Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Daisy
The knock on the door forces my gaze from my phone and I open it numbly. Jamie’s broad shoulders fill the doorway, and I blink at him. What’s he doing here? He’s never come to my room on a trip before. And I haven’t for him either. It’s a line we haven’t crossed, going into each other’s hotel rooms. We may be close friends, but it seems strange going to a player’s bedroom. Especially when there are usually roommates.
He scans me quickly and frowns. Some of the anxiety must show on my face, and I step back when he opens the door wider and enters my hotel room for the first time. The door snaps closed in the quiet room. He’s lucky it’s my turn for a room to myself, so we don’t need to worry about a roommate.
“What’s the matter?” he asks, staying close enough to feel his chest on my crossed arms when he breathes.
“Nothing.”
“Then you walking like a zombie to the lift and barely recognising me just now is nothing? Barely able to smile in training, is you fine?”
I shake my head and step away from him to move deeper into the room. The feel of his shirt is distracting. His scent is heady, some sort of bergamot spice thing, different to the generic soap they use after games, and it’s going straight to my head. I collapse on the foot of the bed, and he crouches in front of me, on the—probably disgusting—hotel carpet.
“I’m fine, really. Sage called. Apparently, Westley decided now would be a great time to eat a sock.” I pinch the bridge of my nose in an attempt to stop the inevitable headache. “He’s at the vet. He’ll be fine, but…”
“But you want to be with him.” Jamie rubs his hands on my knees in soothing circles.
“Yeah. I love this job and still can’t believe I work for the freaking national rugby team, but sometimes I miss home.”
“I get that. Especially when you miss big family moments. When my oldest sister gave birth, I didn’t meet my nephew in person until he was six weeks old.” He scrubs a hand through his hair. “She was pissed.”
“I bet you made it up to her.”
“Yep, but I would have loved to be there to support her and the family. Like you want to be with Westley, even though you know he’ll be okay.”
I pull at a loose thread in my jumper, a large cable-knit in sky-blue Poppy designed for me. I keep forgetting to ask her to fix it. “Sometimes I think about leaving. Joining a physio practice and having a nine-to-five, but this is the dream, you know?” Jamie rises from the floor and sits beside me on the bed and I bounce from the force of it. “But then I feel like an idiot. I’ve wanted this for so long. I don’t want to throw it away because I miss my dog and family.” I huff and cross my arms tightly to stop myself oversharing and ignore the heat in my cheeks. Jamie’s my friend. He would never use what I say against me, but it’s hard telling someone I might want to leave the national team.
“I know exactly what you mean. Don’t tell anyone—” he waits for my promise “—but sometimes I look forward to retirement.”
I swallow a shocked gasp. “You’re retiring?” He is one of the oldest on the team, but he still has a few years left in him if he wants to continue.
“Probably next season or the one after. I think if I do more than another two seasons, my body will cark it.” He looks at me ruefully. “You’re my physio. You know exactly what’s happening to my body and how long it takes to recover when I get injured.”
He’s not wrong. While he hasn’t injured himself in a while, I practically tape his whole body before a game and training. “Getting out before rugby takes your body isn’t a bad idea. Don’t need the concussion effects.” We share a quiet look, filled with the terrifying knowledge of what multiple concussions can do to a rugby player and their family. No one wants that.
“Well, if you leave before I retire,” he says in a bright voice, “I’ll refuse the new physio and hunt you down at your new practice.”
I laugh and scoot up the bed until I’m leaning against the pillows, already feeling the tight knot of anxiety loosen having him here. “So I’m not allowed to leave until you do?”
“Who would drive me home from Eden Park?”
“A taxi?” I reply in a saccharine voice.
He joins me at the pillows. “But they won’t be as pretty as you. And they won’t know our handshake.”
Breath catches in my throat, and I force myself to inhale. He thinks I’m pretty?
Jamie stares at me. His warm brown eyes are dark and completely focused on me. He leans closer and I hold my breath, staying completely still, waiting to see what he does and if it involves kissing me.
His breath brushes my cheek, and my eyes fall closed. My heart beats through my chest, and my hands shake slightly. His lips land on the corner of my mouth, warm and soft, and then he pulls away.
“Want to watch a movie? Talking about retiring is depressing, and I don’t want you obsessing about your pup,” Jamie says calmly, as if he didn’t just kiss the corner of my mouth and call me pretty.
