As I got to the bottom of the stand, my eyes locked with Nix’s. He looked hot, all sweaty and riled up. As he removed his helmet, I wanted to smooth the strands of his damp hair down.
My body flooded with a mix of lust and anger as I watched him working the field as he slowly made his way towards me. My heart drummed a victory beat in my chest at the determined look on his face.
The cheerleaders for the Varsity Vipers were dressed in hot pants with their butt cheeks hanging out. They looked more like they were about to mount a pole than cheer the football team. I watched as Phoenix was stopped by one, my gut clenching. He must have said something charming as the girl giggled behind her hand before walking off.
Nix then sauntered towards me like I was his next meal, and I couldn’t help but jab at him.
“I must admit, you’re quite the player,” I said, referring to how he’d shmoozed with that cheerleader. I got that it was all for show, but it still pissed me off. Phoenix had the type of looks that made most girls go mental.
Phoenix’s smug look also wound me up. “Why, thank you,” he replied, splaying a gloved hand over his chest. His helmet was now threaded under one bulging bicep.
When I was sure I could stop myself from screaming out loud, I added. “Oh, I wasn’t talking about your sporting ability.” I smacked him on the arm, and he lowered his hand.
He was so tall and bulky in his safety gear. “Why so prickly, baby girl?”
His dumbass question snapped my thoughts back to the girls making gooey eyes at him. “I just hate the Phoenix Carter appreciation society over there. Why aren’t they creaming themselves over the other jocks?”
My outburst clearly amused him. “What can I say, I’m just built differently.” He playfully nudged my shoulder with his arm. “You don’t need to be jealous, Thumper?” How could Inotbe jealous when girls pretty much threw themselves at him all the time? Trust me to fall for someone who had a ridiculously long line of broken hearts behind them.Shit, fall for?Yes!Fall formy subconscious echoed back.
Purposely, I cast a furtive look around him at Cash, who was stretching out in front of the bench area, flexing his muscles. My actions did not go unnoticed, and Nix was right there. There was a dangerous gleam in his whisky eyes as hestepped forward to shield my body from other members of the team, who had kept sneaking a look. Phoenix’s possessiveness was off the charts, and I lapped that shit up. His face was bruised and bloodied, and he looked every inch the conquering barbarian.
“What are you wearing, Harper?” he drawled, his voice thick with what I assumed was arousal.
Heat flared in the pit of my stomach. I would not melt! I needed to make him work for it, “Surely you know yourownnumber, Brutal?” I questioned with wide eyes. My tone was sultry, and I twisted a lock of hair around my finger as I stared up at him with a feigned innocent expression.
Those whisky orbs that were glued to me darkened, and his lazy smile hinted at debauchery. “I know my own number, baby. The question is, why is it blazed across your perfect tits in such a tight, indecent way? Are youtryingto distract me from the game?”
Unwinding my finger from my hair, I glanced down at my chest and then back at him, weighing up what to do next. “Is it working?” I whispered, raising my arms and giving him a spin so he could see how the material slid up my butt cheeks.
Nix’s breath hitched. “Hell yeah,” he growled, his eyesscorchingthrough the material of his top. His gaze rested on my nipples as they pressed against his jersey. His intense expression made me feel naked.
“You can stop staring now.”
“I can’t. I stare when I see something I want,” he husked, his deep voice resonating directly into my sex, forcing me to press my thighs together. Fuck, this boy had the power to ruin me.
My body continued to buzz, “Good. I’m glad you’ve noticed me at last?”
He moved a step forward into my personal space. That physical reality of his closeness gave me a heightened awareness of his sculptured body beneath his top. “Baby Sawyer, I’ve nevernotnoticed you.”
His admission caused my veins to pulse with adrenaline. “Well, you’ve been distant during the whole mom scenario, and so I’ve decided to take the bull by the horns.”
“I see. Care to elaborate?”
“It means,come and get me, Phoenix. Because if you don’t, someone else will.”
His nostrils flared. “Is that so?”
“Yes. I’m done waiting, Nix. It’s time to get grafting.”
“Oh, I intend to, sweetheart, but your timing sucks. I’m due back on the field in five. What do you expect me to do in that time?”
“Go crazy, thinking about me wearing your jersey and cheering for you. Oh, and I’m not wearing a bra, just in case you didn’t notice.”
“Oh, I noticed.”
And then he moved, his tall frame dominating my small one. He got in my space, but I stood my ground, lifting my chin to meet his determined expression with one of my own. Before I could comment, his finger silenced my lips.
“Fuck grafting, how about I cut to the chase for once?”
