Her eyes lit up as realization set in. “That’s why he told you to come by at any time, to stay even though we were arguing about the bar exam. He thought he was losing you.”
“Yup. I’ve been honest with him about the other offers, so he thought I was leaving. I told him that I would be willing to stay if they made it worth my while. The truth is that my life is here. So is Harper’s.” I blew out a deep breath; I wasn’t used to baring my innermost thoughts. It wasn’t a feeling that I wanted to get used to, but I had to get through it.
“I don’t want to leave Miami, but if that’s the better option for Harper’s future and it puts me with a team that has an actual shot at winning the Super Bowl, I have to take it.”
She tilted her head at me, nodding in understanding. “You’re afraid that it would jeopardize whatever counteroffer is in the works if my father finds out about us. Then you’d have to leave Miami, even if you don’t really want to. You’re on the verge of having the best of both worlds, the money offered by the other teams that would secure Harper’s future, but you’d get to stay here and work at making your own team better.”
My mind swirled. My jaw dropped. I was stunned at how succinctly and precisely she had summarized my deepest feelings. Fuck, this woman was going to be a great lawyer.
“That’s exactly it. From my side, anyway. I also don’t want to risk your relationship with your father. I know that it’s more important to you than you let on. I know about his rule. I would hate to get between you two.”
Her expression softened. She hopped off her stool and walked around the island. Almost as if on instinct, my legs fell open wider to accommodate her, and I reached to wrap my arms around her as she positioned herself against me.
“Thank you for being honest with me. I know that it wasn’t easy for you.” She pressed a light kiss to my neck that had my blood running hot.
“It was easier than I thought it would be,” I surprised myself by admitting it. I wrapped her thick ponytail around my hand and pushed on. “You’re easy to talk to. You get me.”
It was a simple thing, but as I said it, I realized that it was completely and utterly true. Somehow, this beautiful woman in my arms actually got me. The real me. Too bad that it didn’t change a single fucking thing.
Her eyes fixed me with an intent look. “My turn to be honest, then. I want you, James. I have no intention of telling my father about us, and if he finds out, we’ll deal with it then.”
She took a deep breath and said the words that did change everything because I knew that they were true with every fiber of my being as she said them. “He might be pissed off as all hell, but the team is his life. He wouldn’t risk letting one of the best players he’s ever had slip through his fingers because of it. Trust me.”
I did trust her. Fuck knew why, but I did. I didn’t want whatever was between us to end just yet. I wanted her, too, and I got what I wanted.
I was suddenly hyperaware of her hands resting on my thighs, burning a hole through my jeans into my skin. I tugged at her ponytail to angle her face up.
Embers of lust burned in her eyes. I would be damned if I wasn’t going to set them on fire. I would burn the whole fucking world to the ground if that was what it took to see those eyes burning with passion as she begged me to make her come.
Her lips parted slightly. She recognized the fierce determination in my eyes and in the set of my jaw.
Fuck it all, I thought as my mouth crashed into hers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gabrielle
He wants me! He still wants me! My inner cheerleader zoomed around in my mind waving her pom poms like mad. Despite everything, he still wanted me. It was the last thought that I managed to grab hold of as he kissed me senseless.
His hands went to my ass, and he tugged me closer to him. His tongue stroked mine with a fervor that told me he’d missed this as much as I had. He needed me as much as I needed him.
He broke our kiss abruptly with a low growl. “Hold on tight.”
With no further warning, he bent slightly at the waist and hauled me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.
I shouted a laugh, steadying myself with my hands on his rock-hard butt. “What are you doing?”
Humor laced with lust in his voice. “I thought that was obvious. I need to fuck you. Now. Thought you’d be more comfortable in a bed than on the kitchen floor, but I’m not waiting another fucking second.”
I wanted him inside me as much as he seemed to need to be there. “Always the considerate one.”
“Only with you, Gabrielle.” He grunted as my back hit the bed. His words made my heart flutter and the cheerleader break into another dance, but I filed them away to think about later as he crawled over me and pinned me to the bed with his hips.
“God, you feel so good.” My back pushed deeper into the soft mattress as it gave under our combined weight. He ground his hips against mine, causing pleasure to erupt in my core and tiny explosions of white light to cloud my vision.
He nuzzled my neck and groaned, and he licked the shell of my ear. My sex clenched as his familiar commanding voice spoke against my ear. “Here’s how this is going to go. I’m dying to taste you, so I’m going to make you come on my face. Twice.”
Twice? The ache was already building.