Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance (14 page)

A
udrey woke
in the middle of the night, leaving behind troubled dreams. Pulling on a robe, she slipped out of her bedroom, thinking to grab a glass of water.

Liam was in the kitchen when she walked in, drinking right out of the tap. He straightened and glanced at her, looking worse from the wear.

His hair was disheveled, his skin paler than usual.

Gone was the smirking, confident bad boy. In his place was this very human, very damaged version of Liam, and seeing him like this tugged at her heart strings in a major way.

“Are you still up?” she asked, leaning against the counter to watch him.

“Can’t sleep,” he admitted with a shrug. “Bad dreams.”

His words killed Audrey just a little, inside. She held out a hand to him, expectant.

“Come on,” she said. He took her hand, and she towed him back to his bedroom.

“What are you doing?” he asked when she shooed him back into his bed.

“When I was little, I would always run to Jack’s room anytime I had nightmares. He would let me lie in his bed for a little while, until I wasn’t scared anymore. Sometimes, you just need another person in bed to keep the nightmares at bay.”

Liam made a soft, angry sound. “I told you I don’t want your pity, Audrey.”

“Well, that’s good, because I don’t have any to give you,” she sighed. “But if I was hurting, if I couldn’t sleep, you’d do the same for me. Now lie down.”

Liam gave her a long look, then sprawled out on his side in bed. Audrey climbed in behind him, pulling the comforter up over them both.

“Are you trying to be the big spoon?” Liam asked, sounding somewhere between amused and aghast.

“Shut up and accept my comfort,” Audrey said. “You always make everything so damned difficult.”

Liam quieted. Audrey molded herself to his body, shivering as the warmth of his big body seeped into her bones. She took several slow, deep breaths, sucking in lungfuls of his spicy, masculine scent.

It was a little intoxicating, lying here with him like this. In another life, maybe she could have experienced this for real. In an alternate universe, one where Liam wouldn’t shatter her heart into a thousand pieces.

Liam’s breath slowed and deepened, and soon the sound of it lulled her senses. Though she’d intended to go back to her room once Liam slept, Audrey soon relaxed, letting herself drift off to sleep.

A
udrey dreamed
she was in a hospital, walking down an endlessly long hall. At her side was an older man in a white doctor’s coat. The lights above flickered oddly, making her feel jumpy.

There was blood on her hands, but she didn’t know why.

“I’m so sorry, miss. I’m afraid he didn’t make it,” the doctor told her. “You didn’t save him.”

“Who?” she asked.

They walked and walked.

“You didn’t save him,” the doctor said. “It’s your fault, Audrey. You loved him, but you didn’t save him.”

“How could I have done more?” she asked. “Can I wash my hands, please?”

“No, no,” the doctor clucked. “Here we are.”

They stopped at a steel door that read MORGUE. Audrey looked at the door, then at the doctor.

“Go on,” he urged.

She reached out a hand, her bloodied fingers trembling, and pushed at the door. It swung open with ease, and she stepped inside.

The room was small and bright, lit from above with fluorescent surgical lights. A stainless steel table took up most of the space, and on it was someone she recognized.

Liam, cold and pale, draped in a sheet. No longer Liam, really, just a body now. Audrey gasped and burst into tears, stumbling forward to grasp his ice cold hand.

“I loved you!” she swore to him. Knowing he couldn’t hear, knowing she was far too late. “I loved you, I think. I wish I’d been brave…”

She heard Liam’s voice, whispering her name, and started to sob.

Audrey… Audrey….

“
A
udrey
!”

Audrey’s eyes opened and she stared straight up into Liam’s worried face.

“Are you all right, love? You’re crying in your sleep,” he said, touching her face with a fingertip, spreading a bit of wet warmth across her cheek.

Audrey surged up, digging her fingers into his hair, and pressed her lips to his.

“Audrey,” Liam mumbled, pushing her back. “Wait—”

“Don’t talk,” she whispered, dragging his head back down to hers once more.

Liam surrendered with a groan, taking control of the kiss. His tongue stroked hers, his hands roving up and down her body over her robe.

Impatient, Audrey pulled back to strip off her robe, t-shirt, and panties.

“Audrey…” Liam said, his expression tortured as he studied her body, bared to him entirely.

“I want you, Liam,” she said, pulling him down for another kiss. “I want you. I’m ready for you.”

Feeling bold, she took his hand and brought it to her breast, then lower, lower… until his fingers dipped between her thighs. At the same time, she reached down to squeeze his hip, then shape his thick cock through his boxer briefs.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “You’re wet for me, aren’t you sweetheart?”

“Take me, right now,” she said, plucking at the hem of his t-shirt.

“Are you sure, love?” he asked, looking tormented.

“Yes, god damn it!” she said, yanking his shirt up over his head.

He stood and stripped off his boxer briefs, his cock springing free and jutting proudly. He truly was magnificent, a work of art. Six feet of pure, lean muscle capped with those blazing emerald eyes…

Suddenly, his smirk returned, that killer dimple appearing in one cheek. Audrey felt heat pool low in her body, just looking at him.

