The Game Changer : Indianapolis Eagles Series Book 8 Read online

  “That was incredible,” she tells me when I’ve returned from tossing the condom.

  “I’d have to agree. Shower with me now?” I ask, sliding my hand around her side, resting my palm against her lower back and I press her mostly naked torso against my own naked body.

  “Sure,” she agrees. I lead her into my room and to the edge of the bed where I motion for her to sit. I sink down and remove her fuck-me heels, then remove her bra, the only two pieces of clothing that managed to stay on during our tryst just now.

  “Okay, now we can shower,” I tell her, pulling her back up and into the bathroom. I start the water, making sure it is turned up nice and hot like she likes before we both step under the spray.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” I ask once we both slide into bed. Jill is lying with her head on my chest, our legs intertwined together, and I have my fingers running through her hair. We’ve easily found comfort in one another these last couple of weeks, finding mutual pleasure in one another’s bodies, but what I find myself craving the most is our conversations that follow the sex. I find them more intimate than the sex can ever be.

  “I did. Thank you for being my date.”

  “Of course, you make it pretty easy to be by your side,” I tell her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. We lay here for a few minutes, the silence not awkward at all. Jill runs her fingertips over the ridges and valleys of my muscles. They occasionally twitch under her touch, which draws the cutest little giggles from her lips when it happens.

  “Can I ask you a question?” she asks, shifting so that she can look up at me.

  “Of course, you can ask me anything,” I assure her.

  “I know we’ve just been enjoying one another, seeing how things were going to play out here,” she says, and I’m not quite sure where she’s going with this. I start to internally panic that she’s going to tell me that she doesn’t want to keep seeing one another.

  “Yeah,” I say, trying to encourage her to finish her train of thought and get to her question.

  “I thought that I could do the casual thing, but I don’t think I can. The thought of you seeing someone else doesn’t sit well with me. Not that you’d really have time to, seeing how we’ve practically been attached to one another for the last couple of weeks. I need to know that you want the same, I don’t want things to end.” As soon as those last six words leave her lips, my heart soars and I realize that I want this woman more than I knew I could want anyone.

  “Thank fuck,” I grit out. “I don’t want anyone else but you. And I sure as shit won’t share you with another man,” I tell her, pulling her to straddle my lap. I sit up until I can lean my back against the headboard and we’re sitting face to face. I cup her cheeks in my large hands, pulling her the rest of the way into me until I can press my lips against hers. My cock twitches between us and I can feel her body starting to respond.

  Jill pulls away from the kiss, a blissful look on her face. Her lips are slightly swollen from all the kissing we’ve done tonight, and her skin has a pinkish tint to it. She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth, sawing at it with them. I can tell something else is on her mind, I just don’t know what exactly it might be. “What’s got you thinking so hard?” I ask, running my thumb across her bottom lip, pulling it from her teeth. “I should be the only one biting this lip,” I say as I lean forward and nip at it.

  “I know we just had the exclusivity talk, like, ten seconds ago,” she pauses, almost pulling that lip back in, but stopping herself.

  “And,” I motion for her to continue with a roll of my hand between us. She’s sitting up straight with about eight or so inches between our torsos now.

  “Are you clean?” she finally blurts out.

  “Clean?” I repeat before I let what she just asked fully sink in. “Yes,” I follow up. “My last physical, all tests came back with a clean bill of health, plus, I’ve always been safe and used a condom with anyone I’ve been with, why? Is something wrong?”

  She shakes her head as a small smile pulls at the corner of her lips. “I just wanted you to know I’d be okay with us forgoing condoms if you were comfortable with that idea. I’ve been on birth control for years, have never gone without a condom, either, and just thought that I’d throw the idea out in the open. If you aren’t comfortable with it, that’s fine, I just—” I cut her off, slamming my lips down on hers. I’ve never once, in my thirty-five years, had sex without a condom on, so the thought has my cock hardening between us.

  “You sure?” I ask her once we break apart.

  “I wouldn’t have said all of that word vomit if I wasn’t,” she says, laughing.

  I let my fingers trail down her exposed chest, loving how it always puckers under my touch. I slip my hand between us, feeling how ready she is for me. Without me even saying anything, she lifts up a few inches and grabs my hard cock. The tip slips through her wet folds and I don’t know how I’m going to last more than a few pumps if being inside her bare feels anywhere near as good as that just did.

  “Fuck, that feels good, baby,” I tell her as she teases both of us. My eyes just about cross when she lines me up with her entrance and slowly sinks down on me. My cock disappears, inch by excruciating inch, until her ass is seated against my thighs once again.

  “Oh my god,” Jill moans as she rotates her hips. I can feel as her clit presses against me and she grinds forward.

  I grab a hold of her hips, sliding down the bed slightly to give myself the ability to thrust up into her. I hold on tight, start with a few slow, drawn out thrusts that allow both of us to feel every inch of my cock sliding out and back in. I can’t take the slowness any longer, my hips now thrusting as fast and hard as I can muster up. The cries of pleasure that fall from both of our lips fill the room as we both chase our release. The warmth and tightness that grips my cock is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. Having sex without a condom is almost night and day different. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without it ever happening.

