Page 21

CHAPTER 21

MILLER

My jaw ached, and the last place I wanted to go was to Lathan’s room. I didn’t have the strength to face him and see the resignation in his eyes.

We were over.

He’d gotten into a fight because of me! He was going to end things. I’d caused too much disruption to his perfectly crafted life, and now he would kick me to the curb.

I’d hoped he’d wait until we returned to Austin, but it didn’t appear I was that lucky. Instead, I’d have to wallow in my misery in an empty hotel room and try not to let it ruin my game. Crap. I’d need to find a new place to live.

I’d submitted a few applications to leasing offices, but nothing had felt right yet. I hadn’t found a place that felt like home.

That’s because you already found it.

It was stupid to hope I could stay with Lathan forever, but my mushy heart had latched on while I wasn’t paying attention. All the boundaries in the world hadn’t been able to keep me from catching feelings. The only person I had to blame was myself.

“Better get it over with,” I muttered, shoving my key card into my sweats. I’d just changed out of my suit when his message had come through. Shoving my feet into a pair of shoes, I ran my fingers through my curls as I walked down the hall. We were on the same floor but at opposite ends. There weren’t any other players out as I strolled, and I relaxed at that small mercy. I didn’t want to lie about my whereabouts tonight.

With a deep breath, I rapped my knuckles against the door. It opened instantly, and I was pulled through before I had time to blink.

“Fuck, Mills.” Lathan’s hand bracketed my face in a tender gesture, and he tilted my head to and fro as he inspected me. “I was so worried. I kept envisioning the worst possible outcome.” His fingers trailed lightly over the stitches lining my jaw. Goosebumps broke out across my skin, and I sucked in a breath.

This wasn’t what I’d expected when I’d trudged down here. “I’m okay,” I whispered and gripped his hand. If he kept doing that, I would lose my mind.

Lathan’s ministrations froze, and his eyes lifted to mine. The blue swirled with an intensity I wasn’t used to seeing in their depths. I searched his face and my body heated at the black eye blooming on his face.

“What the hell?”

Lathan jerked back in shock. “You just cussed.”

I ignored him and brought my own hand up to his face. I gently traced the bruise forming with the pad of my thumb. “Eriksson’s dead the next time we play.”

He laughed. “You’re cute when you’re feral, Mills. I’m fine. You should see his face.”

My heart rate slowed, and I took a deep breath. “You should ice this. I’ll go get you some.” I turned to leave, but he stopped me with a hand on my bicep.

“Don’t go. I got some.”

I glanced down at his hand and noticed how red his knuckles were. Pushing my insecurities to the back of my mind, I went into the bathroom and grabbed two washcloths before locating the ice.

“Sit on the bed,” I ordered and unzipped his bag. Lathan always traveled with baggies and portable ice packs, so I grabbed both and placed the ice in the freezer before making two ice packs. Turning, I stumbled at the sight of him half-dressed on the bed.

“And here I expected to take care of you,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes and ignored the rush of arousal. We weren’t in the apartment. Nothing sexual could happen here. Reese’s house was an exception, but I couldn’t expect that rule to apply everywhere else. We were away and on the road. I had to respect his rules. They were for me just as much. If I let myself have him whenever I wanted, I’d never want to stop.

I placed an ice pack on his hand and held the other to his face. We sat quietly on the bed next to one another, and the air became thick with all the things left unsaid. I needed to go. I couldn’t stay here any longer.

“I should go.” I stood and managed to take one step.

“Stay.” Lathan’s free hand grabbed ahold of me and stopped my retreat.

“We’re on the road,” I said in case the punch to his head had jostled that factoid loose.

“I’m aware, Bambi.” He licked his lips, and my eyes fell to his luscious mouth. How I wanted to kiss that plump flesh. But if I did, I’d be a goner. Like you already aren’t …

“The rules,” I reiterated. I needed him to spell out what this was. Too many other things were unclear between us, and I needed this to be crystal clear.

