Luke went out on the field to join the party while she waited at the tunnel entrance and observed it all, a huge smile on her face. She was beyond proud of Ethan but still unsure of what was expected of her. Did he want her out there?
She felt her phone buzz and quickly checked to see who it was. A message from Allie. Returning the phone to her pocket, Mia looked up and smiled happily when she saw Ethan working his way towards her, his helmet long gone, his hair matted down with sweat. God, he looked so freaking hot. She loved that huge grin on his face.
“Get over here!” he yelled at her.
Guess he wanted her with him. She wasn’t going to say no to that. She raced out to him and when she reached him, she jumped into his arms, her legs clamping themselves around his waist, her arms around his neck, holding him close. His hands supported her weight while his lips searched for and found hers. This was not a chaste kiss at all. It was a full-on assault of her mouth, his tongue leading the way. It was the type of kiss he would normally give her before they had sex. Not in the middle of a stadium in front of sixty thousand people.
She broke away reluctantly and whispered in his ear, “I love you.”
“I love you too, suga!” he said in return. His lips stayed on her cheek as the cameras flashed like crazy. She held his face between her hands and kissed him again, holding his lips to hers, savoring this moment.
He had won three other championships, but this was the first she’d experienced with him. If they hadn’t broken up, she would have been there for one of them. Don’t go there, Mia. Look at his handsome, joyous face. Focus on that. Focus on how proud you are of him.
“So, you gonna let me down anytime soon?” she asked. “I mean, I’m happy where I am . . .”
“God, I am so happy you’re a part of this with me. All those other championships don’t even compare to having you here with me, celebrating this moment.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I’m so proud of you right now I’m about to burst!”
He chuckled against her cheek, his lips lightly caressing her skin. “I love when you wear skirts,” he confessed, totally shifting topics. “I just start thinking about all the things I can do.”
“Okay, time to put me down, mister. Join your team! Sex will come later.”
Ethan laughed and kissed her one more time. “Don’t you know it! I hope you’re well-rested, suga, because you’re gonna get a good, ol’ fuckin’ when we get home.”
His words were like some secret code that immediately made her wet and ready for him. She stared at him in shock. Loosening his hold on her, she slid down. He had no intentions of celebrating without her and he took her hand and they walked straight into the jubilant chaos.
Mia
Staring at the ceiling, Mia gave up on trying to go back to sleep. She should be exhausted, especially with the lack of sleep and a night full of sex, but she was full of energy.
Ethan had fallen asleep after he made love to her earlier that morning. She should have followed suit but her mind was too busy thinking about everything. His season was over; she had no immediate future plans. The only thing of importance was the two of them, their relationship . . . their future.
To get to that, they still had a lot of talking to do. That had always been a bit hard for her when he was concerned.
Pfft . . . a bit? Try pretty much impossible.
But now was different—she was different. She had her plan and her therapist for back up. She would not mess this up.
Though it still scared her.
Mia glanced down at Ethan’s head resting on her stomach and couldn’t resist the urge to run her fingers through the curls. He had always had his hair cropped short, never this long. The feel of his hair against her fingers was addicting.
Her phone rang and she quickly disengaged her fingers from his hair and answered the phone so Ethan didn’t wake up. If anyone deserved to sleep in, it was that guy.
“Hello?” Mia asked quietly, not taking the time to look at who it was.
“So, you and your quarterback kept me up all night.”
Allie.
Wait. How did they keep her up?
“Hold up . . . are you here? At the house? Did you hear us?”
“Eww! God, no!” Allie said with exaggerated disgust. “I was busy handling all the phone calls and messages about you two and the display you put on yesterday at the game.”
“Hey, that’s all Ethan’s fault. Blame him. I tried to stay hidden. He made me go on the field! He’s the one who mouth-fucked me in front of the entire world.”
“What’s my fault?” he said groggily, pulling her back to him, leaving his hand on her breast, caressing the sensitive skin.
“I’m on the phone,” she groaned as his fingers started to travel lower.
“Well, get off,” he answered, pushing his hard body against her, letting her know he was rested and ready for another round while his hand pushed her legs open.
“It’s Allie,” she whispered. With his free hand, he snatched the phone from her and put it to his ear, his other hand stalling its trek south between her legs, resting on the inside of her thigh.
“Hi, Allie!”
“Way to go, Ethan!” Mia heard Allie say over the phone.
“Thank you!” he said happily. “What’s up?”
“Press. They want confirmation about you two, of course.”
“Don’t give it to them. Not yet.”
“You sure?” Allie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Might as well just confirm it. One hundred million people saw your PDA. I don’t know how you’d be able to discount anything.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m just not ready to have the world focused on our relationship again.”
“Well, you could have prevented that if you would have kept your mouth to yourself . . .”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
Allie cleared her throat in response.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ethan said. “Um . . . how about ‘They have reconnected recently and are exploring their friendship.’”
