Memories resurfaced as passengers continued to board. When the door was closed and we sat through the safety demonstration, I looked at him. “I think the bigger question here is why wouldyousay yes? We all know I’m a dumbass, and it all sounds just like me. But not you.”
“I like it when you beg,” he teased. “Whether it’s for my cock or my mouth.”
I flipped him the bird, making him reach out for my hand. He laced our fingers together, and for some fucking reason, I didn’t object. John tightened his hold as the plane thundered down the runway and lifted into the air. He must have been nervous during take-offs.
When we’d reached our cruising altitude, I looked down at where he was holding my hand. “What are we going to do about this?”
John looked at me. “I can let go if it bothers you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not about holding my hand. About this marriage thing. I still can’t believe we did that.”
He squeezed my hand. “What do you want to do?”
“I asked you first.”
John smirked at me.“Nothing. I don’t want to do anything about it— at least not right now. We’ve already agreed to be exclusive fuck buddies, and we work and live together. Being with you is a hell of a lot of fun, so I want to see where this goes. Plus, there are tax advantages.”
The thundering in my chest had returned. “Are you insane? Why would you want to stay married to me?”
Our eyes met and something passed between us. “If you can’t tell, genius, I kinda like you.” He held up his free hand and indicated an inch. “About this much.”
I tried not to smile. “Don’t make it weird.”
“Okay. How about this? You love my dick, as proved by your begging, and I love your tight ass. How’s that? Built-in any-time sex machine. What more could a man ask for?”
I had to think about that. Keeping it about sex could be okay. “Can I still date?”
“No, dumbass. You know the answer to that. All your dates belong to me. Along with all your sex toys and orgasms. All mine. Got it?”
“Geez,” I said, smiling at him, “I was just asking.”
“No,” he replied, “you were just trying to push my buttons and be an asshole.”
Your asshole, evidently.
The flight attendant approached with a smile on her face. “Ready for breakfast, gentlemen?”
I smiled and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Me and the ball and chain are ready.”
John groaned. “Why do I like you so much?”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering.”
After breakfast, we settled into a discussion about what we were here to do. And tracking down Turner wasn’t going to be difficult to do with Phantom’s help. So when the plane landed, we picked up our rental car.
“GQ said you knew the guy we’re looking for.”
“You bet I do,” I said, putting on my sunglasses. “Dare and I had the pleasure of escorting him off the premises of GRE when Greer personally cut him from the team.”
“What happened? Isn’t that the coach's job?”
I opened the door and slid onto the leather seat of the SUV. “I have no idea, but the coach was there. We just happened to be there too on another matter when we heard the yelling. We walked in on Patrick Griffin laying him out in the locker room. Evidently, the asshole had been causing problems for the defense, and it must have reached a boiling point for Patrick to wail on him. He probably ran his fucking mouth about Cole and Patrick’s relationship.”
John glanced over at me as I programmed the GPS with our first stop. “Who’s Cole?”
It hadn’t occurred to me that he didn’t know the scoop on them, so I filled him in on that whole story and about Patrick’s accident.
“So he’s suing Greer for wrongful termination since Patrick threw the first punch and didn’t get his contract terminated. Also claims no team will sign him. All we have to do is prove that’s not true. Phantom located him down here, living very close to the practice facility for the Rush.”