“I’m aware.” His eyes bored into mine, and I felt them all the way to my soul. My hand was still on his face, and he covered my own. It should be weird to be standing over him, but it wasn’t. “It’s come to my recent conclusion that some of our rules are dumb.”

“Oh.” It was the only word I could get out. The rest escaped me as my heart took off like a million galloping horses, their hooves threatening to crush my lungs with their urgency.

“So, will you stay?”

“I… Are you sure?”

“Yes. I want you here. I need you here if I’m honest.”

“Okay.” My answer was simple, but it was all he needed. He smiled and pulled me into his lap. The move was smooth and took me by surprise.

“That’s better.” He snuggled into my neck and tightened his arms around me. For someone who had loathed all physical contact initially, Lathan had become a snuggler. He’d been touch starved and hadn’t known it. Pride bloomed in my chest that I’d been the one to fulfill his need. His body relaxed the longer he held me, and I felt mine do the same.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I’ll be able to play as long as it’s covered. It’s a dull ache. Nothing Advil can’t cure. What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Might help my ruggedness factor, actually.”

I chuckled and pulled back. “Did Lathan Silver just make a joke about his pretty face?”

“You’re the one calling it pretty.” He smiled, and a lightness bloomed in my chest. His smiles could power energy plants.

“You are pretty. Gorgeous, really.”

This time, he blushed. “Shut up. You’re the one turning heads everywhere we go.”

I rolled my eyes. “Take a compliment, Silver. You’re a beautiful man. Own it.”

“Whatever. I don’t care what I look like. It’s distracting, actually. I’d prefer to be ugly so people would leave me alone.”

“You’re not just beautiful on the outside, Lath. You hide behind scowls and your grumpy disposition, but anyone who spends time with you sees the cinnamon roll that you are.”

“Cinnamon roll?”

I smiled. “Yeah. You’re hard on the outside but gooey in the middle.”

He barked out a laugh, flipped us to the bed, and hovered over me. “You’re ridiculous, Mills. But I happen to like ridiculous.”

I stuck out my tongue like the mature adult I was. He snorted another laugh and rocked his hips into me. My laughter turned to a moan at the feel of his hard dick against mine.

“Why don’t we kiss?” he asked, freezing me.

“What?” My breath sawed out of me, and I flexed my fingers against him.

“You kissed me once in the kitchen but haven’t since. Was I… not good at it?” He dropped his eyes, and I couldn’t take the look of insecurity on his face.

“No!” I shouted, and he flinched. Crap. I was messing this up. I licked my lips. “No, I mean, the kiss was perfect. It has nothing to do with your skill.”

“Then why?” he whispered.

“I didn’t think you wanted to,” I lied. “It’s intimate and seems more boyfriendy.” Okay, that part was true.

“And if I did?” he asked.

I relaxed into the mattress and spread my arms out at my side. It was too tempting to grab hold of him and kiss him as if my life depended on it. Maybe it did with the way my heart was pounding.

“Then take what you want, Lath. If you want to kiss me, then kiss me.”

I hated and loved the words coming from my mouth. I wouldn’t survive it if he kissed me, but I was also convinced I couldn’t go another second without his lips on me. It was a dichotomy of epic proportions, but I was too gone to care. My heart already belonged to him. I might as well douse myself in kerosene along the way to my destruction.

Slowly, he lowered his lips to mine. He was tentative at first, only pressing our lips together. It didn’t matter, though. It was still one of the best kisses of my life. As he got more comfortable, he moved his lips and parted his mouth open. The mere hint of his tongue lit me on fire, and my composure broke.

Surging up, I gripped his hair as I took control and devoured his mouth. Every little moan and whimper were mine. I captured them like a greedy pirate, not letting him go as I plundered his mouth.

His fingers raked through my hair, and I groaned at the sensation. My jaw was throbbing, and each time our jaws touched, a bolt of pain speared me, but I was too consumed by him to care.

Eventually, we broke apart for air and stared at one another. The air was heated, and arousal was thick between us. Neither of us spoke as we moved to shed our clothes. Skin to skin, we rolled on the bed until I was the one to hover over him this time. Grasping his hands, I stretched them over his head and clasped them in mine.