When he laid down beside her again, Audrey kissed him hard and brought her knee up to rest on his bare hip, letting the length of his erection brush her wet heat.

Impatient, she pulled him closer, sighing with pleasure when his hands found her breasts, teasing her.

“Now, Liam,” she urged him.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, leaning down to flick the tip of his tongue over her nipple.

But she’d been teased for long enough, and she wasn’t going to wait another second.

With a growl, Audrey pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips. Grasping his cock, she guided him to her entrance and sunk down on him, inch by slow inch.

“Fuck, Aud,” he said, his fingers flexing against her back as he gripped her hips. “You’re so tight, love.”

Audrey moaned as he filled her to the brim, stretching her tight core to perfection. She threw her head back and arched against him, moving her hips in slow, soft circles.

She gasped when Liam pulled her down and flipped her onto her back, splaying one of her knees wide so that he could take control.

The first full thrust had her crying out, the second had her shaking with need.

“You’re already so close, love,” he said, his eyes brilliant with lust. “I can feel it.”

He slipped a hand under her lower back, lifting her the barest inch as he began to fuck her. Slow at first, then harder and harder, until her nails raked his shoulders, until she was crying his name, a steady chant.

“Liam, yes!” she said again and again as he filled her, the sensation so perfect.

Her release rippled up from somewhere deep inside, unleashing so hard that her eyes rolled back in her head, her body clenching and trembling.

She heard Liam mumble a curse. He tried to pull out, but she clutched at him, digging her nails into his back, refusing to let him go.

“I want all of you,” she demanded. “Do it. I want you to.”

Liam came hard with a low groan, pumping his hot seed deep inside her body. He slowed, his lips seeking hers for long, tender kisses.

Audrey sighed into the kiss, feeling sated, cherished. Liam pulled away, only to turn her onto her side and tuck her up against his body.

She should say something. Explain herself, maybe.

But instead, Audrey just closed her eyes.

Words could wait. If this was all she would ever get from him, so be it.

For the moment, she was content in Liam’s arms. For the moment, this could be enough.

L
iam woke
her again in the early morning light, kissing her and pulling her close. Worshipping her body with his hands, his lips, his cock.

After he made her come twice more, they lay together in a tangle of sheets, quietly trying to catch their breath.

Say something
, she thought.
Tell him that this is too dangerous. Tell him you just wanted one night, nothing more.

Instead, she fell asleep beside him again.

When they woke, Liam pulled her into his massive shower and showed her just how clever his tongue could be. Steam filled the air all around them as he turned her around, pressed her against the glass shower wall, and took her hard until she screamed his name.

Afterward, instead of telling him what was in her heart, she just kissed him and let him wash her body, her hair.

It felt so nice to be touched, to be wanted. To release all the pent-up desire, to let Liam satisfy her every demand in bed.

Each time, she knew better. But each time, she pulled him close and kissed him hard, her hands exploring his body, her heart racing.

He was addictive, and she wasn’t close to quitting him.

The next day slipped by, with Audrey and Liam staying in bed, barely surfacing for food.

When she finally went to grab her phone, thinking to check her messages, Liam plucked the phone from her fingers.

“Don’t,” he said. “Stay with me. Come back to bed.”

And she did. For the first time in her life, Audrey threw caution to the wind, tumbling back into bed with Liam, laughing and moaning as he touched her breasts, nipped her neck.

Another day went by, then a week. Audrey made sure his endorsement contracts got signed, but when she protested that she should be taking care of her other assistant duties, Liam merely laughed.

“You
are
assisting me, love,” he teased as he pulled her naked body onto his lap to straddle his hips. She sank down onto his cock, the feeling so perfect and natural that Audrey thought she would die from it.

There was no more talk of her job after that.

When Liam was declared fit to return to practice, Audrey thought that their pattern would change. But no, every morning he would kiss her and ask her to wait for him.

“Just like this,” he’d say, his big hands shaping her hips. “This is where I want you to be when I get home. I promise to reward you…”

So she did. She’d long since let her phone die, and now she spent her days watching tv and going for long runs. Avoiding the outside world, ordering groceries delivered to the house.

It was a daydream, a fantasy, but for the moment it was her life.

Just one more day, she kept thinking. This can’t last…

A week turned into two, turned into three.

Jack finally showed up, demanding to know where she’d been. She just shrugged and gave him a sleepy, satisfied smile.

His scowl said he knew just what Audrey and Liam were up to, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She knew that the second her brother left, she and Liam would kiss, he’d lift her onto the kitchen counter and fuck her like the world was ending.

Sometimes, she would read to Liam, once they’d worn each other out. A little from the new Donna Tartt book she was reading, or from The Little Prince, which never got old to Audrey.

Sometimes they talked. About Liam’s career, about his motivations. About Audrey’s dreams for the distant future, her desire to work with fine art again. Own a gallery, maybe.

