False Start (Mavericks #1)

by Julianna Marley

  “Hi!” she said louder than anticipated, trying desperately to control the drool forming inside her mouth.

  “Come in, please,” she insisted, shaking herself out of his trance, his emerald eyes seemed brighter than she remembered only adding to his more comfortable demeanor. Opening the door further, she stepped aside inviting him in. His large body and even bigger presence filled her small foyer as he walked past her smelling like every woman’s dream. Woodsy and clean. She was a sucker for a good smelling man. One with powerful hands and wide shoulders-

  “Great place.”

  “Thank you,” she smiled quickly, too quickly. Reminding herself that it wasn’t Saturday night where she could steal unseen glances and that in most cases, drooling on a first date was frowned upon.

  He was sweet too. Her apartment was on the larger side as far as apartments went, but surely he was used to bigger. And nicer. The moving boxes scattered around the corners of the room only accentuated the bare kitchen housing nothing but a coffee maker and an overripe banana. The flowers he sent engulfing the coffee table added a nice touch to the otherwise basic space.

  “You look beautiful,” he said looking at her, if dare she think it, like she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Absolute insanity because even if the man wasn’t a professional athlete playing the best sport ever, his presence alone was enough to have any woman he chose.

  The intensity she had become accustomed to with being near him hung between them again, the same forceful allure that had her agreeing to his dinner invitation despite all the reasons why it didn’t make sense. Daring her to say the hell with the formality of a date and dragging him into her bedroom wrapping her hands around the muscles that were bunching with every move he made.

  “Thank you.” She blushed, hoping like hell that on top of everything else, he couldn’t read her mind too. Hearing what she wanted to do to him. Longing to do to him. Interrupting, Mr. Beans let out a stern bark, sounding slightly irritated in canine language and about a few seconds shy of what was acceptable for a “guard” dog.

  Pulling his eyes from her, Jax looked down at Beans. “Who is this guy?” he asked bending down, rubbing Beans on the top of his round head.

  “This is Beans.” She smiled looking down at her dog. “Well…Mr. Beans.” She grinned, crossing her arms under her chest, resting against the side of the living room wall; taking in the tender connection between her dog and her prince…date! Chuckling, he looked up at her still rubbing Beans’ head.

  “Mr. Beans?”

  “Yes,” she nodded proudly. “Nobody can help but laugh when they hear his name,” she shrugged, feeling herself ease up for the first time all week. “So why not?”

  Within minutes and without an ounce of shame, Beans was rolled over on his back, thoroughly enjoying the belly rub he was receiving. What got into him? Beans hated men; she always just assumed it was a primal thing, but that certainly was not the case tonight. Watching Jax’s big hand rub across Beans’ fine fur, she had never been so jealous of a fat, lazy dog in all her life. Giving him a final pat on the belly, Jax stood, his sheer size taking her by surprise again.

  Good Lord he was a lot of man.

  “I almost forgot,” he said, closing the small gap between them, close enough to inhale him again. “These are for you.”

  She wasn’t used to getting so many gifts in one week. Was this an athlete thing or just a Jax thing? Taking off the lid of the purple and black box gently, she could smell the rich chocolates before she saw them. Pulling the paper off the top, she discovered that not only were they deliciously tempting sweets, but her absolute favorite kind. Staring at the box a moment, she was amazed that he already knew something about her that not many people did. Her secret love affair with double chocolate mocha truffles.

  How does he know this?

  “I noticed Saturday night that you kept stealing those from the dessert table when you thought nobody was looking.” He grinned shyly, shoving his hands into his pockets. Admitting that he had been watching her that evening.

  “Very perceptive, Mr. Monaghan,” she smiled, thoroughly enjoying the lazy smile gracing his hard face. “I mean, Jax,” she corrected herself. “I now know what I will be having for dessert.”

  His eyes deepened searching her face as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

  “I had something a little different in mind for dessert.”

  Her heart slamming down into her stomach, his eyes concentrated on her as if promising something. Something wonderful. Her mouth parted she suppressed a moan, her skin feeling hot.

  “Cinnamon buns,” he stated, an amused grin crossing his face. “I was thinking cinnamon buns for dessert.” He watched her. “Where was your mind Ms. Moore?” he smiled playfully, walking backwards towards the front door. “From Save the Date,” he said mimicking her rarely detected southern drawl, not taking his eyes off her. “From Saturday night.” He laughed out loud mocking her from their conversation earlier in the week.

  Following him, she swatted him out the door, unable to keep from laughing. Quickly realizing that if she wasn’t careful, she’d be in a lot of trouble with this man whose hand instinctively found the small of her back as they headed for dinner.

  Him and his cinnamon buns.

  3

  Laying on her back appreciating the brilliant stars littering the night’s sky, Alivia half expected to wake up from what she only assumed was a dream. Somehow in the course of six short hours she had found herself on Hudson Beach as calm waves matching her contentment eased on the shore a few feet in front of her. Oh, and the ridiculously wonderful man next to her; yes, he certainly had to be a dream too. The only indication that she was indeed awake and in real time was the texture of the chilled sand under her arms as the sound of Jax’s laughter spilled around them.

