I lower my gaze on his and touch myself with more pressure, gliding two fingers along my swollen skin, then pushing a finger inside. My lips part as my breathing steadies. My eyes zero in on his cock, on the tip covered with precum, and I grow selfish.
I shake my head and crawl on top of him. “No, I want you to do it. I want to come together. I need to know how that feels,” I say, words I know he understands.
He nods as I move my hand over his, guiding his cock to my entrance as I slide down on top of him.
“Oh, fuck,” I cry out, taking him deep. I let my body adjust to him before lifting my body just enough that he barely leaves me. He grabs his cock, holding it up so I can impale him again. And this time, I whimper.
“Touch yourself now,” he says, moving my hand to my clit.
His hand covers mine, guiding it in tiny circles as I begin to rock my hips. Jayden’s heated gaze holds me hostage, and the only sound is our breathing and the small creek of the damn spring in my hotel bed. Eventually, though, my pulse drowns it all out. I follow the beat of my heart, chasing the edge with Jayden, my hips rolling as he lifts his from the bed, driving into me and urging me to give over completely.
The first wave renders my muscles weak and I collapse onto his body, letting him pull my hips into him again and again, forcing me to ride through every shock that rips through my core. And just when I may pass out from sheer ecstasy, Jayden flips me to my back to find his own edge. He pumps into me, filling me with his cum, and he remains inside me well after he’s empty. My belly warms, and our bodies cool the longer we lie this way—naked and connected.
Together. In the face of all the reasons we shouldn’t be.
Fuck this game.
TWENTY-FOUR
JAYDEN
It was easy for me to say fuck this game. Colby was right about one thing—I have the luxury of being a bigger investment. It’s not right, but it’s true. The hard part, though, is that of the two of us, she might just be more valuable. At least, if people were honest about things.
Sure, she spent one day with my brother. She said a few things to him and had him make a small tweak. It was a thing a dozen players and coaches likely noticed, and something he’s been told all season by other coaches. But when Colby said it, he made the change. I don’t know if it was out of respect or pride, but her words got through to him. Probably because other people talk to him like he’s a celebrity, some sort of God, and Colby talks to him like he’s her annoying older brother.
Because when you boil it down, he is.
And in the three weeks Adriel’s been back up with the team, he’s been killing it. I know not all of that is Colby. Hell, ninety-nine percent of it is him. She just got him out of his own damn way.
They’ve paired her with Jake and Adler pretty much exclusively, and I can tell she’s miserable over it. She puts on a good face, and I know Jake appreciates her, but Adler’s oneseason away from being forced into retirement because nobody wants his toxic ass. She’s babysitting him more than coaching him. He’s uncoachable.
“Jayden, I’m going to try you in leadoff today,” Coach Shuster says as I step into the dugout after taking my round of BP. My muscles zing with adrenaline and my heart kicks harder as I pull my water bottle from my mouth to utter, “Sounds good.”
He nods, and I try to keep my big-ass grin in check. Leadoff. I’ve been itching to show off my speed. Ilovebatting leadoff. I glance toward the field, where Colby is sitting with her foot propped on the backstop and her iPad resting on one knee while Jake takes some healthy hacks. I stare at her until she glances in my direction, and I give her a thumbs up.
She shrugs, so I walk over. There’s nothing wrong with us talking. Hell, there’s nothing wrong with us being together, period. But the mood around this place is so stifling, and the optics are important to Colby, so I keep a healthy distance when I reach the backstop.
“Looking good, Jake,” I say, resting my arms on the backstop and giving my friend a nod.
“She’s got me working on oppo power,” he says right before he lines one down the first baseline.
“Seems you found your thing,” I say, glancing to Colby. Her face is stoic, and her eyes are set on her player.
“Don’t get any ideas. You should still lean into your pull power,” she says without glancing at me. “I mean, if I were coaching you . . . that’s what I’d say.”
The little extra bite she tacks on stings inside my chest. I can’t help but feel at fault for how she’s being treated. I know she doesn’t feel that way, though. She’s just bitter at the management, at Coach Shuster. And rightfully so.
“My pull power has me hitting leadoff today,” I say, my gaze drifting to Coach Bastion. He and I haven’t spoken a word to oneanother since we tried to take each other’s heads off. He throws me BP, and I hit the ball extra hard. That’s our relationship. He’s only mildly more useful than Adler out here, and that’s because he can throw strikes from thirty-five feet away.
“Leadoff, huh?” she says.
I swing my focus back to her, and even though her sunglasses are still on and her attention seems to be on the field, the smile on her lips is for me.
“Yep. You did that,” I say, giving her the credit she deserves.
“I know.”
My smile settles into a comfortable line as I watch Jake finish his swings.
