Blitzed (Rules of Possession Book 3), page 20
He kissed me then, devouring my mouth like he had an absolute right to do so. I wasn’t about to tell him differently. Even when he broke the kiss, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I closed even that tiny gap between us and slid my hands behind his neck, playing with the hair there that had grown over his collar. It had gotten long, longer than usual, probably because he wasn’t on the field. I knew he’d be giving it the old chop soon, and I planned to enjoy it until then.
“Do you like sweet potatoes?” Someone wanted to know.
Andrew closed his eyes briefly, looking resigned and amused. “Liam, I thought you were going to help set the table.”
“I did.” He puffed up importantly, carrying a silver napkin holder for some reason. Guess the table was missing a few pieces. “Mom said dinner is ready.”
“Pie!” I exclaimed as the little urchin slipped his hand in mine. I wasn’t sure why it was wet and now that we’d already touched, I didn’t need to know. “I forgot the pecan pie in the car—”
“I’ll get it,” Andrew said, holding his hand out for my keys. “I’m not letting you anywhere near a car now that you’re here.”
I huffed a laugh. “I came here voluntarily.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I expect to be able to leave the same way.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” he said with a grin. I shook my head bemusedly and put my keys in his palm. He dropped a kiss on my mouth and headed out the door. “Be right back. Liam, take ’im to the kitchen.”
“Come on,” Liam said, tugging at my hand.
We didn’t get far. A small woman in cream slacks and a pink blouse grabbed me in a hug in the doorway of the farmhouse kitchen. She had on enough expensive jewelry to need a security detail. “You!”
“Me,” I agreed.
“Oh God, where are my manners? It’s so nice to finally meet you, dear.” She beamed. “I’m Libby.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I said with a smile. “Jesse.”
“I already know who you are. We were hoping you’d come.” She glanced down at Liam and ruffled his hair. “You take that right back in the kitchen, young man.”
Liam skipped down the hall—I wasn’t sure he knew any other way to travel—and Libby grabbed my hand. “Andrew went out to grab the pie I made—”
“How lovely! You didn’t have to bring anything.” It was clear from Libby’s tone that she didn’t mind in the least. “Your pie will have a spot of honor on the dessert table.”
Dessert table? I perked up a bit. Finally, someone was speaking my language.
A guy ambled down the hallway and I didn’t need an introduction to know he was Grant—he looked like a slightly smaller, shorter version of his brother.
“Hey,” he said, giving me a greeting that involved a lot of backslapping. “You’re the guy that gave AJ the rabbit, yeah?”
“Yeah. Moon Pie.”
“Good to finally meet you,” he said, and I squinted because there was a lot of this finally business going on. “God knows he won’t shut up about you. Every time I talk to him, it’s all Jesse this and Jesse that. We’re all sick of you, you know.”
“Don’t tease,” his mother said, her mouth twitching with a grin. “Even though it’s true.”
My face was approaching peak levels of tomato. “I’m sure it’s not that bad,” I said loyally. Not to mention I was sure Andrew would lock his brother in a closet if he could hear him now.
“Oh, trust me, it is.”
Another woman hustled down the hall, almost as tall as Grant was and thin, her dark hair pulled up in a bun designed to be messy. She was wearing a frilly white blouse and a knee-length pencil skirt, a gold lavalier necklace at her neck and gold studs in her ears. She had a glass half-filled with red liquid in her hand.
Grant bumped her with his shoulder. “This is him.”
“Hi Jesse,” she blurted.
“Hi,” I said slowly.
“Oh.” Grant snapped his fingers. “An introduction would probably help. This is my wife, Kim.”
She beamed at me, her dark eyes practically dancing with delight. “I had to see you with my own eyes.”
I decided not to ask why they were treating me like Bigfoot. If I had to guess, it was probably because someone who shall remain unnamed said some shit about us that shouldn’t be said.
“Let the boy have some room to breathe,” Libby admonished. “I want you to meet everyone else.”
“Everyone else?” I croaked.
I glanced back at the front door a little desperately. Guess Andrew was right to confiscate my keys.
She introduced me to everyone so quickly that if I hadn’t already known their names, I would’ve forgotten them all immediately. There were a couple of aunts, an uncle, and a passel of cousins that Andrew had not indicated would be there. There was also his mother’s date, the uncomfortable-looking Glenn. Everyone’s laughter was a little too hearty and the silent stretches a little too long, but they were trying.
I put a hand on Andrew’s thigh under the table when Glenn started going on about a trip he and Libby had taken, and found it hard with tension. The story was probably ill-advised—apparently, the place he’d taken her had been a favorite of Lucas’s—but sometimes once you’re in the middle of a story, you just have to go with that shit.
Even with the Glenn-related tension, I could certainly think of worse ways to spend a Sunday. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was warm. I could tell that everyone at the table cared about each other. I couldn’t help but wish this was real and I was meeting my boyfriend’s family. I sighed wistfully as Grant and his wife teased one another. I knew Andrew adored them, but I wasn’t sure if he really understood how lucky he truly was.
