Once Upon A Half-Time: A Secret Baby Romance (13 page)

Too slow.

Lachlan burst from the water behind me. He launched over my body and we both collapsed on the sun-warmed boulder at the river’s edge.

I stilled.

Lachlan didn’t.

His victorious laugh echoed with a rapturous fun. He pinned me, my stomach on the rock, my legs spread wide under him.

Did he realize how he positioned over me?

My back instinctually arched. We both flinched as his cock struck me, sliding against my offered slit.

“
Caught you
.”

His words rumbled deep, rasping in need but layered in the warmth of his conquering smile. He bumped his hips forward, and the head of his cock teased me. Too close and not nearly close enough.

“Are we gonna keep Marco Poloing this shit, or did you still want to play games?” he asked.

I didn’t answer. My hips flexed, accidentally bumping his hardness. His fist had captured the length, giving it a quick tug for his own pleasure. I gasped as the head nudged my slit.

I pushed.

The head of his cock, just the barest tip, slipped within me.

Neither of us moved. My breathing shifted, rushed and panting. Just the head stretched me full. I shivered as a breeze brushed through the willow tree. Goose bumps prickled beneath the drops of water rolling from my skin.

“Elle—” Lachlan’s words clipped. “Now I
really
got you.”

His cock inched inside, deeper and deeper, but not plunging to the base. He waited. Tensing. As if he expected me to slip away from him once more.

He gave me the option.

And I gave him my body.

I bucked my hips, taking the rest of his length in a single, piercing thrust.

And we both nearly came the instant his bare flesh plunged inside me.

Vegas was a blur, but
this
was so much better than anything we did then. No rubber barrier separated us this time. His cock throbbed inside me, hot and thick and pulsing hard. I felt it all. Every vein. Every curve. Nothing during that weekend had been so
intimate
.

His growl blended both danger and pleasure into a single breath. Lachlan bottomed out as I took every inch of his monster cock.

It was better than before. Hotter than before. Bigger?

Why had I denied him for so long? I never should have refused his touch or his kiss or the thrusting, overwhelming force of his thickness inside me.

He pinned me against the beautiful shore, hidden from everyone and everything by miles of wilderness and a beautiful, blossoming willow tree that formed our own private lagoon. A consecrated place.

Just for us.

“God, Elle.” Lachlan held me tight, lying over me, one arm snaking around my hips, the other pressed against my chest. He kissed my neck. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

I shuddered. “About as much as I missed you?”

His breathing broke, and he gasped as he thrust deeper. I clawed at the sun-warmed rock and mewed his name.

He grunted. “Why the fuck did I ever let you go?”

“I’m here now.”

For as long as he wanted me.

His cock couldn’t get any deeper inside me, but his weight pushed me down just right. I spread my legs wider, moaning as his heavy balls slapped hard against my clit.

Was this how it could always be?

Taken and pleasured and
desired
every minute of every day for the rest of our lives?

“I should have found you after Vegas,” Lachlan whispered. “Should have made you mine.”

I couldn’t hear those words now, not as the tightness in my chest ached with the same intensity of my core.

He was right.

I shouldn’t have left. I should have returned to him.

Even if we hadn’t been married, I’d never felt so connected to any man in my entire life.

Especially when pinned beneath him.

“Say you’ve wanted me…” Lachlan thrust hard inside me. Not cruelly, just teasing, on the cusp of desperation and the very edge of his control. “Tell me you’ve thought about me.”

I couldn’t speak. My words wavered. “I’ve thought about
this
.”

“Tell me you want me.”

Why lie? “I want it…”

“Tell me you need me.”

His cock hit everywhere perfect and sensitive inside me—that rough patch of pleasure that I didn’t know existed until he had found it with a curled finger and dizzying grin.

“I need it.”

“No. Not
it
.” His thrusts stopped. “
Me
, Red. Do you need
me
? Christ. You have no fucking idea how good we could be together. Let me show you. Let me have you.”

It was too much.

I tightened over him, trying so hard not to imagine a moment in the future where this would be our
always
.

Always in his arms. Always under him. Always on the very peak of a mind-crippling, heart-stopping, absolutely
careless
orgasm.

“Yes. I need
you
, Lachlan.”

He roared and fucked me harder, faster, his own peak mingling with mine. His hands dug into my hips raising my ass to pummel me, to strike that spot that made my words shrill into his moaned name.

I clutched the rock as the river lapped at our legs. In that moment, in our secret cove that was kept safe with the heavy willow branches and soft light, I let myself imagine
us
. Together. Just me and him.

For better or for worse.

Lachlan’s words roughened. “Tell me you want that third date.”

I wasn’t above begging him. “Finish this one first.”

“Oh, I’m gonna finish…” Lachlan pushed inside me as deeply as he could get. “But I want to hear it. A third date.”

