by Violet Paige
“God, yes,” I panted.
I eyed him as I pointed my toes and laid one calf on his right shoulder and then the other on his left shoulder. He kissed my knee, dragging his teeth over my skin.
“Your legs are fucking insane. I’ve never seen anyone as hot as you, Natalia.”
I smiled. I wasn’t about to tell him he was getting ready to sleep with a Warrior Goddess. These legs were how I got the job. That, and twenty years of ballet.
He rubbed his cock between my folds, coating the head of his erection with my juices. I tipped toward him, wanting to pull him inside. Needing him to fill me with everything he had.
“You feel too good,” he groaned. He ran the tip over my clit and I whimpered. I was aching. He was hard like a rod of steel and I wanted to feel the friction of our bodies rubbing together, sliding along each other. Making each other wet and hot with every touch.
He leaned sideways and I heard him rip the edge off a foil packet. I watched as he rolled it on his pulsing cock. He rubbed his erection between my legs, parting my slit.
“Sam,” I whispered. I didn’t know what more to say. What would make the pain stop. A pain that had me burning from the inside out.
He settled at my entrance and I gasped at how intense it was just feeling how I stretched around him. His fingers flicked and rubbed over my clit.
“Say something to me in French,” he whispered. “Something dirty.” His eyes glazed with hunger for me.
“J’ai envie de toi.” I could barely talk. “Baise-moi.”
He continued to massage his shaft through my slickness. “Tell me what you said.” He was breathing hard.
I pressed my palms backward into the tufted headboard, praying he’d sink inside me. “I said I want you. Fuck me.”
He closed his eyes and let the words wash over him. I’d say it a hundred more times if it turned him on.
“Baise-moi,” I repeated. “Baise-moi.”
The frenzy built until I couldn’t take it anymore. I was done playing. I grabbed his ass, drawing him to my center, and then he sank inside me with a solid burst of heat as our bodies fused.
Holy shit. Nothing had felt as intense as this. With my hips in the air, he could push deeper than I’d ever experienced.
As soon as he was inside, he lost control. He began pumping and riding me, sending me into oblivion. My legs bounced in the air as he gripped my hips, dipping in and out of me with solid strokes of pleasure.
Our bodies aligned like the perfect dance. His muscles moving and bending where mine shifted to accommodate him. His shoulders rippled with strength as the grace of my legs wrapped around him.
I’d never felt like I was dancing before when I was having sex, but that was exactly what it felt like. As if Sam was lifting me in the air and twirling me around, giving me the high of a lifetime. My body was whole. It was alive with desire and passion. I was spiraling, tumbling through ecstasy.
I stretched around his wide cock, desperately trying to hold him close to me. He rubbed my tits with his thumbs and I started to feel the coil in my belly unloosen. I couldn’t stop it from happening.
“I’m going to come. Oh, God.”
He pinched and toyed. “Do it, baby. Ride it out with me.”
I bit into my lip as he took another deep thrust. I cried out as the pleasure ripped through me, starting with my clit, then circling my body with bursts of rapture.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he unleashed himself inside me.
The sweat rolled down his chest and I panted as my second orgasm picked up where the other one left off.
I clutched his firm ass, digging my nails into his skin. “Don’t stop,” I begged.
I didn’t want the dance to end. I didn’t want the pleasure to be over. I wanted to stay in the air while he carried me through the high.
He grinned. “As hard as I am, I won’t.” He plunged into me again, then kicked my legs off his shoulders, pressing a kiss on my mouth with blistering heat.
I held on to him, clinging to his damp, warm body as the waves pulsed through me. One after another. I vibrated and shook in his arms.
He yanked the pillows out from my hips, lowering me to the mattress with a wide smile. I knew he had a plan.
He rolled on his back, pulling me on top. I grinned, knowing I could move with him like this. My breasts perked and I started to ride him with wild abandon. I felt the power of my body. The skill in my movements as he closed his eyes.
I had him. He was going to come. I rose up, bringing the tip of his cock to my entrance, then sank on him swiftly.
That was when his arms wrapped around me and he pulled me to his mouth, biting and sucking at my lips. I melted in his arms, feeling another orgasm surge in my limbs as he pumped in and out of me. I’d meant to drive him crazy. Blind him with passion, but our bodies together were like a combustible substance, and I lost the power I had over him. I lost it in his arms. I lost it in his lips as he fucked me with the gentle thrusts of my most beautiful dance.
He kissed the V of my throat. “I—”
“What is it?” I searched his eyes. I hoped he had the words that explained what was happening between us. I was looking for the words too, but I couldn’t comprehend what our bodies had done. What they were doing. I tried to catch my breath, but I was tingling all the way to my toes.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just that I can’t wait to fuck you while you come again. How did you say it in French?”
I kissed him. “Baise-moi.”
He chuckled. “Baise-moi?”
I nodded. “Oui.” My body felt warm pressed against him, the sweat of sex slick between us. I was somehow satisfied and restless at the same time.
“Then baise-moi, darlin’.”
