42. Chapter 42
A s the final whistle blows, I jump with my teammates on the sideline as we celebrate one last victory together.
It’s crazy to think that after three years of playing together, I’m saying goodbye to teammates who feel more like brothers. Goodbyes are the worst. They’re so definitive, so final. As if there isn’t modern technology and travel to allow us to see each other. It isn’t the same.
The thrill of winning helps ease that ache, especially when we played such a great last game together. This is how we should have been playing. We had chemistry among the team. Gone was the animosity and drama. Tonight, we went out there and played our game.
Turning to run out onto the field and celebrate with my team, I’m hit with a compulsion to look to my left. I can’t explain it, but my gaze moves from straight ahead of me toward where my team is running off the field to the sidelines.
That’s when I see her .
Dodging bodies and searching the sea of faces, she moves through the crowd as confetti falls around her. Pieces stick to her hair and skate down her face, but they never once deter her from the mission she’s on. Standing in place, I mentally will her to look up.
Dazzling emerald-green eyes land on mine, and there is an explosion in my chest. The lights shine brighter, the noise is louder, and my heart beats faster .
She’s here.
With tentative steps, she erases all the space between us. No one obscures her view when she’s standing in front of me. That’s when I see what she’s wearing. Standing before me is Bret Addison Campbell, wearing my jersey. It is a custom jersey, no doubt made by Macy. One side of the jersey is white with a navy eight, and the other side is powder blue with a red eight. I can only assume the back has my last name on it, and the thought of her wearing my last name sends a warm fuzzy feeling deep into my marrow. The idea of making her mine, giving her my last name, makes me feral.
Her eyes bounce between mine, and I wait with bated breath for her to say something. Anything .
“Hi.” The words come out sheepishly, and I smile at her nervousness. Only she has nothing to be nervous about. She’s here. That’s all that matters.
Dropping my helmet to my feet, my glove-covered hands cup her cheeks as I pull her face to mine. Desperate to taste her, I place a searing kiss on her succulent lips. She melts into my touch, and everything feels right in the world. Cameras flash around us, and I don’t even care if they capture hundreds of pictures. I no longer have to hide this woman behind closed doors.
“Woohoo!” A shout comes from beside us.
She pulls away, a grin splitting her perfect lips as she shyly tucks her face into my chest. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her in close as I find a smiling JP and Harris. Their bodies close in on us as they jostle us around.
“The squad’s all here!” JP shouts as Bret chuckles. “Welcome back, baby girl!”
“It’s good to be back. ”
The guys get off us as she takes a step back. She flicks her hands toward the field. “Go, celebrate! Congratulations on winning!”
“Glad our lucky charm was back in the stands.” Harris winks at her before he and JP jog off.
“I’m really glad my lucky charm was here.”
A blush fills her cheeks as she smiles up at me. “I love you, Crew.”
Fuck, those three words. Those are the three words I’ve been so desperate to hear.
“I love you, too, Rebel.”
“Go celebrate with the boys. I’ll be waiting for you in your hotel room.” She flashes me a devilish look. All of the blood starts to rush to my dick as visions of what I’m going to do to her tonight flash in my head.
“Gross.” Grant moves up beside us as he flings his arm over Bret’s shoulders. “Now that you two have worked out your shit, I do not want to hear about you defiling my sister. But I am glad to see you both smiling again.”
Bret pushes her brother off of her and toward me as she practically demands we go onto the field. The confetti has settled, and boxes are being brought out with Vegas Neon Light Show Championship hats and shirts.
Two hours later, I’m swiping my hotel key and pushing through the door to a waiting Bret. Standing at the large window that overlooks the strip with a beer bottle dangling from her fingers is a freshly showered Bret. Her long black hair hangs damp down over her shoulders, giving me the perfect view of my last name on her back. She slipped my jersey back on, which hangs mid-thigh, exposing her long, smooth legs.
Tossing my bag to the floor, I stride across the carpet as she watches me from over her shoulder. With her back to my front, I pull her in tight as I pepper kisses down her neck as she sighs into my touch.
“Crew,” she moans as she tries to turn in my arms. I know what she wants to say next.
Sucking the soft flesh into my mouth, I bite down, and she gasps. “Sex first, then talk.”
She nods, and I allow her to turn toward me. I press her against the wall as she shivers against the cool glass. Her lips find mine as she runs her fingers through my damp hair and pulls me closer to her. Our mouths open, and my tongue slides through her lips. Both of us are hungry with desire and longing as I devour her mouth. I taste the hoppy ale on her tongue, hungry for more. My cock jerks in my sweats, growing harder with each of her flicks across my tongue.
It’s been weeks since I’ve touched her, tasted her, fucked her, and I’m desperate to have the woman I love. She moans in my mouth, holding me closer to her as she plays with the hair at the base of my neck.
