Page 24 of Personal Foul (The San Diego Storm #3)

Colin

W e spent most of Sunday afternoon naked in Carson’s bed, passed out from the best day of my life. Morning blow jobs, breakfast, confessions, kissing, another blow job, frotting, swimming naked, lunch, and naked napping had me lust drunk on this sexy man. Could life here with him be like this?

“Pinch me,” I said to Carson as I pushed the grocery cart around the vegetable section of the market.

His face was having a difficult time scowling after countless orgasms. “Why?”

Picking up a long English cucumber, I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “This thing reminds me of you. Should we get a couple and compare?”

His face pinked up, but I saw the playful side of him dying to come out.

“Put that down. But in the cart. We need them for… salad.”

I chuckled lasciviously until he did what I asked and pinched the shit out of me.

“Ouch, fucker.”

He shrugged innocently. “You asked for it. Don’t ask for things you don’t want.”

Looking around, I browsed the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables until I found what I wanted. Collecting a plastic bag, I shoved them in, then put them in the cart.

Carson assessed my addition to the cart and sighed, trying not to smile. “Really? That’s what you need?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh. I’m going to make ya an amazing dish. We love it in Australia.”

He bit the side of his jaw. “You have a recipe for eggplant and peaches?”

Rocking on my heels, I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep from touching him. “Yep. Sure do. It’s like a ratatouille of sorts without the tomatoes, peppers, or onions. And no herbs.”

“But it uses peaches.”

I nodded, trying to sell it. I was full of kangaroo doo. It was actually an appetizer. But my sweet man just went with it and moved on. “Sounds delicious. Let’s get some meat.”

My eyes lit up. “Now you’re talking.”

Carson smirked, but only shook his head.

I went and collected a few more items as he watched me put them in the cart.

By the time we finished, we’d purchased an eclectic variety of goods.

Mostly lean meat, protein supplements, egg whites, and vegetables.

We were professional athletes and needed to stay in shape.

When we got back to the house, I helped him carry in all the bags. Bella and Allister were curled up in the afternoon sun on Bella’s dog bed.

“Look at that, would ya?”

Carson smiled. “Kinda like us, aren’t they? Complete and total opposites.”

“But it works for some weird reason.”

“Stop stalling and help me unload. You’ve got a dish to make.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” I said, unloading the bags onto the counter.

Carson laughed, which he was doing a lot more of, and unloaded his share.

When I got to the cucumber that started all of this, I walked around the bar and tugged him closer.

“Pull it out, let’s measure.”

“No,” he guffawed. “You’re not getting out of this after buying all this stuff.”

“Fine, fine,” I said, moving to clean my produce.

Carson finished putting away the food, then leaned on the counter where I was carefully cutting up my eggplant and peaches.

“Can ya wash the leaves? Don’t want grit in my dish.”

“I have to help now?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s just some basil.”

He picked up the bunch and ran it under cold water before spreading it out on a paper towel.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood close enough for me to feel the heat radiate off his skin. If I had my way, I would jump his bones and fuck the eggplant. But he was so smug that I had to show him a thing or two.

By the time I was finished, his smug look had vanished. “Here ya go,” I said, pushing the plate to him that held Grilled Eggplant and Peach Caprese. “Try that.”

He looked at me warily. “Did you just make this up? Or is it real?”

“What? You don’t think it looks good?”

His big hand rubbed across his mouth. “Yes, but I think you’re messing with me.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Really? Care to make a little bet?”

My boyfriend was gleefully smug. “What are the stakes?”

“If it’s not a real recipe, then you don’t have to eat it.”

He smiled and moved closer. “And if it is?”

I licked my lips. “If ya find the recipe online, I get to plug ya and edge ya for an hour.”

Carson’s breathing hitched as his eyes stayed focused on mine. His warm breath coasted over my damp lips. “That doesn’t sound like a losing proposition.”

I leaned in to rub my nose along his. “I never said what I was pluggin’ ya with.”

As he leaned forward, I stepped back. Picking up his phone, I handed it to him. “Go ahead. Search it up.”

Licking his lips, he went to it and opened the internet browser.

“Grilled Eggplant and Peach Caprese,” I whispered to him.

I knew the moment he’d found the recipe. His eyes widened, and his breath hitched. His face spread into a beautiful grin. He was like a kid in a candy shop.

