Chapter 19 Lucia #2
Sex with Colton had been spectacular, by far the best she’d ever had.
Had he placed himself in a prime position to have ruined all other men for her?
Probably. Okay, definitely. But nothing put him firmly in first place more than the orgasm that’d just ripped through her as the entirety of the Sabertooths’ staff, players, and coaches talked and laughed feet away.
“Come over later.”
At her narrowed eyes, he laughed.
“Not like that. The media—and Tessa—will want to see you with me to celebrate this game, or they’ll assume we’ve broken up.”
She wasn’t sure if her brain was just scrambled or if he was actually making sense, but she was thawing to the idea.
“Come on, it’s Thanksgiving. We need to be with the ones we fake love. I’ll be a perfect gentleman and keep my hands to myself.” His voice dropped. “If that’s what you really want.”
She pulled away from him slightly, adjusting her pants and blazer and then running a hand through her hair. “Okay, for the media. But you better keep your hands to yourself.”
As the final word left her mouth, TJ, a running back, walked into the little space. When he saw them, he grinned knowingly.
“Hey, Colt, Lucia. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” He continued walking back toward the staff section, likely to use the bathroom.
“A kiss goodbye?” Colton asked, laughing when Lucia smacked his shoulder. He opened the privacy curtain, waving his hand in the direction of her colleagues. “For the people?” he whispered.
She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him dead. Still, she pushed herself up using his shoulders and pecked his lips, hating the wide grin on his face.
When she returned to her seat, head spinning, heart racing, and feeling as though the eyes of the entire staff rested upon her, she found a new text message. In response to her last message about her coming, he’d responded:
Colton
Oh, you most certainly did.
Colton
Meet me in the facility garage.
She resisted the urge to send a picture of herself childishly sticking her tongue out at him and shut off her phone.
Colton had been right. Four people were outside the gate of his house, snapping pictures of them as they drove up his driveway. Lucia rolled her eyes at his smug expression.
They’d grabbed snacks from the facility—most of which were gross protein shakes or protein bars, but Lucia was a beggar and therefore had lost her right to choose—and when they got to the living room, they laid them out on the coffee table.
“Do I get to pick the movie tonight?” Colton opened the box of pizza he’d conjured.
“Do you ever?” She watched his arm flex as he reached for the remote, her mind flashing back to the putty he’d turned her into on the plane. Shaking her head, she continued, “But I will give you options tonight. We can either watch The Bachelor or a romcom.”
“Wow, you’re so good to me.”
Lucia swiped the pizza he’d lifted to his mouth, taking a bite. “I know.”
Colton glared at her. “You’d think you’d be a little nicer to the man who had you clutching at him and practically moaning his name as you came a few hours ago.”
Lucia gaped at him. “Wha—shut your mouth! Off limits! Anti-boundaries!”
“Oh, now it’s off limits, but on the plane, it was all ‘Colton, make me come’ and ‘Colton, look at my bedroom eyes.’” The pitch of his voice went up when he pretended to be her.
“I never—”
“‘Colton, your fingers feel so good inside of me.’” He was laughing hard, his shoulders shaking at the look on her face. She turned the TV to an episode of The Bachelor to spite him, ignoring his offers of pizza and burrowing under a blanket that she’d found on his couch.
After the first episode, Colton pleaded with her, “Lucia, please. Tell me how to convince you to change it to anything else. I will proudly recite every line of Pretty Woman if you make it stop.”
“Beg.”
His pupils dilated. “What?”
“Beg for my forgiveness.”
He tsked as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “I thought you wanted me to keep my hands to myself tonight.”
“Yes, use your words.”
“Not the kind of begging I hoped you meant, but fine.” He clasped his hands together. “Lucia Middle Name Moretti, please forgive me for teasing you about how well I know your body. I will never mock you in that high-pitched voice ever again.”
“Liar. And I don’t have a middle name.”
His eyes remained steadfastly on hers, and he stuck his bottom lip out, pretending he was about to cry.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, we can switch it.” She closed out of the reality TV show and searched for one of her beloved romcoms.
“You just like seeing me on my knees.”
She absolutely did. She loved him on his knees in front of her.
And while that thought in and of itself wasn’t scary, the realization that came from it was.
She actually liked Colton. Like, maybe less in a platonic hey it’s fun to spend time with you as a friend way and more in a shit I may be developing feelings for you that I don’t comprehend but are definitely not okay way.
Every moment she’d spent with him, she learned something new and endearing, a puzzle piece to help her see the whole picture of Colton Beaumont.
And none of that boded well for her, because their end date was fast approaching, and he’d only ever agreed to this because he felt bad about the part he’d played in causing their…situation.
She made a point to remember to text Isa about their plans for her visit to Charleston.
If there was anyone who could help her get her head on straight, it was Isa.
And maybe she’d invite Jenna and Leigh just to prove to herself she had friends in Charleston who weren’t her fake boyfriend.
The fake boyfriend who she would only be seeing in professional settings after January.
She sank lower into the plush couch at the thought, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself and ignoring the concerned look Colton tossed her way as You’ve Got Mail began playing.