With trembling, sweaty hands, I tuck hair behind my ears. “What about your card game?” When we have a game outside of Auckland, he always plays a card game with Suli and whoever else is around.
“Nah. I like it better here.”
“Okay. What do you want to watch?” So we’re ignoring what happened. I can do that. Probably. Maybe not, but if that’s what he wants, I’ll ignore it until he leaves and then remember his lips on the corner of mine. In detail.
“You have your laptop? We could watch Westley’s namesake,” Jamie suggests, getting more comfortable on the bed until he’s propped up with two pillows.
I haven’t been this close to him since he hugged me when we were looking for Westley. I’ve missed feeling him close. Feeling how warm he is and wishing I could burrow into his chest.
“You’d watch The Princess Bride with me?”
“Sure. What’s not to like? Cool swords, revenge.” He smirks. “Hot blondes.”
My lips tip up. “Oh, Jamie, I didn’t know you’re bi. Cary Elwes is definitely a hot blond. And he does whatever Buttercup wants. The perfect man.”
He snorts. “I meant Robin, but Cary has his moments. Totally knew what he was doing with the whole ‘as you wish’ business. Can’t go wrong with that. So, you wanna watch it? I’ll even get off this comfy bed to find your laptop and put it on.”
“I’d love to watch it with you.”
“As you wish, Daisy.” He grins at me and grabs my laptop from the desk.
A shiver runs down my spine when he says that, and I rub my arms briskly to get rid of the goosebumps he inspired. If he wants me to forget the press of his lips, quoting my favourite movie—with a love confession no less—is not the way to dry the wetness between my legs or stop the clenching in my cunt. I’d take Jamie over a blond any day. I’d even take him over Westley, the character not my dog.
Jamie hands me the laptop and lies on the bed beside me. I set the laptop on a pillow between us and click play on the movie and settle into the bed beside him. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and tugs me closer until my head rests on his chest. I sigh and can’t stop myself from nuzzling my face into him and inhaling his intoxicating scent. I ignore the implications of having one of the players in my room and enjoy it.
Sage texts that Westley’s fine, and exhaustion hits me.
My eyes become heavy, and I shut them to the sound of Westley rolling down the hill yelling ‘as you wish.’
* * *
I’m on my side and shift my hips back, wriggling in the tight hold. Heat runs through me and pools between my legs. My hands fist the covers, and I sigh when a hand drifts down my stomach and rests on my pubic bone, fingers spread wide, pinky finger not quite where I want it but close enough to drive me crazy. An arm is banded around my breasts and there’s a wall behind me. A very warm wall. My hips shift restlessly, hoping the fingers will dip lower, and I encounter something hard pressed against my ass. My brow creases, and I roll my hips experimentally.
There’s a groan above my head. “If you keep doing that, I’ll either disgrace myself or shift my hand lower.” His voice is husky with sleep.
I blink my heavy eyes open and frown in the darkness. There’s some light coming from the bathroom and I’m in bed, under the covers, with Jamie wrapped around me. We must have fallen asleep during the movie. From what I can tell, I’m still in the leggings and jumper I was in when Jamie showed up at my door. I swallow thickly and realise what he said.
And I want it.
I want him to move his fingers. I want to roll over and tug his pants off and feel him between my legs and the heat of his mouth on mine. He’s my friend, but he’s more than that. He means so much to me. This might be my only chance to kiss him. What with working together and the fact I don’t know if he’s interested in me long term…
Unless he is? He’s the one that changed our handshake to include a kiss and came to my hotel room.
“Sorry, I’ll leave. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” His hand drifts to my hip, but I catch it.
“You should,” I say, and ignore the tremble in my voice.
“Do what?”
“Move your hand lower.” I roll my hips again, teasing his erection pressed against my ass. “Or the other thing.”
Jamie clears his throat and turns his hand under mine to link our fingers. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I shift to my other side so I can see his face, and our chests press together. His arm stays under me and the other grasps my hand as soon as I’m settled. “I’d like that.”
It’s hard to see his face in the dark despite the light from the bathroom. I can see a tiny furrow between his brows and feel his breath on my face. I release his hand to run fingers up his arm to his shoulder and draw back when I encounter hot skin under mine instead of material. “You don’t have a shirt on.”
“No.”
