Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance (30 page)

I
tossed
the manila envelope on Clayton’s desk.

“My resignation from the fellowship program.” I gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you for the opportunity, but I feel my expertise is better suited elsewhere.”

Clayton’s eyes shimmied over my body. I let him gawk. I was rocking the post-pregnancy body and looked fantastic for having a three-month-old daughter.

“Is that all I’ll find in this envelope?” he asked.

“Did you want a thank-you card as well?”

“I expected a lawsuit for paternity.”

I tilted my head. “You aren’t my child’s father.”

“Biologically—”

“Clayton, if it wasn’t for my baby, I’d have forgotten all about you. Soon enough, I will. I don’t care if she is your blood. Dawn is
Jude’s
daughter, and you will
not
take his child from him. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly.” He opened the envelope. “Where will you go?”

“I was offered a specialized position at Ironfield Regional—more pay, better hours. Your program didn’t compensate its talent well.” I arched my eyebrow. “Though, from what I hear…it won’t be your program for much longer.”

“You’re fortunate I don’t sue you for recording a private conversation.”

“And you’re lucky I don’t leap over this desk and beat you senseless for putting Jude in such danger.” I shrugged. “However, I’ve learned a great deal about remaining
professional
through this fellowship. I thank you for all the faith you had in me.”

“You are a good doctor.”

“I’m a
great
doctor, no thanks to your efforts. Good luck with the future league investigations, Clayton. You’re going to need it.”

I didn’t let him answer, though I did do a celebratory dance once I slammed the door behind me.

Was I allowed to feel good about that?

Vindicated? A little proud?

Yes and yes.

It was a moment to close a chapter on my life. I thought he had scarred me for life. Instead, I was given the greatest gift of all.

A
family
.

I returned home to find Jude and Dawn on the couch. Sports Nation was muted on the TV, but his attention focused on the little baby asleep on his chest. He grinned and let me take Dawn.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“Clayton won’t be a problem.” I patted her back. “Did she eat?”

“Had a bottle.”

Never thought I’d be grateful for the weird pumping apparatuses that came from the baby shower, but they were a damn life saver. Jude needed time to bond with his daughter, and they both loved the time dinner time while resting in her daddy’s arms.

I took Dawn into her room, resting her in her crib. If Jude had his way, she’d sleep on him all day and all night. Even Phillip followed us, crashing under the crib and taking up his watchful post.

Jude followed me, grinning like a fool.

“Got some good news of my own,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“You’re looking at the Rivets’ new assistant offensive coordinator.”

I spun, shocked. “
What
?”

“Amazing, right?”

“You…you went in to get a job as the
running back
coach!”

He shrugged. “They fired Thompson, and Coach Vine took his spot. They needed to fill the offensive coordinator position, so they juggled inside the administration. They wanted me to help with the overall offense.”

“That’s amazing, Jude!”

He wrapped me into his arms, but the heat of his hands immediately shifted into something a little more daring than just a hug. With a wicked smirk, he led me into the bedroom.

“Seems like we have a bit of celebrating to do,” he said.

“I suppose so.”

His kiss was quick, layering a shivered heat over my lips, my neck, my shoulder. He tugged me to the bed.

Our bed.

It amazed me to finally fall onto the mattress with him over me, without worrying about smooshing tummies or kicking babies.

As it had happened so many times before, our clothes fell away, and our bodies heated in a quick and furious passion. Within minutes, he filled me, and our quiet and amazing desire overwhelmed us both.

How had our one crazy mistake and ridiculous plan become something so wonderful?

We rested in each other’s arms, listening to the sound of Dawn’s quiet breathing over the monitor. I cuddled against Jude’s chest.

“I have something for you,” he whispered.

“You already gave it to me, All-Star.”

“Plenty more where that came from, Doc.” He shifted and rolled from me, rooting through the nightstand. He returned with a velvet-lined box tucked in his hand. “Rory…”

He didn’t have to say it. The ring glistened, beautiful and perfect.

“Will you marry me?” He whispered. “No more pretending. No more lies. Just you and me and the baby.
Together
.” He took a breath. “I know it won’t be easy. And I know I have a long way to go until my head is screwed on right…if it ever get fixed at all. But you and Dawn are the reasons I’m going to recover from this injury. I want to spend my life with you, and if I happen to forget a couple moments here or there…” He shrugged. “At least reliving them with you will be a constant joy.”

“If you only knew how many times I’ve imagined you asking me this…” I grinned at him. “You’d think I was crazy.”

