44 Nico

44

Heart Skipped A Beat – The XX

With my relatively narrow escape from Jon’s wrath complete, we didn’t waste any time heading to the car. I was desperate for a moment that was just the two of us, where I could wrap my arms around her and breathe her in.

I’d always hated doing press after a match. Achy muscles and the anticipation to start preparing myself for the next game left me inpatient and irritated by their incessant questions – not that I was ever not grumpy while dealing with the press. It always left me on edge. But today, I’d planned exactly what I wanted to say. Despite what Jon and Ethan were advising, I knew staying in the singles was the wrong decision for many reasons.

And as her fingers intertwined with mine, I had no regrets about any of it.

We turned the corner together, reaching the front door, only for Scottie to pull me back at the last second with a quick yank of her arm. Flashes of cameras going off on the other side of the glass wall told me who waited for our exit.

‘Maybe you should go first. I’ll give them a few minutes and meet you in the car,’ she said, her hand pulled from mine, her face turning a slight shade of red as she flustered, peering back round the corner that kept us safe from view. ‘Shit – there’s so many of them.’

I looked at her, confused. ‘Why would we do that?’

Her gaze snapped up to mine, her head pulling back. ‘Do we want to give them more photos of us together? This is already turning into a circus.’

The sharp edge of my confusion softened, and I shook my head. ‘I don’t care about that. There’s no fucking way in hell I’m letting you go out there without me.’

I’d seen well enough how they treated her. She was nothing more than a headline, a payday to them, and I was unwilling to leave her alone to deal with them.

‘I don’t care about people seeing us together, Scottie,’ I continued, reading the reluctance on her face. ‘I want people to know I’m yours. I want them to know that if they mess with you, they are going to have to answer to me.’

She looked at me for a moment, her gaze trying to read anything other than the certainty spread across my features, like she was trying to unpick a lie. My hand rose to her cheek, brushing the soft skin there, as I couldn’t help but pull her in for a kiss.

‘I love you.’ The words were as easy as they should be. Confidence was an easy thing around her. She took a step forward, pushing me so my back found the wall, before her lips met mine in a rush. I smiled, my lips moving against hers, the taste of her all I ever want to know.

When she pulled back, her blue eyes were almost sparkling. ‘I love you, too.’

My hand pulled her face to mine again so I could kiss her, happiness warming in the centre of my chest.

She was mine, all mine. I’d never felt this way about anyone, never meeting anyone worth the hassle of opening up to.

But Scottie Sinclair had pried me open like a knife at an oyster. At first, she got under my skin – an irritation and an unwanted reminder of my weakness. But as the weeks went by, she became the reason I grew stronger, my recovery every bit a credit to her own resolve in training as it was mine. And then there were all the moments she allowed me to see past her facade, the forced confidence, and slowly she let me in, trusting me enough to be vulnerable.

She let me feel worthy around her. Whether I was old and broken and used up, I knew she’d never look at me any different for that.

And it was one of the many reasons I loved her as much as one person could love another.

Why she was a reason I’d changed my goals. Because what was it all for if she wasn’t by my side while I did it?

We stayed there, foreheads pressed together as I held her to my body. I needed her alone, craved to feel her soft skin against mine, to ink her words into my skin and make them permanent.

My hand found hers again, and this time, I gripped almost too tightly, certain that if I didn’t fuse our palms together, she might lose her nerve when we stepped outside and let me go. But I wouldn’t let go, not unless she asked, and certainly not out of fear.

The pack of paps was ravenous by the time we stepped out again, the lightning storm of camera flashes blinding.

‘Stay close, keep your head down,’ I murmured to her as we stepped outside into the summer air. We were swarmed immediately, the security outside just able to keep them clear of us. Making a beeline straight for the town car, I only looked up to make sure she wasn’t being hassled. I pulled open the car door, stepping aside and allowing her to slip in first, before closing the door and going around to the other side.

As soon as my door slammed shut, the car took off, the hum of the engine bursting into life.

‘Back to the hotel?’ the driver asked, and Scottie confirmed, her voice still light despite the crowd.

‘Is it normally like that for you?’ I asked, watching as she relaxed into the leather seats, the executive car long enough for her to stretch her long legs out comfortably. The white skirt of her summer dress rose up against the pale skin of her thigh.

Her blue gaze caught mine, wisps of blonde hair escaping her ponytail and trailing across her face. She shrugged. ‘It comes and goes. I suppose I got used to it.’

My jaw locked with irritation, a grinding anger growing in my gut. I hated that for her, that she was followed like that by strange, pestering men. Even when you thought you were alone, like I thought it was in the airport in Rhodes our first day, you never truly were. Privacy was a privilege that had been taken from her.

And then, I realized, by extension, it could be denied to me, too. For simply being with her.

My eyes met hers again, and I found my uncertainty mirrored back in her shade of deep blue, dark iris lines of worry. I knew she had realized the same thing. The need to erase that worry from her face consumed me.

The car came to a slow stop, our attention pulled to the driver.

‘Sorry guys, looks like this is going to take a while to clear,’ he said, backlit by a line of brake lights in front. The roads were blocked, traffic bumper to bumper in the streets ahead.