“Why not?” My fingers explore the bare skin, so warm he’s like a heater.
I’m intimately familiar with his body because of my job, but I’ve never touched him like this, just for me and him. Only ever to make sure his body is prepared for a game and isn’t injured. Never just because. Because I can and want to make him feel good. My hand drifts to his chest and rests over his racing heart.
“You fell asleep during the movie and I didn’t want to leave you, but I don’t like sleeping in my clothes so…” he trails off and I feel his shrug under my hand. “I didn’t mean to get so close to you, but I’m kind of glad it happened.” Jamie releases the hand he’s holding and covers my hand on his chest instead. He lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles, and my stomach swoops like I’m falling from a rollercoaster. Excitement mixed with fear.
“So am I,” I whisper. “Are you wearing pants?”
“Just my briefs.”
I hum. “I like the sound of that.” I untangle my hand from his and cup his cheek, rough with stubble, and rest my thumb below his bottom lip. “Thank you for distracting me and spending time with me tonight. I appreciate it.”
“Anything for you, Daze. Anything,” he swears. His lips shift under my thumb while he talks, and I can’t stop myself.
Work is the last thing on my mind as I guide his mouth to mine.
Our lips meet in a soft press and from that touch, I know there’s no going back for me. Not that I thought there was, but after feeling his lips on mine, feeling him press gently and catch my bottom lip in his mouth? There’s absolutely no going back.
He’s it for me.
I surge forward and tease his lips with my tongue, begging him to open and let me in, and when he does, lights flash behind my eyes and he moans into my mouth. The sound urges me on, and my thighs tense when I clench around nothing.
His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and my hand shifts to the back of his head to bury my fingers in his thick hair. When spots appear in my vision, I pull away panting, desperate for breath so I can attach my mouth to his again and never leave.
Jamie heaves for breath like he does on the field and lifts a shaking hand to push hair out of my eyes. His fingers brush the shell of my ear and drift down my neck before sweeping up to brush tantalisingly over my swollen lips.
I inhale sharply, and all I smell is him. He’s here beside me and this is real and it’s happening. My eyes widen. “I don’t have any condoms.”
His forehead drops to mine and he groans, but not in the fun way. “Damn it. Neither do I.”
I kiss his thumb and sling my leg over his hip. I roll my hips forward, mirroring when he was spooning me, until I feel his bulge pressing against my core. “There are other things we can do.”
He thrusts into me. “That’s true.”
Jamie captures my lips while we adopt a slow roll of our hips into each other. While I was looking forward to having him inside me, and one day I hope I will, the feeling of him nudging my clit through the seam of my leggings every time he rolls forward is driving me insane.
My skin is hot, and my heart races, and I can feel wetness soaking my underwear the longer I rub myself against him. He gasps when I yank him closer with my leg, and my fingers dig into his back when he shifts, so I’m flat on my back and can feel his weight on me.
He drops his hips lower, grinding himself on my clit, the extra weight he dropped on me making it better, making the sensations sparking through me stronger. I lift my legs to wrap around his waist and urge him to drop more of his weight on me, so I’m completely surrounded by him.
He takes the hint until he’s grinding me into the mattress and kisses down my neck, pausing to swirl his tongue on my pulse, and dips his head to lick my nipple through my clothes.
He’s taller than me and when he bends his head to reach my nipples, he stops hitting my clit, so I drag his head back to my lips and while I’m sucking on his tongue, I reach around my back to unhook my bra and drag it off through the hole in my sleeve. I can’t believe I managed to sleep with it on, but it’s dulling the sensation and I need it gone.
Jamie breaks the kiss when he realises what I did and his eyes lock on my nipples, poking holes through my jumper. “Impressive.”
He ducks his head to suck them, but before he can, I catch his chin in my hand and drag him back to my lips. “As much as I’d like your mouth on me,” I pant, “you’re too tall, and when you do that you stop hitting the fun spot. Fingers today, okay, lovely?”
We’ve moved closer to the light with our frantic grinding, and his expression softens when I call him lovely. “I can do fingers.”
He rises to his knees and strokes his thumbs over my nipples, and it’s like I’ve been fucking electrocuted. My body goes taut, and I squeak. He tugs them, and I throw my head back and drag a hand down his chest to rest low on his stomach, right on the trail of hair I constantly force myself not to look at. His muscles flex as he moves into me; the strong body that takes hits on the field working me higher and higher.