I didn’t question him. But I didn’t believe what he had said either. He was about to say something important. I could sense it. I could see it in his eyes. And if he felt half of what I did when he was inside me, we had both fucked up. We had made the mistake of thinking we could leave the hotel as strangers, just as we had found each other in the bar. But this man didn’t feel like someone I didn’t know. Sam felt like part of my soul. Part of the air I breathed.
I looked into his eyes, wondering if he felt the same thing.
7
Sam
I heard my alarm go off and slapped the bedside table. Shit. I felt exhausted. My body was sore and I got two hours of sleep. I rolled over, ready to pull Natalia to my chest. I could let the rule slip for another couple of hours. It was still technically not the season. Not yet. Kick off wasn’t until eight-thirty.
Last night had been fucking incredible. Nirvana, even. It was the most epic one-night stand of my life. And in my gut, I wanted more. My cock twitched, thinking of taking her again. I wanted to taste her, feel her, and kiss her until the last second. I rolled toward the wall, but the covers were flat.
I sat forward. Her clothes were gone. Her purse was gone. The bathroom door was wide open.
I closed my eyes. Shit. She wasn’t here. I didn’t have her last name or her number. I didn’t know where she worked or what she did. What I did know was that she had done something to me, when I didn’t think that was possible. One-night stands didn’t affect me. They never had. And I’d have to make sure this one didn’t either.
I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms and let out a deep breath. I knew nights like last night didn’t just happen. Two people didn’t move together like we did. Do the things we did to each other. But I needed to file it in my memory bank and put a lock on it.
I stood from the bed and stretched my arms toward the ceiling. I needed to shower. The team would meet for breakfast in forty-five minutes, and then Coach would call a meeting to review the protocol for heading over to the Warriors’ dilapidated stadium. That place was a shit hole and we all knew it. Not only did we hate our rivals, we pitied them.
I pulled a T-shirt over my wet hair and the fabric clung to my chest. I stepped int
o a pair of jeans. Team meetings were casual. We wouldn’t have to dress up until it was time to ride over to the stadium. I stuffed my cell phone into my pocket and walked down the hall. It was hard not to picture Natalia next to the room door. I shook my head. Fuck no. I wasn’t going to do this.
I arrived at the elevator and waited for it. I told myself I wasn’t going to relive that kiss inside its walls. I wouldn’t remember how Natalia clung to me. What her ass felt like. How tight her long body was under my hands.
The doors retracted.
“Sam,” Cavan Grainger greeted me.
Thank God there was someone else in the elevator. I already needed a distraction from my own brain. I didn’t care if we talked about the fucking weather. He could say anything at this point.
“How’s it going?” I didn’t know Cavan well. He was on the rookie roster. He had been nominated to take my place this year as the coordinator of the Dean.
“Ready for tonight?” he asked.
I nodded. “Couldn’t be more ready. What about you? First time on Monday night. Big game too.”
He shrugged. “Trying not to think about that part.”
“Yeah, focus on the plays. That’s all anybody needs to do.”
The elevator deposited us in the lobby. We walked to the conference room together. I left Cavan to search for coffee before taking a seat. Only half of the team was here. They would slowly trickle down from their rooms. I hated to think how many were hung over, and how that was going to affect the game.
I didn’t have that kind of hangover. No, mine was worse. There wasn’t enough water or aspirin to get rid of the way I felt when I was with Natalia.
8
Natalia
The yoga outfit wasn’t bad. At least I wasn’t walking home in a black dress. This walk of shame looked as if I had gone for an early exercise class. No shame in that.
I had lifted Sam’s heavy arm and slid to the floor, dressing in the darkness of the room. I didn’t want to wake him. I was worried he would go back on what we agreed in the bar. I didn’t want him to call or know where I lived. I definitely didn’t want to tell him I was a professional cheerleader.
It was better this way. I’d pretend he was in town on business and would never be back in Austin. It would be easier. I didn’t have his number, either. We made an agreement, and my leaving before he awakened was the only way I knew how to stick to it.
Because if I woke up in his arms and took one look in his gorgeous eyes, I’d undo all of it.
I’d program my number in his phone. I’d tell him my horrid history with the ballet and the Goddesses. I’d tell him I loved pasta even though I shouldn’t. That I loved scary movies and hated football. I’d tell him my last name or even my middle name. If I had stayed and looked in those eyes, I’d have told him anything he asked.
Last night I had given him something I’d never given to another man. There wasn’t a name for it. It was physical and primal, but it was deeper than any connection I’d ever felt. It was the reason I had to leave. It was the reason I snuck out. It was the reason I was questioning every step I made on the sidewalk.
For a little while, I knew where he was. He was in the Austin Grand Hotel in room 621. But I didn’t know when he was checking out or where he was going. I had to drive home and stay there until I knew for certain it was past check-out time. I had to force myself to put the key in the ignition and drive home. Because if I didn’t, I’d race back to the hotel and break the promise I made. And as much as I wanted to see Sam again, I didn’t want to break a promise to him. It was the main thing holding me back. Right now, it was the only reason my foot was on the gas pedal.
I didn’t wear a watch. Instead, I checked my phone a hundred times before noon. I did a load of laundry and completed an hour’s worth of stretching. I would do the entire routine again before the game, but I had to find something to do to keep my mind off last night.