Lathan bucked, pushing his cock against me and begging with his body. I gripped him tighter, needing him to say the words. My heart was on a crosswire and dangerously close to falling completely over the edge.

“Please,” he begged.

“Say what you want, baby. I need to hear you say it,” I rasped.

“Fuck me, Bambi. I need to feel you.”

Growling, I lunged forward and kissed him until my head spun from lack of oxygen. “Supplies?” I asked when I broke apart for air.

“Inner pocket.”

It was torture dragging myself off him, but it was the reward of being inside him that spurred me on. I found the bottle of lube and condom in the pocket and returned to the bed. Squirting the liquid onto my finger, I pushed his legs back and breached his hole. I wasn’t as gentle as I’d been the first time, but he didn’t seem to notice. Both of us were too far gone to care at this point. My cock was red and leaking already, and if I wasn’t inside him soon, I was likely to die from too hard of a dick. Was that a thing? With Lathan, it felt like it could be a thing.

“More,” he demanded, and I obliged with a second finger. I added a third when he felt loose, and he rocked back on my fingers in no time. I withdrew and opened the condom, my fingers fumbling with the slick packaging. Grumbling, I bit the corner and yanked it open in my haste. Only, I was a little too overzealous and caught the condom in the process.

“Dang it.”

“What?” Lathan asked and braced himself on his elbows.

“I ripped the condom. Do you have more?” I asked.

Lathan shook his head. “No. And that one has been in there for a while.”

“Great.” I sighed. “I didn’t bring any either. I wasn’t expecting…” I trailed off as I waved at the two of us. Lathan gulped, his eyes dropping to the ripped latex and then back at me.

“We could go without. We’re both clean and since we’re exclusive…”

I gulped. My hands shook, and I dropped the destroyed condom onto the bed. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“I’m sure. I trust you.” His blue gaze held mine, and I couldn’t deny the conviction present.

We came together in a blur of body parts as we resumed our frantic making out. I debated having him roll over to keep that final separation between him and my heart, but I was so tired of denying myself what I wanted. So, despite knowing it was a bad idea, I plunged inside him while staring deep into his eyes.

There were no words to describe the intense pleasure that wrapped around me. A slick heat greeted me as I bottomed out, and I had to hold my breath to stop myself from exploding.

“Dear God,” Lathan moaned.

“So good, baby. You’re so tight. I can barely move.”

“I need you to. Please, Mills. Move.”

Taking a deep breath, I pulled back and lunged forward. Our bodies rocked together as we found a rhythm. Our skin slapped together, and pleasure coursed through every pore. Nothing had ever felt this good, and no one else ever would. This was us.

“Touch yourself,” I ordered. My balls were drawn up tight, and it wouldn’t take long before I blew.

“Don’t need to.”

I pegged his prostate one more time and watched as Lathan came untouched. His cum covered his belly, and his hole clenched around me as his orgasm took over. That was all it took, and I was coming. My cum spurted out in thick ropes, and I’d never forget the feeling of filling him up. It was intoxicating.

Our bodies twitched as we came down, and our breaths mingled between us as we stared at one another. That hadn’t just been sex; that had been so much more, but I wasn’t sure if he knew that.

“I’m going to move,” I whispered, and he nodded. Slowly, I withdrew and instantly missed the feel of him around me. But the sight of my cum dripping from him was a nice consolation prize. “That’s hot,” I breathed.

“Is it weird I don’t want it to escape?” Lathan asked.

“No,” I answered immediately.

He smiled and then frowned. “Unfortunately, not practical. And a bit messy.”

“I got you.” I snagged the washcloth from the ice pack, cleaned him up, and stared awkwardly at him. He’d asked me to stay, but was that only for sex? Should I go now?

“Quit overthinking it. Let’s shower and then sleep. We both need it.”

Not one to argue the facts, I followed him into the shower and tried to stop my heart from picturing all the lovey-dovey things my brain was formulating.

Stop it. Lathan Silver was not my boyfriend. Not now, not ever. And I had to be okay with that.