Sometimes they would watch football matches together, lying naked on the couch, eating mangoes and commenting on the game. Kissing the juice off each other’s lips, laughing at themselves.

It was… comfortable, in a way that made Audrey a little uncomfortable.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was all too good to be true. She wasn’t living in reality, she was playing house with a man who could never settle down, not like this.

He couldn’t give her what she wanted, not in the long term. But in the short term…

In the short term, Audrey felt warm and safe and content.

She felt… loved.

A
udrey stood in the kitchen
, staring at the big blue pill in her hand. Plan B, or the morning after pill.

Because she wasn’t quite sure that she’d got her birth control right. She kept counting her pills, but…

Better safe than sorry, right?

She took a big sip of water, then washed the pill down.

She hated it, the reality of it. Real life invading her fantasy world. She and Liam had made it five weeks without coming down from the clouds.

Five incredible, heart-pounding, lust-driven weeks. She could smell Liam on her skin still, though he’d left for an early game hours ago.

Maybe she was asking for too much.

No, scratch that. She was
definitely
asking for too much.

She picked up the newspaper she’d snagged at the grocery store. A photo of Liam in last week’s game was splashed across the front page. He was sprinting toward the goal, a look of pure determination on his face.

She was working on getting a nice copy of it to frame and hang in the house, a surprise for Liam. Still, she thought he’d appreciate seeing it.

Especially since the headline read, BAD BOY BRIT DOMINATES ATLANTA UNIFIED.

She headed for his bedroom, where she’d essentially moved herself in over the last couple of weeks.

No Liam there, or in the shower. No Liam in the back yard, where he’d taken to spending his moments of solitude. No Liam anywhere in the house, actually.

Finally she noticed that the front door was open a crack. She headed outside and saw him standing by his Range Rover, phone pressed to his ear.

“—have to think about it. It would be a big decision,” he was saying. “Yes, Stuart, I understand that it’s a lot of money. I know, it’s what I’ve asked for.”

He turned and spotted Audrey, then gave her a hesitant smile. “Stuart, I’m going to call you back.”

“Hey,” she said, giving Liam a long look. “Come back inside, it’s hot as hell out here.”

“Right you are,” Liam said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Straight back to bed for the both of us.”

“Look what I found,” she said, presenting him with the paper.

“Ah, apparently you’re not the only one who gets a taste of my dominance, love,” he teased, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

Audrey rolled her eyes and giggled, the phone call forgotten when Liam scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to the bed.

L
iam’s conversation
with his agent popped back into her head in the wee hours of the morning. She was already a little restless, having drank too much coffee the evening before.

Now, she couldn’t stop replaying his words.
A lot of money. A big decision.

Checking to make sure Liam was dead asleep, Audrey got out of bed and put on her robe. She headed for the living room, where a huge stack of mail awaited her.

Liam seemed uninterested in signing any more deals, so this week she hadn’t even opened any of the fat manila envelopes that arrived daily.

Now, she was curious. Clearly Liam’s agent wanted him to sign some lucrative deal, thought it was pretty important.

But which one?

Hefting the stack, she walked to the couch and began opening envelopes.

The first few were endorsement deals.

Gatorade. Armani. Crocs shoes, which was fairly funny.

She sifted through them, then picked up an envelope marked URGENT. It mostly caught her eye because of the British stamps on the front.

The return address was labeled England National Football Team, with a tiny logo next to it. The logo was plenty well-known to Audrey.

After all, Liam had a much larger version of it tattooed on his chest and torso. Blue lions and small red flowers, set into a blue crest.

Suddenly Audrey felt a little tense. She turned the thick packet over and opened it, pulling free a thick sheaf of papers.

Words started jumping out at her —
club contract, three years, exclusive
.

This was a serious job offer, for the team Liam worshipped.

Audrey blew out a breath when she flipped through far enough to find out how much England National was offering Liam. It blew Atlanta Unified out of the water, that was for certain.

This is it, she realized. My fantasy life is over, and I need to be prepared. Any day now, Liam’s going to leave.

Audrey and Jack would be fired from their jobs, not that Audrey was even doing hers these days. Liam would vanish back to England, and it would basically be like the whole thing never even happened.

Like she and Liam never met.

All that would be left were memories. She’d known it all along, but…

It still hurt, badly.

She shoved the contract back in the envelope, then stuffed the whole stack under a couch cushion. She’d deal with them later. No need for Liam to know that she knew about the offer.

After all, it seemed that the only rule between them was that they never, ever talk about their relationship. About the future.

Audrey respected that, in a weird way. She’d wanted Liam, wanted to spend time with him, and she’d gotten that.

She stood and walked back to the bedroom, crawling under the covers and snuggling up to Liam.

His eyes opened for a moment, and he wrapped a big arm around her to pull her close.

“Okay, love?” he asked, already drifting back to sleep.

No, Audrey wasn’t okay. Far from it, in fact.

Still, she wasn’t going to let her last days with Liam be ruined. She rolled over and let him spoon her, comfort her, even as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

No need to let Liam see her cry, no matter how hard this became in the coming days.