I never want to go without her touch.
My hands trail down the backs of her thighs as hunger roars through me. Gripping her thighs, she jumps in my arms as I carry her to the bed. A desperation to taste her rips through me as I gently toss her onto the mattress, where she bounces. Her hair flies around her as she lets out a giggle.
“You look sexy in my jersey, baby.” I lean over the bed and kiss her lips before trailing open-mouthed kisses down her neck, over the seam of her jersey, and her flat stomach as I push the material out of the way. Her bare pussy greets me, and my eyes roll at the sight .
The “lucky you” tattoo stares up at me, and I can’t help but think about how true that ink is. I am damn lucky to be hers. Skating the hand that is on her stomach, I grip the jersey and continue pushing it up.
“As hot as it is to see you in my jersey with my name on your back, I need to see you. All of you.” Bret leans forward, helping me remove the stretchy fabric, and we toss it somewhere behind me. I groan as I stare down at her exposed body. I take in every inch of her in her perfect form. My lips wrap around a pointed bud as I flick the metal barbell through her dusty rose-colored nipple. The piercing still drives me wild.
She whimpers, and I feel her try to close her legs. I tsk as I grab her bare pussy, and I suck her breast further into my mouth. I’m a man obsessed as I feel her silky skin beneath my touch. I’m desperate to taste her, to worship her entire body all night long.
My fingers skim through her slit, she’s soaked. Desperate for my touch. Her nipple frees from my lips with a pop. “Is all of this for me?”
“All of it. Touch me, Crew.”
I hum as I bring my arousal-coated fingers to my lips. Sucking her taste off, I moan as my eyes roll. My mouth fucking waters for her. It’s been way too long since I ate this pretty pussy, and I’m starving. Placing a knee on the bed, I climb over her legs before settling between them. I drop my face, hovering just above her opening as my eyes look up at her.
Our gazes lock as I watch her eyes darken with desire.
“Crew.” She wiggles her hips, pushing her pussy closer to my face.
“Greedy girl.”
“Stop teasing me. It’s been so fucking long.”
Her chest heaves at the anticipation of what’s to come, and a smirk plays on my lips. Squinting, her glare turns serious. When she starts to open her mouth, I flatten my tongue and run it through her slit before swirling it across her clit.
“Fuck, Crew.” Her words are drawn out around a moan.
It’s the sexiest sound in the world, and my cock hardens to granite as her hands find my hair. The ache to grip my cock washes over me, and I wish I could wrap my fist around it while I taste her. There’s something about eating Bret’s pussy that turns me ravenous as her sweet taste hits my tongue.
With her hands fisting my hair, she glides her pussy up and down my tightly shaved beard seeking friction. Glancing up, I watch her closed eyes as her lips part before she bites down on her lower lip. A hand leaves my head and finds its way to her breast, where she begins massaging it before pulling on her nipple. The sensation spurs her on as she rides my face. Her back arches as I flick her clit before I lap up every drop of her wetness before plunging my tongue inside her.
“Oh goddd,” she moans as she pushes my face further into her pussy. I chuckle at her greediness for more. My quiet girl has turned into a ravenous rebel with her insatiable need.
Her legs quake against my head, and I know that her release is close. Removing my tongue, I lick my way up to her clit. Using my lips, I suck her clit into my mouth. Her deep moan reverberates off the walls as she screams something indecipherable. Eating her faster, she grinds her hips against my face as I lap at her.
“Mmm, I’m so close. Right there, Crew. Right there!”
“I need you to come all over my face, Rebel,” I tell her.
Giving sloppy kisses to her pussy as her hips buck off the bed. With a hand across her hips, I hold her in place while I devour her. Her pussy pulses against my tongue as she gets wetter, letting me know she’s on the precipice .
She screams my name as my cock screams for his release as she comes all over my face. Glancing up, I watch her watch me lick and suck her sensitive bundle of nerves as she falls over the edge. Her orgasm takes control of her body as she shudders with her release.
“Fuck, I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Her words are breathy as her chest heaves and her eyes droop.
She leans up on her elbows as a wicked gleam lights her face. “Get on your back, baby. It’s my turn.”
Collapsing in a heap of limbs, our chests heave as we both come down from our orgasms for the third time. Dark hair splays over the white pillow as I move to untangle my legs in the sheets spread haphazardly around the bed. Bret plays with the smattering of blonde hair at my waist. Everything feels right with her by my side.
As I hold her close, I realize that, just like in the game, my job is to cover the pass protection—shielding her not just from the world but also from the dark thoughts that creep in, protecting her from the battles she fights in her own mind, and guarding our future together.
No matter where life takes us, one thing I know for sure is that we’ll do it together.