Chapter 16
Mazzie
Two hours after the pep rally, I was at Lucas’s house with his closest football buddies, Ajax, Vin, Erik, and his roommate and best friend, Ryker.
The mood was chill, yet a hint of anxiety hung in the air.
The guys had been talking about the homecoming game the next day.
While they were excited, they were also apprehensive.
The team they were playing, Hill Country Bisons, was tough.
As they discussed plays and how they needed this win, Bailey, Haven, and Chasity, Ajax’s date, listened. Vin was the only single one among us.
I sat on the couch, snuggled against Lucas, who had his arm around me.
He hadn’t left my side since I walked in the door.
I wasn’t complaining. I wasn’t fighting the pull he had on me anymore.
I just prayed that, when the sun rose, the swirly feeling I had in my stomach would be because of him and not the hype of the pep rally or the Wolf Howl.
Bailey had a permanent smile on her face as she stared at me from the cocoon of Erik’s arms on the floor by the fireplace. She couldn’t stop gushing about Lucas and me in the car on the way here.
She’d never found Erik on the field nor had she been kissed by anyone. But she didn’t care. She was happy that she’d convinced me to go to the pep rally and then down on the field. “You don’t know how seeing you and Lucas kissing on the field made my night,” she’d said. “You two looked so in love.”
That pesky word hadn’t been in my vocabulary for any guy ever. I’d had a thing for a computer nerd, but it wasn’t puppy love or first love. My mom and her many suitors who’d broken her heart numerous times had closed me off to the idea of love.
But my sweaty palms, butterfly stomach, and constant thinking about Lucas combined into a feeling that both terrified and excited me at the same time.
Ajax took a sip from his bottled water. None of the guys were drinking alcohol because of the upcoming game. “Consider me shocked that the two of you found each other tonight. Thank God you did. I couldn't stand to see Lucas pout anymore.”
Vin chuckled. “And don’t forget the number draw. The whole damn stadium lost it when eleven popped up on the Jumbotron. Fate picked you, man.”
Erik added with a howl. “Yeah. Wolfie found his mate. Now we’re guaranteed to crush Hill Country.”
Lucas piped up with a blinding grin. “Fate or not, tomorrow is ours.”
“Damn straight,” Ryker added, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.
Chasity, the brunette tangled around Ajax, giggled. “Football aside, lots of girls wept tonight when the lights came on.”
I’d been too caught up in Lucas and the roar of the stadium to notice any girl crying.
“Didn’t the touchdown bunnies cry when you swept me off my feet?” Haven asked Ryker.
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Ryker kissed Haven on the head. “And you have it wrong. You swept me off my feet.”
Vin swiped a hand through his dark-red hair as he lounged in the oversized chair. “What I want to know, Lucas, is how you found Mazzie on the field. I mean, she is the girl you’ve been crying over, right? And with hordes of hungry females tonight, the odds weren’t in your favor.”
I perked up at Vin’s question because he was right. The odds had been astronomical that Lucas would find me or the number eleven flashing on the Jumbotron. If I didn’t believe in fate, I think I did now.
“I didn’t tell Lucas where she was,” Bailey said, raising her hands. “I couldn’t see my feet in front of me as it was.”
“I saw Mazzie fighting the crowd,” Lucas said. “I hopped the railing to help her.”
I lifted my head. “You could see?”
“The glow bracelets and dimmed lights helped before the stadium was thrown into darkness,” Lucas said.
“Wait,” Bailey said. “You were in the stands, Lucas?” Then she regarded Erik. “You too?”
The guys chuckled.
“At the last minute, we decided to change the playbook,” Ryker said. “Every year we’re expected to come out through the tunnel. So, half of the team used the tunnel, and the other half of us positioned ourselves in the stands.”
“It was brilliant,” Erik said.
Bailey appeared to be perturbed since she had told Erik where she would be.
I was sure the two would have words later, although it wasn’t like Bailey and Erik were in love or anything, at least not according to Bailey. “He’s just a fun hookup,” she’d said.
I had to wonder, though, because I knew my bestie. She was digging Erik more than she cared to admit.
Lucas was rubbing circles on my arm. “It wasn’t until I was on the field up close to Mazzie when I realized it was her.”