“No. I’d think you were perfect. I hate that I never saw in you back then what I do now.”

“You can always make up the time with me.”

The ring slipped onto my finger. Jude’s voice deepened to a playful growl.

“You know what, Doc?” The blankets shifted, and Jude’s kisses trailed a little lower. “You’re absolutely right. I have
years
of attention I need to bestow upon you.”

“Only if you’re feeling well enough.”

“I think you’re the best medicine, Rory.” His words quieted. “Hell, you’re the one who healed me.”

“And you’re the one who rescued me. Call it even?”

“Never.” Jude whispered. “I would’ve always helped you, Rory. That was never a question. But I swear…I’m going to spend the rest of our lives proving how indebted I am to you for finding me, helping me, showing me what else there is to life.”

“I don’t need your gratitude.” I leaned forward and kissed him, gently. “I just want to experience that life with you.”

“You’re the reason it’s worth living.”

I silenced him with a kiss. “No more talking. Let me show you how much I love you.”

Jude smiled, resting against the pillows. “Do I have a choice?”

“Absolutely not. You’re mine, Jude Owens. Now you’re going to sit back and enjoy this.”

“Doctor’s orders?”

I kissed him. “Doctor’s orders.”

* * *

A
party wasn’t
a party unless I had two women begging to take me home.

And the fun only started when I agreed to fuck both of them.

The blonde grinded against me first. Not that I wasn’t partial to blondes, just had seen a lot of them lately. Blue-eyes, sexy curls, lips that pouted more than they’d ever smile. She was the kind of girl who’d suck out a man’s willpower through his cock then demand a credit card to go shopping. I’d learned to stay away from those girls. Good for one fuck, maybe two, but then they’d always want the same thing.

Money. Tickets for their friends. A car. New tits.

Somewhere out there, four women had eight, brand new tits courtesy of Jack Carson. It was almost like a public service.

And the league said I needed to devote more time to charity. I was doing the world enough favors.

Only a few of my teammates joined us for the night out. Half of them took off before the party got rowdy. The rest grabbed more beer and a girl of their choice.

I ordered the waitresses to bring us another round of everything—alcohol, wings, phone numbers. The music pounded, and two of my teammates shook the jukebox until their change poured out. The R&B blared, and some of the girls started to dance.

And those lovely ladies knew just what to shake.

After a song—and three discarded thongs—another handful of coeds slipped into our private room. They giggled as they recognized the stars of the Ironfield Rivets and paraded to my table. I let one through, a pretty little brunette I stacked next to the blonde.

Now this brunette I liked.

She wore a sexy black dress, something deserving of the Vegas strip, not the city of Ironfield. When she curled into my lap, the hem rose. I covered that exposed thigh with a hand.

Soft. Warm. She’d do for a night.

The brunette coo’ed, fake and practiced. She didn’t need to patronize me. I preferred a real moan. My fingers tucked inside her panties.

Shaved.

I liked that.

I tickled until I earned her genuine, sexy sigh, except my flirting pissed the blonde off. That wouldn’t do. I gave her a wink, and she settled down, leaning close enough to let me glance at her tits. She had a better rack than the brunette. The heart-shaped tattoo was familiar though…

Now I remembered. Last week, I saw her blowing Orlando, one of my linemen. It wasn’t unusual for the same girls to pass through the team. I had to admire her dedication. She worked her sweet-ass up from a lineman to the star of the offense. She wouldn’t stop until she fucked me—the team MVP.

She couldn’t get any better than me.

And she wouldn’t have a night better than what I’d offer.

The blonde licked her lips at me. The brunette wanted me to finger her. I studied both of their bodies.

“You girls might want to exchange names.” I tugged on the blonde’s dress strap. “Tonight, you’re gonna get to know each other real well.”

The brunette was into it, but I was pinching her clit. She’d do anything I said. I hoped the blonde liked brunettes or they wouldn’t have as much fun when I took both of them home. Then again, some resentment was sexy. It was entertaining when the girls got territorial. A little cat-scratching, back-biting, and hissing to stake their claim made the sex damn exciting.

Besides, everyone loved competition—especially me, especially when two big-titted women fought over my dick. A man didn’t get to the top of both his game and his women without encouraging healthy rivalry. And it was a good night to shoot for my personal best.

A threesome was fun, but it didn’t impress anyone anymore. A foursome though—entertaining
three
lovely ladies?—that sounded just right. I was in the business of making plays and memories.

Fortunately, another blonde roamed the room, searching for a lap to grind in or a cock to suck. I hauled her into the seat next to me.