“Jesse, dear?” I blinked at Libby, only to find her attention zeroed in on me. “If you don’t like the meatloaf, I can make you something else.”
I looked down at my plate to realize I was mashing the meatloaf absently. I went pink. Good God, what was wrong with me? “No, it’s wonderful,” I said hurriedly and proceeded to stuff some in my mouth as Andrew snickered.
I gave him a kick under the table, and he grunted.
“I’ve been monopolizing the conversation,” she said with a clap of her hands. “I’d love to know more about you.”
I hoped she was talking about someone else, but no, she was still looking at me, her brown eyes friendly but determined. I was “dating” her son, and she was going to have some answers. Fuck.
I kept chewing around meatloaf mountain, probably looking like a chipmunk worried for winter. When I finally swallowed, I said, “There’s not much to know.”
“Well, are you from Florida originally?”
“No, I moved here from Chicago.”
“Such a lovely city,” she gushed. “We went there a few times to see the Bears play.”
“To see me play,” Andrew corrected with a growl. “They were just an unpleasant by-product.”
“No, she had it right the first time,” Glenn teased and then looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole. I had a feeling this tentative dynamic between them all was new.
But then Andrew laughed, and Glenn looked surprised and pleased. So did Libby. I nudged Andrew’s leg under the table because he was trying and I was proud of him, and he gave me a crooked little smile.
“So, what brought you to Florida?” Libby’s focus was resolute and her meter was pinging all things Jesse.
Chicago winters are hell on homeless kids. The idea of endless sunshine sounded pretty damn good when I was shivering under a box.
“It seemed like a nice place to live,” I said.
“AJ told us all about your work at the center. I think what you do is wonderful,” she said with a warm smile, and I squirmed in my chair, uncomfortable with the praise. “You’ll have to let us know if there’s any way we can help. We can donate meals and put up some of your signage in our restaurants—”
“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you.” I tucked into my mashed potatoes, hoping the inquisition was over, but it wasn’t to be.
“So. How long have you two been seeing one another?” Glenn asked.
I sighed.
I’d been in the bathroom way too long. I knew that. But downstairs there was family and fun and Liam had mentioned Jenga Giant, and no one had shot him down. I knew how to turn things on when I had to, but I eventually needed to recharge my batteries. Quietly. And maybe smell a cigarette.
I heard a quiet knock on the door and stuffed it back in my pocket. “Occupied,” I said. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
Even as I washed my hands, I grumbled to myself that there had to be more than one bathroom in this sprawling mini mansion masquerading as a farmhouse. I opened the door a few seconds later, not bothering to hit the light switch, and came face to face with Andrew.
I blinked. “What’re you—”
He pushed past me into the small space and shut the door behind us. “Shh,” he said with a grin. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And not making a break for it out the bathroom window.”
“It was too small,” I admitted. “And it drops right into a bed of thorny rose bushes.”
“Kim just put on some coffee,” he said, slipping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. I went willingly, even as I gave him a suspicious look. “An hour, tops, and we’re out of here.”
“There’s no rush.”
“Really?” He asked skeptically. “Because when my mother started asking about your family, you looked like a bear contemplating gnawing his own foot out of a trap.”
“Okay, I didn’t love Twenty Questions, the Jesse edition,” I admitted. “But your family is lovely. They’re good people.”
“The best,” he said simply. “We’re still leaving though. I’m thinkin’ I want to get you alone.”
Oh, I knew that look. I gave him a warning look in return. “You’re not fucking me in your mother’s bathroom.”
“I’m not?”
“You’re not,” I confirmed. “I want her to like me.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“Spell it out for me.”
I decided to use actions instead. I reached up and pulled him down for a kiss, a long one, and poured everything I was feeling into it. There was relief and frustration and arousal and fondness in there, all rolled up into one. By the time I pulled away, we were both breathing a little unsteadily.
“How’d I do?” I asked, my voice rough.
His gaze was unfocused, his pupils huge as he stared at my mouth. “Well, if the goal was to make my knees lock, then great job.”
“Those old creaky things?” I raised a brow, trying not to smile. “Pretty sure they lock up on their own.”
He narrowed his gaze. “That’s not a very smart tone to take with someone who’s about to have your cock in his mouth.”
Have my cock in his…even as my pulse skyrocketed into the danger zone, I knew I had to stop him. He sank to his knees and I couldn’t manage a word. Not even when he unzipped my pants, revealing the red underwear I’d worn that made him suck in a breath.
“We shouldn’t,” I finally managed.
“It’s happening, Fox,” he growled. “Get on board.”
“What about your knee?” I asked a little anxiously. “This floor is kind of hard. Should you—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said as those nimble fingers pulled me out of my underwear and I did absolutely nothing to stop him. He looked up at me with a wicked grin. “It’s not like I’ll be down here all that long.”
So it was like that? I hid my amusement because he was a snarky little shit, and I was good at teaching snarky little shits a thing or two. “Open up, McAdams. Time for us to put that smart mouth to better use.”
