Chapter 19 Emmett
NINETEEN
EMMETT
“So, how’s business?” I ask Bailey as we stand in the kitchen of their new home.
When I arrived, she and Jett gave me the grand tour, including the spa room that she’s rightfully so proud of.
They’ve put down roots here in Cleveland, and I’m beyond happy for them, although I’ll admit that watching it all happen has made me a little envious.
I never expected to be single at twenty-six, living alone in an apartment that’s the size of most of my teammates’ closets, but here I am.
One choice by Stella led me to make a million of my own, none of which are conducive to any semblance of the happily ever after I wanted when I was younger.
I can’t blame her for all of it, even though I wish I could.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities to look for love, but I was stubborn because I only wanted her.
“It’s good,” she replies. “It’s great for the WAGs because there’s plenty of privacy, but if I ever decide to branch out and offer services to the public, I’ll probably look for a storefront in the city.”
“Like hell you will,” Jett grumbles, tightening his arms around her waist from behind. “The last thing I need is to spend my days worrying about your safety now that everyone knows who you are. Do you want me to have a heart attack, Bay?”
She rolls her eyes, ready to argue, but before she gets a chance, the doorbell rings.
He presses a firm kiss to her forehead before disappearing into the entryway to greet his new guest. “I’m going to go say hi to Livvy and Syd.
Help yourself to the snacks.” I thank her as she turns toward the Grant sisters, immediately falling into their conversation like she’s known them her entire life.
Grabbing a plate, I pile it full of various chips and dips—because it’s the first day of the offseason, and I deserve some carbs—but I don’t even get a single bite before the entire thing slips from my fingers and dumps right onto the counter.
I have some of the best hands in the league.
I only had four dropped passes all season.
But even a hit from the strongest linebacker on the planet is no match for Stella when she walks into the room, sucking all the oxygen from my lungs in the process.
The fumbled snacks go unnoticed by everyone around me, because they’re all too busy staring at the knockout in the black dress to be worried about anything else.
Austin is at her side, a big, bright smile on his face as he introduces her to the guys, but I’m seething, red pulsing around the edges of my vision when their hands linger a little too long.
Her eyes flick up to where I’m standing, locking onto mine for several seconds before Theo garners her attention with those stupid motherfucking dimples of his.
And why are his teeth so goddamn blinding all of a sudden?
We get it, bro. You use whitening toothpaste.
Take it down a notch. I avert my gaze, pretending to be unaffected as I listen to their conversation.
“So, you’re a nurse,” he says. “That’s really cool. Very admirable.”
She smiles shyly, her sweet little cheeks pinkening with the compliment. “Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.”
“I stopped by to see Austin a few weeks ago, but I think you were out. Have you done much sightseeing? I’m kinda new here, too, but Cleveland has really surprised me.
” He’s standing way too close for my liking, their arms practically brushing as my blood begins to simmer in my veins.
I’m sure anyone who looked at me right now would be able to read me like a book, but I couldn’t possibly care less.
He’s about to eat my fist if he steps in another inch, teammate or not.
She shakes her head, her lush ponytail swaying over her shoulders. “Not yet,” she replies. “I was here on a travel assignment last year, but I’m pretty boring. I’d rather stay in and watch reality TV in my pajamas than brave the city crowds.”
He throws his head back in a laugh. “A girl after my own heart. Maybe we can hang out sometime. I’m about two seasons behind on Seduction Island. I’ve made it my mission to catch up before training camp starts.”
Excitement melts over her features, making my stomach twist into knots because that sparkle in her eyes used to be all mine.
I’d tickle her until she was unable to breathe just to pull it out of her, soaking it in like the sun on a warm summer day.
Like hell I’m going to lose it all over again. Not to him.
I’m frozen where I stand, every voice in the room bleeding together as she pushes to her tiptoes and says something into his ear.
He smiles, lifting his chin to the doorway, and with a hand on the small of her delicate back, ushers her out of the room.
It all happens in slow motion as they disappear into the dimly lit area at the bottom of the staircase.