I jumped when I heard my phone ring, and for a quick second, let myself think it was Sam calling. I scowled at myself. It was Heather.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
She laughed. “I saw you leave last night. Just checking on you.” I knew she wanted a juicy story.
I ran water in the sink to rinse out my bowl from breakfast. “How about you? Looked like you were having fun.”
The truth was I hadn’t paid attention to what Heather was doing. I spent my time talking to Sam and making a stupid decision. I wasn’t a very good friend.
“Oh my God, we had the best time. Aren’t you glad you went?”
“Yes.” I threw my bowl in the dishwasher. “Now I don’t have any guilt about that tradition.”
“You’re turning into a real Goddess. You know that?”
“Don’t remind me,” I groaned.
Last night, I was like all the other girls. I went home with a random bar guy. True, he was an incredibly hot random guy, but I had let the environment and the neon lights influence me. I convinced myself I was being rebellious and free, but when I thought about it, I was the same as my squad partners.
I hooked up in a bar. I had a one-night stand with someone I had barely known an hour.
It didn’t help that he had a rock-hard body, sexy voice, and eyes that…
“Nat? Did you hear me?”
“Oh, what? Sorry, I’m doing dishes.” I slammed the door shut and started the wash cycle.
“I asked you what time you’re going to be at the stadium for warm up. I thought we could run through some new steps. I talked to the choreographer about it.”
“Oh, that.” I sighed. “I guess I’ll get there at five. I need to do some extra work on my hamstring.”
“Is it giving you problems again?”
“The same. It’s better if I keep it warmed up. Less chance of reinjuring it.”
Heather was the only one who bothered to ask about my leg. She was also the only one who knew the extent of my injury. I didn’t want the others to think I wasn’t physically capable of being a Goddess.
“I’m glad it’s not worse.”
I smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “Thanks. Me too. Listen, I’ve gotta run. I have a lot to do before I head to the game.”
“All right. See you tonight. But I’m getting details when I see you. You’re not getting out of this that easily. I know your avoidance tactics.”
“Heather, there’s nothing to tell. I’ll see you there.”
I hung up and looked at the clock again. Finally. It was after noon and I could convince myself Sam was gone. He had driven out of town—back to wherever he came from.
I felt the exhaustion hit my body. I had barely slept. My limbs were sore in new places. And with the realization that he wasn’t in Austin anymore, the tension I held in my shoulders and neck rolled off my skin.
I pulled back my white duvet and climbed under the covers. I had been running on fumes. Forcing myself to push through until I knew it was noon. As soon as my head hit the pillow and my eyes closed, I slept.
9
Sam
I sat on the bench, gripping my helmet between my hands. I stared at my cleats on the dirty floor. We had been in some god-awful locker rooms, and some that would make even us jealous, but the Warriors’ guest locker rooms had to be the worst. There was peeling paint. Chipped tiles in the showers. Half the lockers didn’t close. It was disgraceful to the league. I didn’t know how they got away with it.
Some teams liked to show off their wealth. The Warriors’ ownership didn’t buy into that philosophy. They kept the money for themselves and let everything else fall down around the team.
I felt his heavy hand on my back before I heard his voice. I turned. “Ready?”
Wes was grinning. He loved this shit. His hatred for the Warriors ran deep.
I nodded. “Hell, yeah. Throw the ball to me every time and I’ll get it done.”
“What’s that?” Stubbs yelled from the other side of the junk pit.
“I said I’ll get the TDs this game.”
“Like hell you will.” The wide receiver strutted over. “I’ll take a few myself.”
“Come on, boys,” Wes chuckled. “We can split them. Stubbs, you take four, and Sam, you take another four.”
We laughed. The Wranglers had come here not only to win, but also to annihilate our enemy. We weren’t walking out of here with anything less than a complete and totally humiliating victory.
Right now, none of us were thinking about the cameras or the hype around the opening game for Monday night. We were defending national champions, and this game would prove that we were on our way to becoming repeat champions. We would rightfully claim the title of Texas’s team. The country’s team. It all came down to this game.
I pulled the laces on my shoes, making sure they were extra tight. I liked the feeling across my feet.
Coach Howell walked in the locker room. “Listen up.”
Our mumbling stopped, and we focused on his pre-game speech. I could predict what he would say. It was seldom different game to game.
“Guys, we came here for one thing—to win. It’s opening night. Everyone is watching to see if we can do what we did last season. They’re watching Wes. They’re watching Stubbs. They want to see if Sam can catch the ball. They want to know how many yards Persons can get against their defense. They want to see Grainger’s first game. And all the rest of you… they’re watching. Was it a fluke? Was it luck?
“Well, we know the answer to that. This is a room full of champions.” He paused for a second. “And we’re going to take this game back to San Antonio.”
We all nodded in agreement.
“Bring it in,” he yelled.
I lifted my helmet in the air with everyone else. We could hear the fans through the tunnel. They were screaming and chanting. They would boo when we took the field. They’d throw stuff at our helmets. They’d tell us to fuck off. But it was noise.