3. Noah
Noah
Seeing Bliss at the party the Titans’ owner threw to welcome me to the team completely caught me off guard. It wasn’t how I’d planned our first meeting in seven years. I’d had an entire strategy, and of all the people to cause a foul, it was her own family.
I knew Evan Cutter was her cousin. When I’d gotten the offer from the Titans after they’d fired their last head coach following the douchebag’s recent scandal, Evan was one of the top reasons I’d accepted the position.
He was the youngest player on the team, but he was also one of the most talented. I’d been following his career since he was in high school, then his single year of college ball. Evan went quickly in the draft, and I’d studied enough of his game film to know he was an asset to the team.
What he didn’t know was that he was going to be one of my ins to win his cousin back.
Everyone on the team had shown up for the party, bringing dates and friends to meet me.
That Evan brought a date wasn’t all that surprising.
He was in enough tabloids with Caprice Knight for it not to be a secret they were friends.
It was rumored they were more, but with how she’d acted all night, I had serious doubts.
Mostly, Evan had babysat her all evening, trying to keep her out of trouble when she flirted with other players.
Sometimes right in front of those players’ significant others.
I was genuinely surprised she didn’t end up knocked out by more than one pissed-off wife. After observing for a while, though, I realized that the team mostly considered her like one would an annoying fly buzzing around. For the most part, everyone tried to ignore her.
It was Evan’s second guest who truly threw me.
He’d invited his cousin Damien, Bliss’s brother.
I’d never met the guy before, just as I’d never gotten the chance to meet anyone in her family while we were together.
That was on me. I’d been so insistent on keeping our relationship a secret, I’d threatened to end things if she told anyone about us, including her family.
I couldn’t deny that I’d been an asshole back then, but I’d been working on myself since losing her.
Once I’d made the rounds with the team’s owner and the GM, I socialized with the players for a little while, letting them introduce me to their own guests.
Rapport was good for building communication skills with my team.
I wanted them to think of me as a family member, one they actually liked, but also respected.
Being a tyrant only got a coach so far. It took more than fear to win championships.
My methods had worked well enough that I had five college championships.
But college players were different from the boys in the pros.
Egos got in the way. I knew of more than one player I’d have to teach about the real teamwork it took to get those rings they craved.
While I spent time getting to know some of the other players, I’d kept Damien Stevenson in my periphery, working my way toward him so it wouldn’t look suspicious when I did speak to him.
By then, Damien looked stressed, glancing at his phone every thirty seconds while keeping up a cordial conversation with me.
At first, I’d wondered if he knew who I was—the man who’d broken his sister’s heart—but then he’d complained about Caprice, and I realized he was watching his phone to see when his ride arrived so he could leave.
“Caprice doesn’t understand the meaning of personal boundaries. If I’d known she was going to be here tonight, I wouldn’t have come,” Damien confided with a grimace. “Just between us, Coach, if she ever gets you alone in a room, get the fuck out of there.”
“Why does Cutter put up with her?” I asked, curious as I watched Evan follow the blonde through the crowd, tugging her back whenever she got too close to one of the players whose wife was giving her the stink eye.
“Blind loyalty?” It came out as a question more than a statement.
“Sheer stupidity? I’ve been asking myself the same thing for years, man, and I still don’t know what the answer is.
Mostly, though, it’s her taking advantage of his hero complex.
She’s not even a tenth as fragile as she tries to make him believe she is.
I don’t think he’s in love with her or anything, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up married to her one day for no other reason than he can’t tell her no. ”
I could see both concern and disgust on Damien’s face. He obviously didn’t want his cousin to end up in any kind of relationship with the young blond woman. I made a mental note to attempt to steer my star player away from his potential downfall.
That was the thought that was still playing in my head when I spotted her. Bliss didn’t simply walk with purpose toward her brother. She rolled in like a storm—fast, furious, potentially deadly. And I couldn’t fucking breathe, let alone think clearly.
She was dressed in only a pair of small sleep shorts and an old hoodie from college that was the tiniest bit snug over her ample chest, showcasing she wasn’t wearing a bra.
My tongue got tangled in my mouth trying to contain the flood of saliva at the delectable sight of this beautiful creature standing close enough to touch for the first time in years.
God damn it, years. I was a fucking idiot for wasting so much valuable time with her.
Seeing the fire in her blue-gray eyes aimed at her brother, I was transported back to the night I’d ended our relationship and the vile things I’d said to her.
