Page 10

CHAPTER 9

SCARLETT

A growl erupts from Russ’ chest as he grips my ass, bringing me impossibly closer. He wraps my legs around his waist and lifts me off the counter as if I weigh nothing. Keeping my lips on his, I’m unsure where he’s going, but I can only assume it’s his bedroom.

He sets me down in front of his ensuite, and I whimper the moment he breaks our kiss to ask, “Can I shower with you?”

“Is this really the best idea?”

His lips tilt up in a smirk, little crinkles appearing next to his eyes. “Probably not, but we both know if you take a shower alone, you’ll overthink this.”

Excitement swirls in my core; I’ve never seen him naked. He’s sent me shirtless photos before, even ones where he’s only in boxer briefs. Never completely naked. While I work out four days a week, my body is significantly softer than his. It’s intimidating.

“Okay,” I concede.

“I was serious when I said no one should touch you without your consent, Red. If you’re worried about this”—he gestures between us—“I won’t touch you.”

“It isn’t that I don’t want you to.” I chew on my lip and inhale a deep breath. “I’m scared of losing you.”

Russ tucks my hair behind my ear and keeps his fingers cupped behind my neck. “You’ll never lose me.”

“You don’t know that. We both have grueling travel schedules.”

“Which we’ve dealt with these past few months. What are you really afraid of?” He brushes my cheek with his thumb, grounding me.

“I haven’t been with anyone since the night we spent together. I… I don’t want anyone else, Russ. I’m not like Rachel, who can detach herself emotionally from sex. If we sleep together, it would be more for me. I don’t enjoy one-night stands.”

Leaning in, he brushes a soft kiss to my cheek and whispers, “You’re my favourite person, Red. Nothing about you and me is temporary.” My breath catches at his admission. As he pulls back, I’m lost in his chocolate brown eyes. “I haven’t been with anyone since you either, but you could never be a one-night stand. I only had a night with you, and I’ve been yours ever since. I’m more interested in having something real with you than sleeping with you. You want to come? You know I’ll be on my knees in a second to taste you again. But I’ll never push for more if you aren’t ready.”

He’s my person, the one I trust more than anyone. It’s about time I trust him with my heart. A lump forms in my throat as I will back my tears.

“Come on. Let’s get your ‘thinking shower’ started.” He tugs his shirt off by the nape of the neck and tosses it to the ground, then turns the knob for the shower. He’s so damn beautiful, I can’t stop staring. “When you walked in, you said you wanted to take a shower alone. My worst fear is you’ll step inside and realise I’m not worth the trouble. But this isn’t about me—it’s your choice.”

“Russ,” I breathe. “You’re absolutely worth the trouble. I’m scared of losing my best friend, but also if we shower together, then you’ll see me naked, and I certainly don’t look like…” I gesture up and down his body.

Russ barks out a laugh. “I certainly hope not, but you’ve forgotten, I’ve already seen you naked.”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Maybe not all of you, but you’re acting as if I haven’t had my face between your legs. More than anything, I want you to be comfortable here, so if you want to shower solo, I’ll leave you to it.”

He takes my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. My heart swells as my breath hitches and any excuse I’ve come up with is utterly pointless. He told me I’m his favourite person, but he’s also mine, and there isn’t a single part of me that can deny how much I want him. I slide my hand down to his chest and walk him backwards into the shower. The water is the perfect temperature—not scalding but hot enough for steam to fill the space. I don’t give a fuck that I’m still wearing my clothes, taking his face in my hands and kissing him, loving the feel of his expertly trimmed beard under my fingertips. He chuckles against my lips, and I can’t help smiling against his.

“What do you want, Red?”

“You,” I whimper, dropping to my knees and hooking my fingers into his now-soaked sweatpants. I don’t tug them down, wanting his permission.

Russ brushes my hair away from my face then covers my hands with his. “If we do this, I get to keep you after.”

“Keep me?”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “Keep you. We can figure it out together when my cock isn’t aching for you to touch me, but I need you to admit we’re not just friends. I won’t be your fuck-buddy, Red.”

It would be difficult, but not impossible. “We’re friends,” I carefully admit. “But I want more too.”