‘No worries, just do what you can,’ I said, before finding the control for the partition and raising it. Scottie raised an eyebrow at me, trying to read my next move.

I unclipped her seatbelt, before stretching over to her furthest leg, easing her over to me. Her body relented, letting me guide her from her seated position so she was straddling me instead. Face to face, I could still see the concern in her eyes. My left hand slid across her jaw, while my right found the exposed skin of her thigh, her skirt pushed up revealing inches of soft milky skin, tempting driving my hand higher than it should’ve in the back of a car.

‘There is nothing that could drive me away from you, Scottie.’ Her gaze dipped as I spoke, forcing me to lower my head to keep her attention. ‘If being with you means giving up pieces of my life, it’s worth it.’

‘This is your privacy.’ Her voice was quiet. ‘I know that’s important to you.’

I shook my head, my resolve as firm as my jaw. ‘It’s not nearly as important to me as you are.’

The hand on her leg shifted, the delicate feel of her skin against my calloused hand intoxicating.

‘You don’t know what you’d be giving up.’

‘I think the last few weeks have been a crash course in exactly what I’d be giving up,’ I replied softly. ‘But more importantly, it’s who I’m gaining that’s far more tempting to me.’

Her lips slowly curve into a smile, the band of anxiety around my heart loosening at the sight. ‘Tempting, eh?’

I groaned against her, lips meeting hers for a simple kiss, all the while my hand slid further up her thigh, finding her ass. ‘You have no idea.’

‘I think I have some ideas.’ She pushed her hips forward, grinding against my cock that was already hard for her. Always hard for her. Wearing shorts around her was a living nightmare. My fingers dug into her perfect ass, taking a handful as I helped guide her back and forth.

A breathy gasp escaped her pink lips, and I knew I was done for. This wasn’t how I had imagined ever taking her. In the backseat of a town car, the windows darkened so nobody, including the driver, could see inside.

It took me only a moment before I was undoing my shorts, pulling them apart to free my cock, and rolling on a condom from my wallet. Letting her take control as she ground over it, sending waves of need through my body. I was desperate to feel her wet, tight pussy pulse around my length, feel how perfect a fit she was for me, stretching out to take my size.

I closed my eyes as she moved those perfect hips again, a wet patch through her lace underwear telling me how ready she was for me.

The only noise was the breathy, quiet moans of torment, the shared need between us overwhelming. She tilted to the side, her hand going to her centre and shifting the lace to the side. She pushed up on her knees, lining us up before she pressed down onto my cock.

Our heads buried into each other’s opposite shoulders, trying to stifle our groans of pleasure. I felt her teeth on my throat, biting the sensitive skin as her pussy slid down my shaft. So wet and perfect, she felt like heaven, pleasure gliding down every inch as she lowered down, impressively taking the entire length until she bottomed out.

Her hands clung around my neck, her fingers pressing in through the cotton of my T-shirt as she hissed slightly at the pressure. I could hardly string a sentence together, the pressure of the tight grip she had around my cock driving all sense from my brain.

‘Don’t move,’ she begged, staying still for a moment. ‘I need a moment.’

‘Take your time. I love feeling you stretch to take me.’ I smiled, kissing the top of her head gently, overwhelmed myself by the feel of her so tight around my length. My body pulled at me, begging as the basic instinct threatened, knowing the pleasure that it gave. But even remaining still inside of her was enough to take me to the edge. Her hips moved, slowly at first, but the indulgence was all the same. The slow grind of her cunt felt like nothing else on this earth.

‘Look at me,’ I commanded as my hand gripped at the top of her ponytail. She had begun to speed up, riding me hard and low. Her eyes caught mine, her mouth open wide while she lost herself to the feeling.

‘Do you enjoy getting yourself off on my cock, beautiful?’

Her answer was a quiet moan that I stifled with a kiss. If the rocking of the car wasn’t enough to give us away, there was no need to give any further clues, not wanting anything to interrupt us before she had a chance to finish.

‘Such a noisy girl. Can you feel how hard it makes me?’ I didn’t dare tell her to be quiet. Every sound that escaped those perfect pink lips was a luxury I refused to live without. Breathy moans and uncontrolled groans, each drove me further until I was hammering my hips up to meet her movement. Each squeeze and pulse of her pussy along my length nearly drove me to insanity. I closed my eyes, trying to hold on to the edge of control, not wanting this to be over.

‘Fuck me like you mean it, Kotas.’ Her voice was a seductive whisper, my eyes opening at the control of her tone. The blue of her iris fixed on mine, those pink lips curved into a teasing smile. She had decided to play with me, but I could play back.

With my hand gripping her ponytail, I pulled her head back to reveal her perfect long neck. My hand found its position there, her pulse on my fingertips as I held her.

‘You want to make me come over and over?’ I asked, eyes darkened and hand pressing. Her skin was soft and perfect, every inch of her a drug.

She whimpered needily, the control slipping from her as I increased my pace from underneath, fucking her as hard as she was moving against me.

Scottie’s eyes stayed on mine. ‘Make me yours.’

I lost control, my hips driving forward as she came too, the feel of her perfect cunt pulling tight around my cock beyond anything I’d ever felt before. The love I had for this woman, and the edge of need she drove me to was unmatched.

I made her mine, but I’d been hers for a long time.

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