“It’s real.”

I bit my lip and nodded. “It’s real.”

Carson tossed his phone onto the bar and slammed his mouth onto mine. Our tongues tangled as we worked at removing our clothes.

“Bed. Now,” he grunted.

I reached for the plate and made sure there was nothing Allister could get into. We’d need fuel for what I had in mind for him. But just as we turned to go up the stairs, his phone rang, and his dad’s name appeared on the screen.

We looked at each other, then at the ringing phone.

“Are ya going to answer it?”

He looked pained. “I have to.”

Nodding in agreement, I set down the plate and ran my hands over his hair. Carson picked it up, then swiped to answer the video call. Too bad I couldn’t do anything about the beard burn.

His father came into view but didn’t look quite like himself. Carson must have noticed, too.

“Hey Dad, is everything okay?”

He smiled. “Yes, yes. Hope I’m not interrupting your Sunday, but I was trying to get in touch with Colin. Have you seen him by chance?”

I popped my head into view, forgetting to check my hair. “Hello, George. How are you?” I glanced around for my phone. “I seem to have misplaced my phone.”

His smile brightened a bit. “It’s fine, but I need to speak with you regarding your fine from the league.”

A cold chill ran down my spine as he glanced at Carson, then back at me. “If you want to talk privately, you can call me back.”

I shook my head as Carson slipped an arm around my waist. “No, no, it’s fine. I would just turn right around and have to tell him, so it’s better for you to explain it straight away.”

Carson tugged me closer. “We’re together now, Dad.”

A big smile crossed his face. “That’s good to hear. Your mother will be thrilled.”

My face beamed at their approval—another first.

“Okay, boys, let me spell it out so you can get back to your Sunday.”

If he only knew the things I was about to do to his son.

“Yes, sir,” I said, wiping the thoughts away. “I’m ready.”

George nodded, then threw a monkey wrench into everything I knew about my previous life.

“So, as I went through your contract with the Storm, which is perfectly fine, I double-checked your contract with the league in Australia. Since you gave me access to your financials, I did some checking since your agent handles those things. And I found some discrepancies that caused some red flags.”

My brows knitted together as my heartbeat picked up. “What kind of red flags?”

“It appears the amount you paid was exponentially more than the fine imposed by the league. I checked the website since those records are public. When I compared it to what came out of your account, it didn’t add up properly.”

I swallowed as Carson tightened his hold. “How much more?”

George looked at the paper, then back up at me. “Twenty thousand.”

“Twenty thousand over the last six years?”

He shook his head. “No son. Twenty thousand for this fine. League records show the fine imposed was five thousand. I’m going to dig into the other ones and contact a forensic accountant. Unless you want me to leave it alone.”

Anger and embarrassment surged through me at the thought of how stupid I’d been to trust him. I couldn’t look George in the face, so I dropped my gaze to the countertop.

“Colin,” he called soothingly. I lifted my eyes to look at him. “You are not the first athlete that this has happened to, and unfortunately, he’s not an attorney. So having him disbarred isn’t a remedy.”

I balled my hands into fists. “Killing him with my bare hands would work just fine,” I gritted out.

George smiled. “It would be difficult to be with Carson from prison. We’ll let the courts take care of it.”

My anger was palpable. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as my heart beat uncontrollably.

“What can we do, Dad?”

“Give me some time. I’ll need a proxy for me to act on your behalf. We’ll get this straightened out. We don’t know what he’s done with the money, but unfortunately, it’s not usually good.”

I needed to calm down.

“I’ll sign whatever you need to conduct a full investigation. Let me know how much I owe you.” My heart dropped to my feet. “Wait. Do I still have money?”

George nodded. “You do. But probably not the amount you should. It’s going to take me some time, but when I get to London, I’ll have my friend in Australia help.

Just sit tight, and do not contact him under any circumstances.

If you can freeze your accounts, so no money goes in or out, that would be best. You should be able to do that online.

If you need some, I know a guy who can help you out. ”

He glanced at Carson, then continued. “We want to catch him red-handed, Colin. Don’t worry. Just play it cool.”

Nodding, I waved as George said goodbye, and Carson ended the call.

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. “It’s going to be okay.”

I wasn’t so sure.