“Jamie, you need to come first. And soon.”
“Why?” He frowns, but picks up his pace.
“If I come, I’ll be asleep in two minutes,” I confess. We lock eyes and laugh. Our rhythm falters, and he drops his head to my neck.
“You’d leave me as soon as you come?”
“I’d try not to.” A high-pitched noise escapes me when he gets the angle just right. “But I can tell this is gonna be good—” which, quite frankly, is a surprise from humping each other like we’re in high school, but something about Jamie gets me halfway there just by kissing him “—and I don’t want to leave you hanging.”
He pants in my ear, “If you’re nearly there, don’t worry. I’ll be there in five seconds.” His sentence ends in a drawn-out moan that sends shivers through me. I turn my head to meet his lips, stubble scrapes my cheeks and he thrusts once, twice, and rips his lips from mine to groan into my skin.
I slip my hand between us to press my clit hard over the seam of my leggings and throw my head back as my mouth falls open and my body shakes.
I sigh in contentment and tilt my head slightly to press a small kiss on Jamie’s lips. He shifts to my side but throws a leg over mine. My forehead rests against his and my eyes fall closed. My breathing evens out and sleep is within my grasp while I’m wrapped around Jamie, but then he speaks.
“Clean up first, then sleep.”
I don’t even have the energy to shake my head, just stay in the same position. Who cares about clean up when you’re this cosy and have a rugby player wrapped around you? When you have Jamie wrapped around you.
“Come on, darling.” Hands slip under my body and hoist me in the air. I blink my sleepy eyes open and meet Jamie’s amused gaze. He kisses my forehead and says, “Clean up will be quick, and then we’ll be back in bed. Together.”
“Okay,” I mumble, “but only because you’re staying. Right?” I can’t be bothered worrying about our jobs, or that he’s my friend, when I’m this warm and want to fall asleep in his arms. There will be time to figure it out later.
“Of course I’m staying.”
We sort ourselves out quickly. New underwear for me and Jamie slips into his pants, sans briefs, and lifts me in his arms again and places me on the bed. He climbs in beside me and wraps his arms around me, holding me close. One of his hands rests on my stomach and it rises each time I breathe. It’s strangely comforting, and I drift off to sleep with Jamie at my back.
When I wake again, it’s because sunlight has entered the room, and I stretch in bed with a yawn. My limbs don’t encounter anyone else in the bed, which means Jamie has left. I turn my head to double-check, and all I see is the indent on the pillow. The sheets are still warm, so he left recently. My eyes snag on the glowing clock, and I shove the sheets away.
Shit. That’s why he left. Everyone needs to be at breakfast in twenty minutes before we start preparing for the game tonight.
I hop in the shower and am scrubbing my hair with the provided shampoo when what happened last night hits me.
A player stayed in my room.
I got off with the hooker for our national rugby team.
And I’m his physio.
Shit, shit, shit.
I’m extremely lucky it was my turn without a roommate. There’s an uneven amount of staff on the medic team, so we rotate who gets a room to themselves for away games.
I tense and stare at the beige tiles. But Jamie has a roommate. I don’t know who it is for this stretch of games, but please, god, let it be someone who doesn’t gossip.
“Ow, fuck.” I slap a hand over my eye that now has shampoo in it, burning the warm, happy feelings away. I flush my eye with water and finish showering.
But it wasn’t just any player. It was Jamie. Jamie, my friend, who’s always there for me and makes me smile.
Jamie, who I want to be with.
I sit on the bed heavily and run my hands through my tangled wet hair.
I want to be with him. I want to carpool with him forever. Want to live together in his villa and meet his family and adopt another dog so Westley isn’t lonely.
My heart beats so fast I feel faint and the room’s walls shift in my vision.
Right.
I think I’m in love with him.
I laugh into the silent room and scrub a hand over my mouth. I’m in love with Jamie.
The code of conduct just went out the window.
This is going to complicate things.
We need a plan. A plan for what happens when we get home to make sure neither of us gets in trouble. But first, we need to survive the games with South Africa, and I need to figure out if Jamie wants more with me or if it was a one-time thing.
It’s a plan. Survive the next two weeks and when we’re back in NZ, figure out how to avoid being fired and losing my licence.
Okay, so it’s not much of a plan, but it’s all I’ve got.