I could hardly breathe, hardly think, and he wanted me to grab my appointment book?

“Yes,” I gasped. “Another date.”

“Know what happens at the end of that one?”

“God, I hope it’s this.”

“You’re gonna admit that you’re in love with me, Red.” He lowered his voice. “That you’ve
been
in love with me.”

I didn’t answer.

Couldn’t let him see how unbelievably right he was.

I bit my lip and trembled. He only laughed, thrusting again. Once. Twice.

“Come for me, Elle.”

He didn’t have to ask. Didn’t have to tease. Didn’t have to demand anything else from me.

I was already his.

I clenched on his cock and gripped him so tight even his own thrusts went still.

He filled me. Completely buried. So deep, so invasive, so
rooted
in my core.

I’d longed to feel this fullness for so long that the instant I came, I crippled myself in weeping, relieved tears. He slammed inside me, hard and deep, rewarding my trembling body with jet after jet of his own heat.

I cried out, my voice echoing within our private sanctuary. But I didn’t see stars. My vision didn’t go black. I didn’t let myself think or feel or see anything but the beauty of that exact moment in time.

It was safe.

Intense.

Our own perfect infinity.

I savored everything he gave me—the heat of his seed, the thickness of his cock, the confusing and wonderful feelings that bound me to this man.

I came and came and came, each crippling wave fiercer than the last. I let the pleasure consume me. No sense denying the thrill, the connection that would forever bind Lachlan and I as one for as long as we both lived.

I collapsed, and Lachlan growled his pleasured relief. He stayed hard, gently moving within the hot, sticky mess we’d made of me. Only once we became too sensitive did he pull me into the water. I clung to him as he washed away the sweat, dirt, and slickness from my body. He cradled me against his chest, and I rewarded his soft touch with murmurs and kisses along his shoulders.

But Lachlan wasn’t done. He grinned and pulled me in for a kiss. I didn’t trust the mischievous brightness in his eyes.

“You know something, Red?” His hands traced to my slit once more. “Maybe tubing isn’t so bad after all.”

T
he ball didn’t slip
through my fingers. Jack’s pass nearly broke my goddamned hand.

I hissed and flicked my wrist as I jogged to a stop. The whistle blew.

Fuck. That didn’t mean the drill was over. It summoned me back to the line. The new team policy stated that players weren’t done with a drill until they had successfully completed it.

So far I was the only idiot to screw it up.

I hustled to the line, rubbing the sweat from my eyes with the hand that didn’t sting. A camera flashed. Elle grinned at me.

“You’ll get the next one.” She adjusted her lens. “But make it
really
dramatic. I need an epic photo for the Facebook posts today.”

Easy for her to say. “Your wish is my command.”

“See, boys!” Jack pointed at me with the football. “He’s got this husband thing down now. Nod your head, Charming. Give her
whatever
she wants.”

“Yeah, Lachlan,” she said. “
Whatever
I want.”

Elle’s skirt hugged her hips, but the ends flared out, whipping in the breeze to reveal a sinfully smooth leg. How was a man supposed to get any work done when she lingered around the camp wearing a tiny scrap of a baby-doll t-shirt? It hugged her curves, and the bright white material contrasted with the inch of bare belly the shirt didn’t cover.

The guys were right. She was all tits with a camera.

And for that, I’d give her anything she damn well wanted.

If
I could catch the fucking ball first.

Elle snapped another picture, and the camera clicked louder than the trill of the whistle.

I sprinted fifteen yards down the field and counted the seconds in my head. The route was a timing pattern, and I had to hook back at the right moment for the ball that would already be in the air and aimed for me.

Three. Two.
One
.

I turned. Too soon. The pass flew over my head. I leapt to grab it. My fingertips grazed the edge, but I fell to the grass. The ball bounced away.

Son of a bitch. That was two missed passes.

The offensive coordinator blew the whistle sharper this time. Any more of this bullshit and Coach Thompson would leave the sled drills with the offensive line to tear me a new asshole.

“What’s wrong, Charming?”

I didn’t need the attitude from Ray, one of our veteran receivers.

He nudged Elle and winked. “Baby, you gotta let him get some rest before practice. Can’t be sexing a man up all night and expect him to do good work in the morning.”

Elle never needed me to defend her. She gave Ray a bit of attitude. “Don’t hate on my man for going all night just cause you nut in three minutes.”

“It’s not about the time, baby.” Ray thrust his hips. “It’s about the
ride
. I buck my woman like a rodeo stallion.”

“What? Done in eight seconds?”

The team laughed, but I set up for the next pass. Last thing I needed was my
wife
sticking up for me. I gritted my teeth.

Jack slapped his hand on the ball. “If you miss this one, Charming, you owe us a steak dinner.”