  On the way to dinner, she had tried her best to avoid the inevitable awkward first date car ride conversation. She knew if worse came to worse she could always discuss football and what a day in the life of an athlete was like, but she didn’t have to. As soon as he pulled out of her neighborhood he had asked about her long week, Save the Date, and how long she had been in Charleston. He was attentive and comfortable, much different than the rigid man she had met days ago. But more than that, he seemed truly interested in what she had to say, keeping a steady flow of Q and A. Which she found extremely endearing.

  She hadn’t a clue where local celebrities socialized around town, so when they pulled into the quaint outdoor restaurant appropriately named “The Deck,” she had been pleasantly surprised. The mix of the reggae cover band playing from the bar with the easy breeze sliding off the water in front of them, had been incredible. The beautiful sun had set in the west, taking with it all the nerves and second guessing she had prior to the evening. Having Jax sit across the table from her, she had quickly learned that he was most comfortable in a casual setting and laying low. No air of self-importance or prestige, just an ebb and flow of conversation that continued throughout dinner. She had finally been able to divert the conversation towards him. Discussing his hopes for the fast approaching season, also learning that he had played football on a full scholarship in college before being pegged early on in his college career as a first round draft pick. He didn’t talk much about his talents, claiming that they were God given and easy. What he did with those talents was what mattered most to him. He had sidestepped questions about his family, which she could empathize. The less she had to discuss her life growing up, the better.

  The conversation hadn’t always been without difficulties though. Small moments when she would look up from her meal only to find him already staring at her with a lazy grin, hanging off her every word, forced her entire thought process to derail. She told her story about the time she met a sweet elderly couple in an aisle in the arts and crafts store, frazzled and overwhelmed and promised that she would pull off their fiftieth wedding anniversary party in just three days time. He had smiled looking into her ey
es, his reaction a simple, “You’re amazing, you know that?” Sure she had heard that before in reference to her work, but there wasn’t much amazing about her. She was hardworking, and had learned early on in life that she had to be. But when it came from Jax, it felt different. Touched deeper.

  Dinner finished and not an inch left in her stomach, they had strolled down the boards that allied the pier where local shops, storefronts, and vendors lined accordingly. With every few steps they took, another excited child or enthusiastic fan ran over with t-shirts, store receipts, and anything else they could get their hands on for him to autograph, while other admirers stuck phones in his face snapping pictures and recording videos. He had handled all the commotion, well, like a pro. He had smiled for every picture with children inside their strollers, politely declined inappropriate advances from women who deliberately brushed their chests against his arms, and listened to every little boy telling him about their local football team, occasionally lifting his head to find her with an apologetic grin on his handsome face. But she didn’t mind. He was fascinating to watch. Once the madness calmed a bit, he excused himself from the lingering crowd, apologizing again for the interference. Taking her hand into his massive grip, he had nearly dragged her back to the car. Assuming he was worn-out and wanted to take her home, she had a hard time shaking the squeeze of disappointment that the night was ending so soon. She could only imagine what it was like being a sports idol to so many and constantly begged for autographs and pictures and his time.

  Once inside the peacefulness of the big truck, they had driven in comfortable silence before he embodied her own personal tour guide, pointing out notorious spots around town like, Market Street where locals sold everything from jewelry to paintings and the famed pineapple fountain that she had only ever seen in pictures. Taking a turn off another unfamiliar road, she hadn’t had a clue where they were as he joked about her having no sense of the town that she had been living in for almost a year. Assuming it was a shortcut, a way of getting rid of her quicker, she had quietly picked up her purse off the floor, placing it in her lap reluctantly preparing for the end of the night. When he rounded the truck through another small corner road, a beautiful beach laid in front of her like a portrait. Parking the car at the top of the long weathered boards, he jumped out as she followed his mischievous eyes around the car to open her door, feeling breathless. And when he led her towards the coarse sand, his hands resting on her hips moving her onto the beach, pointing to various lighthouses off in the distance, she hadn’t been able to stop falling a little deeper.

  Laying on the sand, the sensation of the breeze rushing around her, she was eternally grateful he hadn’t taken her home.

  “You know,” she said, turning to look at him. The light from the moon lighting up the side of his face gently, only magnifying his hard jaw. “When we left the pier earlier, I thought you were trying to get rid of me.”

  Grinning, his eyes ran over her face. He had been studying her since the moment she met him. Not lazily, but deliberately, as if he was looking to uncover something. As self-conscious as it made her at times, the force of it was creating a low tingle beneath her belly, a feeling she hadn’t been aware could be so fierce.

  “You weren’t getting rid of me that easily.”

  Blushing, she turned around to lie on her stomach, attempting to hide her pink cheeks. “Okay, next question. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to be?” she asked before looking down into his etched face, only to find that he was already staring at her. She hadn’t really known where the question had come from, it just left her mouth because she really did want to know everything there was to learn about the man resting in the sand laying his arms above his head. Things that she needed to know. She didn’t know how far things between them would go. How long this fairy-tale night would last. She had no idea what she could offer him or what he even wanted. All she knew for certain was that somewhere between crashing into his chest days ago and the purposefulness in his eyes looking back at her now, she fell.

