Chapter Twelve #2
"She loves you."
"Yeah." Her gaze flickers across my face. "You know, I was never sure about that. My whole life, I always felt like her and my dad hated each other more than they loved me."
"Jesus." I pull her closer, like I can physically protect her from the pain of feeling that way.
"She apologized for making me feel that way," she says, her voice soft. "And she told me that she didn't want their mistakes to be mine. She also reminded me that I'm not them, and that I don't have to carry that weight. You know what I realized, though?"
"What's that?"
"It wasn't her permission I needed to let it go.
It was mine," she murmurs. "I spent so long caught in the middle that I just…
ran the first opportunity I had. But I never really learned how to put it all down.
I still carried it because I thought I had to.
I had to give myself permission to stop doing that. "
I dip my head, brushing my lips across her forehead. "You're so fucking strong, Serena. No kid should ever have to deal with what you did."
"I know," she whispers, reaching up to touch my cheek. "Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for pushing me." Her eyes meet mine. "Thank you for making me love you."
"Making you, huh?" I grin.
"Don't be so cocky, quarterback. It's not like you're irresistible or anything."
"Liar."
Her lips twitch, but she fights the smile, refusing to give in until I nip her shoulder, and then she caves, her body shaking with laughter.
I haul her underneath me.
"What are you doing?"
"Making you love me again," I murmur, my lips against hers.
"So coc—"
My phone interrupts.
Of course, the universe can't let me have one perfect moment.
"Ignore it," Serena moans, arching beneath me.
"That's the plan."
The phone keeps buzzing.
I try to ignore it, but it rings again.
And then again.
I snarl viciously, snatching the phone from the nightstand, ready to murder whoever the fuck is calling me right now.
"Who the fuck is dying right now?" I answer without checking the number.
"Austin!" Serena laughs quietly.
"Hey, bro. I fucked up," Sidney says, his voice wrecked.
"What happened?" I ask, instantly on alert.
"I…fuck," Sidney growls. "I may have gotten into a fight with one of my teammates. And it may have been caught on camera."
"What the fuck?"
"What?" Serena asks from beneath me, as nosy as ever. God, I love her for that.
"It's a long story. You got time?"
I glance at Serena beneath me, her eyes rife with curiosity, her body covered in my marks, her eyes glossy with need.
"Yeah, I got time," I sigh.
"Is Sidney okay?" Serena asks when I stomp back into the bedroom fifteen minutes later. She's still in bed, sitting up against the headboard with the blankets draped around her. One perfect tit peeks over the top, taunting me.
I stare at her for a long moment, my cock throbbing with need.
Sidney is going to have to deal with his own drama for half an hour. I've got my own situation to handle right now, and it can't wait.
"Austin!"
"What?"
"Is Sidney okay?"
"Yeah. Fuck." I scrub a hand across my face. "He'll be fine."
I stalk across the room toward her, not interested in talking about Sidney or the girl he's fallen in love with.
"What happened?"
"He punched his teammate in the face."
"What?" she gasps, blinking at me. "Why?"
"It's a long story."
She looks around the empty bedroom, her expression pointed. "I've got time."
"His teammate caught him fucking his sister," I growl, crawling onto the bed with her. "Sidney decided to end their argument about it by punching him in the face. Now, get on your back and spread your legs, baby."
"What? He was fucking his teammate's sister?" she cries.
"Is fucking," I correct, wrapping one hand around her ankle. "As in, has no plans to stop. On your back."
"You can't just tell me half the gossip and then expect me not to have—"
"On your back," I growl, dragging her down until she's flat on her back. I crawl over her, trapping her wrists above her head, and cover her mouth with mine. The kiss turns her complaint into a muffled whimper.
I yank one of her legs up over my thigh, pinning her where I want her, and slide inside.
She tries to scream, but it comes out a gasp that's half protest, half plea.
"Now you can talk, princess," I murmur, grinding my hips against hers.
She slaps my chest, laughing breathlessly. "I am not discussing what your brother is doing with his dick while yours is inside me, Austin Hawkes!"
"Good," I say, nipping at her throat as I slam into her again and then again. "Then shut up and come on my cock like a good fiancée."
She throws her head back, her body arching up to meet me. "You can't just distract me—"
I cut her off with another kiss, fucking her so hard she can't remember her own name, let alone the details of my brother's drama.
She buries her face in my shoulder, moaning my name. "You are such a menace," she whispers, but there's not a single trace of accusation in her voice, only love, only joy.
"You love this menace," I remind her, my lips at her ear.
"Yeah," she whispers, her eyes shining with something that makes my heart thud unevenly against my ribcage. "I really fucking do."
I bury my face in her throat, breathing her, thanking God that she's mine. That she's here. That I'm inside her right now with my ring on her finger. That this—me and her—is forever.
Finally.