sam pulled away. Folding his arms behind his head, he lay back on the bed. “If you must. I’ll be waiting.”

  Before she exited into the hallway, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam lean over and rummage around in his drawer.

  Quietly hurrying down the hall, she peeked into Willow’s room, holding her breath that the little sweetie would be sound asleep. Luckily, she was. She was holding tight to her favorite stuffed giraffe and was sucking her thumb. Their little girl was the picture of perfection and a wonderful combination of everything that was good about each of them.

  Trina slipped back down the hallway to their bedroom. The house was quiet except for the few winter birds that were still around, chirping outside. Sam waited for her, lounging in bed, in the same position he was when she left. Except now he was shirtless, and the sheets hid his lower half.