Chapter 20 #2
Looping her arms around Lia’s neck, Erin pressed their foreheads together.
“What’s so special about you is everything, Lia.
You’re kind, even when you have every reason not to be.
You care so fiercely about the people around you, even when they don’t deserve it.
You’re tenacious, and you’re not afraid to stand up for yourself.
You’re smart—on and off the pitch, which is not something I can say for a lot of our fellow teammates.
And you’re incredibly beautiful, too. Not to mention amazing in bed… ”
A laugh huffed against Erin’s lips. “Speak for yourself.”
“You make me feel things I never thought I’d feel again.
Things I didn’t know I was capable of. For so long, I was certain I was right to close myself off, that feeling things wasn’t worth it.
And then you come along and blow all of that out of the water in a matter of months.
How could I not find you remarkable? How could I possibly resist falling for you? ”
“You really want to do this? Be with me?”
“More than anything.” Still, even with the way Lia was grasping at her hips, even hearing the hope in her voice, Erin struggled with doubt. “So the question is do you want that, too?”
* * *
Lia couldn’t believe Erin even had to ask that question.
Was it not obvious?
Had she not already shown how much she wanted her? How much she cared about her? How completely and utterly miserable Lia had been for the past two weeks when they weren’t talking?
“Of course I do.” She dragged Erin closer until she could feel the thud of Erin’s heart against her ribcage. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted you to ask me that?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why didn’t you?”
Erin laughed, and Lia closed the distance between them to kiss the laugh from her lips. It felt like coming home, like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up all day, like scoring the winning goal in a cup final.
She’d never dreamed she could have this with Erin.
Never allowed herself to think of the possibility, knowing it was out of reach.
But now it was within her grasp—Erin was within her grasp, her lips parting for Lia’s tongue, her skin warm between Lia’s fingertips, and her soft sighs music to Lia’s ears.
When Lia broke the kiss, not wanting to get too carried away, Erin chased her mouth, easing Lia backwards until she was flat against the floor, pinned by Erin’s body. She’d missed this so much.
The kiss wasn’t hurried, wasn’t heated—it was slow and languid, the tease of Erin’s tongue against hers warming Lia from the inside out.
Then, right in Lia’s ear, came a loud meow. It made her jump, a laugh bubbling from her lips as she pulled away from Erin to find Gerrard staring at them with wide brown eyes. “I think he might be telling us to get a room.”
“Or that it’s time for bed.” Still straddling Lia’s hips, Erin stretched her arms above her head. “It is late.”
A glance at the clock hanging above Erin’s fireplace revealed that it was nearly three a.m. She hated late away games for messing with her sleep schedule.
At least Ayla had given them a day off to compensate—although, after the way they’d played, the coach probably couldn’t wait to haul them back into training and give them all a piece of her mind.
“Yeah. I should go upstairs.”
“Or you could stay.” Erin’s voice was soft, still uncertain despite everything that had passed between them tonight.
“I’m tired.”
“I meant to sleep; get your mind out of the gutter.”
“I thought you didn’t do sleepovers.”
“Well, that was before.” Rising to her feet, Erin extended her hand toward Lia. “Are you coming?”
“Apparently not, if we’re only sleeping.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “You are such a child.”
“I’d love to sleep over.” Lia grasped Erin’s hand, letting herself be hauled upright and pulled toward Erin’s bedroom.
It was far from the first time she’d been inside Erin’s bedroom, but nerves buzzed through her as Erin let go of her to grab the pyjamas at the bottom of the bed.
Would they be able to handle this change in their relationship status?
Or would it all come crashing down? Lia shook her head.
She shouldn’t get ahead of herself. She should enjoy the here and now—enjoy the fact that she was lucky enough to see a side of Erin that few others ever had.
“There’s spare pyjamas in the bottom drawer if you need any,” Erin said, already at the door to her en suite. “Make yourself at home.”
Courtesy of Albion’s one-night stay in Germany, Lia had her own pyjamas in her bag. But slipping into Erin’s bed wearing Erin’s clothes was too tempting. A quick glance around the room, however, revealed a problem.
Erin didn’t have just one set of drawers. She had three—one on either side of the bed, and a large chest of drawers beneath her trophy cabinet. Which was the right one?
Erin wouldn’t have told her to get some if she didn’t mind Lia looking, right?
In the corner of the room, already curled in his bed, Gerrard watched her. “Which one did she mean, buddy?”
He lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Sighing, Lia made a decision as an electric toothbrush sounded from the bathroom. It would make the most sense to be the large chest of drawers, wouldn’t it? Surely that was where Erin kept most of her clothes.
But the bottom drawer was stuffed with football jerseys of all different colours, so full it was hard to pull it open. They must have been the shirts Erin swapped at the end of important games. Lia had some herself, but nowhere near this many.
Impressed with the collection, Lia made her way to the bed. Maybe she should have started there—it made sense that the things you wore to bed would be beside it. She had one of the drawers there halfway open when Erin emerged from the bathroom.
“Not that one!” Erin’s voice was strangled with something like horror.
Lia was about to ask why when she glanced down, the contents of the drawer visible through the gap.
“Oh.” She snatched her hand back and slammed the door shut, trying hard not to think about Erin using either the purple vibrator or black strap-on and harness she’d spotted inside. “Sorry. You didn’t say which one.”
“The other side.” Erin’s cheeks were flushed pink as she rounded the bed to the other bedside table and pulled out a set of plaid pyjamas and a white tank top. “Here.”
“Thanks.” Lia accepted the bundle but wavered before stepping into the bathroom. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, you know.” It was so rare for her to see Erin blush that she couldn’t help but draw it out. “Sex toys are a perfectly normal thing to keep beside your bed. It’s healthy!”
With a groan, Erin slid beneath the covers, pulling them to her chin. “Can we not? Forget you ever saw them.”
“What if I don’t want to forget I saw them?” Lia caught Erin’s eye and bit her bottom lip, watching the way Erin’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “What if I want you to use them with me?”
“You’d want that?”
“Yes. Not tonight.” When it happened, she wanted to enjoy every second. She couldn’t do that tonight when her body was screaming at her to sleep. “But in the future? Please.”
“Okay.”
The tremble in Erin’s voice—usually so unshakeable—was gratifying. It put a spring in her step as she freshened up in the bathroom before climbing into the bed beside Erin, rolling on her side to face her.
Erin rolled too, before wrapping an arm around her waist to pull Lia close and drifting her lips across her forehead. “Thank you for turning a shitty day into an amazing one.” A shadow passed across her face; no doubt she was thinking of Germany.
Lia wasn’t sure she’d fully processed the loss herself yet.
It was one thing losing a regular game, but getting knocked out of a competition after such a dismal performance was hard to swallow.
But she didn’t want to dwell on that tonight.
No, she wanted to bask in the feeling of being in Erin’s bed, wrapped in her arms. In being able to wake beside her and see Erin all sleepy and rumpled.
She brushed her lips across Erin’s in a chaste kiss. “I have an important question for you before we go to sleep.”
“Oh?”
“Big spoon or little spoon?”
A slow smile spread across Erin’s face. “Big spoon, obviously.”
“Figures.” She kissed Erin one last time before rolling over, pressing her back against Erin’s front.