“You.” I didn’t even ask her name. “Sit.”

Her voice was breathy. “Yes, sir.”

I’d never get tired of that. The new girl earned the scorn of both the brunette straddling my lap and the blonde at my side. I expected one of them to bolt, but even a third of my attention was enough of a thrill. They all stayed, staking their particular claim. The new blonde tested the limits of her halter-top and rubbed my bicep. The first blonde entwined her hand on my other arm. The brunette shimmied against my thighs.

“Girls…” I grinned as their fingers roamed over my chest. “It’s gonna be a
damn
good night.”

Bryon Washington sloshed his beer at me. The half-hearted toast was as much a congratulations as I’d get from my best friend and teammate. He smacked the waitress’s ass as she delivered another round of desserts. We hadn’t ordered them. She shifted from Bryon’s roaming touch.

“Compliments of the owner,” she said. “He’s a diehard Rivets fan.”

“Thanks, babe.” I remembered my manners even with three girls hanging over me. Wouldn’t my PR team be proud? “I’ll send him an autograph.”

She glanced over the table—covered in empty glasses, spilled beer, chicken bones, and a general mess. I doubt she wanted an autograph, probably just needed a night off after we trashed the place. At least she was cute. She could have gotten a ride all the way home if she played her cards right.

Bryon mourned her departure as she collected a tray of empty plates and escaped from the shouting and riotous laughter. He got over her rejection quick enough.

“You should share the wealth, Jack,” Bryon said, surveying my blondes. “A pretty boy like you don’t need
three
girls. It’ll look better if the team captain bangs only one lucky lady at a time.”

I didn’t care how it’d look, only how it’d feel. So far, the brunette stroking my hard-on through the denim promised a night to remember.

“Hoping I shuffle one off to you?” I asked.

Bryon winked at the brunette in her skin-tight, black dress and patted his lap. “You gotta maintain that gentlemanly image, Jack. Coach’s orders.”

“What
gentlemanly
image?” Like
anyone
had ever called me a gentleman. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I plan to show these lovely ladies a night on the town. They should be lucky to have Jack Carson as their tour-guide.”

“They won’t see much of the city from their knees.” He grinned at the brunette. “Come here, honey. He won’t miss ya.”

That wasn’t how this worked.

I was the leader. I was in charge.

And, like any alpha in a pride, I ate first. The others could have their scraps after I took my fill.

I didn’t let Brunette slip from my lap.

The last time the guys and I went out for a night, Bryon came to dinner with rainbow stripes around his dick—three different colors of lipstick ringing his cock. He bragged about it for a week, thinking he was hot shit.

I wasn’t a man who got out-classed or out-done, especially with women.

The blonde giggled and teased her fingers around my shoulders. Her nails poked when they should have stroked, but she’d have a good grip on my cock later.

“Yeah, go on, Honey,” Blondie said. “I’ll take good care of Mr. Carson.”

The brunette arched an eyebrow that might have screamed a dozen obscenities if it weren’t plucked to death, drawn in, and botox’ed stiff. She licked her lip and turned her attention to me.

“I can entertain him all by myself.” She breathed in my ear. “Right, baby?”

She smelled like cigarettes and one too many martinis. Blondie scowled. The other blonde adjusted her halter-top and let her tits do the talking.

Three under-sexed, intentionally-starved, loose-moraled women vying for the opportunity to get fucked by the Rivets’ quarterback? Yeah, I’d take those odds.

I waved to another waitress, frantically mopping up a spill. She leapt at the chance to serve someone other than my offensive line as they chugged another pitcher of beer and gnawed on the bones of their third order of barbeque wings.

She was just some chubby little college girl, pushing up glasses and huffing as the pitcher spilled. Beer soaked into the carpet. She was cute, but too flustered. I liked a girl with confidence.

“Another round for these ladies.” I waved over my newest fan club. “Whatever they want.”

“I know what
I
want…” The blonde bit her lip, her eyes skipping the flirting and darting to my groin.

The waitress sighed and grabbed her pad and pencil, though halter-top blonde scoffed as she had to repeat her order over the noise. My offensive line roared in laughter and stole the remote, turning the television to a show replaying one of our critical games last season.

One of my best passes was highlighted in full glory for us to admire. The table bumbled, and glasses went flying. The girls laughed. Blondie ran a hand over my throwing arm.

She squeezed the muscle.

Giggled.

She’d learn soon enough that wasn’t the hardest part of me.

