Hard Tackle (A Stepbrother Warriors Novel) (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

I carefully run my fingertips along the back of my skull. I
can just feel the ridge of skin where the stitches were removed earlier today.
It's not tender anymore, but I still can't remember what happened right before
or after I fell. Other than that, my concussion symptoms have gone away, and I
even drove myself to my checkup appointment this afternoon.

I check my robe to make sure it's fastened securely since
I'm not wearing anything underneath, and head out of my bedroom and up to
Jack's room. He's slept in my bed every night for the last two weeks, but
tonight, I want to go to him. His door opens just as I'm reaching out for the
knob.

"Hey, I was just coming to you," he says in
surprise.

"Got my stitches out today," I say with a smile.

"Really…" he says with a grin, and holds the door
open for me. We've been waiting to have sex again until they were out and I got
the go-ahead from my doctor.

"I'm a little nervous," I confess as he closes the
door. "I mean, it just feels a little different now that we're actually
dating."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he says, rubbing his
palms together. "But we can go slowly and—"

I undo the sash on my robe and let it fall to the ground.
"That's OK," I say as he lets out a long, low breath. "I'm
nervous, but I'm also very, very ready."

"I can see that," he says as he quickly crosses
the room toward me. His hands fall onto my bare shoulders and then skim down my
arms before wrapping around my back and pulling me against him. I bring my
hands up to rest on his chest, feeling his heart beat through his ribs and
against my palms. I run one hand up through his light chest hair, feeling its
coarseness. He slowly lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist and my
arms around his neck. His hands move under my ass and gently pull my cheeks
apart. I take a deep breath as my body hums with desire.

Our lips connect, pressing against each other before
opening. Our tongues snake around and I can feel my wetness spreading between
my open legs and against his stomach. With a growl from back of his throat, he
walks over to his bedside table and yanks open the first drawer. Shifting to
carry me one-handed, he reaches inside and pulls out a condom.

"You OK with saving the tenderness for later?" he
asks, ripping the foil open with his teeth with an animalistic abandon that
sends a pleasurable shiver from the bottom of my spine out through my fingers.

"Fuck foreplay," I reply with a grin, and lean
forward to hungrily suck on his earlobe. He rolls the condom out on his shaft,
and then shifts me back to hold me with both hands around my hips. I lean my
forehead against his as I feel him at my opening.

There's a slight pain as he enters me, not surprisingly
considering our weeks of inactivity. He slowly lowers me down, and I marvel at
his control and strength as my entire body weight rests on him.

"You're so wet," he moans as I reach his base. I
wrap my legs tighter around his waist and slightly adjust my hips.

"It's been a while."

"You're telling me," he says, sliding his hands to
the small of my back. I arch away as he takes my breast in his mouth, running
his tongue back and forth across my hardened nipple.

He raises me back up his length all the way to his tip
before sliding me back down again. I moan as he fills me up inside, my hips
spreading to receive him as I'm filled with aching pleasure. He slides his
hands back under my ass and begins to raise and lower me faster, thrusting
upward with his hips as I reach his base. My head tilts back and I see one of
the bed posts behind me.

I arch my back and reach out my hands, gripping it firmly in
both hands. I lock my elbows and feel Jack take a small step back and
reposition his hands. He slides back out and thrusts in, now encountering some
resistance as I hold firm against the post. He grunts and drives his cock back
into me harder, keeping one hand under my back to support my position. I cry
out as he hits my g-spot, and he thrusts in faster. Our bodies collide against
each other over and over, raising my pleasure to a fever pitch. I'm vaguely
aware of crying out in pleasure as an orgasm hits me, sending my body into a
fit of desire.

Jack's hands move under my back, pulling me up against him
as my hands release the bed post. I open and close my fingers, feeling their
stiffness as I collapse against him. He slowly pulls me up and drops me back on
the bed behind me. I hear him walk softly into the bathroom and he returns a
minute later.

"Come on," he whispers. I moan, wanting to stay
where I am, but he takes my hand and pulls me up, turning off the bedside lamp
as he guides me toward the balcony doors. As we step outside, I feel the late
summer humidity envelop my naked body as though I'm submerged in water. I sink
back against him as I wonder why he brought me out here. Suddenly the sky
lights up grey and yellow above the ocean and I giggle in happiness. He brought
me out to see the lightning.

