Page 33

Vivienne

With a game scheduled for tonight and the team coming off an away series, the stadium sits in a rare silence.

Other than the front office and a few of the grounds crew milling around, it's still.

Following my meeting with Piper, I'm alone, striding through the quiet halls, when all the peace and silence is shattered. I turn the corner to be greeted by Dom, who's as happy as he always is. "Not-the-nanny! What are you doing here?"

I glance to the side, catching his gaze. "That's not going to be my nickname. But to answer your question, I had a meeting with Piper this morning."

"Interesting. I didn't think anyone else was here besides Xavier and I."

My steps falter and I turn to look at him head on. His smile has gone from sweet to sly. It's a struggle to keep the unbridled excitement under wraps when I ask, "Xavier's here?"

"In the locker room. Murphy just left. It's completely empty." He pauses and looks around. "Want me to walk you out?"

No.

Instead of screaming that at him and running to the locker room like I want to, I slip my phone from my purse pretending to check it. "Oh, shoot. I left my notes in Piper's office. I'm going to go grab them."

"Uh, huh." He grins at me like the cheshire fucking cat, all bright white teeth and knowing. "I'll leave you to it then."

Please do , I think. My heartbeat thunders, abusing my ribs, and I fear I might lose my nerve if he doesn't leave right now. And that would be truly tragic.

Dom's back retreats and I forgo the pretense of pretending I'm leaving. There's nothing and no one around but me and my doubts. This is so out of character for me, but it's been a week since I've seen Xavier. Knowing he's here, within my reach, is more than I can handle. I refuse to wait another second to see him.

I wait for the click of the heavy metal doors to signal I'm alone and push through the door to the locker room before I chicken out. The sound of a shower running echoes through the empty space. Stepping further inside, I scan the room. It's as empty as Dom said it would be, save for the one open locker with the name Kingsley hanging above it.

With all the grace of a baby giraffe, I fumble with my heels and dress. Goosebumps pebble my skin from the jitters, because as I strip out of my bra and panties, I grab the rolled-up towel on the bench, wrapping it around my body and securing it at my chest. If someone walks in and catches me, there is no explaining this away, but at least I'll keep a shred of my dignity.

What a lie. I'm in the men's locker room, uninvited. There's no saving anything if someone finds me standing here wearing only this pathetic towel and flushed cheeks. All the more reason to hurry the hell up.

I follow the sound of the running water to the far end of the locker room, the tile floor cool on my feet. It's jarring against my otherwise heated skin as I approach the only occupied stall. Steam billows from behind the white curtain.

My fingers curl around the slippery vinyl, pulling it back inch by inch. Water sluices down the lines of Xavier muscled back. Rolling down his spine and over the impressive swell that rounds out at the base. As desperate as I am for him to turn around so I can drink in all of him, I can't deny the appeal of being able to take my time eating up every damn inch of him like this.

God, this man's ass is the stuff of dreams--firm and tight. I want it in my hands.

He tilts his head up and his hands push his hair back, making my knees buckle at the sight. Before I lose my nerve, I untuck the towel, hang it over the hook and join him inside the stall, steam licking at my skin.

Whether it's me stepping closer or the soft swish of the curtain closing behind me that makes him turn to face me, I can't say. Regardless, the sight of him in all his naked, wet glory sucks the air from my lungs.

My gaze drifts up lazily, taking inventory of every dip and curve in his strong legs, the coarse hair on his toned thighs, and when they land on his cock hanging heavy between them, I almost die. Never once have I come across a man that I want to fall to my knees for, but right now, even knowing the tile is going to bruise my skin, I'd crawl to this man if he asked me to.

Forcing my attention from his swelling cock, I follow the trail of hair up the line of his stomach to his impressive chest and then his face. One side of his mouth lifts, as if he's caught off-guard but very pleased about it.

"Vivienne." The rough rasp of his voice saying my name pulls my gaze from where it's fixed on his lips, finding those blue eyes appraising all of me.

"Hi," I squeak, suddenly very aware that I'm standing in front of him, naked, for the first time. In a public space, no less.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice is deeper than I ever recall it being. At least I think it is, but it could be the heavy buzzing in my ears making it sound that way.

"I had a meeting with Piper this morning--"

"No, sweetheart. What are you doing here, naked, in my locker room?"

Oh that ?

It's a good question, but all logic seems to have fled my brain, leaving only need in its place. Any intelligent words refuse to form on my tongue, and even if I could push them out, I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to explain why I felt so drawn to do something I know is reckless.

So I show him, stepping forward until we're chest to chest, lacing my hands behind his neck and pulling him down to meet me. "This."

The first swipe of his tongue against mine eases the part of me that has been unsettled since I last saw him. The second drives me forward, aligning our bodies to perfection. He's hard between us, his thickness pressing against the soft swell of my stomach--hot, long, and tempting. I could kiss him like this for hours if it wasn't for the insistent way he twitches when I moan into his mouth.

Xavier pulls back first, leaving me breathless, and folding over me, resting his forehead against mine. "Fuck, sweetheart. I missed you--these lips, this perfect body, all your curves." His fingers travel over every part of me he praises, his eyes devouring me whole.

When his touch travels lower, dipping between my legs, I remember why I came in here in the first place--something I've been dying to do since Lara convinced me to add it to the list.

It's my turn. I'm addicted to the idea of giving him pleasure as much as receiving it.

I place one hand on his chest, stopping him. His eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"There's something I want from you and I need it now." My fist wraps around his length, forcing a hiss from him. "I'm sick of seeing you over a screen--of not being able to touch you."

"Jesus, Vi," he groans my name as my thumb sweeps over the head of his cock, taking the glistening bead with it. I pump again, mesmerized as another forms. Without a second thought, I kneel at his feet, kissing his tip before the shower can steal away the taste I crave.

Looking up at him from beneath my lashes, my tongue darts out, finding his salty flavor. Like a match strike, his body shudders and his teeth grit. I can see his control slipping with each lap of my tongue against his hot skin.

"Did you come in here because you want me to fill this pretty mouth?"

"Yes."

A strangled sound starts in his chest, and his hand reaches out to brush my damp hair from my face. "Because you want to, or because you feel like you have to?"

It's a question no one ever asked me before and it confirms that he's nothing like my past partners.

"Because I need you."

"Then let me ask you this: Do you want to be in control, or be controlled?"

Fire sparks low in my belly at that. I let my hands drop to my lap and sit back on my heels, considering the choice.

I hadn't given much thought to how I would do this, I only knew that I needed to taste him. Needed to see him come apart at my hands the same way I did at his. That I needed him .

He wraps a hand in my hair, forcing my head up to him and giving me a small taste of what it could be like. "I need your words here, sweetheart. If you want me to fuck this throat, you have to say it. But no matter how you take my cock, you're always in control."

The feral look in his eyes seals it for me. This isn't about my confidence--I know how to give head. But I've never trusted anyone the way I trust Xavier. I want him like this, on the edge of restraint, with heat in his gaze as he looks down at me, his hand wrapped tightly around the base of his straining cock.

"Use my mouth. Make me gag on you." It might have been the boldest thing I've ever said to a man, but I mean it with my whole body.