The car jolted as we descended into the underground parking garage in our building. I whispered against the side of her neck. “Ready for me to do it again?”
She shivered and stared into my eyes with a blistering fire that promised we’d be lucky if we made it to the couch, let alone the bed.
Holding hands, we rushed into the elevator. The doors opened on a couple other floors, but the giant dress deterred anyone from getting on. There were a few double takes in the lobby, but no one said anything. No one screamed her name or chased after us.
Making it to my floor, I half-carried, half-hugged her to me.
She spoke against my lips. “We can’t rip the dress. It’s a Valentino. They’ll be pissed enough I took it out of that room.”
Careful of all the pins and clips, we frantically worked to get her out of the dress. I couldn’t stop looking at her standing in nothing but boy shorts, smudged makeup, and a messy updo. I didn’t want to stop touching her and hated to think about how little time we had together before we’d be separated again.
There was always a countdown timer on how long we had together, but instead of counting the months or weeks, our time was down to hours.
Hours I planned to make the most of. Cupping my hands around the sides of her neck, I stared into the eyes of the woman who owned me inside and out.
One look.
One touch.
One taste.
Bringing our lips together, the kiss started out as a graze, a gentle brush of her full and tender lips against mine. It was a soothing balm to all the aches created being apart from her.
Soon, it transformed back to the frenzied pitch that came from knowing our time together would be too short. Anything short of forever felt like it didn’t last long enough.
Lifting her and cupping her ass with one hand, I carried her to the bedroom with her legs wrapped around my waist.
Each grind and moan sprayed lighter fluid on the flames of my desire, threatening to consume us both.
The head of my cock dipped inside her and my knees buckled. I braced our fall, covering her. My move to get up was stopped by Bay’s kisses against my neck.
“Here’s fine. I don’t want to wait.” Her breath whispered across my skin, spreading the heat and loss of control throughout my body.
Her hand reached down between us and she ran the head of my cock against her wet opening.
I sank into her hot velvety sweetness before coming back to myself. No protection. “Shit.” Pulling out, I reached up and flailed for my bedside table, grabbing a condom and rolling it on like my hands were running a hundred-yard dash.
“I totally blanked.” Her breathless words, glistening lips and roaming fingers beckoned me back.
“Sorry.” The last thing I wanted to do was derail her life with my stupid mistake.
She urged me closer. “I’ll forgive you, if you give me what I want.” Her hips wriggled beneath mine.
Rocking my hips, I entered her again. My jaw clenched and I fought to keep my eyes from rolling back in my head. “What would that be?” My hunger and need for her grew. I clung to my slow, steady strokes, not wanting this to be over too quickly.
Her fingers gripped my shoulders tighter. “I think I’ll let you figure it out.”
24
Bay
The blunt thickness of his invasion sent raw, explosive bliss shooting through my body. The sparks threatened to fry every nerve ending swamped by the rush of sexual satisfaction.
His rough, rolling thrusts pushed the crescendo higher.
Words were lost to the power of his thrusts as he pinned my thighs down and bucked into me like these were our last hours on Earth.
My back arched, shooting off the floor, and I slammed my palms into the wood, so hard his downstairs neighbors would probably complain. My body hummed with unadulterated bliss.
Over me, his exacting thrusts became uncontrolled and sloppy, overflowing with the evidence of how good we were together.
Groaning, he collapsed on top of me, bracing his arms beside my head. The inescapable need and urgency faded into a blissed-out crash, sweaty, sated, and boneless.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, not wanting an inch between us just yet. “Did you miss me?”
He laughed, dropping his head against my shoulder, and rolled to his side. “Always.”
My skin tingled. “Maybe next time we’ll make it to the bed.” I tilted my head back and took an upside down look at the neatly made gray-comforter-covered bed a few feet away.
“Baby steps, Bay.” After taking care of the condom, we climbed into his bed. It was so much more comfortable than my top-of-the-line hotel mattress—maybe that was because I was here with him.
His fingers ran along the curve of my shoulder. “It’s getting harder to be away from you.”
My breath hitched. The fluttering in my stomach made me want to hammer the doors closed, so we could stay in this bed forever. “I know how you feel.”
“You leave for London in three weeks.”
A non-stop, grueling, rewarding, puke-inducing, euphoria-rushing tour. “And your season doesn’t end for three more months.” I brushed my fingers through the hair above his ear. “We should make the most of the time before I leave.”
“Come to my next home game. It’s a home game, so no travel needed.”
“In two Sundays, right?” I might’ve memorized his schedule. Might have.
His lips twitched. “Right. If you’re in town.”
“Most likely. The studio has been taking up more of the schedule lately.”
“Will you be back for Christmas?”
No point in making promises I couldn’t keep. I shook my head. “I don’t think so. My mom was asking the same thing. I was thinking of having her fly over to me instead.”
His hum of understanding didn’t hide his disappointment and drove home mine deeper in my chest.
“Could you come to me?”
“We’ll be playing.”
I propped my head up on my hand. “We could have our own Christmas before or after, complete with hot chocolate and Christmas movies. I might even pick up some stockings.” Walking my fingers down his chest, I peeked over at him, hating that I couldn’t say ‘yes, of course I can see you and we can spend the whole day together’. Everything was compromises and making up for the things our schedules wouldn’t allow for.
“You had me at hot chocolate.” His deep, chocolate-sweet laugh made the fear of the distance a little less sharp.
We were making plans. Flexible plans, but plans for what happened when I left Philly and went out on the road. Some fears about how we’d navigate the next year were allayed—or did everyone else who dove head first into a relationship like this have the same level of hope that it would all work out?
His fingers brushed through. “You’ll come to my game.”
“I don’t know if that would be a good idea…” A stadium full of people with me in the stands meant a logistical nightmare. Sadness rippled in my chest. I wanted to be there for him, cheering along with everyone else, but I couldn’t pick up my ticket at Will Call and find my seat in the stands.
“How about a skybox? No one will bother you up there. You can relax, eat, drink and watch me not play.” His smile and laugh didn’t hide the glimmer of frustration that flickered in his gaze at his benched status.