Her hands stilled their caressing of his back when he spoke to Allie. She couldn’t focus on their conversation anymore, her mind otherwise preoccupied with her thoughts. Why didn’t he just want to confirm that they were together? Was he unsure about them? Did he have doubts and this response was an escape route if needed?
Definitely not thoughts she wanted to have.
Thankfully he hung up with Allie and picked up where he’d left off. He made love to her and cleared her mind of those nasty, negative thoughts.
Mia
Two weeks later
Mia and Ethan were chilling in his office. She sat in her favorite spot as of late—on his lap. They had just finished reading an email from Allie, a quick update of press coverage of their relationship. The press was a little ridiculous. They were just two people finding their way back to each other. No need for this insane amount of coverage. They had pretty much been holed up in his house. Good thing they could easily get things delivered. Even still, she was tired of being stuck there.
She wanted to get away, wanted to show him what things had been like for her since they’d been apart. Her life . . . and that was in Malibu. He needed to understand how she coped after her overdose.
Mia thought about the things she had to say to Ethan still. They had been enjoying their time with each other. She didn’t want to ruin that by talking about all the shit that happened when she was younger, but the time had come—they had to talk, get the past out in the open so they could move on—hopefully forward.
Another reason to get away . . . she was sick of the damn cold weather. She needed sunlight and mega doses of vitamin D! She was tired all the time. Yesterday, she had fallen asleep lying on the floor of their closet. She had been putting some clothes away and dropped a shirt. She sat down to pick it up and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor, waking up.
She hoped the change o
f scenery would help with her tiredness. So she decided to broach the subject with Ethan. She stroked his cheek to draw his attention away from his laptop.
“Ethan?” she started, waiting for him to look at her. “I was wondering if you and I could go away for a while.”
“Why? What’s bringing this on?”
“Quite a few reasons actually,” she paused, her hand sliding from his face to toy with his shirt collar. “Things have been going so great recently. I haven’t been this happy in a long, long time, but in the back of my mind, I know there’s a lot that hasn’t been said. Things you need to know. Things I need to tell and haven’t had the nerve to say.”
“Why can’t we talk now? Here?” he asked.
“Oh, we could, but I’m using it as leverage so you’ll say we can go.”
“Go where?”
“Well, I wanted to go to my house in Malibu. That’s been my life and I want to share it with you. Is that all right?”
“I’d like that, a lot actually.”
She smiled widely, so happy that he agreed. “Awesome! Warmth and sunshine here we come!”
“When do you want to go?”
“As soon as I can arrange it?” she looked hopefully at him. He quirked his lips to the side, thinking . . . leaving her hanging.
Ethan
Ethan regarded the beautiful woman on his lap, the earnest look on her face more than enough for him to say yes. Yet he hesitated for a moment. Just to be able to think this all through. Why did she want to go to her place all of a sudden? Was there more to her reasoning than she’d said?
Well, however he could get her to talk, he’d take it. He put his forehead to hers and kissed her softly. “Of course, suga.”
Mia leaned back, regarding him, her smile so bright. She then planted a loud kiss on his lips and leaped off him. “I’ve got plans to make!” she said excitedly and grabbed her phone from the desk and called Allie.
While she talked to Allie and set everything up, he mulled over this upcoming trip. They would be talking and she would be telling him things he’d wanted to know for so long. But as he thought about it, he realized it didn’t matter what she told him. He was in this for the long haul—forever.
He observed her animated movements while she chatted with Allie. This woman was a ball of energy. It tired him out watching her. One of the only times she was completely at ease was after he thoroughly loved her.
He quirked his eyebrow at that. Might have to calm her down again.
Mia turned around and tilted her head, a questioning look on her face. He smiled at her, hoping she could see what was on his mind. And the smile she gave him in return had enough voltage to harden his cock from across the room. He closed his eyes and easily pictured her kneeling between his legs, her mouth making him even harder.
She called out his name and made that fantasy fizzle away.
“When do you have to be back?” she asked him. He shook his head of that visual and answered her.
“Uh, I think by mid-April.”
She smiled at him, tracing her mouth with her tongue before returning to her phone and Allie. “Did you hear that?”
Fuck.
This woman constantly. Turned. Him. On.
He glanced up at the picture which protected his safe. Almost three years ago, he placed something in there that he had hoped to be able to use again.
“Get packing! We leave tomorrow morning!” she announced, pulling him from his chair and his thoughts.
With one last glance at the safe, he followed her upstairs.
Tomorrow his life would change forever.
Mia
April 2011
Mia rested her head in her hands, exhausted from the travel of just getting to O’Hare. They still had the flight to Los Angeles with which to contend.
As the plane lifted into the air, her stomach started to feel very weird. Odd. She swallowed the sour taste away. She didn’t know what was wrong—stomach flu? Air sickness? She had never experienced air sickness before in all the times she’d flown. Why now?