Jesus. How could these fuckers think of food now? I’d blown three hundred dollars in donuts for them this week, but in this heat, constantly running these goddamned drills, I was lucky to have eaten at all. Nothing tasted better than pride, but mine went rancid too quick.

Elle aimed the camera. “Okay, never mind the epic catch. Just nab one, and I’ll make sure you look good.”

Jesus Christ. Now
she
was patronizing me? What the hell was going on?

Since when couldn’t I run a goddamned route?

I’d been playing football since I fit into pee-wee shoulder pads. All-fucking-state in high-school. Offered a free ride to any college I wanted. I had a
Heisman Trophy
proudly displayed in my mother’s house.

So why the fuck did my hands turn to bricks? My legs didn’t communicate with my head, my brain fogged on the damn play, and the pressure beat on me harder than the burning sun.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

I was Lachlan
Charming
Reed, first-round draft choice. Not some charity case running bullshit drills and failing in front of the entire team.

The whistle blew. I burst into the route. Fifteen yards down. Count from the snap. Hook back.

The ball bounced away before I even turned.

I checked the yardage. Damn it.

I ran
eighteen
yards. Two extra steps.

My timing was off, and I fucked it up.

“That’s some magic fucking pussy, Elle…” Ray shook his head. “You’ve ruined him.”

She sighed. “Don’t get superstitious now. Remember two years ago? When no one wanted to change their practice socks cause we were on a streak?” She gagged. “We needed real voodoo to clear the smell out of the locker room.”

Ray snickered. “You’re right. Let’s run it again. Throw
you
down the field. He might be able to
hit
that.”

“Darn.” Elle snapped her fingers. “And here I didn’t pack my pads.”

“At least you’ve got some underwear on today.”

I set for the ball, but my back stiffened. I stepped towards Ray. “Leave her alone.”

Ray grinned. “Uh-oh.
DH
is jealous. You get her all night, Charming. Leave us our locker room memories.”

“I said shut it.”

Jack called me to the line. “Let’s go, rookie. We just gotta count together. That’s all.”

“I got it.”

“It’s all right,” Jack said, his voice a little too calming. “These plays take some practice to get right, but we’ll keep working.”

“I said I got it.”

Elle took another picture. I regretted giving her the camera. “One catch, Lachlan. Easy peasy.”

Something snapped in me. I gritted my teeth.

“Yeah? You think? Maybe I could catch the fucking ball if I didn’t have someone in my face flashing a damn camera while I’m trying to learn the play?”

Even the coach’s whistle trilled into silence. The team stiffened.

Shit
.

Did I say it out loud?

Jack ducked his head low, murmuring under his breath. “Take it back. Take it back. Take it back.”

Elle’s hand fit snuggly on her hip, cocked just like her eyebrow.

“Do realize that once you’re playing this game for real, there’s going to be a couple
million
people watching you through all those cameras.”

“No shit.”

“Fine. You want me gone?” She shoved her camera in the bag. “I’m not wasting my time on a tight-end in name only.”

She demonstrated the insult with a slap to her own ass and stalked away. The guys hissed through their teeth—that universal sound of
you done fucked up
. Jack clapped my shoulder.

“One crisis at a time, lover boy. First you catch this ball, then you hand her yours.”

Christ, he was right, but I couldn’t do shit about it now.

It had been two weeks since our not-so-lazy river ride. Two weeks since we whispered promising words and held each other close. But the camp got busy, and the coach’s demands a little too heavy.

I hadn’t been a decent husband. Hell, I hadn’t even
seen
Elle outside training camp. After the increasingly bad practices and a tweaked hamstring that slowed me half-a-step, we hadn’t met up for anything more than a couple stolen kisses and a sexy text off the field.

I owed her a third date.

But hell, if I had asked her out right after our river trip, I would have probably woken up beside her this morning. Instead, I screwed myself. Thought I could focus more on the team and the camp. I worked out in the afternoon and evenings. Memorized the playbook at night. Studied film in my downtime.

But I didn’t have time to figure my shit out in the huddle, let alone plan out how to make a woman fall madly in love with me.

Especially when that woman still didn’t trust me.

Something was bugging her. I wasn’t sure what, but she rushed around training camp trying to keep busy, fighting to stay smiling. It wasn’t normal Elle. Whatever bothered her, she bundled it up tight inside, and she didn’t think she could share it with me.

I should have run after her, but the whistle blew. I sprinted down the field.

Jack threw the ball, and I caught it instinctively.

Just like I had done thousands of times before in my life. Just as I would a thousand times in the coming years.

So what was wrong with me?

Practice ended, but I didn’t stick around any longer than it took for me to haul the team’s bags from the field to the facility—two trips. The offensive line invited me out to eat. They seemed surprised that I declined, but they followed me to my car anyway.

