Page 105 of The Backup Plan

She shakes her head, smiling. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And according to you, I’m also trouble, yet here you are.”

Her fingers trace absent circles on my chest. “The last thing I want is for whatever this is to ruin anything. Your career. My job. Our standing with the team.”

“I know.” I pause, knowing the ramifications aren’t anything. “And I’m not pretending that the risk isn’t real. But walking away from something that makes me feel like this? That’s not a fair ask.”

She goes quiet at that. Almost as if she’s weighing the risks and rewards that we’re already acutely aware of.

“What you don’t seem to get is that you’re the revered, hero football player with a rare talent who people want to have on their team. You get a pass for something like this. I’m . . . me. A new member of the team. A woman, no less. A dime a dozen when it comes down to it. The consequences wouldn’t be the same for both of us.”

I blow out a breath and put the arm opposite of her behind my head and stare at the ceiling. How do I argue with her when she’s probably right?

“I’m going to say that I disagree with your dime a dozen statement, but I’m not going to discount the rest of what you said. I don’t know what the consequences would be, but I’m sure you’re probably right.”

She presses a kiss to my chest. “Thank you for not disregarding my concerns.”

“They’re valid but so is this. Right?”

I can feel her lips curl up in a smile where they press against my skin. “It is.”

She falls quiet at that, and we lie like this for a while. No rushing. No urgency. Just breathing each other in like we’re both afraid the moment might slip away if we move too fast. Her fingers draw lazy patterns over my ribs. My hand rests at the small of her back as her hair tickles my cheek.

She shifts slightly. Hesitates. “I guess I should get going.”

My muscles tense at the thought. Of her leaving. Of this morning ending before I’m ready to let go.

How long has it been since I’ve felt this way?

“Probably,” I agree, even as my hand curls tighter against her. “But I feel like we should double-check something first.”

She lifts her head, brows arching. “Double-check what?”

I tilt my head as a slow, lazy grin slides across my face. “I’m pretty sure I left at least one or two orgasms up for grabs last night, and there’s nothing worse than unfinished business.”

She bursts out laughing. “Lucas—”

I roll so that our positions are somewhat reversed—my body halfway on hers, warm and soft beneath me. “I’m serious,” I murmur and press a kiss to the side of her neck. Then her collarbone. I shift so that I move between her thighs, taking her nipple into my mouth, and sucking on it. I love the startled hitch of her breath. I revel in the low-throated moan she emits even more. I look up from between her breasts. “Just call it a quality control check.”

Her laugh stutters into a breathy sound as her fingers thread through my hair. “You’re impossible.”

“Maybe,” I say against her skin and quirk a brow. “But another day deserves another chance to prove to you I no longer need improvement.”

“Is that so?”

“Everyone deserves for their morning to start off right.”

I slide a hand between her thighs to find her so goddamn wet that my dick hardens painfully.

Her fingers tighten in my hair as I slip a finger into her. It’s my groan that fills the room now as her eyelids fall heavy and her hips thrust up.

“Good morning indeed,” she says seconds before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip and spreading her thighs farther apart for me.

And then the world narrows.

No clocks.

No rules.