Chapter 11
RHODES
Ishot a text off to Finley while I stood in line, waiting to check into my hotel.
Me
I miss you like crazy, baby.
Finley
Me, too. Don’t worry, by the time we see each other again, it will only feel like hours instead of days. <3
So far, the hours already felt like days. Over the past week, we’d been together as often as possible. I’d even started hinting at her moving her shit to my place. She stayed there every night anyway. But she still insisted that we wait until after the big game. Assuming we won this one first.
I’d absolutely hated leaving her naked, satisfied, and asleep in my bed this morning. I wanted so much to tell her I loved her, but I didn’t want to say it until we didn’t have to keep it a secret.
Me
You better be waiting for me in our bed when I get home Sunday night.
Naked and ready to celebrate.
Finley
Deal.
I chuckled and was about to reply when the desk agent called, “Next!”
As I stepped up to the counter, Gage clapped me on the shoulder. “We’re meeting in Coach’s suite to watch tapes if you’re interested.”
I slid my ID across the counter to the clerk and stretched my neck from side to side. “Maybe. I’m fucking beat, though, so I might just crash tonight.”
“Up late with your woman?” he asked with a smirk.
I scowled at his innuendo. I didn’t want anyone thinking about Finley and sex. “Actually, I was thinking about the fucking hard workout we were put through yesterday,” I muttered.
Gage’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not that much of a pussy,” he muttered suspiciously. Then he snickered as understanding crossed his face.
“Here are your keys, sir.”
I nodded my thanks to the woman behind the desk and took the two small envelopes she handed me.
“You’re going to call Finley, then spend the rest of the night sulking,” Gage accused with a roll of his eyes.
“I don’t sulk, asshole. But I am going to call my woman and then get a good night’s sleep before we have to play tomorrow.”
Gage shook his head with a laugh, then lifted his chin in farewell and headed toward the elevators.
I followed slowly, taking a look at my key to check what floor I was on. That’s when I realized the woman had given me a key for two different rooms. Frustrated that I had to go deal with this shit, I turned around, but before I took a step, I heard Brady call my name.
He jogged over and gestured to the keys. “It’s not a mistake. I suggest you go to the one on the twentieth floor.”
“Why?” If it were one of the single guys, I would have been worried about what awaited me. But seeing how the information came from Brady, I was more curious than anything.
“I don’t know. We never had this conversation. Enjoy your night.” He waved and stalked off, leaving me even more confused.
Hefting my bag up higher on my shoulder, I moseyed to the elevator and pressed the button for the twentieth floor.
A letter appeared on the screen, and I looked up to find the corresponding lift.
Once it arrived, I stepped in and looked around, assuming at least one of my other teammates waiting around would be headed to the same floor.
But no one moved in my direction, and the doors slid shut.
When the car slowed to a stop and opened, I walked out into a typical hotel hallway.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but everything looked normal.
Shaking my head at myself, I padded over the thick carpet to the room at the end of the hall.
Above the numbers were the words, “Peony Suite.” I sighed like the lovesick fool that I was. Peonies were Finley’s favorite flower.
Removing the card from the little envelope, I tapped it against the card reader, and it flashed green before I heard the click of the lock disengaging. I pushed open the door into a little entryway and frowned when I saw the lights on. What the fuck?
Why had Brady sent me to this room if someone was already staying there?
“Hello?” I called as I entered. “I think I have the wrong room, but—”
“You definitely have the right room.”
I froze, my pulse skyrocketing, even though I was sure my ears were deceiving me. It couldn’t be. Could it?
My bag dropped to the floor, and I hurried into the living room area of the suite and stopped dead in my tracks.
“Please be real,” I croaked as I stared at what appeared to be my Finley, standing in front of a bank of glass windows that looked out over the city, wearing a sexy as fuck, lacy black teddy.
I swallowed hard as my eyes scanned her from the blond pile of hair on her head, to the cups of the lingerie that looked as if they could barely contain her tits, the lace covering her stomach, the strip of fabric that disappeared between her legs, the garters that held up silky, black thigh-highs, and her black, stiletto, fuck-me heels.
“Surprise,” she said with a husky laugh. “I’m very real. Why don’t you come over here and feel for yourself?”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. This was even better than the deal she’d just agreed to in our texts.
When I reached her, I’d already shed my coat, jacket, tie, and shirt. “What are you doing here?” I asked incredulously. Then I shook my head. “Never mind. I don’t care. You can tell me after.”
Finley giggled and put her hands on her waist, cocking out one hip. “After?”
The movement caused her legs to part a little, and I almost choked when I saw the strip of fabric covering her pussy pull slightly apart. Holy motherfucking hell. There was a slit for easy access.
“After,” I confirmed before I tugged her into my arms and slammed my mouth down onto hers.
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” I murmured while I doodled with my finger on Finley’s back. We were cuddled up in bed after I’d fucked her twice, once in the lingerie and once out, then made love to her soft and slow.
She raised her head and crossed her arms over my chest, resting her chin on them.