"Wait, I'll be right back," I murmur, suddenly
alert. I slip back inside the room for a moment and then return, kissing the
slightly salty, sweaty skin at the base of his sternum. "You know what
I've never done?" I murmur, as another bolt of lightning strikes.
"Had sex in a lightning storm," I say, revealing the condom in my
palm.

The whites of his teeth glow in the night as he smiles, and
I push him back against the lounge chair behind him. He sinks down into it, and
I kneel, spreading his knees apart. His cock quickly hardens again as I wrap my
fingers around his shaft. I bend my head down, taking his tip in my mouth and
swirling my tongue around it. I tuck my lips over my teeth and take him into my
mouth, my eyes watering at his girth as he hits the back wall of my mouth. I
bob my head up and down his shaft a few times, enjoying his taste and his
satisfied groans.

I pull my head up and back, carefully ripping open the
condom. I hold it against his tip and unwrap it downward as I've seen him do,
and then stand up and straddle him. Just as I'm about to sink down on top of
him, he reaches his hand forward, running his fingers over my clit. I suck in a
breath of air between my teeth as my body throbs in response to his touch. His
deft fingers circle my clit before he slides one up inside me. I don't have to
look down at his face to know that he's watching my every response.

I can't take it anymore. I lean forward, pressing my hands
against his wide shoulders. He drops his hand, and I sink down. I feel his cock
hard and ready against me. He reaches down and holds it steady as he slowly
enters me. A flash of lightning illuminates the sky and Jack's incredible body
in front of me. I laugh in abandon, feeling amazed at the beauty of the night
and my desire for the man in between my legs.

I rise up on my knees, excited by how in control I am of
what's happening. Jack's hand moves back against me, and I feel his thumb
circle against my clit, moving with me as I rise up and down on his cock. I
move faster, and feel Jack's hips rise up to meet me. I pause to circle my hips
around, wanting to feel him at every angle inside me, then begin to move up and
down again. As the storm moves closer, I can see more clearly his expression,
lips parted, eyes on my body, taking me in.

"Oh, Jack, you feel so good," I whisper, leaning
back and resting my hands on top of his legs as I pump up and down. His hands
move around to my ass, pulling me with more force down onto his lap. My
pleasure crests and spills over as he groans and empties himself inside me. I
continue up and down a couple more times, and then collapse over him, resting
my head on his shoulders as my breasts pillow against his bare chest.

I drowsily open my eyes to watch the lightning strikes over
the water, and think about how I watched a storm like this by myself, on the
balcony below us, just a few months earlier. I could never have imagined I'd
end up here.

Jack's lips brush my cheek. "Where'd you go?" he
murmurs.

"Just thinking that I'm glad you're here. And I'm glad
I'm here," I reply, unable to put into words exactly what I'm feeling. His
arms wrap around my back, pulling me more tightly against him.

A drop of rain falls against the back of my neck, and I
giggle. A few more splats of water, and we both look up at the dark sky. The
clouds break, and rain starts pelting down on us. Jack begins to laugh, a deep
sound emanating from his belly, and stands up, taking me with him.

He leans forward, kissing me hard
on the lips, before reaching for the balcony door. "Come on, let's get you
dried off."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I freeze in front of Jack's open bedroom door as a woman's
voice filters out. Definitely not my mom's.

"I don't know yet, but soon, I promise," she says.

"You say that all the time. I want you to see at least
one of my games this year, Lex. In person, I mean," Jack replies, and I
shake my head at myself. Lex. That's his sister.

I poke my head in and Jack looks over at me from the couch,
where he has the phone resting on his leg on speaker. He waves me in.

"Well, you sound good," Lex says.
"Happy." Her voice is deep and throaty, and I wonder if she smokes.

"I am," Jack says, meeting my eyes as I sit on the
couch next to him. He wraps an arm around my shoulders.

"I would like to meet Anne. And her daughter—what's her
name again?"

"Bree," Jack answers, and I cover my mouth to keep
from laughing.

"You like her?"

"Yeah, she's OK," Jack replies with a grin, and I
nudge him in the ribs.

"Hey, I gotta go. They just made an announcement for my
train." In the background, I can hear the sounds of a voice crackling over
a loudspeaker.

