Kicked (26 page)

I shook my head. “Ethan can’t run me off this team. Not a chance. And I don’t need a guard, but I would ask for something else.”

“Anything. If it’s in my power, it’s yours.”

“I’ll feel safer if Trent can dress out with me. Here and when we’re on the road.”

“It’s…” He scratched his jaw. “It’ll raise eyebrows up the chain. I’m not sure if I can agree to that.”

Trent pulled me closer. “All you have to agree to is that I will watch out for Cordy. I’ll stand guard whenever she’s dressing out.”

Coach raised a gray eyebrow. “Will that be inside or outside the women’s locker room?”

He shrugged. “As far as you’re concerned, outside.”

Coach chuckled. “Plausible deniability. Is that what we’re doing here?”

“Pretty much.” Trent’s voice was backed with steel. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Cordy, you sure you’re okay with this?”

I wanted to say I could take care of myself, but Ethan’s attack had proven me wrong. Having Trent around would go a long way toward making me feel safe. “Yes.”

“It’s unorthodox.” Coach sighed and settled his ball cap back onto his head. “And you can bet your teammates are going to talk. But if that’s what it takes to keep you, I’ll approve it as long as you two are the only ones. I’m pretty sure if any other women are in the locker room, they’ll make their objections known.”

“Trent?” I looked up into his green eyes, one of the eyelids starting to swell. “Oh shit, did Ethan hit you?”

“I don’t feel a thing. Don’t worry about it. And yes, I’m all for it. I don’t think Coach could keep me away from you after this, anyway. I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

Overprotective? Yes. Comforting all the same? Hell yes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

T
RENT

“
I
KIND OF FEEL
like I should join the team. I can kick almost as well as you.” Landon looped his arm around Ellie’s shoulders and leaned over the wall to look down at Cordy and me on the field. His face was still yellow and a sickly green in patches, but he was healing more every day. He’d managed to sit through the entire game against the Bears, and I caught him cheering like a nut after every one of Cordy’s field goals.

“I think you’ve lost your mind. That’s what I think.” She tucked her helmet under her arm.

“Congratulations.” Ellie smiled at me. “Think we’ll make the playoffs?”

“Looks like it. As long as we can defeat the Devils next week.” I reached up and shook hands with Landon. It had become our greeting over the past week, a simple, oddly formal handshake. But it seemed to work, and if it made him hate me less, I was all for it.

“Let’s just say, for the sake of obvious argument, that we win next week,” Landon eyed the cheerleaders on the field behind us. “How do you see our playoff chances?”

A couple of students passed by, yelled, and reached down for high fives from me. Landon rolled his eyes, and Cordy grinned.

I smacked her ass, and she squeaked. “Good game, kicker. And, to answer your question, our chances are looking good. I think we’ll get in. If we advance depends on how one through three stack up in the rankings. Number one plays number four, and numbers two and three play each other.”

“I want the Eagles.” Cordy bounced on the balls of her feet.

She’d muffed the kick at the very start of the season against the Eagles, which resulted in that disastrous touchdown. But after we defeated everyone else on our schedule, she was jonesing for another piece of them. Problem was, now that our best defensive lineman was in lockup for assault, we would have to run a strong offense to have any chance of coming out with the win. I had a disciplined line to work with, but if the Eagles could score on our defense with ease, we were doomed.

“Hey, Trent.” A fan, completely decked in Bobcat attire with his face striped in white and blue paint, stopped next to Landon. “You going into the draft, man?”

“That’s a while away, so I’m not putting too much thought into it. We need to get through our season here first.” In truth, I had put plenty of thought into it. I’d already submitted myself to the Draft Advisory Board. They would grade me and, if all went well, I’d get invited to the Combine prior to the draft, with the end goal of getting on a team—a team that would most likely be far away from Billingsley and Cordy.

A harsh camera light cast my shadow on the brick wall ahead of me.

“Paparazzi on your six.” Landon pointed.

I turned and got a face full of lens and a microphone. “How has the loss of Ethan Granger affected team morale?” The reporter shouted her question as I grabbed Cordy’s elbow and hustled her toward the tunnel.