“I wanted to support you. Since Uncle Lennox is at home with Brie, I thought this would be the perfect game to come to. I can wear your number, and Brady brought Talia, so we’ll be cheering you on from the visitor section.
” She grinned, clearly proud of herself.
“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull this off without you figuring it out, so I went to Talia for help.
And your face when you walked in here…completely worth it. ”
“You can surprise me like that anytime, baby,” I quipped with a wink. Then I sobered as I thought about the rest of her plan. “What about the press?”
She shrugged. “Why would they care about some random woman in the stands?”
“Baby, have you seen all the shit circling that singer and the other football player?”
“Yeah, but they are both famous. No one will care about me.”
“First of all,” I said in a firm tone, “I care about you, but that’s not the point.
You’re the niece of a billionaire who happens to be the boss of the famous football player you’re dating.
Trust me. It will blow up. If they catch wind of us, and remember, you’ll be with the wife of one of my teammates, Lennox will find out on social media.
I don’t want it to happen that way, baby.
He needs to hear it from me. I owe him that. ”
“How did I get so lucky?” she asked softly, staring up at me with starry eyes.
“That’s my question,” I answered, tracing her plump lips with the tip of one of my fingers. “I love that you came here, Finley. That you want to support me, but…”
“I’ll wear sunglasses and a ball cap with my hair tucked up in it. Trust me, Rhodes. Talia and I prepared for this.”
I frowned, frustrated that my woman was here to cheer me on, but no one could know she was here.
Finley sighed. “It’s just until after the season. I don’t want to make waves and cause anything that could mess you guys up. Not when you’re so close to making it to the championship game.”
I sighed and dragged her up so she was sprawled over my body, our mouths just centimeters apart.
“I know, baby. I get it. And in case I didn’t make it clear, because I’m a jackass, I’m really happy you’re here and are going to be in the stands tomorrow.
Wearing my number.” Then I kissed her, grabbing her ass and grinding my rapidly hardening cock into her pussy.
“Just be prepared to be bent over and fucked from behind so I can see my brand on you when you come.”
After our awesome, conference-winning game and a few on-field interviews, I looked up into the stands, immediately spotting Talia and Finley jumping around and hugging each other.
Brady walked up beside me, and we both laughed at the sight.
Then the girls waved and blew us kisses right before we disappeared into the tunnel.
We hurried into the locker room with the rest of the team who were whooping and hollering because we’d just secured our spot in the big game.
“Thanks for watching my back,” Prentice said with a shit-eating grin as he gave me a big bear hug.
I started to say something back when our attention was drawn to someone stepping up onto a bench and shouting for everyone to shut it.
Oh shit.
It was Lennox.
I barely heard his congratulatory speech because I ran through possible scenarios in my mind. Almost all of them had negative outcomes. I needed to get to my phone and warn Finley. We were supposed to meet in the hotel lobby after the game and go to dinner. But if Lennox was with us…dammit.
It occurred to me that I could pull him aside before we left the stadium and finally tell him the truth, but I didn’t want to do it without talking to Finley first.
When he finished, I clapped along with everyone else, then hurried to undress and sent Finley a quick text before heading for the showers.
Brady fell into step beside me as I walked out of the showers and toward my locker.
“I had no idea he’d decided to come,” he said, his voice pitched low so only I would hear him.
“I called Talia, and she called Brie. She didn’t want him to miss the game, so she invited her friends, Avery and Emma, to come stay with her while he was gone.
Then she basically kicked him out of the house. ”
I grunted in acknowledgment before dropping the towel from around my waist and pulling on a pair of boxers. “Doesn’t matter why or how it happened. I have to figure out how to deal with this.” I grabbed my slacks and yanked them up my legs.
Brady ran his hands through his hair with a frustrated sigh. “The thing is…”
Something in his voice made me suspicious. I looked at him as I zipped and buttoned my pants. “Spit it out, Summers,” I growled, taking my dress shirt off the hanger and putting it on.
“Finley was with Talia when I called.”
Fucking hell.
I quickly knotted my tie, then shoved my arms into the sleeves of my suit coat. “Did she hear?” I asked through clenched teeth as I sat and put on my black socks and shoes.
“Yeah,” Brady sighed. “But that’s not…fuck.”
“What the fuck are you trying not to tell me, Brady?” I snapped as I shrugged on my winter coat, impatient to get out there and back to the hotel.
“Talia said that Finley mentioned taking care of things and took off.”
“She what?” I shouted.
Brady put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger. And to be very clear before you break my jaw, I didn’t know about Talia and Finley’s plans until we arrived last night.”
Okay. I’d find something else to punch.
“I’m going to grab a cab,” I told him.
“I’ll make sure Coach and the staff know.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a chin lift, then stalked out of the locker room.
When I arrived at the hotel, the team wasn’t there yet, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I wanted to have a chance to talk to Finley before everything went to hell and she did something without thinking it through first.
However, when I stepped into the lobby, I realized that the shit had already hit the fan. Lennox stood in front of Finley, arms crossed and feet braced apart as he glared directly at me.