Chapter 17
I’m done circling the goal line.
Gage
A ddy giggles as she places the empty bottle of moonshine on the table in my suite. “Phew. Glad I was finally able to set it down. It was unbelievably heavy.”
I roll my eyes as I set the cooler on the ground. “I didn’t need your help.”
“Of course not. The big, strong football player can do everything himself. But I’m strong, too.” She flexes her bicep.
“I’m impressed. But not as impressed as when you did a flying somersault over the bonfire.”
She bows and ends up stumbling. I grasp her elbow to steady her before she faceplants on the carpet.
“I’m fine.” She pushes me away. “I’m a smuggler. I can handle my alcohol.”
“I bet you can since you challenged Tanner to a shot-off.”
“Which I won. Thank you very much.”
I stop her before she bows again. “Tanner’s in training. He shouldn’t be drinking shots.”
“He started it. I can’t help it if he underestimated me. ”
“Everyone underestimated you. You’re half a foot shorter than me, and I’m the shortest of the bunch.”
She pets my chest. “Ah, poor Gage. Such a tiny man with all the big football players.”
I growl. “I’ll show you tiny man.”
I wrap my arms around her and haul her close. She gasps when her stomach hits my cock. My cock’s been hard and wanting since she put on a mermaid’s tail earlier today. I nearly lost my mind and carried her away when I unzipped her tail and felt her soft skin for the first time.
“You’re a dangerous man, Gage Edwards.”
“Only to defense players who get in my way.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m not dangerous to you. You can trust me.”
She stares into my eyes and I drop all my defenses. I refuse to hide from Addy. She’s the woman I want. I don’t want to be friends. I want more.
She nibbles on her bottom lip. “I don’t know. It’s not easy for me to trust men.”
This is the opening I’ve been hoping for. “Why not?”
“When your dad leaves when you’re two, and you never hear from him again, trusting men becomes difficult.”
My nostrils flare. Men should never abandon their families. “Asshole.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “But you aren’t an asshole?”
“I would never abandon my family. Never.” If I ever find a family, I will hold on as tight as possible.
“I believe you. ”
“You do?” I expected to spend the next weeks convincing her she can trust me.
“Anyone who considers Tanner family and defends him is a deeply loyal person.”
“I am a deeply loyal person.”
I’m also a gentleman. Or, at least, with her I am. I’ve never been one before. I never needed to be one before. But she’s not ready for our relationship to progress to the physical.
I inch away but she clutches my shoulders to keep me where I am. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t want to push you.”
“After teasing me all day?”
She was the one teasing me all day. Swaying those incredible hips every time she moved. Brushing her hair over her naked shoulder. Giving me tantalizing teases of those incredible breasts. There’s a reason my cock is about to explode in my shorts.
“I didn’t tease you.”
She snorts. “You didn’t wear a shirt the entire time.”
“You like my chest?”
“And you wrestled with Brock.”
“Who kicked my ass.”
“You still managed to showcase all your hard muscles.”
“My muscles aren’t the only thing that’s hard.”
She barks out a laugh. She wraps her arms around her stomach and bends over as laughter pours out of her. “Corny.”
“Made you laugh, didn’t I?”
She smiles up at me. “You make me laugh a lot. ”
“Good. You need more laughter in your life.”
“Who says I don’t have enough laughter in my life?”
“You being too busy to have time to have fun.”
She bristles. “I have fun. I like my job. I love my family. And I enjoy writing songs.”
I palm her cheek. “Those are obligations. Not fun.”
“And you’re fun?”
“Songbird, I’m more than fun.”
She bites her bottom lip and her gaze drops to my mouth. It’s an invitation I can’t refuse. I lower my head. I move slow to give her a chance to say no. But she doesn’t.
I press my lips to hers and she sighs. I thrust my tongue into her mouth. There it is. The flavor I’ve been obsessed with since the first time I tasted her. Buried beneath beer and the tortilla chips she ate after dinner is her wildness.
I moan before tilting her head to dive deeper. She clings to my shoulders. Her fingernails dig into my skin. I want her nails digging into my back. Scoring me with her passion.
I bring her closer. Her breasts press against my chest. And my cock pushes against her stomach. She wraps a leg around my hips to grind herself against my cock. My hard length strains against my zipper.
I wrench my lips from hers to trail kisses along her jaw until I reach her ear. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I meet her gaze. I don’t want her to regret this in the morning. I don’t want her to regret me. I want to get her addicted to me. The way I am to her .
Her light brown eyes are clear. There’s no doubt. Only passion. Yes.