“Then I don’t want you on your knees.”

“One of my players smacked my ass tonight. You didn’t hesitate. Mere seconds later, you were on him, ready to defend my honor. In that moment, you were on your knees for me. Now, it’s my turn.”

“That’s not how this works,” he groans.

“Why not? I won’t be shamed for wanting to see the elusive piercing you claim to have.”

Russ releases his hold on me, and I tug down his soaked sweats to find a single piercing through the tip of his cock. “Just the one for now.”

“Why just one?”

“You don’t remember? I told you I’ll get a piercing for every month I don’t see you. The minute you told me you were hired by Québec City, I checked the game schedule, then made an appointment.” His cock is long and thick and will probably break me. Still, it has to be one of the most romantic gestures I’ve ever experienced. “I’ll be adding my ladder once you leave to cover the rest of the season.”

“If I say you have a beautiful cock, is that weird?”

“No,” he chuckles. “It’s healed, but my piercer recommends a condom for anal. Otherwise, every inch of me is yours.”

I’ve never had this kind of power. “Show me,” I breathe. He takes my chin in his hand and guides me to stand. “What are you doing?”

“Showing my girl she’s mine.”

Russ presses me against the shower wall and, in an instant, his lips are on mine. I whimper on contact. So many nights I imagined the next time I would see him. None of my fantasies could compare to feeling his hard body against me, or the rough claiming of my mouth. He tugs my shirt off me, and the thump of it hitting the floor echoes against the walls.

As he drops to his knees, he hooks his fingers in my waistband as I did for him moments ago, and with a shaky breath insists, “Tell me to stop and I will. I love you, Scarlett. We can stop at any time and it won’t change how I feel about you.”

He never calls me by my name. Ever. I do the work for him, dragging down my sopping wet pants to my ankles and stepping out of them. I unhook my bra and slip it off my shoulders, letting it join our mess of wet clothes.

Kissing my stomach, he whispers, “Even more beautiful than I remember.” He shifts until his back hits the wall and stretches his legs out, patting his lap. A smirk tilts his lips, and as I climb onto his lap, I grip his cock in anticipation of lining myself up for what will likely be the best sex of my life. Instead, this adorably sweet man swats my hand away and pulls me close. While I’m straddling him, his hard cock pressed between us, he holds me tight, breathing me in.

“I told you I needed a shower,” I joke, hoping to make light of all of it.

“I don’t fucking care,” he sighs aginst me, kissing my shoulder. His lips travel up to my neck and my breath is uneven. “I missed you every day since I left your hotel room.”

The water beats onto my back and I can’t take it another moment, blurting, “I’m on the pill, and we’ve been accidentally exclusive for months.”

“Does it matter? If I came deep inside you and you ended up pregnant, I’d take care of you and our child. We’re not strangers. But until you’re ready for that step, birth control is a must. Your career comes first. I don’t speak empty words. You know the league requires therapy—I’m doing the work. I’d never suggest being inside you bare unless I was ready for potential consequences.”

I lift up and reach between us, guiding his cock inside me. Only an inch, just like he told me to do last night. I slide down another, relishing the stretch.

“ Calisse ,” I mutter, mostly to myself.

“Sorry, I don’t speak French.”

“Oh, sorry! It slips out after living in Québec for the last ten years. It is just a swear.”

“It’s hot. Any time you want to talk dirty to me in French, you have my full permission.”

I can’t take it another second. I sit, sinking onto him until his cock is fully buried inside me. It’s too much, I’m too full. With his strong arms keeping me close, I whisper, “ Je t’aime. ”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, um, just that it feels good,” I lie, but the guilt tugs at my chest. “Actually…” I pull back and brush his wet hair off his forehead. “It means I love you.”

A wide grin splits his face with my favourite dimples popping at the corners. “I know.”

“Then why did you ask,” I chuckle, playfully smacking his chest. “You said you don’t know French.”

“Everyone knows what je t’aime means. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“You’re such an asshole,” I laugh, but my giggles are cut short as he rolls my hips and presses deeper inside me.

“Yeah, but I’m your asshole.”