“Save it for the presser.” I started a jog as she peppered me with more questions.

“Any truth to the rumors you and Ms. Baxter are an item? Was Ethan kicked off the team because of Ms. Baxter?” She followed behind us until we made it to the safety of the tunnel and security stopped her.

We trudged down the slope to the inner corridor. At the bottom, Cordy headed to the right.

“Left.” I grabbed her shoulder pads and turned her.

“Yeah.” She faked a confident tone. “I was just testing you, making sure you know the layout of the Bears’ stadium and stuff.”

“Sure you were.” I laughed and fist bumped a couple of passing players.

They smiled at Cordy, genuine warmth in their eyes. Something about Ethan’s attack on her had galvanized the entire team. She was one of us, and our team had rallied around her on and off the field. No longer just the Mav, she was welcomed into the men’s locker room during the Coach’s halftime speech and treated like any other teammate. Despite all the acceptance, she still showered and dressed out in the women’s locker room. With me.

I pushed the locker room door open for her, my pads pressed against hers as she walked ahead of me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be stationed outside?” Cordy glanced over her shoulder.

“I feel that, in the interests of your safety, I should stay a little closer.”

“My safety, huh?”

“Right. I’m here to protect you. Keep an eye on you. Especially right now, since you need a shower.”

“You do.” She smiled and loosened the tie at the end of her braid.

I wholeheartedly agreed. “I was thinking the same thing. Let’s save water and shower together.”

She walked to the benches and pulled her braid loose. “I don’t think that would be proper. After all, we’re teammates. We should keep things professional.” Gripping the hem of her jersey, she lifted it over her head and tossed it to the bench.

“Have I ever told you how sexy you look in pads?” I let my gaze slide down her body, and my cock hardened almost instantly.

“You may have mentioned it.”

I pulled off my shirt, then lifted my pads from my shoulders. After unlacing my pants and cleats, I stripped down to nothing. She watched every move, and when her eyes focused on my cock, I could almost feel her on it.

She licked her lips.
Jesus.

“Get naked.” I leaned back against the gray lockers and crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t want to crowd her, not after what had happened with Ethan.

She glanced to the door.

“It’s just you and me. You’re safe.”

“With you? Always.” She locked eyes with me and unlaced her shoulder pads, then lifted them off. When she peeled her sports bra over her head and her delicious tits popped free, I had to force myself to stay where I was. I needed my mouth on her, but I wanted her naked first.

“I love the way you react to me. It’s like every time you see me, it’s the very first time.” She finger-combed her braid the rest of the way out and let her silky brown hair fall over her shoulder. I gritted my teeth and stood motionless, my eyes taking in every one of her curves as she slid her pants and pads down her legs. She stepped out of them, then sat and removed her cleats and socks.

“Panties, too.” I wanted to see her little patch of dark curls, and hoped they were already wet for me. Just me.

“Give me a minute.” She shot me a playful look through her lashes.

She stood and slowly stripped her panties off.

I gripped my shaft, as if that would somehow relieve the pressure already building inside me. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

She glanced up to the fluorescents. “In this lighting?”

“You’d be beautiful in the dark.”

She laughed, but I meant every word.

I had to taste her. Covering the distance in a second, I took her in my arms. She melted against me as I held her up. Her soft skin rubbed against mine, her hard nipples begging to be sucked.

My tongue caressed hers, and she moaned when my fingers tangled in her hair. The scents of grass, dirt, and sweat mingled as we kissed. My fingers roamed her back, all the way down to her toned ass. Then I gripped her hard and ground my cock against her hot pussy. She was wet for me, just like I wanted.

She moaned into my mouth at the sweet friction. I slanted my mouth over hers, plundering her lips and setting us both alight.

She pulled back, taking a breath, her eyes half-lidded. “Press conference.”

“They can wait.” I walked her to the showers and hit the faucet. The water shot out cold.

She jerked against me, and I bit her shoulder as the shower began to warm. Her sweat tingled on my tongue, and I licked up to her neck.

