My brow shot up.
“All your roommates are in there.”She gestured over her shoulder at the bar.
“Babe, I’m not interested in a five-minute drill.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know damn well what it means.I’m not settling for a quickie followed by you racing out of the house before my roommates come home.”Slinging my arm around her shoulders, I started walking us toward the parking lot.“I’ll follow you to your place.”
“But what about what Dally said?”she asked as she dragged her feet.
“We meet at the facility at ten.”Giving her my signature grin—the one I’d figured out early on she couldn’t resist—I said, “Don’t worry.I won’t be late.”
Her dubious expression didn’t bode well for my plans, so I snuggled her to me and nuzzled kisses down the column of her neck.When she relaxed into my touch, I kissed my way to her luscious lips to nibble and tease until she huffed out an impatient breath and threaded her fingers into my hair to hold me where she wanted me while she took over and kissed me stupid.
When she let me up for air, I grinned.“Lead the way, babe.”
Though the shake of her head conveyed exasperation, the secret grin curving her swollen mouth told me I’d made my point.A short drive later I parked my Jeep behind her SUV, grabbed my garment bag, and followed her into her apartment.
“What do you have there?”she asked as I trailed her into her place.
“My dress clothes for the game.”
“You’re spending the night?”Something like worry flashed in her eyes.
“That was my plan, yeah.”
She flipped on the lights and kicked her shoes off beside the door.I kicked my shoes off and dropped my bag over the back of the couch.Clamping my hands on her hips, I tugged her to me and smiled into her eyes.“I’m saving the five-minute drill for in the shower in the morning.Tonight I’m taking my time with you, playing all four quarters plus the rock-star halftime extravaganza.”As I brushed a kiss along her jaw, I dropped my voice.“That halftime show is all on you, in case you were wondering.”
While I kissed her, I backed her down the hallway toward her bedroom.By the time we’d reached the bed, both of us were panting and scrambling for who was going to undress the other first.Then I spent half the night convincing her why the two of us together was the best idea ever and one she didn’t want to give up.The next morning, I kept my word, giving her a quickie in the shower before I dressed for success and headed into the facility.
Somewhere in there after the second round, when she was in charge of the fun, I sensed her letting go of whatever had been bothering her for a while.When she kissed me “good luck” before I left her place, I had the idea maybe we were back on the same page.It wasn’t until I’d arrived at the facility that I let myself believe everything was going to be all right.
After spending the night filling my senses with Saylor’s floral-and-musk scent and my favorite fragrance of sex, stepping into the locker room was a slap in face.
“Jesus!It smells so bad in here I can hear it.”I laughed as I wandered past a couple of open lockers on the way to my own.
“Glad you made it.Early even.Impressive.”Dally smirked as he sidled up beside me in front of my locker.
“Told ya not to worry, Dad.”I loosened my tie and started unbuttoning my dress shirt.
Taco joined us on the other side of the bench.“You’re looking relaxed, buddy.”
“Good sex will do that for a guy,” Dalton piped up from somewhere past Taco’s shoulder.
Taco must have clocked the glare on my face because he said, “Like you’d know—how again?Last I saw, that Little Rho you were chasing all night outran you.”
“Fuck off,” Dalton grumbled.
Dally and I shared a grin as we dressed in our pads and jerseys.A few minutes later, the coaches filed into the locker room, and as a unit we all snapped on our game faces, fun and frolic set aside to take care of business.
“There is nothing in this world the Bears want more than to kick our ass today, take away our shot at another conference championship.On our home turf, no less.”Coach Ellis looked each player in the eye as he let that sink in.“Like hell are we going to let them have that,” he growled.
The captains, led by Mick Patterson leaning on his crutches, chanted, “Go!’Cats!Go!”
“This is our house, and we always defend our house,” Ellis said.While the man rarely raised his voice—ever—something in his steely-eyed stare elevated the volume of his words, which the team matched on another round of, “Go!’Cats!Go!”
“You’re prepared, you’re strong, and you’re Wildcats.So get your asses out there and play Wildcats football.”