I lifted my gaze. “You didn’t give me a chance to breathe or anything.”
Lucas kissed me on the nose. “That was the whole point of the Wolf Howl. Catch you by surprise.”
“And kiss and run,” Vin reminded him. “Before the gal knows who you are.”
Lucas shrugged. “I wasn’t running from Mazzie. I had her, and I wasn’t letting go.”
Ryker stood then held out his hand to Haven. “We need to get some rest. Come on, babycakes.”
The rest of us followed Ryker’s lead.
Erik, Vin, and Ajax lived together at a house nearby, so they didn’t have far to go.
I hugged my bestie. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Pick me up in the morning.”
“You’re glowing,” she whispered in my ear. “He looks good on you. And don’t you dare think he will do the same thing to you that your mother’s boyfriends have done to her.”
I did worry about that, but tonight wasn’t the time. I was ready to lose my inhibitions to the most amazing guy, inside and out, who had walked into my life. Or rather, who I’d pushed into the pool in what felt like eons ago.
Several minutes later, after Lucas and I were alone in his room and lying on the bed, heads on pillows, arms tucked underneath, legs tangled together, I smiled at him.
“You’re beautiful, even more so when you smile.” He traced the outline of my lips. “Ajax tells me your first name is Maserati.”
“You want to talk about my name or even talk in general?”
His fingers danced down to my shirt-covered breasts.
“No, I want to make you come undone. I want to see that wild and free side of Mazzie come out to play. But I also want to admire your beauty.” He brought my hands to his heart.
“Feel that. My resting heart rate has been off the charts since I kissed you on the field.”
“The guys mentioned you’ve been sulking?”
“Maybe.” One side of his mouth turned up. “But not anymore, Midnight. Or should I call you Maserati?”
“Don’t you dare. My mom gave me that name after she and my dad screwed on the hood of his Maserati. I hate that name.”
“Wait. Your dad owns a Maserati?”
“His car dealership in Ohio is full of them.”
“Huh,” he mumbled as he rolled me on top of him. “So you have a rich daddy.”
I shrugged. “He pays my tuition and nothing more. He wouldn’t even think of helping my mother outside of child support. Again, do you really want to talk?” I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach.
His hands dove into my hair. “I don’t know how I got so lucky tonight. You’ve caught me off guard once again. It’s like you blew in like a midnight storm. You know, the one that sneaks in while you’re sleeping. Then boom! There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
“So that’s why you call me Midnight. Not because of my black hair.”
His hand slid down to my butt. “That and the color of your hair.”
“I like the nickname. A lot.”
He rolled us over so he was on top now. Then he kissed me—slowly, sensually, and softly—as if he had all the time in the world, and I desperately wished he did. Maybe the night would stretch out forever, because as I gave in to Lucas, everything about him and us felt right.
He broke the kiss then began to help me out of my clothes. The moment my breasts were free, my nipples hardened instantly.
He groaned as he took one nipple into his mouth, his tongue circling and flicking until I was squirming and fumbling to peel off his shirt. Desperate for skin on skin. Desperate to feel his body sliding along mine. Desperate to feel him inside me, on top of me, everywhere.
I reached for his shirt, but he shook his head. “Tonight is about you. It’s about making you feel special.”
“While I appreciate how tenderly you’re treating me, I need you naked.
I need you inside of me. I need to taste you as much as you want to taste me.
” I opened my legs and began flicking a finger over my clit.
“Besides, this night is not about me. It’s about us.
” I adjusted my body so I was kneeling on the bed.
He grabbed me by the back of my neck and hauled me to him. “Fuck, Midnight. I am so rock-hard, I’m about to explode.”
“Then do something about it.” I tugged his bottom lip between my teeth. “My tongue can do wonders to your cock.”
Lucas was off the bed, tearing off his clothes like he couldn’t get naked fast enough. He fumbled with the buttons on his team shirt before finally giving up and ripping it off, followed by everything else.
When he stood completely bare, I sighed like a girl in love. His cock was beautiful—thick, long, and perfect.
I slid to the edge of the bed, licking my lips. “Come here, big guy.”
“I won’t last a second, Maze.” He gripped his dick, his eyes heavy with lust as he stroked himself. “I prefer to be inside you.”
