“Kam! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” She comes so damn hard she literally petrifies. Her arousal drenches my finger and my throbbing erection, and just when I can’t hold back any longer, when I have restrained myself to the point I’m in pain, I let go. All the energy I possess pools in my lower abdomen and flushes out through my orgasm. My violent thrusts jerk Laney forward. Once, twice, three time’s a charm. I come inside the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. It’s a mind-numbing mix, an emotional and physical clash of the titans. Every part of me hums and buzzes and vibrates as I’m demolished by the wrecking ball of my release.
I collapse on top of Laney, entirely shattered, the air thin and my body spent. Kissing my way lazily across her back, we lie sexually satisfied in silence.
“Mmm,” Laney sighs, fatigued but content. Her skin so soft and smooth. I could skim my lips over it for hours. “You’re going to have to carry me around everywhere tomorrow. I’m not going to be able to walk.”
I smile against her. “I’ll carry you anywhere.”
She lifts her head and looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I know you would.”
“I wasn’t sure you were going to say yes,” I confess in the dim bedroom light.
Laney pauses before shimmying out from underneath me and wrapping herself around me.
“When does Kamdyn Ellis ever not get what he wants?” She nuzzles her nose into my chest, and the affection is poignant. As much as I enjoy indulging in her body, it’s her love I revel in.
“I didn’t know how you were going to react to the worldwide stage.”
“Did you think I was going to say no?” She sounds genuinely surprised.
I shrug. My huge frame dwarfing her in my arms. “I looked at it like throwing a touchdown. There’s confidence but never certainty.”
“I’ll admit being on the field with all the cameras and lights and people and players was a bit overwhelming, but as soon as I saw you, all my shock and awe and fear disappeared.” She places her fingers on my chin. “It didn’t matter who was around us, all I saw was you.” She kisses my jaw, and I tighten my hold. Laney has been there for me every second of the last two years. Through every grueling game. Victorious wins and heartbreaking losses. Weeks away from her on the road. Sore muscles, pain in the ass teammates, and quarterback groupies.
I was determined to be a great leader when I was traded to New York. But it wasn’t all celebrations and ticker tape parades when I walked into the locker room that first day. I was replacing a senior player. A player who was respected, and up until my trade, confident he owned his position. But that all changed when I showed up. It was a rocky first year. Tabloid headlines littered the Internet about a rival between Alabama’s golden boy and the seasoned vet with several Super Bowl rings. Not all the headlines were false. We did go toe to toe. He didn’t like me, and he made it clear, but I wasn’t going to let him get into my head. At least not at practice or during a game. Home was a different story. The tension took a toll on me. I hated being at odds with a fellow teammate, and Laney let me unload whenever I needed to. She listened, she supported me, and she offered her advice. Which was pretty damn good. Being attached to a pro anything is a challenge in itself. Being the girlfriend—now fiancée—of the Kamdyn Ellis brand is a whole other universe. We are constantly in the public eye. Royalty of the American kind. We may not wear crowns, but we are revered. All because I can throw a pigskin farther and with more accuracy than any QB before me. I never asked to be a celebrity. I just wanted to play football. But I was born under a spotlight, and I’m meeting my fate head on.
My biggest blessing, though, is having a woman as strong and tenacious as Laney by my side. And there is no way in hell, under any circumstance, I’m going to let her go. I lost her once, never again. She’d have to tase me and bury me alive in order to leave. I hope it never comes to anything like that. But both our parents are divorced, so I understand what this next step means for the two of us. We talked briefly about getting married, and a core concern was commitment. And I don’t mean commitment to each other. I mean commitment that when the going gets tough, we don’t just get going. I’ve been successful in every other aspect of my life, and I want my marriage to be my greatest triumph.
“Go to sleep, Lemon.” I press a firm kiss on her head.
“Are you actually going to let me stay asleep this time?”
“No promises.” I grin.