"Wait, where are you?"

"Talk to you soon!" she calls out, and hangs up.
Jacks sighs.

"She can be a little flighty. So, you ready?" I
nod, and we stand up. He takes a rolling suitcase and a duffel, and I shoulder
a smaller bag. In the garage, we throw the bags in the back seat, and then hop
in the front.

As we drive over to his penthouse apartment, the one he
abandoned for the summer to stay at home, I can't help but feel nostalgic. The
last several weeks together have felt idyllic, and now he's moving out. I just
wish everything could stay the same.

"We'll still see each other," he says, reaching
out to hold my hand.

"I guess so. But it'll be suspicious for me to be out
all the time, and forget about anything overnight."

"I've been thinking…what about Miles?"

"What about him?"

"Maybe you could, um, rekindle things with him. I mean,
not really!" he adds hastily. "I mean you used it as an excuse with
me—"

"And you were super pissed about that," I remind
him.

"True, but it could explain why you would be out of the
house. And your mom would be OK with you spending the night elsewhere if it were
with a boyfriend right?"

"I suppose. Poor Miles. He has no idea our relationship
has gone on so long! Maybe I should send him a gift basket to thank him."

Jack turns up the music on the radio and I open my window
slightly to feel the breeze in my hair. Not all the way, because the tinting on
his windows helps him from being recognized. My worries about the logistics of
seeing each other melt away as we enjoy a little time of feeling like a normal
couple, cruising along while the radio blasts. I hold his hand a little
tighter, feeling the rough callouses on his palm.

We pull up outside a modern high-rise in downtown Tampa, and
Jack pulls around to the side, flashing an electronic key card to open the
metal door leading to the underground garage. My eyes take a second to adjust
to the sudden darkness as we pull in and the gates shut behind us. Jack turns
into a numbered spot and hops out. I glance around. The lot is full of
expensive-looking cars, all belonging to residents of the tony building.

We grab the bags from the back and Jack leads the way over
to an elevator. Another key card, and then a number to punch into a keypad
inside to make the thing move. He presses a button labeled "P" and
the elevator shoots up. It quickly opens to a lavish foyer, and I step back in
surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asks, as he walks out, holding
an arm against the doors to keep them from opening.

"I was expecting a hallway, that's all," I murmur
as I follow him.

"So, this is my place," he says over his shoulder
as he walks through a modern living room and down a hallway. I hurry after him.
At the end of it, he pushes open a door and tosses his bags on the floor.

"Nice," I say, looking around. The walls are
painted gray, with dark curtains currently pulled apart to offer sweeping views
of the city and the ocean beyond. The furniture is all sleek, dark wood, a
modern bachelor pad. "So it's the whole floor then?"

"Yeah, but hopefully when the people downstairs sell I
can snap up their place, too, and connect them."

"Naturally."

"Bree…"

"Sorry, I guess I just got used the whole mansion
thing, and now this…it was easy to forget how, you know, wealthy and famous you
are. But not so much now."

"What does it matter?" he asks, coming over to
wrap his arms around my waist.

"It doesn't really," I murmur, resting my head on
his chest. "I guess I just feel a little…" I want to say inadequate,
but don't want to sound needy. "It doesn't matter. You're right," I
say instead.

"Opening day is next week," he says, leaning back
and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Uh-huh."

"And your mom and my dad are going…"

"Jack…"

"Please. No one will know who you are."

"We'll be in the family section?"

"Of course."

"I guess all the wives who would have known my mom are
gone now. I can't believe you got her to go. At least the Bucs don't play at
the same stadium anymore."

"You ever been to the new one?"

"No," I admit.

"It would mean a lot to me if you came, but I know
there's a lot of baggage there for you."

I sigh. "Alright. If it would—" I break off as he
lifts me into his arms, squeezing me so hard my breath leaves my lungs.

"Sorry, sorry," he says as I gasp.

"Well, you better win," I grumble, and he laughs.

"Just for you, I will," he jokes and bends down,
softly kissing me. I forget my concern about the game as his tongue snakes into
my mouth. He walks forward, forcing me to walk backward, until my legs hit the
bed and I tumble backward. The crisp bedspread feels unfamiliar against my neck
as I wrap my legs around him and pull him close.