Russ continues to rock me on his cock as he meets each movement with his own thrust. The friction on my clit is incredible, and I can’t help the sighed moans slipping from my lips. He captures my mouth with his, silencing my cries, and I’ve never felt this close to someone before. My heightened emotions building inside me spill over, and I let myself fall—savouring every second of it.

“Fuck, baby, you’re too tight. We can’t do this here. There’s no point in taking a shower when I’m just going to make a mess of your beautiful pussy.” He lifts me off him, helping me stand, and my pussy is all but screaming at me. Once he’s up, he turns off the water and tosses me over his shoulder with a sharp smack to my ass. “You deserve better than shower sex, Red.”

“Can I at least have a towel?”

“What’s the point?” He continues into his bathroom and tosses me onto his bed. My hair whips across my cheek—definitely not sexy. I attempt to recover, brushing it away from my face, but the damage is done.

“Seriously, Russ? Let me dry off first.”

He licks up the top of my thigh, groaning, “I’d rather clean you up myself.”

The moment his tongue meets my pussy, my back arches off the bed and I grip the sheets like a lifeline. “You were inside me,” I protest, despite me not wanting him to stop.

“You think I care?” He nips at my clit, and whatever sound I scream out is unintelligible. “You’re mine, Scarlett. I want every part of you to taste like me.”

“That’s— ah —a bit possessive of you.”

“I don’t give a fuck, baby. I warned you... after this, I’m keeping you.”

He dives back in, licking and sucking while driving two fingers inside me, curling them right where I need him. I close my eyes, savouring every stroke as my core tightens, aching for release. My orgasm is almost within reach as he continues the same pace until I fall apart for him.

“You’re mine, Red,” he growls against me, and I whimper at his words.

There’s no denying he’s right. Every inch of me is buzzing as my pussy pulses around his fingers. He doesn’t let up, ready to pull another from me, and I selfishly let him. The second is like an aftershock, tearing through me just as strongly as the first.

My heart is racing and I manage, “I need you,” through my laboured breaths.

“I’m not going to last long once I’m inside you again,” he admits, pressing a kiss to the inside of my thigh.

“I don’t care. We have all night.”

There’s an immediate energy shift at my words. The playful edge between us fades into something heavier. We both know the truth—we really only have tonight. I’ll be on a plane in the morning and I won’t be able to see him for months. Long distance relationships aren’t ideal, but he’s more than worth the effort. We’ve been kidding ourselves, calling this a friendship, when it’s always been more.

“You’re right.” Russ kisses up my body until his lips are on mine. His cock slips inside me with ease, but he takes his time helping me adjust. His thrusts are slow and deep, keeping a steady rhythm that has my third orgasm building within mere minutes. His lips never leave mine as he reaches for a pillow, placing it under my ass, and presses his palm on my lower abdomen. The added pressure is perfection and I shatter, coming hard all over his cock and soaking the pillow beneath me. Embarrassment washes over me but he assures, “That was so fucking hot, baby. I want you to do it again.”

“I ruined your pillow,” I chuckle against his lips.

“Then I’ll buy another.” He trails kisses down my neck and thrusts harder, nipping at my shoulder. “I’m close, but I’m not coming until you do. Destroy every sheet in my house if you need to, I want your sweet cum branding every one of them by the time I’m done with you.” He reaches between us and teases my clit with his thumb; it’s enough to send me over the edge. “That’s right, baby, I know you’re close. Show me you’re mine.”

My vision is spotty and I cry out, “ Yours ,” as I come. His own release is right behind mine as he pushes deep and holds, his cock twitching inside me.

Russ waits before pulling out, and part of me never wants him to. He feels too good, too mine . In this moment, nothing matters but the two of us; the outside world doesn’t exist. When he finally slips his cock out of me, I gasp at the immediate emptiness.

As he presses two fingers inside me, he growls, “No empty words tonight. You’re mine, Red.”

“I know,” I breathe, but he drives deeper. “Should we take that shower now?”

“There’s no point in cleaning up.” He drags them out and I grip his wrist, bringing his coated fingers to my mouth and greedily suck them clean. The mix of the two of us coats my tongue, and I’m already so turned on I need him again. Closing the distance, he roughly kisses me and mutters against my lips, “I knew we’d taste good together.”