Dirty Play:Sports Romance(21)

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I stood from the table, feeling an instant surge of  jealousy and animalistic need to protect Lennon. "Who the fuck are you?"  I poked him in the chest.

"Wes, sit down. Don't make a scene. People have their phones out." Lennon pulled on my arm.

"No, I want to know who this jackass is."

His date had shrunk behind him and pulled out her phone.

"This is my ex, Ben. Dr. Ben Lennox."

"Your ex?" I glared at her.

I don't know why I was furious, but I was. My blood was on fire. I  wanted to punch the guy, pummel him into the ground, beat the shit out  of him. And the only reason was because he used to be with Lennon. My  Lennon.

"Yeah, she didn't mention she dated a neurosurgeon before the Neanderthal?"

That was it. My fist reared back and struck him straight in the jaw.

"Oh my God, Wes!" Lennon's expression turned from shock to outrage. "What are you thinking?"

I looked down at the man lying on the floor. His date hovered over him as he sat up, rubbing the swollen spot on his chin.

"I wasn't." The rage was still spilling through me.

She grabbed my hand. "We have to get out of here. Come on." She pulled  me out of the restaurant and hailed a taxi. We were back at the hotel  within minutes.

Once we were inside the suite, she spun to face me. "Let me see your hand."

"My hand? It's fine."

"Let me see," she ordered.

I extended my left arm. "I didn't punch him with my right. I know better than that."

She smiled. "And he thought you were a Neanderthal." She rubbed her  fingers over my knuckles tenderly. "Let me get some ice from the bar.  Hold on."

I sat on the edge of the bed while she tended to my bruised knuckles.  Really, it didn't feel like much. I thought that was one of the side  effects of the HGH. I felt almost indestructible. My entire body felt  younger and stronger.

"Why didn't you tell me you had an ex in D.C.?"

"You didn't ask." She removed the makeshift icepack from my hand. "But I  thought about it." When she looked at me, I saw the mist covering her  eyes and the heaviness of tears brimming on her bottom lids. "Your dad  was right."

"My dad? What does he have to do with any of this?"         

     



 

One tear slipped and it ripped at my chest. Why was she crying?

"I ran into your parents in the lobby today on the way back from shopping. He and I had a conversation. Not a good one."

I growled. The man never could keep his opinions to himself. "What did he say to you?"

"He said I was a distraction. He said I'd ruin your game. He called me  flavor of the week." And with that, the rest of the tears fell down her  soft cheeks. She crumpled against my chest and I wrapped my arms around  her.

"Am I expendable to you?"

"What? No. No."

The rage that had built from jealousy and my dad's bullish words  softened as she sobbed against my chest. I smoothed her hair and  whispered in her ear. "My dad is an asshole. You know that."

"But he's right." She gulped for air. "I should have told you about Ben  before. Look what happened in the restaurant." Her mascara was smudged  and there were spots on my dress shirt, but I didn't give a shit. "I  wanted to tell you about him. I need to, but I was trying to wait for  when the timing was better. Like maybe after the Super Bowl?"

I played with her hair, feeling the silkiness between my fingers. "You might as well tell me now."

"Now?"

"Yeah. Let's talk about the bastard."

"We were in the same residency program. That's how we met," she  explained. "And eventually we moved in together, but kind of like a  roommate thing. And then roommates led to us being together. At least, I  thought we were together until I came home and he was screwing someone  else."

"Shit," I whispered.

"Yeah, shit." She leaned her head on my shoulder. "It's the reason I  took the job at San Antonio Mission. I wanted to get out of D.C. Away  from him. Away from the humiliation. I wanted to start over where there  were no lies."

I felt the knife twist in my gut. Things were coming together. Why she  was so adamant about the honesty between us. Why she was willing to give  herself to me in the beginning so freely, but needed to know I could be  monogamous. Hell, I'd never been monogamous and agreed to it without  thinking it through. But holding her like this, knowing what she had  been through, I didn't want another woman. I wanted this one.