  Deep.

  The place in her chest where fear would typically invade at the thought of losing her perfectly practiced control, she felt calm. As if she had no need for control because he held it all inside of him. He did that. He robbed her of her control and she welcomed it. Was beginning to crave it.

  His eyes unreadable for the first time all night, he took his time regarding the question, the long pause making her think that he wasn’t going to answer.

  “Hmm,” he said finally, looking back up to the sky. “Undoubtedly laying on a beach somewhere with an incredible woman who has managed to make me laugh for the first time in a very long time,” he answered turning his head back to her.

  “And here I am.”

  Turning on his side, he placed his large hand on top of hers, stroking his thumb gently across her knuckles. Just a small stroke, but more intimate than anything she had ever experienced before.

  “And if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to be?” he asked, still looking down at her hand. As if he almost didn’t believe her answer would be the same. Before she knew that the words had even left her mouth, she heard herself whisper.

  “Right here.”

  * * *

  Not taking his eyes off Liv, Jax stood, reaching for her arms and pulling her to her feet, leading her down to the edge of the water. What had he been thinking bringing her here? An incredible woman on a beach. At night? It had been a last minute decision to get some privacy, having her to himself with no interruptions, but after nearly knocking him on his ass with her answer to his last question, he needed a minute. A moment to think.

  He knew the moment he had met her that there was something special about her. Something he couldn’t shake. He thought maybe it was how overwhelmingly beautiful she was or how she called him on his crap at the charity event. But those things were trivial. It was more than that. Much more. It was her humor, her vivaciousness, it was their playful banter and the way she made him laugh. He had listened to her at dinner animatedly talk about packing up her belongings, her dog, and hopping into her Toyota, moving to South Carolina with no family and only the money that was left in her savings account to start her own business. Making her a woman he respected.

  She was self-made.

  And that was damn sexy.

  It was the small things he was beginning to admire about her; how graciously she thanked the waitress at dinner and how perfectly happy she was having dinner at a rustic restaurant who just happened to have great food. Unlike the other women he normally dated, and certainly not like his ex. When excited fans had bombarded him, he was wasn’t sure how she would react. It was a part of his life, it came with the territory and one that he appreciated, but one that took a toll on a relationship. He had half expected when he looked up from signing a t-shirt to find her playing on her phone or irritated from sheer boredom, but she hadn’t been. She was smiling watching all the enthusiastic fans dance around him with cameras while screaming Maverick chants. Something he hadn’t anticipated. It had taken all his will power right then and there not to ditch the crowd and kiss that sweet mouth of hers. And he was going to taste that mouth before the night was over. She had asked questions that hit close to his chest, threatening to expose himself. Not Jax the quarterback, rather the real him, the damaged man. Something he had never been in danger of doing with any woman. The last three years of his life had been miserable and Liv was making him feel things. Extreme things. Like maybe he did deserve more? More than just living season to season and watching everyone else solidify their futures. Someone to share it all with even after his time on the field expired.

  The last he checked the dash on his truck, the clock read somewhere in the early morning hours and he still couldn’t bring himself to take her home. He didn’t know how he was going to walk away from her. What did he think was going to happen spending more time with her? He should have known better. The fee
lings she was awakening inside of him was like a high, a high he didn’t want to stop. In fact, he wanted more. With the heavy moon hanging low above the ocean, he stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets. He didn’t want a relationship, swore to himself he wouldn’t. He never managed a successful relationship in his life, and would rather be alone than put someone through the nightmare he grew up watching. Especially someone like Liv. She was different. Not just some girl to pass the time with, but a real woman; a forever woman. Watching her swirl her feet in the water, the bottom of her pants damp from the waves, a small glow from his truck headlights splashed against her smooth neck, and he didn’t want control. Didn’t want restraint. Didn’t think he had it even if he wanted it. Not anymore. He was already tired of making excuses, rationalizing all the reasons he shouldn’t get involved with her. Shouldn’t be happy. But more importantly, all the reasons she should be terrified of him.

  Closing the already short distance between them, he wrapped one arm around her waist, crashing her small body into his. Sensing her surprise by his sudden movement, he caressed her cheek, his thumb lifting her chin before lowering his mouth to hers. The hitch in her breath giving him the only encouragement he needed. Immediately parting her lips, she allowed him access to explore her mouth, forcing him to control every muscle in his body. Running his hands through her soft hair, he cupped the back of her head consuming her mouth. He was a little greedy, but so was she. His hands roamed down her back and found her ass desperately drawing her body as close to his as was physically possible.

  Tasting like sweet wine, small whimpers escaped her throat pushing him over the edge. He didn’t remember a time when kissing a woman felt this good. This right. He had kissed more than his fair share of a variety of women in the past, but this was overwhelming. That powerful of an emotion had the ability to destroy a man, ruin perfectly crafted justifications. But he didn’t feel rationale. Not with her.