She closed her eyes. Ethan tried to talk to her but she held up her hand to stop him, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. All her energy was focused on not throwing up. Her leg bounced maniacally as she waited impatiently for the seatbelt announcement. The sourness crept up her throat. Hurry! She didn’t want to vomit in a bag in front of Ethan.
The moment the announcement started, Mia unbuckled her seatbelt and bolted to the bathroom. She secured the door and then her stomach erupted. Quickly leaning over the toilet, she threw up.
“Oh, dear God,” she complained, reclining back on her legs, her chin to her chest. “I cannot be sick.”
Eventually, Mia got up and washed her hands. She waited a minute before opening the door, taking a moment to compose herself. Peeking out, she motioned for a flight attendant. She needed to rinse out her mouth, but there was no way she was drinking any water from the tap. With the requested bottle of water, she went back to the restroom. She rinsed her mouth a few times, sipping the remaining bit, hoping those few sips wouldn’t come back to haunt her.
The flight attendant stood waiting as Mia exited the bathroom. “Is everything okay, Ms. Devereux?”
“Could you bring me another water and maybe a few crackers if you have any?”
“Sure thing. I’ll bring them to your seat.”
“Thank you,” she said, heading back to her seat. Ethan sat engrossed in a movie. She collapsed in her seat, leaned her head back and closed her eyes, dead to the world. Maybe some sleep will help, she thought as she quickly faded away.
Ethan
Ethan heard the flight attendant call Mia’s name over the sound of his movie. He glanced over and found her asleep. He had been too wrapped up in a young wizard and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She’d come back to her seat, but he hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep.
“It appears she fell asleep on us.”
“I was just bringing the items she requested. Let me put them down and I’ll run back for a blanket.”
Ethan regarded his sleeping . . . what? Girlfriend, lover, ex-fiancée? He hoped to clarify that on this trip. She’d been super tired lately. Last night after packing, she’d fallen asleep on the bed without changing into her pajamas or doing her normal nighttime routine. More like she passed out. He found it strange. She never did that; she always fell asleep in his arms. He’d made her a little more comfortable and tucked her in and continued their packing.
The flight attendant returned with the promised blanket and handed it to him. “I hope she feels better. She did not look so well coming out of the restroom.”
“Thank you. I’ll tell her,” he said, tucking her in for the second time in less than twelve hours.
Regarding her, concern and worry started to overwhelm him. He lovingly pushed aside a fallen strand of hair. He had never seen her sick before and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
A couple hours later, Ethan secured Mia’s seatbelt before the plane began to descend. She didn’t stir, but the plane touching the ground jerked her from her slumber.
“Ugh,” Mia groaned.
Ethan smiled as he watched her eyes open. God, he had really missed waking up to that all these years and still wasn’t really used to it. The past four weeks with the exception of her short trip to L.A., she spent her days and nights with him, waking up by his side and he loved it.
“Hi, suga. Nice of you to join me again,” he said.
“How long was I asleep?” she asked, sitting up and running her hands through her hair.
“Pretty much the entire flight.”
“Oh, God,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “Sorry. I think I caught a bug or something. But I do feel better after all that rest.”
He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m glad.”
“So, anyone take any pictures of me while I slept? Did I have my mouth open? Did I snore?”
“Haha. No, but I may have taken a picture
. . .” he offered.
“You did? Show it to me,” Mia demanded, patting his pockets in search of his phone. Yeah, that had to stop now, he thought as her hands continuously grazed his groin.
“Okay, Ms. Grabbyhands. One sec,” he said, stilling her hands. He pulled his phone out of his carry on. She sat impatiently as he turned it on and accessed his pictures.
“Here,” he said, handing her the phone. She held it up so she could see and smiled as she studied the picture he’d taken—her head resting on his shoulder. Her face at peace. “You looked too cute. I had to capture the moment.”
“You didn’t tweet that, did you?”
He laughed, his eyes smiling at the lovely woman next to him. “No, that’s just for me.”
Mia smiled and lifted her head up for a kiss. Ethan placed his lips upon hers. Yeah, he wasn’t going to let her go ever again. She broke the kiss and touched her forehead to his, her eyes gazing into his.
“I love you, Ethan. I hope you know that.”
Oh, he did. He felt it every moment with her.
“I love you, too.”
Ethan
As the limo pulled up the steep driveway, Ethan couldn’t get a visual of her house at this angle. But when the vehicle navigated the sharp curve, her home came into view and he was instantly struck by how beautiful it was. The light stucco and stone home was modern yet elegant, a lot like its owner. From what he could see, the property itself seemed massive, at least five acres. He spotted a tennis court on a flat spot of land a little away from the house.
The driver parked the limo and hurried out to retrieve their luggage while they slowly exited. Mia was taking her sweet time getting out. She had snuggled against him the entire ride. If the drive had been any longer, Ethan had a feeling she may have fallen asleep again.
As he held her warm, soft body against him, he couldn’t stop worrying about her health. What was wrong with her? How sick was she? Since she had never been sick while with him before, he didn’t know how common or uncommon this really was.
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