Fuck. This felt good—so f**king good.
“Really? And what are they?” she asked with an arch of her brow.
“You’ll find out in due course, Shakespeare. Now move that fine ass, get into bed and into my arms.”
And hell, she did as I instructed but looked back as she crawled on her mattress on her hands and knees, showing me a glimpse of her tight, curvy ass. “I don’t remember Romeo being this pushy with Juliet!”
My c**k showed its appreciation of her position, and I had to restrain myself from slamming into her from behind. “And look at how that worked out for them. My way is better—less death, more orgasms.”
She burst into laughter and I pointed her way and instructed, “You. Bed. Now.”
I quickly stripped down to my boxers and strode to the bed, getting in beside her, watching her golden eyes drinking in my every muscle.
Immediately kissing and licking the side of her neck, I reached around and plunged my fingers straight into her panties. God, she was so hot, wet and ready for me.
A shocked loud moan came straight from her mouth, causing me to slide my fingers into her warmth, murmuring, “Now about those privileges…”
Mol’s back arched and she reached her arm up and wrapped it around my neck, rocking against my hand.
I was never leaving this damn bed again…
16
Training the next morning was the best I’d had this season. I never missed a pass, made new PBs in my weight routines, and every snap I popped was perfect.
Coach came over, smiling widely, exclaiming, “Whatever the hell got you out of your slump, Bullet—hell, keep doing it! We’ll be getting another national championship for sure if you keep training like this!”
Showering quickly, feeling pretty damn good, I dressed and arranged to meet with Austin and Reece for lunch in a few hours. As I left through the gym doors to head to my Business class, I spotted Shelly leaning against the fence outside the stadium, waiting, I assumed, for me.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I tipped my head back, groaning. I prepared myself to breeze straight past her, but then I saw her face. It looked so friggin’ miserable that I couldn’t help but soften a fraction. I knew I treated her like shit most of the time, but there was a time when we’d been friends. We’d grown up together, been forced to go to every damn prom and cotillion together, and I’d even liked her—as a friend—for a while. But then the pressure from our folks to be together became insane and we’d drifted apart. Or at least I’d drifted; she just became crazed with the need to stick in her claws. She wanted the life that was waiting for her, that was being dangled on a string before her eyes.
I knew seeing me with different chicks over the years had killed her. God, even the thought of another guy besides me touching Mol would have me spitting mad, so, for the first time in a long time, I actually felt sorry for her. She was failing in her duty just as much as I was, and although Martin Blair wasn’t as f**ked up as my daddy, he wasn’t exactly easy-going either.
I reluctantly walked over to where she stood—head down, arms folded—and greeted her, “Shel.”
As she lifted her head, I could see she’d been crying.
“Hey, Rome,” she croaked.
“What’s wrong?”
Staring into the distance, she shrugged. “I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I hated how you spoke to me in the cafeteria. I know I probably deserved it, I was in a bad mood, but… it’s just… just…” She cupped her hands over her face and her shoulders began to shudder with sobs.
Clenching my jaw, I looked around us before awkwardly laying a hand on her shoulder. “Shel, calm down.”
She moved forward, pressing her face into my chest, and I stiffened before patting her back a few times in comfort. I spotted some of the team walking past, throwing me suggestive gestures or knowing smiles. Most of the team would have her in a heartbeat. But I’d never felt it. Damn, it would’ve made my life a hell of a lot easier if I had.
Taking a step back, Shelly looked up at me, smiling in embarrassment. “Sorry about all this.”
Shaking my head in dismissal of her apology, I replied, “What’s up?”
“My daddy and I had a fight… over you.”
Raking my hands through my hair, I cursed to myself. “What happened?”
“Daddy said it was my fault you were refusing the marriage, that I hadn’t tried hard enough to be your girl. He said he only wants you to take his place at Prince Oil to keep it in the family, and if you don’t, he wouldn’t be able retire as planned, and he already has a heart condition and said that he’d end up working himself to death.”
Shit. I couldn’t imagine Mr. Blair being that harsh—he adored Shelly—but f**k, look at my folks. People are completely different when the world doesn’t see.
“Shel, I’m sorry. If it helps, I know how you feel, okay?”
Sniffing, she looked up at me and smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed, then, suddenly, she moved in, throwing her arms around my neck and pressing her lips against mine. It only took me a second to realize what was going on, and, gripping her arms, I ripped her off me, shouting, “What the f**k, Shel?!”
“I just… just… Why don’t you want me? Everyone else at this damn college does, but not you! Not the great Romeo Prince!” I stiffened as she said that name. Only Mol could get away with calling me that.
“Calm the f**k down, now,” I said flatly.
Taking a deep breath, she seemed to mellow out. “I just don’t get you. You have this perfect life mapped out for you, richer than you could dream, but you choose to fight it all the way, and for what? For football—a career that will last, what? Maybe ten, fifteen years if you’re lucky. If you don’t get on board with the plan, I don’t get that life either, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted… I don’t know what else to do to make you change your mind!”
“Well, sorry, Shel, but I’m not marrying you. And that’s the end of it.” I folded my arms across my chest to keep my control.
A cold expression drifted across her face. “Face it, Rome. This marriage has to happen. The quicker you accept it, the better everything will be.”
“All this, this little performance, was all fake, wasn’t it?” I hissed through gritted teeth. “You haven’t fallen out with your daddy?”