The hurt that had crossed her lovely face, those shimmering tears as she’d stood in her living room looking up at me like I was a stranger, followed by the spark of rage that had ignited deep in her eyes, would haunt me forever.
I’d known I was making a mistake even as the words spilled out of me.
I had no excuse for how I’d behaved that night, other than I’d been scared for possibly the first time in my adult life.
I’d loved Bliss so damn much, but she was a student and I was technically still a staff member.
My boss had almost found out about us, and he was sniffing around.
If he’d discovered our relationship, I would have lost my job, along with my entire career.
Fraternizing with a student was something that would have followed me everywhere, and I’d just gotten an offer too good to be true.
Bliss would have come with me if I’d asked, but then our relationship would have come to light. So, I’d ended it with her. My methods had destroyed her. I’d known it then, just as I knew she was still struggling with it as I looked down at her now. Seven years and she still hadn’t gotten over it.
My heart ached for the pain she still felt, but at the same time, it gave me hope.
Even if she hated me now, I’d take it. Hate wasn’t indifference, which was what I’d been most afraid of.
I could work with hate. With enough nurturing, I could turn it back into love.
And this time, there was no risk of destroying my career.
I was no longer a college basketball coach.
It wouldn’t matter if anyone found out about our previous relationship at this point.
I’d proven myself, had the wins, the undefeated seasons, the five championships.
I could finally love this woman in public, give her all of myself, fulfill every dream she’d ever had.
Bliss walked away from me, dragging her brother with her. I followed, knowing it was a risk, given the amount of steam that was practically blowing out of her ears. But then the team’s owner cut me off. He shoved a glass of something amber in my hand, then tapped his own tumbler to mine.
Pasting on a tight smile, I pretended to listen, realizing it was for the better that I didn’t catch Bliss yet.
She’d probably take my head off before I had the chance to tell her how much I’d missed her.
It was better to wait, have the original first meeting that I’d planned, and give her a chance to cool down.
Two hours later, I stepped off the elevator and walked toward my apartment. But instead of pulling out my keys and opening my own door, I paused in front of my neighbor’s and knocked twice.
“Fuck’s sake,” Bliss muttered. I bit back a smile.
She cursed like a sailor, and I didn’t think that was simply because she’d grown up surrounded by rock stars.
With another string of expletives, she opened the door too quickly for her to have bothered to check who it was through the peephole.
“All I want is to read this book and eat my cheesecake…”
Her voice trailed off as her gaze traveled up my body and finally landed on my face. Her mouth dropped open in surprise, the faintest little whimper leaving her before she snapped her mouth shut and the surprise turned into a glare.
I took my time letting my eyes feast on the sight of her.
She was still in the same clothes she’d been in at the party, her hair twisted into a knot on top of her head that barely reached my sternum.
I ached to tuck back a few strands that floated around her face, but if she flinched away from my touch the way she had back at the party, I wasn’t sure my legs would continue to support me.
Her lips looked ripe as always, bare of any lip gloss. They’d always had a natural nude-honey color to them. When I kissed her, they would plump so pretty. And when she sucked my cock, fuck! Those damp, lush lips starred in so many of my most erotic dreams.
I ached to kiss her. Just grab the back of her head, swoop down, and take what I craved—the taste of her mouth. Then more, every inch of her, until I had my tongue deep in her tight cunt while she rode my face.
“What are you doing here, Noah?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest, further emphasizing that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Christ, I’d always loved her tits. They were perfectly proportioned for my giant hands. And I couldn’t even think about her ass without my cock aching.
Mentally, I tried to scrub the hot thoughts from my mind so I could focus.
This wasn’t part of my plan for our first meeting, any more than seeing her at the party had been. Nothing was going as I’d imagined, but I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if I hadn’t seen her at least one more time that night. “I wanted to make sure you got home safely.”
Thankfully, she’d never moved from the apartment she’d lived in when she was in college.
Obtaining the unit directly across from her had been somewhat difficult, given that the previous occupant had lived there for two decades already, with no desire to relocate.
I ended up paying triple what the place was worth and arranged for the man to get lifelong courtside seats to every Titans’ home game. It was money well spent.
I would have willingly paid ten times more than what I had to be this close to Bliss.
“As you can see, I’m here and in one piece.” She grabbed the door, her tone dropping to a snarl. “Now, get lost. Oh, and forget my address.”
Before I could blink, she slammed the door in my face.