  “I need you there,” I grit out, trying to work a hand in between us so I can rub her clit. It’s not the easiest with our current position, so I slow down and slip out so we can reposition.

  “Why’d you stop?” she pouts.

  “Because I want you like this,” I tell her, flipping her onto her back and pulling her right to the edge of the bed. I stand, wrap her legs around my torso as I grab my cock, and slip it back through her folds, rubbing my tip against her clit.

  “Yes!” she cries out with the direct contact. I lean forward, capturing her lips and swallowing her cries as I thrust back inside her pussy. I don’t build anything back up, I just start thrusting hard and fast. My thumb finds her clit, rubbing circles around it until I feel her body start to flutter around my cock. Feeling that bare for the first time has me losing control. My orgasm barrels through me, and I bury my cock as deep as I can get it as I release every last drop I can. Jill’s fingers scrape my scalp as she tugs on my hair. The sensation has chills running down my back, and I can feel her orgasm all the way in my balls as they rest against her ass.

  “Fuck, that was,” I say into her neck as I suck in much needed air.

  “Incredible,” she finishes the thought for me.

  “That’s one way to describe it,” I say on a chuckle. “Life changing,” I tell her as she flexes her muscles, causing them to squeeze my cock. “Fuuuck,” I groan.

  “You like that?” she asks, doing it again and laughing at my reaction.

  “Yeah, we’re going to have to do this again,” I tell her, leaning down and sucking a pebbled nipple into my mouth for just a second. “Only problem is we’re going to have a mess on our hands, or rather bedsheets,” I tell her as I look around for anything I can use to give her before I pull out.

  “Yeah, we didn’t really think that one through, did we?”

  “Nope,” I say, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “On the count of three, you pull out and I’ll jump up. Hopefully
that will keep us from having a wet spot.”

  “Okay, one…two…three,” I count, doing just as she said. Unfortunately, we didn’t say who was going left or right. We both go the same way, ending up a tangled mess as we fall back on the bed together.

  “Dammit,” Jill laughs. “So much for no wet spot.”

  “We can change the sheets and be better prepared for next time.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” she tells me, planting a kiss on my lips before she pushes me out of the way and makes her way to the bathroom. I watch as she walks away, the sexy way her hips sway as she walks. The confidence she has being completely naked around me is such a turn on. I’ve been with women who had no self-confidence, wouldn’t allow the lights to be on, or didn’t want to be completely naked. Jill isn’t that way at all and that confidence is definitely sexy.

  Chapter Ten

  Jill

  Three months later

  “Hey, babe.” I lean down, kissing John as he sits on the couch. Walter is curled up on his lap purring away. Thankfully, the two of them have found a liking in one another since we started dating. I wasn’t so sure the first few times they were around one another as Walter can be picky about who he likes and dislikes. “How was your appointment?” I ask, scratching Walter’s head.

  “No changes to the scans,” he answers, the aggravation noticeable in his voice. I knew he was stressed out about his checkup today and I offered to go with him, but he insisted that I didn’t need to.

  “That’s good!”

  “I guess.”

  “What’s wrong, babe?” I ask, sitting down on the coffee table so I can face him.

  “Don’t worry about it, just having a bad day and I don’t want to take it out on you,” he tells me. He cups my cheek, rubbing his thumb along my lips. I’ve noticed the last week or so he’s been a little more irritable. I have a small inkling that it has to do with the fact that the regular hockey season started back this week. Tonight is the home opener, one that we’re supposed to be leaving for soon.

  “It’s bothering you that you aren’t getting ready to hit the ice tonight, isn’t it?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” he admits, hanging his head down.

  “John,” I say, linking my fingers with his and squeezing them to get his attention. I wait him out until he looks at me. “It’s okay to be mad, it’s okay to be hurting and upset that something that was your entire life has been taken away from you. All of those feelings are valid, and no one would think twice about you having them.” This is one of the reasons I really wish he’d find a counselor to go talk to. I think that they could help him through these kinds of days.

  “I know, it still doesn’t change the fact that it fucking sucks I’m not at the rink right now, stretching in the back halls. Kicking a soccer ball around with the guys or getting stretched out by one of the trainers. That was my life for the last thirty years. I’m not just going to get over it in a matter of weeks,” he grits out. He’s getting pissed, but also trying to hold it back.

  “I understand that,” I tell him, trying my damnedest to sympathize with him. I can’t even begin to understand what it’s like to go through a career-ending injury and to have your entire life change in the matter of seconds. “Did you still want to go to the game tonight?” I ask, not really knowing what would be best for him. To be in that environment and not being able to participate, or staying away but knowing that it is going on without him.”

  “I think I’ll hate myself in the morning if I don’t go. My boys need my support. I also think it might help turn my shitty mood around if I can see and talk to them. Watch them kick Edmonton’s ass.”

  “I think that’s a good choice,” I tell him, squeezing his hand once more. “I’m going to go change and then we can head out, sound good?” I ask him.