21
ANDREW
The day I got my SCRAM bracelet taken off was a glorious one. I scratched my ankle for a good two minutes. The strip of skin there was fish-belly white against my tan, making it look like it was still on. I rewarded myself with a nice swim in the pool…well, it was less of a leisurely swim and more like twenty-five laps. Either way, my muscles burned pleasantly after I was done. I ended my session by floating on my back, looking up at the sky.
When I started feeling a little crispy, I stopped floating. I went under to dunk my head with cool water and stayed there for a few seconds before I started drifting down. Down, down, down. When I reached the bottom of the pool, I sat down, cross-legged. I looked up at a world gone watery and distorted. The sky was still beautiful and blue.
I wondered if Jesse was finished working on his grant proposal. I'd promised not to call or bother him until he was done. Apparently, I was a distraction. You kiss someone's neck one freaking time while he's calculating the budget, and suddenly you’re persona non-grata.
Maybe a quick text about what he wanted for dinner wasn't verboten. Too bad he didn’t have a grill. A nicely charred steak sounded pretty good right about now. I had a grill and steaks, too, but he didn’t seem interested in coming to my house. I’d made the suggestion several times and he’d turned me down each time.
I tried not to take that shit personally.
The last time I’d mentioned it had been my first night back from an advertising gig. Jesse’s house had been my first stop, and he’d attacked me before I even got the front door closed, wrapping himself around me like a monkey. I rolled with it, dropping my bag and picking him up. I carried him to the bathroom, wondering why something in my chest eased the moment he was in my arms.
If I closed my eyes, I could still see him on his knees on the hard tile of the shower, his hands gripping my thighs. I’d asked him to come home with me. My house was closer to the Outlaws’ facility and I needed to be there early the next morning.
“Spend the night with me.”
He shook his head slowly. “Let’s just let this thing be what it is.”
He looked up at me through those sinfully long lashes, right before he took my cock down to the root and buried his nose in my pubes. He worked his throat around me until I had to pull back, fast. Either that or shoot down his throat within a minute and die of embarrassment.
“Fuck.” His tongue flicked out, licking the dripping head bobbing in front of his face. “You always taste so fucking good. I could go down on you every fucking day.”
Three minutes. I tracked a bubble as it escaped my mouth and drifted to the surface.
We were having a good time together and I wasn’t about to rock the boat. Being with Jesse was easy. He was still a little wary of opening up, so I did most of the talking. More than I’d ever done in my life. Jesse would listen to me with a little smile on his face, usually touching me in some way. A hand in my hair. His fingers on my arm, tracing my tattoo. I wasn’t sure he was aware he was even doing it at this point. He was tactile as could be, as if he’d been starved for affection and was soaking it up like a sponge.
I planned to give him all the affection he could handle.
I pushed myself a little further because that’s what conditioning was all about—finding your boundaries and pushing past them. My lungs started complaining louder, so I got up and swam for the surface. Pushing past boundaries didn’t include drowning, I was pretty sure.
I came up with an almighty splash, sucking in air like I’d breathed my last. The burn felt good. Great, even. I raked my hair back from my face, water streaming down my neck and shoulders.
“Even if you drown, I still get my ten percent.”
I blinked water out of my eyes to find Ari standing there, looking way too crisp and put together for ninety-plus degree weather. His button-down and slacks were still crisp like they were fresh from a dry cleaner’s bag. He had on blue suspenders and a chunky, expensive-looking watch glittered at his wrist. As usual, his phone was attached to his hand—surgically, I’m pretty sure.
“Cute.” I swam over to the edge slowly and rested my arms on the side. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“It was my only recourse, seeing how you don’t seem to be able to operate email or answer phones.”
“Must’ve missed your call.”
“Mmhmm. You have an interview with Sports Weekly, and don’t complain,” he added without looking up from his phone. “They wanted Diesel but I suggested you would be better. I really played up a possible return to the field.”
“Great. I adore being the second choice.”
“Third.” His mouth twitched. “First we lamented for a while that Blue was retired.”
I flicked him with water and he gasped, moving those Gucci loafers faster than I’d ever seen him move. He hoofed it over to the seating area and put a lounger with blue and white striped cushions between us.
He glared at me before examining his precious shoes. “Uncalled for.”
“Get closer and I’ll apologize.”
“And participate in my own dunking? No thanks.”
Well, now he’d gone and ruined the surprise. “Nothing but love for you, Ari.”
He sniffed, straightening the rolls of his already perfectly rolled cuffs. “Have you given any thought to who you’re going to bring to family day? I have passes for the usual suspects—your mother, Grant, and his family. Anyone else?”
“Just one or two.”
“That was completely rhetorical, McAdams.” He frowned because he liked corrections just about as much as he liked surprises—not at all. “Who’d I miss?”
“Just a couple of kids from the center.”
And maybe a recalcitrant coordinator if I can convince him to come.
I wasn’t sure why it was so important that Jesse showed up. I just wanted to show him something about me. And I wanted him to meet some guys on the team—Everett, Diesel, and Craig. Bottom line? I wanted to get all the special people in my life in the same place at the same time. Football, family, and Jesse. It was so simple it was kind of scary.
My flushed face didn’t escape Ari’s notice. He raised both his eyebrows. “Seriously?”