The waitress bolted to the kitchen and returned, red-faced and brushing the sweaty hair from her cheeks. She looped the room, depositing drinks and collecting dishes. This time she left the door open, and our private party was no longer separated from the restaurant. It wasn’t a great place, just some trendy little burger bar that seemed a good investment for when I got my contract renegotiated. The burgers were greasy, the women attractive, and it offered a night of endless fun.

Except Rivets’ management said we weren’t
technically
supposed to be partying in public anymore. They said we were likely to cause a scene and our behavior was hard to spin to the fans.

I didn’t understand that. We acted like any other red-blooded man who had a couple million to blow and the attention of short-skirted women. Apparently, that was a problem. The team and league were as big a pain in the ass as my publicist.

What was the point of being rich, famous, and sporting a nine-inch cock if you didn’t get to celebrate with it once in a while?

Or two or three times a week?

I only lived once. I owed it to myself to make the most of it.

The brunette freaked before anyone could enjoy their drinks. “Waitress, I ordered
olives
not
onions
.” She punctuated her displeasure by eating the onion anyway.

“Sorry!” The waitress gritted her teeth as the brunette tossed the martini glass at her tray. It splashed on her apron. “I’ll get you a new one.”

“With
two
olives. Or should we write it out for you?” She giggled at me. “Honestly, is it that hard?”

The waitress blushed and looked at me. “Anything else for you, M—Mr. Carson?”

“Call me Jack.”

“O—okay.” The waitress teetered between star-struck and terrified, like she stared down the entire defensive line of the Ashenville Hawks. “Anything for you, Jack?”

“Nah.” I watched Bryon grab another girl. He cornered her in the shadows, and that meant it was time to go. The guys were a little too rowdy, and my women were antsy. “Just whatever the girls want, honey.”

“Aw, come on.” Blonde halter-top tapped my beer bottle. “I thought Jack Carson liked to party.”

“Baby, the party hasn’t started yet.” I rubbed her thigh. She wore too much perfume and no panties. Too easy.

“Don’t you want to play?”

Yeah, but there was a fine line between fun and forgetting the condom. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, baby.”

I left half of my beer and gulped the rest of my water. If I wasn’t blacking out, no sense wasting calories. I planned to bulk, but we were doing it right. Chicken breasts. Eggs. Almonds.

Besides, my publicist had a shitfit the last time a story passed on the internet about me being drunk. I wasn’t even driving and, somehow, I became the bad guy for having fun.

Of course, the story also included the picture of the girl with her hand down my pants. And, if I remembered that incident right, we might have had an issue with some slight public exposure too. Nothing that embarrassed me, but, then again, what I packed deserved to be admired.

Still, we were supposed to be
partying
. If my publicist couldn’t understand that, then Leah needed to get laid instead of bitching about my image and bad publicity. My chosen friends were more impressed by the story of me bouncing three girls in my lap, but the league and media wanted ribbon cuttings and donations to charity. I did that too, but where was the
fun
in it?

The waitress dodged Bryon’s slap, juking just as good as he did on Sunday afternoons. If opposing defenses groped instead of tackled, she’d have made an excellent addition to the team. She hurried out, but two men from the general dining room rushed inside.

It amazed me how adult men could lose their shit when face-to-face with their idols. They were gruff, dirty construction workers probably having a beer after their shift, but standing in the presence of the team made them as happy as a kid getting a Playboy for Christmas.

The first man brushed the dust from his plaid shirt and hollered at the table in glee. The second, an older and balding man, tried to text with trembling fingers. I gave him credit. At least his phone had an Ironfield cover.

“Holy shit!” Plaid hooted. “Goddamn, I’m the biggest Rivets fan in the fucking world. Mind if we get some pictures?”

Bryon grunted, freeing his girl from the corner. “Man, we’re eating—”

“It’s okay.” I scooted the girls from my lap. “I don’t mind.”

Technically, I was told by my PR team
not
to mind. One of Leah’s fucking rules. Be gracious to the fans, even if they interrupt your dinner, your night out, or your score with three beautiful women. After the run-in with the drunk asshole who thought it’d be a good idea to grab my dick while taking the selfie, Leah clarified I also wasn’t allowed to punch any fans. Apparently having a bruise on my cock wasn’t an excuse.

Nothing
was an excuse for Leah.

“Goddamn, Jack-
fucking
-Carson!” Plaid stumbled before me to shake my hand. “My oldest son played for Oakdale High School. He faced you every damn year. You whooped our ass.”

Everyone loved a local boy. “I broke every record Shawnee Hills had.”