“After the linebacker took out my knee and my career, I tried everything to get back in the game. I tried out for many teams, begged for a shot, any shot, in their lineup. I went to all tryouts, even open ones. Bottom line, while I looked good on paper, there were too many questions about the stability of the knee. I might have been able to play a year or two, but probably not every game, and if I got hit again, well, who knows what could have happened? No team was going to take a chance. Not when they had a hundred kids coming out of college begging for a shot, without a bum knee.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and she lifted her hand and laid it on his cheek, turning his head to face her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you, Wyatt. I’m so sorry I was selfish and absorbed in my own life.”
He gave a wry half-smile. “Trust me, I wasn’t pleasant to be around. Ask Ethan sometime. He stuck around and badgered me into living again. I spent time at his vineyard once I gave up, and I learned something from that experience. I was trying to be the same Wyatt, doing the same old thing. But I couldn’t be that Wyatt anymore. I had to change the story, become someone else. Ethan had to do it when he left his family business and turned the vineyard around, after a lot of self-pity.”
“You guys must have been a lot of fun to be around back then,” Anna commented, a teasing smile on her face.
“Yeah, we spent a lot of time feeling sorry for ourselves and bitching about women and our troubles.” He shifted and faced her. “The point is, I had to figure something else out. I got a call from UT looking for a quarterback coach and the rest is history. I’m sure Ethan pulled some strings for me, but either way, I’m grateful.”
“Are you? Was it that easy to give up your dream, Wyatt?” Anna asked, her voice quiet.
He settled back against the couch and was quiet for so long, Anna wasn’t sure he was going to answer.
Finally, he said, “Honestly, before this week, a part of me hoped my knee would let me play football in some way. I was waiting for that mystical call from a team asking me to try out or offering me a contract. But that would be a mistake. My life is good. I enjoy coaching. I’m making a difference every day in the lives of young kids. Not every kid is going to play professional football. But they need skills whether they do or don’t, beyond football. I can help them prepare for their lives. Plus, there’s the side coaching for high school kids. It’s a big industry, and I’d like to do more of it, actually. So, while I blamed you for a long time for the way my life has turned out, I think I should actually thank you. I would have never found this path if the injury hadn’t happened.”
Now it was Anna’s turn to be pensive, to ponder his words and consider how they could apply to her life. He pulled her back against him, and both settled into their thoughts, listening to the rain and wind, mesmerized by the flickering candlelight. Anna’s thoughts, much like her life, were bogged down in quicksand, trapped by the complexities of her life, by the dreams of her youth, by her pride. She wasn’t sure she was ready to admit failure and slink away with her tail between her legs. And she didn’t know how else to reframe her career, especially if her agent couldn’t even figure that out, and she was paid to do that.
Wyatt shifted and said, “You know, you never fully answered my question from last night. What exactly do you regret?”
“Trying to take advantage of me when I’m already down?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice. Then she sobered. “I wanted my dreams, Wyatt. I was so focused on my dream that I gave up everything for it—my family, friends, love, you. Everything. And what am I left with? Nothing.”
His gaze was so tender, so understanding, that it almost broke her heart all over again.
Tears sprang anew, and she wiped at her eyes. “Stop being so damned nice, Wyatt. I don’t deserve it. I’m a bitch. I’ve been a bitch for a long time.”
He framed her face with his hands, holding her still for him.
He kissed her eyes, one at a time, and used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face. “Anna, maybe this was what needed to happen, so we could both realize what we had, what we lost, and then treasure it again when we had it.”
“Do I have you, Wyatt?”
He leaned forward until a mere whisper separated them. “You never lost me, Anna.”
* * *
Anna closed the distance between them and placed her lips on his. His mouth immediately softened under hers, and her tongue darted between his lips to stroke his tongue. He groaned and flexed his fingers on her hips, pulling her over him, but he never took over the action, letting her lead, the way she wanted. Anna braced her hands on his shoulders, holding herself above him, and straddled his lap, his erection nestled against the juncture of her thighs. She broke the kiss and settled back, sliding down his thighs a bit.
A smile curved her lips. “Feeling frisky tonight, Mr. Turner.”
He grinned back wolfishly. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a sexy woman on my lap.”
She sobered. “It’s been a long time for me too, Wyatt.”
He slid his hands up her back and pulled her down, angling her head for his kiss. “Then let’s not wait anymore.”
He took over at that point, devouring her lips as if he were starved, not having eaten for days. She met him, tongue dueling with his, her hands tangling in his hair, holding him close as if afraid he would escape, as if this were all a dream. It seemed like forever since Anna had felt desire this all-encompassing. She had kissed some of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood, both on and off the set, and none of them revved her motor like Wyatt. He knew just the right pressure, just the right touch to set her off.
His fingers trailed under the edge of her top, caressing the skin he bared as he slowly drew it up to her neck. She lifted her head, eyes fixed on his, and he tossed the top over and off to the side. She shivered under the intensity of his gaze, and his eyes heated more, scorching her with the hunger she saw burning inside. With another quick movement of a hand, her bra loosened and sagged in front of her and she giggled.
“You’ve learned some new moves. I approve.”
“Then you’ll fucking love this.” He tugged her forward and positioned his mouth on her nipple, sucking the tip deep inside.
She arched her back with a low cry, her head falling back as the tugging arrowed straight down to her core, sending little explosions of pleasure like fireworks. He teased the other bud with his fingers, taunting the peak until it was firm and begging for more. She moaned and pressed into him, her fingers massaging his scalp, her nails pricking his skin in a silent demand for more. She wiggled on his lap, his firm length rubbing against her in just the right spot. Just a little more and she’d go off like the thunder she could hear from the storm raging outside.
Suddenly, Wyatt stopped, pulling his head with a wicked grin. “So, what do you say we take this to the bed?”
“Screw the bed. Do me instead.” She growled and rubbed against his erection.