And I saw why.

Popcorn.

I circled my Lexus. Thousands of kernels of popcorn smooshed into the interior.

All popped. All
buttered
.

It was like a corn field gangbanged a matinée movie.

“Dinner’s on us, rookie.” Ray slapped my shoulder. “Too bad you pissed off the missus. You could have had a nice movie night together.”

The guys snapped the obligatory pictures and cackled, leaving me to shovel my way into a car that had housed popcorn for an entire ninety-degree day. Kinda smelled like Uncle Bowie’s feet.

That reminded me I had to call Bast. I hadn’t read to him in three days.

That made me feel even more like an asshole.

At least I could put my Tinkerbell book bag to use. I shoveled some of the popcorn from my seats, just to tunnel my way through the car and sit like the prize in a Crackerjack box through Ironfield’s traffic.

The stress was getting to me. I slammed my front door.

Hungry. Exhausted. Slimy with butter.

Pissed at myself for pissing off Elle.

But there was nothing I could do about it. I’d call her later, after I talked to Bast.

If either of them wanted to talk to me. Seemed unlikely.

I turned on the television, but my phone rang before I could sit down. It wasn’t Elle—it was Mom.

Great, first my wife watched me fuck up at practice, and now my mother was calling to check-in. Why did she have to sound so cheerful? I didn’t have the energy to bluff my way through a conversation.

“What’s up, Mom?”

“Oh, Honey. I just saw you on TV. You look so handsome!”

TV? Great. I collapsed on the couch and stared at the television. Sports Nation ran through a recap of the league’s training camps. My finger hovered over the mute button until they started talking about the Rivets.

And my grinning face filled the screen.

“
The Ironfield Rivets’ had a great draft—on paper.
” The reporter talking had some ungodly jowls. Ainsley Ruport wasn’t a fan of Ironfield, and he made his bias well known. The asshole was greying and fat, and I figured he’d eat the pigskin before throwing it. “
But this wouldn’t be the first time the scouts got it wrong.”

“Lachlan, I don’t want you to be worried,” Mom said.

Well, that wasn’t a good start to the conversation. “What’s wrong? Is it Bast?”

“Oh no. He’s fine. Drew a picture of you in your uniform today at school. It’s on the fridge, you’ll have to autograph it for him. He’s just so thrilled about—”

“Mom, focus. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, right. Well…you should know, Victoria stopped by here earlier today.”

I clutched the phone, nearly kicking the coffee table over as I leapt to my feet. “She
what
?”

“She was looking for you.”

The TV flashed to an image of me in college, catching a touchdown pass during my last bowl game. “
We have reports that first-rounder Lachlan Reed is having difficulty during this camp. Though highly rated by every scout at the combine, many teams are breathing a sigh of relief today, fortunate they didn’t sign this uncertain prospect.”

Mom tried to calm me down. “She said she wanted to talk.”

“What the hell is she doing showing up there? Especially after the shit she pulled five years ago?”

“I know, honey. But you might have to meet her.”

“I got absolutely nothing to say to her.”

“You might not have a choice. She said she wanted to talk with you…or she was getting a lawyer.”

“Bullshit. With what money?”

“Probably
your
millions, Lachlan. We knew this was a possibility when you got drafted. She was going to see you on television and try her luck again.”

“And she doesn’t care whose life she’ll ruin.”

The television droned on.
“This wouldn’t be the first time a highly commended draft choice choked during training camp. The Rivets have a tough decision ahead of them, especially if they are willing to wait to see if Reed’s performance improves. Fortunately for Ironfield, Reed’s rather lucrative contract can be terminated without a hit to the salary cap—”

I turned the television off and pitched the remote into the wall.

It shattered, and my heart nearly stopped with it.

Christ. I’d never broken anything in anger before.

I’d never had trouble on the field either.

And I’d fucking never
imagined
myself snapping at the woman of my dreams without trying to fix it.

My head hurt, and I hated myself for being such a goddamned coward.

“Mom, I’ll take care of Victoria.” I rubbed my face. “Do me a favor. I got something going on tonight. Tell Bast I’ll call him tomorrow?”

“He misses you, Lachlan.”

“I know. It’s just…” I sighed. “Things have gotten a little intense.”

“Are you okay?”

“How’s that new house treating you and Bast?”

Mom knew better, but she answered honestly. “It’s the home of my dreams, honey.”

“Then don’t worry about me. That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll call Bast tomorrow. Love you.”

I didn’t pocket the phone. Instead, I put in an order for a pizza and grabbed my keys. Fortunately, it was early evening. I hadn’t let Elle stew for too long.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still pissed.

I grabbed the gift I had set aside for her and sped to her house, picking up the pizza along the way. I arrived at her doorstep bearing dinner and the most charming smile I could muster.