Then I turned her so the water poured down her hair.

“Trent.” She ran her nails down my back as I pushed her against the cool tiles.

“I’ll make it quick.” I leaned back to gauge her reaction. “It’s okay if you don’t get off, right?”

She crinkled her nose, and I laughed.

“Calm down. Kidding. Only kidding.” I set her on her feet. “Here. Let me prove it to you.” I dropped to a knee, the warm water spraying onto my back. Lifting one of her legs over my shoulder, I darted my tongue between her folds to find her delicate nub.

She curled her fingers in my hair as I stared up at her and let my tongue run wild on her pussy. Her trembling thighs sped me along. I wanted her to come all over my mouth. Sliding two fingers inside her, I finger-fucked her until her hips met me stroke for stroke, my mouth sealed around her clit. She squeezed my hair hard enough to hurt, then came on a strangled cry, her pussy pulling my fingers in tighter as I kept licking her.

When her orgasm was nothing but aftershocks, I stood and lifted her right leg. Pressing into her always felt like coming home. I slid into her tightness and shared her taste with a kiss. She wrapped both legs around me as I seated myself as deeply inside her as I could go.

The water pelted us, its wet slap onto the tiles weakly disguising the sounds of skin on skin as I fucked her against the wall. She moaned as I lifted her higher and wrapped my lips around her hard, wet nipple. I loved the feel of her nails on my skin, the taste of her in my mouth. She arched her back and spread wider. Each one of my thrusts hit her deep, and my balls ached to release inside her. I switched nipples and gripped her ass, using my arms to move her up and down on my shaft just how I wanted.

She gasped and pressed herself to me, rubbing her breasts against my chest as I pistoned inside her. I ran my fingers up her neck, her cheek, then pressed my thumb inside her mouth. She closed her eyes and sucked, treating it as if it were my cock.

“Fuck, that’s going to make me come.” I slipped my thumb out and pressed it to her clit, splaying my fingers along her hip.

Leaning back, I watched her pretty pussy take every inch of me in each deep stroke. Her upper back rested against the tiles, her eyes on me as I fucked her and swirled my thumb around her clit.

She ran her nails down my chest, the slight sting making each plunge even more enjoyable. Her breaths became labored, and she closed her eyes.

“Watch me. You’re so beautiful when you come.”

“Oh my God.” She bit her lip and dug her heels into the backs of my thighs. “I-I’m there.”

“Good.” I let myself go, fucking her hard and fast as her hips seized and a low moan rushed from her lips.

My load shot up my shaft, every nerve ending in my body focused on Cordy as her pussy milked me. I gave her every drop, groaning and thrusting, losing myself completely in her. I leaned in, pinning her with my body as we both took deep breaths and tried to come back down.

“I love you.” I kissed her before she could start debating with herself on whether she should say it back. I wanted her to say it; my heart was desperate for the words. But I wouldn’t push her. I knew what I felt, and I hoped one day soon she would admit she felt the same.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

C
ORDY

I
STEPPED UP THE
familiar front steps to my father’s house, Trent at my elbow. We’d arrived just before noon, and it was Thanksgiving. A Billingsley Bobcats flag, faded but flown with pride, hung beneath the porch awning.

I’d talked to Dad on the phone only a few times while he was in rehab, and this was my first time seeing him since he got out. My nerves were in knots, and I tried to prepare myself for disappointment.

“It’ll be fine.” Trent’s rich voice gave me a modicum of comfort.

I wasn’t so sure. “What if he’s drinking again?” The question had been rattling around in my brain for the entire trip here. I’d ignored the rolling hills, not even noticing when the ground became covered in snow. My worry grew with each mile closer to home. What if he’d relapsed?

“Have faith in him, okay?” Trent knocked on the faded front door, the once-white paint now a dingy gray.

“I’m trying.”

“Chin up, kicker.” He smacked my ass.

I rubbed the sting through my leggings and glared up at him. He winked, and I didn’t know if I wanted to murder him or jump his bones.