I’m screaming on the inside, begging my feet to just fucking move, but they’re like lead weights strapped to my legs, pulling against me no matter how hard I try.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity, I snap back to reality, everything in the room returning to its normal speed and volume as people talk like I’m not drowning right in their midst. I hurry out of the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time just as Theo and Stella reach the landing.
By the time I’ve caught up, her soft, tinkling laugh echoing in my ears, I’ve lost touch with rational thought completely.
Fueled by blind rage, I grip the sleeve of his shirt, shove him into the wall, and press my forearm to his throat. He struggles to get free, eyes wider than dinner plates, but I just push harder, the words bursting from my chest before I can stop them.
“Get your fucking hands off my wife!” I growl. It’s like I have no control over my mind or body, continuing to cut off his air supply until Stella’s terrified voice pulls me back to awareness.
“Emmett!” she cries. “Stop!” Her small hands wrap around my bicep, pulling as hard as she can until finally, I realize what I’m doing. I yank my arm from Theo’s throat, watching in horror as he coughs and sputters in an attempt to fill his lungs.
“Fuck,” I whisper, my voice shaking with adrenaline. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what ha—”
I swallow the rest of my excuse as he puts his hands up in surrender. “It’s okay. I—I was just showing her where the bathroom is.” His brows pull tight with confusion as he rewinds the last sixty seconds in his mind. “Did you say wife?”
My entire body goes rigid, save for the heaving of my lungs with every labored inhale.
Between them, my heart pounds so hard that I feel like it may punch a hole right through my shirt.
Holy shit. I did say that—without even thinking about it.
I saw them walking down a dimly lit hallway, his hand on her back, and my immediate reaction was that he was touching something that was mine.
I almost choked the poor guy out over something that was so goddamn innocent, and if she hadn’t stopped me, I’d probably be explaining to the entire party why our teammate was in a crumpled heap at my feet.
“Theo,” Stella says softly, placing a hand on his forearm. My blood begins boiling again at the sight, but I tamp it down. I’ve already done enough damage here. “Can you give us a second?”
He drags his gaze back and forth between us, still in utter bewilderment as he finally surrenders, nodding his head.
“Yeah.” He focuses his attention on her.
“Just yell if you need anything.” His words cause my fists to close tightly at my sides, because there’s nobody in this world Stella would be safer with than me.
I meant it when I said I’d protect her for the rest of my life—but of course, he doesn’t know any of that.
She jerks her chin in understanding as he turns and retreats down the stairs.
As soon as he’s out of sight, I’m being yanked into an empty bedroom, the door closing behind us with a quiet snick.
The full moon filters through several giant windows, giving us enough light to see each other as she runs up on me and shoves her tiny hands into my chest.
“What the fuck was that, Emmett?” she whisper-yells, obviously trying not to call attention to the fact that we’re in here.
But if me slamming Theo into the hallway wall went unheard over the music and chatter downstairs, I doubt anyone will hear us in a closed room.
“Austin talked me into coming out to meet new people, and you act like a goddamn caveman toward the first one who shows me kindness? I get that I hurt you, and I’m trying to take my licks, but if you think that gives you a free pass to piss all over me like a dog, you’re wrong.
You don’t have to forgive me. You don’t have to want me.
But you can’t just act hot one minute and cold the next while you try to figure it out.
” Her jaw is set, eyes narrowed to slits as a piece of the sassy girl I used to love verbally sparring with shows her face for the first time in nearly eight years.
My cock begins to thicken behind my zipper, a different kind of chemical pumping through me as she pushes her tits out in defiance.
I step forward, trapping her hands between us as I advance, not stopping until her back is pressed against the wall. Her breath hitches when I erase the last inch of space that separates us, my thick, pulsing erection pushing into her lower stomach through the fabric of her skin-tight dress.
“Is that so?” I ask, dipping down and running my nose along the shell of her ear. “Because you couldn’t be more wrong, Wild Girl. I do want you, and I’ll make sure every motherfucker in this city knows it. And as far as you taking your licks, maybe that isn’t such a bad idea, either.”