Montana spun. No sweat. A Louisiana Creole statue. Breathing? Maybe. Amusement sparked in his eyes. Oh, he was loving this while I stood, breathless and ragged.
“The only thing big about you isthe booty.” His brows knitted. “Why was I running?”
“I … dunno …” I backed away.
He lunged, and I squealed, throwing the sponge.Dang. It should’ve bounced between his eyes, but he’d dodged it. I tore away. In two steps, Montana scooped me up, and we laughed, lost our damn minds in a multi-million-dollar mansion. And then suddenly we were in a race. Lips colliding, a collision of minty toothpaste. The room spun slower as his beard roughed against my cheek. Soft but with grit, and that Bay rum scent—warm, spicy, clean—hit me right in the chest. I’d know that smell anywhere.
He brought me to the ground, heavy over me. My breath tangled with his, and the look he gave me.
Satisfaction.
All the torture and angst that sat between us melted as his hands slid over my pajama pants, and he deepened the kiss. His mouth moved like he’d been waiting all of last night.
For.
Ever.
Patient and sure, tasting every hesitation I tried to hide.
My pulse tripped as I arched against him, fully clothed and achy. And for one wild second, I was wide awake this morning. And I’d stopped fighting the feeling that maybe—just maybe—this was where I was supposed to be.
I’m so sorry, Virginia. I can’t … resist.
Montana began to tug an arm out of his robe. Bicep muscles rippled like the ocean on a sunny day.
Yep. Couldn’t resist this temp?—
Buzz!
Somewhere nearby, a loud alarm broke through, and Montana lay between my thighs, gripping at the fuzzy material, and growled. “Bruh.”
montana
. . .
If it wasn’t Momma, or in this case,time,our laughing, touching, and kissing would’ve escalated.
But my alarm screamed. Meeting. Business. Consequences.
And Zuri deserved my attention.
At least the first time.
One ride, Big Country. You only give females one ride.Damn sure, didn’t want her to steal an entire season.
After an hour of fighting through LA traffic, I now sat in the sleek lobby of a glass-and-steel building, scrubbing my beard.
Zuri took my hand.
The old me would’ve stuffed my hands into my pea coat. But here I was doing whatever I could to touch her. And damn sure wasn’t listening to my alter ego.One ride?Once? I didn’t appreciate nothing about any of that. I brought the back of her hand to my lips and smiled the best I could while a knot formed in my chest.
This was supposed to be the chillest part of the season. NFL played less than twenty games. The NBA played four times that. Double for baseball. I didn’t get a vacation after this long-ass sports season.
I ground my teeth. Fans thought I was a generational talent. But owners, man, they counted every dollar, every scandal.
“You’re thinking loudly, Montana,” Zuri murmured, pushing her hand through her new wig. She then squeezed my hand in her lap, looking all innocent. “They can’t sideline you forever. Okay? You scored …” She proceeded to tell me my stats last season.
“Don’t matter how good I was,bébé. They’ve already fined me. Now the world knows I’m getting sued. Ain’t a good look.”