“If at any time you change your mind, say the word and I’ll stop.”
“At any time?”
“Songbird, I don’t care if I’m buried deep inside you about to come. If you say stop, I’m stopping. You’re mine to protect.”
“I’m not yours.”
Those words hurt. I want her to be mine. I want her to rejoice in being mine. But if she needs time to understand the truth of us, I’ll give it to her. I’ll give her anything she wants. She doesn’t even have to ask. It’s hers for the taking.
“For tonight you are.”
She looks up at me from beneath her lashes. “I can agree to this.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
I lift her in my arms and carry her into the bedroom of my suite. I lay her down on the bed before covering her with my body.
“I want to explore every inch of your body. With my hands and my tongue.” She squirms beneath me, and I smirk. “You approve of this idea?”
“As long as I get to touch you.”
“Songbird, you can touch me anywhere you want.”
She sneaks her hand between our bodies to squeeze my length. My cock weeps in response.
“This isn’t going to last long if you continue. ”
She squeezes again. The little minx.
“Do you want me to come in my shorts like a teenager?”
Her eyes flare. “Maybe.”
I capture her wrist and pin her arm to the bed. “You’re a troublemaker.”
She wraps her legs around my waist and grinds her core against my cock. I grit my teeth at how good it feels to have her heat so tantalizingly close.
“You said I can touch you wherever I want. Whenever I want.”
Two can play at this game. I get to my knees and whip off my shirt. She licks her lips before lifting her hands to glide them along my chest. I groan at finally having her touch me the way I’ve wanted since the first time I saw her.
“How much do you work out?”
“I’m a professional athlete. It’s literally my job to work out.”
“Go Seals!”
I chuckle. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
“I guess you'd better do something about that, Mr. Yard-Getter.”
I clasp the hem of her t-shirt and pull it off, leaving her in a bright pink bra. I trace a finger along the edge of the material. “This is pretty, but it has to go.”
She reaches behind her to unsnap the bra but I slap her hands away. “My job.”
I quickly rid her of her bra. “Damn. These are more magnificent than I imagined they would be.”
“Imagined them a lot, have you? ”
She has no idea. I’ve pictured her naked with my cock in my hand too many times to count.
I knead and caress her breasts until she’s squirming beneath me. I pluck her nipples and she moans as her back arches off the bed. I need to taste.
I lick and suck and nibble on her nipples until they’re hard points. She threads her hands through my hair to keep me right where I am. Don’t worry, songbird, I’m not going anywhere.
My cock disagrees. It pulses in my shorts. Impatient to be buried deep in Addy’s wet heat.
I slip my hand between our bodies until I reach her shorts. I snap them open and lower her zipper before shoving my hand beneath her panties to find her core.
“You’re wet,” I growl.
“Duh. What did you expect?”
I snort a laugh. Nothing Addy says is what I expect. It’s refreshing. And addictive.
“I expect you to come for me like a good girl.”
“Guess it’s time to find out if RunItGage has magic fingers.”
I’ll show her magic. I rip her shorts down her legs. And now she’s naked for me.
“Spread your legs.” She doesn’t hesitate. Fuck yeah. A woman who knows what she wants and isn’t hesitant to reach for it.
I glide my hands up her smooth legs until I reach her core. I plunge a finger into her pussy. Her walls quiver as she moans. Her moans are music to my ears but I want to hear her scream my name .
I pump into her a few times before adding a finger. She thrashes on the bed.
“Been a while, songbird?”
“Too long,” she breathes out.
Time to make up for lost time. I continue to thrust into her pussy while I guide my free hand to her breast. I massage and knead it as her moans fill the room.
It’s not long before her walls tighten around my fingers. “You want to come, songbird?”
She bobs her head and I press my palm against her clit as I continue to sink my fingers into her. Over and over until her breath hitches.
“Say my name when you come, songbird.”
Her eyes fly open and her gaze meets mine.
“Gage.”
“Yes, songbird. Come. Come all over my hand. And then I’ll make you come with my cock.”
Her mouth drops open, her head flies back, and her walls strangle my fingers. I can’t wait to feel those walls strangle my cock. If she feels this good on my fingers, she’s going to feel fucking magnificent when I sink into her.
“Gage,” she shouts. Her back arches off the bed as she climaxes.
I continue to glide in and out until her walls stop spasming. I remove my fingers and get to my knees.
“Now, it’s my turn. ”
Her chest heaves as she catches her breath. Her smile is wide. It’s a smile I want to see aimed my way every single day for the rest of my life.
This woman is mine. Not just for the night. For as long as she’ll have me. Hopefully forever.