“Foreplay is fun.”
“I love your bossiness in the bedroom,” he said, inching closer to me.
I teased the tip of his cock, and he lurched forward. “Motherfucker.”
“That’s not my name.” I dragged my teeth along the soft skin.
“Midnight,” he barely said as he grabbed the sides of my head. “Take me deep?”
“My pleasure.” I sucked him until the tip of his cock hit the back of my throat.
“Please, I need to feel your pussy around me.” The pleasurable pain as he pleaded only made me suck and stroke him harder while my other hand played with his balls.
“Christ.” He pulled out then walked around the room. “I have to last longer than a few minutes. I have to savor this night.”
I loved the way he was looking at me with—dare I say—love in his eyes. That thought should’ve doused the flames burning inside me and between my legs, but it didn’t. Instead, it only made me want him more.
I scooted to the middle of the bed, opened my legs, and began playing with myself.
Stroking his dick, he watched me in quiet fascination as he walked over to his nightstand and pulled out a condom.
I shook my head. “No, I want to feel the real you, Lucas. I’m on birth control.”
It wasn’t just that I wanted to feel all of him. I wanted something real and not shielded by latex.
“I swear that I’m clean. We got tested at the start of the season, and I haven’t slept with anyone since July. And I would love to feel what it would be like inside you. I’ve never had sex without a condom.”
I put on a flirty smile. “Then what are you waiting for?”
He practically dove on the bed then hovered over my body, hands on either side of my head as he lowered his lips to mine. “I want to suck on your pussy first.”
“No, I want a repeat of our night together when we were fucking like rabbits.”
He let out a hardy laugh. “I haven’t told you this yet, but that night, your bossiness, the way you gave me a blow job, was the best sex I’d ever had.”
One thing I was loving about Lucas was his honesty. “Then fuck me, Hellion.”
His gaze never wavering from mine, he pressed the head of his cock against me, and I swore the air crackled like it did right before a thunderstorm. Then he slid against my folds, slick and swollen, taking his time and driving me mad as I pressed my hands on his tight ass, urging him to move.
He broke out with a lopsided grin as he filled me in one slow, pulse-pounding stroke.
I locked my legs around his hips as he pressed his forehead to mine. “You feel incredible.” I never wanted him to wear a condom again.
He groaned, deeply and hungrily, as he started to thrust in and out. We moved in sync like a well-rehearsed symphony, as if we were made for each other.
Then he reached down and hooked my knee higher on his waist, driving deeper inside me.
I dug my nails into his back and dragged them up, rocking my hips. “God, Lucas—”
“Say my name again.”
“Lucas, I’ve never needed anyone like I need you.”
He grunted and groaned as we dove into a rhythm, rolling around, me on top, him on top. We fucked, kissed. Our hands were everywhere yet nowhere.
I couldn’t get enough of him, and as afraid as I was of the morning after, I wanted to stay like this forever.
As our breaths became heavier and his thrusts faster, sweat poured off us, and I cried out. “Oh, Lucas.” He flexed his hips at the right angle, at the right spot, and my vision sparked. “I’m about to—”
“Come for me,” he said through a grunt. “I’m right there.”
Suddenly, as if his command was all I needed, I tensed against him. I opened my mouth to release that euphoria when he swallowed my scream with his mouth.
His body jerked as he pulsed inside me. We stayed locked together, breathing heavily as we came down from a high like I’d never felt before.
Then he rolled off me. “Amazing.”
I rested my head on his chest. “Aren’t you supposed to refrain from sex the night before a game?”
He rubbed my back. “Some guys are superstitious like that. But not me.”
“Do you really believe in the tradition of the Wolf Howl?”
“All of us on the team believe in the Wolf Howl. It’s worked so far since I’ve been at Lakemont.”
“Even the ‘wolf has found his mate’ thing?” I traced the outline of his lips.
“You know, wolves mate forever. They’re bonded.”
I pinched his nipple, playfully of course. “Is that so? I just gave into your charms. So don’t think I’m marrying you.”
He rolled me over and tickled me. “But we’re fated, Midnight.”
I wiggled and laughed as he continued to tickle me. I didn’t care what he called whatever this was, as long as I could do this every night with him.