  We have plans to meet up with Julia at the arena. John talked to the front office and got us passes for the family suite. He didn’t want to deal with fans recognizing him and causing a big scene when all he wants to do is watch the game. I think for tonight’s game, it’s probably the best plan. Going forward, I’m not sure what he’ll want to do.

  “Sounds good,” he calls out to me as I head into my bedroom. I pull out the Eagles T-shirt that Julia got me awhile back, along with some jeans and a pair of flats. It’s October, after all, and I’ll be inside an ice rink. It might not be quite fall weather outside yet, but I’m so ready for it to be upon us.

  “Damn, baby. That shirt looks good on you.” John whistles when I come out ten minutes later.

  “Why, this old thing?” I say nonchalantly. “Just something I had in the back of my closet.”

  “You look good. Only thing better would have been my jersey,” he tells me, pulling me in for a full hug. His arms wrap around my entire body as he engulfs me. Something shifted in his mood in the ten minutes I was changing and getting ready for tonight. I’m not sure if it’s the excitement that we’re headed to the rink and he’ll get to see his friends or what, but for now, I’ll take it.

  “I can always wear your jersey later,” I tell him as I push up on my toes to kiss him.

  “Yes,” he growls against my lips. “Tonight. In bed. You in nothing but my jersey,” he says, punctuating each statement with a kiss.

  “Sounds like a plan,” I tell him as I lower back down to my normal height.

  “JC! How’s it going, man?” the security guard at the side entrance we’re at asks John as he flashes our tickets to him.

  “It’s going, how are you doing? How’s the wife?” he asks the older man.

  “Been good, she’s doing okay. Dialysis has been tough on her these last couple of months.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, George. Give Gladys my love and I hope things get easier on her. Are they thinking a transplant will be an option?” he asks George, and I can tell he isn’t just saying something sympathetic to say it. He really means it and is curious.

  “She’s on the list. We just have to wait for a donor to come along. Since we didn’t have any biological kids, and we don’t have many living relatives, the list of people to test wasn’t long. We can still hope for a living donor, but at this point, it is just luck if we find one before it’s too late.”

  “I’m sorry that it hasn’t been an easy road,” he offers. “I hope that a donor is found sooner than later,” John tells the man before we fully pass through the door.

  “Thanks, have a good time at the game!” he calls after us.

  “I’m guessing he’s been working here for a long time?” I ask John as we walk down the hallway. It is practically empty, seeing as how we’re in a limited access area. I’m only used to coming in the main entrance with all the thousands of other fans, having to wait in long lines to do anything, so this is a wee bit different. John leads me to an elevator, pressing the button to go up. The suite that we’re going to is up high, around the top ring of the arena.

  “Yes, I think he’s been here since the team was formed.”

  Once we’re on the floor with suite access, he leads me to the one marked with the Eagles logo. He flashes a card in front of a sensor and the door opens for us. “That’s pretty slick.”

  “Yeah, they updated things years back. Makes it so they don’t have to have someone stationed outside the suites to let people in. Since this is the team’s suite and reserved mainly for the girlfriends, wives and kids of the players, they have full season access, so it just makes sense. I’m not really sure what they do for the ones that aren’t necessarily used for the same people game after game.

  “Johnathan.” An older man calls his name from across the room.

  “Excuse me, please,” he says, dropping a quick peck on the corner of my mouth. “I need to go talk to Mr. Erickson.”

  “Of course,” I tell him, shooing him away. I make a beeline for the bar set up along one wall in the back.

  “What can I get you tonight, miss?” the bartender asks.

  “7-Up with a splash of cranberry juice i
f you have it,” I ask, hopeful.

  “Of course, coming right up,” he says, filling a cup with ice before adding the 7-Up and cranberry juice.

  I pull a twenty out of my pocket, ready to pay him. “What’s the total?” I ask.

  “No charge, ma’am. Everything in this suite is provided for the guests, courtesy of the team.”

  “Oh, wow. I wasn’t aware of that,” I told him. I drop the twenty I’d taken out for my drink into his tip jar. “That’s really nice of them,” I add as an afterthought.

  “Thank you,” he says, nodding his head toward the tip jar as he hands over my drink. “The owners are very family oriented and want all the family members of anyone on the team to be taken care of.”

  “Thank you,” I tell him before stepping away. Julia walks through the doors, her face lighting up with a smile as soon as she sees me. She beelines it over to me, stopping right in front of me, and pulls me into a hug.

  “I’m so glad to see you here! How’s JC doing?” she asks so only I can hear. I’d confided in her the other day that I thought he was having a hard time these last few days, and she assured me that it was a pretty normal thing for players to go through. Even though her dad retired on his own accord, he still went through a mourning period when the next season rolled around.

  “He’s doing,” I tell her as I look over at him. He’s deep in conversation with the older man that he left my side to go talk to. “When I got home from work he was in a mood, didn’t get the news he was hoping for at his appointment today, not that it was bad,” I rush to add so she knows it wasn’t anything bad, just not what he was hoping for.

  “That sucks, but kinda what you guys expected, right?” she asks.