But there was a lie between us. My hand. The one thing that had brought us together was the lie I couldn't tell her.

"What if Ben presses charges? What if those pictures go viral? It's my  fault. You could be fined or suspended." The sobbing started all over  again.

She had a point, but I wasn't thinking about those things when Ben  approached our table. All I could think about was protecting Lennon. I'd  protect her from anyone and anything. I'd use my money, influence,  power, and body to keep her from getting hurt.

"Give me Ben's number."

She sniffed. "What?"

"Give me his number. I'm going to call him and get this taken care of."

She walked over to her clutch and pulled out her phone. "Here."

I hit send and waited for the fucker to pick up.

He answered quickly. "You can't seriously date that monster, Lennon."

"This is the monster," I responded.

"You could have broken my jaw, asshole."

"Yeah, and a lot more." I had to tone it down. This wasn't the way out  of a scandal. "Look, I'm calling to apologize. And to see how I can  assist with your recovery."

"You mean pay me off?" Ben jeered.

"If that helps your jaw."

My pockets were deep. Neither Lennon nor I wanted this story getting out. I'd pay whatever the bastard wanted.

"Maybe we should meet again," he suggested.

"Be in my hotel lobby in fifteen minutes. I'll text you the address." I hung up and handed the phone back to Lennon.

"You're going to see him again? Oh God, don't break anything. He's not worth it."

I kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not going to punch him. But he  deserves it for what he said. And for what he did to you." I stroked the  side of her cheek. "I'm not glad he cheated on you. He's a fucking  idiot. But I'm glad you walked away. Because now you're mine. All mine."  I kissed her fiercely, loving the sounds that she made when my tongue  slid against hers.

"Should I go with you?" she offered.

I shook my head. "No. I'll handle it. Why don't you break in that huge Jacuzzi tub? After today, you need to relax."

"It was the worst day." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I wanted to be  here for you. To support you. But I've screwed it up. You've got the  play off game tomorrow, Wes. And now you're paying off my ex and worried  about your dad and me and all of this stupid drama … "         

     



 

I kneeled in front of her. "No offense, baby, but I've been training for  this my whole life. One shitty night isn't going to knock me off my  game." I tilted her chin toward me. "You didn't screw up anything. I've  got this handled."

"Really?"

"Really." I kissed her full lips, wishing I didn't have to go downstairs right now. "I'll be back soon."

I stood, letting her fingers fall from mine. God, this woman had me. She  had taken me when I wasn't looking. Possessed me when I wasn't  watching. And it was fucking unbelievable.





Twenty-Two





Lennon





I stretched my arms across the empty king-sized bed and smiled.  Yesterday had gone from hell to heaven. I sat up, bringing the sheet  with me. It was play off day. Wes had left at the crack of dawn, but  there was a tray of breakfast next to the bed and a silver service of  steaming coffee.

I tiptoed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. My body was sore in the  most glorious ways. The way he touched me, sucked me, and kissed me was  seared into my skin. I could almost still feel his breath on my body.

I brushed my teeth, pulled on a fluffy hotel robe, and walked back to the bed to pour coffee into a china mug.

Things were only going to get more complicated from here. If Wes won  today, there was another playoff game next week. That meant more awkward  run-ins with Gloria and Bud. Wes knew about Ben now, and he had to  catch on to my insecurities about other women. We hadn't even touched  how deeply that ran.

I hadn't decided if the D.C. trip was a complete disaster or a total  success. He had proven last night that he was here for me too. He was  willing to defend me. To make sacrifices. To protect me at all costs.  And damn, it felt good. Not to mention how he worshipped me in bed when  he got back from paying off Ben.

He was tender and sweet. It was an entirely different type of sexiness.  It made me feel like we were both on the verge of saying the L word. But  instead, I moaned and shook in his arms and let him come deep inside me  as he told me over and over that I was his. That I belonged only to  him. I smiled. I liked the emotionally intense sex as much as the primal  raw stuff we did back in San Antonio.